Another grenade ignited behind him as the two Troopers covered the withdrawal. Zephyr had drawn his pistol and was firing both his weapons, one in each hand, as the creatures were just a metre from him. The Luminary had drawn his blade, the only weapon he carried. It was more for ceremonial purposes and a status symbol than anything else. Yet as one of the creatures got past Hyland, the Luminary surged forward and thrust his blade into its torso. Its claws slashed across his face and opened two deep cuts in his face. Vanlith winced in pain, but it released a fury within him as he felt the strength of his Trooper days surge through his body. He grabbed hold of the creature’s clawed hand with his left, thrusting again and again into its body, until he was covered in its dark blue blood. The body fell lifelessly and vanquished at his feet.
“Protect the Luminary!” Malik shouted.
The Cleric rushed up the final flight of stairs as the three Troopers closed in around the Luminary, doing their best to hold the Snappers at bay. Blood spewed out across the deck, and Wyse threw one to the floor, flattened its head with his foot, and shooting another in the face with his rifle. Even the inexperienced Hyland was getting stuck into the fight. As she ran out of ammo with bodies at her feet, she swung her rifle, clotheslining a Snapper, beating it to death on the ground with the stock of her rifle. She drew her pistol to keep up the fight, but as she lifted it, a Snapper bit down onto the receiver and ripped it from her hands. She reached for the creature, but it tossed her pistol away before she could try and retrieve it, and snapped back at her. She recoiled back and punched it in the face. The immense force and power of her body and suit combined caused its skull to collapse, and it was thrown back to the deck, killed instantly.
She looked at her huge armoured fist and felt the immense power it gave her. It was something she knew to be true, but she’d never experienced it in the real world, in combat. Another Snapper lashed its tail towards her. She caught it as it struck, taking most of the force of the impact that would have killed a Ward. The sharp barbed tail scraped along her power armour, digging channels that would have cut a Terran in half were she not so well protected. She swung the creature around her and released it, causing it to crash into five more of them, and giving her a little breathing space as the Cleric arrived beside them. For a moment the Snappers held their ground as if reassessing their foes as dozens of them lay dead about the deck.
“Reload,” insisted the Cleric.
Hyland had been stunned by the short and brutal action, and she’d forgotten her training for a few heated moments. She dropped the magazine and fumbled for another in the belt of her power armour. More and more Snappers climbed up over the edge of the dock and up the stairs Malik had been on moments before. Most of the Wards were running back towards the safety of the mining facility, but not the wounded Sergeant Adler, who had taken up position between the Cleric and Wyse. Malik was impressed with his resilience and resolve, but he did not say it, for fear of inflating the Ward’s sense of worth. Malik was confident in their power armour and in his Troopers’ ability to fight through anything, but he was painfully aware of the danger posed to the Luminary. It could only take one more of the creatures to get past them to spell death to the Sanctum emissary, and likely capital punishment for the Cleric who let it happen. The odds were not in their favour as the enemy closed in.
“Back away, slowly,” he ordered.
As they began to pace back, but he was well aware they would not make it far before another assault. The creatures looked ready to pounce. There were now almost one hundred of them, and still more joining them as each moment passed. There was suddenly a loud roar overhead, and they looked up. Their drop ship was in the air. In the heat of combat, nobody had noticed it had even gone or thought to wonder why. It came to a hover ten metres above them, and the cannon and coaxial machine gun blazed into life. The huge calibre shots blew holes in the Snappers, ripping them apart as the fire strafed all along their lines. They began to scatter in all directions as if a predator had landed among them.
Chapter Four
“Run!” Malik roared as he saw their opportunity.
Barick and Andez covered the retreat as the Cleric kept a keen eye on the creatures. The others sheltered the Luminary as more of the salivating Snappers climbed up over the sides of the dock, trying to cut them off. The drop ship continued to pour fire into the horde, but it was not enough to stop all of them, and some went straight for the Troopers. Rifle fire cut some down, but one managed to reach the Cleric. He slashed down at one of its claws as it reached for him, decapitating it with a second strike.
The door to the facility was shut, and several Wards were trapped outside, as well as his entire team. He looked furious and pushed through the group as they reloaded and kept up the fight. A Ward was talking to someone on an intercom on the wall. He shoved him out of the way with such force his feet left the ground, and he crashed down onto the deck. He punched the primitive push-to-talk button.
“Open this door, right now!”
“Sorry, but the risk to the facility is too great.”
“This is Master Cleric Malik, and I am ordering you to open this door, now!”
“We have tens of thousands of lives to protect. We cannot risk the lives of all in the facility,” protested the voice on the other line.
“Open this door now, or you won’t live to see another day!”
The fire behind him continued to rage. The Luminary pushed through to him and held up an access card to the security panel.
“This will override the door.”
The panel flashed green, and the door slid open, much to the alarmed dismay of the man on the other side who had denied them entry. The Cleric reached in and grabbed hold of him. He pulled him outside and tossed him out over the other Troopers into the clutches of the bloodthirsty Snappers. They took no time in ripping him apart. Malik saw the Luminary through to safety before yelling to the others.
“Inside, now!”
They poured through the narrow doorway that was large enough for just two Wards or a single Trooper to pass. The Snappers continued to lash out at them. Several more Wards were cut down, but Alder kept up the fight through the pain of his injuries. He picked up another rifle from one of the fallen Wards. With a rifle under each arm he blazed away, and once again impressed the Cleric.
Soon it was just Malik, Alder, and Barick left. A creature leapt through the air towards Malik. He caught it mid-air by the throat and slammed its head into the steel bulkhead beside the door. The skull cracked open on impact, and he tossed the body out towards the others, as Barick climbed through the door. The Cleric grabbed Alder by his body armour, picked him up, and threw him through the door in an uncharacteristic display of concern for the Ward’s life. He climbed through after him. Wyse hit the door release switch, and it started to slide shut, but the claws of a Snapper grabbed hold of it and stopped it, before another did the same.
Wyse put his weight behind the door, and it began to close, but another Snapper came forward and pushed its head through the breach. It put a claw to either side of the opening to bring it to a halt. Malik punched it hard in the face, causing blood to burst out over all of them. He lifted his leg and kicked it hard out of the doorway. He brought his blade down against the doorway and severed the fingers of the other two. The door finally slid across and sealed shut. Nobody said a word for a moment as Malik took a breath and turned back to the rest of them. He didn’t look relieved. He looked furious.
“Someone is responsible for this disaster, and they will pay for it with their lives, all of them,” he scowled.
“Cleric, I believe you just dealt with the perpetrator,” replied the Luminary.
“No, there are more who must he held accountable for this disaster.”
He looked around at the quivering security staff of the facility. They were right to be terrified, for he would not hesitate to smite every single one of them if he felt they had put the Luminary and his Troopers at risk.
&nbs
p; “Where is your Governor?”
“I will show you to him,” said one of the men with a noticeable shake in his voice.
“Move it,” grumbled the Cleric.
The Luminary seemed to be the least bothered of all of them, while the Troopers looked as though it was just another ordinary day.
“Good work out there,” Andez said to Hyland supportively.
“No.” The Cleric looked back to the rookie Trooper, “You let one of those things through. It could have been the death of the Luminary. You were only saved such a fate because the old warrior in him still shines brightly. Do not make such a mistake again.”
“Yes, Cleric,” she said humbly as he followed the guard.
Andez put a hand on her shoulder once Malik was out of earshot as they brought up the rear. She looked disappointed in herself and also a little fearful.
“Coming from the Master Cleric, that was high praise. If he really thought you had fallen short, he’d have tossed you outside with the other guy.”
“He would do that to a Trooper?”
“Damn right, he would,” replied Barick without any sympathy. Yet he stopped short of criticising her, as he’d seen her fight with his own eyes.
“I am glad I had you by my side, Master Cleric. That was fine work you did out there,” said the Luminary as he walked beside Malik.
“I did only my duty,” he replied coldly.
“Yes, and you honour the Sanctum with your continued devotion to the Order, and to your Clan.”
“Your words are appreciated, but this failing also falls on my head. Your life was compromised, and that is not acceptable.”
“You cannot be held accountable for the hostile native inhabitants of this disgusting world,” he replied sympathetically.
“No, but I can be held accountable for letting them endanger your life and the lives of Sanctum Troopers. I will pay penance in due time, and I will root out all who are to blame for this travesty.”
“Your work is never complete, is it, Cleric?”
“No, not while incompetence and insurrection remain.”
“And you think you can bring an end to either of those things?”
“No, but I can punish those who are the cause, and ensure they do no further damage to the Sanctum. I can purge them from this universe.”
“Your loyalty to the ideas of the Order is to be much admired. Your Troopers are lucky to have such a loyal and formidable leader.”
“Gratitude, Your Eminence,” he said, bowing his head.
They were led through various corridors and gantries. Mining shafts went in all directions, but it was quiet. The few workers in sight were sitting around idle, and the Cleric looked down at them with disgust, but he said nothing. It was beneath him to chastise a single Provincial.
“Why do they lay idle?” Hyland asked naively.
“Because they don’t yet know the consequences of doing so,” replied Andez.
“Lay about scum,” added Barick unsympathetically.
“Ignore him. He’s just angry all of the time.”
“You make me angry,” he snarled.
“Do they have any justification for this?”
“Back breaking labour on a piece of drukk planet where everything is trying to kill you? I think I’d have a few things to say about that.”
“Provincials have no say. They do as they are ordered, the same as the rest of us,” replied Barick.
“Some of us just got lucky in life, then?”
“To be a Trooper is not luck. It is earned.”
“And you think they could earn this?”
“No, they are not worthy. They are weak and pathetic. The greatest honour they could achieve would be to serve as a Ward, which they all would if they had what it took,” replied Barick.
Eventually, they arrived at a large dome-like structure that appeared to be some form of gathering area. A man was awaiting them. He was half as dirty as the rest of the miners, and much older than the average. He held himself with confidence and authority, yet Malik knew he was not the man they were looking for.
“Where is your Governor?”
“I am sorry, but he is otherwise engaged at present, but he is on his way.”
“Not good enough. Why were we diverted to a secondary landing zone?”
“Apologies, Cleric, but atmospheric conditions regularly cause last minute changes we often have to make that are far from ideal.”
“Far from ideal? The life of the Luminary was put in extreme danger!” He pointed a finger at the man aggressively.
“Master Cleric, if you will?” asked the Luminary politely but in an authoritative manner. The Cleric immediately stepped down, though he remained just as angry as he had before.
“Of course,” he replied as he bowed out.
“I am sure the Governor will answer all of our questions in good time. When can we expect his arrival?”
“I would anticipate within the next thirty minutes.”
“Thirty?” gasped the Cleric angrily, but one look from the Luminary was enough for him to hold his tongue. The grubby miner went on.
“You can stow your equipment over there, and I will have refreshments brought to you immediately.”
“Thank you,” replied the Luminary.
The man strolled away, and they looked over to a large open doorway with tables, tools, and seating. The Cleric glanced across to the Wards. Many were bleeding and several had limbs missing. The Troopers were unharmed, but were missing weapons and had surface damage to their power armour.
“Cleric, you have delivered us safely to the Colony. See to the wounded and your equipment.”
“Yes, Luminary,” he replied without hesitation.
“You heard the Luminary. Get to it!”
The wounded were carried to tables, and fellow Wards patched them up as best they could. The Troopers kept to themselves and headed to their own corner of the room. The Cleric remained in the centre of the domed hall, and he looked pensive.
“We’ll see no solar charging on this world, even when we are on the surface. Get the suits charging. I want them one hundred percent operational at all times.”
Malik paced into a corner and released his suit. Stepping down from it, he noticed blood trailing down his right arm and looked to his suit. There was a puncture at the inner joint. As the others climbed out from their suits, he could see Wyse and Hyland were wounded, too, also from the weakest joins in their armour.
“How did they get through Z26?” Wyse asked.
“Their claws, you saw them for yourself. I saw Wards cut right through by the slash of those talons. Helmets and armour cut through like they were nothing,” replied Andez.
The Cleric opened a panel on the thigh of his suit and pulled out a small surgical gun-like object. He held it to the wound on his arm, squeezed, and held the trigger. Wisps of smoke arose as his flesh was fused together. He showed no pain.
“Get your Medguns out, and patch yourselves up,” he ordered.
Hyland had clearly never used one before, while the Cleric’s body was covered in the scars of previous work. She took her own Medgun out and placed it on her collar where the talon had cut into the flexible plating there. She pulled the trigger and winced. She made no noise but was visibly in pain. Barick laughed.
“Colt getting broken in,” he joked.
“Enough,” snapped the Cleric who was still angry at the entire situation.
“What now?” Andez asked as the Cleric pulled out another small gun-like object. He put it over the hole and pulled the trigger. Fabric covered the hole and sealed up his compression suit.
“Protect the Luminary until the work here is done. Fatigues only, we don’t need power armour to deal with a few angry miners.”
He pulled the Vanquisher and sheath from his armour, unravelled a belt that was integrated into it, and clamped it about his waist. The same man they had seen before soon stormed back into the room, and the Cleric leapt up protectively to be b
y the Luminary’s side. The others soon followed, other than the wounded still being treated.
“The Governor will see you now,” declared the filthy man.
The Cleric looked at him with disgust. He was short, fat and balding, and looked as though he hadn’t washed for a month. His clothes were unkempt and ill fitting. He pointed up to a seemingly non-descript part of the dome, but a panel ten metres up from the floor lit up and became translucent, revealing it was in fact the window of an office. A doorway opened beside it, and a concertina stairway extended out and descended to the floor beside them. The Governor appeared in the window, well dressed, but just as overweight as the other man.
The Luminary headed for the stairs, and the Cleric went to follow him.
“No, stay put,” said the Luminary.
The Cleric didn’t look happy about it, but he wasn’t about to disobey orders. He was at least content he could see the room as the Luminary climbed the stairs, and the grubby miner followed. Malik watched their every move and carefully studied the grey-haired man in a grey suit who loomed over them from the window. The Cleric could not help but feel something was wrong. There was a gaze on the face of the Governor. It was not quite sinister, but certainly suspicious. The Luminary stepped into the room, and Malik watched as the Governor turned to greet him, but there was no respect shown.
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