Chapter IX: We are Death and Death is us! Veteran Sergeant Dagon checked the self test read-outs on his helmet display for the third time. All systems nominal. His assault squad along with three others stood ready behind him. They were about to perform one of the trickiest maneuvers in the Codex Astartes. An in flight deployment of jump packed assault troops. They were told to relieve and retrieve Librarian Lucidian and his honour guard from an untenable situation. He feared they may be too late. With a release of compressed air the side doors of the gunship began to open. "Exit vector coordinates in fifteen seconds" The pilots voice resonated in his ear piece. "Tennine.." "Follow me in! Keep a tight formation. Deploy in squad order" Commanded Dagon to the three squads "Deploy" And they were off! Free falling first as they deployed, and maneuvering in to squad groups. "Activate packs" Thirty jump packs activated simultaneously. With controlled precision the troopers descended through the massive half a mile wide entrance created by Gladius' handiwork. "Three four five " Dagon counted out aloud as they passed by each tier of tunnels. "Seven! Deploy. Arrowhead formation" With a thud, he came to a jarring halt, landing on his feet with the chainsword humming at the ready. The men deployed fluidly covering every fire point and potential threat. But what they saw made them swell with pride and soften with sadness. The entire high arched cavern was completely covered with a mass of dead bodies. Cultists, pure strains, hybrids, all lay in grotesque postures embracing each other in death. Here and there they saw the occasional flash of bone white armour. Lucidian's honour guard had sold their lives well! They found Lucidian barely alive, lying on top of the decapitated patriarch's body. The stench of death was everywhere, but so was the aroma of victory. They found Lucius, dead at his Librarians side, defending his commander to the last. A great loss to the chapter of a potential master. Gideon and Belasus also had sold their lives dearly. The few remaining cultists were wiped out rapidly by the vengeful Dark Angels. Solemnly they retrieved the bodies of their fallen. Apothecaries retrieved two of the squads' geneseeds. Quintus had been burnt to cinders and Adonus' geneseeds had been punched cleanly out of his body by the death strike of a genestealer. The librarian was taken aboard a thunderhawk gunship for urgent attention in it's apothecarion. Up above them, the Spacemarines whose forefathers had formed the personal bodyguard to the immortal emperor, conducted their riposte with surgical precision . Waves of thunderhawk gunships swept down in to the atmosphere. Guided by the data that had been transmitted from Station 978, they disgorged jump packed assault troops in mid air and then swung away to strafe the retreating columns of cultists at the foot hills. Battle barges began a systematic bombardment of all centers of resistance from low orbit. Slaying the patriarch had been the key to victory. Once that happened, the rest of the cult was nothing more than a misguided rabble. It took a full terran day for the mopping up operations to be complete. Of the original assault team none other than Lucudian survived. Lucius and Gideon would live on in the body of another as their geneseed had been harvested. The rest were destroyed. A high price indeed! But a world had been saved and what remained of it's population. Epilogue: To be an Angel of Death! Sagitante had been ordered to board one of the thunderhawks as it returned to the Fortress monastary of the Dark Angels. He had no idea why, but he was the highest-ranking officer of the defence forces to survive. A massive armoured spacemarine in terminator armour stood in front of him. A glistening and vicious looking, multibladed weapon casually hanging from his waist. The skull mask belying him to be one of the chapters chaplains. He had learnt Lucidian was being tended to in the thunderhawk's apothecarion. He had developed a fondness and respect for the old shaman in the short time he had spent on the orbital station. The massive bird of metal swung in to a landing pattern. The chaplain at last ended his silence and spoke. "Colonel Sagitante!" His voice was menacing but purposeful " You are young but resourceful! You have served the emperor well! It is Brother Librarian Lucidian's request that you accompany us to our Fortress! You may find that the emperor can be served in many ways" In that instance, Sagitante understood. He had achieved something that he never dreamed of! To be an avenging angel. It would be the greatest honour! Was the librarian testing his mettle all the time he was on board the station? So many questions!! The thunderhawk landed with a gentle dull thud. The ramp clanged open with a release of hydraulics and steam. "Follow me! If you dare!" and the chaplain stepped out on to the surface of the last remaining piece of their home world Caliban!. |
DEATH ON QADIS III By ( Shadow Guard ) |
FABLES OF THE UNFORGIVEN |
