Deathwatch: Ignition

by Braden Campbell, Mark Clapham, Ben Counter, Chris Dows, Peter Fehervari, Steve Lyons

  Suberei wished he could call in a Naval bombardment right now and finish the whole gathering off in one deadly salvo, but he knew that was impossible. They’d lost their support ships when the eldar had last reinforced their own numbers, and while Imperial forces were doubtless making their way towards Ballestae and would certainly drive back the xenos invaders upon arrival, the Astra Militarum were currently without support. It occurred to Suberei that any action he might personally take at this point would not only be suicidal, but likely go unnoticed in the pandemonium.

  While he didn’t yet know the motives behind this hostility, his scouting experience was taking over and telling him to get away. He now knew the lie of the enemy land, even if he couldn’t explain why the eldar had halted their attacks, and with this information, the Imperial forces could bring the fight back to the xenos.

  At precisely the same moment as he came to this conclusion, the ledge onto which he was clinging broke apart.

  Given the ice-rimed surface and the steep angle of the rock face, Suberei didn’t have a chance of preventing his fall. Despite spreading his arms and legs out as wide as possible, his speed increased rapidly and within seconds he was hurtling down the cliff face, his breastplate and the forward rims of his pauldrons taking most of the grinding impacts. He tried to keep vertical but his foot connected with an outcrop, spinning him wildly. Instead he threw his left shoulder forwards, quickly flipping himself onto his back. His armour was, of course, capable of withstanding such a battering but he could not afford to strike a rock headfirst at such speed. Opening his arms, he scrabbled around for a hold, the stars flashing by in a blur. When he finally got one, the shock nearly tore his arm out of its socket but it had the desired effect, arcing him around so he was now sliding down the ledge feet-first and on his back.

  If he felt that his situation had improved, spotting the two eldar jetbikes tearing towards him from left and right quickly dispelled the illusion.

  The rock erupted with shuriken fire on either side as the red machines hurtled towards him, but their angle of attack and the speed with which Suberei was travelling meant that their lethal hail sliced wide of the mark. Suberei credited the enemy with the sense to turn quickly and come in for another pass, and with no stomach for dying in such a fashion he urgently looked past his feet to the rapidly approaching ground below.

  As one jetbike banked sharply to the side, Suberei lifted his knees up towards his chest, sliding on his armour’s backpack down the unforgiving rock, his vision immediately blurred by the vibration. Tensing his stomach muscles, he thrust both hands down and threw his body forwards so that he was perpendicular with the cliff face. He knew the contact between his feet and the rock would be brief at the speed he was travelling, and if he did not time his manoeuvre precisely he would topple forwards onto his chest again. As soon as the flat of his boots met the speeding rock below, he kicked away as best he could.

  Now he was in freefall, the vast dark mesa stretching out from the base of the mountainside below him, but his sudden leap from the rock face caught the closing eldar riders by surprise. The one on his right tightened its turn and began firing, but stopped as the closer one on the left hurtled into the line of fire. Suberei could sense the ground rushing up to greet him and tensed himself for the impact, but the eldar wasn’t going to be cheated of his prey. Pointing his jetbike straight at the falling Space Marine, the pilot opened fire at near point-blank range, but overshot, grazing the armour on his shoulder.

  Suberei seized his chance. Activating his power sword, which mercifully had remained mag-locked at his hip during his crazed descent, he connected with the underside of the jetbike’s tapered nose, slicing through its slaved weaponry and severing vital control systems. The machine immediately flipped onto its back, hurling its rider out of its seat and towards the canyon behind. Suberei roared with delight, but his victory cry was thumped out of him as he slammed hard into the surface of Ballestae.

  The few warning runes that were not already red immediately changed colour in his visor, and Suberei lay on his back for dangerous seconds, waiting for the rush of adrenaline from his hearts to clear his head.

  Then an image intruded upon his vision, one of wheeling dots of light and shadows.

  Vengla had taken flight, and was on her way to help.

  Through her eyes, he saw the second Saim-Hann jetbike speeding towards his prone position, likely believing him too stunned from the impact to realise that his attacker was nearly upon him. Suberei fought the urge to stand, instead remaining still and counting on the nature of his enemy to engage at close quarters rather than shred him from a distance. Sure enough the jetbike levelled out only yards before his position, its rider leaping into the air, blades drawn, before the sleek machine had come to a whining halt.

  Suberei sprung to his feet, the weight of his armour providing vital purchase on the icy rock. The eldar might have the advantage of speed but the blades it wielded, while dangerous, were nothing compared to the power sword that now hummed in Suberei’s right hand. In his left, he held the kindjal in a dagger fashion, and used it to block the xenos’ first thrust. Its second blade moved in fast to Suberei’s right, but the blow was parried with his power sword, the sheer brute force of his move knocking the warrior to the freezing floor. Rolling into a kneeling position, the Saim-Hann brought its blades up once again and pushed itself forwards with extraordinary speed. Unfortunately, the surface underfoot did not give the creature the momentum it had expected, and Suberei leaned in to capitalise on the split second of poor coordination. His power sword entered the eldar precisely in the middle of its abdomen and didn’t stop until the hilt was blocked by what remained of its armour.

  Suberei wrenched his crackling blade back and the xenos collapsed to the ground, a gentle cloud of steam wafting upwards from the gaping wound.

  Vengla cried from high above, and Suberei focussed his thoughts on her vision. Shapes were flying into the inky sky, myriad shadowy forms backlit by the glowing lamps of the encampment. The eldar had mobilised in force, alerted to his presence by those just slain.

  ‘To your perch, Vengla! Hurry!’

  Suberei powered down his sword blade and sheathed his kindjal, then strode towards the shelter under which his beloved bike was waiting.

  He was on it in moments. Jabbing at the ignition, he slammed one foot onto the ground, pulled back on the accelerator and spun the howling machine around just as Vengla shrieked into place behind him. High above, the sound of multiple xenos grav-turbines added to the cacophony as they echoed from the stone. Suberei roared into the gloom, riding as fast as he dare given the limited range of his vision. At times he stopped dead, using the darkest parts of the valley for shelter, and at others he drove with scant seconds’ warning of deadly barriers looming in his path. He called on every trick he’d learned in the White Scars vanguard to avoid capture as Vypers and jetbikes flashed overhead and, when he took to the ledges of the cliff walls, below his position.

  Given a couple more hours of darkness, the broad slope on which Suberei sped could have led him out of danger. This section of canyon was arrow-straight and the ledge relatively free of obstructions. Unfortunately, the first rising sun of Ballestae was already picking up the rough-hewn sides of the path, the angle of the rays chasing away the shadow cover masking his progress. Suberei edged closer and closer to the canyon wall until his handlebar grip was scraping along the rock, but with the second sun also climbing he knew discovery was only a matter of time.

  A blur of movement passed overhead, and a shower of rock exploded all around him in a maelstrom of Vyper fire. Vengla squawked loudly, as much in protest as concern, and Suberei ducked low to avoid a boulder as it bounced overhead. More debris fell, clanging off the forward plate arch and wheel guards.

  Glancing to his left, Suberei saw the Vyper had descended for a clearer shot. He laughed at their impertinence.

  Grabbing his bolt pistol, he fired off-handed at the xenos gunner, putting a
bolt through the head of the creature and cracking the pilot’s cockpit screen into the bargain. The machine spun upwards and away, disappearing out of view onto the flat plain above. A second Vyper took its place, gliding in and strafing the wall ahead. Granite shards spun and flipped in all directions, and while Suberei’s intention was to accelerate through the lethal spray, a slice of rock flipped through the front wheel fork and jammed itself underneath the bike’s fairing.

  The entire machine flipped forwards with the instant deceleration. Suberei spun over the ledge, barely managing to remain in the saddle, and smashed into an overhang before dropping the bike onto the canyon floor below.

  Head reeling, he fired upwards into the belly of the Vyper machine. But instead of turning in to finish him off, it unleashed a point-blank salvo onto the ledge overhanging his bike, cracking the rock above and bringing down several tonnes of shattered stone on top of it. Suberei scrabbled out of the way of the descending avalanche, chunks clanging off his armour.

  By the time the huge cloud of rock dust had cleared, the eldar machine had disappeared from sight.

  Suberei didn’t stop to question why they had not pressed their advantage. Instead he leapt up to where his bike’s rear wheel could just be seen protruding from the rock fall, drawing his power sword in readiness for attack.

  When seconds turned to minutes, he shifted his weight slightly and lowered his pistol.

  ‘Suberei will not fall for xenos trickery,’ he murmured. Stepping cautiously forwards, he peered up and scanned the brightening sky to his left and right.

  The enemy were nowhere to be seen.

  More debris cascaded down onto his helmet and shoulders. Throwing himself back, Suberei waited for the growing landslide to pass in front of him. With a sinking heart, he realised that he could no longer see any part of his bike. It would take an age to dig it out, and even then there was no guarantee it would be salvageable. At that single point in time, if a thousand eldar had appeared before him then he would have torn them all apart in revenge for his loss.

  But something equally pressing occurred to him.

  ‘Vengla. Do you live?’

  The answer came almost immediately in a beating of wings and high-pitched shrieks. The cyber-eagle landed heavily on Suberei’s right pauldron, traces of blood on her beak and around the augmetic implant encompassing her eye. The son of Chogoris extended his right arm and she hopped down onto it, seeming to favour her left leg over her right. Dropping his bolt pistol and throwing off his left gauntlet, Suberei ran an expert hand over her, checking for any obvious wound or injury. She in turn pecked at his fingers, stretched her wings and opened her talons.

  ‘It seems we both live to hunt another day.’

  He was relieved, and felt no shame in admitting it.

  An hour or so after the landslide, the skies still remained silent. The filters in his helmet reduced the glare from both suns, which now peeped over the ledge.

  ‘Something is not right here, Vengla. Why would they call off the attack when Suberei was in such a vulnerable position?’

  The eagle shuffled along Suberei’s vambrace and tapped her beak on the deactivated power sword’s blade. Suddenly she darted her head up and around, her mouth opened slightly and tongue tasting the air.

  ‘What is it? What do you sense?’

  The bird took flight without bidding. Suberei replaced his gauntlet, grabbed his pistol and followed her for a few hundred yards down the chasm’s littered floor, making a mental note of where his bike lay buried.

  With the rock so weak and unstable, it no longer provided reliable cover.

  And he knew – both from the eagle’s unease and from the planet itself – that the enemy would be coming.

  Spotting a thick ledge high on the vertical striated wall to his left, Suberei took three mighty leaps onto a line of crumbling outcrops and landed heavily, sword now fizzing with energy and bolt pistol ready to unleash a hail of destruction. Closing his eyes, the impulse-link with Vengla crystallised in his auto-senses and razor-sharp images of sky and land filled his mind’s eye.

  The canyon in which he crouched was little more than a jagged line across the vast black plain over which the bird flew. There were relatively few other valleys in the vicinity, so any search was bound to concentrate on this chasm sooner rather than later. The eagle climbed higher, the twin suns an occasional flash of brilliant light as she scanned the wide, open sky of Ballestae and the forbidding ground below it.

  Shadow. Low to ground. Moving slowly.

  Closer. Investigate.

  Vengla dropped like a stone, arrowing towards the planet’s surface, her gaze fixed on a closing Vyper. From its raised platform, the rear-mounted gunner warily rotated the long barrel of his shuriken cannon in a methodical search pattern, oblivious to the approaching eagle. When the cyber-eagle’s augmented vision picked out the kin-band symbol on its prow, Suberei grunted in surprise.

  Movement. Fast. To the right.

  Turn and descend. Careful.

  The second Vyper appeared from behind a distant peak, following a criss-cross pattern over a tributary valley. Both machines were conducting quite separate searches from one another, which at first puzzled Suberei.

  But then he nodded to himself.

  Furthest target. Identify.

  Vengla banked sharply to the right and sped towards the Vyper. Suberei focussed his concentration on the front of the twin-pronged cowling. As soon as he saw the white pattern and black chevrons, he recalled his cyber-eagle. Opening his eyes again, he took in a deep breath.

  The puzzle fell into place.

  The kin-band symbols on the Saim-Hann Vypers were the same as the duelling jetbikes that had nearly crashed into the rock on the valley floor yesterday. They were the clan chiefs who had fought so viciously in the arena last night. Suberei didn’t know a great deal about the specific xenos craftworld traditions, but he did know a thing or two about the feuding tribes from his own world of Chogoris.

  He knew the importance of being the strongest, the fastest. The first to hunt.

  Now it all made sense. The reason that the eldar campaign on Ballestae had faltered was so the rival factions could vie for the honour of delivering the killing blow to the Imperial forces.

  The clan chiefs had taken up his pursuit personally.

  ‘Such hubris! Such arrogance!’

  The words were spat rather than spoken. Anger rose once again in Suberei’s chest with the realisation that these two rival leaders had clearly decided that he, the Living Hurricane, master of the Chogorian steppes, would be the final prize in their competition. They had called off the attack that might have finished him on the valley floor, so that he could be their sport.

  Well, that was not going to happen.

  Spotting the eagle as a dot on the horizon, Suberei extended his sword arm. In the seconds it took for her to swoop down into the gaping canyon and come to perch on his vambrace, his decision had been made.

  If the disunity he had seen in the eldar camp was bad now, how would they react to the elimination of their two strongest champions? The other lesser factions would throw themselves into the power vacuum, giving Suberei enough time to return with his intelligence and orchestrate a full-scale pre-emptive attack. He wouldn’t even have to reach the Imperial front lines – he could break communications silence as soon as he was in range, and they could meet him halfway. Suberei raised his arm and looked into Vengla’s piercing eyes.

  ‘Yes, proud friend. You are right. It is time for Suberei to bring the storm.’

  Vengla shrieked once then hopped up onto his pauldron, gripping tightly with her talons. Looking out into the brilliantly lit valley, Suberei scanned the opposing rock face for a vantage point but couldn’t quite find what he was looking for. Striding back down to the canyon’s floor, he jumped and hopped over the rubble, scanning the cloudless sky for any enemy movement. In the upper face of the cliffs, he spotted a large, ragged hole just beneath the plain’s edge
. To get to it, he would have to climb up and traverse part of the mesa above, but that did not bother him at all.

  In fact, it just might work to his advantage.

  Ballestae stretched out into the distance all around him and, around half a dozen miles away, he saw the small red speck moving slowly from right to left. With a smile, Suberei strolled boldly out into the open, keeping watch on the Vyper as he did so. It only took a few seconds for it to spot him and, as it turned and sped closer, Suberei mag-locked his power sword, dropped off the ledge into the chasm below and swung himself into the cave mouth with his now free hand.

  From above, Suberei heard the howl of the Vyper’s engines echo into the valley. Just above his head, the red pincer prow of the grav-machine crept into view, the pilot clearly deciding that caution was the better part of valour. The further it edged forwards, the more Suberei retreated into the body of the cliff, the planet itself hiding him from the sophisticated eldar scanners. If they could not see him, they could not attack – so that meant they would have to fly over and into the chasm to find him.

  Crouching at the side of the cave wall, Suberei watched the Vyper descend.

  The starboard rear fin floated past his eye line, then the base of the gunner’s platform and, finally, the gunner himself, white helmet gleaming under the rising suns. Eldar reactions were lightning fast, but even they could be surprised, and the sight of a Deathwatch Space Marine leaping through the air from seemingly nowhere was more than enough to give Suberei the advantage.

  The eldar tried to bring his weapon to bear, but was too late. Suberei cleaved the cannon in two with a stroke of his sword and grabbed hold of the now useless stump of a barrel, smashing his right boot into the eldar’s chest. The warrior struggled to draw his side-arm, but another impaling thrust from Suberei’s sword pinned the xenos to the seat. Suberei wedged himself between the platform and the cockpit and was reaching for his bolt pistol when the Vyper suddenly accelerated upwards, throwing the Space Marine violently forwards onto the twitching body of the gunner. As the speed increased, Vengla dived in to help her master but the brutal gravitic slipstream hurled her onto the vehicle’s floor, behind the cockpit.