Part 17 (1/2)
He reached out again with his ghost-voice, not to Zaur, but to someone much closer. +Captain Thade.+ The Death Guard Marine had, in a life almost forgotten now, been Battle-Brother Ammon. Hea'd turned from the light of the False Emperor at the behest of his Legion commander, the mighty First Captain Typhon. His weapon, the bolter still in his fists today, had roared at the Siege of Terra in the fiery pinnacle of the Horus Heresy ten millennia ago. Hea'd existed, but not quite lived, each day since the Traitor Legionsa' defeat, hating everything uncorrupted and untainted in the galaxy.
In this att.i.tude, he was hardly unique in the Death Guard.
Ammon had survived ten thousand years of war, existing as the host of a daemonic disease. He was immortal unless slain, ageless, deathless. The perfection of corruption. His plague-bloated body maintained its own twisted form of life, the way a cancer will feed on healthy cells and fuel itself off a victima's own body.
Amniona's fondest memories were of the great betrayal. The purification of the Legions, the virus bombs falling on their foolish brethren who refused to turn against the Emperor and, of course, the Dropsite Ma.s.sacre. Astartes fought Astartes and a hundred thousand bolters roared. He still remembered the sound. It rang in his memorya's ear like a daemona's screaming rage.
He had killed Iron Hands that day. He had killed Salamanders. And he had killed Raven Guard.
Ammon stalked down the corridor, mucus leaking from the snarling joints of his antique power armour. This area of the Heralda's flags.h.i.+p was largely unpopulated except for the blooming diseases growing from the semi-organic metal walls. A sacred place. Holy to the Herald and the pestilence G.o.d. A breeding ground for the plagues that trailed Terminus Est and ravaged planets in the vessela's wake.
Ammon saw the defilement, black as coal and as large as a troop transport. A Raven Guard a.s.sault pod a- the hull around its impact twisted and burned. A mag-locked bulkhead stared at Ammon, closed, silent. He knew it contained the loyalist fools within, and voxed for his brethren to come forward, ready to open fire.
a”Great Herald,a” he voxed. The fluids in his throat made him sound like a man speaking underwater. a”We have located the first pod.a”
On board The Second Shadow, standing by the command throne of a shuddering, burning bridge, Brother-Captain Corvane Valar made a cutting gesture with his black-armoured hand.
At the order, a servitor entered a five-digit code into its console.
Ammon, his brethren squad, the various mutated things with him, and a significant portion of three decks of the Terminus Est, were vaporised as the first of the a.s.sault pods detonated.
Explosions of similar size tore through the starboard side of Terminus Est as the other pods a- each rigged with warheads and munitions from The Second Shadowa's weapon bays a- detonated on cue.
The flags.h.i.+p listed, rolling off course, its insides flooded with alarms, screams and flame. In the course of a single battle with a grossly-outnumbered Imperial fleet, the Heralda's vessel had sustained more damage than it had since the Siege of Terra. Bleeding and streaming ghostly, unnatural fire from its wounds, the huge s.h.i.+p broke off its attack run.
A great cheer sounded on the Shadowa's bridge, cried by Astartes and Chapter serfs alike. Corvane let the cheer subside, feeling satisfaction course through him.
a”Servants of the Chapter, you have served us well. Today you may die knowing your duty is done, and each of your names will be etched in the Chaptera's records.a”
Then he turned to his brother giants in their black armour. a”Raven Guard to the drop-pods. Make ready for planetfall.a”
Setha's warning was weak a- the psyker had long sensed the captain was resistant to psychic contact, even for a blunt, but the message got through. With most of his surviving units reunited, Thade commanded over two hundred men defending a cl.u.s.ter of mausoleums in the graveyard grounds of Yarith Spire.
Squads were stationed in a ring around a central building a- an ornate tomb raised in honour of a pilgrim of great worth whoa'd died some six thousand years before. The cover was better here; the Cadians moved between the mausoleums, firing out at the advancing Remnant horde. Thadea's few weapons teams set up their heavy bolters in the shadows of these gargoyle-encrusted buildings, adding their furious rate of fire to the onslaught of lasrifles on full-auto. Dead Mana's Hand stalked the edges of the Cadian defensive line, autocannons pounding into the disorganised ranks of the Archenemy.
Vertain swore as another group of Remnant cowered behind a small shrine building. A single round from his cannon would annihilate the marble structure and expose the enemy troops. Instead of firing, Vertain turned his Sentinel aside with a curse, opening fire at another group out in the open.
a”This would be much easier if we could fire at the d.a.m.n scenery,a” he muttered.
a”Copy that,a” Greer voxed back.
a”Wea're dead, either way.a” Vertain switched vox-channels. a”Captain?a”
Thade was in the centre of the Cadian defence, speaking with several officers, including Commissar Tionenji, Seth and Inquisitor Caius. He turned his head and clicked his micro-bead. a”Thade, go.a”
a”Sir, requesting permission to ignore Reclamation protocol and open fire on blessed structures in order to prosecute the enemy to maximum effect.a”
Thade laughed. a”Delicately phrased. Does the Emperor like gold? Fire at will. Inform the other squads.a”
Tionenji narrowed his eyes. a”What was that order?a”
a”The order to abandon Reclamation Protocol Zero-Nine.a” Thade met Tionenjia's eyes. a”A problem, commissar?a”
a”The protocols are the underpinning of this entire venture. The destruction of holy structures is counted as blasphemy against the G.o.d-Emperor.a”
a”The protocol is a waste of life and a sure way of ensuring we lose this war. Ita's a rule set down by Lord General Maggrig, who a- if reports are correct a- is dead.a”
a”Confirmed,a” Janden said. a”The landing site was overrun twenty-seven minutes ago. Lord General Maggriga's death was confirmed by Vednikan scouts. He was crucified by the Remnant.a”
a”I heard the d.a.m.n reports!a” Tionenji fumed.
a”Wea'll minimise collateral damage as much as can realistically be allowed for, but by the Golden Throne, I will not die here so some Ecclesiarchy b.a.s.t.a.r.d can smile in a few years about how we helped save on reconstruction costs in one paltry square kilometre of a city the size of a continent. Winning the war is more important than saving a handful of credits.a”
a”You are committing heresy. I am within my rights to execute you.a”
a”Ia'm fighting a war. Which is the greater sin: losing the world to Chaos, or losing a few shrines in the worlda's defence?a”
a”Semantics, captain. Semantics that fail to justify blasphemy.a”
a”Wea're fighting a war almost entirely without our heavy weaponry, which was left neatly packed in crates aboard s.h.i.+ps that are now nothing but wreckage in orbit. My men are as pious as any in the Imperium, Commissar Tionenji. They will use moderation.a”
Tionenji did what Thade had been expecting since the moment he met him. He went for his side arm.
Tionenji was a fine example of the Commissariata's standards of training. He drew fast, his hand a blur, and had the pistol aimed at Thadea's face before his heart had beat a second time.
a”If you will not do your dutya-a” Tionenji began.
Then he swallowed, listening to the threatening buzz of live weapons. Thade stood unmoving, his violet eyes glaring into the commissara's own. Next to him, Ban Jevrian was holding his h.e.l.lpistol in both hands, aiming at Tionenjia's eye. At Thadea's other shoulder, Lieutenant Horlan had his laspistol raised and similarly aimed. Tionenji flicked his glance left and right. Every Cadian officer had his weapon aimed at the commissar, even the fourteen-year-old boy. a”Drop it,a” hissed Jevrian.
a”Commissar or not,a” Lieutenant Horlan said, a”you die if that gun stays out of its holster.a”
Tionenji smiled. a”Gentlemen, you have just signed this regimenta's death warrant.a”
Jevriana's h.e.l.lpistol whined as it reached full charge. a”I said drop it.a”
a”Ia'll see you all dead for this.a”
a”Wea're all dead anyway,a” young Kel grinned without humour.
a”Stop pointing that pretty pistol at a warden-captain of Cadia,a” Horlan said. a”Right now.a”
a”Right now,a” Jevrian growled as he repeated Horlana's words, a”or I kill you where you stand, you off-world son of a b.i.t.c.h.a”
Tionenji holstered his laspistol, a patently false smile creasing his lips. a”Very well.a”
The Cadians slowly lowered their weapons, each man still on edge. Thade cleared his throat, taking a breath before speaking. He almost looked shaken. It was clear hea'd not expected his men to behave as they did.
a”That was unpleasant. Now, if we may focus on the matter at hand?a”
a”By what authoritya-a” Tionenji started again, but Thade interrupted.