by Braden Campbell, Mark Clapham, Ben Counter, Chris Dows, Peter Fehervari, Steve Lyons
The airlock door receded fully to reveal… nothing. An empty space, no signs of combat or damage. An empty loading bay, with heavy doors visible at the other side.
Fakuno nodded to the doors, and the kill team moved out, covering each other as they slowly moved across the loading bay.
The doors led to a wide corridor, and the kill team proceeded cautiously. The curve of the corridor seemed to Natorian’s mind to be steering them towards some kind of hub.
It was in the next chamber that they found a figure slumped against a pile of crates, power armour scratched and scraped, a force sword in one hand. Natorian recognised him instantly, gesturing with one hand for the others to lower their weapons, or rather redirect them elsewhere.
For a moment, Natorian thought the Space Marine was dead, that they had reached the hulk too late. But as the kill team cautiously approached him, the helmed head slowly rose, and the slumped figure spoke.
‘Jensus Natorian, my very old friend,’ said Librarian Captain Lanneus, as if finding him like this were the most normal thing in the galaxy.
Fakuno had taken charge once Lanneus proved himself alive, asking short, sharp questions, his voice echoing upwards into the atrium above. Lanneus had answered lucidly and to the point – the area was secure, he was the only Blood Raven left alive here, the genestealers remained a threat. While Fakuno got his situation report from Lanneus, the others looked around them, checking for threats. They were in an open chamber overlooked by railings, a great atrium curving up into the ship over their heads, floor after floor. Natorian couldn’t see anything move, though there was evidence of a struggle having taken place at some point.
‘We hailed your cruiser yet received no response,’ Fakuno said. ‘Are there genestealers on board?’
‘No,’ said Lanneus, shaking his head. He was standing as if emerging from hibernation, stretching. How long had he been sitting there? ‘A skeleton crew are still in place. I ordered them to lock down the cruiser until they received orders otherwise.’
‘And you are the only Blood Raven who still lives?’ asked Fakuno.
‘Yes,’ said Lanneus wearily, and as he removed his helmet he looked much older than Natorian remembered, his once silver hair now sheer white, hanging over the alabaster shoulder guards of his armour. That hair was receding on top, and the old Librarian’s face showed many lines. ‘My brothers fought well, but many died when we first encountered the genestealers, and none survived the sealing of this area. I am the last.’
‘Then how are you still alive?’ asked Karlan, and Natorian felt a spike of anger at the implied accusation.
‘I do not know. It is an embarrassment to live so long in a life of war,’ said Lanneus, without rancour. He turned to Natorian. ‘You should not have saved my life so many times, young Jensus. I am sure you have done the same for your brothers in the Deathwatch in these years since, yes?’ Natorian didn’t know what to say under the gaze of both his Deathwatch brothers and his mentor.
‘He has, Librarian Captain Lanneus,’ said Fakuno. While Lanneus had removed his helmet and left his sword sheathed, Fakuno and the rest of the kill team remained on their guard.
‘All of us have killed many xenos,’ said Lanneus. ‘But Jensus here brought slaughter down upon the alien filth the moment his talent emerged, a reckoning loud enough to wake the black ships and Inquisitor Belicor. He rushed through the warp to see if this formidable power was enemy or friend, and finding the latter brought him to our Chapter, a child still soaked in xenos blood.’ Natorian felt buried memories try to surface, but pushed them down. The truth of it was irrelevant to the story, and Lanneus meant only to compliment him.
‘Chapter legend, nothing more,’ said Natorian, trying to shrug it off.
‘You do not wish to speak of it, you never did,’ said Lanneus. ‘Apologies, brother, long absence has made me forget my tact. Besides, we need not speak of ancient history when you have no doubt fought many great battles against the enemies of man with your new battle-brothers.’
Natorian did not know what to say to this, but Fakuno intervened.
‘He has,’ said Fakuno. ‘Now if we might discuss the matter that brought us here…?’
‘The xenos,’ said Lanneus, all good humour fading instantly. ‘We skirmished with them deeper into the hulk – that was when we lost most of our number. We lowered the bulkheads that connected this ancient ship to the rest of the hulk, and it was in sealing this ship that the remaining battle-brothers of my retinue died. I lowered the last bulkhead myself, and the genestealers have made no attempt to breach these barriers since.’
‘You made no efforts to go back and eradicate the xenos yourself?’ asked Natorian. ‘Not even after they killed our brothers?’
He intended it only as a question, but fuelled by his own hate it came out more as an accusation. Natorian immediately regretted offending his master, even if he could not understand why all efforts were not made to purge the genestealers.
Lanneus did not react with anger at any offence; instead there was a disappointment in his eyes that stung Natorian worse than any rebuke.
‘I am the only one left,’ said Lanneus. ‘The genestealer numbers are great, and my rapid death would have served no purpose. Furthermore, there was something in their behaviour that suggested that the Deathwatch might wish to investigate further, to increase their understanding of these creatures.’
‘And what is that, Librarian Captain?’ asked Fakuno. The Salamander’s courtesy towards Lanneus was slipping, and there was impatience in his tone.
‘Do you not see?’ said Lanneus. ‘The genestealers would normally pursue any human presence with murderous intent, yet here they only defend the edge of their territory, pushing no further. Why do you think that is?’
‘It is unnatural for them,’ said Karlan.
‘They are guarding something,’ said Lanneus. ‘And if genestealers have something they need to guard, surely that is something the Deathwatch would want to identify and destroy?’
‘It could be a weakness,’ said Fakuno, his mind opening to the possibilities. ‘Something we could directly target in future encounters. We will gather what intelligence we can, then end them.’
‘At last,’ said Lanneus, turning to Natorian. ‘They begin to understand the necessity of knowledge.’
‘We do not know anything yet, all we have is conjecture,’ said Stannos bluntly.
‘True,’ said Natorian. ‘But we know the shape of what we don’t know, and that is a place to start.’
Lanneus agreed to be their guide to the genestealer territory, and a short time later he led the way. Natorian found himself walking besides his old mentor, slightly ahead of his kill team. The geography of the ship seemed familiar to Natorian, reminding him of Imperial ships he had been on before, but everything was slightly… off. The way the high ceiling of the corridor tapered off above them, the angle of the walls, all marginally different to the norm. There were no Imperial insignia to be seen, but neither were there symbols of traitors or other enemies of the Imperium.
‘What is this wreck, Lanneus?’ asked Natorian, quiet enough not to be overheard. ‘Why are you here? I know that look, there’s something here so valuable that these genestealers, even the deaths of our brothers, are a distraction to you. I can tell.’
There was a brief, difficult silence broken only by the sound of their boots clanging on the grated floor beneath their feet.
‘Do you see the paintwork ahead on the wall?’ asked Lanneus. ‘What does it suggest to you?’
At first, Natorian couldn’t see any paintwork at all, taking the reddish smear for rust. It was a rough, round shape, a thin central column twisting off at both sides, and curving at the top.
‘It looks… like an avian creature,’ said Natorian, ‘a very indistinct rendering of a bird.’ He tore his eyes away and kept walking, before the others caught up. ‘Is this all you have? An image of a red bird? That could mean anything – the chances of it relating t
o our Chapter are infinitesimal, Lanneus.’
‘There are other indicators,’ said Lanneus. ‘Signs that what is left of this ship, embedded here in the hulk, relates to the early years of the Blood Ravens. Scattered references to battles in our history match the path of Endless Despair through the galaxy. There are other–’
Natorian cut him off with a raised hand. ‘If this comes to anything, then it will be a great day for our Chapter,’ said Jensus. ‘And on that day, I will share your joy. But my concern is with the matters of the Deathwatch. I cannot become too enraptured with dreams of knowledge yet unfound. I desire answers as much as you, old friend, but these matters cannot distract from my duties.’
Lanneus threw up an apologetic hand.
‘You have become your own man, Jensus Natorian, and I am proud of that,’ said Lanneus. ‘It is good to see you stand your ground like this. But remember, it was you who asked me what my mission was, I did not provide answers unsolicited. There’s plenty of Blood Raven curiosity in you yet.’
‘I’m sure there is,’ said Natorian. ‘I’m sure there is.’
The kill team caught up with Natorian and Lanneus as they reached the bulkhead, and Fakuno had the others take position, bolters raised, as the two Blood Ravens opened the great shutters to the next part of the hulk. Natorian and Lanneus had to crank them open manually using levers at either side, and as the great rusty teeth of the bulkhead separated they could see ahead into a different space altogether, an unfamiliar architecture of twisted black metal and curved walls. Of the genestealers, at least, there was no sign, and all was quiet.
‘This is no Imperial ship,’ said Karlan, stepping through the gap, bolter muzzle twitching from side to side. The space they were walking into had tube-like corridors curving off in four directions, wide enough for two Space Marines to walk abreast.
‘This is the work of xenos,’ said Natorian, hissing with contempt. He could feel that familiar rage bubbling inside.
‘What species?’ asked Stannos.
‘I do not know,’ said Lanneus. The entire team was through into the alien ship, and he and Natorian began to close the bulkhead once more. ‘We did not investigate far before the first attack.’
‘It does not matter,’ said Fakuno. ‘The genestealers would not leave any other species alive.’
‘This way,’ said Lanneus, indicating a central tunnel after closing the bulkhead. He held the hilt of his force sword tight, and Natorian wondered how it felt to be here once more, close to where his brothers died. Natorian could feel the tension in the kill team as they moved further into the alien ship, but for Lanneus the expectation would be worse.
‘Stannos, I want your eyes up front with Lanneus,’ ordered Fakuno. ‘Godrew and Karlan take the rear, if anything tries to block our escape route I want to know. Natorian, you’re with me. Stay close – they will try to separate us so they can get their claws in, let us not gift them with the opportunity.’
There was an exchange of nods, and the kill team moved out, running from cover to cover, Lanneus and Stannos taking the lead.
The corridors were shaped more like pipes than access tunnels, curved and never entirely straightening out. Natorian had the impression that they were turning sideways and moving downwards, overall, but the layout had a way of baffling his sense of direction. Eventually they emerged into a wider open area with equally curved walls, arteries leading off in different directions. Natorian wasn’t sure what to compare it to, he only knew its alien unfamiliarity stirred hatred in him.
‘It is like walking into a fossilised heart,’ said Karlan, as if responding to Natorian’s unspoken question. The Blood Angel didn’t sound impressed.
‘Reading recent genestealer activity,’ said Stannos. The bionic eye implant that protruded from his helmet saw traces and residues invisible even to the sharp eyes of his fellow Space Marines. ‘Heat signatures everywhere, exhalation vapour in the air. Also older traces, burn marks from lasfire, evidence of bolter discharge some time ago.’
‘This is where you were ambushed?’ Fakuno asked Lanneus. The kill team had dropped into position as the Salamander and Blood Raven took stock, fanning out to cover all possible approaches. They were exposed here, and they knew it.
‘I could not be sure at first, but I think so, yes,’ said the Librarian Captain. ‘This is where we first encountered genestealers. We fought them off easily enough. Apologies, captain, I didn’t recognise the place. They must have cleared away their dead since then.’
Fakuno briefly twitched his head between Lanneus and Natorian, as if checking for a reaction. Natorian could imagine those red eyes burning behind the lenses of his helmet.
‘A little advance warning next time we might be walking into a trap, Librarian Captain,’ said Fakuno. ‘Even if you are not certain, there is no harm in being over-prepared.’
Lanneus dipped his head in an apologetic bow.
‘I will. Following our initial encounter we pursued a group of genestealers down this tunnel,’ said Lanneus, indicating one of the exits. ‘The xenos attacked in much greater force, and that was when we lost many of our number. The rest of us fought our way back out.’
‘Then we should not go down there, if they’re laying the same trap as they did for the Blood Ravens,’ said Fakuno. ‘Stannos, which is the coolest trail?’
‘This one has virtually no readings,’ said Stannos, indicating a tunnel to the right.
‘Then that is where we will proceed,’ said Fakuno. ‘Let us show these genestealers that they are not the only ones who can pick off their prey.’
Natorian checked the readings on his helmet display as they moved out of the heart-shaped chamber, checking that his power armour’s life support was functioning. He had a sensation of pressure, of the atmosphere thinning, darkness pressing in at the edge of his vision. Nothing life-threatening for a Space Marine, at least not immediately, but…
Nothing. Oxygen supply and air pressure normal. Then why did the walls seem to curve and tighten, like they were about to squeeze in and–
‘Natorian?’ asked Fakuno. ‘Are you with us?’
‘Yes,’ said Natorian.
‘You stopped,’ said Fakuno. Natorian found himself looking down at his own legs. He had indeed stopped walking.
Fakuno nodded. ‘We must keep moving.’
It was in another chamber, wider this time, that the genestealers attacked. Natorian barely had a sense of the chamber’s details before they struck – of a larger space than the previous heart-shaped room, of a high ceiling with tunnels going off from high up on the walls, of barely visible tracks to those holes that could act as clawholds.
Then they came, almost in a swarm. Claws and hands reached out of those holes, and four-armed figures leapt directly at the Deathwatch.
The first one went straight for Karlan, a blur of limbs scuttling across the floor of the chamber. The genestealers had four upper limbs as well as two legs, bulbous heads and chitinous exo-skeletons. Hate-filled eyes stared out from beneath a ridged forehead; a stunted snout was barely noticeable over a wide mouth filled with sharp, curved teeth. Of the four arms, the top two ended in three viciously long talons, while the bottom two had more human hands, perfect for grabbing hold of an enemy and pulling them close to deliver a killing blow.
Lanneus and the kill team opened fire before the xenos could reach Karlan, and while the creature’s armour was formidable, it was no match for the combined firepower of six Space Marines. Natorian was not naive enough to consider this any sign of the battle to come. The lone genestealer had surged forwards as a sacrifice, drawing the kill team’s fire and allowing the rest of them time to swarm closer and attack en masse. Two dozen, three dozen genestealers moved in from all sides, and more emerged from the holes in the walls in a mass of scything claws and vicious teeth.
‘Form a circle and pick your targets,’ ordered Fakuno, readying the flamethrower attached to his combi-bolter. ‘I will lay down alternating bursts of fire to keep
them back. Concentrate your fire elsewhere when I am about to shoot. Godrew’s position is forward.’
Natorian was on Godrew’s right. He could feel the hate rising in him, and let out targeted bursts of bioelectricity at the closest genestealers. He restrained himself from unleashing the full extent of his power – a force this large needed to be worn down. If he burned himself out early he would be no use in the battle ahead. So he hit the first genestealer with enough power to cause serious damage but not destroy it. The creature flailed backwards, jerking and smoking, as bioelectricity wracked its body. He did the same to another, and another, whispering meditative words to try and keep his rage in check.
‘Right flank,’ shouted Fakuno, and on cue Natorian pulled back his staff and stepped back into the circle, allowing Fakuno to step forwards and release a wide arc of burning promethium. Nine or so genestealers were consumed with flame, stumbling blindly as they burned. As Fakuno shouted again and turned his flamer in the opposite direction, Natorian resumed unleashing biomantic attacks on the dying genestealers, cutting down the ones that got too close.
‘That should have put the fear of the Emperor into them!’ Karlan said with a snarl, and Natorian could see that while the genestealers were still entering the chamber from all sides they were moving more slowly now, trying to regroup under the onslaught of flame, bolter fire and psychic attack.
‘We have the advantage,’ said Fakuno. ‘We must drive them back.’
Under Fakuno’s command the kill team, supported by Lanneus, began to drive the genestealers away, forcing a large group of the xenos towards one wall of the chamber. As Fakuno incinerated the cornered genestealers the rest of the kill team used bolter fire and searing biomantic lightning to drive back the other xenos. The creatures had begun to pull back, withdrawing to the holes in the wall from which they had emerged.
