The Irritated

"By Khorne, they're here! They..." the inter-office vid-link briefly lost focus, and for a few agonising seconds Rimush was left with nothing but static. He briefly felt relief when the static resolved and Tashlultum remained, but hope immediately dissipated when sound returned too. He could hear sounds behind her.

Screams. Bodies slamming into a locked door. Tashlultum's sobbing.

"Rimush, I must... if this... if they get off this asteroid, it could destroy the entire Belt, maybe the Empire. I'm," she stifled another sob, and took a moment to strengthen her resolve, "I'm going to detonate the fuel."

Rimush placed his hand against the vid-screen,

"... Tashlultum..."

But she cut him off, smiling weakly into the camera.

"No, I... I understand. You never forgave me, we never had our second chance. I just want you to kn"

-- But there was a crash as the door collapsed inwards, and without hesitation Tashlultum slammed her fist into the detonator. The pict-screen went white.

Blinking away tears Rimush whispered "Her eyes upon the river aeternal", but could spare no more time for grief. He didn't have long, and there was one last task to perform. He set his vox-caster to transmit on an open frequency:

"This is logistician Rimush from Office for Ceremonial Calculations, Puratem Belt branch. This will be my final report on the Inducing Ritual Anger Through Empyrics initiative. I recommend immediate termination. I'm still proud of our work. Through micro-interventional nudges like ritually empowering strategically placed table corners guaranteeing stubbed toes, confederates eating 3/4s of any sandwich left in communal dining areas, and telling lho-stick smokers their smoke-breaks would be deducted from their allotted leisure-remittance while saying the opposite to non-smokers, I.R.A.T.E. increased workplace rage by 670% while only incurring a 7% drop in efficiency. At first. But,"

Rimush's attention was torn away by screaming just outside his office. He checked his makeshift barricade was secure then went back to transmitting, even as the pounding against his door began.

"-- yesterday, after a second unscheduled void-raid-drill 43 minutes after the previous all-clear, around 0.01% of the asteroid's population exhibited unsanctioned empiric reactions. They wailed, their eyes blazed red, and they began to kill... not just kill, they... did things to... everyone else. Worse, the afflicted intermittently vomit blood, and if their blood touches your skin you immediately become afflicted yourself. Logistician Tashlultum managed to knock-out facility power, ensuring oxygen supply will fail within the hour. But there should still be a complete orbital purge before landing recovery teams. On a personal note, I state for the record that this exact scenario is why I warned Comptroller Bel-ibni against having goremages invoke warp-assistance. If you're listening Bel-ibni, know I'll be waiting for you in the battle aeternal, my blade kept sharp for your throat."

The pounding grew louder, his barricade strained. Rimush checked his laspistol's power pack, and settled into a firing stance behind his desk. Smiling, he opened fire as the barricade shattered; soon he'd fight once more at Tashlultum's side.