Dark Heresy - Chapter 1: Inspiration Grows From The Barrel Of A Gun

The chirugeon's alighted with similar curiosity upon the sample, "Given how badly I want to know what this is? About... an hour. You can wait outside... I'd prefer if you wouldn't interfere."

"Deal, we'll be back in an hour." Julian motioned for the others to leave and headed for the door himself.

It was a bit of a cruel wait as the hour passed by outside, but as it ended, the chirugeon did not come out. Waiting a bit longer, after about five more minutes, just long to begin to make the two of you curious, the chirugeon threw open the door, gasping for breath, "You won't even believe me... this is a truly phenomenal and... disturbing find."

Julian cocked an eyebrow in genuine interest and nodded to the man, "I think you best walk us through it then."

The chirugeon led you over to the assorted chymistry equipment and the piece of flesh in question, "I tried to determine exactly who this flesh might have belonged to, starting with a man or a woman, and my interest was piqued when I learned it appeared to be... both. Well, wait, let me explain... it is separate, clearly-separate genetic material locked in a parasitic, almost carnivorous relationship. There is material here clearly from a middle-aged woman... reasonably healthy and well-fed, suggesting nobility, and male material that I can only describe as... ageless, to my admittedly primitive instruments. The female material appears to be being continually subsumed by the male material, and yet, while all of this continues, the entire genetic structure is rotting from the core, necrotizing at an alarming rate, only being maintained in any form of stability at all, barely, so long as this male material continues to 'consume' the foreign material... it began to rot into dust right before my eyes as I examined it, so I poured a drop of my own blood on it... and the male material reacted in precisely the same way to my own genetic material, sustaining itself only slightly longer. This is quite possibly the most fascinatingly corrupt and mutated work of human genetics I have ever witnessed..."

Julian held back a look of disgust as he listened to the description. It wasn't easy.
"So... whatever this came from, has to feed on living tissue to survive?"

The chirugeon nodded slowly, "That would certainly be the conclusion I would draw regarding... whomever this foul piece of skin came from."

"The problem now then is finding who this belongs to..." Julian sighed in frustration, as interesting as the information was, it didn't help them find who it belonged to, all it told them is that they were a greater danger than they'd previously thought.

The chirugeon sighed, "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can really be of more help."

"Do you think perhaps Chaos is involved? That this is not just some mutation?" It seemed to lean towards something Nurgle would be resposible for. She had read about the various Chaos gods but beyond general information she didn't know much.

Julian shivered at the mention of one of the dark gods and he was sure he felt the temperature in the room drop, or was it just his nerves?
"A possibility, to be sure, though I sure as hell hope it's not true..." Julian strokes his moustache as he thought, "What do you think our next step should be?" he looked up to Remedy as he asked.

"Find whomever the skin belongs to. If Chaos is involved it is festering and growing. Not to mention that such a heavy mutation could be contagious but what's worrying me is how no one knows who it is that this skin belongs to. You'd think with it being this bad it would be easy to find the person, even if she is nobility." It was all so puzzling. There was nothing that was adding up, almost as if the skin had been manufactured to hide something or to throw the trail somewhere else.

The chirugeon shook and trembled a little, before stammering, "I... can't say."