Years ago, the Inquisition uncovered and eradicated a sinister Chaos cult on Sepheris Secundus—a frozen mining world in the Calixis Sector. Largely consisting of disenfranchised serfs—those wretched workers who toil in the poisonous atmosphere of the world’s extensive mines—the cult offered escape from the oppressive labor and promised to free those nearly enslaved to the impossible demands of the God-Emperor’s Tithe.

Escape they found, for when word of this insidious group reached the ears of the Inquisition, the response was swift, brutal, and final. To a man, the cultists were exposed, shot or burned, and their blasphemous text consigned to purifying fires. In the eyes of the Inquisition, it was a job done, subversives stamped out, and as a result, these protectors of the Imperium shifted their ponderous attention towards other whispers of fell deeds.

Unsurprisingly, not all of the tomes and writings were destroyed. In the aftermath of the cleansing, a few curious serfs explored the flame-ravaged tunnels finding—as they searched for anything of value—one massive tome that described many of the rites and rituals associated with the extinct cult. The words that crawled and writhed on the pages disturbed them, and they nearly rid themselves of the blasphemous catalogue.

However, they were a desperate people, having long endured the brutal environment and hopeless existence that entails being a miner on this world. A few deluded souls seized upon the idea that the best way to escape their fate was to bring down the wrath of the Imperium, to purge the world of all life, and to put an end to their miserable fates. As expected, their opponents thought them mad, for if they were so unhappy, they could end their own lives, but the core of this misled group thought not of themselves, but of their brothers and sisters, of their children, and their children’s children. So it was that they embarked on their insane mission, founded the Brotherhood of Malice, and set out to cause enough trouble that the powers in the Imperium would come and purge this planet.

What the saboteurs and rabble-rousers didn’t expect was Sepheris Secundus’s importance to the Calixis Sector. It was far too important a world to destroy, with the Imperium more likely to eliminate the “cult” than it would the entire planet. So, when the Brotherhood of Malice destroyed a processing plant near the Shatters—a particularly dangerous stretch of tunnels—the Imperium responded as it sometimes does when confronted with an unruly population: it sent a detachment of the Imperial Guard to clean out what the planet governors deemed as rebels. As expected, the Guard made short work of the miners and serfs, and once the surface area was cleansed, a few companies descended into the tunnels. After two days of pitched fighting, the uprising was erased.

The Guardsmen made great strides against the cultists, but they were unprepared for what they found in the depths of the mines. Lurking in these cyclopean tunnels were all manner of twisted and horrific creatures, queer sigils painted on the walls, and signs of Chaos everywhere. Not even the Brotherhood of Malice knew, and as they fled the hail of lasfire, they ran into the waiting tentacles of unspeakable horrors. The Mutants and Chaos Horrors stirred from their depths and made their way up through the tunnels to destroy the humans in the upper corridors.

Sensing approaching doom, the Commissar withdrew his troops and sealed off access to the Shatters, locking behind the metal vault his own men, the surviving cultists, and all sorts of terrifying creatures. It was decided that the Inquisition had not quite finished its task with this world. Until the Inquisition could come to the world, it was decided that the Gorgonid Mine—those tunnels that connect to the Shatters—would be sealed, closed off, and all operations halted.

This was a terrible development indeed, for not only does this revelation reveal that Chaos has gained a foothold on this vital world, but also that the economy of the Calixis sector has become imperiled—Sepheris Secundus is the principle exporter of vital ores, fuel, and other key chemicals. As a result, pressure to attend this matter builds and the Inquisition scrambles to assemble an experienced team of veterans to wipe out the infestation, but until their principal agents can be gathered, they must do something.

The Brotherhood of Malice and the Current Campaign

Sent in to clear the mine entrance ahead of the main Inquisition strike force, Cell C2 was successful in their task. Soon afterward, the Acolytes of Cell: C2 would again take on the forces of the Brotherhood of Malice when they sneak into a Plasma Plant facility that the Brotherhood has taken over. Cell: C2 is successful in their mission of abducting one of the Brotherhood’s cult leaders prior to the arrival of cleansing forces of the Imperial Guard and local PDF.