IT HAD OFTEN been said that a s.p.a.ce Marine knew no fear.
Such a statement was not literally true, a s.p.a.ce Marine could know fear, but he had the training and discipline to deal with it and not let it affect him in battle. Captain Saul Tarvitz was no exception, he had faced storms of gunfire and monstrous aliens and even glimpsed the insane predators of the warp, but when Angron charged, he ran.
The primarch smashed through the ruins like a juggernaut. He bellowed insanely and with one sweep of his chainaxe carved two loyal World Eaters in two, bringing his off-hand axe down to bite through the torso of a third. His traitor World Eaters dived over the rubble, blasting with pistols or stabbing with chainblades.
*Die!" bellowed Captain Ehrlen as the loyalists counter-charged, throwing themselves into the enemy as one. Tarvitz was used to Astartes who fought in feints and counter-charges, overlapping fields of fire, picking the enemy apart or sweeping through his ranks with grace and precision. The World Eaters did not fight with the perfection of the Emperor"s Children. They fought with anger and hatred, with brutality and the l.u.s.t for destruction.
And they fought with more hatred than ever before against their own, against the battle-brothers they had warred alongside for years.
Tarvitz scrambled back from the carnage. World Eaters shouldered past him as they charged at Angron, but the butchered bodies lying around showed what fate awaited them. Tarvitz put his shoulder down and hammered through a ruined wall, sprawling into a courtyard where statues stood scarred and beheaded by the day"s earlier battles.
He glanced behind him. Thousands of World Eaters were locked in a terrible hurricane of carnage, scrambling to get at one another. At the centre of the b.l.o.o.d.y hurricane was Angron, ma.s.sive and terrible as he laid about him with his axes.
Captain Ehrlen crashed down a short distance from him and the World Eater"s eyes flickered over Tarvitz before he rolled onto his back and pulled himself to his feet. Ehrlen"s face was torn open, a red mask of blood with his eyes the only recognisable feature. A pack of World Eaters descended on him, piling him to the ground and working at him as though they were carving up a side of meat.
Volleys of bolter shots thudded through the walls and the battle spilled into the courtyard, World Eaters wrestling with one another and forcing bolters up to fire point blank or disemboweling their battle-brothers with chainaxes. Tarvitz kicked himself to his feet and ran as a wall collapsed and a dozen traitors surged forward.
He threw himself behind a pillar, bolt sh.e.l.ls blasting chunks of marble from it in concussive impacts. The sound of battle followed him and Tarvitz knew that he had to try and find the Emperor"s Children. Only with his fellow warriors alongside him could he impose some form of order on this chaotic fight.
Tarvitz ran, realizing that gunfire was directed at him from all angles. He charged through the ruins of a grand dining hall and into a cavernous stonewalled kitchen.
He kept running and smashed his way through the ruins until he found himself in the streets of the Choral City. A burning gunship streaked overhead and crashed into a building in an orange plume of flame as gunfire stuttered throughout the ruins he had just vacated and Angron"s roaring cut through the din of battle.
The magnificent dome of the Precentor"s Palace rose above the battle unfolding across the blackened remains of the city.
As Tarvitz made his way through the carnage towards his beloved Emperor"s Children, he promised that if he was to meet his death on this blasted world, then he would meet it amongst his battle-brothers, and in death defy the hatred the Warmaster had sown amongst them.
LOKEN WATCHED THE Sons of Horus landing on the far side of the Sirenhold. His s.p.a.ce Marines a he couldn"t think of them as *Sons of Horus" any more a were arrayed around the closest tomb-spire in a formidable defensive formation.
His heavy weapons commanded the valley of shrines through which attackers would have to advance and the Tactical Marines held hard points of ruins where they would fight on their own terms.
But the enemy was not the Isstvanian army, they were his brothers.
*I thought they"d bomb us," said Torgaddon.
*They should have done," replied Loken. *Something went wrong."
*It"ll be Abaddon," said Torgaddon. *He must have been itching for a chance to take us on face-to-face. Horus couldn"t have held him back."
*Or Sedirae," echoed Loken, distaste in his voice. The afternoon sun hung in veils between the shadows cast by the walls and the tomb-spires.
*I never thought it would end like this, Tarik," said Loken. *Maybe storming some alien citadel or defending... defending Terra, like something from the epic poems, something romantic, something the remembrancers could get their teeth into. I never thought it could end defending a hole like this against my own battle-brothers"
*Yes, but then you always were an idealist."
The Sons of Horus were coming down on the far side of the tomb-spire across the valley, the optimal point to strike from, and Loken knew that this would be the hardest battle he would ever have to fight.
*We don"t have to die here," said Torgaddon.
Loken looked at him. *I know, we can win. We can throw everything we have at them. I"ll lead them in from the front and then there"s a chance that-"
*No," said Torgaddon. *I mean we don"t have to hold them here. We know we can get through the main gates into the city. If we strike for the Precentor"s Palace we could link up with the Emperor"s Children or the World Eaters. Lucius said the warning came from Saul Tarvitz so they know we are betrayed."
*Saul Tarvitz is on Isstvan III?" asked Loken, sudden hope flaring in his heart.
*Apparently so," nodded Torgaddon. *We could help them. Fortify the palace."
Loken looked back across at the tangle of shrines and tomb-spires. *You would retreat?"
*I would when there"s no chance of victory and we can fight on better terms elsewhere."
*We"ll never have another chance to face them on our own terms, Tarik. The Choral City is gone, this whole d.a.m.n planet is dead. It"s about punishing them for their betrayal and the brothers we have lost."
*We all lost brothers here, Garvi, but dying needlessly won"t bring them back. I will have my vengeance, too, but I"m not throwing away the few warriors I have left in a knee jerk act of defiance. Think about this, Loken. Really think, about why you want to fight them here."
Loken could hear the first bursts of gunfire and knew Torgaddon was right. They were still the best trained, most disciplined of the Legions and he knew that if he wanted to fight those who had betrayed him, he had to fight with his head and not his heart.
*You"re right, Tarik," said Loken. *We should link up with Tarvitz. We need to get organized to launch a counter-attack."
*We can really make them suffer, Garvi, we can force them into a battle and delay them. If Tarvitz got the warning out here, who"s to say that there aren"t others carrying a warning to Terra? Maybe the other Legions already know what"s happened. Someone underestimated us, they thought this would be a ma.s.sacre, but we"ll go one better. We"ll turn Isstvan III into a war."
*Do you think we can?"
*We"re the Luna Wolves, Garvi. We can do anything."
Loken took his friend"s hand, accepting the truth of his words. He turned to the squads arrayed behind him, scanning the valley through their gun-sights.
*Astartes!" he shouted. *You all know what has happened and I share your pain and outrage, but I need you to focus on what we must now do and not let pa.s.sion blind you to the cold facts of war. Bonds of brotherhood have been shattered and we are no longer the Sons of Horus, that name has no meaning for us now. We are once again the Luna Wolves, soldiers of the Emperor!"
A deafening cheer greeted his words as Loken continued, *We are giving the enemy this position and will break through the gates to strike for the palace. Captain Torgaddon and I will take the a.s.sault units and lead the speartip."
Within moments, the newly re-christened Luna Wolves were ready to move out, Torgaddon barking orders to put the a.s.sault squads up front. Loken gathered a body of warriors to him, forming a pocket of resistance in the shadow of the tomb-spire.
*Kill for the living and kill for the dead," said Torgaddon as they prepared to move out.
*Kill for the living," replied Loken as the speartip, numbering perhaps two thousand Luna Wolves, moved out across the tombscape of the Sirenhold towards the ma.s.sive gates.
Loken turned back to the valley, seeing the shapes of Sons of Horus moving towards him. Larger, darker shapes loomed in the distance, grinding the battle-scarred shrines and statues to dust as they went: Rhino APCs, lumbering Land Raiders, and even the barrel-shaped silhouette of a dreadnought.
He felt he should be filled with sadness at the tragedy of fighting his brothers, but there was no sadness.
There was only hatred.
ARUKEN"S EYES WERE hollow and he was sweating. Ca.s.sar was shocked to see his normal, c.o.c.ky arrogance replaced by fear. Despite that fear, Ca.s.sar knew that he could not fully trust Jonah Aruken.
*This has to end, t.i.tus," said Aruken. *You don"t want to be a martyr do you?"
*Martyr? That"s a strange choice of words for someone who claims not to believe."
A small smile appeared on Aruken"s face. *I"m not as stupid as you think, t.i.tus. You"re a good man and a d.a.m.n good crewman. You believe in things, which is more than most people can manage So, I"d rather you didn"t die."
Ca.s.sar didn"t respond to Aruken"s forced levity. *Please, I know you"re just saying that for the princeps"s benefit. I"ve no doubt he can hear every word."
*Probably, yes, but he knows that as soon as he opens that door you"ll blow his head off. So I guess you and I can just say what we d.a.m.n well like."
Ca.s.sar"s grip on the gun relaxed. *You"re not in his pocket?"
*Hey, we"ve been through some scary s.h.i.t recently, haven"t we?" said Aruken. *I know what you"re going through."
Ca.s.sar shook his head. *No you don"t, and I know what you"re trying to do. I can"t back down, I"m making a stand in the name of my Emperor. I won"t just surrender."
*Look, t.i.tus, if you believe then you believe, but you don"t have to prove that to anyone."
*You think I"m doing this for show?" asked Ca.s.sar, aiming his gun at Aruken"s throat.
Aruken held out his hands and walked carefully around the princeps"s command chair to stand across the bridge from him.
*The Emperor isn"t just a figurehead to cling to," said Ca.s.sar. *He is a G.o.d. He has a saint and miracles and I have seen them. And so have you! Think of all you have seen and you"ll realize you have to help me, Jonah!"
*I saw some odd things, t.i.tus, but-"
*Don"t deny them," interrupted Ca.s.sar. *They happened. As sure as you and I are standing in this war machine. Jonah, there is an Emperor and He is watching over us. He judges us by the choices we make when those choices are hard. The Warmaster has betrayed us and if I stand back and let it happen then I am betraying my Emperor. There are principles that must be defended, Aruken. Don"t you even see that much? If none of us take a stand, then the Warmaster will win and there won"t even be the memory of this betrayal."
Aruken shook his head in frustration. *Ca.s.sar, if I could just make you see-"
*You"re trying to tell me you haven"t seen anything to believe in?" asked Ca.s.sar, turning away in disappointment. He looked through the scorched panes of the viewing bay at the a.s.sembling Death Guard.
*t.i.tus, I haven"t believed in anything for a long time," said Aruken. *For that I"m truly sorry, and I"m sorry for this too."
Ca.s.sar turned to see that Jonah Aruken had drawn his pistol and had it aimed squarely at his chest.
*Jonah?" said Ca.s.sar. *You would betray me? After all we have seen?"
*There"s only one thing I want, t.i.tus, and that"s command of my own t.i.tan. One day I want to be Princeps Aruken and that"s not going to happen if I let you do this."
Ca.s.sar said, *To know that this whole galaxy is starved of belief and to think that you might be the only one who believes... and yet to still believe in spite of all that. That is faith, Aruken. I wish that you could understand that."
*It"s too late for that, t.i.tus," said Aruken. *I"m sorry."
Aruken"s gun barked three times, filling the bridge with bursts of light and noise.
TARVITZ COULD SEE the battle from the shadow of an entrance arch leading into the Precentor"s Palace. He had escaped the cyclone of carnage that Angron had slaughtered into life, to link up with his own warriors in the palace, but the sight of the World Eater"s primarch was still a vivid red horror in his mind.
Tarvitz glanced back into the palace, its vaulted hallways strewn with the bodies of the dead palace guard darkening as late afternoon turned the shadows long and dim. Soon it would be night.
*Lucius," voxed Tarvitz, static howling. *Lucius, come in."
*Saul, what do you see?"
*Gunships and drop-pods too, our colours, landing just north of here."
*Has the primarch blessed us with his presence?"
*Looks like Eidolon," said Tarvitz with relish. The vox was heavy with static and he knew that the Warmaster"s forces would be attempting to jam their vox-channels without blocking their own.
*Listen, Lucius, Angron is going to break through here. The loyal World Eaters down there won"t be able to hold him. He"s going to head for the palace."
*Then there will be a battle," deadpanned Lucius. *I hope Angron makes it a good fight. I think I might have found a decent fencing opponent at last."
*You"re welcome to him. We need to make this stand count. Start barricading the central dome. We"ll move to fortifying the main domes and junctions if Angron gives us that long."
*Since when did you become the leader here?" asked Lucius petulantly. *I was the one who killed Vardus Praal."
Tarvitz felt his anger rise at his friend"s childishness at such a volatile time, but bit back his anger to say, *Get in there and help man the barricades. We don"t have long before we"ll be in the thick of it."
THE THUNDERHAWK SPED away from the Vengeful Spirit, gathering speed as Qruze kicked in the afterburners. Mersadie felt unutterably light-headed to be off the Warmaster"s ship at last, but the cold realization that they had nowhere to go sobered her as she saw glinting specks of the fleet all around them.
*Now what?" asked Qruze. *We"re away, but where to next?"
*I told you we were not without friends, did I not, Iacton?" said Euphrati, sitting in the co-pilot"s chair beside the Astartes warrior.
The warrior gave her a brief sideways look. *Be that as it may, remembrancer. Friends do us little good if we die out here."
*But what a death it would be," said Keeler, with the trace of a ghostly smile.
Sindermann shared a worried glance with her, no doubt wondering if they had overreached themselves in trusting that Euphrati could deliver them to safety out in the dark of s.p.a.ce. The old man looked tiny and feeble and she took his hand in hers.
Through the viewshield, Mersadie could see a field of glittering lights: starships belonging to the Sixty-Third Expedition, and every one of them hostile.
As if to contradict her, Euphrati pointed upwards through the viewshield towards the belly of an ugly vessel they would pa.s.s beneath if they continued on their current course. The weak sun of Isstvan glinted from its unpainted gunmetal hull.
*Head towards that one," commanded Euphrati and Mersadie was surprised to see Qruze turn the controls without a word of protest.
Mersadie didn"t know a great deal about s.p.a.cecraft but she knew that the cruiser would be bristling with turrets that could pick off the Thunderhawk as it shot past, and could maybe even deploy fighters.
*Why are we getting closer?" she asked hurriedly. *Surely we want to head away?"
*Trust me, Sadie," said Euphrati. This is the way it has to be."
At least it will be quick, she thought, as the vessel grew larger in the viewshield.
*It"s Death Guard," said Qruze, Mersadie bit her lip and glanced at Sindermann.
The old man looked calm and said, *Quite the adventure, eh?"
Mersadie smiled in spite of herself.
*What are we going to do, Kyril?" asked Mersadie, tears springing from her eyes. *What do we have left to us?"