“Go, Torin, get the others out,” yelled Ragnar. “I’ll cover for Haegr.”
“Elijah, Nathaniel, go with Torin. Remember what I told you and stay true to our pledge. Do not betray him. I’ll follow in a moment,” said Jeremiah.
“Jeremiah, we must first deal with these abominations. We cannot allow these mutants to live,” Elijah responded.
“You will follow my orders, Elijah. Now go!” Jeremiah’s order was reluctantly obeyed.
Ragnar exchanged glances with Jeremiah. The Dark Angel looked like he had something to prove. Ragnar grinned. So did he.
“Armour man, get off,” shouted the ogryn as Haegr literally hammered him, striking him with blow after blow. The size of Haegr and the size of the ogryns was buying everyone else precious time. The door was completely blocked.
“Haegr, move!” Ragnar said.
“Ha! You’ve gone mad, little brother,” said Haegr, turning his head. “I’m winning.”
It appeared that Haegr was right for the moment. Then an ogryn with a metal plate for a forehead brought the stock of his ripper gun around, striking Haegr on his backswing, hard enough to crack the ceramite of his power armour. The Space Wolf fell backwards into the ruins of the command consoles.
Jeremiah took advantage of the moment to put a bolter round into the ogryn’s skull, directly under the metal plate. The Dark Angel put a second bolter round into one of the beast’s large yellow teeth, shattering the tooth and spraying blood and bone into the air. Ragnar was impressed with Jeremiah’s precision, but he wasn’t about to be outdone by a Dark Angel.
He charged into the mass of ogryns, leaping over fallen Haegr. His runeblade took the knee off one ogryn, although it felt to Ragnar as if he had sliced through a tree trunk. Instinctively, he fired off several shots from his bolter pistol into another, blowing off most of its arm in the process. Behind the ogryns, Ragnar could see troopers from the planetary defence force.
An ogryn kicked Ragnar with its large steel-shod boot, knocking him back from the fray. He rolled with the blow, and between his reflexes and his armour, managed to ignore most of the impact. He brought his sword up to defend himself, only to find that Jeremiah’s precision bolter fire had eliminated his enemy.
This seemed a perfect time to escape before the sheer weight of numbers took them down.
“Let’s go,” said Ragnar.
For once, Haegr didn’t argue. Instead, he thrust himself through the hole in the wall. Thankfully, he fit.
“Wolf, hand me a melta-bomb,” said Jeremiah.
Ragnar hesitated for only a fraction of a second before tossing a melta-bomb to Jeremiah.
The Dark Angel leapt onto a ruined console and attached the bomb to the ceiling. Ragnar covered him, firing bolter shots one-handed into the oncoming ogryns. Almost without thinking, Ragnar stopped firing the moment Jeremiah finished setting the charge. The Dark Angel dived through the hole with Ragnar immediately behind him, as if the two of them had practised the manoeuvre a hundred times before.
The melta-bomb detonated with a deafening noise. The ogryns howled in agony, then fell silent. A low rumble indicated that the ceiling in the room had given way, crushing everything beneath it.
The others had moved a few dozen metres down an unmarked rockcrete passage.
“Where are we?” asked Ragnar.
“I don’t know,” said Torin and Elijah simultaneously.
“We need to find Cadmus,” said Jeremiah.
“No,” said Ragnar, “first we find Lady Gabriella and Magni. Then, we’ll both go after Commander Cadmus.”
“I have men to avenge,” said Jeremiah.
“And I have an oath to keep and my last battle-brother to keep alive against a world full of potential enemies and the invasion of you Dark Angels. If you want to give me the truth about what’s going on maybe you can convince me, otherwise, we make sure Lady Gabriella of House Belisarius is safe, first and foremost. Do we still have an understanding?” asked Ragnar.
Jeremiah stared directly at Ragnar. “I gave you my word. I do not break oaths.”
“Good, then you understand,” said Ragnar.
“Let’s keep moving,” suggested Torin. “She’ll be at the palace. We just need to get out of here.”
“Ah, what a great day for battle,” said Haegr.
The six Space Marines made their way down to the end of the passage where a reinforced door was marked “Lethe defence forces only”. The security lock on the door looked intact and everything about the door gave the impression that short of a lascannon, nothing was going to get through it.
Nathaniel was having trouble keeping up with the rest, wheezing and limping. Haegr’s bone-crushing grip had hurt him badly. As if sensing what the others were thinking, Nathaniel spoke, “My faith in the Emperor will sustain me.”
A squad of the planetary defence force appeared at the other end of the passage, while the Space Marines were inspecting the door. Now they were trapped at the end of the passage.
“They’ve found us,” snarled Torin.
The defence forces fired their lasguns down the passage at the Space Marines. Although none of the shots pierced their power armour, Ragnar knew that they could not remain in their position long.
Slowly, the door grated open.
“It’s open, let’s move,” said Jeremiah.
Torin and Nathaniel fired their bolters down the passage to deter the oncoming troopers, while Jeremiah, Elijah, Ragnar and Haegr went through the door, quickly checking for enemies in the room beyond.
They stood in the hangar of a large vehicle pool. The outer doors stood open, giving them a view of the city. Ragnar could only see smoke and rubble, punctuated by flashes from lascannons and exploding munitions. A few servitors tended to wires and consoles on the edges of the room. The large hangar was mostly deserted with the exception of a single Chimera.
“We may have found a way to get to Gabriella,” said Haegr.
“But who opened the door?” asked Ragnar.
“This must be a trap,” said Jeremiah.
“No, it’s not. We have a friend on the inside,” said Torin as he and Nathaniel stepped inside the room between bolter shots.
Torin hit a control, sealing the door once again, now ironically, holding the Lethe defence forces on the far side. He put a bolter round into the control in the hope of shorting it. “I contacted Tech-Priest Varnus after I activated the vid-screens and told him to do his best to monitor us. I suspect we would have had more help if the power had stayed on, but there’s power here, probably from an independent back-up generator.”
Ragnar was pleased that Tech-Priest Varnus was still on their side. Just as he had helped the Space Wolves ambush the Dark Angels, he was helping them now. Faith in the Emperor was rewarded in the strangest ways.
“It’s not a trap. Into the Chimera, we’re heading to the palace,” announced Ragnar.
“I’ll drive,” said Torin.
Torin opened the front hatch and got in. The rear hatch opened to reveal a small cramped space, complete with gun ports for the exterior lasguns. Elijah was the first in the rear, Ragnar second, and then Jeremiah.
Haegr paused. “You want me to get in there?”
“Yes,” said Ragnar, gesturing Haegr over to the bench. The massive Space Wolf managed to climb in, but Ragnar could tell that the space made for Imperial Guardsmen was tightly cramped for the large Space Wolf in power armour. Torin started the engine. Nathaniel made it to the ramp, but barely, shooting off covering fire as the planetary defence forces entered the hangar.
Ragnar heard the planetary defence force outside even over the roar of the Chimera’s tracks. The men hadn’t taken long to breach the security door. One of them must have had the proper security codes and Torin’s bolter shot probably hadn’t done much to the doors controls on the opposite side. The men showed no hesitation in firing, but their guns couldn’t penetrate the armour of the Chimera. Elijah returned fire with the Chimera’s built-in las
guns.
Ragnar gestured for him to stop. “These men are following orders, trying to defend their home. They aren’t enemies of the Imperium. They don’t know what is happening.”
Jeremiah nodded in reluctant agreement, but Ragnar knew what he was thinking. The men of Hyades would fight against the Dark Angels’ own battle-brothers.
The Chimera roared out into the city, which had become a battlezone. Rubble and debris were strewn everywhere. Ragnar could hear the big guns of Lethe booming and smell the familiar scent of burning promethium. From the hatches, he saw the blackened bones of Lethe’s defenders. Broken tanks lay in the streets, and although the Chimera was an all-terrain vehicle, it shook violently as it ran over the craters and through the rubble left in the streets. A few civilians staggered through the smoke, some screaming for help, while others did their best to run to cover. Ragnar estimated that they were about halfway between the outer walls of the city and the central complex with the Imperial palace.
“We won’t make it to the palace,” said Nathaniel. “Our brethren will take out any transport they see, just in case.”
“In case what?” asked Ragnar.
Jeremiah placed a hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “Ragnar, we have our own Chapter’s secrets and honour to keep. I’m sure you respect that.”
Ragnar was getting tired of these conversations. “I just hope that whatever your Chapter is doing it’s worth destroying an Imperial planet for.”
Gabriella paced about within the governor’s bunker below the palace. It had been hours since the Dark Angels had first entered the Imperial palace complex. The governor had requested she come to the bunker with him for her own safety. Gabriella had brought a few of her House Belisarius guard and Magni of the Wolfblade with her. She had ordered the rest to join in defending Lethe from the Dark Angels. Since Magni had given her the news about the possible deaths of five of her Wolfblade, she was worried and the communication systems from inside the bunker were only receiving interference.
The interior of the main room in the bunker was lavishly decorated with portraits of ancient leaders of Hyades, thick carpets and hand-carved wood furniture. It seemed more like a formal stateroom than a bunker. Commander Cadmus had informed her that this was the safest place on Hyades, with reinforced plasteel and rockcrete walls behind the inlaid wood panelling.
Gabriella looked at Magni. “This is terribly wrong. Space Marines shouldn’t be attacking us.”
“I’ll protect you, m’lady.” Magni said. “I’m sure that the defence forces will hold out against the Dark Angels.”
Gabriella looked around the room. Even within the bunker, they could feel explosions rocking the city. Suddenly, she shook her head. A glow came from her forehead, shining through her black scarf.
“Lady Gabriella, what sorcery is this?” asked Magni. “Are you all right?”
Gabriella moaned, collapsing to her knees. “There’s a disturbance in the warp, I can feel it. Something’s coming.”
“Excuse me, everyone,” said Commander Cadmus, entering the room with an entourage of heavily armed men in carapace armour. These soldiers appeared to Magni to be the elite of Lethe’s defences, armed and equipped like Imperial Guard storm troopers. “Thank you, governor, for staying put and keeping Lady Gabriella with you as I requested. I’m afraid that we’ve had to make some changes due to the current invasion.”
“Changes? What sort of changes?” asked Governor Pelias.
“Changes in leadership, sir.” Cadmus said, drawing his plasma pistol nearly as fast as Magni’s eyes could track him. A blue-green fireball engulfed the governor’s head, killing him instantly. His second shot took Magni in the knee, burning straight through the Space Wolfs power armour and dissolving the knee, severing his left leg.
Cadmus’s elite troops opened fire on the House Belisarius guard. Taken completely by surprise, Gabriella’s defenders stood no chance and the fight was over in seconds. Cadmus and his men stood in the centre of the room; only Magni and Gabriella remained alive.
Magni writhed in pain and shock from the betrayal. Cadmus walked close to the fallen Space Wolf, careful to stay just out of arm’s reach. “I have a message for you to relay to your fellow Wolfblade. Tell them that I have Gabriella, and that the only way they’ll see her again is for them to kill every Dark Angel on Hyades. Am I clear?”
Magni shook his head.
“I’ll take that as a yes. This woman is now my prisoner.”
The commander aimed his pistol at Gabriella while one of his men took her and pinned her arms behind her. Still weakened by her vision, she was unable to resist. A set of binders locked her wrists together. Cadmus roughly pulled her to her feet by her left arm. “Come.”
Gabriella tried to shake him off, but her captor held her with an iron grip. Magni was dimly aware that he was hurting her.
Cadmus’s men had fanned out, securing all entrances and exits. In a strange moment of compassion, one threw a rug over the headless governor’s body. There would be no statue in the courtyard for Pelias.
Despite the pain, Magni was a Space Wolf, and he would fight to the end. Slowly, carefully, he slipped his bolt pistol out of its holster. While Cadmus was half-leading and half-dragging Gabriella out of the room, Magni took aim at the commander’s back.
Cadmus spun without warning, placing a perfect shot with his plasma pistol. The Space Wolfs hand was consumed instantly in blue-green fire. Magni screamed involuntarily. He had never felt pain so intense.
“I can’t believe how hard you Space Wolves fight. It’s quite remarkable. You should know when you are outmatched and defeated, and just die. Do you understand? Now, Fenrisian, I hope there’s enough left of you to deliver my message. Gabriella is depending on it.”
The shock of his action roused Gabriella. She had no doubt that if she tried to struggle, he’d gladly shoot her, but she was determined to make her feelings known. “Let me go. You’re committing treason, commander,” said Gabriella. “Have you gone mad?”
“Hardly; this is simply the act of a rational mind in an irrational situation, my dear Navigator,” said Cadmus. “Now, let me take you away from the screams of this young Space Wolf. It’s not proper for a member of a noble house to be surrounded by such violence. You are my prisoner, and I hold all the cards. The Dark Angels aren’t going to spare you either. Every breath you take is at my whim. Please don’t displease me. You are only alive because it amuses me to torture Ragnar. To think I apologised to him.”
“You are a walking dead man. I felt a disturbance in the warp and that can only mean one thing, the Space Wolves are here,” said Gabriella.
“You did? How amusing. You are quite a potent Navigator then. I’m sure if your father were alive, he’d be pleased,” answered Cadmus.
“I recognised the warp signs. The Space Wolves’ patrol of the sector must have just arrived. Within hours, you won’t have to worry about Dark Angels. The Great Wolf has an alliance with Belisarius. The Space Wolves will be here in untold numbers.”
Cadmus stopped. When he looked at her, all she could see was a malicious gleam in his eyes. When he spoke, he did so in a very soft voice.
“My dear Lady Gabriella, not only did I know that the Space Wolves were coming, that’s exactly what I’m counting on. Everything depends on the Space Wolves getting here, everything. It’s good to know that I won’t be disappointed.”
Gabriella’s blood turned cold.
EIGHT
The Space Wolves Arrive
Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist strode through the corridors of the Fist of Russ. He hated long patrols, too much time onboard ship made him uneasy. He stroked his beard as he walked, unconsciously flexing his power gauntlet. His mind wandered back to the battle in which he had lost his natural arm and smiled slightly. In that battle, he had squared off with Kharn the Betrayer, the legendary berserker of Khorne, a Chaos Marine whose name brought fear to even his own side. Now that was a battle, Berek thought to himself.
&nbs
p; Berek entered the bridge, two of his Wolf Guard flanking either side of the entrance. Berek took inventory of the bridge, ensuring all was how it should be. The warriors of Fenris who worked here were proud men, selected for lifelong service to the Space Wolves. They dressed as warriors, complete with weapons and whatever honours they had earned during their service, such as bits of fur or runes. Symbols of Fenris adorned the room, from shields mounted on rune-covered pillars, to the wolf pelts used as carpets. Indeed, many of the control gauges rested in the jaws of sculpted wolves and the consoles were made to appear as worked stone or even ice. Banners hung from the vaulted ceiling, and the command chair was set as a throne. The impression of the bridge was more one of a lord’s great hall, than the nexus of machine spirits.
Berek held the crew of the Fist of Russ in high regard, and he clapped many of them on the shoulder or nodded to them as he passed. The men who served aboard this ship were here by choice, free men devoted to the Chapter, unlike other ships of the Imperium who enlisted the use of thralls and convicted criminals or mindless servitors to crew their vessels.
The Fist of Russ had finished its patrol of the Euphrates system, a star and its worlds considered insignificant by most within the Imperium. However, it was a place that fell under the watchful and protective eye of the Sons of Russ. For that reason alone, it was given the same consideration as any other system under the protection of the Space Wolves. Everything was in order, so they had executed a warp jump and proceeded to Hyades, the next stop on their patrol route to fulfil the Space Wolves’ ancient pact with House Belisarius. As the stop was a recent addition to the patrol, Berek wondered if House Belisarius and the Wolfblade even knew they were coming.
As Berek thought about House Belisarius, he couldn’t help but recall the young Blood Claw, Ragnar, now part of the Wolfblade. That reckless and honourable youth had left an impression on the Wolf Lord during his time with his company. Ragnar had served well, and then, he had lost the sacred Spear on the planet Garm. The Blood Claw had halted a Chaos invasion by throwing the holy Spear into a Chaos portal, collapsing it, and saving him and his great company. In Berek’s mind, it was a deed worthy of song, even if one of the Space Wolves’ greatest relics had been lost and a Chaos invasion had been stopped.
[Space Wolf 05] - Sons of Fenris Page 15