Battle for the Abyss:The Horus Heresy Book 8 Part 2/6

AUDIOLIBRARY

Transcript

00:00:00"'That is a Legion ship, captain. You are not suggesting that the vessel of the Imperium

00:00:06fired upon one of its own?' Admiral Kaminska warned the Astartes. Following Saffrax's report,

00:00:13Sestos and Antiges had made for the bridge at once. What they saw in the view-screen

00:00:18when they got there had stunned them both. The vessel they tracked in the void was of

00:00:22mechanicum design and clearly made for the Legion. It was bedecked in the iconography

00:00:28of the word-bearers. It was the largest ship that Sestos had ever seen. Even at a considerable

00:00:33distance it was massive—easily three times the size of the Rothwell, and would have dwarfed

00:00:38an Emperor-class battleship. It bore an impressive array of weapons. Tech-adepts aboard the Rothwell

00:00:44had suggested port-and-starboard broadside laser batteries and multiple torpedo-tubes

00:00:49to the prow and stern. It was the monolithic statue towering at the vessel's prow, however,

00:00:55that gave Sestos the most concern. A gigantic golden book—the echo of the fragmented image

00:01:01in the astropathic message on Vangelis.

00:01:04"'We're at extreme strike-range,' said Captain-Commander Vorloff.

00:01:09"'What are your orders, Admiral?'

00:01:11"'Hold them back,' said Sestos, deliberately interrupting Kaminska.

00:01:15"'They are our Legion brothers. I am certain they will be able to account for themselves.

00:01:19They may have information regarding the Fist of Macragge.'

00:01:23Vorloff was a paunchy man, with jowls that wobbled independently of the rest of his body.

00:01:28He had a gnarled red nose that spoke of long nights drinking to keep away the cold of space,

00:01:33and dressed in heavy furs typical of his Saturnine heritage. His presence filled the view-screen

00:01:38through which he was communicating with the bridge of the Rothwell.

00:01:41"'Yes, my lord,' he said.

00:01:44"'No point rattling the sword without reason,' Sestos muttered to Antiges, who nodded his

00:01:50head.

00:01:51"'Hang back and keep them within range, but do not approach. Admiral Kaminska, bring the

00:01:55Rothwell in at the lead. Keep the waning moon and the escort fleet in our wake.'

00:01:59"'As you wish, my lord,' she said, swallowing her annoyance and her pride.

00:02:05"'Relaying orders now!'

00:02:07The tension around the bridge was palpable.

00:02:10Bringar, having joined them a moment before, growled beneath his breath.

00:02:15"'What is your plan, Sestos?' he asked, eyes locked on the view-screen and the mighty vessel

00:02:20visible beyond it.

00:02:22"'We draw in close enough to hail them and demand to know their business.'

00:02:26"'On Fenris, when stalking the horned orca, I would swim the icy depths of the ocean,

00:02:33taking care to stay in the beast's wake,' Bringar said with intensity.

00:02:37"'Once I drew close enough, I would slip my baleen spear from my leg and launch it into

00:02:43the orca's unprotected flank.

00:02:45Then I would swim long and hard to reach the beast before it could turn and impale me on

00:02:50its horn.

00:02:52Within its threshing-swell I would seize upon it and with my blade pare its flesh and gut

00:02:57its innards.

00:02:58For the orca is a mighty beast, and this was the only way to be sure of its demise.'

00:03:03"'We will hail them,' Sestos affirmed, noting the savagery that played across Bringar's

00:03:10features with unease.

00:03:11"'I won't commit us to a fight over nothing.'

00:03:14"'Admiral,' the ultramarine added, turning to Kaminska, "'Helmsman, can't open up a channel

00:03:21to the vessel at once?' she said.

00:03:24Can't did as ordered, and indicated his readiness to his commander.

00:03:29Kaminska nodded to Sestos.

00:03:31"'This is Captain Sestos of the ultramarine, Seventh Chapter.

00:03:34In the name of the Emperor of Mankind, I am ordering you to state your designation and

00:03:38business in this sub-sector.'

00:03:41Static-fringed silence was the only reply.

00:03:44"'I repeat, this is Captain Sestos of the ultramarine, Seventh Chapter.

00:03:49Respond!' he barked into the bridge-box.

00:03:52More silence.

00:03:53"'Why do they not answer?' asked Antiges, his fists tightly clenched.

00:03:58"'They are legionaries like us.

00:04:00Since when do the sons of Logar fail to acknowledge the ultramarines?'

00:04:04"'I don't know.

00:04:06Perhaps their long-range vox is out.

00:04:09Sestos was reaching for answers, trying to deny what he had known in his heart ever since

00:04:13Vangelis.

00:04:14That something was wrong—terribly, terribly wrong.'

00:04:17"'Signal one of the frigates to make approach,' Sestos ordered after a brief silence, eyes

00:04:22fixed on the view-screen like every other soul on the bridge.

00:04:25"'I don't want to come in with our cruisers,' he reasoned.

00:04:29"'It might be perceived as a threat.'

00:04:32Kaminska relayed the order in curt fashion, and the fearless closed on the unknown vessel.

00:04:36"'I shall follow them in,' said Motep, from a second view-screen on the bridge.

00:04:41"'I have half a regiment of Prospero's fire-guards standing by to board.'

00:04:45"'Very well, captain, but keep your distance,' Sestos warned.

00:04:49"'As you wish.'

00:04:51The view-screen went blank as Motep took active command of the waning moon.

00:04:56A tactical array abruptly activated, depicting the closing vessels that were virtually lost

00:05:01from sight in the view-port.

00:05:03The word-bearer's ship was a red icon on the display, surrounded by censor-readings

00:05:07of the approaching frigates, little more than green blips in its presence.

00:05:12"'This reeks,' snarled Bringar, who had begun prowling the bridge with impatience.

00:05:17"'And my nose never lies.'

00:05:21Sestos kept his eyes on the tactical array.

00:05:24"'McCragge.'

00:05:25The image of his McCragge, seen as part of the astropathic warning in the reactor-core,

00:05:30came to mind once more.

00:05:32How were the fates of this vessel and his home-world entwined?

00:05:37The word-bearers were his brothers.

00:05:39Surely they had nothing to do with the destruction of the Fist of McCragge.

00:05:42Such a thing was unconscionable.

00:05:45Sestos would have his answers soon enough.

00:05:48The fearless had reached its destination.

00:05:55Chapter 5 A Line is Drawn

00:05:58Silver Three Down

00:06:01OPEN BOOK

00:06:02"'Your orders, Captain,' came the vox from the ordnance-deck.

00:06:06Zadkiel sat back on his throne.

00:06:08The feeling of power was intoxicating.

00:06:10The battleship was his to command, like an extension of his body, as if the torpedo-tubes

00:06:15and gun-turrets were his hands.

00:06:17He could simply spread his fingers and will destruction on the enemy.

00:06:21"'Hold,' said Zadkiel.

00:06:24The central view-screen showed the closing vessels, a frigate with a strike-cruiser in

00:06:28its wake.

00:06:30"'The frigate' did not interest the word-bearer, Captain, but the cruiser was an entirely different

00:06:33prospect—fast, well-armed, and designed for precision attacks and boarding-actions.

00:06:39It was painted in the livery of a thousand suns.

00:06:42"'Magnus is brood,' said Zadkiel idly.

00:06:46Astride his command-throne, he glanced at a supplementary screen that depicted a tactical

00:06:51read-out of the ship.

00:06:52The Furious Abyss's archive had identified it as the Waning Moon.

00:06:57It had many battle-honours, and had followed the Thousand Suns' legion across half the

00:07:01galaxy prosecuting the Great Crusade.

00:07:04I have always admired their imagination.

00:07:08Assault-Captain Bellanus was standing behind the command-throne.

00:07:11"'They're within range, sire.'

00:07:14"'There is no hurry, Captain,' said Zadkiel.

00:07:17"'We should sabre this moment.'

00:07:20Additional readings flicked up on the view-screen.

00:07:22The Waning Moon was showing life-signs equivalent to a full regiment of troops gathering at

00:07:26the boarding-muster-points.

00:07:27"'Helms-mate Sakharov, open up a clandestine channel to the Waning Moon,' Zadkiel ordered.

00:07:35"'At once, my lord,' came the reply from deep inside the dark city of the bridge.

00:07:40After a moment Sakharov added, "'Channel is secure.

00:07:44On screen!'

00:07:45The central image was replaced with a view of the Waning Moon's gilded bridge.

00:07:50Their starties in the command-throne, which was massively ornate and inset with numerous

00:07:54jewels and engraved runes, looked up in mild surprise.

00:07:58He had light-brown skin and hooded eyes, with a face that spoke of discipline and resolve.

00:08:04"'This is Captain Zadkiel addressing you from the furious abyss.

00:08:08Am I speaking to the Captain of the Waning Moon?' asked Zadkiel.

00:08:12"'You are.

00:08:14I am Captain Multip of the Thousand Suns.

00:08:16Why have you not responded to our hails?'

00:08:19"'No, Captain, I demand to know what this display of force means,' Zadkiel said, unwilling

00:08:25to be interrogated by his brother astartes.

00:08:27"'You have no authority here.

00:08:30Disengage at once.'

00:08:31"'I repeat, why have you not responded to our hails?

00:08:35And what do you know of the Fist of Macragge and its fate?'

00:08:38Motep was relentless and would not be cowed.

00:08:41"'I do not appreciate your tone, brother.

00:08:43I know nothing of the vessel you speak of,' Zadkiel replied.

00:08:47"'Now disengage!'

00:08:48"'I do not believe you, brother,' said the Thousand Sun, with certainty.

00:08:54Zadkiel smiled mirthlessly.

00:08:55"'Then I shall give you the truth.

00:08:58Great deeds are unfolding, Captain Motep.

00:09:02Lines will be drawn.

00:09:03Flame and retribution is coming, and those who are on the wrong side of that line will

00:09:09be burnt to ash.'

00:09:11Zadkiel paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in.

00:09:15Motep remained impassive.

00:09:17The Thousand Suns were quite the experts at concealing their true emotions.

00:09:21"'We are on a secure channel, Captain Motep.

00:09:24And the Legion of the Word have ever been supporters of your lord, Magnus.

00:09:28The events of Nicaea must rankle.'

00:09:31That got a reaction, near imperceptible, but it was there.

00:09:35"'What are you suggesting, word-bearer?'

00:09:38Hostility now.

00:09:39The icy reserve was thawing at the mention of what many in the Legion regarded as Magnus's

00:09:44trial, and what had happened at Nicaea was performed by a council in name only.

00:09:49"'Lorgar and Magnus are brothers.

00:09:52So are we.

00:09:53What side of the line will you stand on, Motep?'

00:09:56The retort was curt.

00:09:58The Thousand Suns' face was set like stone.

00:10:01"'Prepare to be boarded,' he said.

00:10:04"'As you wish,' replied the word-bearer.

00:10:07The voxlink to the waning moon was cut.

00:10:10"'Master Malfurion,' said Zadkiel, levelly.

00:10:14The ordnance-deck flashed up on the view-screen, a deep metal canyon beneath the prow, crowded

00:10:19with sweating ratings, hauling massive torpedoes.

00:10:23"'My lord, fire!'

00:10:27A spread of torpedoes flew from the furious abyss towards the waning moon, which had positioned

00:10:31itself before the massive ship's prow.

00:10:34Starboard, a bank of laser batteries lit up at once, and beams of crimson light stabbed

00:10:39into the void.

00:10:40They struck the Fearless, and the frigate was broken apart in a bright and silent flurry

00:10:44of blossoming explosions."

00:10:46Throne of terror!

00:10:51Sestos could not believe what he was seeing through the Rothwell's view-screen.

00:10:55Powerless and benumbed, he watched the Fearless fragment like scrap as a fire-storm ravaged

00:11:01it, hungrily devouring the oxygen on board and turning it into a raging furnace.

00:11:07It was over in seconds, and after the conflagration had died, all that remained was of blackened

00:11:12ruin.

00:11:13Then the torpedoes hit the waning moon.

00:11:17"'Sharks in the void!' cried helms-mate Ramket from the sensorium on the bridge of the waning

00:11:23moon.

00:11:25The crew were all at battle-stations, carefully monitoring the actions of the word-bearer

00:11:29ship.

00:11:30The lights in the elliptical chamber were dimmed, as was protocol for combat situation,

00:11:34and the tiny blips that represented the ordnance launched by the Furious Abyss glowed malevolently

00:11:39on one of the bridge's tactical display-slates.

00:11:41"'Evasive manoeuvres!

00:11:44Turrets to full!

00:11:46Withdraw boarding-parties to damage-control stations!'

00:11:49Motep scowled and gripped the lip of the command-console in front of him.

00:11:53Shields were useless against torpedoes.

00:11:55He had to hope their hull-armour could bear the brunt of the Furious Abyss's opening salvo.

00:12:00"'At your command, my lord,' came Ramket's reply.

00:12:05Warning runes flashed on multiple screens at once, presaging the missile impacts.

00:12:09Motep turned again to his helms-mate.

00:12:11"'Open a channel to the Rothwell!' he ordered, as the first of the torpedoes hit, sending

00:12:16damage-clacks and screaming as a massive shudder ran through the bridge.

00:12:21"'Motep, what's happening out there?' asked Cestus over the ship-to-ship voxeray.

00:12:26"'The Furious is gone!

00:12:28We are taking fire and attempting to evade, for word-bearers have turned on their own,

00:12:32Cestus!'

00:12:33A burst of crackling static held in the air for the moment, combining with a din of relayed

00:12:38orders and cogitator warnings.

00:12:40When he finally spoke, the ultramarine's voice was grim.

00:12:45"'Engage and destroy!'

00:12:48"'Understood!'

00:12:51The bridge of the Rothwell moved to battle-stations, Kaminska barking rapid orders to her subordinates.

00:12:57with well-drilled precision and calm.

00:12:59The professionalism of the Saturnine Fleet's officer-class was evident as the weapons were

00:13:03brought to bear and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s focus prowered.

00:13:07"'How shall we respond, Lord Astartes?' she asked, once they were at a state of readiness.

00:13:13Cestus fought a cold knot of disbelief, building in the pit of his stomach, as he watched the

00:13:17spread of blips on the tactical display move into attack positions.

00:13:23The word-bearers have turned on their own.'

00:13:27Motep's words were like a hammer-blow.

00:13:30His words, the words that Cestus had spoken earlier on the training-deck to Thesto and

00:13:34Antiges of brotherhood and the solidarity of the legions, suddenly turned to ash in

00:13:40his mouth.

00:13:41He had admonished his brothers for even voicing mild dissent against a fellow legionnaire,

00:13:46and now here they were embattled against them.

00:13:50No, they were not world-eaters, they were not the murderous blood-letters that Antiges

00:13:55had described.

00:13:56They were the devout servants of the Emperor.

00:13:59Ostensibly they were his most vehement and staunchest supporters.

00:14:04How far did this treachery go?

00:14:06Was it confined merely to this ship, or did it permeate the entire legion?

00:14:10Surely, with the vessel crafted by the Mechanicum, it had the sanction of Mars.

00:14:15Could they be aware of the word-bearer's defection?

00:14:18Such a thing could not be countenanced.

00:14:21With these questions running through his mind like a fever, Cestus could not believe what

00:14:25was happening.

00:14:26It did not feel real.

00:14:27From disbelief anger and a desire for retribution was born.

00:14:31"'Break that ship in two,' Cestus said, full of righteous conviction.

00:14:36He could feel the ripples of shock and disbelief passing through the Nonostartes as the full

00:14:41horror of what they had witnessed sank in.

00:14:44He would show them that the true servants of the Emperor did not tolerate traitors,

00:14:49and any act of heresy would be summarily dealt with.

00:14:52Cestus's feelings and the ramifications of what had transpired would have to wait and

00:14:56be rationalised later.

00:14:58"'Relay astropathic messages to Macragge and Teller at once,' the Ultramarine added.

00:15:03"'The Sons of Laugard will be held to account for this.

00:15:06Admiral Kaminska, you have the helm.'

00:15:08"'As you wish, my lord,' Kaminska said, trying her best to maintain her cold composure in

00:15:14the face of such developments, she swivelled the command-throne as the streams around her

00:15:18shifted to show every angle around the ship.

00:15:20"'Captain Vorloff, are you with me?'

00:15:23"'Say the word, admiral.'

00:15:25Vorloff's enthusiasm was obvious, despite the static flickering through the fleet's

00:15:28box-array.

00:15:29"'Take the lead behind the waning moon.

00:15:32If they stay on the Astartes' ship, swing up in front of them.

00:15:36Give them a bloody good broadside up the nose and scramble attack-craft.

00:15:40Keep their gunners busy.

00:15:42I'll send what's left of our escorts with you.

00:15:44In the name of the emperor—'

00:15:46"'At your command, admiral,' replied Vorloff, with relish.

00:15:50"'Main engines to full.

00:15:52All crew to battle-stations.

00:15:54Watch my stern, admiral, and the boundless will pick this swine apart.

00:15:59In the name of the emperor—'

00:16:01"'Mr. Castellan,' Kaminska barked, terminating the box-link with the boundless.

00:16:07The Rothfull's master of ordnance appeared on screen, toiling ratings just visible behind

00:16:12him on the gun-decks.

00:16:13"'A lance salvo to their dorsal turret arrays and engines, if you please,' said Kaminska.

00:16:18"'Load pro-plasma torpedoes, but hold in reserve.

00:16:22I want something up our sleeve.'

00:16:23"'At your command, admiral,' came the clipped response from the master of ordnance Castellan,

00:16:29who snapped a curt salute before the screen blanked.

00:16:34Sestos watched as the organised chaos of battle-stations unfolded.

00:16:39Every crew-man on the bridge had his own role to play, relaying orders, monitoring

00:16:43sensorium and view-screens, or making minute adjustments to the ship's course.

00:16:48One of the tables on the bridge unfolded into a stellar map, where holographic simulacra

00:16:53were moved around to represent the relative positions of the ships in the fleet.

00:16:58"'Traitorous horse-ens,' snarled Bringar, "'it will be Lorga's head for this.'

00:17:05Sestos could see the hairs on the back of the space-wolf's neck rise.

00:17:09In this fell mood, and with a dimmed battle-station's gloom, he took on a feral aspect.

00:17:14"'Scuttle her, and I'll lead the Sons of Rus aboard,' he growled darkly.

00:17:19"'Let the wolves of Fenris gut her, and I'll tear out the beating heart myself.'

00:17:24Bringar hawked and spat a goblet of phlegm onto the deck, as if what was transpiring

00:17:30in the void had left a bitter taste.

00:17:33There were a few raised eyebrows, but the wolf-guard paid them no heed.

00:17:37Sestos's reply was terse.

00:17:39"'You'll get your chance,' Bringar roared, bearing his fangs.

00:17:43"'I can no longer sit idle,' he snapped savagely, turning on his heel.

00:17:48"'The warriors of Rus will make ready at the boarding-torpedoes.

00:17:52Do not make us wait long.'

00:17:55Sestos couldn't be certain if the last part was a request or a threat, but he was for

00:18:00once glad of the wolf-guard's departure.

00:18:03His mood, since they'd hit the void and encountered the word-bearers, had grown increasingly erratic

00:18:08and belligerent.

00:18:09The ultramarine sensed that the wolves of Rus did not relish such encounters.

00:18:14The fact that Bringar was so eager to spill the blood of fellow Astartes only caused Sestos

00:18:19greater discomfort.

00:18:21At war with our legion-brothers, the very idea scarcely seemed possible.

00:18:27Yet it was happening.

00:18:29Sestos watched the space-battle unfold with curious detachment, and felt his sense of

00:18:34foreboding grow.

00:18:38The waning moon had burned its retro-engines to kill its speed, and fired all thrusters

00:18:42on its underside to twist upwards and present its armoured flank to a second torpedo-volley

00:18:47shimmering towards it.

00:18:49The first torpedoes missed high, spiralling past the ship to be lost in the void.

00:18:54A handful detonated early, riddled with massive-calibre fragmentation-shells from the defence-turrets

00:19:00mounted along the flank of the waning moon.

00:19:03Several found their mark just below the stern, another streaked in with violent force, and

00:19:08then two more amid ships.

00:19:11Useless energy-shields flared black over the impact-points as hull-segments spun away from

00:19:15the ship, the torpedoes gouging their way through the outer armour.

00:19:20"'Damage report!' shouted Motep above the din of the bridge.

00:19:24"'Negligible, sire,' Officer Ammon answered from the engineering helm.

00:19:29"'What?

00:19:30Minimal hull fractures, my lord Motep?'

00:19:33"'Censorium definitely read for impacts,' confirmed helms-mate Ramket, watching over

00:19:39the read-outs.

00:19:40Embedded deep in the hull of the waning moon, the outer casing of each torpedo split with

00:19:45a superheated incendiary, and six smaller missiles drilled out from their parent casing.

00:19:51They were ringed with metallic teeth, and bored through the superstructure of the strike-cruiser

00:19:55as they spun.

00:19:57Drilling through the last vestiges of the hull-armour, the missiles emerged into the

00:20:01belly of the vessel, and detonated with a powerful explosive charge.

00:20:05With a deafening thoom-whoosh of concussive heat-pressure, the gun-decks were ruined.

00:20:11Guns and indentured workers died in droves, burned by the intense conflagration.

00:20:16Heaps of shells exploded in the fire-storm, throwing lashes of flame and chunks of spiralling

00:20:21shrapnel through the decks.

00:20:23Master gunner Chiton was decapitated in the initial barrage, and dozens of gunnery crew

00:20:27met a similar fate as they scrambled for cover as the gun-decks became little more than an

00:20:32abattoir of charred corpses and hellish screaming.

00:20:38The waning moon shuddered as explosions tore through its insides.

00:20:43A destructive chain-reaction boiled through the upper decks and into crew-quarters.

00:20:46Sternwood's detonations ripped into engineering sections, normally well-shielded from direct

00:20:52hits, and ripped plasma conduits free to spew super-heated fluid through access tunnels

00:20:57and coolant ducts.

00:21:00Damage-control crews, waiting at their muster-points to douse fires and seal breaches, were torn

00:21:05asunder by the resultant carnage from amid ships.

00:21:09Orderlies at triage-posts barely had time to register the pandemonium on the gun-decks

00:21:13before the blunt bullet of a warhead thundered through into the Medicai deck and annihilated

00:21:18them in a flash of light and terror.

00:21:22Chains of explosions ripped huge chunks out of the waning moon's insides.

00:21:26Like massive charred bite-marks, whole sections were reduced to smouldering metal, and hundreds

00:21:31of crew-men were lost to the cold of the void as the vessel's structural integrity

00:21:36broke down.

00:21:38"'Report that,' ordered Motep, clinging to his command-throne on the bridge, as sections

00:21:44of the ship collapsed around him, revealing bare metal and sparking circuitry.

00:21:50The lights around the bridge were stuttered intermittently as the waning registered power-loss

00:21:54and damage across all decks.

00:21:57Motep's crew were doing their best to marshal some semblance of order, but the attack had

00:22:01been swift and far-reaching.

00:22:03"'Massive internal and secondary explosions,' replied Officer Ammon, struggling to keep

00:22:08pace with the warning runes, dancing madly over the engineering helm and snapping off

00:22:13further reports.

00:22:14"'Plasma venting from Reactor 7, gun crews non-responsive, and Medicai has taken severe

00:22:20damage.'

00:22:21"'Tertiary shielding is breached,' said Motep, as the ship-to-ship vox crackled into life.

00:22:27"'Motep, report your status at once.

00:22:30This is Captain Sestos!'

00:22:32The impacts had shaken the vox array, and the ultramarine's voice was distorted with

00:22:36static.

00:22:37"'We are wounded, captain,' said Motep grimly.

00:22:40"'Some kind of mechanicum tech that I have never seen before burned our insides.'

00:22:45"'Our lances are firing,' Sestos informed him.

00:22:48"'Can you stay engaged?'

00:22:50"'Aye, son of Macragge, we're not done yet.'

00:22:54A further crackle of static, and the vox went dead.

00:22:58The bridge of the waning moon was alive with transmissions from the rest of the ship.

00:23:02Some calm, reporting peripheral damage to minor systems, others frantic, from Plasma

00:23:08Reactor 7 and the gun-decks, and there were those that were unintelligible through raging

00:23:12fire and screaming, the last words of men and women dying agonising deaths.

00:23:18"'Be advised, captain, they are coming about.'

00:23:22General Navigator Cronos was eerily calm as his voice came through the internal vox

00:23:26array.

00:23:27Motep scrutinised the tactical hollow display above the command-console.

00:23:32The furious abyss was changing course.

00:23:35It was suffering lance impacts from the wrathful, and was turning to present its heavily armoured

00:23:39prow to the aggressors.

00:23:41"'What folly from this bearer of his word!'

00:23:45Motep intoned.

00:23:46"'He thinks we will flee like the jackal, but his only victory is in raising the ire

00:23:52of Prospero.

00:23:53Mr. Cronos, bring us across his bow.

00:23:57Gun-decks port and starboard, prepare for a rolling broadside!'

00:24:03The waning moon rotated grandly, as if standing on end in front of the furious abyss.

00:24:09The word-bearer vessel had not reacted, and its blunt prow faced the damaged strike-cruiser.

00:24:17Allegable signatures were seared into the prow-armour of the traitor's ship by the wrathful's

00:24:21laser-batteries.

00:24:22An insane cross-hatch of crimson lance-beams erupted between the two vessels with pyrotechnic

00:24:28intensity as they traded blows, silent shield-flares indicating absorbed impacts.

00:24:34Errant bursts glittered past the waning moon as it opened up its gun-ports, and the snouts

00:24:39of massive ship-to-ship cannon emerged.

00:24:42Behind them, sweat-drenched ratings toiled to load the enormous guns and avenge their

00:24:48dead.

00:24:49They chanted in gun-cant to keep their rhythm strong, one refrain for hauling shells out

00:24:54of the hoppers behind them, another for ramming it home, and yet another for hauling the breach

00:24:59closed.

00:25:01The signal to fire reached them from the bridge.

00:25:03The rating-gang leaders brought hammers down on firing-pins, and inside the ship thunder

00:25:09screamed through the decks.

00:25:12Inside jets of propellant and debris leapt the gap between the two ships.

00:25:16A split second later the shells impacted, explosive charges blasting deep craters into

00:25:21the enemy vessel.

00:25:24The bridge of the furious abyss stayed calm.

00:25:28Zadkiel was pleased.

00:25:29His ship, the city over which he ruled, was not governed by panic.

00:25:34"'My lord, should we retaliate?' asked Helm's mate Sakharov.

00:25:39"'For now we wait,' said Zadkiel, content to absorb the punishment as he sat back on

00:25:44the command-throne, watching images of the waning moon's assault on the view-screens

00:25:48above him.

00:25:49"'There is nothing they can do to us.'

00:25:52"'You would have us sit here and take this?' snarled Reskiel at his master's side.

00:25:57"'We will prevail,' said Zadkiel, unperturbed.

00:26:02Thousands of new contacts flared on the view-screens, streaking from the launch-bays of a ship identified

00:26:07as the Boundless.

00:26:09"'Assault-boat, sire!' Sakharov informed him, monitoring the same feed.

00:26:14"'Escorts are closing!'

00:26:16Zadkiel pored over the hololithic display.

00:26:18"'They intend to attack from all angles and confuse us.

00:26:22And while we weather this storm, their assault-boats and escorts will pick us apart!'

00:26:28Zadkiel provided the curt tactical analysis coldly, his face aglow in the display.

00:26:32"'What is our response?' asked Reskiel.

00:26:36"'We wait.'

00:26:37"'That's it?'

00:26:39"'We wait,' repeated Zadkiel, his voice like iron.

00:26:43"'Trust in the word!'

00:26:46Reskiel stood back, watching the fire hammering in from the waning moon, and listening to

00:26:51the dull thuds of explosions from within the Furious's prow.

00:26:57The attack-craft wing of the Boundless swept in tight formation through the veil of debris,

00:27:03building up from the damage to the two ships ahead of them.

00:27:06The waning moon and the Furious Abyss were locked in the Spiral Dance, the long painful

00:27:11embrace that saw one ship circle another, pumping broadsides into the enemy as it spun.

00:27:18Like everything else in space, the Spiral Dance had its own mythology, and to a lifelong

00:27:23pilot of the Saturnine fleet it meant inevitable doom and the spite of one ship lashing out

00:27:28at the enemy in its death-throes.

00:27:31It was desperation and tragedy, like a dying romance or a last stand against vast odds.

00:27:39The fighters, ten-man craft loaded with short-range rockets and cannon, streaked past the waning

00:27:45moon, the pilots saluting their fellow-ship as custom dictated.

00:27:49They locked on to the Furious Abyss, the squadron-leaders marking out targets on the

00:27:53immense dark-red hull, already pocked with lance-scars and broadside-craters from the

00:27:58battering the Wrothful had given it.

00:28:00Shield-housings, sensor-clustings, and exhaust-vents all lit up on the tactical display in a backwash

00:28:06of emerald light.

00:28:08Targeting cogitators locked on and burned red.

00:28:12Silver III, flown by pilot Second Class Carnigan Fowl, matched assigned approach-vectors and

00:28:18built to full attack-run speed.

00:28:21Through the shallow forward-view screen Fowl could see the Furious Abyss crisscrossed by

00:28:26laser-battery barrage, its prow a flickering mass of smouldering metal.

00:28:31He ordered his weapons-officers to lock on to their target, a stretch of gun-turrets

00:28:35along the Furious's dorsal spine.

00:28:38The port-guns obeyed, the las-cannon mounts swivelling into position.

00:28:42The starboard guns did not move.

00:28:45Pilot Fowl repeated his order through the ship's vox.

00:28:48His co-pilot, Rugal, checked the array, but found nothing amiss.

00:28:52"'Rugal, go down to the armament-stack and align those guns,' Fowl ordered, deciding

00:28:57there was enough time before they hit their final approach-vector.

00:29:01The co-pilot nodded, and tore out the wires attaching him to his seat and the console

00:29:05in front of him, and swung around in his chair.

00:29:08"'Scowl, what are you doing?'

00:29:11Fowl heard his co-pilot ask, and turned to get a good look at what was going on.

00:29:16He started when he saw weapons-officer Corina Skell standing there with her auto-pistol

00:29:20in her hand.

00:29:22Fowl was about to tell her to get back to her post and get the damn cannons locked on,

00:29:26when Skell shot him in the face.

00:29:29She took Rugal in the chest, stepping forward to deliver the shot point-blank.

00:29:34Bleeding badly, the co-pilot scrabbled to get his side-arm out of his holster.

00:29:38"'It is written,' Skell said, and shot him twice more in the head.

00:29:44Silver Three continued on its attack-vector.

00:29:47Skell headed below decks to finish her work.

00:29:51"'Silver Three down,' said Officer Art3mis on the fighter-control deck of the Boundless.

00:29:57The deck ran almost a third of the length of the Boundless to accommodate the numerous

00:30:01tactical consoles.

00:30:03Then Vorloff, his face awash in the reflected ochre glow of data-screens, paid it little

00:30:08heed as he prowled the ranks of fighter-controllers.

00:30:12Attack-craft were always lost.

00:30:13It was the way of the void.

00:30:16Vorloff continued his tour, preferring to witness first-hand the actions of his fighters,

00:30:20rather than make do with the fragmented reports filtering through to the bridge.

00:30:24The Boundless was a dedicated carrier for attack-craft, and his duties were here, listening

00:30:29to the fates of his fighter-wings.

00:30:32His helms-mate was perfectly capable of keeping the ship running in his absence.

00:30:36"'Any defence fire?' asked Vorloff of the nearest controlled overseer.

00:30:40"'None yet,' said the overseer, whose shaved scalp was festooned with wires feeding information

00:30:45from each controller into her brain.

00:30:47"'But we're in range of their counter-measures,' said Vorloff, a thought occurring to him.

00:30:53"'You!

00:30:54What took down Silver Three?'

00:30:56The controller looked up from his screen.

00:30:58"'Unknown.

00:30:59The pilot went off my screen.

00:31:01Possible crew casualties.'

00:31:02"'Non-standard transmissions from Gold Nine,' said another controller, hunched over his

00:31:08screen.

00:31:09He held one of his ear-phones tight against his head, and winced as he tried to hear more

00:31:12clearly.

00:31:13"'Some kind of commotion aboard ship, sir.

00:31:15They're not responding to protocols.'

00:31:17"'Bring them in.

00:31:19The rest of you report any further anomalies.'

00:31:23Vorloff harrumphed in annoyance, and leaned forward on his cane.

00:31:26"'The Saturn Nine fleet have the best small-craft pilots this side of the Galactic Centre.

00:31:30They didn't just flake out during a firefight.'

00:31:32"'Gold Nine is lost, captain,' reported the controller.

00:31:36'I detected small-arms fire in the cockpit.'

00:31:38"'Get me word on what the hell's going on, or I'll have your commission,' barked Vorloff

00:31:44at the overseer.

00:31:45"'Yes, captain.'

00:31:46"'Fragmented reports are coming in from Silver Prime,' interrupted yet another controller.

00:31:51"'They say they've lost control of the engine crew.

00:31:54Get all this on air!' shouted Vorloff.

00:31:57The overseer fiddled with a couple of settings, and cockpit transmissions crackled through

00:32:02the deck's fox-caster.

00:32:03"'Gone insane!

00:32:04He's barricaded himself in the aft-quarters.

00:32:05Esau's dead, and he's venting the bloody air.

00:32:06I'm pulling out from attack vectors and going down there to shoot him.

00:32:07I am the light that shines always.

00:32:08I am the lord of the dawn.

00:32:09I am the beginning and the end.

00:32:10I am the word—'

00:32:11"'Ah!

00:32:12Ah!

00:32:13I'm bleeding!

00:32:14Ah!

00:32:15I'm bleeding!

00:32:16I'm bleeding!

00:32:17I'm bleeding!

00:32:18I'm bleeding!

00:32:19I'm bleeding!

00:32:20I'm bleeding!

00:32:21I'm bleeding!

00:32:22I'm bleeding!

00:32:23I'm bleeding!

00:32:24I'm bleeding!

00:32:25I'm bleeding!

00:32:26I'm bleeding!

00:32:27I'm bleeding!

00:32:28I'm bleeding!

00:32:29I'm bleeding!

00:32:30I'm bleeding!

00:32:31I'm bleeding!

00:32:32I'm bleeding!

00:32:33I'm bleeding!

00:32:34I'm bleeding!

00:32:35I'm bleeding!

00:32:36I'm bleeding!

00:32:37I'm bleeding!

00:32:38I'm bleeding!

00:32:39I'm bleeding!

00:32:40I'm bleeding!

00:32:41I'm bleeding!

00:32:42I'm bleeding!

00:32:43I'm bleeding!

00:32:44I'm bleeding!

00:32:45I'm bleeding!

00:32:46I'm bleeding!

00:32:47I'm bleeding!

00:32:48I'm bleeding!

00:32:49I'm bleeding!

00:32:50He spewed forth from the vox.

00:32:52Vorloff couldn't believe what he was hearing.

00:32:54His wings were in total disarray, and the glorious attack-run he had envisaged had failed

00:32:59utterly without the enemy firing off a shot.

00:33:02He had never even read about such a thing in the histories of the Saturnine Fleet.

00:33:06"'It's as if they're going mad, Captain,' said the Overseer, struggling to keep her

00:33:10voice level.

00:33:11"'Every one of them—'

00:33:12"'Abort!' shouted Vorloff.

00:33:16"'Abort attack-run, and return to the boundless!'

00:33:23"'We are successful, Lord,' the sibilant voice of Chaplain Icthalon said through the

00:33:28vox array.

00:33:29'The supplicants have effectively neutralized their fighter assaults.'

00:33:33"'You are to be commended, Chaplain.

00:33:37Ours is a divine purpose, and you have ensured your name will be remembered in the scriptures

00:33:41of Lorgar,' Zadkiel replied coldly from the command-throne, before turning

00:33:45to address Helmsmate Sakharov.

00:33:48"'Let the escort-craft close, and then open the book!'

00:33:52"'Yes, my lord,' Sakharov relayed the order at once.

00:33:57Zadkiel watched a close-up of the sector of space through which the boundless' attack-wings

00:34:01were flying.

00:34:03Fighters were already tumbling, glittering short-lived explosions as their colleagues

00:34:07shot them down.

00:34:08Others were spiralling off course.

00:34:10The pathetic assault was in ruins.

00:34:13"'Behold,' Zadkiel said to his second, standing alongside him, "'the power of the word, Reskiel!'

00:34:20"'It is, indeed, humbling,' Reskiel replied, bowing deeply to his lord.

00:34:26Zadkiel found the obvious toadying distasteful.

00:34:29Even so, this was a great moment, and he allowed himself to bask in it, before returning to

00:34:34the vox.

00:34:35"'Icthalon, how many supplicants did we lose?'

00:34:39"'Three, Lord Zadkiel,' the chaplain replied.

00:34:42"'The weakest.'

00:34:43"'Keep me appraised, as you wish,' Icthalon said, and terminated the link.

00:34:52Zadkiel ignored the impudence, and sat back in his command-throne to watch the damage-control

00:34:56reports flicker by.

00:34:58The prow was mangled, chewed up by the waning moon's broadsides, and torn by the lances

00:35:03of the wrathful.

00:35:04But the prow was merely armour-plating an empty space.

00:35:07It didn't matter.

00:35:08It could soak up everything they could throw at it for hours before the shells penetrated

00:35:12live decks.

00:35:14Even then only legion menials would perish.

00:35:17The unaugmented humans pledged to die for lorgar.

00:35:21"'This is the Fireblade,' came the transmission, intercepted by the furious abyss's advanced

00:35:27censorium from one of the approaching escort-ships.

00:35:30"'We've got a clear run.

00:35:32Lance is to full.'

00:35:33"'On your tail, Fireblade,' came the reply from a second frigate.

00:35:37"'Master Malfurion, bring turrets to bear and reload ordnance,' said Zadkiel.

00:35:44He followed the blips of the escorts as they negotiated the graveyard of fighter-craft,

00:35:48intent on helping the waning moon finish off the furious.

00:35:52Zadkiel allowed himself a thin smile.

00:35:56"'The fighters are lost,' said Vorloff.

00:36:01His face was ruddy with frustration as it glowered out of the view-screen on the bridge

00:36:05of the wrathful.

00:36:07Next to a man, the crew-men of the ship were watching Captain Vorloff's report of the total

00:36:11failure of the attack-run.

00:36:13"'What!

00:36:14All of them?' asked Admiral Kaminska.

00:36:17"'Twenty per cent are en route back to the Boundless,' said Vorloff.

00:36:21'The rest are gone.

00:36:23Our crews turned on each other.'

00:36:24"'You think this was a psychic attack, captain?' asked Sestos, suddenly glad that Bryngar was

00:36:31off the bridge.

00:36:32"'Yes, lord.

00:36:33I do,' Vorloff breathed, feared.

00:36:35edging his voice.

00:36:39This was a worrying development.

00:36:41All the legions knew full well what had been decided on Nicaea, and the censure imposed

00:36:46by the Emperor on dabbling in the infernal powers of the warp and the use of sorcery.

00:36:52The ultramarine turned to Admiral Kaminska.

00:36:55"'What of our remaining escorts?'

00:36:57"'Captain Ulargo on the fire-blade is leading them in,' she replied.

00:37:02"'No problem so far,' Sestos nodded, processing everything unfolding on the bridge.

00:37:08"'Maintain lance barrage from the Rothfull and the waning moon.

00:37:11Captain Vorloff, add the Boundlesses from distance, and let the escorts engage.

00:37:15No ship, however massive, can withstand such a concentrated assault.'

00:37:19"'At your command, my lord,' Vorloff returned.

00:37:24Sestos turned to regard Kaminska seething at a command-throne.

00:37:27"'As you wish, captain,' she responded, coolly.

00:37:34The fire-blade stitched the first volleys of lance-fire down against the upper hull

00:37:38of the furious abyss.

00:37:40It had nothing like the fire-power of the fleet's cruisers, but up close it could pick

00:37:44its targets, and each lance fired independently to blast off hull-plates and sheer turrets

00:37:50from their emplacements with fat bursts.

00:37:53Massive guns retaliated in kind, and shots blistered against the fire-blade's shields,

00:37:59some making it through to the escort's dark green hull.

00:38:02The fire-blade twisted out of arcs of fire and sent a chain of incendiaries hammering

00:38:06down into the dorsal turret arrays.

00:38:09Silent explosions blossomed and were swallowed by the void, leaving glittering sprays of

00:38:14wreckage like silver fountains.

00:38:18The fire-blade's hull was resplendent with kill-markings and battle honours.

00:38:22It had done this many times before.

00:38:24It was small, but it was agile, and packed a harder punch than its size suggested.

00:38:30Behind it was the Ferox, its younger sister-ship, using the heat-signatures of the fire-blade's

00:38:35strikes to throw bombs and las-blasts through the tears opened up in the upper hull.

00:38:41The fire-blade finished its first run and corkscrewed up over the furious's engine-housings,

00:38:46letting the heat-wash of the battleship's engines lend a hand in catapulting it voidwards

00:38:51before it lined up for another pass.

00:38:54Below the two escorts, the last of the squadron, now just the ferocious with the dramatic and

00:38:59sudden demise of the fearless, was making its run along the underside of the massive

00:39:03vessel, pouring destruction into the ventral turrets.

00:39:07All three remaining escorts came under fierce fire, but their shields and hull-armour held,

00:39:13their speed too great to allow a significant number of defensive turrets to bear at once

00:39:18and combine their efforts.

00:39:20Sinulago, at the helm of the fire-blade, commented to his fellow escort-captains that

00:39:25the word-bearers appeared to want to die.

00:39:30Another broadside thundered from the waning moon as the strike-cruiser turned elegantly,

00:39:35keeping level with the furious abyss's prow.

00:39:38The void was sucking fire out of the prow, so it looked like the head of a fire-breathing

00:39:42monster made of smouldering metal.

00:39:45The enormous book that served as the ship's figurehead was intact.

00:39:49Slowly, silently, the metal book cracked open and folded outwards.

00:39:55The massive bore of a gun emerged from behind it.

00:39:59The end of the barrel glowed red as reactors towards the rear of the ship opened up plasma-conduits

00:40:05to the prow and the weapon's capacitors filled.

00:40:09Licks of blue flame ran over the ruined prow, ignited by the sheer force of the building

00:40:15The prow-cannon fired.

00:40:18A white beam leapt from the furious abyss.

00:40:20At the same time thrusters kicked in, rotating the furious a couple of degrees, so that the

00:40:25short-lived beam played across the void in front of it.

00:40:28It struck the waning moon just fore of the engines.

00:40:32Vaporised metal formed a billowing white cloud, like steam, condensing into a silver shower

00:40:37of re-solidified matter.

00:40:40Secondary explosions led the beam as it scored across the strike-cruiser's hull, until, finally,

00:40:45it was lost in the shower of debris and vapour as its energy expended and the glowing barrel

00:40:50began to cool down in the vacuum.

00:40:53Further explosions rippled across the waning moon in the wake of the crippling barrage,

00:40:59and the rear third of the strike-cruiser was sheered clean off.

00:41:07Chapter 6 The Void

00:41:10Squadron Disengage

00:41:12Away with Words

00:41:16The pace of space battles was glacially slow.

00:41:19Even when seen through view-screens, it was carried out at extreme ranges, with laser-battery

00:41:24salvos taking seconds to crawl across the blackness.

00:41:28The battle had been raging for over an hour when the cannon on the prow of the furious

00:41:32abyss fired its maiden shot.

00:41:35The broad side from the waning moon had crossed a gulf of several hundred kilometres before

00:41:40impacting on the enemy ship's prow, and that had been point-blank by the standards of ship-to-ship

00:41:45warfare.

00:41:47The boundless's fighter-wings had flown distances that would have taken them across continents

00:41:51on a planet's surface.

00:41:54When something happened quickly it was a sudden jarring occurrence that threw everything else

00:41:58out of kilter.

00:42:00The slow ballet of a ship-battle was broken by the discordant note of a rapid development

00:42:04and all plans had to be re-founded in its wake.

00:42:08An event that could not be reacted to, that was over too quickly to change course or target,

00:42:13was a nightmare that many ships' captains struggled to cope with.

00:42:17It was unfortunate for the captains of the Imperial fleet, then, that the death of the

00:42:22waning moon happened very quickly indeed.

00:42:26"'By Titan's valleys!' gasped Kominska on the bridge of the Rothwell.

00:42:30"'What was that?'

00:42:32The instruments on the bridge suddenly lit up as one as an intense flare of light filled

00:42:37the forward view-screen.

00:42:38"'Massive energy reading,' came the confused reply from Helm's Mistress Fenkmeier.

00:42:43"'Energy sensoriums blind!'

00:42:45"'Did the waning moon just go plasma-critical?'

00:42:48"'There were no damage-control signs that suggested major engine damage.

00:42:53They'd got the reactor-7 leak locked down.

00:42:55Maybe a weapon's discharge?'

00:42:57"'What weapon could do that?'

00:42:59"'A plasma lance,' replied Sestos.

00:43:03Kominska turned to face the ultramarine, whose grim expression betrayed his emotions.

00:43:07"'I did not know such a device had been wrought and fitted,' he added.

00:43:11The admiral's initial shock turned to stern pragmatism.

00:43:14"'My lord, if I am to risk my ship and the souls on board, I would have you tell me what

00:43:19we are up against,' she said, with no little consternation.

00:43:22"'I have little idea,' Sestos confessed, staring into the view-screen, analysing and

00:43:28appraising tactical protocols in nanoseconds as he considered Kominska's question.

00:43:33"'The Astartes are not privy to the secret works of a mechanicum, admiral.'

00:43:38The ultramarine sensed the challenge from Kominska, her growing discontent, and was

00:43:42determined to crush it.

00:43:44"'Suffice to say that the plasma lance was developed as a direct-fire close-range weapon

00:43:49for ship-to-ship combat.

00:43:51In any event, it matters not.

00:43:53"'For all is simple,' said Sestos, turning his steely gaze upon Admiral Kominska in an

00:43:58attempt to cow her veiled truculence.

00:44:00"'We are to destroy that ship.'

00:44:03"'They are Astartes aboard that ship, Sestos.

00:44:07Our battle-brothers,' Antigui said quietly.

00:44:11Until now the fellow-ultramarine had been content to maintain his silence and keep his

00:44:15own counsel, but events were unfolding upon the bridge of the Rothwell and out in the

00:44:19wide, cold reaches of real space that he could not ignore.

00:44:23"'I am aware of that, Antiguis.'

00:44:26"'But, captain, to condemn them to—'

00:44:29"'My hand is forced!'

00:44:31Sestos snarled, suddenly turning on Antiguis.

00:44:33"'Know your place, battle-brother.

00:44:35I am still your commanding officer.'

00:44:37"'Of course, my captain,' Antiguis bowed slightly and averted his gaze from his fellow-ultramarine.

00:44:43"'I would request to leave the bridge to inform Saffrax and the rest of the squad to prepare

00:44:48for a potential boarding-action.'

00:44:50Sestos's face was set like stone.

00:44:53Antiguis met it with a steely gaze of his own.

00:44:56Granted, his captain's curt response was icy.

00:45:00Antiguis saluted, turned on his heel, and left the bridge.

00:45:05Kaminska said nothing, only listened to what Sestos ordered next.

00:45:08"'Raise motep at once.'

00:45:10The admiral turned to regard her helmsmaid monitoring communications with the waning

00:45:14moon.

00:45:15"'We cannot, sire,' Kant replied.

00:45:17'The waning moon's voxery is not operational.'

00:45:21Kaminska swore beneath her breath, turning to the tactical display in the hope that a

00:45:24solution would present itself.

00:45:27All she saw was the massive enemy ship, manoeuvring for a fresh assault against the boundless.

00:45:33"'Captain Vorloff,' she barked into the vox, "'this is the Rothwell.

00:45:37She's heading for you next.

00:45:38Get out of there!'

00:45:39There was a crackle of static, and Vorloff's voice replied,

00:45:42"'What is this monster you have us hunting, Kaminska?'

00:45:47There was a slight pause, and suddenly Kaminska looked very old, as if the many juvenile treatments

00:45:52she had undertaken to grant her such longevity had been stripped away.

00:45:56"'I don't know.'

00:45:58"'I never thought I'd hear you at a loss for words,' said Vorloff.

00:46:02"'I'm breaking off and hitting warp-distance.

00:46:04I suggest you do the same.'

00:46:07Kaminska looked at Sestos.

00:46:09"'Do we run?'

00:46:11"'No,' said Sestos.

00:46:13His jaw was set as he watched the debris from the waning moon rain in all directions as

00:46:17the ship's hull split in two.

00:46:20"'That's what I thought.

00:46:22Helmsmistress Venkmire, relay orders to Engineering to make ready for full evasive.'

00:46:30The bridge of the waning moon was in ruins.

00:46:33Massive feedback had ripped through every helm.

00:46:35Crew-men had died as torrents of energy had hammered through their scalp-sockets and into

00:46:39their brains.

00:46:41Others were burning in the wreckage of exploded cogitators.

00:46:44Some of them had got out, but there was little indication that anywhere on the ship was better

00:46:48off.

00:46:49There was smoke everywhere, and all sound was swamped by the agonising din of screaming

00:46:53metal from the rear of the ship.

00:46:56The ship's spine was broken, and it could no longer support its own structure.

00:47:00The waning moon's movement was enough to force it apart with inertia.

00:47:05The blast-doors had buckled under the extreme damage inflicted upon the stricken vessel

00:47:09and would not open.

00:47:11Motep had drawn his scimitar and cut through them with ease, forcing his way out of the

00:47:15bridge.

00:47:17Engineering was gone—simply gone.

00:47:19The last surviving readouts on the bridge had been tracking the engines as they spun

00:47:23away below the ship, ribbons of burning plasma and charred bodies spilling from the ship's

00:47:28wounds like intestines.

00:47:31No order had been given to abandon ship.

00:47:34Motep hadn't needed to give it.

00:47:36"'Captain, power is falling all across the ship!' shouted Helmsmate Ramket, his voice

00:47:41warring against the din of internal explosions somewhere below decks.

00:47:45"'We are beyond saving, Helmsmate.

00:47:48Head for the starboard saviour pods immediately,' Motep replied, noting the savage gash across

00:47:53Ramket's forehead where he had been struck by falling ship-debris.

00:47:57Ramket saluted, and was about to turn and do as he ordered, when a sheet of fire rippled

00:48:02down the corridor, channelled through the waning moon's remaining oxygen.

00:48:06It flowed over Motep in a coruscating wave, spilling against his armour as it was repelled.

00:48:12Warning runes within his helmet-lens display flashed intense heat readings.

00:48:17Ramket had no such protection, and his scream died in his burning mouth as the skin was

00:48:23seared from his body.

00:48:25Smothered by fire as if drowning, Ramket thundered against the deck in a heap of charred bone

00:48:30and flaming meat.

00:48:32Motep forced his way through the closest access portal, and hauled it shut against the blaze.

00:48:36The fire had caught on the seals of his armour, and he patted them out with his gaunt-ritted

00:48:40palm.

00:48:41He had emerged from the conflagration into one of the ship's triage stations, where the

00:48:45wounded had been brought from the torpedo-strikes on the gun-decks.

00:48:49The injured were still lying in beds, hooked up to respirators and life-support cogitators.

00:48:54The orderlies were gone.

00:48:56Ship-regulations made no provision for bringing in-village along when abandoning ship.

00:49:02They had given their lives to the Thousand Sons.

00:49:04They had known that they would die in service one way or another.

00:49:08Motep ignored the dead and pressed on.

00:49:12Beyond the triage station were crew-quarters.

00:49:14Men and women were running everywhere.

00:49:16Normally they would know exactly where to head in the event of an abandoned ship, but

00:49:20the waning moon-structure was coming apart, and the closest saviour-pods were wrecked.

00:49:25Some were already dead, crushed by chunks of torn metal crashing through the ceiling

00:49:29or thrown into fiery rents in the deck-plates.

00:49:33In spite of the confusion, they stood aside instinctively to allow Motep clear passage.

00:49:37As an Astartes, and their lord, his life was worth more than any of theirs.

00:49:42"'Starboard saviour-pods are still operational, captain,' said one petty officer.

00:49:47Motep remembered his name as Lothec.

00:49:50He was just one of the many thousands of souls about to burn in the void.

00:49:56Motep nodded an acknowledgement of the man.

00:49:57The Thousand Sun's own armour was still smouldering, and he could feel points of hot pain at the

00:50:02elbow and knee-joints, but he ignored them.

00:50:05Abruptly the crew-quarter split in two, one side hauled sharply upwards in a scream of

00:50:10twisting metal.

00:50:12Lothec went with it, smashed up into the ceiling, and turned to a grisly red paste before his

00:50:16mouth had even formed a terrified scream.

00:50:20A huge section of the waning moon-structure had collapsed and given way.

00:50:25Its inertia ripped it out of the ship's belly, and air shrieked from the widening gaps.

00:50:30Motep was staggered by the unexpected rupture, and grabbed the frame of a door as air howled

00:50:35past him.

00:50:36He saw crew-men wrenched off their feet and dashed against torn deck-plating that bent

00:50:40outwards like jagged, broken teeth.

00:50:43The tangled mass before him gave way, and tumbled off into the void, over a dozen souls

00:50:49screaming silently as they went with it.

00:50:52Their eyes widened in panic, even as they iced over.

00:50:55They gasped out breaths, or held them too long, and ruptured their lungs, spewing out

00:50:59ragged plumes of blood.

00:51:02Hitting space, their bodies froze in spasm, limbs held at awkward angles as they drifted

00:51:07away into the star-pocked darkness.

00:51:10The scene was bizarrely tranquil as Motep regarded it.

00:51:13The swathe of black-clad nothing, silent and endless, where distant constellations glittered

00:51:18wildly, and the faded luminescence of far-off suns left a lambent glow in the false night.

00:51:25Gravity gave way as the structure was violated.

00:51:29Motep held on, armoured fingers making indentations in the metal, as the last gales of atmosphere

00:51:34hammered past.

00:51:36A corpse rolled and bumped against his armour on its way to the void.

00:51:40It was Officer Ammon, his eyes red with burst veins.

00:51:45They were dead—thousands, all dead.

00:51:49Motep felt some grim pride, knowing that had they seen it would end this way, the crew

00:51:54would all still have given their lives to Magnus and the Thousand Suns.

00:51:59With no time for reverie, the Astartes pulled himself along the wall, finding handholds

00:52:03among shattered mosaics.

00:52:06With the air gone, the only sound was the groaning of the ship as it came apart, rumbling

00:52:10through its structure and up through the gauntlets of Motep's armour.

00:52:14His armour was proof against the vacuum, but he could only survive for a limited time.

00:52:19The same was not true of anyone else aboard ship.

00:52:23Motep passed through the crew-quarters.

00:52:25In the wake of its demise, the waning moon had become an eerily silent tomb of metal.

00:52:31As power-relays failed, lights flashed intermittently, the illumination on some decks made only by

00:52:36crackling sparks.

00:52:38Gobbits of blood broke against Motep's armour as he moved, and icy corpses bobbed with a

00:52:43dead gravity as if carried by an invisible ocean.

00:52:46The Astartes shoved tangled bodies aside, faces locked in frozen grimaces, as he fought

00:52:51his way to a pair of blast-doors and opened them.

00:52:55The air was gone beyond them, too, and more crew-men floated in the corridor leading down

00:52:59to the saviour-pod deck.

00:53:02One of them grasped Motep's arm as the Astartes went past him.

00:53:05It was a crew-man who had emptied his lungs as the air boomed out, and had thus managed

00:53:10to stay conscious.

00:53:11His eyes goggled madly.

00:53:14Motep swept him aside and carried on.

00:53:18The starboard saviour-pods were not far away, but the Thousand Sun had to take a short detour

00:53:23first.

00:53:24Passing through a final corridor, he reached the reinforced blast-doors of his sanctum.

00:53:28Incredibly, the chamber still retained power, operating on a heavily protected separate

00:53:33system from the rest of the ship.

00:53:36Motep inputted the runic access protocol, and the door slid open.

00:53:40The oxygen that remained in the airtight sanctum started to pour out.

00:53:44Motep stepped over the threshold quickly, and the door sealed shut behind him with a

00:53:47hiss of escaping pressure.

00:53:50Ignoring the damage done to the precious artefacts within the room, Motep went straight to the

00:53:54extant sarcophagus at the back of the sanctum.

00:53:58Opening it with controlled urgency, he retrieved the short wand-stay from inside it and secured

00:54:02the item in a compartment in his armour.

00:54:05When Motep turned about a head for the saviour-pods, he saw a figure crushed beneath a fallen cry-glass

00:54:11cabinet.

00:54:12Shards of glass speared the figure's robed body, and vital fluids trickled from its bloodless

00:54:18lips.

00:54:19"'Sire!' gasped Calamar, using what little oxygen remained in the chamber.

00:54:25Motep went to the ageing serf and knelt beside him.

00:54:28"'For the glory of Magnus!' Calamar breathed when his lord was close.

00:54:35Motep nodded.

00:54:36"'You have served your master and this vessel well, old friend,' the Astartes intoned, and

00:54:42stood up again.

00:54:43'But your tenure is at an end.'

00:54:46"'Spare my suffering, lord!'

00:54:50"'I will,' Motep replied, mustering what little compassion existed in his cold, methodical

00:54:57nature, and drawing his bolt-pistol.

00:55:00He shot Calamar through the head.

00:55:04The saviour-pod deck was situated next to the hull, a hemispherical chamber with six

00:55:09pods half sunk into the floor.

00:55:11Two had been launched, and another was damaged beyond repair, speared through by a shaft

00:55:15of steel fallen from the ceiling.

00:55:18Motep pulled himself down into one of the remaining pods.

00:55:22Contrary to naval tradition, he would not be going down with his ship.

00:55:25In his chambers, just prior to docking at Vangelis, he had seen a vision of himself

00:55:29standing upon the deck of the Rothwell.

00:55:32This was his destiny.

00:55:34The hand of fate would draw him here for some, as of yet, unknown purpose.

00:55:40Motep engaged the icon that would seal the saviour-pod.

00:55:43It closed around him.

00:55:44There was room for three more crew, but no one was alive to fill it.

00:55:48He hit the launch-panel and explosive bolts through the pod clear of the ship.

00:55:53He watched the waning moon turning above him as the pod spiralled away.

00:55:57The aft section had burned out and was just a black flaking husk, disappearing against

00:56:02the void.

00:56:03The main section of the ship was tearing itself apart.

00:56:06The fires were mostly out, starved of fuel and oxygen, and the waning moon was a skeleton

00:56:10collapsing into its component bones.

00:56:13In the distance, thousands of sparks burst around the furious abyss, as if it were at

00:56:18the heart of a vast pyrotechnic display.

00:56:22Motep was as disciplined as any thousand some, and Magnus made the conditioning of his legion's

00:56:26minds the most important part of their training.

00:56:29He could subsume himself into the collective mindset of his battle-brothers, and as such

00:56:33was rarely troubled by emotions that did not serve any immediate purpose.

00:56:39He was disturbed.

00:56:40He very much wanted to exact the hatred he felt on the furious abyss.

00:56:44He wanted to tear it apart with his bare hands.

00:56:48Perhaps Motep told himself, if he was patient, he would find a way to do that.

00:56:55The fighters had come from nowhere.

00:56:58With the violent death of the waning moon, the remaining escort-ships, the Ferox and

00:57:01the Fireblade, were locked in a deadly duel with the massive enemy vessel.

00:57:06Even with the Boundless in support and the Wrothful inbound, they would not last long

00:57:11against the word-bearer battleship.

00:57:13The frigates would have to use their superior speed to endure while aid arrived.

00:57:19That advantage was summarily robbed with the appearance of crimson-winged fighter-squadrons

00:57:23issuing from the belly of the furious abyss in an angry swarm.

00:57:28It was impossible for such a ship, even one of its impressive size, to harbour fighter-decks

00:57:33and the weapon-system that had destroyed the waning moon.

00:57:36This fact had informed every scenario the escort-squadron's captains had developed for

00:57:40any reaction to their attack-runs.

00:57:43The furious abyss, however, was no ordinary ship.

00:57:47The destruction of the waning moon, appalling as it was, had at least given the escort-ships

00:57:52the certainty that the word-bearers would not have the resources for the attack-craft.

00:57:58That was before the launch-bays had opened like steel gills down the flanks of the battleship

00:58:03and twinkling blood-slick darts had shot out on columns of exhaust.

00:58:10Captain Ullago stood in a corona of light on the bridge of the Fireblade.

00:58:14The rest of the bridge was drenched in darkness, with only the grainy diodes of control-consoles

00:58:19punctuating the gloom.

00:58:21Arms behind him, surrounded by the hololithic tactical display and with vox crackling, the

00:58:27terrible choreography of war, played out with sickening inevitability.

00:58:31"'Ferox engaged,' came the alert from Captain Loth-Ullaga.

00:58:35"'Multiple hostiles!

00:58:37Fast attack-craft, registering impacts, shutting down reactor two—'

00:58:41"'Shield your engines for terror's sake!' snapped Captain Ullago, watching the grim

00:58:45display from the view-port.

00:58:46"'What do you think I'm doing?' retorted Loth-Ullaga.

00:58:49"'I have fighters port, aft, and a beam.

00:58:52They're bloody everywhere!'

00:58:54The Ferox spiralled away from its attack-run on the underside, pursued by a cloud of vindictive

00:58:59fighters.

00:59:00Many explosions stitched over the hind-quarters of the escort-ship, ripping sprays of black

00:59:05debris from the engine-housings.

00:59:08Turrets stammered back fire from the belly and sides of the Ferox, but for every fighter

00:59:12reduced to a bloom of plasma residue there were two more pouring fire into it.

00:59:17It was like a predator under attack from a swarm of stinging insects.

00:59:22The Ferox was far larger than any of the fighters, which were shaped like inverted Vs with their

00:59:26stabiliser-wings swept forwards.

00:59:29Individually, its turrets could have tracked and vaporised any of the enemy before they

00:59:33got in range, but there were over fifty of them.

00:59:36"'I cannot shake them!' snarled Captain Vorgas on the Ferocious, his voice ragged through

00:59:41the Vox.

00:59:42"'They're bloody killing us!' yelled Loth-Ullaga, whose voice was distorted by the secondary

00:59:47explosions coming from the escort's engines.

00:59:51Ullago wore a disgusted expression.

00:59:53In his entire career he had never backed down from a fight.

00:59:57He hailed from a militaristic world of Argonon in segmentum tempestus, and it was not in

01:00:03his nature to capitulate.

01:00:05Clenching his fists, he bawled the order, "'Squadron, disengage!'

01:00:10Fire-blade pulled away from the furious abyss, followed by the Ferocious.

01:00:14The Ferox tried to pull clear, but the enemy fighters hounded it, darting into the wake

01:00:19of the escort's engines, risking destruction to fly in blind and hammer laser-fire into

01:00:24its engineering decks.

01:00:26One of the reactors on the embattled frigate melted down, its whole rear half flooding

01:00:31with plasma.

01:00:32The forward compartments were sealed off quickly enough to save the crew, but the ship was

01:00:36dead in the void, only its momentum keeping it falling ponderously away from the upper

01:00:40hull of the furious abyss.

01:00:42The fighters circled it, flying in wide arcs around the dead ship, and punishing it with

01:00:47incessant fire.

01:00:49Crew-decks were breached and vented.

01:00:51Saviour-pods began to launch as Loth-Ullaga gave the order to abandon ship.

01:00:57The furious abyss wasted no time sending fighters to assassinate the Saviour-pods as they fled

01:01:01the stricken Ferox.

01:01:03The Ferocious pulled a dramatic hard turn, ducking back towards the enemy battleship

01:01:08to fox the fighters lining up for their attack-runs.

01:01:12It strayed into the arcs of the furious abyss's ventral turrets, and a couple of lucky shots

01:01:16blew plumes of vented atmosphere out of its upper hull.

01:01:20The fighters closed and targeted the breach, volleys of las-fire boring molten fingers

01:01:24into the frigate.

01:01:26Somewhere amidst the bedlam the bridge was breached, and the command-crew died, incinerated

01:01:31by sprays of molten metal, or frozen and suffocated as the void forced its way in.

01:01:37The remaining turrets on the furious abyss targeted the fleeing fire-blade, the last

01:01:42vessel of the escort.

01:01:43Most of the battleship's attention was away from the frigate, representing as it did a

01:01:47mere annoyance.

01:01:49Its vengeful eye was focused squarely on the boundless.

01:01:53"'The Ferox and the Ferocious are gone,' Kaminska stated flatly, watching the blips on the tactical

01:02:00display blink out.

01:02:02"'How on Titan can that thing support those fighter-wings?'

01:02:06"'The same way it has a functioning plasma-lance,' said Sestos grimly.

01:02:10"'The Mechanicum know more about what they're doing than they're letting on, and are ignoring

01:02:14Imperial sanctions.'

01:02:16"'In the name of Terror, what is happening?'

01:02:18Kaminska asked, seeing the enemy battleship turn its crosshairs on the boundless.

01:02:23For the first time the ultramarine thought he could detect a hint of fear in the admiral's

01:02:27voice.

01:02:28"'We cannot win this fight.

01:02:30Not like this,' he said.

01:02:32"'Bring the boundless in.

01:02:33We need to regroup.'

01:02:35Kaminska cast her eye over the tactical display.

01:02:38Her voice was choked.

01:02:39"'It's too late for that.'

01:02:42"'Damnation!'

01:02:44Sestos smashed his fist hard against a rail on the bridge, and it buckled.

01:02:48After a moment he said, "'Contact your astropath and find out what is keeping that message.

01:02:53I must warn my Lord Gilliman at once.'

01:02:56Kaminska raised the astropathic sanctum on the ship-to-ship vox, even as Helm's Mistress

01:03:00Venkmire relayed disengagement protocols to Engineering.

01:03:04"'Chief Astropath, Corbad Heff's deep voice was heard on the bridge.

01:03:08All our efforts to contact Terror or the ultramarines have failed,' he revealed matter-of-factly.

01:03:14"'Thy order of the Emperor's Astartes, keep trying, and you will prevail,' said Sestos.

01:03:19"'My Lord,' Heff began, unmoved by the ultramarine's threatening tone, 'the matter is more fundamental

01:03:25than you appreciate.

01:03:27When I say our efforts have failed, I mean utterly.

01:03:30The Astronomican is gone.'

01:03:32"'Gone?

01:03:33That's impossible.

01:03:34How can it be gone?'

01:03:36"'I know not, my Lord.

01:03:38We are detecting warp-storms that could be interfering.

01:03:40I will redouble our endeavours, but I fear they will be in vain.'

01:03:44The vox went dead, and Heff was gone again.

01:03:48Antigui's return to the bridge broke the silence.

01:03:50"'We must return to Terror, Sestos.

01:03:52The Emperor must be warned.'

01:03:53"'What of Calf and Macragge?

01:03:56Our legion is there, and our primarch.

01:03:58They are in imminent danger, and the ones who must be warned.

01:04:02I do not doubt the strength of our battle, brothers, and the fleet above Macragge is formidable,

01:04:06as are its ground defences, but there is something about this ship.

01:04:10What if it is merely the harbinger of something much worse, something that can be a very real

01:04:14threat to Gilliman?'

01:04:15"'Our primarch has ever taught us to exercise pragmatism in the face of adversity,' Antigui's

01:04:21reasoned, stepping forward.

01:04:22"'Upon our return we could send a message to the legion.'

01:04:25"'A message that would never reach them, Antigui's,' Sestos replied with anger.

01:04:30"'No.

01:04:31We are the legion's last hope.'

01:04:32"'You are letting your emotion and your arrogance cloud your judgment, brother captain,' said

01:04:37Antigui's, drawing in close.

01:04:38"'Your loyalty deserts you, brother,' Antigui's bristled at the slight, but kept his composure.

01:04:44"'What good is it if we sacrifice ourselves on the altar of loyalty?' he urged.

01:04:49'This way we at least stand a chance of saving our brothers.'

01:04:52"'No,' said Sestos with finality.

01:04:55"'We would only condemn them to death.

01:04:58Courage and honour, Antigui's!'

01:05:01Sestos's fellow-ultramarine saw the vehemence in his eyes, remembering his conviction that

01:05:05he knew some terrible peril was creeping towards Macragge and the legion.

01:05:09His brother-captain had been right thus far, and suddenly Antigui's felt shamed that his

01:05:14dogged pragmatism had so blinded him to that truth.

01:05:18"'Courage and honour,' he replied, and clapped his hand upon Sestos's shoulder in an apologetic

01:05:25gesture.

01:05:26"'So we follow them into the warp,' Kaminska interrupted, assuming that the matter was

01:05:31settled.

01:05:32"'Stay in flight, and get on the ship's tail as soon as it readies to go into the tertiary

01:05:36core transit,' she added.

01:05:39Sestos was about to give his assent, when helmsmate Kant delivered a report from the

01:05:43censorium.

01:05:44"'Impacts on the Boundless!'

01:05:49The Boundless took longer to die than the waning moon.

01:05:52Another volley of torpedoes sailed out from the furious abyss, this time in a tight corkscrew,

01:05:57like a pack of predators, arrowing in on the prey instead of spread out in a fan.

01:06:02High explosives tipped the torpedo formation, they penetrated shields, and used up the first

01:06:08volleys of turret-fire from the Boundless.

01:06:11The main body of the torpedoes were the same kind of boar-head-o'-cluster munitions that

01:06:15had ripped into the waning moon.

01:06:18A few magnetic-pulse torpedoes were part of a volley, too.

01:06:21They ripped through the sensors of the Boundless and blinded it.

01:06:25There was no longer any need to conceal the full arsenal of the furious abyss.

01:06:30Cluster-explosions, like flowers of fire, blossomed down one flank of the Boundless.

01:06:35Shock-waves rippled through the fighter-bays, throwing attack-craft aside like boats on

01:06:40a wave.

01:06:42Refuelling-tanks exploded, their blooms lost in the torrents of flame that followed the

01:06:45first impacts.

01:06:47Fighter-crews that had survived the madness of the attack-runs were rewarded by being

01:06:52shredded by shrapnel or drowned in fire.

01:06:55The flank of the Boundless was chewed away as if it were ageing and decaying at an impossible

01:07:00rate, holes opening up and metal blackening and twisting to finally flake away like desiccated

01:07:06flesh.

01:07:08The final torpedo-wave had single war-heads that forced enormous bullets of exotic metals

01:07:13at impossible speeds.

01:07:15They shot like lances from their housings, shrieking right through the Boundless and

01:07:19emerging from the other side, sowing secondary explosions of ignited fuel and vented oxygen,

01:07:25transfixing the carrier like spears of light.

01:07:28Finally, the furious abyss took a position at medium range from the Imperial ship.

01:07:33It paused as if observing the wrecked vessel sizing up the quarry one last time before

01:07:39the kill.

01:07:40The plasma lance emerged, the energy building up and the barrel glowing.

01:07:45The surviving crew of the Boundless knew what was coming, but all their control-systems

01:07:49were shot through.

01:07:51A few thrusters sputtered into life as the Boundless tried desperately to limp away from

01:07:56its would-be executioner, but the carrier was too big and badly wounded.

01:08:01The plasma lance fired.

01:08:04It hit the Boundless amid ships, at enough of an angle to rip through to the plasma reactors.

01:08:08The entire vessel glowed, the heat of the fusing plasma conducted through its structure

01:08:13and hull.

01:08:14Then the plasma overspilled and spitted like prey on the solid beam of the plasma's lance-light.

01:08:20The Boundless exploded.

01:08:24From his imperious position on the bridge of the furious abyss, Zadkiel watched the

01:08:29burning wreck of the enemy cruiser flicker into lifeless darkness.

01:08:33"'Glory to Lorga!' said Rescula, who was standing behind him.

01:08:38"'So it is written,' Zadkiel replied.

01:08:42"'Two vessels remain, my lord,' added his second, obsequiously.

01:08:46Zadkiel observed the tactical display.

01:08:48The remaining cruiser was intact, and the final escort being pursued by the furious

01:08:53abyss's fighter-wings would probably also escape.

01:08:56"'By the time they get to Terra, it will be too late for any warning,' Zadkiel said confidently.

01:09:02"'The warp is with us.

01:09:04We risk far more tarrying here to hunt them down.'

01:09:07"'I will instruct Navigator Estemia that we are to enter the warp.'

01:09:11"'Do so immediately,' confirmed Zadkiel, his mind on the transpiring events and their impending

01:09:16foray into the Imperium.

01:09:19Rescula nodded and activated the ship's vox-casters, transmitting Zadkiel's relayed orders into

01:09:24the engine-rooms and ordnance-decks.

01:09:26"'All crew, make ready for warp-entry.'

01:09:29"'Rescula, have Master Malfurion load the psionic charges,' Zadkiel said as an afterthought.

01:09:35"'Once we are in the warp, you will have the bridge.

01:09:38I will be inspecting the supplicants in the lower decks.

01:09:42Ensure novice Ultus attends.'

01:09:43"'As you wish, my lord,' said Rescula, bowing deeply.

01:09:47"'And if the ultramarines try to follow—'

01:09:49"'Commend their souls to the warp,' Zadkiel replied coldly.'

01:09:54The wrathful went dark to simulate the diversion of its power to the engines for escape.

01:10:02The entire bridge was drenched in shadow.

01:10:05The crew were stunned into sudden silence and, for a fraction of a second, stillness,

01:10:09as they struggled to comprehend what they had witnessed.

01:10:13Kaminska was as quiet as the ship.

01:10:14She gripped the arms of her command-throne tightly.

01:10:17Vorloff had been her friend.

01:10:20"'A saviour poured the jettison from the waning moon before its destruction, admiral,' announced

01:10:24Helm's mate, Venkmire, at the sensorium helm, breaking the silence.

01:10:28"'Can you tell who is on board?' asked Sestos, alongside the admiral, watching impotently

01:10:33as the word-bearer-vessel grew farther and farther away as the wrathful made its mock

01:10:38retreat.

01:10:39"'Lord Motep, sire,' Venkmire replied, 'he is on his way to us.

01:10:43I have instructed crews to be ready to retrieve him when he docks.'

01:10:46"'Antigues, have Liradis join the dock-crews.

01:10:51Motep might be injured and in need of an apothecary.'

01:10:53"'At once, brother-captain,' Antigues turned, and was about to head off again, when Sestos

01:10:59added, "'Disband the boarding-parties and return to the bridge.

01:11:03I want Bringar to do the same on my authority.

01:11:05Bring Saffrax and the Legion captains with you.'

01:11:08The other ultramarine nodded and went to his duties."

01:11:14Saffrax arrived on the bridge with Antigues as ordered.

01:11:17Bringar and Skrall joined them, feral belligerence and unfettered wrath increasing the already

01:11:21knife-edge tension.

01:11:23With this many Astartes present, the bridge of the wrathful felt very small.

01:11:28Saffrax wore his ceremonial honour-guard-armour, the gold of his armour-plates glinting dully.

01:11:33Skrall, on the other hand, made do with little in the way of decoration.

01:11:38Sestos could not help noticing the kill-tallies on his chain-axe, bolt-pistol, and armour-plates,

01:11:43a testament to violence.

01:11:45Killing was a matter of pride for the world-eaters, and Skrall had several names etched on his

01:11:49shoulder-pad around the stylised devoured planet-symbol of his Legion.

01:11:54"'Battle-brothers, fellow-captains,' Sestos began as the Astartes present took position

01:12:00around the dead tactical display-table, 'we are to enter the Imperion and give chase to

01:12:05the word-bearers.

01:12:07Our navigators have discerned that they are on course for a stable warp-route.

01:12:11Following them won't be a problem.'

01:12:13"'Though facing them will,' said Saffrax, ever the voice of reason.

01:12:20"'That ship destroyed two cruisers and the same in frigates.

01:12:23What is your plan for overcoming such odds?'

01:12:26It wasn't an objection.

01:12:28Saffrax was not given to questioning the decisions of his superiors.

01:12:31In his mind the hierarchy of command was absolute, and, much like the ultramarine's posture,

01:12:36it could brook no bending.

01:12:37"'If we go back to Terror,' said Sestos, "'we could try to raise the alarm.

01:12:42If the warp quietened, then we could get a message to Macragge and forewarn the Legion.'

01:12:47Sestos knew there was no conviction in his words as he spoke them.

01:12:51"'You have already decided against that course, haven't you, lad?' said Venerable Bringar.

01:12:57"'I have,' the old wolf smiled, revealing his razor-sharp incisors.

01:13:03There was something stoic and powerful in the steel grey of his mane-like hair and beard,

01:13:08implacability in the creamy orb of his ruined eye and the ragged scars of previous battles,

01:13:13but for all the warlike trappings, the obvious martial prowess and savagery, there was wisdom,

01:13:18too.

01:13:19"'When the Sons of Rus march to war, they do not cease until battle is done,' he said

01:13:25with the utmost conviction.

01:13:26'We will chase those curs into the eye of the warp, if necessary, and feast upon their

01:13:31traitorous hearts.'

01:13:32"'The world-eaters do not flee when an enemy turns on them,' offered Scrawl, with bloodlust

01:13:38in his eyes.

01:13:39"'We hunt them down and kill them.

01:13:41It's the way of the Legion!'

01:13:43Cestus nodded, appraising the brave warriors before him with great respect.

01:13:47"'Make no mistake about this.

01:13:49We are at war,' the ultramarine warned them finally.

01:13:52"'We are at war with our brothers, and we must prosecute this fight with all the strength

01:13:57and conviction that we would bring against any foe of mankind.

01:14:00We do this in the name of the Emperor.'

01:14:03"'In the name of the Emperor!'

01:14:05growled Scrawl.

01:14:06"'Aye, for the throne!'

01:14:08Bringar agreed.

01:14:10Cestus bowed deeply.

01:14:11"'Your fealty does me great honour.

01:14:14Prepare your battle-brothers for what is ahead.

01:14:16I will convene a council of war upon Captain Motep's return to the Wrothful.'

01:14:21Cestus noted the snarl upon Bringar's face at the last remark, but it faded quickly as

01:14:26the Astartes took their leave and returned to their warriors.

01:14:29"'Admiral Kaminska,' said the ultramarine, once the other legionaries were gone.

01:14:34Kaminska looked up at him.

01:14:36Dark rings had sunk around her eyes.

01:14:38"'I shall have to prepare Navigator Orcadus.

01:14:41We can follow once the enemy is clear.'

01:14:44She thumbed a vox-tod on the arm of her command-throne.

01:14:46"'Captain Olago, report.'

01:14:49"'We've got mostly superficial damage.

01:14:52One serious deck-leak,' replied Olago on the fire-blade.

01:14:55"'Make your ship ready.

01:14:58We're following them,' Kaminska told him.

01:15:00"'Into the abyss?

01:15:02Yes.

01:15:03Do you have any objections?'

01:15:05"'Is this Captain Cestus's order?'

01:15:07"'It is,' she said.

01:15:09"'Then we'll be in your wake,' said Olago.

01:15:11'For the record, I do not believe a war-pursuit is the most suitable course of action in our

01:15:15current situation.'

01:15:16"'Malted,' said Kaminska, "'form up to follow us in.'

01:15:20"'Yes, admiral,' Olago replied.

01:15:24As the vox went dead, Kaminska sagged in her command-throne, as if the battle and the comrades

01:15:29she had lost were weighing down on her.

01:15:32"'Admiral,' said Cestus, noting her discomfort, 'are you still able to prosecute this mission?'

01:15:38Kaminska whirled on the ultramarine, her expression fierce, and the rod at her back once more.

01:15:42"'I may not have the legendary endurance of the Astartes, but I will see this through

01:15:47to the end, Captain, for good or ill.'

01:15:49"'You have my utmost faith, then,' Cestus replied.

01:15:53The voice of Helm's mate Venkmire, at the sensorium helm, helped to ease the tension.

01:15:58"'Captain Motep's saviour-pod is locked on,' she said, 'and the fire-blade has picked up

01:16:03additional survivors from the waning moon.'

01:16:05"'What of the boundless?' asked Kaminska.

01:16:08"'I'm sorry, admiral, there were none.'

01:16:11Kaminska watched the tactical display on the screen above her as the furious abyss's blip

01:16:15shivered and disappeared, leaving behind a trace of exotic particles.

01:16:19"'Take us in to that jump-point and engage the warp-engines,' she ordered wearily, Venkmire

01:16:27relaying them to the relevant parties aboard ship.

01:16:30"'Captain Motep is secured, admiral,' Venkmire said afterwards.

01:16:35"'Take us in!'

01:16:39Aboard the furious abyss, the supplicant's quarters were dark and infernally hot.

01:16:43The air was so heavy with chemicals that anyone other than an Astartes would have needed a

01:16:47respirator to survive.

01:16:49The supplicants, sixteen of them in all, knelt by the walls of the darkened rooms.

01:16:54Their heads were bowed over their chests, but the shadows and darkness could not hide

01:16:59their swollen craniums and the way their features had atrophied as their skulls deformed to

01:17:04contain their grotesque brains.

01:17:06Thick tubes snaked down their noses and throats, hooking them to life-support units mounted

01:17:11on the walls above.

01:17:13Wires ran from probes in their skulls.

01:17:15They were dressed neatly in the livery of the word-bearers, for even in their comatose

01:17:19states they were servants of the word, just like the rest of the crew.

01:17:24Three of the supplicants were dead.

01:17:26Their efforts in psychically assaulting the Imperial fighter-squadrons had taxed them

01:17:29to destruction.

01:17:31The skull of one had ruptured, spilling rust-grey cortex over his chest and stomach.

01:17:36Another had apparently caught fire, and his blackened flesh still smouldered.

01:17:40The last was slumped at the back of the quarters, lolling over to one side.

01:17:46Zadkiel entered the chamber.

01:17:48The sound of his footsteps, and those of one other, broke the hum of the life-support

01:17:52systems.

01:17:53"'This is the first time you have seen the supplicants, isn't it?' said Zadkiel.

01:17:58"'Yes, my lord,' said Altus, though his answer was not necessary.

01:18:03Zadkiel turned to the novice.

01:18:04"'Tell me, Altus, what is your impression of them?'

01:18:07"'I have none,' the novice answered coldly.

01:18:10'They are loyal servants of Lorgar, as are we all.

01:18:14They sacrifice themselves in a holy cause to further his glory and the glory of the

01:18:19word.'

01:18:20Zadkiel smiled at the phlegmatic response.

01:18:22Such zeal!

01:18:23Such unremitting fervour!

01:18:25This Altus wore ambition like a medal of honour emblazoned upon his chest.

01:18:30It meant he was dangerous.

01:18:32"'Justly spoken!' offered Zadkiel.

01:18:35"'Was it a worthy sacrifice?' he added, probing the depths of the novice's desire for advancement,

01:18:41without him even knowing.

01:18:42"'No one ever served the word without understanding that they would eventually give the word their

01:18:48life.'

01:18:49Altus responded carefully.

01:18:51"'He is aware that I am testing him.

01:18:53He is more dangerous than I thought.'

01:18:55"'Very true,' Zadkiel said out loud.

01:18:59"'Still, some would think this sight distasteful.'

01:19:01"'Then some do not deserve to serve.'

01:19:04"'You always answer with such conviction, Altus,' said Zadkiel.

01:19:08"'Are you so sure in your beliefs?'

01:19:11Zadkiel's turn to regard his lord directly.

01:19:14Neither of the Astartes wore a helmet, and their gazes locked in unspoken challenge.

01:19:19"'I have faith in the word.

01:19:21It is such that I need not hesitate.

01:19:23I need only speak and act.'

01:19:27Zadkiel held the novice's vehement gaze for a moment longer, before he broke away willingly

01:19:31and knelt down by the third dead supplicant.

01:19:34The word-bearer tipped its head upwards to reveal burned-out eyes.

01:19:38"'This is conviction, Altus.

01:19:41This is adherence to the creed of Lorgar,' Zadkiel told him.

01:19:45"'Lorgar's word is powerful,' Altus affirmed.

01:19:48"'None of his servants would ever forsake it.'

01:19:51"'Perhaps.

01:19:53But think upon it.

01:19:54Many of our legion have a seductive way with words.

01:19:57We are passionate about our lord Primarch and his teachings.

01:20:01We are most talented in spreading that to others.

01:20:04Would it not be said that this blinds lesser men, that to blind them with such passion

01:20:09and have them do our bidding is no different to slavery?'

01:20:13"'Even if it could be said,' replied Altus carefully, "'it does not follow that we would

01:20:19be in the wrong.

01:20:21Perhaps some are more used to the galaxy as slaves than as free men, doing as their base

01:20:26instincts tell them.'

01:20:28"'Were these men suited to being slaves?' asked Zadkiel, indicating the supplicants.

01:20:35"'Yes,' said Altus.

01:20:37"'Psychas are dangerous when left to their own devices.

01:20:39The word gave them another purpose.'

01:20:41"'Then you would enslave others to do Lorgar's will?'

01:20:46Altus thought about this.

01:20:48The novice was no fool, and would be well aware that Zadkiel was evaluating his every

01:20:52word, but failing to answer at all would be by far the most damning result.

01:20:57"'It is better,' said Altus, 'that lesser men like this lose their freedom than that

01:21:03the word remains unspoken.

01:21:05Even if what we do is slavery, even if our passion is like a chain that holds them down,

01:21:10these are small prices to pay to see Lorgar's word enacted.'

01:21:14"'Zadkiel stood up.

01:21:17These supplicants will require some time to recover.

01:21:20Their psychic exertions have drained them.

01:21:22It is good that the weaker were winnowed out, at least.

01:21:25The warp will not be kind to them.'

01:21:27"'You show remarkable tolerance, novice Altus.

01:21:31Many Astartes, even those of our legion, would balk at the use of these supplicants.'

01:21:35"'Those are the lengths to which we must go,' said Altus, 'to fulfil the word.'

01:21:41"'Yes, very ambitious,' Zadkiel decided.

01:21:44"'How far would you go, brother Altus?'

01:21:47"'To the very end.'

01:21:49"'Driven, too,' Zadkiel smiled thinly.

01:21:53"'Dangerous.'

01:21:54"'Then there is little left to teach you,' said the word-bearer-captain.

01:21:59The vox emitter in Zadkiel's gorget chirped.

01:22:02"'Master Malfurion has indicated that he is ready,' said Helm's mate Sakharov.

01:22:07"'Delegating already, are we, Reskiel,' thought Zadkiel, seeing rivals and potential usurpers

01:22:12in every exchange, every obsequious nod.

01:22:15"'Deploy at once,' said Zadkiel.

01:22:18"'Yes, sire.'

01:22:19"'They pursue us still?' asked Altus.

01:22:22"'It was to be expected,' Zadkiel replied.

01:22:25"'Doubtless some sense of duty compels them.

01:22:28They will soon learn the folly of that emotion.'

01:22:31"'Pray enlighten me, my lord,' Zadkiel considered the novice as he bowed before him.

01:22:37"'Join me on the bridge, brother Altus,' he said, "'and merely watch.'

01:22:44The warp was madness made real.

01:22:47It was another dimension where the rules of reality did not apply.

01:22:51The human mind was not evolved to comprehend it, for it had no rules or boundaries to define

01:22:56it.

01:22:57It was infinite and infinitely varied.

01:23:00Only a navigator, a highly specialised form of stable mutant, could look upon it and not

01:23:05go insane.

01:23:06Only he could allow a ship to travel the stable channels of the warp, fleeting as they were,

01:23:11and emerge through the other side.

01:23:13To traverse an unstable warp-route, even with a navigator's guidance, would put a vessel

01:23:18at the capricious mercy of the Empyrean tides.

01:23:22The furious abyss had plunged into this sea.

01:23:25It was kept intact by a sheath of overlapping ghella-fields, without which it would disintegrate

01:23:30as its component atoms ran out of reasons to stay neatly arranged in its metals.

01:23:36From the ordnance-bay, wrapped in its own complement of fields, emerged a large psionic

01:23:42mine, spinning rapidly as it tumbled away from the word-bearer's ship.

01:23:46Though not visible on the outside, within the mine's inner core was a coterie of screaming

01:23:52psychers, insane with the poisonous vapour that had been pumped into the chamber and

01:23:56then hermetically sealed.

01:23:58Their combined death-cry would send psionic ripples through the Empyrean.

01:24:03With a flash of light, which bled away into emotion as it was absorbed into the warp,

01:24:07the mine and all its raving cargo detonated.

01:24:11The warp quaked, love and hate boiled and ran together like paint, the agony of billions

01:24:17of years breaking and shifting like spring-ice.

01:24:21Mountains of hope crumbled, and oceans of lust drained into the nothingness of misery.

01:24:27With a sound like every scream ever uttered, the tertiary core transit collapsed.

01:24:38CHAPTER VII GHOSTS IN THE WARP

01:24:40HELL-BOUND LEGACY OF MAGNUS

01:24:43"'O Largo!' shouted Kaminska.

01:24:46"'You're breaking up!

01:24:48I can barely hear you.

01:24:49Keep the fields up and get into our wake!'

01:24:52The Wrothful, with the Fireblade in tow, had entered the infinite that was the warp.

01:24:57Interference from the rolling Shadow Sea had rendered vox-traffic all but dead as the last

01:25:02vestiges of real space fell away.

01:25:05The final transmissions from the escort ship were fraught with panic and desperation as

01:25:09the Fireblade encountered unknown difficulties during transit.

01:25:13O Largo's voice was heavily distorted as he relayed a fragmentary message, the words dissolving

01:25:18into crackling non-sequiturs.

01:25:21Strange waves of static flowed through the Wrothful's bridge-speakers, the short distance

01:25:26between it and the Fireblade filling up with the impossible geometries of the warp.

01:25:32Entering the warp through a stable route, even guided by a navigator, was dangerous.

01:25:36To do so once that route had collapsed, and without the beacon of the Astronomican, was

01:25:41nigh on suicidal.

01:25:43Admiral Kaminska swore beneath her breath, smashing her fist against the arm of her command-throne

01:25:48in frustration.

01:25:49"'The link is severed,' she muttered darkly.

01:25:52"'We'll get no further contact with the Fireblade until we leave warp-space, Admiral,' said

01:25:57Benkmeyer.

01:25:59Kaminska and her crew were alone on the bridge.

01:26:03The Ancestors and the other Astartes had convened in one of the vessel's many conference-rooms

01:26:06to receive Captain Motep, find out what he knew, and formulate some kind of plan.

01:26:12The mood was subdued because of the warp-transit, and the unknown fate of the Fireblade had

01:26:16not alleviated the grim demeanour that pervaded on the bridge.

01:26:19"'I know, Helm's mistress,' Kaminska answered with resignation.

01:26:24The Wrothful shuddered.

01:26:26Warning lights flickered up and down the bridge, and in the decks beyond klaxons sounded.

01:26:31"'We're on full collision drill,' Helm's mate Kant informed them.

01:26:35"'Good,' said the Admiral.

01:26:36"'Keep us there.'

01:26:38The whole bridge sheaved sideways, scattering navigational instruments and tactical manuals.

01:26:43Kant grabbed the edge of a map-table to keep his footing with a sudden warp-turbulence.

01:26:46"'At your command,' he replied.

01:26:50Kaminska sat back in her command-throne, exhausted.

01:26:53She had finally come up against a problem she couldn't solve with tactical acumen and

01:26:58audacity.

01:26:59The Astartes, captain of the ultramarines, had put her in this situation, and for all

01:27:03her loyalty to the Imperium and the greater glory of mankind, she resented him for it.

01:27:09Lothulaga, Vargas, Abraxvan of the Fearless, and now Ulago, all gone.

01:27:16Vorloff of the Boundless had been her friend, and he too had fallen ignominiously in pursuit

01:27:22of an unbeatable foe at the behest of a reckless angel of the Emperor.

01:27:27Now, in the thrall of the warp, and impotent as she was, trusting to her navigator to guide

01:27:32them out safely, Kaminska's anger was only magnified.

01:27:36"'Helmsmaid, get me Officer Huntsman of the Watch,' she ordered with forced resolve.

01:27:42"'Admiral,' said Huntsman's voice over the voxeray after a few moments, "'assemble your

01:27:47best men and have them patrol decks.

01:27:49I don't want any surprises or unforeseen accidents during transit,' she replied.

01:27:54"'Any signs, any at all, and you know what to do.'

01:27:58"'I shall prosecute my duty with due and lethal diligence, admiral,' Huntsman responded.'

01:28:08Huntsman killed the voxling and turned to the three armsmen waiting patiently for him

01:28:12in the upper-deck parracks.

01:28:13They were equipped with pistols and shock-moors and light flak-jackets.

01:28:17The four men stood in a small group, their features cast with deep shadows from the low-level

01:28:22lighting that persisted whilst the Rothwell was in warp transit.

01:28:25The rest of the barrack-room, all gun-metal, with stark walls and bunks, was empty.

01:28:31"'Four teams, decks three through eighteen,' said Huntsman, with curt and level-headed

01:28:36precision.

01:28:37"'I want regular reports from below decks overseers, every half-hour.'

01:28:42The three armsmen nodded and left to gather the enforcers.

01:28:46As Officer of the Watch, it was Huntsman's job to ensure that order and discipline were

01:28:51maintained aboard ship.

01:28:53He was brutal in that duty, an unshakable enforcer who suffered no insubordination.

01:28:58He had killed many men in pursuit of his duty, and felt no remorse for it.

01:29:02Warp psychosis could affect any man, and even Huntsman, though possessed of a stronger will

01:29:07than most, felt its presence, even through the shielding of the gallow-fields surrounding

01:29:11the ship that acted as a barrier against the Imperian.

01:29:15He had seen many suffering from the malady, and it took many forms.

01:29:18Both physical and mental abnormalities could present themselves.

01:29:22Hair-loss, babbling, catatonia, even homicidal dementia were common.

01:29:27Huntsman had the cure for each and every one of them, sitting snugly in his hip-holster.

01:29:33Wiping a hand across his closely cropped hair, Huntsman checked the load in his side-arm,

01:29:38and patiently awaited the return of his men.

01:29:41Cestus Antiges and the other Astartes captains sat around a lacquered hexagonal table in one

01:29:47of the Rothwells' conference-rooms.

01:29:49Wood-panelling decorated the room and gave it false warmth, despite its obvious militaristic

01:29:54austerity.

01:29:56Plaques hung on the walls, describing the deeds of the many great commanders, captains,

01:30:00and admirals that had served in the Saturnine fleet.

01:30:04Comynscus was amongst them.

01:30:06Her role of honour was long and distinguished.

01:30:08There were several artefacts, too—crossed cutlasses, an antique pistol, and other traditional

01:30:14Oceanic trappings.

01:30:16Presiding over all was an icon that spoke of the new age.

01:30:20The imperial eagle was the symbol of the Emperor's war of unification, and a symbol of the union

01:30:25between Mars and Terra.

01:30:27It was a stark reminder of all they were fighting for, and the fragility inherent within it.

01:30:32As soon as we leave the warp we get into their wake and launch boarding torpedoes at their

01:30:37blind-side.

01:30:39Let the fury of the wolf-gut disperse from within!" snarled Bringar.

01:30:44The wolf-guard, unlike the rest of them, was on his feet, and had taken to pacing the room.

01:30:50They would shoot our torpedoes down before they even breached their shields, countered

01:30:55Motep.

01:30:56The Thousand Sun had been given the all-clear by Apothecary Lyradis after his ship had been

01:31:00destroyed, and was keen to attend the council.

01:31:03"'And should they not,' he added, before the wolf-guard could protest, "'we do not know

01:31:08what kind of armour they have, or what forces are on board.

01:31:12No, we must be patient, and wait until the furious abyss is vulnerable.'

01:31:17The debate as to how to stop the word-bearers had been raging for over an hour.

01:31:22In that time Motep had revealed what little he knew—the name of the vessel and its admiral,

01:31:28the weapon-systems that had crippled his vessel, and the heresy embraced by the word-bearers.

01:31:34He neglected to speak of Zadkiel's offer of alliance, leaving that to his own council.

01:31:40Despite the heated arguments, little had been agreed upon, other than that they were committed

01:31:44to their current course of action, and that an all-out assault upon the furious abyss

01:31:48was tantamount to suicide.

01:31:50"'Bah!

01:31:51Typical of the sons of Magnus to advise caution in the face of action!'

01:31:56bellowed the space-wolf, his feelings for the Thousand Sun as direct and pointed as his demeanour.

01:32:04"'I agree with the wolf,' said Skrull.

01:32:07"'I cannot abide waiting in the dark.

01:32:09If we are to sacrifice our lives to ensure the destruction of our enemies, then so be it.'

01:32:14"'Aye,' Bryngar agreed, making the most of the support,

01:32:18"'any other cause smacks of cowardice.'

01:32:21Motep bristled at the slight, and looked unshakably into the feral grin

01:32:26that had crept across the space-wolf's savage features.

01:32:29But he would not be goaded.

01:32:31"'This gets us nowhere,' Sestos broke in.

01:32:34"'We know for certain that the Astartes aboard that ship have turned traitor.

01:32:38What that means for the rest of the Seventeenth Legion I do not know.

01:32:41Certainly the Mechanicum built the vessel,

01:32:43and that raises further questions about the nature of its construction.

01:32:47The fact it was kept secret suggests complicity on their part, at least to some degree.'

01:32:54Sestos allowed a moment's pause before he spoke.

01:32:57"'Something is deeply wrong.

01:32:59It is my belief that the word-bearers are allied against my legion,

01:33:03and, in so doing, against the Emperor, too.

01:33:06They have supporters in the Mechanicum.

01:33:08How else could such a vessel have been made, yet none of us have known of it?'

01:33:12At that remark the Astartes were united in a common purpose.

01:33:16What the word-bearers had committed was an outright act of war,

01:33:20but it smacked of something more.

01:33:22Though they had their differences,

01:33:23the sons of the Emperor were all siblings, after a fashion.

01:33:27They would fight and die together against a common enemy.

01:33:30The word-bearers were now just such a foe.

01:33:34"'What then are we to do?'

01:33:36Bringar asked at last, his choleric mood abating,

01:33:39even though he cast a baleful glance at the Thousand Sun sitting opposite.

01:33:43Sestos caught the path of the space-wolf's gaze, but ignored it for the moment.

01:33:48"'We must find a way to disable the ship,

01:33:50attack it when it is vulnerable,' the ultramarine's captain told them,

01:33:54"'for we are at least agreed that our enemy is our brother no longer.

01:33:58They shall be destroyed for this treachery, but not before I find out how deep it goes.

01:34:03The war-master must know of the enemy's raid against him.

01:34:06So for now we follow the ship and await our opening.'

01:34:10"'Still sounds like cowardice to me,' grumbled Bringar,

01:34:14taking his seat at last and slouching back in it.

01:34:17Sestos got to his feet quickly, fixing the space-wolf with a steely gaze.

01:34:20"'Do not dishonour me or your legion further,' he warned.

01:34:24The wolf-guard matched the ultramarine's hard stare,

01:34:27but nodded, grumbling his ascent beneath his breath.

01:34:31Motep remained silent throughout the exchange, as ever careful to mask his thoughts.

01:34:37Sestos sat back down, regarding the animosity of his brother Astartes sternly.

01:34:42The great crusade had united the legions in common purpose.

01:34:46Many were the times that he had fought alongside both the sons of Russ and Magnus.

01:34:50Yes, the Primarchs each had their differences, and this was passed down to their legions,

01:34:55and though they bickered like brothers, they were as one.

01:34:58He could not believe that the foundation of their bonds, and the bonds between all of the legions,

01:35:03were so fragile that by merely putting them in a room together outright war would be declared.

01:35:09What the word-bearers had done was an aberration. It was the exception, not the rule.

01:35:15The walls of the conference-chamber shook violently, interrupting Sestos's thoughts.

01:35:19Bryngar sniffed at the air.

01:35:21"'The stink of the warp is thick,' he snarled, with a glance at Motep despite himself.

01:35:27Another tremor struck the room, threatening to tip the Astartes off their feet.

01:35:31Warning klaxons howled in the corridors beyond and the decks below.

01:35:35Motep gazed into the reflective sheen of the conference-table before looking up at Sestos.

01:35:40"'Our passage through the Imperium has been compromised,' he told him.

01:35:45The Ultramarine returned the Thousand Suns' gaze.

01:35:48"'Antiges,' he said, his eye still upon Motep.

01:35:52"'Accompany me to the bridge.'

01:35:54Sestos turned to address the gathering.

01:35:56"'This isn't over. We reconvene once we have left warp-space.'

01:36:00"'Muttered agreement,' answered him.

01:36:01And Sestos and Antiges left for the bridge.

01:36:07"'I take it you have come to find out why our transit isn't exactly smooth, my lord?'

01:36:11said Admiral Kaminska, who was standing next to her command-throne.

01:36:15She had been appraising tactical data garnered from the disastrous battle against the enemy ship,

01:36:20and was in close conversation with Venkmire, her helms-mistress, when Sestos arrived on the bridge.

01:36:25Alongside the strategic display was the sudden fluctuation in the external warp-readings.

01:36:31"'Your instincts are correct, Admiral,' Sestos replied.

01:36:35Despite their shared experience fighting the furious abyss,

01:36:38and the obvious validation of his mission,

01:36:40Kaminska's demeanour towards the Ultramarine was still icy.

01:36:44Sestos had hoped it would have thawed slightly in the cordon of battle,

01:36:48but he had effectively taken her ship, despite her experience and her knowledge.

01:36:52Though Sestos was a fleet commander, and his naval tactical acumen was superior to Kaminska's,

01:36:57given that he was an Astartes, he had trampled on her command as if it was nothing.

01:37:02It did not sit well with him, but needs must in the situation they were in.

01:37:06Macragge, maybe more besides, was at stake.

01:37:10Sestos could feel it, and that burden must rest squarely on his shoulders.

01:37:14That meant taking command of the mission,

01:37:16if it also meant that he had to put a vaunted Imperial admiral's nose out of joint,

01:37:21then so be it.

01:37:22I am about to visit my chief navigator, for an explanation, if you would like to accompany me."

01:37:27Kaminska's attempt at being cordial was forced, as she left the command dais.

01:37:32Both Sestos and Antiges were about to follow, when she added,

01:37:36The navigator's sanctum is small, captain.

01:37:39There will only be room for one of you.

01:37:42Sestos turned to Antiges, who nodded his understanding,

01:37:46and took up a ready position at the bridge.

01:37:51In the close confines of the navigator's sanctum,

01:37:53Sestos felt the bulk of his power-armour as never before.

01:37:56The tiny isolation-chamber above the bridge,

01:37:59where Orcadis and his lesser cohorts dwelt whilst in warp-transit,

01:38:02was bereft of the ornamentation ubiquitous in the rest of the ship.

01:38:06Bare walls and grey gun-metal austerity housed a trio of translucent blister-like pods,

01:38:13in which the navigators achieved communion with the Astronomican

01:38:16and traversed the capricious ebbs and flows of warp-space.

01:38:20Kaminska, who was looking less dignified than usual in the cramped space

01:38:23next to the Astartes, addressed her chief navigator.

01:38:27Orcadis!

01:38:28There was a moment's pause, and then a hooded and wizened face

01:38:32appeared in the central blister, blurred through the translucent surface.

01:38:36There was the suggestion of wires and circuitry hanging down

01:38:39from some unseen cogitator in the domed ceiling of the pod.

01:38:43What has happened? asked Kaminska.

01:38:46With a hiss of hydraulics, the central blister broke apart like petals on a rose,

01:38:51and Orcadis emerged through a gaseous cloud of vapour, rising as if from a pit.

01:38:58Greetings, Admiral, said Orcadis,

01:39:02his voice low and rasping outside of the blister, as if he were struggling to speak.

01:39:07The navigator's skin was a sweaty grey, and he wheezed as he breathed.

01:39:11When I was preparing to enter the warp and traverse the tertiary coreward transit,

01:39:19as instructed, the Imperian Ocean swirled and split.

01:39:25Make your explanations brief, please, navigator.

01:39:27I am needed at the bridge, Kaminska prompted.

01:39:30Cestus was gladdened to see that her ire was not reserved for Astartes hijacking her ship.

01:39:36Though much of Orcadis's face was concealed by his hood,

01:39:39Cestus could see a tick of consternation on his lip.

01:39:42All navigators possessed a third eye,

01:39:44and it was this tolerated mutation that allowed them to plot a course through the warp.

01:39:49To look into that eye would drive a normal man insane.

01:39:54The tertiary coreward transit is down, he explained simply.

01:40:00I had detected a worsening of the abyssal integrity prior to the collapse,

01:40:06but we were already too far engaged in the warp to turn back, he said.

01:40:13How is this possible? Cestus asked.

01:40:15How did the enemy collapse the route?

01:40:17Orcadis's attention fell on the Astartes for the first time during the exchange.

01:40:22If he thought anything of the Ultramarine's presence in his sanctum, he did not show it.

01:40:27They deployed some kind of psionic mine, Orcadis replied.

01:40:32The effect would have been felt by our astropaths.

01:40:37As of now we are sailing the naked abyss, he stated, switching his attention back to Kaminska.

01:40:44What are your orders, Admiral?

01:40:47Kaminska could not keep the shock from her face.

01:40:49To be effectively cut adrift in the warp was a death sentence,

01:40:52one that she was powerless to do anything about.

01:40:55We follow the enemy vessel and stay in its wake as best we can, said Cestus, cutting in.

01:41:00They are bound from a crag.

01:41:03From Segmentum Sola to Ultramar outside stable routes?

01:41:07Yes.

01:41:09The chances of success would be minimal, my lord, Orcadis warned without emotion.

01:41:15Even so, that is our course, Cestus told him.

01:41:19Orcadis considered for a moment before replying.

01:41:22I can use their vessel as a point of reference, like a beacon, and follow it.

01:41:28But I cannot speak for the warp.

01:41:32If the abyss sees fit to devour us or make us its prey, then the matter is out of my hands.

01:41:38Very well, chief navigator, you may return to your duties, Cestus told him.

01:41:43Orcadis bowed almost imperceptibly, and just before retreating back to his station said,

01:41:48There are things abroad in the Imperion, the native creatures of the abyss.

01:41:53A shoal of them follows the enemy ship.

01:41:55The warp around it is incumbent, as it has been in the abyss.

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