PART NINE: The survivors wound their way carefully through the flaming ruins of the Peccavi's innards. Elijah managed to rally the remaining Terminators despite his wounds. Oh Emperor, thou art gracious. Give me the strength to shepherd your faithful to safety, Elijah prayed silently. Status reports from his remaining marines confirmed that only three marines of Squad Michael survived. Squad Chassan was fairing better, only two of Brother-Sergeant Chassan's six marines had gone to the Emperor's embrace. Brothers Hezekiah and Ezra took turns supporting their wounded commander. Although unwounded, both marine's armor had been badly damaged in the previous fight. Hezekiah's chainfist was a molten ruin and Ezra had discarded his bent assault cannon. Picking their way carefully, the marines easily overwhelmed what crew they managed to encounter. Ammunition was running low, and Elijah had ordered his marines to conserve ammo. Many of the passageways were collapsed ruined other were ablaze and stank of burning flesh. What little opposition was offered by the unorganized pirate remnants were brutally steamrolled over by a wall of hardened armor and crackling powerfists. Blood fleck out of his grim lips, covering the inside of Elijah's helmet. He faltered and Hezekiah held him up with his one functioning arm. Elijah struggled to his feet and the Terminators continued. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Antiochus died slowly. What was left alive flopped around, attached to control-panel by his mutated tentacle. It was through this link that the Daemon within the Peccavi kept what remained of the former Dark Angel alive. It relished every second of its former master's slow death. Fires roared within the ruined command bridge. The Peccavi itself was a wounded animal, floating defense in the midst of the Imperial onslaught. Headless of everything else, the daemon paid back its former master for every second it had been subjected to Antiochus' will. Every perceived slight and wrong was paid back ten-fold. The once-proud marine held on as his memories were slowly leached away. The core of what was left of Antiochus fought against the overwhelming dark tide. Fires roared inside of the command structure. Bodies burned as the temperature rose higher and higher. Nearby, the ruined corpse of the last Obliterator began to turn to slag under the intense heat. Liquid metal flowed like blood away from the techno-virus infested corpse. Closer to the ruined, trashing upper torso attached to the control console. Infection. Rebirth. PART TEN: The ways of the Emperor are unknown and above our keen, prayed Brother Hezekiah as he struggled down the ruined corridor. Larraman cells had stopped the flow from his wounds but the inside of his armor was slick with blood. Slowly he made his way towards the boarding torpedoes. Carrying the armored bulk of his Brother-Captain Elijah was slowing him down considerably. Behind him, Brother-Sergeant Michael's unconscious form was being towed on a suspensor lift attached to Hezekiah's armor. Brother-Sergeant Chassan's last orders were clear - escape and report the doom of the mission. Hezekiah's secondary duties to try to evacuate the wounded echoed in his thoughts and prayers as well. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Techmarine Vretil had been guiding the victorious survivors to the torpedoes when things had gone horribly wrong. As he had done on several occasions already, the Techmarine had linked to the ship's systems to override and emergency blast door. "By the Emperor," exclaimed Vretil. "The ship is powering up its warp engines." "The Gellar Fields should be down," said Brother-Sergeant Michael. "They are," replied Vretil. "We will be going into the warp unprotected. The warp engines are the ship's only remaining means of propulsion." Brother-Sergeant Chassan interrupted Vretil. "We cannot survive the in warp. Brother Vretil, we need to shut them down." Still connected by his neuro-cables to the ship, Vretil sent his consciousness deep into the ship's systems. "By the Emperor, this isn't right. His grace and .." The techmarine's scream of pain shocked the battle-hardened Deathwing members. It was nothing compared what Brother Ezra felt as the techmarine's servo-arm punched through the marine's heavy Terminator armor. The claw withdrew and ripped out Ezra's innards. Brother Sergeant Michael's own quick reflexes saved him from being decapitated. Brother-Vretil's swinging power axe had dug deep into Michael's armor and fractured his skull. Chassan had been the first to react, striking out with his blades. Cables were cut and the link between Techmarine and ship was severed. Sanity had returned just long enough for Vretil to relay his horrible message - Antiochus was alive. Alive and in an unholy union with the ship itself. And he was coming for them. Around the battered Dark Angels, the metal of the ship began to ooze and flow. Down the corridor behind them a gibbering horde of metal constructs stomped wordlessly towards them. Chassan, rallying the last of his squad had ordered the wounded and ineffective Hezekiah to take the wounded and report. Hezekiah hesitated to leave his comrades behind, but Chassan's tone brooked no reproach. "Have I not commanded you? Be not dismayed for the Emperor is with us no-matter where we go. Brother-Hezekiah, your duty is clear, lacking the means to destroy this ship from within; the Inner Circle must be given this new information." As Brother Benedict tore through the blast door with his power fist, Hezekiah began his lonely trek. Squad Chassan turned began their valiant rear-guard action. The fighting continued for several minutes - the vox-traffic fuzzed out as Hezekiah moved further away from the pitched battle. Chassan would die alone, unheralded as he gave his life for his chapter. He fell minutes later, the last to succumb to the demonic horde of metal things. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Epilogue: As lone boarding torpedo moved away from the ship, real space was torn apart. The demon-possessed warship entered the warp unprotected. The resulting released energies lashed about, consuming several of the smaller Chaos-ships. Several of Nagah's larger Battleships nearby began to break from the line in confusion. The Imperial Fleet tore though the resulting breach. Nagah's fleet broke and fled as the loyalist ravaged the confused traitors. Fleet Lord Admiral Romanoff's corpse stained the deck of his flagship, executed for cowardice as his nerve broke as the Imperial Fleet had closed in on the traitors. Standing above him was Fleet Commissar Ragnick, a still warm las-pistol in his hand. As Nagah's fleet fled in panic, the survivors torpedo was rescued by the Imperial Light Frigate, Holy Preservation. The three surviving marines were transferred to the Pride of the Lion. Brother-Sergeant Michael, still groggy from his wound, reported the failure of Elijah's mission. Brother-Captain Elijah broken body was placed into stasis and returned to the Rock. In the warp, a ship laughs. |
THE PECCAVI By Trent Hoffman ( OCAC ) |
FABLES OF THE UNFORGIVEN |
