One of Sarah Cawkwell’s many Silver Skulls short stories, The Pact sees Prognosticator Bhehan follow a vision to the original homeworld of his Chapter, long ago ravaged by the Silver Skulls themselves. Accompanied by First Captain Kerelan and a veteran squad of Terminators, Bhehan sets out to discover why his vision led him there, and what he can learn of the Silver Skulls’ distant history. When his investigations are disrupted by the arrival of eldar on the surface of Lyria, Bhehan turns his powers instead to destruction until something even worse than the xenos manifests and threatens the mission.
Cawkwell has done a great job breathing life into the Silver Skulls, and with this story she goes a small way towards revealing what looks to be an intriguing history. It doesn’t quite fulfil its early promise on that front, offering a teasing glimpse rather than any real insight, but it’s interesting nonetheless. The story works best when Bhehan is forced to examine his beliefs and personal code in light of the eldar and their shared enemy, again not quite digging deep enough but still carrying plenty of weight. Overall it’s still entertaining and satisfyingly dark, and suggests there’s more to explore with this particular Chapter.
