Best story ever written

[Narmo Eressea]

It is done by Revenant, and it is the best story I have ever read.
I was allowed to post it.

I will put 2 chapters or so a day

BY REVENART

Time most distant, future’s zenith.
In tears, the star-sea mourns.
Isha’s children lament. All is lost to arrogance, grand designs soured by success, dreams are dust.
Shattered and done, the progeny set sail for the forever-beyond, flight borne on the tides of shame.
To dwindle and expire, forever denied.
The New Star burns too intense to douse, unchecked, untamed. Gods despair.
Tide surges, the end time is come.

Future’s path runs red as Khaine-blood, Hate-Winter rages, the portents scream their siren song. The song of Ulthanash is silent, Isha’s eye closed in slumber. Asuryan’s Shrine-light flickers and dies. The Cosmic Serpent reveals the truth and sheds his final skin. The Rebirth is denied. The Doom of Eldanesh comes to pass, the Red Moon rises.
The Rhana Dandra is come, let young and old cower before the chaos of the end.

The New Star will rise unprecedented, all the dread despoilers of the old kingdom quail beneath its fire.
Dead-King shivers on his maggot-throne as the Tide assails his walls, his kingdom lost.
Locust flees, no longer to plague creation-fields, feast denied.
Slave-puppets, once free, now lie in chains, conquered anew, rebellion’s essence bound in blood.
Long-Dead are exhumed, tombs razed. There shall be no flight, no peace in death. Their gods shall tremble.
Damned Shores become bastion as Dark Souls return. Exodus-flight before the rising swell. Denizens of Under-Kingdom cower behind its gates as the Tide surges.
Shame-Kin be damned in the bowels of the Webway, vermin scuttling in filth and terror, afraid of the ragescream storm above. Let them gather souls in shame and desperate haste, past sins quail as the All-Thirst is quenched. The brightest hope may lie amongst the darkest of shadow, the Learned Mongrel-Soul exhumed to see a destiny fulfilled.
Many Mighty Kings shall offer their swords to the Tide. None shall escape. None shall escape.

Skeins divided, hope defiant. Light and darkness heed, else collide and be damned. Fractured is as death, no other path leads to hope.
Existence-Tree be razed to its roots, bitter leaves cleansed. Then can hope’s light flicker. All forgotten to the core of creation. Then can hope’s flame catch the breeze.
Let the Lost Princes of the Young gather, shoulder to shoulder they alone may weather the Hate-Winter’s wrath.
Bright Hope’s flame still burns deep in the shadows of the Dead Land, too powerful to extinguish forever. Soul Beacon, the Horn of Kurnous will sound the call to war. They shall gather, let but some of their names be known.
The Revenant. The First-And-Ever Lords of War. The Lost Princes. The Wrathful Masters. The Reapers of Light. The Stolen Giant. The Prophet. The Last Avenger. The Entombed Ancient. The Oracle. The Blazing Rebel.
All these names and more shall stand ready as the Rhana Dandra dawns and the light of the Final Day casts her glow upon armour and weapon.


Maelstrom, life and death gather for war, old and young collide beneath the Red Moon. Origin revealed, too sour a taste to accept.
It matters not, what is, is.
Gods splintered reform in deed to counter the twilight. The children rise, menagerie gather in bitter winds of division’s death. Choice is murdered for all time, no longer sustainable in revealed irrelevance.
Diversity is power, the only power left unconsumed. Youth’s vigour an appetite insatiable above all else, desperation will rule the firmament. There can be no more old-thought. Every shadow will shift, writhe with hidden stirring. Life’s last breath must be deep.

Let them stand on the Final Shore as one, faces turned to the Tide. I have seen future’s zenith. I have seen crux and apex. Past, present and future united. Enmity is not survival. History rewritten at its very core, primeval puzzle complete.
One must tell the tale. Paths cannot be altered, only destinations revealed.
Unity. When the ash-wake clears, no more division, only Unity.
The Great Unity will prevail.

--Translation of ancient eldar tablet found on Cadia. Artefact thought to be the oldest example of eldar archaeology yet discovered.--
RISE OF THE TAU.


‘It is not the manifest destiny of man to rule, but to lead.’

Attributed to Pontifex Archabus Venn, executed heretic, 553.M39


PROLOGUE

+++Location…Leonosis System.+++
+++The Protea Wash.+++
+++Date…666.M42.+++

He opened his eyes slowly and a wave of nausea hit him like a wall. He dry-retched, his lungs burning, his body aching.
What in Guilliman’s name was happening here?

He sat up, feeling his every muscle burning, his every nerve screaming. His hearts hammered in his chest, shocked into a sudden flurry of hyperactivity. His head pounded, aching with a pain so sharp, so raw he could almost hear it.
Stasis-dulled, his senses fought to re-establish themselves. His eyes fought to cut through the grey fog swimming before them. His ears struggled to dispel the constant pounding of his own pulses…
Something was wrong.

He lifted his head, shuddering as muscles that had lain dormant for centuries protested. The light of the small chamber was already starting to grow brighter, the shapes about him sharpening, taking form. He turned his head and his newfound breath was stolen once more.

The empty eye sockets stared back lifelessly, two pools of shadow set into a face of mummified skin.
‘Artemon…’ He whispered, his ragged voice barely more than a dry croak.
Captain Artemon was dead. He had been for a long time.

He released the safety harness with shaking hands and pushed himself into an upright position, his atrophied muscles protesting painfully. Memories began to come flooding back, cutting through the thick viscous soup of his addled mind.
The Eldar. Guilliman’s Wrath. The loss…

He dispelled the memories of what had passed and glanced around the cramped hold of the escape pod, feeling his scarred face harden, his eyes narrowing as he looked upon the prone bodies of the command squad. Even here, safe from the predations of the insidious and despicable aliens, the loss had continued.

Captain Artemon had not been the only fatality here. Of the original ten survivors, five were now little more than ceramite-encased cadavers, sitting in darkened and long-dried pools of their own body matter.
He himself had led the Litany of Preservation as they had all entered the state of deanimation. How could it be that half of them were now dead? How could the process have failed so badly?
As Chaplain, it would be up to him to ensure the souls of these warriors joined the immortal Emperor. There would be time enough for this later. For now, he had to see which of his brothers still lived.

He made to stand, grateful of the enhancing influence of his artificer armour. Without the aid of its powerful servo motors he imagined he would find movement near impossible, given how wasted he felt.
The activation of the sus-an membrane was always a risky procedure, yet they had had little choice. The pod had no stasis capability and the Leonosis system was a veritable stellar wasteland, not far from the hub of the galaxy’s core. Given the strange phenomenon that occurred here and the desolation of the region itself, a rescue could take years.
None of us could have survived that long without sustenance, he told himself again, kneeling beside brother Laenar, the company’s Techmarine.
That was when the realisation hit.

He hauled himself up onto his feet, his vast form wavering. A Marine could not consciously revive himself from this state. Who had woken him?

Almost as if in answer to this question, the escape hatch of the pod rumbled open, gears squealing as it retracted. He spun on his heel even and tore his crozius from its belt holster, activating the ancient weapon’s power field with a swift flick of the thumb.

‘Ah, you are awake at last! Thrungi’s beard, I thought I’d never get it!’

He watched with amazement as something short and humanoid stepped through the open hatch, covered from head to toe in a filthy, oil-stained pressure suit. A mess of pipes spread out from the creature’s domed helmet, its clouded crimson visor glowing weakly beneath the pale light.
It stopped in the doorway and placed its fists on its hips, shaking its head as it did so.
‘You stalk-legs sure know how to sleep. Some of you a little too well by the looks of things.’

Chaplain Daelo Codian took a single laboured step forward, the head of the crozius out before him, the eyes of his skeletal helm glowing.
‘You dare to mock the honoured dead? I will…’
‘Ah, put that down.’ The squat creature snapped, waving his hand dismissively. He waddled further into the small chamber and removed his helmet, releasing the pressure seals with a hiss of escaping steam. A shock of bright hair spilled from the helmet, matted and twisted by years of grime.
‘Besides, Astarte or no, in your condition I would have you on your arse in the blink of an eye.’

He lowered his hand as he looked upon the face of the alien for the first time. A single eye stared back, glowing with all the intensity of the pulsing augmetic opposing it. Surprisingly human features met his gaze and he found himself almost too stunned to speak.
‘What…what are you?’

The creature gave a gruff laugh and shook his head, the long orange braids of his beard and scalp lock sweeping his barrelled chest and shoulders.
‘What am I? I am your salvation, Imperial. You should thank the ancestors that it was I and not the Nicassar who found you floating out there amongst the crud of the Wash. You owe your life to me.’

With that the flame-haired humanoid shuffled over to where the Techmarine lay and began to mutter quiet but guttural obscenities under his breath, his stubby hands finding the long cables snaking into the faded leather headrest of the chair.
Codian simply looked on in astonishment, his clouded mind reeling. The small man glanced up from his labours a moment later, emitting a long, frustrated sigh.
‘If you can do anything then I suggest you try. I have no idea how I managed to wake you. I am having little success with the others.’
‘I can wake them.’ He answered, the weapon in his hand deactivating with a decreasing whine. The small man smiled and nodded his head.
‘Good. The Imperials will pay well for five strong warriors.’

Codian stepped forward and knelt before the Marine once more, deactivating his crozius and placing back in its holster. He removed his helmet and took a deep breath. The air was bitter, recycled and stale. He could taste oil and rust.
‘Pay? What do you mean by that?’ He asked, placing a hand upon the warrior’s forehead. The small man simply gave a sharp, nasal laugh and shook his head.

The Chaplain leaned forward and began to whisper quietly, his eyes closing. He continued this for several minutes until the first noticeable breath passed the Marine’s lips.
The bewildered being behind him raised his eyebrows and huffed beneath his breath.
‘So that’s how you do it? You talk to them. Bloody marvellous!’ He exclaimed, shaking his head once more.

Codian made to rise and stepped back as the warrior began to stir, in order to give him space enough to take in his surroundings. He knew only too well that even the most level-minded Marine could struggle to adjust to reanimation.
‘Very wise.’ His new companion observed, folding his short arms across his chest. ‘I see you have done this before.’

He exhaled slowly and turned to look at the creature, finding his tolerance levels slowly receding. The alien met his gaze without fear or apprehension, his augmetic eye twinkling.
‘I have.’ He answered. ‘And I am grateful for your assistance in rescuing us. Now, I will awaken each of the survivors and then you will take us back to Imperial space. I will ensure that you enter and leave unharmed.’

The small man sniggered as he heard this, emitting a sound not unlike the choking of some mange-ridden canine.
‘I see.’ He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. ‘That is…very kind of you. And of course, you can ensure that we actually reach Imperial space unharmed, I take it? You know each and every safe back route and blockade gap from here to your system, yes? I suppose you are renowned experts in evading the Unity.’

Codian frowned and shook his head, turning to face the stirring Techmarine once more. Perhaps it was the effects of the reanimation, but the creature seemed to be making no sense at all.
Slowly, eyes drifting open, the warrior began to rise.

‘Brother Laenar.’ The Chaplain uttered, bowing his head as the crimson-armoured soldier rose. Laenar blinked and glanced about him, his eyes wide with the effort of use.
‘What…what happened to us? The fleet..?’
‘The fleet is gone, Laenar. Our brothers must have thought us lost. We were picked up by this…’
He turned and presented the short individual behind him.
‘Thurgus Grungi. My name is Thurgus Grungi, Imperial.’

Laenar’s eyes narrowed as he looked upon their saviour, a snarl of contempt curling his scarred lip.
‘Demiurg.’

Codian threw himself around and bunched his fists, anger flaring in his eyes. Grungi remained steadfast, his arms still folded. Despite the palpable anger of the huge warrior he never even flinched.
‘That’s right. You seem rattled, Imperial. I would suggest rest, but then again I would say that you have had more than enough of that.’
‘Hold your tongue, xenos! If you thin…’
‘Ah, get over yourself, Imperial. You should count yourselves lucky to be in my presence. If I hadn’t found you here then you could have drifted back into the warp and been lost for an eternity.’

Laenar was on his feet and standing beside the Chaplain, the same expression of revulsion written across his face.
‘Where are we, Demiurg? Are we still in the Ultramar system?’
Grungi’s smile seemed to fade slightly. He glanced between the two soldiers, a look of unsure bemusement creeping across his ruddy features.
‘Gods, no. Not even nearly, and I very much doubt that you’d be alive if you were. This is the Galactic Hub, Imperials. The Wash has carried you a long way from home.’

The silence he was met with spoke volumes. Codian and Laenar simply stared back, their expressions unchanging.
‘The Protea Wash.’ He continued, spreading his arms. ‘One of the largest and most stable warp drifts in the galaxy. Whatever its scoops up it carries here eventually. I have scavenged these tides for many years. I have to say though, this is the first time the wash has ever given up the living.’

Codian exhaled and turned to look at Laenar. By now his mind was beginning to clear and had begun to process the information he had gleaned so far.
‘You said that the Imperium would pay well for our return. What did you mean by that?’
‘Exactly what I said. How else do you think I make my living now? I am the only Demiurg who knows of this place. Well, the only one left alive. I have been collecting Imperial salvage now for many years. The Wash is by far the best source for this. Even the Tau don’t much bother with the Hub.’
‘And why would they?’ Laenar continued. ‘You make little sense, alien. Speaking of which, how is it that you claim to ‘trade’ with the Imperium. Don’t your kind serve the Tau?’

Grungi froze, a look of utter disbelief sliding over his face. His skin seemed to take on a bright crimson glow all at once, as if he had been slapped.
‘Imperial, I will ignore that comment but once, given your current state. Say that again and I will peel you from your armour and liquefy you.
Let me make something clear. If this had been a Tau vessel I would have dragged it on board and murdered you all without thought. I hate Tau. To hunt and slay them is my life’s work.’
‘But you are Demiurg.’ Laenar continued, unsatisfied and unafraid of the alien’s threats. ‘I thought the Demiurg were part of the Tau empire.’
‘Gods, Imperial! Has the space sickness taken your mind? Don’t tell me you have been drifting through the warp for the last five centuries!’
‘Six and a half.’

Grungi fell silent. Codian turned slowly as he heard this to find Laenar standing quietly, his face deathly pale. He continued to stare at the dust-laden deck, his augmetic eye pulsing rhythmically.
‘666.M42. That is the date as specified by my internal chronometer. There is no malfunction, Chaplain. We have been lost for six and a half centuries.’

‘Ah.’ Grungi uttered, scratching his head. ‘Then perhaps it would be better if you returned to the warp. You would be safer there. This galaxy belongs to the Tau.’

PART ONE.

‘Ridiculous!’
Grungi shrugged.
‘I agree. It is, however, the truth. Those treacherous grey-skinned parasites all but run this galaxy now, and no one seems to be doing a great deal about it.
As more and more empires fall to their knees before the damned Tau the hope of ultimate victory against them diminishes. Much has changed here in the time you have slumbered.’
‘And what of the Imperium? The warriors of the Emperor would never bow down to the Tau.’ Codian asked, his eyes wide with troubled anticipation.
‘Your Imperium survives still, human. It would seem that your Emperor does not wish hand over his rule just yet. Be warned though, the realms of man are not what they once were.’

Codian opened his mouth in order to continue the conversation when a loud squeal began to echo through the space beyond the hatch, causing the compact alien to sigh and roll his eye. He turned to leave, muttering under his breath as he did so.
‘Wait. We must learn more.’
‘Then you will have to follow me, Imperial. Some things are more important than answering questions.’
‘Go.’ Laenar uttered. ‘I will tend to the others.’
The Chaplain nodded his head and turned to follow the departing figure, sweeping his black cloak aside.

+++

Each ceramite-weighted footfall echoed through the endless spaces about him. The deck beneath his feet hummed with the deep rumble of the ship’s mighty engines, a dull resonance that seemed to perpetuate endlessly.
Pipes and conduits snaked from the floors and the walls wherever he looked, some rusting away, others slick with glistening grime.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Ah, questions! More damned questions!’ Grungi answered, throwing his hands in the air. ‘it is about time that I asked some questions of my own.’
He lifted his head to look upon the warrior.
‘You have yet to introduce yourself, marine.’
‘My name is Codian. I am an Ultramarine Chaplain.’ He answered sullenly and after a lengthy pause. Such formality disquieted him, especially when in the presence of an alien.

‘Well Codian, it seems that something has come up. Don’t ask me what as I do not commune with the ancestors.
Now, I believe you have questions. Try to keep them short and to the point as I am not in the mood to be giving a sermon.’
‘Very well.’

He glanced down at the curious alien. Despite the fact that he towered over him, this Grungi seemed almost nonchalant to his presence. He found himself admiring the small creature’s spirit.
‘You say we are at the centre of the galaxy, brought here by the Wash. How did this happen?’
‘Hmm. Well, think of the Protea Wash as a strong current in the warp. From time to time it enters and exits realspace, sweeping up space debris as it goes.
The trick is to know when and where it spits the crud out, see? Think of the Wash as a shifting scrap pile. I have recovered many treasures in my years collecting salvage.’
‘And the Imperials pay you to do this?’
‘In a fashion. Imperials will pay for technologies and weaponry that can be restored for use against the Tau. War is a greedy thing, Codian. It consumes resources ravenously.’

His eyes narrowed as he heard this. He could not bring himself to imagine an Imperium that bartered with aliens, especially for its own property.

‘You say that the Tau hold dominion over this galaxy. I simply cannot accept that. The Imperium is simply too vast and powerful to allow that. There are many empires and races that would never have allowed such an expansion.’

Grungi sighed and shook his head, throwing him a sideways glance.
‘Grindel’s arse! The galaxy is in a state of total war, Marine. You either fight for the Tau or against them. Many of the most powerful races opposed the expansion of the Great Unity. All have so far failed.
Your Imperium is on its knees, the hands of the Tau around its throat. What remains of your once mighty fleets and vast armies are now clustered around the Segmentum Solar, fighting tooth and nail to defend your Emperor’s throne.’

Codian felt his chest tighten as he heard this. For the first time since he could remember, he felt an unfamiliar emotion stirring deep within his heart.
Fear.
‘What of Ultramar?’ He whispered, hardly able to bring himself to ask the question.

Grungi slowed a little, his single eye narrowing as he turned to face the towering Marine.
‘Hmm. Ultramar…was the last to fall.’ He answered after a lengthy pause. ‘Of all the outer systems of the Imperium, Ultramar fought the longest and the hardest. The Great Unity expended many, many lives conquering the Ultima Segmentum.
Your Calgar is a mighty warrior, Codian. He refused to bow to the Tau for centuries and it was only the impending advance upon Terra that saw him forced to abandon the system. He is an honourable and courageous warrior, and he holds a grudge well.’
‘Mighty Calgar still lives?’
‘As far as I am aware. I have heard tell that he wears the armour of the ancients now, as do those most celebrated amongst your kind. Even in death he refuses to die. His rancour does him credit.’

The duo turned a corner sharply, the sudden shift in direction throwing him off for a moment. He ducked his head as they passed beneath another doorway, the alien scaling of the craft far less than accommodating.

‘Your kind are hunted with the utmost vigour.’ The Demiurg continued, slamming his fist into the access panel beside him. The door next to it opened with a serpentine hiss and they passed through, never once slowing their pace. Codian found he had to almost bend double to enter the small room.

‘You and your brethren are a dying breed. The Tau deplore those who cannot be swayed to their cause. They hate your kind, Codian, and they wish for nothing more than to see you exterminated. As I remember, the Astarte homeworlds were sought out and cleansed, one by one. Your kind are few now, and yet they still fight the expansion of the Great Unity.’
‘Cleansed?’
‘Yes. As the Demiurg were. I am the last of my kind, at least as far as I know. I seek only a honourable death at the hands of the Tau.’

The two figures slowed as they approached a huge bank of augurs and screens, each one alive with activity. Grungi stepped forward, bathed in the light of the multitudinous screens.
‘Hmm. Perhaps I will find this death sooner than I had anticipated. I am about to alter our course, human. I will show you what it is you face here.’
Codian was about to ask what he meant by that when he found himself cut off by the mournful wail of an alarm system.
‘Gods! What is it now?’ The Demiurg snapped, glancing about him at the clustered screens.
‘Are we under attack?’
‘The holding bay.’ He answered, finishing his course alterations as fast as he was able to do so. ‘And I suggest we make haste.’

+++

Codian barrelled through the hatch to be met with a scene of utter horror. Epistolary Kreusus was awake and on his feet, roaring and screaming like a madman. His eyes were two shining balls of bright azure fire, his outstretched hands aflame with the same ethereal energies. Pulsing lightning arced around the hold of the small vessel, igniting systems and melting whatever it touched.
Laenar was on his back beneath the crazed Librarian, shaking like a terrified child as his augmetic systems shuddered and convulsed, sparks flashing across his prone form.
Apothecary Umbras and brother Berolinus were also awake now, fighting to bring down the flailing psyker and bring his rampage to a halt.

‘Kreusus! Brother, can you hear me?’
It was no good. His mind was gone, ravaged by the centuries of slumber. He ducked as a whickering flash of energy passed by overhead, missing him by inches.
He had seen it before. The risks associated with the activation of the sus-an membrane were great for psykers. Their bodies would shut down but sometimes their minds would not, and so they would be left to wander, awaiting the revival of their bodies.
Kreusus had been all but conscious for over six centuries, and what he had seen in the warp had driven him utterly insane.

He launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around the warrior’s legs, sending both of them crashing into the bulkhead. It was to do little good. He felt himself lifted up and hurled through the air by the Librarian’s superhuman strength, his body aflame with burning pain. Kreusus continued to roar and thrash, bellowing the same thing over and over again.
‘Lost! We are lost! We are lost! We are all l…’

He glanced up through the haze of pain to see Grungi standing beside him, his teeth bared.
‘It must be done, Codian. Your Ancestor Lord is beyond help.’

Before he could protest the Grungi stepped forward and something dark and heavy hit the deck. It was his own augmetic fist, thick chain rattling as it unfurled behind it. The Demiurg lifted the chain and began to twirl it around his head. Bright energies burst across its length and the fist became a thrumming, swirling ball of energy, casting a crimson hue over the small alien and the entire chamber of the small craft.

Codian looked on in horror as the alien bounded forward and took the Librarian’s head from his shoulders with a single blow, sending the extremity spinning away with a sickening thud. The body of Kreusus fell forward, bright energy pouring from its torn neck.
It was over in seconds

Codian felt his rage building inside him. He made to rise and his hand found his crozius, the winged skull atop it flaring with energy as it ignited. A blur of movement and a burst of energy saw the weapon knocked from his grasp to spin away across the hold, sparks raining through the air before his face.
‘Don’t be a fool! He was beyond help! The mind sickness had taken him!’

Berolinus and Umbras rose behind the squat killer, their fists bunched and their eyes glowing with hatred. Chest heaving, Codian shook his head slowly.
The Demiurg was right. He knew only too well that Kreusus could not have been saved. The insane Epistolary would have torn them all to pieces in his madness.
‘He…he could not have been helped.’ Umbras admitted, shaking his head. ‘Without the facilities of the Chapter to hand we would not have been able to help him.’

In the long moments of silence that followed, the entire ship seemed to lurch and sway around them, a long, resonating groan echoing through the vast spaces beyond. Laenar rose to his feet to stand beside the others as the lights of the small escape vessel began to flicker above them.
There was no mistaking it. the ship had altered its course.

‘Mourn your brother if you must. I know how you feel. The Tau have taken everything from me. They took my homeworld from me. They took my family and my Brotherhood. They took my crew of the Grudgebearer.’

The others watched in silence as the cooling fist retracted, the greased chain sinking back into his arm until the cooling fist locked into place once again.
‘They even took my hand. They betrayed the Demiurg and I vowed to give my life hunting them down and destroying them.’
He turned to Codian, the fingers of his weapon-hand flexing.
‘You can ask me a thousand questions and never be satisfied with the answers, human. Better that I show you what it is you face here. Let me show you what has become of the Tau. Who knows, we may even kill a few along the way.’
PART TWO.

Displacement.


‘This is distasteful.’ Berolinus snarled.
Codian had to agree. He glanced at the others and he could tell they were of the same mind.
‘We sully ourselves while ever we remain in the alien’s presence.’ Berolinus continued. ‘I say we kill it and take the ship as our own.’
‘And can you pilot such a ship?’
‘Perhaps Laenar could.’
All eyes turned to the Techmarine. The warrior shook his head slowly.
‘As far as I am able to tell, this is a Demiurg Stronghold ship. We may be the first humans ever to set foot on such a vessel. Demiurg technology has always been a mystery to the Adeptus Mechanicus. I am not even sure how he manages to pilot this vessel alone.’

Codian turned his attention away from the stars beyond the viewport and moved to join the others, sensing their collective discomfort.
‘Brothers, this is a necessary evil. It is our duty to return to the Imperium in its hour of need, and the only way we can do that is to allow this creature to carry us to the Imperial borders. We are Astartes and it is our duty to aid the Imperium we all swore an oath to serve. Duty must take precedence above all else.’
The others agreed bitterly.

‘Hmm. I’m not deaf.’
Grungi turned away from the vast control banks of the bridge, his augmetic eye twinkling. His mouth was curled into lopsided grin.
‘Your engineer is correct about the Grudgebearer. She’s a Stronghold class, the best in the galaxy. The ships of the Mont’ka Kor’vattra have hunted her for years without success. As for taking her as your own, there are quicker and more effective ways of committing suicide.’

Berolinus’s face flushed red with anger, the Demiurg’s challenge producing the desired effect. Codian sighed heavily and swept his cloak aside, striding across the grilled deck to join the unapologetic Grungi. He slowed as he approached, his eyes finding the vastness of the stars beyond the huge viewport for a moment.
‘You said that you would take us to Imperial territory, Demiurg.’
‘And I will, in time.’

Grungi continued to work the controls before him feverishly, and within moments the huge ship lurched as it began to slow. Several of the panels before him began to pulse and flash, suddenly alive with activity.
He depressed several runes and the bridge became bathed in a deep crimson glow, the thick bulkhead around them resonating with power.
‘What is happening?’
‘We are cloaked. The ship is now blind to Tau sensors.’

The Demiurg stepped back and turned to face the others, raising his hand toward the huge screen before him.
‘Come. See how your enemy hunt. If I have calculated our position correctly then we should have a fine view.’

There was a blinding emerald flash and the entire ship shook as something lit the stars beyond. Codian raised his hand and turned slowly as something impossibly huge and dark enveloped the screen, descending over the ship from above.
The huge horizontal crescent stretched across the stars as far as any of them could see, a shape so vast that he found himself unable to comprehend its dimensions. A multitude of lights blinked across its underside, illuminating the many inverted spires and needles encrusting its ancient surface.
‘Emperor’s oath! What is it?’

Laenar joined him by the screen, his scarred face slackening.
‘Omnissiah.’ He breathed. ‘A Necron vessel!’
‘A Cairn class Tombship, the biggest there is.’ Grungi announced, a malicious smile creeping across his face.
‘And she’s running for her life.’

Codian strode forward and pressed his hands against the thick glass, feeling the material shudder beneath the influence of the protective field. The immense vessel filled the vista beyond as far as he could see. It passed by overhead so close that the entire ship shook, the many illuminators above their heads winking and dimming.

Scores of smaller ships began to slide into view, flanking the mighty vessel like a swarm of insects. Some were ablaze, others listing or veering away, explosions tearing across their silver-grey flanks.
Sickly emerald lightning poured from the massed ships and out across the void behind them, a vast carpet of pulsating power.

The transfixed Chaplain visibly flinched as something cold and sharp passed through his head, a silent, resonating scream that seemed to scrape at the edges of his consciousness. A low murmur of displeasure passed through the group behind him as they too felt it, if only for a fleeting second.
‘The Nicassar.’ He heard Grungi snarl from somewhere behind him. ‘Damn it! We may have to leave here sooner than I had anticipated.’

Codian turned away from the screen and watched as the Demiurg became tense and agitated, his attention once more turned to the vast control banks of the ship.
‘What is it? I thought you said we were shielded from detection.’
‘Hnn. Not from the Nicassar, we aren’t. No one is. We have to leave now or they’ll bring the Mont’ka Kor’vattra down on our heads. Hold on.’

Codian and the others felt the huge ship list as it began to turn, the flare of its neoplasma warp core quaking the deck. The Chaplain glanced back through the screen, watching as the massive Tombship itself began to slow and turn, vast glowing particle energies flaring from its crescent prow.
That was the moment that would stay etched in his memory for the rest of his life.
That was the moment he caught his first glimpse of the Tau.

Something so incredibly vast that it cast a shadow over the ancient Tombship blotted out the light of the stars themselves as it moved into sight. The ship was easily twice the size of the Necron vessel; so huge it was impossible to even attempt to gauge its size. Immense lances of glowing white energy stabbed from her prow and speared the Tombship, punching holes through the shifting metal as it were made of the flimsiest paper.
More and more of the energy beams began to illuminate the scene, cutting swathes through the outclassed vessel and dissecting it with each blast. The stricken Tombship began to come apart before his eyes, huge sections of the gunmetal hull spinning away into the void, the cauterised segments glowing white-hot where the beams had parted them.
As the Demiurg ship began to turn out of sight of the battle he watched as glittering debris began to pour from the dying vessel and he realised at once what he was seeing.
Necrons. Necrons were spilling from the ship like rain.

Another piercing psychic scream shook his head and he cried out, his teeth bared. The others fell to their knees as the sound shook the ship, unable to withstand the searing pain of the assault. Only Grungi seemed fairly unshaken by the sudden and debilitating attack, and even then it was clear that he too was not immune to its effects.

Codian hauled himself to his feet and watched as a score of small, elegant ships seemed to materialise as if from nowhere, forming a growing, shimmering line as they appeared one after another. A second later the stars behind them seemed to stretch and blur…
And they were gone.

[snyggejygge]

A good story, a good story indeed, but hardly the best story ever written, not even the top 3 I´ve ever read (have you read any good books Narmo?)...

[Narmo Eressea]

Poor , poor khornate...

PART THREE.

Rogue Trader.

He left the escape boat behind him, tilting his head as he passed through the hatch. The others had decided to stay within the confines of the Imperial craft for the rest of the journey, the abundance of xenos technology surrounding them too much to bear.
As he left the haunting empty spaces of the vast cargo hangar he could still hear their sonorous voices, joined together in prayer. He felt guilt at his absence, for as the Chaplain it was his duty to be there above anyone else. On this occasion however, the welfare of his brothers had to take precedence.
Their hearts were heavy with regret. While they had slumbered the centuries away the Imperium had fallen to a tide of xenos filth.
They should have been there. They should have fought alongside their lost brethren.

The events of the past few hours still lay heavy in his mind and try as he might, he could not shake the feeling of disorientation. The things he had seen and experienced since his awakening were more than any loyal servant of the Imperium should ever have to bear. Demiurg, Necrons, Tau and Nicassar. The xenos races seemed to dominate this galaxy, an observation that positively filled him with dread. He could scarcely imagine no greater crime.

He passed into the wide bridge, the hiss of the opening door announcing his arrival, and stopped dead.
Two faces turned to greet him. Two pairs of eyes watched as he stalled in his advance, his head drawing back in surprise.
The Demiurg was not alone. Standing beside him was a man, a human male, tall and slender next to the alien’s squat form.
Most of the man’s long blonde hair was drawn back and tied behind his head, leaving the rest to drape over his shoulders either loose or in braids. He wore a flight suit of deep blue velvet, his thigh-length boots and oversized cuffs finished in dusted silver. A thick leather waistcoat hung from his shoulders, partially hiding the many straps and bandoliers that criss-crossed his chest. An ornate sabre hung from one hip, a curious golden firearm from the other.
‘Ah! Gammet’s moon, I still can’t believe it! Grungi, you old dog! Living Space Marines, vintage ones no less! What a find!’

‘Codian. You seem troubled.’ Grungi announced, his hands filthy with oil and unguents. He placed the strange tools he had been working with down on the floor and moved to meet with the Marine, wiping his hands down his bare chest as he did so. The man followed, his face a picture of awe and amusement.
‘I am. We all are. I need to know where you intend to take us, Demiurg. I need to know now.’
‘Hmm. I told you. We are heading for Imperial space. Do you doubt my word?’
‘Should we?’
Grungi snarled and headed back to the control banks once more, his fingers probing the multitude of indistinguishable levers and runes encrusting the many panels.

‘I think you’ve upset him.’ The man whispered, a smile creeping across his face. ‘He does tend to take insult very easily. I you had been anything other than an Astarte he may well have pulled your intestines out through your back passage.’

Codian lowered his face slowly towards that of the man, his massive armoured form casting a shadow over the wiry figure before him.
‘And who are you?’ He growled.
‘Morten Andrasi, Rogue Trader. Loyal servant of the Alliance Imperialis Solar. For the right price, of course.’
‘I see. You address a Chaplain of the Ultramarines, boy.’ He announced with a low, ominous voice. ‘I find your tone overly familiar, and I too take insult very easily.’
The smile faded and the colour drained from his face. He stepped back and bowed his head sharply as Codian straightened his shoulders once again, his expression never once altering.

Seconds later the air before them shimmered and distorted and a huge vertical stellar map thrummed into view, the hazy spiral of the galaxy instantly recognisable to the Ultramarine.

‘We are here.’ Andrasi announced, pointing towards the western end of the galactic hub. The western reaches of the former Ultima Segmentum.
We will round the Maelstrom to the north and slip through the Tau blockades north east of Catachan. We should make it through to the Segmentum Solar without too much trouble.’

Codian strode forward to stand before the holo-display. He raised his finger and stabbed it into the shimmering light, the image rippling and distorting where he touched it.
‘You say we are here. I understand that we are closer to Terra, but is it not possible to journey south east to Ultramar? We are Ultramarines and we have a duty to defend our realm. We wish to rejoin our Chapter.’

Andrasi and Grungi glanced at one another without exchanging a word, the looks on their faces alone enough to cause concern.
‘What is it?’
Grungi simply shook his head and turned his attention back to the repairs at hand. Andrasi stepped forward hesitantly, his hands clasped together.
‘Ah, that would not be a good idea. Grungi explained your ‘situation’ to me, though he is a creature of few words. It’s clear he hasn’t gone into the finer details on exactly what kind of state the Imperium is in now or you wouldn’t even be asking that.’

He glanced back towards the Demiurg who in turn was now lost amongst the inner workings of the controls, muttering softly to himself. He sighed and turned to face the Chaplain once more, his manner now clearly more respectful.
‘Good sir, the galaxy has always been a dangerous place. These days it is lethal. Grungi told me what happened with the Necrontyr Tombship so I know that you have seen for yourself first-hand just how powerful the Tau are.
The ships of the Mont’ka Kor’vattra are the largest and most powerful in the galaxy. The extinction fleets are able to scour entire systems upon passing. No single force in this galaxy stands a chance of facing them and finding victory.’
‘Ultramar, boy. All I want to know is what has happened to Ultramar.’

Andrasi sighed and lowered his gaze.
‘Please, brother Codian, walk with me to my ship. I have much to explain to you, none of it good.’

+++

Codian ascended the ramp of the cutter and entered the hold, the cold illuminators shining upon his smooth black armour.
Andrasi followed him and then moved off towards a small recess, taking a bottle of violet liquid in one hand and a delicate crystal flute glass in the other.
‘I assume you don’t consume alcohol?’ He asked, pouring himself a large measure.
Codian shook his head.
The Rogue Trader tipped his head and then moved to sit down, offering the chaplain a seat opposite him.
Codian frowned and then took the seat, the frame beneath groaning under his weight.
‘Answers, Rogue Trader.’

Andrasi nodded and leaned back against the rest, exhaling deeply. It was clear that he was reluctant to chance the Marine’s wrath. Codian could sense that he was not going to be pleased by what he was about to hear.
‘The Hellrunner may be small but she’s old, Chaplain. She was my father’s and his father before him. She has been out amongst these stars for a very long time.’

He took a long sip of the intoxicating beverage and then gestured towards the surrounding hold, an attempt to draw Codian’s attention to the many artefacts scattered about the space.
‘Like my father and my grandfather, I’ve always been somewhat of a historian. The past fascinates me. That is why I was so looking forward to meeting with you, honoured warrior. The glorious days of the Imperium are but a distant and captivating dream to me, a time when mankind ruled the stars unopposed. A time I can only imagine with fondness.’

He paused then, taking another long sip from the ornate glass, bearing his teeth as the burning liquid slid down his throat.
‘My alliance with Grungi goes back years, decades even. He is a good and honourable soul, alien or not. He saved me from the Tau…however, that is a story for another time. I know you seek answers, honoured warrior. I would consider it an honour to enlighten you.’
‘Then do so.’ Codian answered abruptly.
‘Tell me what you want to know.’ Andasi continued, spreading his fingers.
‘Everything.’ Came Codian’s reply, as abrupt and certain as any could be.
Andrasi sighed again.

‘There is a legend.’ He began, shifting his weight uncomfortably. ‘Of a time when the Tau were young. Some say they were naïve, that they wished to expand their borders through diplomacy and unity. I can’t imagine that.
It was a time when other, far older races fought over the domination of the galaxy. The empire of man stretched across the stars, unrivalled in power. A time of the ancient Eldar and the green-skinned Ork, when the vast swarms of the Tyranid consumed whole worlds and the foul servants of the Warp Gods spilled from the Eye.’

Codian listened in silence, his armoured hands clasped together. It was strange to listen to someone speak of the galaxy he knew this way. He was still coming to terms with the fact that it was all gone. He could not bring himself to imagine it any other way, yet he had seen with his own eyes just how powerful the Tau had become.

‘Somewhere along the line all that changed. No one knows for sure when and why it happened, but there are rumours.
The legend tells of a Fire warrior commander called O’Shovah and a dead world called Arthas-Moloch. Something he found there changed him. He did what no other Tau had ever done; he broke away from the influence of the Ethereals and founded his own enclave.’
‘I know of this ‘Farsight’.’ Codian interrupted, his lip curling with distaste. ‘The Ultramarines fought against him many times.’

Andrasi paused for a moment, a look of near-reverence passing over his face. He smiled and shook his head, clearly in awe of the ancient warrior.
‘To think you were alive when my great grandfather owned this ship. A free captain, he was known to trade with the Tau of the Farsight enclaves and he did so for many years.
One day, all trading ceased. Ships were turned away from Tau space without reason or explanation. It was rumoured by some that a great force of Tau led by the Ethereals of a planet named N’dras were moving to face the renegade commander, to call him to account for his dissidence.
Somewhere along the way, they found Arthas-Moloch. That’s where it all began.’
‘So what happened on Arthas-Moloch?’

Andrasi shrugged his shoulders, his eyes fixed upon the gleaming crystal in his hand.
‘No one knows. The Tau have never spoken of what they found there, and no free captain has ever dared investigate the planet.
All that is known is that whatever O’Shovah found there changed him. What it had to do with the rest of the Tau empire, and whether or not it was in part responsible for what happened to them, no one knows.
The Eldar were the first to figure out that something was wrong. They must have known how bad things were going to get because they didn’t even try to stop it. They just…left.’

Codian frowned and shifted his considerable weight, the seat beneath him protesting audibly once again. Andrasi saw this and smiled again, then closed his eyes for a fleeting moment.
‘The Eldar. The ancient and magnificent craftworlds of the Eldar haunt my dreams. They must have been a sight to behold. I remember my grandfather…’
The Chaplain’s stern gaze brought that particular story arc to a very abrupt end.

‘Anyway, they got out while they could. They headed out towards the Great Void and no one has ever heard of them since.
It was at this point that the Imperium sat up and began to take notice. New species began to emerge one after another, all flying the banner of the Tau empire. The Kroot, the Demiurg, the Nissacar and the Vespid were joined…’

Andrasi’s explanatory drone was cut suddenly and unceremoniously short as Codian’s fist came smashing down on the table, the blow shattering the antique wood into shards. The crystal decanter and glass both disappeared, consumed by the sudden explosion of fine timber.
The Rogue Trader brought his knees up to his face and sank into the crimson leather, emitting a short and somewhat pathetic yelp of surprise.

The Chaplain rose to his feet and blotted out the lights of the hold, his eyes glowing with unrestrained anger.
‘Enough!’ He roared, a brace of armoured fists the size of Andrasi’s head hovering maliciously close. ‘This is unacceptable! I have neither the time nor the luxury to sit here and listen as you drone incessantly on! I have no interest as to how the damned Tau came to conquer this galaxy! I want simple answers!’

The terrified free captain seemed to sink into his seat, his trembling hands raised up to his face.
‘Please, whatever you want to know I will tell you! Don’t kill me!’
‘Ultramar!’ Codian roared, punching his fist through the thick bulkhead above him. ‘Tell me what fate has befallen Ultramar or I will tear this ship apart with my hands!’
‘Ultramar has fallen!’ Andrasi all but squealed, leaping from the seat and out of harm’s way. ‘Warmaster Calgar defended the Ultima Segmentum for almost four hundred years before he was forced back to the Segmentum Solar! The region is lost!’

Codian withdrew his fist and lowered his gaze once more. His armoured chest heaved with each colossal breath, yet the almost bestial rage that burned within his eyes seemed to dull.
He stood and stared at the rogue trader for what seemed an age. Finally, he spoke again.
‘Fallen. Even Macragge?’
Andrasi nodded, too terrified to speak.
‘And the Ultramarines?’
‘I…I know little of the Astartes factions, honoured warrior. All I know is that the Warmaster holds sway over them all, no matter their former allegiance.
The Tau hunt them without mercy or hesitation because they fear them. They fear the Space Marines more than any other force in this galaxy. For four centuries they have led a determined campaign of extermination against the Astartes, cleansing homeworlds and hunting battle fleets wherever they could find them. All surviving Marines now fight under a single banner, the banner of Calgar, the banner of the Alliance Imperialis Solar.’
‘And what of Terra?’
‘The last bastion of the Imperium, lord. Every last remaining loyalist fights even as we speak to keep the Tau from taking the Segmentum Solar. The extinction fleets have encroached as far as the defences of Saturn. Some say it is a matter of months before Titan and her sisters are overrun.
Mars is already gone; she was lost almost a hundred years ago when the Great Unity first moved against the Segmentum Solar. They sent almost ten thousand Kroot Warspheres through the warp in an abortive attempt to capture her. The Priests of the Forge detonated her core rather than allow the Unity to capture her secrets.’

Codian backed away, his teeth still bared in anger despite his subtle change in mood.
‘Impossible.’ He growled, unable to take on board the man’s preposterous claims. ‘How can any race rise to such power in such a short space of time, especially the Tau.
The Tau are weak, they always have been. Their technology is all that has kept them alive this long. They barter and bargain, they entreat and reason. They conquer systems and races through promises of protection and equality. They do not have the stomach for all-out aggression.’
‘And yet all I tell you is true.’ Andrasi continued, shifting forward hesitantly.

The Rogue Trader took a deep, lingering breath and swept his long braids over his face, composing himself as best he could.
‘The Tau you knew are long gone, Marine. They have changed beyond all recognition into an empire of monsters and murderers, driven by an insatiable desire to conquer and enslave or else exterminate every living creature in this galaxy.’

He paused then, lowering his eyes for a moment as if contemplating his own words. Finally he found the Chaplain’s gaze once more.
‘Sound familiar?’

Codian sneered and turned away, unwilling to allow the Rogue Trader to see his reaction. He knew exactly what Andrasi was getting at by that remark. What troubled him was, for the first time since he could remember, he did not have an answer.
‘So, where are we headed to.’ He uttered, changing the subject as tactfully as a charging carnodon.
Andrasi smiled as he slumped down onto the faded leather of his captain’s chair and removed his gloves. He issued a short, sharp series of commands and the bridge crew about him began to set about their individual allotted tasks as one. Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the waiting Astarte.
‘Why, to the place we take all our Imperial salvage. Andrasi answered. ‘To the last bastion of the Mechanicus.’
He opened his hands before him as he spoke the last word, almost as if the Chaplain would already know the answer.
‘Ryza.’
PART FOUR.

A journey to Ryza, the Ork and the Demiurg.

‘Ryza.’ Laenar uttered, nodding his head slowly. ‘At long last, we may be getting somewhere.’
The others simply glanced his way and then turned away. It was clear than they failed to share the same enthusiasm for the infamous Forge World.

Codian didn’t particularly care whether or not their destination was a Mechanicus world. All he cared about was that they were soon to reach Imperial-held territory. All that mattered now was that they be re-established with the Imperium, and Ryza would provide this link.

‘We have been travelling for two days now. I am ready to tear this damned xenos ship apart with my bare hands.’ Berolinus snarled, glancing around him.
‘Actually, seeing as you are currently onboard the Hellrunner, this is a human ship.’ Andrasi interrupted, somewhat cautiously.
‘My ship, actually. I would be very grateful if you and your brethren would cease to threaten her structural integrity.’
The Ultramarine simply glared at Andrasi as though he were about to shove his head down into his bowel for even daring to address him.

The Rogue Trader swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
‘As I was saying, our best chance of slipping through the Tau blockade is to take my ship. The Grudgebearer is incredibly powerful but she’s about as subtle as a warp storm. The Hellrunner is small but she’s fast, faster than anything that’s chased her yet. Even if they manage to detect us they’ll never catch us.’
‘She’d better be fast, pirate.’ Berolinus growled. ‘This damned journey seems to be taking forever.’
‘Oh, she is. I told you, she’s a human vessel. She’s fully warp-capable and I have my own Navigator. We won’t be ‘skimming’ like the Grudgebearer. We will slip by the shift-nets once we reach the edges of the defences and then make the short jump to Ryza. It should be pretty painless.’

Codian watched as the Rogue Trader turned and began to head towards the door of the hold.
‘How long, Andrasi?’
The man slowed, their eyes meeting for a moment.
‘How long before we reach these defences?’
‘Did you not feel the bulkheads shift minutes ago, Chaplain? It would seem that we are already here.’

+++

The domed structures stretched across the twinkling void as far as the naked eye could see. Above and below them the countless automated detection drones hung suspended and in their millions, the silent sentries of the Segmentum Solar blockade.

The sleek black ship slid into the vacuum like a dart into water, giving off a single flare of thrust before shimmering briefly and sliding beneath the stars themselves.
Behind it, the hulking and desolate Stronghold ship bore witness to its departure, invisible to the sensors of the alien cordon, its captain no longer aboard.

‘Prandium’s ruin, look at that!’
Umbras pushed his hands against the cool glass of the viewport and stared out at the inconceivable spectacle. The others couldn’t help but share his reaction. The sheer volume and size of the massed Tau defences were nothing short of overwhelming.
‘Ah, don’t let any of that put you off.’ Andrasi smiled, leaning on the padded arm of his rather flamboyant captain’s chair.
‘These blockades were erected to stop battle fleets, not lone cutters. It’s how the Tau think, power is all, size matters and all that. They don’t even consider a ship this size to be worth acknowledging.
Their mistake.’

The Marines looked on through the deep red glow in silence as the Rogue Trader turned and nodded to his Astropath, the hunched figure swathed in dark brown robes by his side.
The psyker bowed his head and began to whisper beneath his breath, the low, incomprehensible words seeming to charge the air of the bridge with a cold, ozone tang.
‘We just have to make sure the Nicasscar aren’t lurking out there.’ Andrasi explained. ‘If they are and they catch our scent then we’re screwed. It’s just precaution.’

‘The Nicassar, why are they so feared?’ Umbras asked, turning away from the porthole. ‘The Nicassar were barely known to us in our time and yet you seem to fear them even more than the Tau.’
‘Trust me, the Nicassar are bad. They can boil your blood and drag your intestines out through your nose with a thought. Every single one of them is a near Alpha-level psyker. The Tau use them mainly to hunt down the renegade fleets still at large in the galaxy. No one can hide from the Nicassar.’

Codian sighed as he watched the seemingly endless structures speeding by, merging into one continuous ivory blur.
So much had changed since they had last looked upon these stars. Almost everyone he had known as a brother was gone, lost to the sands of time. He found himself unable to imagine Tau’s rise to power without feeling the anger well within his breast.
Every time he closed his eyes he could see his warrior brethren fighting to halt the xenogen tide. He could see the brave Ultramarines as they were told that they would have to abandon Ultramar, feel the despair in their hearts.
Warriors he should have fought alongside. Warriors that it had been his life’s duty to give spiritual guidance to.
He had failed.

‘Tell me of Ryza, Andrasi.’ Laenar asked, interrupting his silent lamentation. ‘How has she survived this war unscathed when this Great Unity you speak of has encroached so far into the Hallowed Segmentum?’
Upon hearing this the Rogue Trader smiled.
‘Ah, you are the student of the Machine God, my proud comrade. You tell me. Ryza has survived despite all else, though I wouldn’t exactly say unscathed.
As it was in the wars against the Orks, the call of war was once again answered by her sister worlds, Barac, Ulani and Dulma’lin. These worlds sacrificed themselves so as to provide Ryza with enough manpower to keep the Tau at bay.
Even now her hold is a precarious one. Without sufficient aid she will fall in time. A most…regrettable situation.’

As Laenar heard this he seemed to grow somewhat agitated, his mood darkening.
‘How precarious?’
Andrasi lifted his hand and tipped his head, the lights of the bridge shifting in hue again.
‘Let us continue this discussion in a moment. We are about to transfer.’

The lights shifted again as the entire ship seemed to blur around them for a second, a deep, resonating thrum accompanying the change. Every window surrounding the bridge became a blank grey wall as the warp shielding slid into place, completing the transition.
‘We’ve entered the warp.’ Andrasi announced, taking a deep breath. ‘We should reach Ryza soon. Dolos, send word of our arrival ahead.’

+++

Codian made to rise as he felt the ship shudder and change about him once again, tired of sitting and waiting for the journey to end. He had led the others in prayer for the last fourteen hours and now would normally be the time for honing his skills and his body in the Chapter training complex.
He still had centuries of atrophy to work off, despite the efforts of his own accelerated physique to recover from the long sleep. In truth, he found himself eager for war, his mind only too willing to goad his body on.

Andrasi glanced up from the readout display before him and saw his approach, his grim face illuminated by the glow of the screens before him.
‘You have finished your meditations, Chaplain?’
Codian nodded and moved to join him, his eyes finding the bank of screens spread out before him.
‘How long before we reach Ryza, captain?’

Andrasi seemed a little taken aback by this, and it was more than a few seconds before Codian realised why. He had actually addressed him as captain.
‘We are about to exit the warp.’ He answered matter-of-factly, his voice audibly strained.

The Chaplain nodded again and fell silent for a while, something clearly on his mind. It was as if the Rogue Trader’s suspicious mood had set him on edge.
‘You never answered Laenar’s question, Andrasi.’ He finally uttered. ‘Just how stable is the forge world?’

Andrasi shrugged his shoulders and turned away, his eyes narrowing.
‘Brother Chaplain, Ryza is a mighty world but she is stranded. The majority of the Tau fleets are amassed around Saturn, intent on breaking her defences.
After Mars the Tau seem understandably hesitant to aggressively attack Mechanicus worlds. They know only too well that when the Priests of the Forge decide that it’s time to cut their losses, they do so in spectacular fashion. They are unwilling to take the same risks that almost saw the Kroot driven to extinction by the loss of Mars.
Besides which, Ryza’s long-range orbital defences are legendary. The Tau are powerful but they are unwilling and can ill-afford to sacrifice their ships in the capture or destruction of a single world. The majority of the Great Unity’s naval might is currently engaged in pushing through to Terra and in truth, they simply can’t meet the expense of the inevitable losses they would sustain.
No, the only possible way to break Ryza would be with a massed infantry assault consisting of thousands of small, fast craft.’

Codian pondered this for a moment, considering the Rogue Trader’s words.
‘Is this possible? An invasion, I mean.’

Andrasi smiled weakly and swivelled in his chair, despressing a number of the small, glowing runes beside him.
‘Before I answer that, I must first ask you a question. Are you eager to face the enemies of your Imperium once more?’
Codian frowned as he heard this but tipped his head immediately, his immense chest seeming to expand even further.
‘I exist to destroy those who stand against the Emperor’s realm. It is the duty of each and every Space Marine to do so. Why do you ask?’

Andrasi rubbed his forehead and glanced at the others of his crew, the line of faces that met him equally as grim and anxious.
‘Such an invasion is more than possible. In fact, it would seem that it is already underway.’

Almost immediately following this statement the warp-shielding surrounding the bridge retracted to reveal the stars beyond.
It was only after several moments of silent, awe-struck observation that the gathered Marines realised they weren’t stars at all.
They were ships. Thousands upon thousands of ships. Ugly and angular, no two were the same.

‘By the codex…’ Umbras gasped, facing the others.
‘It has finally happened. I don’t believe it.’ Andrasi uttered, shaking his head slowly. ‘We have been waiting for this moment with bated breath for the last seven years and dreading its arrival every single one of those days.
The inhabitants of Sulairn. The only race within the Unity powerful and insane enough to even attempt such an attack.’

Every Marine face turned to the Rogue Trader as one. He stared back, the trademark smirk that seemed to have been fixed to the corners of his mouth faded and gone.
‘The Orks.’

+++

The sleek cutter shook as her engines were gunned to maximum, the space about her bright and burning. The guns of Ryza were now answering the massed Ork advance with extreme prejudice, huge columns of solid blinding lance-energy piercing the cold void.
Ships broke apart or were simply vaporised in their hundreds as each huge blast speared through the endless armada, and yet the shifting mass bore on, closing upon the vast gunmetal-grey ball with the passing of each second.

Illuminated by the glow of the consoles before him, Andrasi’s face was a mask of silent fear.
‘I’ve sent the signal. I’ve sent the signal…’ Was all he could say, over and over again.
‘This is madness! We’ll never survive!’ Laenar hollered, his armoured fingers closed tight around the arms of the descent seat. ‘We haven’t a prayer of making it!’
‘Then we’ll die a glorious death!’ Grungi roared by his side, his single eye wide and wild with anticipation.
‘All I know is that I’ll swim through the bloody void myself and make landfall if I have to! There are Greyskins to be slayed and by Thor’s steel arse I’ll die beneath a pile of Ork corpses a thousand high or I’ll live forever!’

The cutter shuddered again, causing alarm systems to open up across the bridge. The pilot screamed curses as he wrenched the controls in all directions, fighting to keep the ship out of harm’s way.

Codian sat in silence, the cold eyes of his skull-helm reflecting each and every explosion and blast. His bolt pistol and his crozius sat in wait on his lap, ready to strike down the alien enemies of the Imperium.
His pulses were steady, his mind calm and clear. His senses were ultra-alert, his muscles tensing and relaxing automatically.
It was time and he was ready. He was ready for war.

Andrasi had explained the fall and assimilation of the Orks as thoroughly and fully as he was able considering their circumstances.
The Orks, the largest and most powerful race of creatures in the galaxy of his time, were now part of the Great Unity. The Tau had managed to do what no other force or empire had ever been able to. They had conquered them.
The Ethereals had discovered how the Ork reproduced and in doing so they uncovered the key to their downfall.
They began to trail the great Waaaghs! that swept through the galaxy and seek out the worlds devastated in their wake, worlds ripe with the seed of the Ork. They had realised centuries ago that the Ork could never be persuaded or reasoned with, and so it was that they conspired to bring down the race from within.
Not even Andrasi knew every detail of how this came about, only that the Tau began to alter the genetic structure of the developing Orkoid creatures, adding elements of their own DNA into the gestating alien life forms.
What emerged from the dark recesses and shaded crevices were unnatural monstrosities similar and yet as far removed from their green-skinned kin as could be, creatures with all the strength and resilience of their feral cousins and yet completely and utterly subservient to the influence of the Ethereals.
The Tau realised almost at once exactly how these creatures would be best used, and so it was that they orchestrated a long and aggressive campaign of civil war, Ork against Ork, using the grey-skinned hybrids to first thin and then finally exterminate their kin.

It was this event that had triggered the dissention of the Demiurg. The Tau had long known of the long-standing hatred the Demiurg had of the Orks, for it was this hatred that had first persuaded the hub-dwelling race to join the Tau empire.
The same hatred that would see the Grungi and his kind all but exterminated.

Realising that the Demiurg would never accept the Orks as allies the Tau turned on their former comrades and wiped the race from the face of the galaxy. To them, the Demiurg homeworlds were worth more to them than the race itself. The environmental conditions associated with the vast underground strongholds proved to be ideal breeding of Orks. Within a matter of years the Demiurg homeworlds were transformed into the largest collective of breeding worlds in the galaxy.
For Grungi, the ultimate insult.
Codian felt he now understood the depths of Grungi’s suicidal madness. In truth, he too could feel the same gnawing hatred beginning to darken the edges of his soul.

‘It is time.’ He uttered to himself, his fingers tightening around the weapons resting before him. ‘To show the enemies of the Emperor how to fear once again.’
PART FIVE.

The Greyskins.

The Hellrunner shook as she touched down on the vast grilled landing expanse, descent engines roaring. High above the small ship the clustered defence guns tracked and fired, setting the smog-filled skies ablaze as they pummelled the following deluge of alien ships.

‘Gah! Just be thankful they knew we were coming!’ Andrasi hollered as he tumbled down the opening ramp, wreathed in the escaping steam.
Something huge and dark stomped through the mist behind him and out onto the metal surface, almost crushing him underfoot.

Codian landed on the deck with a resounding clang and turned his eyes towards the burning skies, watching as the darkening blanket of craft continued to descend towards them.
The Orks would be well met.

A burning ship screamed past the edges of the elevated platform and out of sight, fragments of hull spinning away as it fell. Another followed closely behind, thrusters flaring as it slowed. It touched down clumsily on huge, angular feet only to disappear seconds later amid a blinding plume of light and noise, the automated guns of the vast forge-hive as vigilant as they were unforgiving.

‘Head towards the cargo hangar! You have to get out of the open!’ Andrasi yelled, gesturing towards the vast doors across the space.
The rest of the Marines spread out as they left the ship, followed closely by the grinning Tauslayer.
‘And you?’ Codian asked the man, his crozius thrumming as it crackled to life in his fist.
‘I have a ship to protect, Chaplain. She’s the only thing that’ll get us off this rock once things get too hot.’
The two men stared at one another for a moment, the deafening noise of the conflict shaking the air surrounding them.
‘Don’t worry. We won’t be far away. Good luck.’

The Rogue Trader turned away and disappeared as the ramp retracted and the hatch curled shut, the ship already ascending on wings of gouting flame.
‘He will keep his word, human. He knows I will kill him otherwise.’ Grungi growled, a huge smile spreading across his face.
With that he turned to face the huge gaping maw of the vast gothic archway carved into the side of the towering hive. Codian eyed the massive cogged half-skull set into the top of the arch with a mixture of relief and unease.
‘I suggest we make haste that way if we are to meet with our Mechanicus allies. Ankarzoth won’t keep the door open forever.’

The small group of allies set off towards the hive entrance amid the multitude screams of the war-klaxons, sprinting no further than thirty feet or so before the first Ork ship set down.
Codian was angry. He was incensed, aflame with burning wrath. He wanted nothing more than to turn on his heel and wade into the xenos scum and yet he knew he could not. Every step forward was a link in the chain, a step closer to the Imperium he had lost.
It didn’t matter that the foul Orks were falling from the skies all around him. All that mattered now was that they survive to reach Terra and Calgar.
The lord of the Ultramarines had to know that he and his brothers had not abandoned the Chapter.

A small part of him found this notion ridiculous. Calgar would never think that, and yet he knew somewhere in the past centuries he and the others would have been recorded as lost in action.
‘We are not lost.’ He growled to himself, each mighty footfall shaking the thick grille underfoot. ‘We have returned.’

He reached the huge opening ahead of the others and passed beneath the vast archway, his progress tracked by the targeting beams of dozens of semi-sentient weapon turrets. The endless expanse beyond was dark and oppressive, the sensors of his helmet detecting the contaminants saturating the thick, oily atmosphere within.
***Halt.***

The single spoken word rumbled through the immense chasm like a peal of thunder, shaking the walls around him. He found his pace faltering,
The others reached him as something began to shift in the warm darkness beyond. Small red pinpricks of light began to blink and sway in the shadows, accompanied by the almost rhythmic hiss-whine of a multitude of servomotors.
The darkness itself boiled, shifting as it came alive. Huge shapes lurched forth, each one twice again as tall and vast as the Space Marines.
Warrior constructs, dozens upon dozens of them, began to fill the chamber all around them, artificial optics pulsing as they assessed the new arrivals. Power claws snapped ominously and loaders rattled as weapon mounts were armed.

Grungi stepped forward and thrust his hand up and out over his shoulder, presenting his companions.
‘Ankarzoth, you old bolt head! How’s this for Imperial salvage?’
With that the Demiurg nodded to Codian and the others as one of the constructs stomped forward, various scanning beams stabbing forth to pass over the Marines.
Codian eyed the metal beast warily as it towered over him, its multitudinous shining eyes assessing him.
***Explain.***

Another shape pushed forward from between the collected constructs, much shorter and swathed in black robes, each huge combat servitor moving aside as it passed.
‘I pulled them in from the Protea Wash. They had been adrift for centuries.’ Grungi explained. ‘They seek passage to Terra.’

The figure moved to join them, its augmetic eyes glowing in the dim light. It stood there for a moment, silent and rigid, and then spoke.
***Fascinating. I am Arch-Magos Ankarzoth, and I welcome to Ryza, Astartes. I only wish we could have been more accommodating, though as you have seen, we are currently in the midst of invasion.***

With that the Mechanicus priest moved past the others and made to stand before Laenar, the squirming of the mechadendrites around him intensifying.
***Forge-brother. It has been a long time since I last stood before one of your kind. It is an honour to meet one who has witnessed the glory of sacred Mars.
Cherish the memories of your time on the Sacred Orb, for she is lost to us now. You will find that the adepts of the Mechanicus now wear black in mourning for her loss.
I have a gift for you.***
Laenar simply frowned and then nodded as Ankarzoth gestured towards a small group of priests waiting in the distance, before leaving the enigmatic priest and his brethren without a word.
***Chaplain, Ryza will fall.*** Ankarzoth announced grimly. ***We may hold out against these invaders for weeks or even months, but she will fall in time. We are done but the Imperium may yet have a chance.***

Codian glanced behind him as the turrets surrounding the arch began to open up, a telltale sign that the enemy forces were moving ever closer.
‘What can we do, Magos?’
***We have developed a weapon that may help us in our fight against the Great Unity. The Tau know of it and rightly fear its potential power. That is why they have sent the Orks against us, they are an expendable breed.
They wish to goad us into using the Caesus against the Orks, to expend it needlessly against the Greyskin hordes of Sulairn, to waste it.
We cannot allow that. Many, many sacrifices have been made to reach this juncture. And now…this.***

The entire level seemed to shudder as something huge exploded out of sight, almost as if to highlight the Tech-priest’s gesture. The all-encompassing alarms intensified, shaking the charged air with their collective screams. The huge Praetorian battle servitors surrounding the Magos shifted as one, weapons systems powering up.
***They have landed.*** Ankarzoth uttered.

Codian watched as Grungi spun on his heel, his metal fist falling to the floor with a rattling clang.
‘Ooooooorks!’ He screamed, his ruddy features shaking with uncontrollable rage. There followed a brief thrum of energy and a flash of swirling light and he was gone.

The others turned to the Chaplain in silent anticipation and he realised that they were waiting for his word, the word to follow.
***It is your choice, Chaplain.*** Ankarzoth said, pulling the thick hood from over his head to reveal a bloodless face, the few scraps of atrophied skin still visible a dead, pallid grey.
***You can follow the Demiurg if you so wish. You were engineered to answer the call of war.
Your Techmarine comrade is being briefed as we speak and I already know that he has accepted the responsibility of this vital task. He will carry the Caesus to Terra and deliver it to the Warmaster.
If you wish to accompany him I understand. If you wish to stay and die a glorious death then I respect that.
Either way, it has been an honour to meet with a true ancient, Chaplain. You have my word that the fall of Ryza will become legend.***

He stepped back as the largest of the constructs stomped forward and loomed over the robed figure. There followed a brief whine as the Magos’s entire head detached and then rose amid a hiss of steam, a multitude of small grasping arms emerging from the servitor to retrieve the appendage.
It lifted the head and slotted it securely between its vast armoured shoulders before locking it in place.
Ankarzoth’s face stared down upon him as the mighty machine began to unfurl power claws and gun mounts, its hulking frame alive with the activity of transformation.
***Survive this and bring the Unity to its knees. Show them what the Imperium is truly capable of.***

With that the man/machine amalgamation lurched forward and out towards the enemy hordes, his army of servitors in tow.
Codian watched him leave, Berolinus and Umbras by his side.
‘What now?’ Umbras asked. Berolinus simply stood in silence, his fingers tight around the hilt of his chainsword, his armoured body leaning towards the sounds of conflict.
‘Now we take the fight to the enemy.’

As one, the three warriors charged.

PART SIX.

In His Name.

The entire platform shook beneath his feet as he charged out into the night, his brothers at his side. The skies above and around their elevated position were aflame, burning with the light of hundreds upon hundreds of Ork vessels.

It was clear what Ankarzoth had asked of him. This fight was not about victory or honour. It was not a conflict of defence; it was a fight for time. Each moment that passed as they held the attackers at bay was a moment closer to seeing Laenar prepared.
It was also clear that Ankarzoth was prepared to entrust only the Techmarine with this ‘Caesus’, whatever that was. In truth, he cared little what the weapon was or how it worked. All he knew was that he and his brothers had to get it to Calgar on Terra, and this was enough.
He would not fail.

Bright and burning tracer fire zipped across the expanse as the two forces engaged, the smog-filled air charged and alive.
Codian ducked and shifted to the right as bright blue energy pulses stitched past him, blackening the thick floor beside his feet. He glanced up ahead to see the vast tide of irregular Praetorian battle servitors pouring into the rapidly filling space at the edges of the expanse, weapon-mounts shuddering, servo-limbs flailing.
Many of the crude landing craft found themselves upturned and hauled over the side to spin away into the night as the charging mass slammed into them. Others were assailed by the towering creations; hatches and doors were swiftly sealed by plasma torches leaving the creatures within trapped and helpless. Others still were simply torn apart amid a flurry of roaring limbs.

He veered sharply to the left as another lumbering xenos craft came down hard on the platform beside him. Sparks showered his armour as the ship skidded awkwardly past, its thick hull punished by the tracking defence guns.
‘Forward brothers, on to glory!’ He hollered, leaping over the scattered wreckage left behind and into the fray, heading toward the listing disembarkation hatch.

He lifted his bolt pistol and unleashed a storm of fire into the retracting iris before him, watching as the hulking shadows within fell back amid roars of pained anger. Several of the Mechanicus constructs lurched past, some alive with aggressive intent, others burning and breaking apart, flesh and augmetics melting as one.
He ducked beneath the legs of one of the automatons and fired the pistol again, each explosion illuminating the writhing figures inside for a fleeting second.
‘Into them!’ He roared, driving forward. ‘Into the scum!’

His crimson cape swirled around him as he ascended the ramp, his crozius flashing from left to right. A wall of hulking grey flesh met him, roaring and swaying in the cramped confines of the hold. Thick blades flashed towards him and he parried them with one mighty thrust, sending molten metal spraying across the walls.
That was when he saw the Orks for the first time; or rather saw what had become of them.

They were huge grey-skinned monstrosities, similar and yet far-removed from the Orks he had known and hated. Black eyes regarded him with hatred, jagged ridges of jutting tooth-cartilage bared maliciously his way.
Those creatures not sporting crude helmets displayed smooth heads devoid of ears, a single ebony scalplock swinging by their cheek. Segmented Tau armour plate rattled and grated as they advanced, dented and crud-encrusted and yet instantly recognisable for what it was.
The Orks as he had known them were base, detestable monsters. These creatures were abominations.

‘For da Greata Good!’ One of the beasts roared with a voice that shook the close bulkheads of the hold. He turned in time to watch as something vast bludgeoned its way through the others of its kind, a mass of scarred grey flesh and oily armour plates sweeping everything else aside. Two black orbs glistened as they found him standing in wait, the weapon in his hand pulsing ominously.
A challenge.

The bull Ork thundered across the space to meet with the Marine, its armoured shoulders throwing off sparks as they caught the walls either side of it. The mighty axe in its hand thrummed and pulsed, blue energies flashing across its pitted surface.

Codian strode forward and met the beast head-on, the two shimmering weapons meeting with a resounding ring and a flash of sparks. The debased creature kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, almost as if it had been brainwashed, all the while trying its best to hack or bludgeon the Chaplain to death.
He did not care. He didn’t give a damn if the Tau had corrupted every single Ork left in the galaxy. He would still send each and every one of them to hell himself if need be and he would start with this piece of hulking filth.

The Ork threw itself forward and cried out as it found itself thrown up and over the Marine, its own bulk working against it. Codian spun on his heel and hammered the leering winged skull down into the creature’s face, parting xenos bone and flesh as if it were paper.
‘For the Emperor and Guilliman!’ He roared, tearing the weapon free of its flesh cage.

More Orks were pouring from the confines of the craft, shouting and hollering. Most if not all of them carried a firearm, though not a single shot was fired. It was clear these creatures were caught up in a state of collective, insane frenzy.
He thrust his bolt pistol out before him and emptied his clip into the charging monsters, watching with satisfaction as they fell, one after another, heads and torsos shattered by the powerful rounds. The others did the same, bolt rounds thundering mercilessly into the grey mass, punching huge, ragged holes through flesh and muscle.
He turned on his heel and plucked a brace of frag grenades from his belt, casting them into the groaning mess beyond.
‘Get back!’ He hollered, pushing the other warriors out of the craft. With that he thundered back down the ramp and out onto the expanse as the explosions thundered within, just in time to see the vast stretch of rockcrete and metal begin to flood with thousands upon thousands of roaring, charging Orks.
A wall of lumbering servitors, Skitarii and Guardsmen were pouring from the many access points and bays across the wall of the hive to meet with them, a scene mirrored a thousand or more times over across the length of the vast hive city.
He saw this and knew at once, there and then, that Ryza was lost.

‘Options, Chaplain?’
He turned to see the two Marines standing behind him, their eyes fixed upon the sprawling combat. Both were breathing heavily, suffering for their multi-centurial inactivity.
‘We can’t win this, can we?’ Umbras asked, his white armour slick with alien blood.
‘Then we die here!’ Berolinus roared, reloading his bolter. ‘We die a glorious death, an Ultramarine death.’

Light, bright and searing flashed before his eyes. He turned on his heel, assessing his surroundings. It was almost two seconds before he realised that he recognised the phenomenon.
He had been hit.
‘So be it.’ He uttered, feeling a short pang of pain in his side, seconds before the glanded pain-suppressants kicked in.
He knew then with certainty that they would die here, the realisation washing over him with a damning finality. They were as nothing in the face of such numbers. Three Marines, no matter how powerful, hadn’t the slightest chance of winning this battle.

He turned and watched as something huge and imposing thundered out onto the plateau, its huge grey girth filling his vision.
It was an Ork, larger than any other he had ever seen. So large in fact that at first, he thought the creature to be a Dreadnought of some kind.
‘Be’Gel’O! Be’Gel’O! Be’Gel’O!’ The horde began to chant, the sound so powerful and thunderous that each word shook the floor underfoot. The creature looked like some kind of amalgamation of Tau Battlesuit and Ork
‘Guilliman’s oath! What is that thing?’ He heard Umbras utter.
‘That…’ The Demiurg growled from behind them, ‘…is O’Mogdrak.’
PART SEVEN

O’Mogdrak.


The massive creature advanced like a living maelstrom, a hail of pulse fire preceding him. Codian looked on in shocked silence as the armoured Ork strode through the combat as if invincible, scattering all before him.
More and more Orks were landing all around them now, saturating the vista with their sheer, unopposed numbers. Huge Ork Dreadnoughts fell like rain from the skies and down towards the expanse on wings of fire, jet pack thrusters flaring behind him.
Alien landing craft began to slow and hover, unable to find the space to alight. Ork warriors leapt from the waiting ships in their hundreds, too impatient to wait.

‘Ryza is doomed. We…we cannot win.’
Codian turned to the others as he said this, expecting some form of disagreement or protest. They simply stared back, the inexpressive features of their helmets unable to disguise their heavy, shameful silence.
They knew he was right.

‘O’Mogdrak.’ Grungi uttered again, this time much louder and angered. His face tightened and he sprang forward, his eyes wild and burning with hatred.
+++Chap—lzzl—etreat---+++

He flinched, the sudden activation of his vox receiver unexpected. Umbras and Berolinus had also received the sudden burst, this much apparent by their reactions.
+++Zxxzplain. Ankzzzkkzth---+++

The warring mass seemed to shift as a sea of metal burst from the carnage to surround the Ork Warboss. Stomping combat servitors smashed their way through the milling Orks to meet with the beast, Ankarzoth at their head.
+++Lzzzkeave, Chaplain---Leave whzzkzle you stil can---+++
That was when the abomination spoke.

‘I is Be’Gel’O Sulairn Mont’ka Mogdrak!’ He roared, spreading his arms wide. ‘I is da profit of da Greata Good! I is gunna bring dis Oomie world to its knees in da name ov da Unity! Oo’s wiv me?’
A huge roar of confirmation rose up from the Ork mass, so loud that it caused the very air to shudder. Codian felt a sudden and unexplainable wave of nausea pass through him, an almost physical force.
The Waaagh!

He swayed slightly, feeling a hand rest upon his shoulder. He turned to see Umbras standing there, pointing to the skies above and behind him.

The Hellrunner hovered above, casting her shadow over the Marines. He looked up to see a figure hanging from the open hatch, long blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
+++Chaplain, it’s Andrasi here! Your colleague is ready to leave! If you are coming then we must leave now, otherwise we’ll never break orbit!+++

He turned away and looked out at the swirling combat once again, watching as the huge creature began to tear the Magos apart.
Ryza was lost. The words echoed through his mind again and again. Another Imperial world fallen to the foul xenos. Another nail in the Imperium’s coffin. The Orks had barely landed and it was nothing short of obvious that the forge world was lost.

+++Hurry, chaplain!+++ He heard the Rogue Trader call in his ear, the concern in his voice rising steadily.
+++Ryza doesn’t stand a chance! She never did! The Techmarine has the Caesus! We have to retreat!+++
‘We…we can’t.’ He uttered, the features hidden beneath the skull-helm tightening. ‘We can’t abandon the entire surviving populations of three worlds to their fate.’
Andrasi’s reply came back harsher now, his vox-altered voice firmer, more determined.
+++We can and we will. We can’t save them, Chaplain. Stay if you must, we will be leaving this planet.
You have to decide.+++

With that Codian turned towards the scene and watched as the Demiurg hurtled headlong towards his own certain death, exultant and unafraid.
A Chaplain’s holy task was to lead by example, to inspire those around him. To instil a sense of hope and resolve when all else seemed lost.
He knew what he had to do.

The brute’s black eyes glistened as he turned his vast head to see the small shape hurtling towards him. He smiled, exposing the cruel, jagged edges of his cartilage-tusks.
‘Ahhhhh, Demiurg. My favrit flava ov enemy.’
The Orks around him began to advance eagerly, energy-sheathed choppa blades flashing in the gloom.
‘Get back, ya filthy squig-bovverers! I’ll smash anyone oo tries ta muscle in on my kill!’ He roared, accenting the command with a wide, sweeping lunge.
The surrounding Orks quailed before the giant’s anger, their reaction a immediate and physical one. The huge Warboss threw a few malevolent glances about him before turning his attention back towards the advancing Tauslayer once again, the huge blades of his twin choppas flaring.
‘Dis one’s mine.’

Grungi was screaming, literally screaming with rage and unfettered anger. His augmetic eye burned empathically, so bright that it left a glowing red streak in his wake. The Demiurg had torn his flight suit off and was bare at the chest, his tattooed torso a bright, glowing red, almost as if the blood boiled in his veins.
‘O’Mogdraaaak! Killer! Murderous animal, fit for nothing but extermination! I will take your head in vengeance! I will avenge the Strongholds you sacked! I will avenge the Leagues you wiped out! I will…’

The rest of Grungi’s rant was drowned out as the two forces met, a maelstrom of blurred activity. The Ork lunged forward, both huge weapons slamming deep into the floor. Grungi leapt up into the air and into a rolling spin, the flashing weapon-fist swirling around and about him.
The Demiurg was fast, far faster than any creature of his squat size and robust build ought to be. The huge Ork shifted like a mountain to engage the small spinning shape, roaring and thrashing as he attempted to connect.
‘Da Greata Good! Noffing can stand in da way ov da Unity! I wiped da fleshballs from da face ov dis galaxy an’ I will do da same to you!’

Grungi’s spinning fist slammed into the monster again and again, smashing armour from its fastenings with each blow. This continued until the huge monstrosity finally parried one of the Demiurg’s blows and followed with an unstoppable thrust with his other axe…
Grungi was gone.

The Demiurg gasped as he felt a powerful hand close around his neck and haul him back, throwing him bodily away from the fight.
Codian thundered into the Ork like a storm front, shouting and bellowing for all he was worth, his amplified voice shaking the ground underfoot. A single blow with the crozius sent the Ork reeling back, sparks coruscating from his chest armour.
‘Wot da..?’
‘In the name of the Emperor Dominant, I challenge you, monster! In the name of the Golden Throne of the Eternal Warrior I defy you!’ He roared, spreading his arms out wide in challenge.
‘Face me! Face me if you dare!’

The Ork stared back for a moment, mystified, his cold black eyes wide with shock. It was clear he had never been challenged this way before.
‘Oo are you? Wot are you?’ Mogdrak spat, shifting his posture. ‘Wot we got ‘ere? You s’posed ta be sum kinda Marine, skull-face?’
‘I am a Chaplain of the Ultramarines, alien scum. Remember that fact. Tell the filth that follow you. Tell the degenerate alien scum you serve. I am Codian, and I am the Harbinger of your apocalypse. I vow this by all that I am.’

Codian sprinted forward and emptied his bolt pistol into the Ork’s chest, the screaming shells exploding across the wide expanse. Even as the Warboss staggered back he leapt high into the air and smashed the crozius into the flailing behemoth, splitting the armour in two with a single blow.

O’Mogdrak slammed into the ground, sparks showering from beneath him. Codian threw himself onto the creature’s chest and smashed his flailing limbs aside, unstoppable and without quarter. He lowered his face towards that of his enemy, so close that the smooth features of the skull were almost touching the monster’s grey, scarred skin.
‘Tell them.’ The Chaplain growled. ‘Tell them that I am coming for them. Warn them that their doom hunts for them. Tell your Ethereal masters that I am a messenger of the Immortal Emperor, that I am His Wrath, His anger given form.
I will not be stopped. I will not falter. I will hunt them one by one and slay them like animals. I am coming for them. I will let you live for now, alien. Live with the shame of your defeat, you weak, feeble piece of filth.
Remember.’

O’Mogdrak screamed his rage long into the burning night. He looked on helplessly as the armoured warrior and the struggling fleshball were lifted into the belly of the hovering ship, his anger at being denied retribution a searing, living force.
He would remember.

He would remember.

BOOK ONE, PART TWO: JOURNEY TO TERRA.

[Narmo Eressea]

Will put tomorrow. It is simply amazing

[SlayerofSigmar]

that was kool!!!

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Eight.

At The gates…


+++SCILLUBUS BINARY, TERRAFORMED GARDEN WORLD+++
+++SEGMENTUM SOLAR+++
+++TWO WEEKS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF RYZA+++


The Grey morning skies of Scillubus Binary burned. The ancient stone labyrinth-city of Jehesta stretched for miles in every direction, the clouds of rubble-dust drifting like fog through the vast archways and towering, vine-encrusted villas.
Guard scurried through the broken buildings like vermin, shuddering beneath each relentless bombardment. Vast columns of armour flooded the broken flagged highways, pushing forward en-masse, guns thundering and smoking.
Scillubus had once been a jewel. Now she was a ruin.

Marneus Augustus Calgar, Supreme Grand Master of the Alliance Imperialis Solar looked out at the ruination about him and felt his ancient soul ache. Like Prandium before her, Scillubus was lost to the scourge of the xenos.
‘My lord?’

He turned to see Ancient Ventris kneeling behind him, arms folded around the gilded pole of the almost prehistoric standard. Standing by the genuflecting Marine was Lord Inquisitor Arthas, his campaign tactician. Side by side, the aging Ordo Xenos lord stood shoulder to shoulder with the kneeling warrior.

Ventris’s eyes were hooded and grey. His thin white hair and scarred, lined face showed his age now more than ever. There were some that claimed an Astarte never physically aged. Anyone who looked upon Ventris would contest that theory. When he spoke, his once sonorous voice wavered.
‘Prometheus descends in its entirety upon this world. We cannot hold the Unity at bay.’

Calgar said nothing at first. The hissing servos of his sarcophagus whined as he rotated back around to face the raging battle before him once more, Dreadnought paws flexing.
‘Status report.’ He growled, his augmented voice rumbling ominously.
‘Of course. Master Solari has assumed command of the Astartes push as per your orders. He has spread Kill-Teams around the central plazas, an even mix of ranged and assault. Thunderhawk support is on standby, with a reserve force of thirty ten-man assault teams waiting within teleport range.
Guard and PDF forces are holding along the north west of the city, though any advances into enemy-held territory have been swiftly turned aside. Commander Gorth of the 15th Throne Guard has taken charge of the Scill Interior and Arbites as a whole.
They are holding for the moment but we cannot expect to gain headway at this stage. Marine and Guard armour have been steadily pushing up from behind to bolster them these past few hours. Who knows, their sacrifice may provide the populace with enough time to organise an evac.’
‘I sincerely doubt that. The Tau will not allow the citizens of this world to leave. If they can’t convert them then they will destroy them, you know that.’
‘Yes, Lord. I have sent word out to the commanders. They will be with us shortly.’

The Warmaster’s tone had changed, his augmetic voice taking on a more hardened tone.
‘Ultramar fell, and we retreated. I will retreat no further. Fully half of Tau fleet Prometheus is engaged with the defences of Saturn, the other half hunt for us.
The Alliance Strategium reports that several factions of Leviathan are even as we speak leaving orbit of Cadia and our headed towards the conflict around Saturn. They also confirm that the scattered elements of Kraken are converging upon the edges of the Ultima Segmentum. Now that the region is conquered, they seek to join the war here.’
‘Three fleets, lord? So it is true then. The Unity intends to make the final push for Terra soon.’
‘Yes, this much has been predicted by the Tarot. We cannot allow the Emperor to fall. We cannot fail.’

He turned to face the centuries-old Marine, watching as the warrior rose to his feet slowly.
‘They have us running scared, Ventris. The Alliance Imperialis Solar is the single most powerful force the Imperium has left, and yet they have us scattered and disparate, unable to unify against them. We are reduced to a militia.’
‘We are Ultramarines, my lord. No matter what we have lost, we do not despair.’ The Ancient uttered softly, lifting his eyes to the burning skies above. Dark shapes had begun to appear, darkening the clouds as they seemed to grow larger and larger.
‘In our hearts only, Ventris.’ In our hearts we will always be Sons of Guilliman. The Chapters themselves no longer hold precedence. We are the Emperor’s Grand Honour Guard, and we will live up to that title.
‘That we will, lord. Until death claims us.’

The two warriors turned in time to hear the scream of thrusters and the rise of voices as the commanders began to return. One by one, the leaders of the Imperial forces upon Scillubus Binary converged upon his position.

Commander Murnach Gorth of the 15th Terran Throne Guard was the first to meet with him face to face. His personal Aquila Lander set down amongst the grey stone rubble, kicking up a storm of choking dust as it alighted. The commander jogged down the ramp and out to meet the two warriors, his thick black plate armour rattling, his golden cape billowing in the breeze.
The ten strong carapace-armoured Storm Troop Guard slowed to a halt behind him, allowing him to approach the Warmaster alone.
‘Lord Calgar.’ He uttered, sweeping his cloak aside with the back of his power fist as he fell to one knee, his shaven head bowed.
‘Speak, commander.’
‘My lord, it is as we feared. It would seem the Unity has chosen Jehesta as the landing site for the invasion of this world. Scouts report a massed Drone landing north west of the city. At least three Kor’Vesa Factory Ships have touched down and begun to unfold. Coordinates have been sent to the fleet but I assume it’s unlikely they will be in any position to provide orbital support.
I felt it prudent to order the Scill field guns up to try and do some damage while the ships are still establishing themselves, supported by elements of the Throne Armour Division. I have had to commit the Earthshaker emplacements to this quadrant. I have placed elements of Throne Storm Troop on standby should the need arise for a swift armour withdrawal.’
‘A sound plan, commander. I want you to return to your forces and lead a push deeper into this city. I want you to meet the Drones head on should they break through past the artillery, which I am almost certain they will.’
‘My lord. By the Grace of the Emperor I will do my duty.’

The commander rose to his feet and bowed again, his eyes shifting as the whine of jump pack thrusters filled the air. By the time the soldier and his honour guard had marched up the ramp of the waiting craft, Grand Master Solari of the Raven Guard stood before the Warmaster, Dreadnought to Dreadnought.
‘Well met, Warmaster.’ Solari growled, the huge jump pack built into the back of his sarcophagus smouldering as it cooled. The huge claws fixed to his fists whispered as he shifted his bulk, the ground beneath creaking and cracking.
‘Solari. The Guard report a massive Drone element north west of here. I have witnessed the descent of the Tau ships with my own eyes. What do we face?’
‘It is worse than we could have imagined.’ The Raven Guard Ancient uttered, raising one huge fist towards the north.
‘Vespid Hives have touched down in the Gardens of Calris region. The Hunter Cadres themselves have made planetfall en masse via Orca. Fire Warriors, Crisis Suits and Broadsides, supported by Hammerhead and Megalodon armour.
Over half of our armour is tied in with the Guard push, Warmaster. The Deathwatch will hold the plaza district for as long as it takes for the Tau to annihilate them, if that is your wish.’
‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Keep your eyes and your ears open, Solari. Today may be the day we push for a counter-assault.’

Calgar and Ventris watched as the warrior took to the skies once again, billowing contrails following in his wake, marking his progress out into the depths of the crumbling city.
‘He is afraid, my lord.’
‘I know, Ancient. I sense his fear. He is afraid that we are losing more warriors than we can afford. Each and every conflict sees our numbers diminish further.’
‘I agree, Warmaster.’ The grey-haired Thorian uttered, stepping forward. ‘Lord Solari’s fears are well-founded. The combined research of the Inquisition is moving forward in leaps and bounds, but still, these things take time.
The Tau themselves seem to have advanced in the field of genetics above and beyond all our expectations. It’s not only the Fire Warriors that are Tempered, now. Preliminary scans of the Vespid here on Scillubus indicate they too have seen a marked genetic improvement. This situation is…dire.’

The aging man stepped forward to look out over the city, his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
‘The Tau have us on the back-foot, and they know it. It is my estimation that they will advance the Drones and the Vespid ahead of the Warrior squads. This will force us to reveal our intentions, thus allowing the armour to pinpoint the position of our forces. The armour will follow the advance in, supported by the Tau infantry. By the time we have finished with the cannon fodder, the Tau will move in for the kill.’
‘What would you suggest we do, Arthas?’
‘We cannot face them head-on and win. I suggest a tactical redeployment. Send the Guard against the Vespid. Their neutron weaponry is specifically designed to degrade the Astartes gene-seed, we know that now. Send the armour to counter the Vespid, thin their numbers before the arrival of the Tau elements. Hold those Kill-Teams already in the field back and send in the reserve forces against the Factory Ships. If they are able to teleport in they could cause…’

The Inquisitor paused and tipped his head slightly, the rune set into his lapel shimmering. Calgar looked on as the man received a coded message, his face creasing as he listened.
‘God-emperor…’ He whispered, releasing his grip on the small rune slowly. He turned to face the Warmaster, his hands visibly shaking.
‘Arthas?’
‘That was the Alliance Strategium. They have just received an Astropathic communiqué. Ryza has finally fallen, lord.’ He uttered. Behind the Warmaster, Ventris let out a quiet gasp.
‘Damn. Now we have little left to do but pray.’ Calgar growled.
‘And prey we must.’ The Inquisitor continued, barely able to speak. ‘For Ankarzoth and his priests were successful. The Caesus is ready, and it is headed our way.’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Nine.

Telepathica.


‘Damn! I knew it! I just bloody knew it!’
Andrasi cursed again as the Hellrunner rocked, warning sirens screaming in protest. Somewhere beyond the bridge, beyond the veil of true reality itself, something screamed.
‘What is happening, Captain?’

Andrasi turned to see Codian standing at the door of the bridge, the fingers of his armoured hand dug deep into the thick frame.
‘They tracked us! The b------s tracked us! The station’s gone! We have to get out of here!’

The sleek ship shuddered around them as it gained speed. Codian looked on as the bridge crew continued to work frantically, fear visibly etched upon each face.
The ship’s Astropath was crawling, crawling on his hands and knees towards a small chamber, crimson blood dotting the floor in his wake. He reached the small door and slammed it shut behind him, the low thrum of psychic shielding resonating as it activated.

The Chaplain strode across the bridge to meet with the anxious Rogue Trader, his huge frame casting shadows over the milling men and women.
‘The station is gone? How can this be?’
‘The Nicassar.’ Andrasi answered, sweeping his long hair up over his head. ‘The damned Nicassar have our scent. They must have followed us from Ryza. We have to try and lose them.
Rollins! Where the hell is Rollins?’

Codian turned and felt a shiver run down his spine as a short, balding man ran through the door and onto the bridge, discarding a half-full cup of steaming caff as he made his way to the centre of the chamber. Though the man was far from threatening appearance-wise, he found himself somehow disturbed by his presence.
‘Screamers, boss?’ He asked, with a voice that made Codian want to reach out and tear his throat out for no discernable reason.
‘Screamers, Murt, and they’re on our tail. Stay close.’
The man nodded and lowered himself onto the deck, folding his legs beneath him. It took Codian several moments to realise that the terrible, grating noise had abated.

‘What now, Andrasi? Can we outrun them?’
The captain turned his attention away from the frantic efforts of the crew and shook his head slowly.
‘If you mean can we jump, then no. the Navigator’s chamber goes into automatic lockdown the moment the Nicassar arrive, otherwise he’d be dead within moments. We have to be well clear of them before we can try. Our best chance of losing them would be to head towards the nearest planet and somehow lose ourselves amongst the population.’
That was when the entire ship suddenly ground to a halt.

‘Damn.’ Andrasi whispered. ‘They have us.’
The rest of the bridge crew fell deathly silent.

Codian’s hands slid over the weapons hanging from his belt.
‘What has happened?’
‘They’ve cut the engines with their minds, Chaplain. They have us dead.’
‘So what can we do?’

Andrasi glanced around him at the nervous faces lining the bridge.
‘Okay, we’ve done this before and we can do it again. Remember the Pheada Belt?’
A low murmur of recognition ran through the gathered bodies. Andrasi nodded slowly.
‘Right. Weapons drawn and ready. They are cocky sons of bitches so we’ll probably only see one at first. Someone get that sulking Demiurg up here. Chaplain, we may need your brothers to help one this one, the sooner the better.
Rollins, activate your limiter.’

Codian dipped his head and sub-vocalised a call to the others, sliding his crozius free of its strap as he did so.
At the centre of them all, the short man reached up to his throat and clasped his hands around the pendant hanging there. Within seconds the sickly feeling returned to the pit of everyone’s stomach.

The air began to shimmer, particles of frost forming before them. All the lights of the bridge flickered and dulled as one, and a keening whine began to vibrate every surface.
‘Steady.’ Andrasi whispered, his breath streaming from his mouth like smoke.
The bulkheads around them began to creak and whine, almost as if they were being pushed outwards. Instrumentation started to fail or otherwise go haywire, dials and readouts making no sense.
Andrasi glanced at the Marine.
‘Be ready for this, Chaplain. It isn’t pretty.’

Codian frowned, feeling hot blood begin to congeal on his top lip. By his side, the glass screen of a small readout dial frosted and then cracked. Someone sighed and then shivered, like a sleeper disturbed by a nightmare.
Then it came.

Codian gasped and stepped back, physically pushed by the sheer change in pressure. The air at the centre of the bridge shimmered and then ignited, flaring like a supernova, the light brilliant and white and yet so utterly cold.
Something spoke, the single word thunderous and unintelligible, reverberating again and again as if caught in some perpetual loop.
‘Rollins! Now! Now!’
Andrasi’s voice seemed far away, almost as if carried on the breeze. The dark shapes surrounding the living white light began to shift and disperse, mere afterimages set against the indescribable luminescence. And then…
And then…

And then it faded. The light extinguished itself with a loud, booming rumble, so suddenly that the shift was barely possible for the naked eye to observe.
The startled creature stood at the centre of the gathered crew, its smooth, pallid features wide with shock. Rollins stood by it; his round chin lifted in defiance, his serious expression almost comical to those unaware of his hidden potency.
He was a blank, and no psyker alive was a match for his influence, not even a Nicassar. Before anyone present had time to react, the small man lifted his arm and unloaded a full clip of ammo into the alien’s head, the autogun clutched in his fist bucking until it fell silent. The creature screamed once and then unravelled, coming apart as if its body consisted of no more than black, oily smoke.

Codian shook his head and stepped forward as the lights of the bridge increased to full capacity around him once more, all traces of the being gone. Somewhere to his left, Andrasi breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Hmm. They die easily enough. Tell me, what happened to the creature’s body?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does.’ The captain uttered, taking a cautious step forward. ‘The Nicassar are a complete enigma. We know less than nothing about them. They are potently psychic, more so than any other race in this galaxy. Beyond that, who can say? We’re not even sure what they look like.’

Codian opened his mouth to rebuke that statement and then faltered. Less than a minute had passed since he had laid eyes on the creature and he realised that he couldn’t even remember the alien’s face. He found this fact to be quite unnerving.
‘So, what happened? How did we manage to kill it so easily?’
‘We have Rollins.’ Andrasi answered, patting the man gratefully on the shoulder. ‘Now, I hope the others aren’t going to be too long in getting their backsides up here. He’s going to be missed.’

Within moments the others started to appear, confusion etched across their faces. Grungi thundered out onto the bridge, his face red with vengeful anger.
‘Nicassar? Where is it? I’ll tear it’s treacherous bloody head off!’
‘It’s gone, Thurgus. Rollins killed it.’

Grungi glared at the squat man, his augmetic eye glowing beneath the lank red dreadlocks hanging across his face.
‘Hnnng. Save the next one for me, blank-boy. I’m itching to bag me another Screamer.’

Codian’s eyes widened and he threw himself around, a look of utter hatred distorting his features.
‘It isn’t over?’
Grungi gave a curt, sarcastic laugh.
‘Nicassar. They are overwhelmed by their own arrogance. As soon as they realise that their friend isn’t coming back, they’ll come looking for him. That’s when the fun will begin.’
‘Then we’ll do the same to them.’ Codian answered, racking his bolt pistol. ‘We will show them that the enemies of the Emperor…’
There was a flash of light and a loud rumbling bang of changing pressure as the second Screamer flared into being right at the centre of the gathered figures.

Codian’s arm snapped rigid and he fired off a brace of screaming bolt rounds, his homed reactions taking charge. Something at the centre of the light uttered a long and shrill shriek and the rounds spread before it like quicksilver, the molten fluid spiralling away until totally absorbed. The blinding luminescence shifted like a cloud, scattering everyone before it. He watched as a terror-stricken crewman ignited from the inside, his eyes and mouth streaming a brilliant blue light before he disappeared in a flash of shuddering energy, skin blackening and crumbling to soot. An unfortunate bridge servitor unravelled itself like a rope before the phenomenon, spinning faster and faster until it collapsed in on itself, metal and flesh turning to protoplasm.
‘R-Ro-o-o-lll-lii-iin-nnn-nssss…’

The psychic storm surged towards Codian, scattering all other in its way. Chairs were torn from their moorings and charts were sent into a dizzying aerial pirouette as the entity burned its way across the bridge, pulsing and flaring brighter and brighter as it closed.
Codian gasped and fell back, all the air flooding from his lungs as if he was caught in a vacuum. A single word shattered the very air all around them, so indescribably loud and violent that no mortal being should ever have been logically able to hear it and survive.
‘PROPHEEEETT…’

He shuddered, feeling his body begin to seize up, to shut down in the presence of the creature. The shapeless Nicassar loomed over him, icy tendrils clawing at his soul, the word reverberating around his head again and again.
It was a single moment in time, a single fleeting heartbeat of a moment, and yet he felt it and understood it as clear as anything he had ever experienced. It was inside him, deep inside his mind, its unseen eyes staring deep into the darkest secrets of his being.
It recognised him. God-Emperor, it recognised him…

The alien reared back, its mass shifting like a shoal of glowing, shimmering fish through the air, and it screamed. It screamed so loud that the very walls around them seemed to buckle and distort, and it continued to do so until the blinding light that surrounded it suddenly snuffed out, the terrible ethereal noise ending as abruptly as it had begun. The flesh and blood creature stood before him, suddenly albeit naked without its vast psychic presence.
Codian was barely aware of the small man called Rollins, no more than a silhouette behind the tall, indistinct alien form. He let out a scream of his own and lunged forward, the violation of his being igniting in an explosion of pure, incensed rage. He swung the bolt pistol and connected with a blow so powerful it took the Nicassar’s head from its shoulders. Within moments the creature had dissolved, its hold on the material universe broken.

The lights returned to their normal hue once more as the Chaplain dropped to his knees, each breath coming in great, ragged gasps. The noises of the crew began to filter through once more as the bridge began to return to normal, voices merging into an uneasy drone.
Andrasi appeared by his side and placed a hand upon his shoulder, his own voice tinged with uneasy relief.
‘Are you okay, Chaplain? Damn good effort.’
Codian shook his head; sweat pouring from his face in rivulets.
‘Gah! Whuh-what…what was that?’
‘I told you, that was a Nicassar, a Screamer. Emperor only knows what they are, or rather, what they’ve become. Now perhaps you can begin to understand why we fear them so bloody much.’
‘N-no.’ Codian interrupted, pushing himself upright. ‘I mean the word. It s-spoke. I heard it. Prophet. What did it mean?’
Andrasi frowned and shook his head.
‘You’ve got me there. Whatever it meant it seemed rather taken by you. I thought you were a goner.’

Codian pushed the Rogue Trader aside and staggered over to the bridge controls, his advance observed cautiously by the flustered crew.
‘We aren’t moving. Why aren’t we underway?’
Andrasi smiled weakly and rubbed his neck, clearly unsure of what to say next.
‘Ah yes, we do seem to have a problem in that area. Whenever we’ve encountered the Nicassar before we have managed to escape by killing the first one to board us. The resultant psychic shock usually causes them to let go, so to speak, giving us time to make an exit. It looks like they’ve finally got wise to us.’
‘So what do we do now?’

Andrasi sighed, glancing around at the scared faces of his crew.
‘I asked you a question captain. How do we break free now?’
‘Well, we don’t. We’ve kind of reached the end of the road here. Look.’
He nodded and the large monitor before them fired to life, activating with a resonating thrum. Codian watched as something huge and bullet-shaped filled the screen, growing larger by the second.
‘It looks like we made some powerful enemies back on Ryza, Chaplain. The Screamers hunt, and they follow.
The Tau are here.’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Ten.

A first glimpse.

‘Oh crud. It’s a Lar’shi-Class.’ Andrasi uttered.
Grungi snorted in disdain.
‘Only one? I’m offended.’

The entire ship shook around them, a low thrum resonating through the bulkheads.
‘Well, that’s it.’ Andrasi groaned. ‘They’ve deployed gravitic hooks. We’re snared. Damn! Damn damn damn!’
‘So, what now?’ Codian asked, glancing as the lights about his head began to flicker and dim once more.

Grungi appeared and shuffled over to his side, removing his padded flight jacket as he did so to reveal the tight bare skin of his barrel chest beneath.
‘First they’ll send the boarding drones. They can’t ‘shift’ like the Nicassar, so they have to cut their way through. Once the drones have done their job, that’s when the Shas’kayon will come. I suspect you will find them very worthy adversaries. I will try to save some of them for you.’
Codian frowned and turned his attention to the doorway of the bridge for a moment, searching for any sign of his brothers. Somewhere to his side, he heard Andrasi’s chilling warning as he activated the ship’s vox system.
‘Why do you do that?’
Grungi frowned, peering up at the towering warrior.
‘Do what?’
‘You strip to your waist before a fight, Demiurg. Why do you do that?’
The short alien smiled.
‘I let them see my scars. I show them that I am not afraid of death, that I have faced it many times and still stand before them. I offer my flesh to their guns and their blades. That way, they may mark their own passing upon my skin. I will not hide behind armour.’

Codian frowned as he heard this. He retrieved the skull-faced helm hanging from his belt and slid it over his head, locking it in place with a slight twist.
‘I hide behind nothing, alien. My armour will show them what I am. I am Death personified, the Emperor’s wrath given form. I want them to see that as I relieve them of their debased lives.’
That was when the first screeching shudder ran through the ship.

‘The aft airlock!’ Andrasi hissed, leaning towards the flashing display before him. He turned towards the Space Marine, a look of foreboding spreading across his face.
‘You had better hope your Techpriest brother is on his way up here, Chaplain. The damn drones are coming in right next to him.’

+++

At the end of the darkened corridor, the airlock shook. The thick metal rumbled as it began to glow, the edges shimmering as they changed in hue from grey, to crimson and then orange. Bright blue sparks began to spill from the affected areas and patter across the deck like water and a keening wail grew steadily louder, its scream playing herald to the arrival of the attackers. Within moments, the rough circular hunk of metal at the centre of the ring of glowing fire burst inwards and the Tau automatons flooded through in silence, multiple searchlights piercing the gloom.

Large, heavy creations, built for smashing their way through reinforced steel, the tri-legged drones thundered out into the corridor, the glowing blue teeth of their twin pulse-cutters buzzing menacingly. Servos whined and footfalls thumped as they lurched forward, their smooth, domed sensor arrays turning from side to side as they hunted for any opposition.
They found Laenar waiting.

‘Laenar! This is Codian! Answer me!’
He hurtled around the corner, the deck quaking beneath his heavy boots. Sounds of conflict began to filter through to him, echoing along the seemingly endless corridors beyond.
There was conflict up ahead.

He turned another corner and ground to a halt, skidding over the smooth deck. A storm of alien metal swirled about the space, the Tau-forged technology illuminated by flashes and sparks as it came apart. Laenar stood at the centre of the maelstrom, a vast shadow of black carapace, the huge arms of his newly acquired servo-harness flailing about him. The plasma cutter crackled as it bisected one of the automatons, the two servo arms tearing another apart as if it were paper.
‘The Caesus.’ He growled dispassionately, his voice more alien and inhuman than it had ever been. ‘We cannot allow its capture.’

Codian thundered into the fray like a force of nature, his sacred weapon flashing as it cleaved the air in two. More of the machines fell, unable to defend themselves in such a small space.
‘For the Imperium! For Macragge and for Terra!’ He hollered, the words spilling from his mouth unbidden.
He pushed past the Techmarine and sprinted onwards; decapitating another drone with a fierce, upwards swing. His other hand found his bolt pistol and he thrust it forward, firing as he ran. The machines ahead began to stall and turn as he approached, only to shudder and break apart under the relentless assault.
‘Codian, come in! Chaplain!’
Berolinus’s voice barked over the vox, the sounds of the fight that accompanied it giving away the Marine’s proximity.
Codian ignored it. Up ahead he could see the breach.
Beyond that, the enemy ship.

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Eleven.

The face of the enemy.

The escape boat shook again, the thick bulkheads thrumming as they shuddered beneath the explosion. He threw himself back into the seat, the curves of his power pack sliding into the recess behind him. The restraint harness slid over his shoulders and fastened with a thick clunk by his hips, securing him in place.

Captain Artemon thundered through the door and into the small ship, his features alight with rage.
‘Damned Eldar! Treacherous alien scum! They will pay for this, every last one of them…’

Laenar was busy at the controls, the smooth flesh of his head illuminated by the many flashing runes before him.
‘We must secure ourselves as quickly as possible! The Wrath’s core is about to go critical!’
The deep red of the Techmarine’s armour disappeared for a moment as the space before him was thrown into shadow. He looked up to see the cold skull-helm of Codian towering above him.
The Chaplain lowered his hand and placed it on his shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was deep and calm.
‘This is not retreat, Marine. An Ultramarine’s first duty is to the Imperium. To die here and now would be to end that duty prematurely. We will live on to fight another day.’
With that he moved on to the next warrior, repeating the very same words over again.
The Champion Maximus nodded, his mighty sword clutched to his chest with both hands. As Codian moved away he turned to face him, the gold artifice of his magnificent armour sparkling in the light.
‘Duty is all, brother. Death is only a worthy sacrifice if it counts for something. To die needlessly is nought but waste.
Survive long enough, and perhaps one day you will be the one to wear this armour...’

‘Marine!’
He shook himself and glanced up to see the towering form of Laenar staring back, the eyes of his helm glowing red against the sheer blackness of his armour.
‘He has gone, warrior. Codian has taken the fight to the Tau.’

Lurom Berolinus was by far the youngest Marine among them, fresh out of the Scout companies. The intended boarding action against the Eldar was to have been his first mission as a fully-fledged battle brother. The others had thought him headstrong and perhaps a little over-eager, much to his annoyance.

Surely they could understand that this came from a simple desire to prove himself, to honour his Chapter and his brothers?
He thought back to the desperate escape from the dying cruiser, the Guilliman’s Wrath. Taking his place in the escape seat, the faces of the venerated warriors around him. Captain Artemon, the mighty Epistolary Kreusus, Chaplain Codian…
Maximus, the company Champion had taken his seat beside him. How he had longed to wear that armour, to honour that position.
And now…

The others ground to a halt behind him, their eyes falling upon the ruination about them. Umbras, the Demiurg and a small number of the ship’s crew, encased in thick carapace armour.
‘Gone?’ The Apothecary uttered, glancing around him.
‘He’s boarded the Tau ship.’ Berolinus answered, turning to peer beyond the Techmarine. ‘He would risk his life to guard this damned Mechanicus artefact.’

Grungi smiled.
‘He has a warrior’s heart, and a warrior’s greed for glory. I will not allow him to steal my thunder again.’
‘Nor will I.’ The Marine whispered, feeling his fingers tighten around the grip of his bolter.

+++

Codian thundered across the alien bridge, his soul aflame. He crossed the expanse in seven mighty strides, throwing himself through the gap and into the Tau ship without a second thought.
Straight into the path of the oncoming Tau.

He ground to a halt, his eyes finding the shifting mass before him. The alien creatures mirrored his actions, their boots grinding on the smooth surface as they slowed as one, alien features widening in surprise.
‘Blessed sanctity…’ He breathed.

They were nothing like the Tau he had known. They had the same smooth, grey skin, the same obsidian eyes. They sported the same armour, only vastly larger and more bulky.
That was were all similarities ended.

These were huge creatures, almost simian in their build. Each one more than matched the Chaplain in size and bulk, their shoulders and arms seeming almost comically oversized.
Each of the creatures carried a long, crackling staff, the tip glowing with coruscating blue energy. The twin gun-drones slaved to each of the six monstrosities turned as they detected the warrior’s presence, pulse rifles humming as they powered up.

‘Gue’la Marine.’
Something huge pushed its way through the gathered aliens, larger still than the rest of them. The creature stomped towards him, each footfall shaking the smooth ground. One arm was dominated by the unmistakeable elongated barrel and bulk of a railgun, one of the most potent of all the Tau’s ballistic weapons. In its other hand was a huge curved blade, decorated and crackling with arcane energy.
The alien turned its head at look at him; the thick augmetic welded over its left eye flaring briefly. It raised the gun in his direction and fired.

Codian leapt to the side as the screaming shell punched its way through the air, a glowing corkscrew contrail shimmering in its wake.
The projectile drove itself into the thick bulkhead by his head, punching a wide hole through the alien steel as if it were made of paper.
He fell to one knee and fired out at the warrior in retaliation. The two thick drones hovering above it shifted forward and the shells shattered one by one amid a flash of blue light, almost as if they had struck some invisible wall.
The creature was shielded.

‘Shas’Kayon! Destroy it!’ The towering Shas’O roared.
Codian reared up and started forward as the alien levelled its massive gun once more and fired another shell.
The powerful shot slammed into his chest with such force that it lifted him clear off his feet and threw him back through the airlock and onto the bridge. He landed hard on his back, his weapons skittering away across the smooth surface.
As one, the hulking Tau advanced.

Something large and fast thundered past the downed Chaplain and through the open iris, a blur of blue armour.
‘Alien murderers!’ Berolinus roared, his bolter shuddering as he fired from the hip. Two of the warriors fell, their armour shattering like glass as the bolt rounds exploded inside them. The rest charged, their slaved gun drones unleashing a storm of pulse fire so thick that it was impossible to avoid.

Berolinus lowered his head and strode on, his massive frame shuddering as the alien fire shattered against it. Still the bolter in his hands continued to fire until it was torn from his grasp amid a flash of sparks.
‘You will not stop me, filth! I am an Ultramarine!’ He roared, tearing a frag grenade from his belt. He primed the device and charged, finding the first of the attackers within seconds. He jammed the grenade into the groove of the alien’s neck armour and pushed it away, feeling the intense backwash of heat behind him as it detonated.
He fell to one knee and snatched the warrior’s fallen weapon from the floor. He rose again sharply, twirling the staff around his head, fragments of armour falling like rain about him as the drones above came apart.

Pulse fire continued to slam into him, tearing great chunks from his armour. Sharp pangs of pain coursed through him and he sagged, feeling one of his hearts burst in his chest.
They were killing him.

He roared in anger and charged forward, taking the head of another of the attackers with a powerful lunge.
The gathered gun drones began to shudder and sway, disconnected from their masters. Indiscriminate pulse fire filled the corridor as they wheeled and spun, hard-wired synaptic overrides struggling to assert themselves.

The massive Shas’O lurched forward and smashed the crackling staff from his hand, shattering it with a single blow. Berolinus staggered back, stunned by the ferocity of the attack.
The alien thrust its hoof forward and smashed it into his head, knocking him to the ground.

His vision began to dim. He could feel the blood gushing from his damaged organ, congealing within his chest. His left hand was all but useless, the armour that encased it blackened and smouldering. The Tau raised the huge gun in its hand…

The Marine tore his combat knife from its case and rammed it into the alien’s exposed neck, driving the blade right to the hilt. The Tau gargled and dropped its staff, its fingers clutching at its throat. Berolinus saw his opening and thrust his fist into the Tau’s stomach, buckling the thick armour there. He snatched the barrel of the railgun and spun, throwing the Tau into his back and ripping the weapon free of its grasp.
‘Run.’ He growled, hefting the huge rifle up before him. Blood gushing from its neck, the Tau turned on its heel, a look of horror spreading across its grey face.
It had taken no more than three striding steps before a piercing scream spilt the air and it fell to the ground, the shield drones above it convulsing and falling in a shower of sparks, their generators overloaded. The gun shrieked again and the Shas’O came apart at the midriff in a wash of violet blood, its limbs scattering violently as its torso disintegrated.

Kneeling, the Ultramarine lowered the huge gun, hissing blue smoke curling from its long barrel.
‘The wrath of Ultramar has found you, xenos.’ He whispered, the eyes of his helm glowing scarlet in the half-gloom.
He staggered to his feet, the sounds of hurried footsteps filling the bridge behind him. He dropped the gun to the floor and spread his arms wide, his head falling back, and he screamed.
‘The wrath of Ultramar has found you all!’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Twelve.

Counterstrike.

‘Brother, let me tend to your wounds.’ Umbras uttered, holding out his hand to steady the punished Marine.
Berolinus swept his hand away fiercely.
‘Leave me, Apothecary! Our Chaplain is in greater need of your attention. I go to finish this.’

Grungi ground to a halt by his side, a wicked smile spreading across his face as he looked upon the huge alien weapon in the warrior’s hands.
‘You heard him. The lad hungers for retribution! Let us seek it together.’

The Apothecary watched as the two figures turned and thundered out into the alien ship, defiant and unafraid. Part of him longed to join them, though his duty was to tend to the fallen.

He continued to stare out into the ship for a moment longer before turning his attention back towards the smouldering body of the Chaplain.
‘Fallen brother…’ He whispered solemnly, staring at the distorted skull set into the centre of Codian’s chest armour.
‘To fall before the enemy is no dishonour. To give your life in the service of the Imperium is to honour He Who Sits in Judgement. Rest well, and know that your seed will be preserved.’
The small chainblade attached to his arm began to buzz angrily and he lowered himself on to one knee, gazing at the huge blackened dent before him.
‘Brother Umbras…’

Umbras leapt to his feet so suddenly that he almost fell back, a long gasp of disbelief hissing from the grille of his rebreather.
‘Blessed Guilliman…’

The Chaplain sat bolt upright, faint smoke curling from his between the joints below his neck. He hauled himself to his feet and glanced around, soon spying his scattered weapons.
‘Brother Codian, you live.’ Umbras uttered, unable to believe his own eyes.

Codian said nothing. He glanced down to where the blackened rosarius hanging forlornly across his chest, its bejewelled centre shattered and smoking.
‘The Emperor protects.’
Umbras nodded slowly and then bowed his head, one arm laid across his chest.

The Chaplain slid his bolt pistol back into its holster and then wrapped his hand around the small cross, ripping the chain from his neck.
‘This has saved my life many times.’ He declared, handing the relic to Umbras. ‘Now it is all down to faith and resolve. The Emperor will be my shield now.
The others. I take it they have advanced into the enemy ship?’
‘Yes Chaplain. They thirst for vengeance.’
‘So do I.’ He replied. ‘And I will find it yet.’

Berolinus threw himself around the corner and smashed the barrel of the huge gun into the face of the Tau warrior heading their way, crushing his head into the smooth walls. The alien grunted and fell with a thud, the impact shaking the floor.
The Marine frowned. He had put all his strength into the blow and such an attack would normally have near decapitated an opponent. These Tau were much stronger and robust than anything he had encountered before.
He hefted the gun up and out before him, firing off a single round into the advancing squad. The charging aliens froze as one, the screeching projectile punching its way through the packed flesh as if it were cutting through fresh air. Torsos disintegrated and bodies fell apart as what was left of the creatures crashed to the floor amid a fine spray of dark blood.

Grungi barrelled past him and tore into the survivors, a blur of flailing, spinning death. The glowing weapon-fist twirled about him and the staggering warriors came apart violently, unable to defend themselves from such an aggressive attack.
‘Never give the enemy any quarter.’ The grinning Demiurg snarled, his scarred face glistening with the dark fluids of his enemies.
‘Always finish what you start. It takes a lot to keep a Fire warrior down for good.’

Berolinus checked the reservoir of the weapon and then nodded at the scattered and bloody mess.
‘What happened to them? Those abominations are far removed from the Tau warriors of my time.’
Grungi grinned again, his augmetic shining malevolently.
‘The Tau didn’t conquer this galaxy with ignorance, human. They recognise strength wherever it may lie. If it is effective, then they absorb it. If it cannot be absorbed, they emulate it. I will leave you to piece the rest together.’
With that the squat warrior turned and pointed down the corridor, his other smouldering fist retracting back into his arm.
‘You hear those sirens? The whole damn ship will soon be coming to greet us. It is all very well taking on the vessel’s entire compliment of Shas Kayon but if we are to make this little jaunt count then we need to maximise the advantage of surprise. We should head this way, and we should get there as soon as we are able.’
‘Why? What do you have planned?’
Grungi flicked his head back, throwing the lank crimson dreadlocks up over his face.
‘You will see. You had better pray to your Emperor that these grey-skinned Ork trucklers have been busy.’

+++

Codian’s rage burned fiercer than ever now. Each lunging stride shook the floor beneath, almost as if the ship itself quaked at his passing.
He threw himself around the corner, the barrel of his bolt pistol hunting the space beyond. More scattered bodies, their blood painting the walls. Berolinus and the Demiurg had certainly come this way.

The sounds of gunfire drifted through the charnel heavy air from somewhere up ahead. Good, he thought to himself. They were still alive, still causing havoc amongst the xenos scum.
‘Halt! Lay down your weapons and surrender!’

He froze. He turned slowly to see a number of armed warriors converging at the mouth of the access way to his side.
‘I mean it, Marine! Do as I say or we’ll cut you down where you stand!’
He looked on at the gathering, feeling the bile rise in his throat.
They were human.

The leader of the squad turned to the others and muttered something before turning his attention back towards the Marine. The others raised their pulse rifles his way, the tiny red pinpricks of their targeters swimming across his black armour.
‘Imperial filth. You are all the same, too stubborn and stupid to realise the absolute authority of the Great Unity. Dead or alive, you will serve our masters. Fi…’
The Gue’vesa’ui lurched back, his chest disintegrating beneath the detonation of the bolter shell. The rest of the soldiers scattered almost immediately, firing as they went.

Pulse fire tore into Codian’s armour from all angles, tearing ceramite away in strips. He felt his body being jolted violently under each blast, the ancient armour groaning as it was compressed and seared.
He swung the pistol out took another three of the traitors clean off their feet in the space of a second, and by the time they had hit the ground he was into them, roaring in anger as he took them apart.

The single surviving soldier turned his rifle around and smashed it into the giant’s helmet, only to look on helplessly as the weapon shattered and spun away, his opponent never even flinching.
The man sighed and he cast the remainder of the gun aside, his shoulders sagging. He looked up into the blazing eyes of his would-be killer.

‘Go on then, do it. Kill me.’
Codian holstered his pistol, reached out and plucked the man from the floor, the fingers of his gauntlet tightening around his neck.
‘Worthless, traitorous scum. Death is too good a fate for you. Death is…’
‘My escape, Marine.’ The man spat, his hard, lined features creasing in pain. ‘My release. My absolution. I deserve to die by your hand so kill me and be done. I will not resist.’

Codian released his grip and the soldier fell to the floor, a tangle of limbs. He looked on as the defeated man removed the alien helmet and cast it aside, a look of disgust etched upon his weathered face. His cropped hair was flecked with grey and thinning, indicating his advancing years.
‘You are Guard.’ Codian snarled, towering over the dejected figure.
‘Kasrkin, Cadian 415th. The worst kind of traitor, Marine, so serve me the Emperor’s justice and be done with it.’
The Chaplain did not answer. He lowered himself slowly onto his haunches so that the snarling skull of his helm was almost touching the traitor’s glistening skin.
‘Not a chance, filth. You seek atonement for your defection by offering your life to me. You believe that the Emperor will see this as repentance and grant you forgiveness. I will not give you this satisfaction.’

With that he rose once more, the wailing alarms still screeching about him.
‘No!’ The former Cadian shouted, leaping to his feet. He snatched one of his fallen comrades’ rifles up from the floor and thrust it towards the Chaplain, his face a mask of rage.
‘Kill me! Kill me or I swear that I will shoot you! I will not die a traitor!’

Codian shook his head and drew his bolt pistol once more, turning to follow the trial of death and destruction.
‘Then shoot, turncoat. Compound your sins.’ He uttered, his back to the man.
The Cadian spat and lowered the gun, his anger draining away.
‘You don’t understand, Marine. You weren’t on Cadia when the Tau came. They would have killed them all if we hadn’t complied. They would have murdered the populace, even the children. We had to…we had to…’
‘This way. Where does it lead?’

The soldier looked up to see the Marine pointing out down the corridor with his hand weapon.
‘I…I don’t…’
‘Where does it lead?’ He repeated again, firmer this time. ‘Death is not always the most fitting way to gain repentance. I know of the Kasrkin, Cadian. I know of their fierce honour. You have sullied the memory of that honour. Why not join me and find your honourable death while you still can?’

The soldier’s face slowly changed, his expression hardening. He retrieved his open-faced helmet and slid it back onto his head, gathering as many pulse power cells as he was able to carry.
‘The holding pens, Marine. That is where your captive brethren lie in wait.’

Codian froze as he heard this, taken aback by the Cadian’s words.
‘My captive brethren? What do you mean?’
The soldier pushed past him and paused, a look of bemusement etched upon his face.
‘Marines, warrior. Dozens of them. You are here to rescue them, yes? Why else would you board a Lar’shi?’

With that the soldier flicked his head in the direction he intended them to take and moved out, leaving Codian frozen to the spot.
Marines. Dozens of them.

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Thirteen.

Deathwatch.


The Cadian lowered himself slowly and peered around the corner, his pulse rifle shouldered. Moments later he slipped out into the corridor and began to feign a stagger, the sound of footsteps growing louder.
‘Marine intruders! Marine intruders have infiltrated sectors five through seven!’ He shouted, thrusting a finger out past the opening and towards the chambers beyond.

The large Gue’vesa squad thundered past him, a mass of stomping boots and swinging guns. He waited for a moment more and then followed them to the nearby doorway, where he slowed and then stopped, allowing the automated hatch to close. Once it had he raised his gun and fired point blank at an area close to the hatches recess, buckling the smooth metal sufficiently enough to prevent it opening again.
‘It is safe, Marine.’ He uttered, turning and passing the huge shadow. Codian emerged from his concealment and followed; his brisk stride more than enough to keep up with the jogging man.

Within minutes the two figures had reached a large doorway. The soldier slowed, creeping up to the opening with his gun at the ready, stepping over the scattered Tau bodies strewn about the corridor.
‘We are here. The holding pens. From here on in we must exercise caution. It sounds as if there is a fight ahead.’

Codian was about to answer him when something huge thundered through the doorway, scattering the startled soldier. The fleeing Tau warrior had sprinted no more than two paces when he came apart, his entire torso vaporising.
The Chaplain raised his arms and the creature’s remains bounced off his armour, leaving a bloody residue where they had connected.
‘What the hell was that?’ The Cadian cried, springing to his feet.
‘The advance party.’ Codian answered, turning on his heel as the space behind them came alive.

The first salvo smashed against his punished armour, knocking him to the floor. By the time he realised what was happening the entire corridor had come alive, the overhead lights sliding over the mass of smooth armour filling his vision.
The heavy gun drones filled the air with their pulsing drone as they veered into sight, the twin barrels of their pulse cannons spinning a web of glowing death out at the two figures.

The Cadian cursed loudly and threw himself through the entrance, pulse fire tearing up the walls around him. He emerged seconds later, his own alien rifle flashing as it returned the malicious attack.

Codian hauled himself to his feet as drones began to crash into the walls and fall to the floor, picked off by the expert aim of his newfound ‘colleague’. He added his own firepower to the exchange, dropping another three of the automatons in quick succession.
‘Move it Marine! There are too many of them to face and more will follow!’

He found himself responding without hesitation, ignoring the many wounds strewn about his body as he turned and threw himself through the opening, enemy fire exploding all around him. He threw himself into a forward roll and came up onto his feet, blue death zipping all around him.
Then he saw it.

The chamber was in total chaos. More Tau bodies lay scattered all around, bloodied and broken. These creatures were somehow different, smaller and stockier, with none of the armour of a Tau warrior. They were the workers and technicians of the Earth caste, and it was clear that they had not expected their fate.
Fire warriors and drones lay in heaps around the many entrances lining the chamber, cut down where they had tried in vain to enter.
‘There are more of them than ever, Marine! I cannot hold them back!’ The Cadian called behind him.
‘Then fall back and follow me!’

He turned and began to run deeper into the chamber, the Cadian hot on his heels. There was a low booming clap and a flash of light seconds later, followed by the sounds of crackling electrical discharge.
‘Haywire grenade.’ He heard the soldier utter, his voice fraught with effort.

The two warriors sprinted further into the vast chamber, chased by the sounds of the advancing enemy. Codian could almost feel the ship shifting around him, the many and varied forces of the enemy steadily mobilising as they began to realise what was happening.
A handful of warriors could only fight an entire ship for so long.

The Cadian slowed beside another hatch, turning to wave him through.
‘In here, quickly.’
Codian ducked through the opening and the hatch closed behind him. The soldier tapped in quick code and the door hummed, sealed tightly in place.
‘Okay Marine, we do not have long.’ He warned, turning to the small console station in front of him. He worked quickly, his efforts producing a glowing holographic representation of the surrounding sectors.
‘Patrols are closing on our position.’ He announced, working the console once again. ‘I’m going to try and redirect them but I can’t guarantee success. Your comrades are located within the main holding cell block and most of the response units are converging there. I’ll see if I can delay the reinforcements long enough for your friends to open the cells.’
‘I do not understand. Who do these cells hold?’

The Cadian glanced his way and frowned, as if Codian had just asked him the most foolish question he had ever heard.
‘I told you before. Your brothers. This is a hunter ship, Marine.’
He tapped another few keys and the display changed again, this time expanding, small human-shaped representations spreading and multiplying in the air before him in neat lines, fringed with strange alien symbols.
‘Thirty two in total. Living, that is. I do not know how many have already been processed before them.’

Codian gasped, his eyes fixed upon the shimmering picture.
‘I don’t understand.’

The soldier shook his head and retrieved the rifle from beside him, his scarred features twisted with confusion.
‘This ship is a Marine hunter, surely you know that already? I assumed that you and your colleagues had boarded it intending to rescue those captured.’
‘No. The ship found us. We had no choice but to counter attack.’

Upon hearing this the soldier tipped his head to one side.
‘The ship was hunting for you? Let me get this straight, are you the Marines who escaped O’Mogdrak on Ryza?’
‘If you mean the grey Ork, then yes. The next time we meet I will finish him.’

The Cadian gasped quietly and then smiled, falling to one knee before the astonished Chaplain.
‘It is you. It is an honour to meet the warrior who bested O’Mogdrak. We didn’t even know if the rumours were true and now, Emperor’s light, I fight alongside you.
It has to be destiny, warrior. I believe the Emperor Himself guided me to you.’

Codian turned away from the man and found the display once more.
‘You say that there are captive Marines on board this vessel, and that my colleagues fight to free them.’
‘Yes, lord.’
‘Then we will join that fight. If the drones have passed us by then they are heading towards the others and we can’t allow that.’

+++

Berolinus fell to one knee, his shoulder guard spinning away amid a flash of neon blue. He fired again and another Tau warrior came apart with a thunderous wet clap.
‘Marine! Above the doorway!’ Grungi barked.

He glanced up and saw the walkway above, suspended by a number of thick cables. He lifted the railgun and fired, severing one of them. The entire walkway groaned and then swung down, smashing into the opening and scattering the warriors trying to push through.
Grungi nodded his head in gruff acknowledgement and then nodded towards a large iris set into the centre of the chamber’s largest wall, the hulking Shas warriors that had stood guard around it sprawled lifelessly across the floor.

Berolinus shouldered the huge gun and jogged over to where the Demiurg stood in wait, glancing at the dead creatures as he closed.
‘Shas Kayon Marine Hunters.’ Grungi growled, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. ‘O’Kir’la’s best. Lumbering oafs at best, every one of them.’

The Marine found himself intrigued by the dead alien warriors. Huge creatures, they seemed as far removed again from the rest of the Tau he had faced here onboard the ship. They were clad in thick, blood-red armour and sported a golden cape draped around one shoulder, giving them an almost regal appearance. Each of them carried a long ceremonial staff ending in a thick blue crystal blade, and it was clear that this weapon was used for both ranged and close quarter fighting.
He stooped low and picked one of the fallen weapons up, swinging the strap around his shoulder.
Grungi smiled.
‘You seem to be amassing quite a collection of trophies, Marine.’
‘This O’Kir’la. Who is he?’ Berolinus asked, ignoring the Demiurg’s comments.
‘Shas’O Vior’la Kir’la Mont’re Kayon. He is the Unity’s greatest Marine hunter, a hero among his people. This is his ship, Marine.’
‘Hmm. Then perhaps you had better show me why he feels the need to keep whatever lies beyond that door guarded.’

Grungi turned and stepped aside, holding out a hand towards the thick iris. He nodded at the railgun leaning against the Marine’s shoulder.


There was a thunderous boom and the door disintegrated, sending blackened metal clattering out into the room. The two figures stepped through the opening, wreathed in smoke.
‘Blessed Ultramar…’ Berolinus gasped, stepping into the dimly-lit chamber.
Grungi smiled again.

+++

Codian thundered into the terrified Gue’vesa squad like a vengeful wraith, a living, roiling mass of murderous shadow. The soldiers scattered, dropping their rifles as they fled the roaring warrior.
One or two of the older men stood their ground, falling to one knee, their rifles shouldered. Hissing pulse fire picked them off, one by one, each single shot killing its target cleanly and without quarter.
The Cadian sprinted out from behind cover and disappeared once again, more pulse fire zipping from his new position seconds later.
Within moments it was done, and Codian sealed the door by jamming the head of his crozius into the control panel, causing the small metal box to smoulder and run like quicksilver.

‘We are almost there. The entrance is…Creed’s lament! Look at that!’
Codian turned and glanced out to where the soldier was pointing, his voice heavy with disbelief.
A shattered metal iris was set into the wall at the other end of the chamber, the circular hole blackened and smouldering. Dead Tau were scattered about it like fallen leaves, slaughtered without hesitation. He looked on in disbelief as armoured bodies began to stride through the opening, one after another, faltering slightly as they laid eyes on the two figures.
After what seemed an age the line dwindled and then stopped, Berolinus and Grungi the last two bodies to emerge.
‘Brother-Chaplain!’ Berolinus called, breaking into a jog. He reached the astonished Chaplain and slowed, dropping the alien rifle to the ground as he did so.
He removed his helmet and bowed his head, congealed blood streaked across his face.
‘Marines, brother. We have found Marines here.’ He gasped, his breathing laboured.

Codian placed a hand on the warrior’s shoulder and then stepped past him, deactivating and sheathing his crozius as he did so. He stopped before the assembled warriors, the crimson eyes of his helm shining as he glanced at each one of them in turn.
‘Warriors of the Emperor. I am Chaplain Daelo Codian of the Ultramarines, and I salute you.’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Fourteen.

Fallen Son.

+++ THE SHRINE WORLD OF GEHENNA+++
+++SEGMENTUM SOLAR+++
+++THREE DAYS AFTER THE FALL OF SCILLUBUS BINARY +++

Ventris opened his eyes and turned as the light beyond the small chamber spilled through the open doorway.
‘You disturb my meditation. What is it?’

The Marine bowed his head and entered unbidden, falling to one knee before the ancient Ultramarine.
‘Forgive me, Ancient. I have been sent to bring you to the Warmaster. He needs your counsel immediately.’
‘Very well.’

Ventris rose slowly, bowing his head one last time before the golden statue of the Emperor before him. The robed Sororitas attendant beside him passed the folded banner to him and bowed her head before turning to extinguish the scented candles laid about the effigy, making her own silent blessing before the sacred image as she did so.

He stepped out of the small chapel and into the harsh sunlight, closing his eyes for a moment as he felt the warm sun hit his lined face.
The sounds of distant explosions filtered through his ears and he opened his eyes once more.

The chapel overlooked a huge, sprawling valley, the endless fields stretching out beyond as far as the eye could see. On the furthest reaches of the horizon the skies were black with smoke, the very mountains themselves seeming to shimmer and distort.
‘Damn them.’ He uttered, his azure eyes fixed upon the distant conflict. ‘They snap at out heels wherever we go. Scillubus is lost, and now they are here, almost at the gates of Terra herself.’
‘We will not falter, my lord.’ The Marine beside him uttered, banging his bolt gun against his chest. ‘They can beat us back to Terra but she will not fall.’

Ventris sighed and turned away from the distant scene, feeling the weight of the long centuries settle heavy on his shoulders.
‘We are losing, warrior. It pains my heart to speak so, but it is the cold, hard truth. If we lose Gehenna then we will be forced back beyond Pluto to where the rest of the Promethius fleet fights to conquer Saturn. We will be confined to a single system.
We are running out of options, Marine. If we join the fight for Saturn then we will leave Terra wide open. If we fall back to Terra, Saturn will be consumed. Either way, we will bring the elements of Promethius back together.
Our greatest hope lies in the retrieval of the Caesus and the brave warriors that fight to deliver it to us.’

The Marine beside him did not answer. Ventris turned as he realised that something was wrong.
‘You seem troubled. Tell me, why does the Warmaster request my audience so desperately?’
Finally, the warrior spoke.

‘The war, Ancient. It seems that the war advances faster than we had anticipated.’
‘Explain.’
‘Kraken, my lord. It nows seems that elements of the fleet left the Ultima Segmentum sooner than was first thought. That is why we are struggling to slow the Tau advance here. The Alliance Strategium now believes that almost half of Kraken has merged with Promethius in their fight to take the Segmentum Solar.’

‘Damn.’ Ventris whispered, baring his teeth. ‘Little wonder then that we are struggling to keep them at bay. Our entire forces are distributed unevenly. It is all beginning to make sense now. The Alliance Strategium had calculated that we should have had the strength to destroy the elements of Prometheus that were hunting us and fall back in time to crush the other half against Saturn’s defences, denying Leviathan’s attempts to join the fight.
This should have been straightforward, and yet the Unity played us for fools. Damn it, they outsmarted us!
Is the Warmaster aware of all this?’
‘Yes, Ancient.’
‘Good. Take me to him, warrior. We must plan our next move if we are to keep the Unity from the Emperor’s seat.’
‘It…it is not as simple as that.’

Ventris frowned as he heard this, his eyes narrowing.
‘The advance elements of Kraken brought something with them. Something we had all hoped to be no more than a rumour, a lie spread by the Tau.’

The Ancient emitted a soft, choking gasp, his massive form visibly swaying, almost as if pushed by some physical force.
‘No. Blessed Macragge, no. Tell me that you are mistaken.’

The Marine removed his helmet and folded it under one arm. Hot tears ran down his face, a face creased with pain and agony. He was visibly shaking.
‘My lord, I…I swear to you that I speak the truth. It has been confirmed. Damn the Tau, it has been confirmed. They have done it. They have done what we could not.’

Ventris sagged and fell to his knees, slamming the pole of the banner deep into the earth. The ancient standard unfurled and caught the breeze, unfolding to reveal the sacred image of the Ultramarines.
‘The b------s have brought the Primarch to Gehenna, my lord.
Guilliman fights for the Tau.’

Ventris did not answer. He released his hold on the banner, threw his head back, and roared.
‘Noooooooooooo!’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Fifteen.

Brothers In Arms.


‘Never!’
The other Shas’la cowered before the mighty commander, fearful of his wrath. Shas’O Vior’la Kir’la Mont’re Kayon bunched his fists and anger and then punched the wall, buckling the thick metal.

He turned and stared accusingly at the gathered faces, his single eye a bottomless pool of obsidian. Ragnar Blackmane, the only Marine ever to escape his clutches had put out his other eye long ago, leaving a milky white orb set into a face-long scar. He still wore the ancient warrior’s severed hand around his neck as both a trophy and a reminder.
‘How dare they? How dare they board my vessel and make war with me? I will take the head of this Marine myself!’

O’Kir’la was a huge beast, larger than any other Tau. His thick crimson armour lent him even more girth and size. The twin barrels of his shoulder-mounted pulse cannons protruded high above his head when they were at rest, ready to slide over his shoulder guards when activated. His full-length golden cloak was swept back over his arms, revealing fists the size of a man’s head.
His scalp-lock hung by the side of his scarred face, longer than any of those around him, a clear indicator of his rank.
‘Mobilise every available unit we have! Shas Kayon, Gue’vesa and drones!’ He commanded, sliding his own huge pulse-staff from over his shoulder.
‘We will annihilate them all!’

+++

Codian found himself facing a wall of silent inexpressive faces. Some were battered and bloody, others caked in grime. All seemed quite unmoved to have been saved from incarceration.
The Marines were all members of the Deathwatch, this much was apparent by the black-painted ceramite they wore, accompanied by the ornate silver shoulder guard and gauntlet that were part of the faction’s identity.
They were all thankfully armed, their weapons no doubt retrieved from whatever passed for a munitions impound on this alien vessel.
‘Who is in charge here?’ He ordered, striding along the assembled throng.
‘I suppose I am.’

The gathering parted and the figure pushed his way through to stand before the Chaplain, the multiple blades of his lightning claws glinting under the chamber’s lights as he advanced.
Codian saw almost at once that this warrior was a member of the Librarium a heartbeat before he became aware of the individual’s potent psychic presence.
‘I am Ligur, brother Marine, and it would seem that I hold the highest rank amongst these men. We are…grateful for your aid.’

Codian glanced at the warrior-psyker’s opposing shoulder guard and frowned, his eyes finding the unfamiliar markings there. In place of the usual Chapter insignia was a depiction of the Imperial eagle, the symbol of the Tau torn in two and held in its claws.
He was about to query this when he noticed that the Warrior seemed to be staring at his own Chapter markings, a look of dubious confusion spreading across his face. Some of the others around him had begun to notice this too and were starting to shift uneasily, passing quiet comments amongst themselves.

‘Is there a problem?’
‘You wear the colours of the Ultramarines, Chaplain. When we first laid eyes on your battle brother we assumed that he had merely liberated his armour from some mouldering battlefield corpse, an act borne of desperation that is all too common amongst the Astartes now.
Now I can see that this is not the case. Why do you still bear the markings of an Ultramarine?’
‘Because that is what I am, and I am proud to do so, Librarian. Just because Macragge is lost to us doesn’t mean that I would readily abandon all that I am. I am surprised that you would even quest…’

Grungi sighed and pushed his way between the two Marines, shaking his head.
‘By the mighty League of Thor, we don’t have time for all this! The entire damned ship will be dropping in on us soon!’

He turned to the Librarian and held up his hands, shaking his lank mane from his eyes as he did so.
‘Listen, we don’t have time for lengthy introductions, so here it is. This is Codian. He has just spent the last six hundred years in stasis and so he missed the whole fall of the galaxy thing. He’s an original. Grak, he’s a genuine Ancestor Lord in the flesh!
He doesn’t know about the Alliance Solar or the Grand Honour Guard. He has barely had his eyes open for a week and he has already brought O’Kir’la down on our heads!’

Ligur waved one huge paw at the short alien and stepped forward, a look of surprise replacing his frown.
‘You are the warrior that bested O’Mogdrak on Ryza? Blessed Macragge! I thought you nothing more than a rumour.’
Codian glanced at the soldier beside him and then back at the Librarian.
‘It would certainly seem that my reputation precedes me. Good. I am the one who spared the xenos creature’s life, if only to send the message back to the Tau. We have a mission to fulfil, Ligur. We took possession of an artefact on Ryza…’
‘The Caesus! You have the Caesus!’ The warrior gasped, his eyes glowing brightly for a fleeting second.
‘Then it is true. By all that is sacred, it is true.’
‘Yes, we have this relic onboard our vessel. It is imperative that we deliver it to Calgar. That is all we know.’

Ligur did not answer. He turned on his heel and began barking orders at the gathered warriors, sending a ripple of activity through the assembled throng.
‘Form up, brothers! Five-man teams, standard arms displacement! One heavy bolter per team and at least one combat specialist!’

The warriors began to shift and disperse, quickly reforming into small groups. Ligur saw this and turned back to face the Chaplain.
‘I assume the ship you were travelling on is currently held fast by the Lar’shi’s gravitic hooks?’
‘The ship was seized, yes.’

Ligur nodded and turned back to face the assembled Marines once again, his lightning claws igniting.
‘Brothers, our original mission still stands. We have been given a chance and we will not waste it.
As before, we need one squad to head for the reactor chambers, another to disable the ship’s gravity generators.
Our mission here is now more important than ever, for we have a chance to deliver the salvation of the Imperium into the hands of the Emperor. Who will give their lives for our cause?’

Without hesitation or thought, two of the Marines stepped forward, their heads bowed. Ligur nodded.
‘Die well, my brothers. Make them pay for every drop of your blood that they spill.’

With that the two warriors and their teams headed off into the bowels of the ship, their selfless task underway.
‘It is the way of the Deathwatch, Chaplain.’ Ligur uttered, sensing Codian’s thoughts. ‘Death is inevitable amongst our kind. The best any of us can hope for is to die with honour.
Now we must leave this ship. O’Kir’la will be hunting for us even as we speak. We will accompany you back to your vessel and ensure that the Caesus escapes the clutches of the Tau.’
Codian bowed his head sharply and made to turn.
That was when O’Kir’la found them.

‘Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiines!’ A thunderous voice roared, causing the gathered warriors to freeze. Something huge and fast hurtled into the far end of the chamber, a vision of burning anger.
‘The beast has found us.’ He heard Ligur growl, and seconds later two of the warriors fell, searing pulse fire punching holes through their armour.
Codian caught a glancing hit to the shoulder and went down, the integrity and artifice of his ancient ceramite armour saving him from serious injury.

More Tau warriors began to filter through into the chamber, their pulse staffs alive and thrumming. A hail of glowing death slammed into the Marines, felling more of the armoured giants.
Codian felt thick hands wrap around his arm and haul him to his feet roughly. Ligur’s gnarled face appeared before him, his ethereal eyes glowing with an ominous fire.
‘Fall back to your ship, Codian. Fulfil your task. We will hold the enemy as long as we can.’

The Librarian pushed him aside and spun around to face the threat, his fists bunched and his claws thrumming as they powered up. He roared something unintelligible and the light around his head seemed to shimmer and distort. A huge shimmering blue fireball of screaming light burst from his armoured form and roared across the open space, spreading and growing until it hit the advancing aliens, bowling them bodily off their feet as it passed by.
A number of the warriors screamed and shuddered, armour peeling from their bodies as their skin turned black, a ghostly light spilling from their open mouths and eyes.

O’Kir’la crossed his huge arms before him and weathered the psychic blow, the phenomenon nonetheless causing him to slide back several feet.
‘Hah! Pathetic, Ligur, as always! I will take your head this time, Marine filth!’

The aging Librarian snarled and sprang forward, bolter fire zipping through the air past him. The huge Tau commander lowered his arms and wheeled to face him, his twin pulse cannons spinning out a hail of glowing fire at his hurtling form.
Ligur danced around the stitching fire, displaying a speed and agility that greatly belied his towering form. He landed on his haunches and sprang forward, twisting in the air, his claws flashing.

The first blow separated one of the pulse cannons barrels cleanly amid a shower of sparks, sending it twisting away. The second was parried by the alien’s staff, likewise the third and the fourth. Ligur landed and the hulking alien smashed the weapon’s haft into the back of his psychic hood, sending him rolling on his shoulder to land upright on one knee, his arms out by his side.
‘So slow, Ligur. So inadequate.’ O’Kir’la mocked, his grey features contorting into the equivalent of a Tau smile.
‘You are a shadow of the warrior you used to be. Perhaps it is fitting that I end your life here and now, while you still have the respect of your subordinates.’

The Librarian frowned, rising slowly to his full height.
‘Arrogant xenos scum. I took an oath that I would be the one to destroy you. That oath still stands. Sooner or later you will fall before me. The last thing you ever see will be my face, O’Kir’la. It is as I have seen.’

The commander emitted a sharp, rasping clacking sound, mocking the defiant warrior. He gestured around him at the rising conflict, Marine against Shas Kayon.
‘I grow tired of such claims, Marine. You have vowed to kill me again and again and yet I still live. I know of your powers all too well. Tell me, Ligur, is this the day I die?’

The psyker sneered again and closed his eyes, a shimmering mist playing about his head. His entire body seemed to quiver and distort for less than a second and then he vanished and reappeared once more, almost as if reality itself had blinked.
He smiled.
‘The veil of time has spoken, xenos.’ Was all he had to say.
‘Then we shall see.’ Came O’Kir’la’s reply.

Ligur pounced, his lightning claws pulsing. O’Kir’la countered, sweeping the crackling staff before him with a blow that should have taken the Marine’s head from his shoulders. The Librarian raised one claw and batted the blow aside, a look of calm softening his craggy face.
The Tau swung again, only to have his attack turned aside by the silent warrior, sparks coruscating from the two weapons.
‘I have seen!’ He announced, smashing aside another fearsome blow. ‘I have seen how this conflict ends! I have seen all I need to see, xenos! I know how this ends!’

Ligur stepped back and thrust his arm out, turning at the hip. A hulking shape loomed over his shoulder, its progress halted in the blink of an eye.
The Tau warrior ground to a halt, its midriff impaled upon the Librarian’s blades. He dropped his staff to the floor and folded, his intended attack thwarted.
Ligur withdrew his hand and the dead warrior fell to the floor in a heap, broken and done.
‘You see.’ He uttered, a smile spreading across his scarred face. ‘The Emperor reveals the truth to those he favours. This fight is already over and done.’

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Sixteen.

A Desperate Flight.


Codian looked on as the two warriors entered into combat once more, trading blows powerful enough to shatter the stars. The Librarian seemed different now, his every move blocking the Tau’s murderous efforts the split-second they were made.
Around the mighty conflict the two sides fought, a furious exchange of fire filling the air.
‘Brother Codian…’

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, finding Berolinus standing there, his armour torn open in a dozen places.
‘We must fall back while there is still time.’
Codian nodded and turned to leave, only to hesitate almost immediately.
‘This isn’t right.’ He uttered, bunching his fists. ‘We cannot leave these warriors to their fate.’

Somewhere in the distance a thunderous explosion rocked the ship, causing the lights to flicker and dim.
‘Feel that, Tau?’ Ligur uttered, his cold eyes flaring briefly. ‘That was your vessel’s heart being torn out.’
O’Kir’la did not answer. The look upon his face did that perfectly for him. The Deathwatch were slowly starting to gain the upper hand in the conflict, now that they had moved close enough to the enemy to bring the fight face to face.

Ligur’s eyes flickered briefly, shifting so as to glance behind the Shas’O for a moment.
The huge commander suddenly brought his staff around and rammed it through the chest of a charging Marine, the head of the weapon flashing with azure light as it impaled the unfortunate warrior.
He flung the flailing Marine away and turned to face Ligur once more.
‘It seems that your farsight has failed you, gue’la. Another of your kind has fallen to my staff…’
The last word trailed away into silence, as he suddenly came to realise that the Librarian was no longer there. Broken and bleeding Shas Kayon littered the floor of the chamber all around him, but of the Deathwatch there was no sign.
‘His sacrifice was not in vain, xenos! There will be a reckoning between us yet!’
O’Kir’la lifted his head and snarled, watching as the defiant psyker turned and slipped through the hatch at the far end of the chamber, the rest of his brethren sprinting past him.
‘Ligur! I will destroy you yet!’ He roared, casting his arm before him to signal the emerging reinforcements to follow the escapees.

As the charging Shas Kayon flooded the chamber around him he turned, soon finding the body of the fallen Marine in a broken heap where he had cast it aside. He grunted and stooped low, hauling the cooling corpse from the ground.
He raised his other hand and a small vibrating spike slid from his wrist armour, glinting as it caught the light. He rammed it deep into the dead Marine’s throat and drew his head back, emitting a long, sibilant hiss.
Done, he let go of the corpse and rose, his face muscles twitching.
‘Your geneseed will be the sweetest of all.’ He whispered, joining the hunt.

+++

Codian thundered through the featureless tunnels, his keen sense of direction almost subconsciously manipulating his every move. Berolinus sprinted alongside him, leaning heavily on his left leg. Behind him the rest of the surviving Deathwatch followed, hunting the shadows as they moved. At the rear of the group Grungi and the Cadian struggled to keep up, their faces red with effort.
‘You are injured.’ The Chaplain observed, keeping his eyes on the way ahead. ‘How serious are your wounds?’
‘I should live. I have lost my secondary heart, and I think my leg is broken.’
‘You have fought well, brother. Umbras will tend to your wounds once we reach the Hellrunner.’
‘Pick up the pace!’ He heard Ligur bark. ‘They are gaining on us!’

Codian hurtled around the corner and skidded to a halt, a forest of gun barrels rising to greet him.
‘Chaplain! Great Anthac’s moon, thank the Emperor!’
Andrasi pushed his way free of the mass of armed men and hurried to greet him, picking his way over the heaped corpses and scattered drone parts littering the mouth of the boarding tunnel. He slowed as he laid eyes on the gathering Marines behind him, his look of astonishment fading quickly to be replaced by a frown of concern.
‘You are lucky. The Tau ship unexpectedly released us minutes ago, and we would have left then if it wasn’t for the fact that we are still held fast.’
‘Still? But if the gravitic hooks have been disabled…’

The Free captain reached over and patted the yawning circle harshly, shaking his head.
‘The boarding tunnel. This damn umbilical holds us fast here until we can figure out a way of detaching it. We’ve tried everything we can think of to sever it and we’re stuck. Explosives do not work. Melta-torches are way too slow. We’ve fought them off this long but we can’t keep it up indefinitely.’

The fallen Kasrkin at the rear of the group suddenly dropped to one knee, twisting at the waist. He swung his rifle up and fired twice, both shots sliding cleanly through the heads of the emerging Shas Kayon. More of the aliens began to pour into the opposite end of the corridor.
‘They are here!’ He shouted, flinching as pulse fire began to smash into the curved walls around him.

The Deathwatch turned and fired as one, a storm of bolt shells all but obliterating the round hatch and anything passing through it.
Still the enemy advanced, their numbers thickening with the passing of each moment. Marines began to fall back steadily, bright energy tearing chunks out of their armour. Within moments even their ballistic attacks began to falter, a wall of premature explosions flashing across the length of the corridor as emerging shield drones began to mass.
‘Options Chaplain?’ Andrasi hollered over the tumult, his voice heavy with concern.

Codian heard one of the Marines curse beneath his breath and watched as the hulking warrior stepped forward, his dark features stern and serious. He carried a broad-headed thunder hammer in one hand and a large, ornate storm shield in the other, the face of the silver shield sporting an impressive crafted Deathwatch symbol facade.
‘Stand aside! I will tear the damned tunnel apart myself!’ He snarled, his bearded face a rictus of fury. He marched towards the horrified Andrasi and his crew and raised the hammer, igniting the head with a reverberating thrum.
‘Stand down, Torvus.’

The assault Marine slowed and turned his head, a look of bemusement changing his features. Ligur met his gaze, his cold eyes unwavering.
‘You could kill us all. Everyone fall back into the ship. I will free us.’

The Marine bared his teeth and then stomped his way past the fearful crewmen as if they were beneath his attention, shaking his head. Ligur nodded to Codian and waved him on. The Chaplain hesitated for a moment and then returned the nod, quickly moving towards the exit. One by one, the others passed quickly into the boarding tunnel, leaving the Librarian to turn and face the advancing enemy alone.

A thick cloud of shield drones filled the space before him, so dense it almost obscured the tide of Tau hunters following behind it.
Ligur closed his eyes and spread his arms out wide, muttering something beneath his breath. Though merely whispered the words seemed to echo and deepen, rising in volume like the howl of some ethereal wind.
A flickering nimbus of light played around his head, swirling energies flashing and sparking as if vying to be released to their full potential.
He opened his eyes and begun to walk backwards, the intricate whorls and runes crafted into the gauntlets of his lightning claws glowing with an unearthly light. He passed into the tunnel moments before the air at the very mouth of the opening began to shimmer.

Dark light began to spill from the growing phenomenon, as the air itself seemed to bubble and melt, crackling fingers of multi-hued energy snaking from its epicentre to rake the surrounding walls.

The Tau slowed, a ripple of apprehension passing through the massed aliens. Only the drones continued on undaunted, shimmering softly as they neared the growing singularity.
There was a sudden flash of energy accompanied by a deep pressure boom and the entire deck shook. Ligur turned and began to sprint as the first of the drones wobbled and then spun away into the yawning abyss, breaking apart even as they rolled out of sight.

The rest of the constructs began to crash together as they struggled to hover away, only to be sucked into the rift in massed clumps, unable to escape its irresistible pull. The Shas Kayon behind them began to shout and cry, grabbing hold of whatever they could find, their hooves skidding across the smooth floor of the deck. Weapons were hurriedly discarded as they fought to flee, armour and equipment peeling away in chunks to spin off into the gap.

Ligur had opened a gateway to the warp itself on board the Lar’shi and the resulting forces began to tear its surroundings apart. The entire housing ring surrounding the iris began to peel away from the wall, groaning as it bended. Sections of the iris itself rang as they spun away, sparks zipping after them like star-fire.
The segmented boarding tunnel began to quake, imploding in on itself as the immense pressures began to compact it. Debris swirled into the rift in a glittering spiral, thickening as everything around it came apart.

At the very rear of the screaming, shuddering tumult, a single eye as black as the void of space looked on as the entire tunnel broke away from the hull of the ship, coming apart piece by piece as it depressurised.
Roaring and cursing his rage out into the widening void, Shas’O Vior’la Kir’la Mont’re Kayon swore revenge.


END OF PART ONE.


COMING NEXT: RISE OF THE TAU PART 2: CARTA EXTREMIS
When Codian meets with the mysterious figure that leads the renegade Deathwatch, he finally discovers the fate of both the Tyranids and the forces of Chaos, as well as the origins of the Caesus.

[Narmo Eressea]

Part Seventeen.

Revelations.

+++THE MASSCIL ASTEROID WASTES+++
+++SEGMENTUM SOLAR+++
+++ONE SOLAR MONTH LATER +++


‘There she is. We have found her at last.’
Space Marine Chaplain Daelo Codian opened his eyes and turned his head to the small viewport by his side, feeling the Hellrunner shudder gently around him once again.
Grey asteroid chunks cartwheeled past, some the size of Land Raiders, others as large as a Strike Cruiser.
The cutter trembled again, fighting the effects of passing by another gigantic rock. He studied the vista beyond closely and, after a few moments of searching, saw her for the first time.

The black behemoth hung ominously in the void like an ambush predator, almost invisible save for the many twinkling lights glittering across its vast surface. An Astartes Fortress Monastery, Ligur had called her the Proscriptus Rex. That is as much as he knew about her, even now.

It had been twenty five days since the incident onboard the Tau ship. Twenty five days of running, of fighting to stay alive. He could never have imagined just how difficult such a relatively short journey could be, especially when this journey was taking place in what used to be Imperial space.

During this time he had come to know most of the Deathwatch well enough for them to begin to open up to him. Perhaps it was his role as a Chaplain; maybe it was the fact that they saw in him a living, breathing relic of an age forever lost to them, an age where the superhuman warriors of the Emperor dominated the galaxy.
For whatever reason, he had begun to slowly piece together the full, sobering truth of his current situation.

The ever distant Liger had spoke little since the escape, and yet what little he had told Codian troubled him greatly.
Firstly, warp travel. The psyker had explained that prolonged warp travel in this region was all but impossible now. Something here was affecting the entire Immaterium, though what, he would not say. All he would divulge was that it was the Tau’s doing, that the enemy had somehow found the means to quiet the raging power of the warp itself.

He had never concerned himself much with the mechanics of this foreboding dimension, though he found himself questioning this. Firstly, he could not imagine even the Tau to possess such power. Secondly, he had argued that surely such an effect would allow for smother travel, not render it impossible.
The Librarian’s answer was short and simple; all would be revealed in time. He would find the answers he sought onboard the Proscriptus Rex.

In the days following their escape from the clutches of O’Kir’la, another disquieting fact had become apparent. It seemed that these warriors were not a part of the main Imperium rebellion. They operated alone and towards their own agendas, though it was clear that they fought and died in the service of the Emperor.
Codian found himself deeply troubled by this. Why would these warriors refuse the leadership of Calgar, the greatest of all the Chapter Masters? Ligur himself had once been Ultramarine, as had many of the others. There was no doubt in his mind that these men were still fully faithful to the Emperor and committed to seeing the power and rightful dominance of the Imperium realised once more.
Again, the same answer had fallen from Ligur’s lips. All would be revealed.

He turned away from the stars and his eyes found Berolinus, the youngest among them. His helmet removed, he still wore his shattered armour with pride, refusing all offers from the others to have his suit repaired or replaced.
‘I am an Ultramarine.’, He had told them. ‘And I will wear the colours of my Chapter until I fall.’
‘Brother, how goes your healing?’

Berolinus turned and met his gaze, his face sombre and serious.
‘I grow stronger by the day, Chaplain. Umbras has tended my wounds well.’ He uttered, holding his gaze for a moment.
Codian nodded and then turned to retrieve his helmet, feeling the ship begin to slow. Soon, he told himself. Soon he would discover the truth.


+++

A day later he found himself standing before the door of the huge chamber alone, the lights of the surrounding glow-globes centred on him. It had taken the Deathwatch a day to bring him to before their mysterious commander, a day of misdirection and half-answers, of probing questions and augur scans. Whenever he had asked what was going on or why they seemed to be delaying his requests for an audience, he had received the same reply.
We have to be sure.

Did they suspect him still? After all they had been through, did they still think of him as some potential enemy spy?
It had taken them a day to bring him here, and still they would only allow he alone to seek an audience with the driving force behind all this. Umbras and Berolinus were being kept securely within the training quarters, and Laenar was still in his chamber onboard the Hellrunner, refusing all requests to give up the Caesus for inspection.
Codian had called on the reclusive Techmarine but once since the incident with the Tau, and he had seen first-hand what had happened to his adopted quarters. It would take the cutter’s entire crew just to breach the doorway, let alone bypass the defences within.
He was still considering all this when the doors of the chamber began to grind open, an ethereal light spilling through to bathe him in its glow.
‘Enter.’ A deep mechanical voice uttered from somewhere above him.

He strode through the doorway and slowed, finding himself at the centre of a lighted dais. The doors slid shut behind him and he tensed, sensing the shadows all around him shifting and churning. Servos whispered and the floor shook. Augmetic eyes lit the impenetrable shadows like a crimson starscape as a multitude of weapons powered up.
‘Greetings, Ultramarine.’ A voice uttered, surrounding him.
Codian glanced around him and then bowed his head sharply, clearly aggravated by his current situation.
‘I have travelled far and gone through much. I would appreciate an audience with the commander of this ship, not just his voice and a host of guardian constructs.’ He answered, his powerful voice reverberating around the vast chamber.
There was a moment of deep silence, and then an answer.
‘Very well.’

The shadows shifted and parted as something large moved towards the centre, whining and humming as it advanced. A large plinth slid into view, the silver symbol of the Deathwatch glinting at its base as it caught the light.
Codian looked on in silence as the area at the top of the dais exploded with light, a pale blue bubble of blue-grey energy shivering and humming as it came into being. At the centre of the energy field he could make out the outline of some sort of seat or throne, and on the throne sat a robed figure, its features indistinguishable beneath the folds of the flowing cloak.

Codian never even flinched as the entire top section of the platform detached with a resonating thrum and hovered gently forward, the newly revealed underside of the throne sparking and pulsing as it advanced.
‘It is an honour to make your acquaintance, Chaplain. It has been many long years since I last met one of your kind.’ The individual uttered, his voice distorted and ghostly, no doubt an effect of the strange energy field surrounding him.

The Chaplain didn’t even flinch. He stood his ground, proud and unmoved in the face of this unknown entity.
The figure at the centre of the field shifted his weight, leaning forward slightly. He caught a glimpse of gnarled fingers, almost white in the cold glow of the protective bubble.
‘I have heard your story, Codian of the Ultramarines. I’m sure you can appreciate my apprehension. To have been lost in the ocean of the Empyrean for so long…
Still, all the tests confirm that you are telling the truth, and that you aren’t an agent of the enemy. You must understand Codian, we had to be sure. O’kir’la and the Unity have been hunting us for a long time. You wouldn’t have been the first Astarte to infiltrate our organisation.’
‘Who are you?’ Codian asked, plainly disinterested in the individual’s explanation.

The figure shifted his weight again, settling back into the ornate chair. He raised his hands and clasped his fingers together slowly.
‘A relic of the past, just like you.’

A brief silence settled over the scene. Beneath his helm Codian frowned, bemused by the comment. He decided not to answer. He didn’t want to give this unknown stranger the satisfaction.
‘Tarsis Ultra, Chaplain. I was there.’

It was this next comment that caught him off-guard. His fingers slackened and then tightened almost immediately, his mind reeling with memories of the distant past.
‘So was I.’ Was all he could bring himself to say.

The figure leaned forward once more, the field shimmering around him.
‘The Tyranids, Chaplain. We saw a great victory against the Tyranids on the Tarsis Fields. We beat the Devourer of Worlds back despite all odds and we won. It was a proud time.’

Codian remained silent for a moment more and then turned to look about him slowly, watching as the shadows around him shifted softly once again.
‘You say that you have determined my allegiance and yet you still seem to fear me. You know now that I am no Tau spy. Why are you still apprehensive?’
‘As I said, you would not be the first Asta…’
‘You are renegades.’ He uttered, striding forward.

The shadows bulged outwards as the hidden constructs responded as one, a thicket of whining guns and crackling blades encircling him.
‘Deactivate.’
The single word caused the host of machines to freeze, the huge circle of eyes fading to blackness around him.
The robed figure threw himself forward and slammed his fists into the armrests of the chair.
‘We are all loyal servants of the Emperor, every last one of us! You understand little of these times, Chaplain. The old Imperium is long gone. Calgar and his Alliance Imperialis Solar are but one facet of the rebellion. The Astartes Chapters themselves are divided into many separate factions. It would surely open your eyes to discover just how fragmented the forces of the Imperium are now.’
‘Then tell me!’ Codian roared, sweeping a hand before him, his mighty voice heavy with frustration. ‘I am tired of fighting to piece together every single aspect of this damned time! I have a mission to fulfil, a mission so important that it could bring about the fall of the Tau. How can I see it through when I know so little of what has happened to our glorious Imperium.’
‘The Caesus.’
‘Yes, the Caesus. I am expected to deliver this device into the hands of Calgar and yet I do not even know what it does.’
‘I do.’ The figure answered suddenly, causing the Marine’s breath to catch in his throat.
‘You know what it does?’
‘Yes. I helped to create it, Codian. Join us. Join us and together we will journey to Terra. Together we will deliver the Caesus to Calgar and bring about the fall of the Unity.’

Codian hesitated for a moment and then turned away, shaking his head slowly.
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘No. Not until I start to get some answers. If I am to join you then I want to know everything. I will go no further until I am satisfied.’

He turned back towards the figure and walked towards him, his dark armour bathed in pale light.
‘What is your answer?’
‘Very well. Though I warn you, Chaplain, you may not like what you discover.’
‘I will take that chance. Now make a start. Tell me your name.’

The figure nodded and then swept his hand before him, deactivating the protective field. He lifted his hands and removed his hood to reveal a pale, hairless head, a face creased with long centuries of age. Despite his ancient appearance Codian found a face he somehow recognised, a face from long, long ago. The face of the saviour of Tarsis Ultra.
‘Kryptman.’ He whispered quietly.