Part 13 (2/2)

aScanners?a he barked, demanding that the serfs should get back to their sensor terminals more quickly as the control deck continued to rock and reel. aGive me an ID on that vessel. Pilot, give us some stability here!a The serfs chorused their acknowledgements as they scrambled back to their stations. But just as the control deck appeared to be returning to normality, a second blast smacked into the stricken frigate. A ma.s.sive explosion rushed out of the warp gate. Great plumes of flame and smoke jetted out of the asteroid, as though they had been compressed and forced through a nozzle.

The rush of discharge crashed around the Rex, sending it sprawling once again and engulfing it in a superheated cloud of burning warp. After a second, it became clear that the structure of the asteroid could not bear the pressure that was being forced through it. Bits of rock started to break off and scatter, and cracks ripped through it. Finally, it could withstand the pressure no longer and the asteroid itself exploded, sending chunks of rock and debris shooting through the surrounding s.p.a.ce in a spray of projectiles. They pounded against the armoured panels of the t.i.tanicus Rex, smacking relentlessly into it like a meteor shower.

It took several minutes for the control deck to come back on line, and even then its instrumentation was damaged and only partially active. Smoke plumed out of a number of the terminals, and electricity arced across ruptured circuits. There were several small fires burning in the cogitator banks, and damage reports were flooding in from all around the s.h.i.+p. Mordia cycled through the remaining, functional scanners, bringing up image after image on the viewscreen. The Rex was badly damaged, but its situation had changed profoundly: the warp gate and asteroid had been utterly destroyed; the frigate that had emerged from its depths had vanished without a trace; and the thick, soupy mire of warp mist seemed to have evaporated completely. The t.i.tanicus Rex was alone and free-floating in the middle of an asteroid field, on the cusp of the Circuitrine system, which was now quite free of incursions from the nearby Eye of Terror.

The pa.s.sageways convulsed with flames and concussive blasts of thermal energy as the Deathwatch team stormed through the corridors and tunnels in the heart of Lelithas lair. Plumes of dirty green fire licked at their heels, and the ground shuddered, as though the mountain itself was riddled with nausea. Whatever Sulphus had done to the wych queenas spirit pool, it was having a chain reaction through the network of portals that interlaced the structure of Sussarkhas Peak, like the veins and arteries of a ma.s.sive body.

Although they never looked back into the raging inferno that chased them through the h.e.l.lish realm, the Marines knew that the dark eldar were not pursing them. There was no way that anything could survive in the midst of those flames. They did not even pause to wonder whether Lelith herself had escaped a their mission here was already complete.

As he ran, leaving his duel with Lelith far behind him, Ashokas smouldering eyes gradually returned to a depthless black. He could hear voices in the fiery hounds that snapped at his heels, as though long tortured souls were screaming through the conflagration, caught in the sudden ecstasy of liberation and the abrupt agony of incineration at the same time. The pa.s.sageways were alive with whispers and screams, and the flames seemed to reach at the backs of the Marines, like the hands of drowning men.

On both sides of him, the rest of the team rushed through the corridors, ducking under the low ceilings, vaulting the sudden cracks that ripped into the ground, and filing through bottlenecks with unquestioned and silent determination. But it was clear to Ashok that some of the Marines were suffering. For the first time in his long service, Ashok was concerned that the enhanced physiology of the Adeptus Astartes may not be enough for the challenge.

The Mantis Warrior, Kruidan, was without the support and protection of his armour; his skin was bloodied, raw, and thick with filth, and his long, matted hair whipped around his face as he ran. But his face was set with resolve and he showed no signs of slowing. In fact, the Mantis Warrior was at the head of the group, leaping and sprinting through the labyrinthine tunnels, leading the others with the power of his courage.

Luthar and Pelias were not in much better shape. Their armour was cracked and ruined, with sections of ceramite hacked away and others shattered beyond usefulness. The gnarled face of Pelias was taught with aggression and hostility; he was no longer a young Marine, and he had put his body through so much already. The conflagration of fiery souls clawed at his back and scorched the skin of his neck and head as he brought up the rear of the group.

Just as Ashok began to think that they were not going to make it, the team tumbled out of the pa.s.sageway and fell into the bowled floor of one of the wide, portal filled nodal chambers. Flames and smoke plumed in from all directions, vomiting out of the mouths of other tunnels and pluming out of dozens of the portals. As Ashok hit the ground and rolled back to his feet, he looked back and up, just in time to see the dirty flames explode out of the tunnel mouth through which the team had just fallen.

They were utterly surrounded by the fiery screams of desperate souls.

aAshok!a called Kruidan, his voice emerging like a ghost from the smoke.

Ashok and the others snapped their heads round to look at the Mantis Warrior, but he was nowhere to be seen. Great clouds of smoke and curdling gas roiled through the chamber, swirling and eddying in the thermal currents whipped up by the explosions of flame and the hot air being blasted through the tunnels.

aAshok, this way is clear!a As the words thundered and echoed around the chamber, the billowing smoke s.h.i.+fted and the unarmoured shape of Kruidan could be seen standing over a portal on the farside, his long hair las.h.i.+ng in the air currents, his emerald eyes flas.h.i.+ng with clarity, and the tattoos snaking over his b.l.o.o.d.y shoulders.

Without pausing for discussion, Ashok broke into a ran. He vaulted through the pillars of fire that jetted out of the other portals on the ground, and sidestepped the yawning infernos that raged through the other tunnel mouths. Behind him, he could feel the rest of the team keeping pace. As he closed on Kruidanas portal, he noticed that the Mantis Warrior was waiting for them, standing like a beacon of confidence and heroism, armourless and surrounded by the infernal warp fires of Hesperax.

The Angel Sanguine librarian brought himself up short of the portal and stepped to the side, allowing Sulphus, Atreus, Luthar and then Pelias to pa.s.s him and dive through.

For a moment, standing on the cusp of the s.h.i.+mmering, watery portal as the cavern started to melt and collapse around them, Ashok and Kruidan held each otheras eyes, sharing an unspoken understanding.

The last portal dumped the Marines into the barren, frozen wastes under the roiling sky outside, ejecting them beyond the confines of Sussarkhas Peak on the crest of a ma.s.sive wave of fiery energy. They dived out, rolling free onto the sharp, icy rocks of the planetas surface as the mouth of the portal disintegrated and collapsed behind them.

On their feet and running immediately, the Deathwatch team did not look back. Instead, their thoughts had turned to the surviving Thunderhawk. Although Octaviusa s.h.i.+p had been destroyed, Kruidanas vessel had made it down into one of the craters. The Imperial Fists captain had insisted that the team brought two of them, in case one was destroyed, and yet again they were thankful for their fallen captainas understanding of the Codex. But none of them even dared to hope that the dark eldar would have left the downed Thunderhawk unmolested for all this time. And yet there it was.

As the Deathwatch Marines clambered up the bank of icy, black debris and boulders around the edge of the crater, they could see the guns.h.i.+p still sitting in the bottom of the pit, exactly where the team had left it. There were not even any guards around.

As Ashok strode up the ramp into the guns.h.i.+p, he whispered a prayer of thanks to the spirit of the deceased Octavius, and he offered a silent prayer of grat.i.tude for the arrogance of the eldar and their dark brethren. He could think of no other species in the galaxy that would have left the guns.h.i.+p untouched: only the eldar would be so certain of their victory in the amphitheatre and so dismissive of the technological capabilities of the ugly guns.h.i.+p. It was insulting, of course, but Ashok smiled, happy to disillusion the aliens. They had clearly never dealt with the Deathwatch before.

As the guns.h.i.+p had blasted up out of the thick, curdling atmosphere of the dark planet, the Marines had collapsed into their harnesses, teetering on the point of exhaustion. Without his armour to augment his strength, the heroic Mantis Warrior had been almost dead on his feet. His skin was bloodied and raw, and his muscles burned with over exertion. Luthar and Pelias had not been in much better shape. Their armour was broken and cracked, with sections missing or ruined beyond repair. The two librarians had sat in silent meditation while Sulphus, the almost entirely mechanical techmarine, piloted the vessel up and away.

It was not until they were a couple of thousand metres in the air that they had finally looked back and seen the volcano erupting. It appeared to be venting ma.s.sive amounts of sickly green and red energy, as though the souls that had been contained within were finally visiting their violence against the structures that had imprisoned them. The explosions reached right up into the stratosphere, chasing the fleeing Thunderhawk like packs of flaming warp beasts or h.e.l.lhounds, just as the Marines themselves had been chased through the labyrinthine tunnels inside the volcano itself.

Even when they were back aboard the Lance of Darkness, its engines pouring fire out behind it to blast it away from the disintegrating planet, the team had not been free of the explosive fury of Lelith, Wych Queen of Strife. Huge columns of warp fire lanced out of the ma.s.sive volcano as though the deathly planet had been hurling its infernal soul into the chase, wrenching the stomach of its core and vomiting vast swathes of daemonic energy into the wake of the speeding vessel.

Just as the Lance of Darkness had plunged into the warp gate and lurched out of the moon-like asteroid in the fringes of the Circuitrine system, the tide of warp energy had crashed against its engine blocks, hurling it forward at an incredible and impossible speed. The Lance had burst out of the warp gate into material s.p.a.ce like a torpedo from a barrel, firing straight through the rest of the asteroid field.

As they had emerged from the gate, the Marines had detected the briefest blip on their sensors, indicating the presence of another Astartes vessel in the immediate vicinity, but by the time the Lance of Darkness had slowed to normal speeds, the signature had vanished from their instruments, and the Lance must have been beyond the range of the other vesselas sensors too.

When they finally limped back to the previous location of Ulthwe, their engines spluttering and ruined after the warp inferno had scorched them to the point of destruction, Ashok was unsurprised to discover that the craftworld was no longer there. There was no way that the arrogant and conceited eldar would have expected the Deathwatch to survive their ordeal on Hesperax. They had been sacrificed and abandoned, just like the seers and the eldar warriors that were sent as bait. Ashok had never entertained any illusions about the honour of the deceitful aliens, but he knew that Octavius would have insisted that they at least attempt to make contact with Ulthran, had the honourable captain survived to make such an insistence.

Standing on the small control deck, Ashok, Atreus and Sulphus surveyed the stars before them. The tainted, ruddy, red fog of the warp had dissipated, as Lelith and the Slaanes.h.i.+ princessa plans had been foiled. And now the stars shone with their customary clarity and brilliance. Not far off, however, the lashes of the Eye of Terror were already reaching back into the system, like a creeping and insidious cancer. Something about the momentarily pristine light of the stars made Ashok think of Dhrykna and the way her s.h.i.+ning white armour had glared like a beacon on that dark and forsaken world. Instinctively, he moved his hand to the pouch on his belt, tapping the side to hear the c.h.i.n.king of three eldar waystones.

The doors slid open with a perfunctory hiss, and the ragged, b.l.o.o.d.y Deathwatch Marines strode forward into the conference chamber. Where it was still in evidence at all, their armour was in tatters. Where it was visible beneath the thick layer of congealed blood and grime, their skin was scarred and cut. Without their helmets, their faces were etched with dirt and creased with suffering, while their hair was matted and thick with ichor. They looked more like a ragtag bunch of renegades than a squad of the finest s.p.a.ce Marines in the galaxy.

Inquisitor Lord Vargas looked up from his customary chair, his delicate crystal wine gla.s.s poised precisely at his lips. An involuntary look of revulsion pa.s.sed across his features as he saw the filthy group. He didnat bother to stand up, but he did put his gla.s.s down on the table, giving the impression that he couldnat possibly drink in the presence of such pollution. Sitting across from him at the table experiencing none of his reticence about drinking, was the Hereticus Lord Caesurian. She nodded a swift acknowledgement to Librarian Ashok, as though they were already on familiar terms.

Lord Seishon hurried over to greet them.

aLibrarian Ashok, when you disappeared, we feared the worst, Iam afraid.a aI doubt that,a replied Ashok gravely. aThe worst is probably more terrible than you can imagine.a His black eyes danced from Seishon to Caesurian and back again.

Seishon stared at him for a moment, peering into the deep shadows that hid the librarianas eyes under the folds of his hood. aLord Aurelius dispatched the Grey Knights to investigate the s.h.i.+fting warp signatures around Circuitrine. What do you suppose that Captain Mordia might find?a aIt is nothing,a replied Ashok without a hint of irony. aJust a temporary storm. It appears to have burnt itself out now.a Although he was responding to Seishon, he addressed his words to Caesurian, who smiled knowingly in response.

Seishon nodded quickly, but the anxiety dropped slowly out of his shoulders.

aAnd what of our Captain Octavius?a asked Vargas, picking his gla.s.s up again and deciding to take the risk of a quick mouthful.

With heavy solemnity, Sulphus stepped out of the line and approached the table, his mechanical limbs twitching and whirring as the burnt out servos struggled to support their movement. Vargas recoiled slightly, pus.h.i.+ng himself further back in his seat and trying to hide behind his wine gla.s.s.

Without even a clatter, Sulphus lay the Imperial Fistas shoulder plate carefully and reverentially onto the conference table. He did not say a worda no further comment was necessary a and the rest of the Deathwatch team hung their heads in a moment of respect.

aI see,a said Vargas at last. aHe will be missed, of course.a The sentiments of the inquisitor lord were utterly inadequate. aHe was a great captain and a magnificent warrior. His honour was beyond reproach, and he died as he would have wished, in the fulfilment of his duty. We will not see his like again,a intoned Ashok, offended by Vargasa casual words.

He could imagine how the inquisitor lords had sat around this table drinking wine and fretting about the chances that their little pact with the aliens would be discovered. It made him sick. They were as cowardly and treacherous as the eldar themselves. The loss of a Deathwatch captain like Octavius was a terrible price to pay for their games.

aYou see, Vargas,a snapped Seishon with a flicker of childish glee. aYour precious Octavius was not the key to this problem after all.a He turned to Ashok and held out his hand. aDo you have anything for me, librarian?a The Angel Sanguine paused for a moment, as though weighing up whether to give the inquisitor lord what he wanted. But then he flicked open the pouch on his belt and handed over the waystones that he had taken from the two seers in the arena. His finger toyed with the last stone, still hidden in his pocket, but he hesitated, as though considering his next move, before closing the pouch again. aAs requested,a he said. aThese are from the Ulthwe seers.a aExcellent, Ashok. Thank you,a Seishon was beaming, like a child that was winning a contest against his best friend. aCan I also a.s.sume that you placed our beacon into the infinity circuit of Ulthwe when you a'vanisheda from the team?a He shot a significant and sarcastic look over to Vargas, as though to rub in the old inquisitoras naivety. The old fool still seemed to think that the mission had been all about fulfilling their duty under the terms of the ancient coven.

aYes, Lord Seishon, you may a.s.sume that this has been done.a Ashok could feel that the other Deathwatch Marines were surprised and discomforted by this new revelation, but they maintained their discipline. He had lied to them, after all, and he could not blame them for their sudden resentment.

aExcellent,a repeated Seishon. aThen everything has gone exactly according to plan. Next time we have some dealings with the conniving and treacherous eldar of Ulthwe, we will have some extra cards to bring to the table. It is not only the alien fa.r.s.eers who can play these games, is it Vargas?a aNo indeed, my Lord Hourian,a growled Ashok, turning in disgust and striding out of the conference chamber. aIt seems that the keepers of the Coven of Isha are not so very different from the eldar themselves.a

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

C.S. Goto has published short fiction in Inferno! and elsewhere. His previous novels for the Black Library include the Necromunda novel Salvation and the Warhammer 40,000 epic Dawn of War.

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