Had Ragnar been rewarded for his heroic action? No. In fact, Ragnar was immersed in the political infighting between the Chapter’s Wolf Lords. In an effort to discredit Berek, his rivals lobbied the Great Wolf to exile Ragnar. So it was that the young Space Wolf had been exiled to Holy Terra to serve in the Wolfblade, a cadre of loyal Space Wolves serving House Belisarius. One day, Berek hoped that he would once again see Ragnar walking the halls of the Fang.
A warning alarm sounded, interrupting the Wolf Lord’s reverie. “Jump to normal space will commence in one minute,” the herald announced ship-wide. Berek, having been brought back to the here and now, gave one last look around the bridge. His crew was prepared for the jump back to normal space, attending their stations, saying the proper blessings, and performing the proper rituals. His Wolf Guard departed the bridge to secure themselves in their acceleration couches.
A warning alarm preceded the next countdown announcement, “Jump to normal space will commence in thirty seconds.”
Even though Berek had made more warp jumps than he could remember, he still had moments of uneasiness. The warp was not devoid of entities, indeed it was a place where unspeakable horrors dwelled, horrors that one had to pass through when travelling amongst the stars in service of the Emperor. Deep in the Wolf Lord’s heart, he was still a superstitious warrior from Fenris with a healthy distrust of magic, or anything that smelled like it.
“Jump to normal space will commence in fifteen seconds.”
Slowly, the bridge seemed to stretch and lengthen. Light danced across the ship’s interior, emanating from no apparent source. A low rhythmic hum grew in Berek’s ear. The process had already begun. Even now, the ship was trying to escape the warp.
“Jump to normal space will commence in ten seconds.”
The hum transformed into murmuring, sickly, twisted voices speaking in an unintelligible tongue. Every surface within the ship began to glow. Bulkheads screamed as if they were buckling under a terrible strain.
“Jump to normal space will commence in five seconds.”
Suddenly sound, light and motion blended together in a collage of horrors.
“Jump.”
In that instant, there was everything and nothing.
The jump to normal space was complete. Berek gave quick, silent prayers to the Emperor, Leman Russ and the old gods of Fenris.
The Wolf Lord checked the bridge and his crew. Everyone was removing their restraints and moving back to their positions. Berek took his time, making sure each member of the crew had survived the passage unscathed. The dangers of warp travel could never be underestimated. Having confirmed that all was in order, he slapped the restraining harness release.
As he stood, he turned to his men. “Begin system scan. Comms, announce our presence and extend my compliments to Governor Pelias. Let’s see if they have some hospitality to offer.”
“Wolf Lord!” said Hroth. “Scans show a battle-barge in low orbit over the planet. Civilian ships are scattered throughout the system, fleeing the planet. There’s an orbital defence platform in a decaying orbit, and I think she’s scrap. I’m also reading weapons fire on the surface. It appears that the capital city of Lethe is under attack.”
Hroth was a warrior upon whom Berek had bestowed the title of ship’s guide. Though not a Space Marine, Hroth had proven to Berek his ability to quickly assess tactical situations. Had he remained on Fenris, his tribe may well have slaughtered krakens due to his skill in suggesting ship movements.
“I’m unable to contact Lethe, Lord Berek. Their comms appear to be jammed,” the herald added.
A slight grin emerged on Berek’s face. “It would appear that our routine patrol has proven to be most timely.”
Berek did not believe in random chance. If he and the Fist of Russ were here at this place and time, it was destiny, providence. Berek was here to bring this conflict to an end, and that was exactly what he would do.
He crossed the bridge to the tactical console. “Let’s find out what we’re up against.”
The tactical display sprang to life, showing a hologram of Hyades and all orbiting vessels. The unknown battle-barge was indeed in a low orbit over Hyades. Thunderhawks flew back and forth from the battle-barge to the planet’s surface.
Berek was confused. These were ships of the Adeptus Astartes. What were they doing here and why by the frozen wastes of Fenris were they attacking a planet under the protection of the Space Wolves?
“We are receiving a transmission on gold priority Imperium frequency 7590.4.” Confusion was apparent in the herald’s voice.
Berek waved his hand, indicating that the herald should put the transmission through to the speakers. The Wolf Lord’s curiosity had turned to frustration. Berek had had many dealings with other factions within the Imperium. None of them had yet proven worthy of his trust, but he had never witnessed anything like this blatant violation of Imperial law.
“Unidentified vessel, this is the Vinco Redemptor of the Dark Angels. You are hereby ordered to leave Hyades’s orbital space. This planet is under Imperial quarantine. Do not approach or attempt to enter orbit.”
Berek clenched his power gauntlet into a fist tight enough to make its servos whine in protest. He had dealt with the Dark Angels before. They were worthy of only one thing: their untrustworthy reputation. Although no Terran official would label them traitors to the Imperium, Berek had always known that one day the true nature of that self-serving Chapter would be revealed.
“This is the Fist of Russ, flag ship of Berek Thunderfist, Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves. You have moved against an Imperial world under the protection of the great Wolf Logan Grimnar and the Space Wolves. What do you mean by ‘quarantine’?”
“Fist of Russ, this is the Vinco Redemptor of the Dark Angels. This planet is under Imperial quarantine. Do not approach,” the metallic-sounding transmission from the battle-barge replied.
“Who gave the order to quarantine Hyades?” asked Berek.
“The quarantine order comes from Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas. Do not approach any closer,” came the response.
“Why is Hyades under quarantine? If I were to be made aware of the circumstances perhaps I could aid my brother Astartes.” Berek’s patience was wearing dangerously thin.
The Space Wolf crew remained silent waiting for the answer to the offer of assistance. Moments passed and then the answer finally came.
“Wolf Lord, their weapons are tracking us,” Hroth said.
Although the Chapters had a strong rivalry, both the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels had a glorious history of service to the Emperor. The Imperium would not take kindly to a conflict between two of their own Chapters, and although both organisations were formidable, neither could hold out against the fury of the Imperium. The endless numbers of Imperial Guard, coupled with dozens of Chapters of Space Marines, could spell the end for the Dark Angels or the Space Wolves. Berek had made every effort to avoid an engagement with the Dark Angels, but enough was enough. Berek smashed his fist onto the comms activation rune.
“Withdraw your forces immediately or you will face the fury of the Sons of Russ! So you understand, that means we will remove your forces for you.” Berek waited for a reply, certain that the Dark Angels would back down.
“Their weapons are still tracking us, Lord Berek.”
“My lord, shall we move her back?” asked the helmsman.
“No, we won’t back down,” said Berek. “We’re in the right and they know it. They wouldn’t dare fire on us, warning shots or not.”
A barrage of shots came from the Vinco Redemptor towards the Fist of Russ, missing high. The Space Wolf ship continued to approach Hyades, undeterred.
“Get away from our planet… Now!” barked Berek. “I don’t care for your Chapter’s tactics and I can fire off warning shots myself.”
“We will fire another barrage. This will be your last warning,” came the response.
Berek looked over at the ship’s guide. “H
roth, fire a volley at them. Make sure you come close. I want them to understand that Space Marines or no Space Marines, we will defend our own.”
“Ready, fire,” ordered Hroth, but just then, another barrage erupted from the Vinco Redemptor. The laser batteries struck the Fist of Russ. Just as the Space Wolf vessel fired her guns, a Dark Angels torpedo salvo was detected.
The explosion shook the vessel. “We’ve been hit, Wolf Lord,” cried Hroth.
Berek clenched his fist. The Wolf Lord knew this was an accident. The Dark Angels were fanatics, but they wouldn’t have the guts to fire on the Space Wolves first.
“You have attacked us, you barbaric idiots! Now, feel the wrath of the Dark Angels.” The Vinco Redemptor began rising from low orbit. “You will suffer from our next volley.”
“My lord, the battle-barge is departing orbit, moving to engage, weapon batteries are charging.” Hroth announced.
Berek hated the Dark Angels. The Space Wolves were in the right and he was tired of being threatened. They had shot his ship and tried to make it look as if he shot them first. That was the conniving underhanded backstabbing way of the Dark Angels. If they wanted a fight, then so be it. He’d find a way to explain once he’d exposed whatever convoluted rationale the Dark Angels had for attacking a Space Wolf planet. “I warned them,” he said under his breath.
The Wolf Lord triggered the comms activation rune on his console. “Wolf brothers, Russ be praised, for he has brought us here to Hyades in their time of need.” Berek could feel the electricity building aboard ship. His Space Wolves had hungered for conflict for far too long. Soon, there would be a feeding frenzy.
“Prepare for battle, my brothers! We launch as soon as we are in range.” Berek deactivated the comm unit. “Helmsman, bring us within lance battery range. Herald, keep trying to reach the Hyades command centre. We’ll need to coordinate our efforts with them.” The crew rushed to execute Berek’s commands. The Wolf Lord could see the pride in each of them.
The Fist of Russ was smaller than the Dark Angels battle-barge. Berek knew that in a close range ship-to-ship engagement, the Dark Angels had the advantage. Their bombardment cannons would rip the Space Wolves to shreds. The Fist of Russ, however, was not without teeth. Her lance batteries had much greater range than the bombardment cannons. Using the longer range, Berek would bring the Fist of Russ close enough to launch his Thunderhawks and drop-pods, and carefully deploy his smaller ships. Using their speed and manoeuvrability, he could avoid a direct exchange of fire. The Space Wolves would win this battle on the surface of Hyades.
The Fist of Russ moved into position, entering Hyades space above the opposite hemisphere to the Dark Angels ship. Berek moved his ship into a low orbit to deploy the Thunderhawks. Drop-pods would be an entirely different matter to launch.
Unlike Thunderhawks, which could manoeuvre themselves into position once they were free of the launch bays, drop-pods operated exactly as they were named. Berek would need to risk a quick pass of the Vinco Redemptor, bringing the Fist of Russ within range of the bombardment cannons.
Many songs would be written this day. Berek longed to join his brothers on the surface, but he knew that his place was on board the Fist of Russ. This was one case where rank did not have its privileges.
Mikal, Captain of the Wolf Guard, Berek’s personal bodyguard and most trusted warrior, confidently took the bridge. He was shorter than Berek by half a helm, but much broader across the shoulders. A full beard covered his face.
Berek greeted his friend. “The fortune of Russ does not smile on us this day, my old friend. I have a grave mission for you.” His concern was etched across his face.
“You know you have but to ask, my lord, and it is my honour to attend to it.” Mikal’s words brought the faintest of smiles to Berek’s face.
Berek clasped his hand. “Mikal, I need you to lead the ground forces on Hyades. I need you to discover why the Dark Angels have chosen to fire upon us.”
“Then it’s true — the Dark Angels have attacked us?” Mikal replied.
Berek tapped a rune on the display console. An expanded map of Hyades appeared, the capital city highlighted on its surface.
“Take your Thunderhawk and establish contact with the governor here in Lethe. Find out what’s going on.
“Coordinate with his planetary defence forces, establishing a command post for our forces. If attacked, by all means defend yourselves, but I must have answers, Mikal.”
“As you wish, Wolf Lord! When we see each other again we will tap a keg of the Fang’s finest, and I will tell you of our heroic deeds,” said Mikal slapping Berek on the shoulder as he left.
“Good hunting, my friend.”
Mikal had served with Berek for a long time and was Berek’s most trusted Wolf Guard and his most trusted friend. They had saved each other’s lives more times than either of them could remember. They had fought side-by-side against some of the most horrific creatures mankind had ever encountered and celebrated victories over insurmountable odds. There was no one Berek would rather have leading this assault, no one more qualified.
But before Mikal could lead the assault, Berek had to get him to Lethe and to do that, he had to get the Fist of Russ past the Dark Angels battle-barge. Berek looked at the power gauntlet that replaced his natural hand and grinned. It should be one hell of a battle.
The Fist of Russ lunged forwards, engines at full burn. As soon as they made range, laser batteries lanced out, striking the Vinco Redemptor. Blue energy sparked as the defensive shields absorbed the initial barrage. A volley of torpedoes surged from their tubes, rocketing towards their target. Space Wolf Thunderhawks launched from the Fist of Russ and fanned out behind the torpedoes’ makeshift skirmish line, using the salvo to shield their approach.
The Vinco Redemptor came about, going head to head with the attacking ship. Weapons batteries swung into action, unleashing their firepower at the incoming torpedoes. One torpedo after another collided with the protective umbrella opened by the weapon turrets. Using the wall of exploding torpedoes for cover, the first flight of Thunderhawks dived on the battle-barge. Their speed, size and manoeuvrability made them virtually impossible for the turrets to track at such close range. The Thunderhawks strafed the battle-barge in unison, targeting the Redemptor’s bombardment cannons. Missiles and battle cannon fire rained down, pounding the hull of the Dark Angels ship. Explosions erupted across the battle-barge.
While the first flight attacked, the second flight of Thunderhawks dived hard, entering the atmosphere at such an angle that friction fire blazed across the leading edges of their noses and wings. If the crews had not been Space Marines, their bodies would have been turned to bloody pulp by the forces involved. Once deep into the atmosphere, the Thunderhawks levelled off, on course for Lethe.
The first flight had strafed up the central axis of the barge until they reached the command centre superstructure. At that point, they split up. Circling around the superstructure, they regrouped and strafed down the central axis once again. A Thunderhawk disintegrated from the turrets’ defensive fire. Realising the Dark Angels turret crews had analysed their flight path, the Thunderhawks broke off, peeling off the central axis in opposite directions, diving down below the firing plane of the weapons turrets and accelerating towards the planet. Another Thunderhawk erupted in flame before the rest escaped into the atmospheric shield of Hyades.
Meanwhile, the Fist of Russ closed on the Vinco Redemptor. Both vessels exchanged torpedo fire. Weapon battery rounds streaked across the void between the two vessels. Ripples of blue energy ran across both hulls as shields absorbed the weapons fire that splashed into them. As the defensive shields overloaded from the strain, secondary explosions blossomed on the hulls of both vessels.
The ships raced towards each other. It was time for battle to be joined in earnest. In their zeal, both vessels accelerated, closing the void between them faster than either anticipated. Simultaneously, the command on both ships realised the po
tential danger of collision. The Vinco Redemptor cut to starboard and the Fist of Russ did the same. Port Dark Angels weapons and port Space Wolf weapons erupted in violent broadsides. The ships tore into each other.
Finally, the Vinco Redemptor’s bombardment cannons pivoted to port. The strafing run of the Space Wolf Thunderhawks had concentrated its fire on the bombardment cannons. Now, Berek would find out if their gambit had paid off.
Two of the four cannons were unable to bring themselves to bear upon the smaller cruiser. The Space Wolf vessel shuddered from the salvo of the remaining two as wide holes appeared in the cruiser’s hull.
The Fist of Russ was severely damaged, as was the Vinco Redemptor, but the vessels had finished their pass. As the starships widened the gap between them, each looked to distance itself from the other to repair and regroup. The Fist of Russ had succeeded. Space Wolf drop-pods accelerated down towards Lethe. Berek’s radical strategy had worked, the battle would indeed be decided on the ground.
Mikal’s Thunderhawk raced across the sky, flanked on both sides by several others. The Wolf Guard captain sat at the tactical station in the control den of the aircraft, just behind the pilots’ chairs. He analysed the current deployment of the Dark Angels and sent attack plans to his battle-brothers. The other Thunderhawks peeled off, vectoring towards their assigned deployment coordinates. Mikal continued directly towards Lethe.
The ordered city blocks and streets of the city were gone, buried in rubble and debris and obscured by smoke. Planetary defence forces scrambled to establish a perimeter, but the Dark Angels drop-pods made it impossible. Space Marines did not fight by their opponents’ rules. Drop-pod tactics were specifically random. They fell behind enemy lines, causing havoc.
The planetary defence forces were faring better than Mikal had expected. They appeared to have highly effective defence strategies against the Space Marine invasion, and several buildings in the capital had become redoubts for the defending troops. The defences of Lethe were set up so each group acted under its own command and control. The Dark Angels wanted to decapitate the Hyades defence forces, but they couldn’t find a head.
[Space Wolf 05] - Sons of Fenris Page 16
