The Stain of Silence
Roth smiled a thin, terrible smile. “The Mark of the Xenos describes the old predators. These are the new ones. Stealth strains. Infiltrators. They carry no pheromone signature. The Deathwatch’s auspexes won’t see them until it’s too late.”
“Hive Fleets learn,” Roth whispered. He produced a slender, barbed stiletto—a xenos artifact marked with a forbidden rune. “This is the Mark . Not a brand, but a resonance. A psychic echo left on any world the Devourer touches. It draws the stragglers. The new strains.”
“No,” Roth said, standing. He pulled a data-quill from his coat and began sketching the creatures as they stood motionless, watching back. “We document. We update the holy text. That is the true war, captain. Not bolter fire. Knowledge . By the time your brothers learn to fight these, the Hive Mind will have spawned three more variants.” Warhammer 40K - Mark Of The Xenos.pdf
The bio-ship convulsed. From every crack in its carapace, a new breed of spore erupted—not the familiar termagants or hormagaunts, but things with translucent skin and too many joints. They were silent. They did not charge. They simply observed .
The first xenos dissolved into a cloud of acidic mist. The second melted into the mud. The third… was already behind them.
“Tell me again why we are defiling this grave, Roth,” grumbled Watch-Captain Thorne of the Deathwatch. His black-armored form was a statue of disgust, the silver Inquisitorial I on his pauldron reflecting the sickly green sky. The Stain of Silence Roth smiled a thin, terrible smile
He plunged the blade into the dead flesh.
“Entry 7,341 – New Designation: ‘Silent Stalker.’ Method of termination: unknown. Recommended action: orbital bombardment from extreme range. Faith alone is insufficient. Know your foe. Or become him.”
Roth closed his eyes and pressed the data-quill to his own palm, carving the rune of the Mark into his flesh. “Let them see me. Let the Hive Mind know: the Inquisition watches. And we take notes.” Stealth strains
Thorne fired.
Thorne’s power fist crackled. “Impossible. The Hive Fleet was broken here.”