by George Mann
He looked up, examining their surroundings. Just like all the other dead ends they had encountered, the walls here were covered in thick, elastic sheets of flesh. They dripped ichor and were crusted with old blood. Cautiously, Koryn approached the wall ahead of them – the wall that, according to the schematics, should not have existed.
He peered at it closely, and realised it was partially translucent: he could just make out a bank of winking diodes on the other side. He reached out the tip of his lightning claws and gently sliced into the human tissue. It parted like soft butter, revealing a cavity behind. ‘This wall is simply flesh,’ he said, turning to his brothers. ‘It has been erected here to mimic a wall, but the passageway continues beyond it. If the schematic can be trusted, this leads to the control room.’ He turned back intending to tear more of the filthy covering away, when he heard something shift on the other side. Before he could react, a massive fist burst through the hole he had created, slamming into his helm and sending him spinning to the ground.
He heard Cordae bark commands as, dazed, he shook his head and picked himself up off the floor. The sheer force of the blow had been beyond even the capabilities of a Plague Marine, swollen and imbued with the power of its sick deity.
Thundering footsteps echoed in the passageway, and he looked round to see his assailer erupt through the fleshy membrane, pawing it away with massive limbs, one of which terminated in a huge heavy bolter. The figure was immense, almost filling the passageway, and while its flesh and armour was twisted and corrupted beyond all recognition – bulging out like some misshapen sack of body parts and technological gadgetry – it did not bear the hallmarks of the plague like its twisted kin. Its face, partially obscured behind twin eye implants, twitched in what Koryn took to be a smile.
The creature raised its weapon and emitted a thunderous barrage of shots. The Raven Guard dropped to the floor, dancing swiftly out of the line of fire, but Korsae, too late, was caught in the hail of rounds. Koryn saw him punched backwards as multiple bolts punctured his armour, shredding him completely before dropping him, sighing, to the ground.
The beast – which Koryn now realised had once been a Techmarine, before it gave itself up to the vagaries of the warp – gave a stentorian roar and charged forwards, swinging its fist in a wide arc and sending Grayvus sprawling to the ground. As Koryn watched, the heavy bolter began to change and morph, twisting before his very eyes into something entirely different: a chainfist. The power being harnessed by the creature was far beyond Koryn’s understanding, and it rendered the traitor a truly fearsome opponent. Still, they had little choice but to kill it. The beast was between them and the control room.
Koryn rushed in to meet the creature’s charge head on. His talons sang as he carved away chunk after chunk of the creature’s flesh. It slowed, raising its arms up before it in defence. Yet every time Koryn opened up a gash, the flesh seemed to close again around it, sealing itself neatly until there was no evidence of the wound at all. He punched forwards, spearing it through the belly, but almost lost his arm in the pliable flesh, which simply bubbled and exuded him, pushing his arm free and sealing itself.
The creature laughed and battered Koryn aside, knocking him easily against the tunnel wall. It pinned him around the chest with its gargantuan fist, raising the buzzing blade of the chainfist.
He struggled in its grip as the beast brought the blade inexorably towards his head. It was slow-moving and ponderous, but seemingly indestructible.
Bolter fire erupted down its left flank, as Corvaan and Argis concentrated their fire, trying to wound it badly enough that the flesh was unable to knit itself back together. The bolter rounds tore at its flesh and armour, but then dropped out again through its belly before they could detonate, pinging off the metal floor even as its flesh morphed and twisted to compensate.
The muted crump of a grenade finally got its attention, as Cordae triggered a melta bomb, and it bellowed in fury as the tumbling explosive seared a hunk out of its shoulder. It twisted, dropping Koryn and turning on the Chaplain, who brandished his crozius before him like a talisman, as if the weapon might somehow ward the creature off.
Its shoulder was still smouldering from the explosion, and while the flesh around the wound was stretching and morphing, it seemed unable to knit itself back together again. ‘It’s susceptible to explosives!’ Koryn bellowed. ‘Use whatever you’ve got!’
‘The remaining charges from when we blew the wall!’ called Kayaan, unclipping one of the devices from his belt and clutching it in his fist.
Koryn nodded, wishing now that he had retained some of the charges himself. ‘See if you can get near enough to plant it, Kayaan,’ he called, circling slowly, his eyes still fixed on the beast. It took a swipe at Cordae with its chainfist, missing as he ducked out of the way and striking the wall instead, showering the passageway in hot, grinding sparks.
Cordae battered it across the chest with his crozius, and the creature staggered back a step under the force of the blow. ‘For Corax!’ bellowed the Chaplain, striking it again on the left knee and causing it to buckle.
Kayaan saw his opening and rushed in, punching out with the explosive charge. His fist burst through its heaving belly, disappearing up to the elbow. The creature bellowed and struck out, the chainfist buzzing as it brought it down hard across Kayaan’s right shoulder, severing his head and left arm entirely from his body.
The top half of the Raven Guard slid to the floor in a shower of dark blood, but the creature’s flesh had already knitted around the arm, holding the rest of Kayaan upright in an obscene embrace.
‘Detonate the charge!’ bellowed Koryn, as the corrupted Techmarine lurched along the passageway towards them, dragging the remains of Kayaan along with it.
‘We can’t!’ shouted Argis. ‘We don’t have the detonator.’
‘We’ll have to trigger it manually,’ said Corvaan. He pulled another charge from his belt. ‘Keep it busy,’ he said, dropping to a crouch. ‘I’m going to get behind it.’
Argis and Grayvus dropped back, showering the creature’s face with bolter-fire. It seemed to have little impact on the abomination, though it swatted at the rounds puncturing its soft flesh in annoyance.
Koryn, knowing that he needed to buy Cayaan time, rushed in beside Cordae, swiping at its legs in an effort to slow it down. His talons sparked as he thrust them again and again into the creature, severing ligaments and muscles with every attack. It stumbled slightly as it tried to turn, finding it difficult to manoeuvre its vast bulk in the narrow passage. Cordae struck out with his crozius, knocking it back with another blow to the chest, and while it was occupied, Corvaan slipped beneath its legs, leaping up behind it and jabbing his fist into its back.
‘Get clear!’ he called, and Cordae and Koryn fell back to join Grayvus and Argis a little further down the passageway.
‘Corvaan?’ called Koryn, realising that something was wrong. The beast twitched and twisted, trying to shake the Raven Guard free from its back.
‘My arm is trapped, captain. I can’t get free, but I can trigger the bomb,’ he paused for a moment, weighing up his words. ‘It’s been an honour,’ he said quietly. ‘For Corax!’ He depressed the detonator inside the beast.
The creature exploded in a blinding flash, roiling flame and flying body parts forcing the remaining Raven Guard to the ground. The passageway trembled with the force of the detonation, buckling and twisting out of shape as it attempted to contain the blow. Koryn felt flesh, plasteel and ceramite shower down upon his back in a continuous hail. He didn’t wait for it to stop before he was up on his feet, urging the three others to join him. All around him, the scene was utter devastation. One of the walls had collapsed, exposing pipework and circuits, and the four corpses had been nearly obliterated by the force of the explosion. Flames licked hungrily at scattered body parts like a series of tiny funerary pyres.
‘If our e
ncounter with the vermin-things didn’t get their attention, this certainly did. We must move, now!’
He clambered through the wreckage, pushing his way past a hunk of metal that might once have been part of the corrupted Techmarine. He tried not to think of the loss, the fact that three more of his brothers had died. Three drop-pods had arrived on Fortane’s World. Now only four Raven Guard survived.
The passageway spilled out into a large, dimly-lit chamber containing a bank of dead screens and three control desks, each of them peppered with winking lights. Koryn crossed immediately to the desk in the centre of the room, scanning the bank of dials and levers in an effort to ascertain how to open the gun ports high above their heads. He heard his brothers enter the room behind him.
As he reached out a hand for one of the switches, he heard a choking sound from the far corner of the room, which broke into a long, hideous laugh. He glanced up to see a Plague Marine brandishing a bolter in his direction. The bloated figure stepped forwards so that Koryn could see him better, and Koryn almost winced at the sight. The former Death Guard was, like most of his kin, bloated and mutated beyond all sense. His intestines drooped in fleshy hoops around his knees, spilled from a ragged wound in his guts, and his faceplate had been broken, exposing rancid flesh and bone beneath. Worms writhed inside his cheeks and jaw. He fixed Koryn with his single remaining eye. ‘So, the Raven Guard are not, after all, impervious to ambush,’ drawled the Plague Marine, its voice deep and gravelly.
More figures loomed out of the darkness – seven of them, surrounding the Raven Guard entirely. Fury flared inside Koryn. So close, and now they were badly outnumbered. He glanced at his brothers and saw that, like him, they were calculating the odds, trying to envisage the best plan of attack. They would have only seconds to act.
‘The irony is quite delic–’ The Plague Marine broke off with a sudden, strangled cry. Confused, Koryn watched as each of the traitors simply dropped in turn, choking and pitching backwards, clutching at their throats.
Cordae stepped forwards. ‘No…’ he muttered, realisation dawning.
Koryn saw seven ebon-armoured figures emerge from the shadows brandishing combat knives. ‘Aysaal! We’d thought you lost,’ he said, unable to keep the relief from his voice.
‘It is good to see you, captain,’ replied Aysaal, coming to stand beside Koryn at the console. Koryn was shocked to see that he was missing his left arm, severed at the shoulder and now a bloody stump. ‘Our drop pod was damaged. We landed far out in the forest, and we were unable to raise a signal. I decided the only course of action was to continue with the mission. We thought you were dead.’
‘Many of us are,’ said Koryn, grimly. He put a hand on Aysaal’s pauldron. ‘And many of us will be.’ He indicated the controls. ‘We must open the gun ports and allow the Navy to bombard this bastion. They await us in orbit. Time is of the essence.’
‘Then do it,’ said Aysaal. ‘We may die together like brothers, ridding this world of its foul interlopers.’
Koryn nodded, turning to the controls and engaging the vast engines that would iris open the gun emplacements on the skin of the carapace, providing the frigates above with their sitting targets. Their shells would penetrate the carapace, destroying the bastion from within. ‘It is done,’ he said, solemnly, standing back from the console.
‘Then we should run,’ said Argis. ‘If we die killing traitors it will be an honourable death. I won’t sit here and wait for the bombing to begin.’
‘Yes, Argis,’ replied Koryn. ‘There is honour in what you say. Head for the battlefield, and rendezvous with the Brazen Minotaurs if you make it out alive. I will remain here to ensure none of the traitors are able to close the gun ports before the Navy have done their work.’ He was jolted by a sudden rumble from below, indicating that the shelling had already begun. ‘I wish you luck, my brothers,’ said Koryn, glancing at them each in turn. ‘And my thanks, Aysaal, for coming to our aid in our hour of need.’
‘I did only as you would, captain,’ said Aysaal.
‘Captain – I should remain in your place,’ said Argis, stepping forwards.
Koryn shook his head. ‘No, Argis. This is my fight. I will not leave this place until I know the mission is complete. I must ensure the gun ports remain open until the bastion has been destroyed.’ He paused. ‘We will be reunited on the fields of distant Kiavahr, when our brothers honour us amongst their dead.’
‘As you wish, captain,’ said Argis, and Koryn could hear the strain in his voice.
‘For Corax!’ bellowed the Raven Guard in unison, turning towards the door as another explosion rocked the foundations of the bastion.
Koryn watched for a moment as his brothers melted into the shadows of the wrecked passageway beyond. He stepped forwards in order to barricade the door behind them, but then the console beside him buckled and shifted, and he was thrown to the ground, striking his head hard against a shattered lintel that had fallen from above. He pulled himself up onto his hands and knees, feeling the entire bastion trembling around him. He could hear multiple explosions detonating through the plascrete, thrumming through the fabric of the building. Hunks of rubble dislodged from the ceiling and tumbled to the floor, one of them striking his legs and causing him to wince in pain. He looked up to see the doorway was blocked by fallen masonry.
So, he thought, a sense of peace and finality settling over him. This is it. At least my work here on Fortane’s World is done. All debts are repaid. All honour is restored. The bastion falls.
He felt something touch his pauldron, and turned to see a golden gauntlet resting there. Surprised, he twisted, scrabbling to his feet. A Brazen Minotaur stood amongst the wreckage, a shimmering visage amongst the plumes of dust and the flame. ‘This way, brother of the Raven,’ said the Space Marine, indicating a path through the wreckage. ‘Brother Theseon is waiting.’
Dazed, Koryn followed behind the shining figure.
They were not out of danger yet, but Koryn felt hope blossom in his breast. He, and, perhaps his brothers alongside him, might yet live to fight another day.
Daed
At first, Daed barely noticed that the world was on fire.
All he could see was blood and rage. He had given himself over completely to the battle, surviving on instinct alone as he chopped and slashed and punched and roared indiscriminately at the enemy. They fell in great swathes as he carved his way across the battlefield, leaving a trail of sticky blood and shattered limbs.
It was only when the ground began to tremble so violently that he lost his footing and dropped to one knee, that he finally reclaimed his senses and took stock of what was happening all around him. The enemy army was routing. Militia were scattering in every conceivable direction, leaving the Death Guard and their daemonic bedfellows exposed, doing their utmost to rally their followers but failing in the face of the devastation that surrounded them.
Daed turned, watching the bastion erupt into flame as the orbital strikes hit home, cracking the walls from the inside out and causing momentous landslides as massive hunks of plascrete were jettisoned across the battlefield. They bowled through the fleeing army, crushing hundreds of men in their wake.
Daed saw a lumbering Plague Marine emerge from amongst the wreckage, its head and shoulders entirely engulfed in flame. It stumbled a few paces more, then, like a torch suddenly doused, its head burst with a sickening pop and it collapsed to the ground in a blackened heap.
Daed tilted his head back and roared in triumph. The Raven Guard had been true to their word. They had succeeded in their clandestine mission. The siege had finally broken, and now the Navy could do their work.
The enemy have been vanquished, Daed,+ came the calm, yet confident voice of the Chief Librarian in his head. +The Brazen Minotaurs have served the Emperor well.+
You live, Theseon, thought Daed. I had feared you were lost to us, until you woke and banish
ed the darkness.
I live,+ replied Theseon. +In a manner of speaking. I am damaged. My mind is assailed on all fronts, while my body remains under constant threat. While one siege breaks, another continues to rage. I am trapped inside the shell of my body, unable to move, unable to risk lowering my defences for even a moment. Yet I was aided by the Raven Guard. You were wise to accept their assistance, Daed. They may not understand our ways, but they have proved useful allies in this war.+
I did what was necessary, thought Daed. I did what I needed to do to win the battle.
Your risk has helped to preserve the integrity of our Chapter, brother.+
And the Raven Guard? thought Daed. Did any of them survive? I took no chances and sent some of our brothers through the breach behind them. I had to be sure they would achieve their aim.
Some of them live. Our brothers helped to extract them from the wreckage. We shall return them to the outpost here, and then onwards to our barge in orbit.+
And from there, to whence they came. Back to the shadows like ghosts.
Theseon was silent for a moment. +No. We may yet require their assistance again. The battle here is over. The Navy frigates currently bombing the bastion will soon redeploy to join their sister vessels in combating the enemy warships. Kandoor is safe for now. But we, brother, must turn our attentions to Gideous Krall. We must find him and terminate him with all due haste. I do not know how long I have left. Our time runs short.+
Yes, brother, thought Daed. The battle may be over, but until Gideous Krall is destroyed, the war is not.
I see you understand me, Daed. It is time to withdraw from Fortane’s World. The Navy and Guard will ensure the remnants of the enemy army are destroyed.+
Soon, brother, thought Daed. Soon. He glanced across the battlefield, still panting from his exertions. Plague Marines lumbered amongst the dead, hacking at the wounded with their poisoned blades, and plaguebearers continued with their diabolical incantations, still locked in vicious battle with Daed’s brothers. Theseon was right. Gideous Krall was waiting for them, somewhere amongst the blighted worlds of the Sargassion Reach. It was paramount that they found him and put him to the sword. But here on the battlefield there were still traitors, and Daed’s axe was yet hungry for blood. Gideous Krall could wait a little while longer.
