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We stood silent for a few minutes, trying to process this new revelation; it was Arlathan who broke the silence.

"My boss has notified the Planetary governor and the PDF," he said. "The thirteen warships in orbit are prepped and ready for the invasion, as well as the two orbital stations. They calculate they'll be in orbit in another hour."

My face lit up slightly; Omnartus was the capital world of the system. A massive hub for bureaucracy and a significant exporter of minerals for the Calixis sector, it was no surprise it'd be so well defended; it made it seemed we stood a bit of a chance after Arlathan had listed it.

"Not enough," growled Brutis, quickly crushing my hope. "It's not even fething close to enough."

"Should I inform the Planetary governor that we might be up against the Astartes?" said Arlathan.

Brutis sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Does Taryst have any ships in orbit?" he asked Helma.

"Yes, just one," she said, still somehow sounding as calm as calm can be. "A trade frigate up in orbit about to leave to take minerals to the Lathes."

"Do you have many surface to void ships?" asked Brutis.

"Three," said Helma, and she furrowed her brow. "Are you proposing we evacuate? I have over two thousand men, a thousand of which are here. That frigate will only carry one thousand at most."

"My ship is still in the system," said Brutis. "After you and your forces ambushed me, it's been hiding in the blind spot near the local star ever since. That will carry another thousand."

"We have a ship, too," said Hayden. "It's small, though we could only take a bit over five hundred."

"Even so," said Helma. "Those three surface to void ships can only take two dozen men at a time; there's no way we can evacuate even a third before the enemy are knocking at our door."

"Damn it! I wish we could've heard the message that Etuarq had sent!" said Brutis, and he gave Hayden and Selg a look. "Really? All of them?"

"Yes, all of them," said Hayden. "It took me a while to bypass the lock into the rest of the tenth floor, and there we found all of Edracian's command staff, dead. Including his astropaths, a venenum temple assassin and their cogitator banks were destroyed. I figure all of it happened only about half an hour before Attelus, Castella, and Darrance confronted him."

I frowned, and my attention fell to my feet at his mention of Castella.

"Anyone who knew too much," I sighed. "Which was almost us as well."

"It could still be us," corrected Darrance, and he looked at Brutis. "So, are you sure it's Space Marines?"

Brutis gave him a severe look. "Of course, I'm not sure, but only Space Marines could take out the PDF defences in orbit with so smaller fleet. I wish that Wesley still lived; maybe he could've negotiated Torathe to stand down. Torathe is also fething Ordo Malleus, so they could be frigging Grey Knights."

"Grey...Knights?" said Helma, her brow furrowed in bemusement.

"I'm sorry," said Brutis. "But if I told you any more, I'd have to kill you."

Helma sniggered, but her laughter drained away when she saw Brutis' grim face quickly indicated it wasn't a joke.

My eyes narrowed. "Even still, you should tell us what these Grey Knights are, Inquisitor, if we're to potentially fight them. Know your enemy and all that."

His attention snapped at me, his face an abrupt mask of rage. I didn't flinch; I met his look and let him know what I thought with a furrowed brow and clenched jaw.

His anger was gone as quickly as it'd come, and he looked away. "I'll tell you only if it's confirmed it's them," he said.

"Could they seriously be even worse than Space Marines?" said Roldar.

"Yes," said Brutis. "Yes, they can, and yes, they are."

My heart sank, as did everyone else's, indicated by their looks of dismay; hell, even Helma looked scared for a second or so.

"Captain Helma," said Brutis, taking the initiative as usual. "I think it's best if you rescind that order to blow up the mansion and evacuate your men back to Taryst's tower immediately."

"Yeah! Got you!" she said, activated her vox link and began barking orders into it.

"Attelus and the rest of you get back there as well," said Brutis. "I suggest you get your Magistratum Marshalls there as well, detective Karkin."

"Why?" Arlathan asked.

Brutis sighed. "I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but I have a feeling that the Space Marines will send a strike force as soon as they hit orbit, one to take out what they think is the root of the issue."

"Taryst!" I gasped, and instantly my thoughts sickeningly weaved to Karmen, still supine in the medical, then to Adelana, and I wondered if her working day had started yet.

"Exactly," said Brutis. "You're as sharp as a power blade, aren't you? If we could hold off the Space Marines there for long enough, it might delay the Exterminatus allowing more to escape."

I hissed through clenched teeth. "Let's just hope that they don't have much intelligence on the tower, but...but I'm frigging sure they do."

"Why?" asked Jelket.

"There was a spy," I answered with some hesitation. "A double agent working for Edracian, he could've supplied the Inquisitor with a schemata, anything. Which in turn could've been sent by Edracian to Torathe."

"Who was it?" growled Roldar, his expression uncompromising.

I sighed and scratched the back of my head; I saw no reason to lie.

"It was medicae Feuilt."

Roldar's eyes widened. "Feuilt? A spy? You shittin' me? That guy seemed out of touch with everything."

I didn't say anything as the corner of my mouth twitched; that was all part of the ploy, I thought, and I could see by their expressions, everyone else was thinking the same thing.

"I'll vox ahead," said Helma, breaking the brief silence. "Inform base of what's ahead, I uhh, should I...?"

Helma trailed off in her sentence and gave Brutis an uncertain look.

"Should you what?" asked Brutis.

"Should I inform them of how we're against Space Marines?"

"No," said Brutis without hesitation. "Not until it's utterly confirmed. Also, cancel my instruction to destroy that building and extricate your men ASAP. Verenth, Selg, gather the rest of your men; they will need to go to Taryst's tower as well."

Brutis turned to Helm. "We were enemies not long ago, but you must trust them. You must give them as much clearance in that place as you can. If you're going to stand even a tiny chance, you'll need to co-operate. Co-operate like the world's going to end, which it is. You got that?"

Helma gave him a wide-eyed nod, I didn't know her well, but it seemed that not much could phase her. Inquisitor Brutis 'Bones' Tybalt was one thing that could.

"Excuse me, boss," said Verenth as Selg turned and began relaying orders into his vox link. "You said, 'your men' not 'my men.'"

"Yes, I did; I'm going to have to take my leave, Verenth, as much as it pains me to do it," Brutis looked to me. "They're no longer mine because they're yours now. Someone needs to get off this rock who knows about this, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Much to my shock, tears suddenly welled in his eyes. "I wanted to bring you with me, all of you, once this was over. I have served in the Guard for many years and in the Inquisition for many years after that. But never have I met and worked with men so dedicated to the Throne and me. It still amazes me, when I first came to you, you were misfits, rogues, and criminals of the highest order. But I've always believed that almost anyone can be redeemed; anyone can turn their life around and become a better person that the God-Emperor would forgive them and protect them. It happened once to me, y'know? You have proven this to me, without a shadow of a doubt, Verenth, Selg, all of you. You would've been great throne agents, and I ask so much of you; I'm sorry. I do not want to leave, but there is a bigger picture and..."

Brutis trailed off in his sentence as Verenth placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, don't apologise, boss. I already swore I'd serve, and only in death does duty end, right?" said Verenth. "I've not been a good person, boss; I've done a lot of bad things, sure much in the name of survival, but still, bad. My life isn't worth much, but if I die so that one innocent, one good person can live even a second longer, it's worth it. Thank you, boss, thank you for coming to us offering redemption and giving us purpose, purpose truly worth fighting and dying for."

As I stood, listening in utter awe, at Verenth's mention of 'one innocent, one good person', I instantly thought of Adelana, the utterly beautiful inside and out girl that really, truly didn't deserve to die. Then I thought of the similarity between Verenth and me and the other Hammers, that we were of the lowest of the low but now were given the opportunity to do more, to be more. A purpose. Brutis' words also reminded me of Faleaseen's earlier speech; it struck me with its similarity.

I then realised that this was true camaraderie, that Brutis Bones was a great man, a great leader. One worthy of legend. This was the way to lead. A way which I swore I'd adhere to, I didn't believe I could be even slightly on par with Brutis,' not even in a thousand years, but by frig, I'd try.

Brutis Bones nodded and clamped Verenth on the shoulder, the tears now freely flowing.

He made the sign of the Aquila and said, "You honour me, Verenth, thank you. Thank you, all of you. Verenth, you're in charge; I know you're more than capable of handling it. Tell them, tell them what I'd just told you; I'm afraid if I see any of them, I won't be able to leave. The Emperor protects, now I must gather my belongings and take my leave. Vox me when you get more info on the invaders, Arlathan. If they're Grey Knights, I'll tell you what I know."

Arlathan nodded.

And with that, Brutis turned and walked away, and I was confident I'd never see him again.

"Wow," said Jelket in awe. "If only Taryst had been like that."

"Alright!" snapped Helma, knocking me and everyone else back into reality. "Enough, time-wasting! Hurry it up! We've got a planet to save!"

We quickly piled into Arlathan's command truck.

"Golyat!" Arlathan said. "Get us to Taryst's, quick smart!"

"Yes, sir," said the driver, and very soon, we were out of the courtyard and into the streets. The klaxon warbled insistently overhead.

"Roldar, Jelket, you're ex-guard," said Helma, after a while. "Either of you ever fought with Space Marines?"

Roldar and Jelket, who sat next to each other, exchanged glances.

"No ma'am," said Roldar, "and neither did Jelket here, captain. As I'm sure, I would've heard about it a thousand times now."

Jelket nodded in agreement; then a second later gave Roldar a glare when he got it, which made me smile despite myself.

Helma rolled her eyes. "Either of you ever knows anyone in our ranks who has?"

Again they shared a glance before Jelket said, "no, there again, ma'am, sorry. Why are you asking?"

Helma sighed. "Y'know, because they will know about what we're up against, so be able to give us info on it. Seriously? Did your mothers drop you on your heads when you were babies?"

"Uhh no ma'am," said Jelket. "With respect, ma'am, if I'd fallen on my head as a babe, I wouldn't be tenth at the range and wouldn't have figured out Taryst was dead before Brutis even told us."

Helma furrowed her brow. "And how did you figure that out?"

Jelket shrugged and pursed his lips. "Just thought about it is all, ma'am."

Helma furrowed her brow even more and scratched her jaw. "I don't get; how can you be smart enough to figure that out but dumb enough not to get why I asked if you'd served with Space Marines?"

Jelket shrugged again. "I don't know, ma'am. That...was pretty obvious."

"Unless you're lying about it," said Helma suspiciously.

"No, he's not," sighed Roldar. "He's mentioned it a few times over the last few days. We thought he was being paranoid."

"I sort of have experience with Space Marines," I said hesitantly.

Helma's attention suddenly snapped to me. "Then spit it out! Anything's better than nothing, kid. Wait! Soon just from the propaganda booklets? Is it?"

"No," I said with a frown and a furrowed brow; why would I mention it if it was? I thought.

"That's alright, then," said Helma. "Just making sure, found out the hard way a long time ago that stuff was complete Grox gak. So tell me what you know."

I nodded. "When I was a teenager, my world was invaded by the forces of chaos. I..."

I paused. "I...I survived."

"Yeah, we can see that," said Roldar grinning, which elicited a withering glare from me, causing his eyes to widen then look away.

Helma frowned and, with watery eyes, glared at Roldar too. "I understand, Attelus, please. Continue."

"I was far from the front lines when they arrived," I said. "Living In a refugee camp, so I never got to see them first hand. The Space Marines, the Dark Angels, but saw the fire trails in the sky of their drop pods. From what I'd heard, the war between the Imperial forces and the Chaos invaders was, until then, a stalemate. But once the Space Marines arrived, it was only a few weeks before the enemy ground forces were wiped out to a man, along with most of their invasion fleet."

Helma sighed and scratched her head. "Sounds about right, an entire planetary invasion force, completely devastated in weeks. What chance do we have?"

I opened my mouth to reply but stopped and shook my head instead, unable to think of anything to say.

Staying here was sure-fire suicide; I wasn't worried about me, we needed to escape, and quickly a plan began to form in my mind.



We sat in stoic silence as the van drove through the hive, the bleating claxons causing all traffic in our way to veer clear.

I leaned forward in my restraint belt and watched our advance through the front window as the driver skillfully manoeuvred through the convoluted, labyrinthine streets. We were only about forty-five kilometres or so from Taryst's tower, but by my calculations, it was going to take good three-quarters of an hour or more to get there, even at such speed and the traffic moving out the way. Time wasn't on our side, much to my teeth-grinding frustration.

We turned yet another corner onto a wide main thoroughfare; it was thick with traffic which struggled to make room for us, forcing the driver to weave through much of it.

Then I saw something that made me narrow my eyes; as the traffic cleared, I saw a figure, a good kilometre down the street, just standing nonchalantly in the middle of it.

Then he pulled out a grenade launcher.

"gak!" I yelled. "Turn! Turn!"

But the driver couldn't, the traffic on our sides effectively locking us in a tight corridor.

"What?" demanded Helma. "What's going on?"

"Brace yourselves!" Yelled the driver. "And hold the frig on!"

As I thought he was rather redundant, I watched the figure raise his grenade launcher and saw the puff of smoke as he fired just before I pulled myself back.

I should've known this would happen, that Etuarq would have an ace up his sleeve.

The explosion took out the front wheels, throwing the van violently onto its back wheels, tipping us into the air a good thirty degrees. We were abruptly rocked sidewards in our restraints, and I heard sharp screams.

After what seemed like forever, the van finally smashed back forward, the impact sending waves of agony up my spine, which caused it to bounce back up again but only for a split second as the front landed and screeched; I as it slid for a few metres. The rear suddenly slipped outward; then the van toppled onto its left side; I was sitting on the right, so my feet were all of a sudden hanging in the air, and my long hair hung forward. The horrific impact jarred me head to toe. I yelled out, forced to writhe and reel with the constant bumping and bashing, but could hardly hear myself over the incessant screeching of the bodywork it's over the road.

I don't know how long it went on or how far we slid, but it felt like a frigging lifetime before it bashed hard against what must've been another vehicle. Causing more cries and me more blinding pain. It bounced and slid another metre more before stopping.

Winded, gasping for air, I looked around; the impact had taken out the interior lights, leaving everything endowed in darkness. I could hear pained groaning and moaning, and I hurt all over like all hell, my limbs, neck, and head were the worst, I quickly found I could move, that nothing was broken.

"Everyone alright?" I called; the only replies I got were more moans and the creaking of the damaged bodywork.

"Okay, fair enough," I said as I undid my restraint and dropped onto the 'floor' with as much grace I could muster under the circumstance, which wasn't much, but more than most.

With a shaking hand, I activated my Microbead but found only static.

"Frig!" I snarled.

Then I heard from outside the running of heavy boots toward the back, and I quickly counted about a dozen pairs.

I would've told everyone to get down or find cover but knew it'd be pointless; instead, I just drew my pistol and limped toward the back door, flicking off the safety.

"What the hell's going on?" groaned Helma as I passed her.

"It's an ambush, a frigging ambush," I whispered. "Keep quiet."

She opened her mouth to argue but stopped as we heard the familiar hissing of a las-cutter and saw the metal around the lock begin to turn orange and bulge in a circular motion.

I had a few options here, stand right in the open and gun down anyone trying to get in, that's if they attempted that, but my gut said they'd try to throw in a grenade through the gap first, so I slid beside the door and pushed my shoulder against the wall. My heart in my throat as I tried to ignore my aching limbs and hoping to hell I was right.

Eventually, the las-cutter did its job, and with a clang, the chunk was kicked in.

A second later, the grenade flew through, and my body reacted on its own, my hand snapped out, caught it, and with a flick of a wrist, I tossed it outside.

I allowed myself a smile as I heard the ambushers cries of dismay and the explosion, then the agonised screams afterwards.

I spun into a sidekick which smashed open the door, and in a microsecond, I'd taken in my surroundings, the swirling smoke from the explosive, the six dead and stunned figures laying on the rockcrete. Figures wearing the familiar armour and uniform of the Adeptus Arbites, two others in view were still coherent; one was on his back, raising his shotgun. The other on his feet, just about to pull the trigger of his. My autopistol spat twice; the manstopper rounds blew out the back of the standing Arbite's skull, then the prone one's chest. Without hesitation, I jumped outside, twisting in mid-air and fired wildly to pin the four remaining arbites on the van's sides. My gambit worked; they didn't expect such a reckless move and pulled back. I landed a good five meters away and darted behind the first vehicle on my right, cutting down the pair there with a withering hail of fire as they were busy falling back.

The last two peered around the van's corner, the first crouched, the second standing and fired their shotguns my way, forcing me to duck behind the vehicle with a curse. As I did, I caught a glimpse of many more men in arbites uniforms emerging from the pulled over vehicles ahead, shotguns raising.

I couldn't help but smile in admiration at such brilliantly planned and executed ambush and checked over my shoulder to see if there were more converging on our back, and there was, a good twenty or so. It must've been fully half of the Arbitrator force in the entire hive taking part in this, assuming they were Arbites at all.

My vehicle was being torn apart; I knew it wouldn't last much longer, so reloaded and darted across the highway, shooting at the two arbites behind the van on the way. I didn't glimpse the figure sprinting straight at me until it was almost too late, and instinct made me throw myself to the ground, sensing, not seeing the sword slash, which almost killed me.

In a split second, I stood and came face to face with a mask, a mask like those worn by the assassins of the Vindicare temple. Faster than thought, the man slashed, forcing me to lean back from its path. Then I saw the two Arbites were emerging from the corner of the crashed van.

"No!" I cried and kicked at my assailant while trying to bring my pistol to bear. But like liquid, the man weaved out the way and went to dissect me from the crotch to head with an upward cut. I threw myself aside and managed one shot at the Arbites before he was on me again, cutting at my arm. I pulled back my aim and attempted to shoot him through the face, but he'd already moved onto my left flank. My peripheral vision saw him trying to stab at my ribs, and I jumped out of its path. I twisted to fire a flurry at the Arbites, just as the first was stepping to look inside. My desperate shots forced him to hesitate and flinch, none hit directly, but one lucky round ricocheted off the bodywork and into his foot.

The Arbite screamed and fell.

The Masked man threw a low, knee breaking roundhouse kick that I back stepped, and he followed with a diagonal slash at my head that I darted aside of.

Instantly, I recognised that style; I would've been shocked if I didn't know he was a part of this already.

"Hi, Dad," I said and fired at him, forcing him to dart away, then turned and cut down the remaining Arbite with a flurry of shots. "Can't, in all honesty, say I've missed you."

My pistol clicked dry; I dropped it, spun and drew my sword just in time to smash aside Serghar's thrust. He stabbed at my skull, which I weaved under and countered with a downward diagonal cut he parried. We wheeled back and activated our sword's power fields almost at once.

I was smiling; I should've been terrified at even the slightest prospect of fighting my infamous father. Serghar Kaltos was the best of the best, held in either awe or begrudging respect of the mercenary assassin organisations throughout the Calixis sector and even the Inquisition. He was a un bested master of the blade with decades more experience than me. But yet here I was utterly unafraid, joyous even! Perhaps it was because of the knowledge that I couldn't die? I doubted that, as I'd felt a similar joy when fighting the two death cult assassins earlier and then didn't know I was a perpetual.

I was lost in thought, so Serghar struck first, but my body moved seemingly on its own, sidestepping his stab and countered with an upward diagonal cut at his open ribs. Despite this, he parried with breathtaking speed then attacked with an overhead vertical slash. I danced back of it, barely. And he continued his offence, dashing at me like lightning with a thrust I blocked. I turned into a horizontal blow that he parried again and followed with a downward cut Serghar back stepped.

It was then the advancing Arbites passed by us, their heavy footfalls crunching over the rockcrete.

"gak!" I snarled, so caught up in the combat I'd forgotten about them entirely. With a flick of the wrist, I had a knife in hand and threw it at Serghar's face. Serghar leaned out of its path, which allowed my front kick to crash against his torso, throwing him against a parked vehicle so hard it dented inward, and he fell on his face.

I dashed at the nearest Arbites' back and cut him in two before he had any clue I was there. The two on his sides saw this, and impressively fast, they turned to fire, but I was already behind the left Arbites' back and stabbing him through the chest. I spun on my heels, so the screaming impaled Arbite was now facing the next on the left just as he opened fire, abruptly silencing him, and I threw another knife into the visor of the one on the right. With a snarl and a sidekick, I sent the dead Arbite crashing into his comrade with bone-crunching force.

The others, hearing the fire behind them, turned to investigate, but now I had a shotgun. I exploded one's stomach as he was in mid-turn. Not the most kindly of kills, but I had very little chance to be extremely accurate in my situation. Then relieved another of his left leg before I was forced to sprint into the cover of a nearby vehicle, a millisecond before their shots cut through the air where I just stood.

I knew that vehicle wouldn't last long under such a barrage, so I moved and slid over another's bonnet, crouched and turned to return fire with my new shotgun, but then frigging Serghar Kaltos was on me again.

His power sword cut clean through my shotgun while was I getting to my feet, and I was drawing my sword when his sidekick crashed painfully into my gut, sending me reeling back, winded.

I only just managed to duck his darting sword and wheeled from his following thrust, which burst through a vehicle door like it was butter. He sliced through it and pivoted into a horizontal cut I backpedalled. Trying to get my breathing back, I dashed into his flank, aiming a low snap kick at his shin boot knife out. Serghar danced out the way and countered with a stab. But that attack had granted me the precious milliseconds, which allowed me to draw my sword, activate it in a blaze of blue and smash his stab off course and him off balance. He leaned back from my back fist and cut up diagonally at my torso. I leapt desperately to the right just fast enough to barely make it out the way but not soon enough to keep it cutting a huge chunk off my flak jacket.

I clenched my teeth, seeing the Arbites had the van surrounded and were approaching the doors, weapons raised.

I couldn't do anything; my friends were dead, I'd failed again.

I weaved beneath Serghar's next slash and countered with a horizontal arc and a snarl. Damn it! If I couldn't save them, I'd frigging avenge them! Even if it meant killing my father, assuming this masked man was my father, he could easily be another Feuilt.

Serghar parried and reposted with a slice at my legs, forcing me to dart back. I heard an explosion and the inevitable deathly screams; I blocked Serghar's next slash and risked another look. What I saw made me gasp. More Arbites were on the ground, dead or stunned and injured. A figure fast like lightning emerged from the van, power scimitar decapitating two Arbites as at his flanks Helma and Verenth cut down the remainder. Helma with her hellgun, Verenth with his autopistol.

I laughed with relief and back-peddled Serghar's vertical cut, then threw a low roundhouse kick; he sidestepped, but with the same leg, my front kick smashed hard against his hip sending him stumbling to the ground. I lunged at him, slashing at his skull. Serghar rolled out the way, his kick connected with my thigh, making me stumble back, allowing him to jump to his feet.

Ignoring the pain in my leg, I darted at him, slicing at his skull diagonally. He parried and his hook punch connected with my jaw that sent waves of pain through my face. I reeled but was still able to parry his stab and send a sidekick for his knee, which he blocked with a shin.

I darted back from his counter, a horizontal slash and fought to control my ragged breathing, but I was still smiling.

He fell further back, and for a few seconds, we stood silent, weapons readied for the other to strike.

"You're good," I said. "Frigging good, but you're no Serghar Kaltos."

I sniggered and smiled. "If you were him, I'd be already dead. Who are you? One of his apprentices? Like me? Like Feuilt?"

The masked man didn't answer, and we started to circle each other, me right, he left.

Then a thought occurred to me, and I frowned.

"Either that or you are my father, and just toying with me, you old bastard."

The assassin tilted his head. "Anyone ever said you talk too..."

He never got to finish his sentence as Darrance just suddenly seemingly appeared from nowhere and decapitated him.

I gaped in shock as the assassin's corpse collapsed, blood jetting from the neck.

"That...that was my kill you, frigger!" I snapped.

"We haven't the time, Apprentice!" he roared. "We must..."

Darrance trailed off in his sentence as he heard it; we all heard it. A familiar rumbling, chopping sound.

"gak!" Darrance yelled. "Ornithopter, inbound!"

It appeared abruptly over the buildings in the northwest, about half a kilometre away. The Autocannon on its nose whirled dangerously.

"Why?" I gasped.

"Why, what?" snarled Darrance.

"Why didn't they send that in first?"

Darrance thought on that but could only purse his lips and shrug.

Then it opened fire.

The thoroughfare was sixteen lanes wide, allowing us room to move. The high yield Autocannon rounds chewed through rockcrete and vehicles alike as they travelled toward the Magistratum van.

Helma and the others scattered a millisecond before the vans reinforced bodywork was instantly torn to shreds like it was old tissue paper.

The shots veered left, tearing through the vehicles and following after Helma and Hayden. I couldn't see their fates through the kicked-up rockcrete dust.

I cursed if Hayden was killed; we just lost our best chance of taking that thing down!

Darrance and I dashed off the thoroughfare as the autocannon continued to chew through everything around. We made it into the comparative safety of a side street, pressing our backs against the wall.

"What now?" I yelled over the roar.

Darrance pursed his lips and thought as I looked down the street, expecting in any second for the ornithopter to appear into view.

"We split up!" he exclaimed. "lose ourselves in the streets and meet back at Taryst's tower!"

I nodded, then stiffened as a thought suddenly hit me.

"I need you to distract it!" I said.

Darrance looked at me like I'd just insulted his mother in the most demeaning way imaginable.

"A what?"

It was then the ornithopter came around the corner, its autocannon spewing.

We sprinted down the street along with the sidewalk as the pedestrians scattered and screamed.

Many suddenly, horrifyingly reduced into red mist, more innocent deaths upon my shoulders.

"What the hell are you planning, apprentice?" roared Darrance, barely keeping up with me.

I pushed past yet another civilian but didn't answer, too busy looking for another turn-off and quickly, I saw a small alley on the right side of the road.

"This way!" I yelled, pointing and half expecting Darrance to complain. Still, without any word, we veered toward it, dodging and weaving through the streaming traffic as the autocannon rounds followed in our wake, chewing through the vehicles. I felt sick, and it wasn't just the fatigue; these were supposedly Adeptus Arbites, here to protect the people, not slaughter them wholesale!

We finally ran into the alley, and I stopped and turned to Darrance.

"I need you to run back!" I said. "I'll stay here and run to the other side! Keep your vox link on and on channel nine!"

"What...are...you...doing?" he roared.

"No time to explain!" I shouted. "Just go! Go! Before it flies over us! Get its attention! Keep it on the right side of that street!"

"Frig, I hate you!"

"I hate me too," I said.

With a frustrated roar, he turned and ran back.

I waited, watched and listened as the ornithopter flew past, still firing its seemingly endless supply of bullets firing after Darrance.

I sighed and ran on; if we scattered, I had a bad feeling the ornithopter would continue slaughtering innocents; it had to die. All I had one was a desperate bid; luckily, this area was a large business hub.

Turning left onto the next street, I looking for a suitable building as pedestrians poured by as though nothing was untoward.

I would've sighed and thought it quite depressing, really, but quickly caught sight of what I was looking for and, with all my strength, sprinted. Weaving and winding through the crowd while trying to keep track of the ornithopter by sound.

Approaching the building, I drew my power sword, activated it and burst through the glass double doors.

The two guards sitting at the lobby's security desk were getting to their feet and reaching for their weapons, but my autopistol was aimed at them before they could blink.

"I need access to the top of the building!" I yelled as they raised their hands in supplication. "Now!"

One of the guards nodded nervously and pulled a key card from his belt.

"We can take the elevator to the top floor, then we will have to take the stairs from there!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Hurry it, the frig up!" I snarled.

The guard nodded again and started to lead me toward the elevators; I followed, covering the other one as I passed.

He pressed the call button, and we began to wait for it.

"Frig," I sighed. "Another damned elevator ride."

"What?" said the guard.

I ignored him, wordlessly watching the numbers descending and activated my vox link.

Immediately, I was treated to the roar of the autocannon, the screams of panicked, slaughtered civilians and the Darrance's gasping.

"Darrance!" I yelled.

"Whaaaat!?" he screamed.

"I need you to try to make the ornithopter slow down!" I said. "And make it stop when next I call you!"

I cut off the link as Darrance began to reply with screaming curses.

"What the hell is going on?" demanded the other guard as the elevator finally arrived with a ding. "What the hell was that gunfire for?"

"It's hard to explain," I said, smiling slightly at my massive understatement. "My advice, just get the hell off this planet as soon as you can."



I burst through the door onto the roof and instantly took in my surroundings; the ornithopter had slowed and was about a kilometre away. Hovering only a few metres above the buildings and still shooting.

"God-Emperor!" gasped the guard as he emerged after me. "That's an Arbites ornithopter! Why's it shooting into the street like that? There's people down there! What? You planning on taking that out?"

"Yeah, wish me a gak tonnage of luck, and it's not too late to take my advice," I said. "Take your loved ones and what money you can and leave Omnartus now."

Before he could reply, I abruptly burst into a sprint, crossing the twenty-metre space to the bulwark in less than a second. I leapt the three-metre distance to the next roof, with an angled metal top that I was forced to plunge my sword into to keep myself from sliding off and ran on, my feet clanging off it horribly.

About halfway across, I slipped. I yelled out, my feet giving out from under me, and I fell hard against the side of the roof with bone-jarring force, smashing the wind from my lungs, then I began to slide. I cried out, barely keeping hold of my sword as my feet erupted over the edge.

Gasping in pain, on instinct, I activated my sword and stabbed it into the metal. But I didn't stop; the power field continued to slice through.

I was entirely off the edge when I finally deactivated my sword and stopped suddenly, almost dislocated my arm in the process, causing me to scream again in pain and affording me a good view of the street, twenty stories below. Not even with my Wraithbone bone structure could I withstand such a fall.

"You alright there?" yelled the guard, still standing on the last roof, and I flinched; well, that must have looked utterly stupid.

"Yeah!" I yelled and began pulling myself back up, trying to act cool. "I'm okay! I'm all good!"

Eventually, I climbed back on and slowly began again, carefully now. The next gap was a good four-metre wide, onto a thankfully flat roof.

I found the ledge, and without the forward momentum of my sprint, I was forced to sway my arms and lunged.

I made the distance, just, almost overbalancing on the ledge, my arms flailing as I desperately found purchase.

I did, it mustn't have taken more than a second or so, but it felt like a frigging lifetime and again erupted into a sprint.

After leaping over a low wall, a vault over a big air conditioning unit, sliding across its smooth surface before I hit the other side running.

The next building was a story higher, the next gap barely two metres to an enclosed fire escape, jutting out from the wall—a few metres to my left.

Without hesitation, I veered and leapt, landing on top of the fire escape, then jumped again, propelling myself up the wall with a few steps before grabbing onto the ledge and pulling myself onto it.

To keep my momentum, I combat rolled and kicked back onto my feet. My footfalls crunched across the strangely gravelly surface. The next building top was a good two metres down, but I didn't baulk as I lunged down and rolled to negate the impact. My feet almost slipped out from underneath me in my desperate bid to continue sprinting.

This one looked like a habitat building of some sort, a really, truly old one. Made from rockcrete and small, neglected, acid rain, damaged buildings dotted its surface to such an extent it felt almost like I was weaving and winding through a rodent maze. They may have been agrihouses, made in an age when Omnartus wasn't a horrible, overcrowded and polluted hellhole.

I didn't have time for melancholy before being forced to leapfrog over the parapet then the one-metre gap onto the next. I easily kept running across a long, slightly angled roof, and I quickly tried to locate the ornithopter. I saw it, catching a glimpse of it over the next building, and I cursed savagely.

It was too far away now, there was no way I could catch up, but it was still moving away, so continuing following poor Darrance. What could I do now?

Then an idea hit me, and I activated my vox.

"Darrance!"

"What the frig do you want now!?" he screamed over the Autocannon fire. "You frigging little bastard!"

"I need you to double back!" I said. "Lead it back the way you came!"

"And tell me how I will do that without being torn apart!" he bellowed.

"Just do it, please!" I cried and cut the link a mere millisecond before vaulting over another parapet and landing onto a metal fire escape, my feet clanging as I dashed up the three stories and onto the top of the next building.

I looked again and found the ornithopter was still moving away; then, with a sigh, I sprinted on. I wasn't sure what I'd got wrong exactly.

With bated breath, I watched the ornithopter, hoping it would turn and come back.

Then it happened, the ornithopter seemed to abruptly slow and turned to the right, and I realised what Darrance had done, using another alley to turn around.

Smart, I just hoped Darrance could keep this up for only a little longer and began searching for a place to hide. I saw it almost instantly, a small building jutting from a rooftop sixty metres away. I glanced at it, then the ornithopter; it was quickly coming back and would have me in its sights in less than half a minute, and that was a very generous estimate. Luckily my synskin bodyglove would protect me from its sensors, but not from sight.

Clenching my teeth, I began running again; the small building was five rooftops away. I darted around a low wall, then bounded over a five-metre gap, clutching onto the next ledge, before pulling myself up.

My fingers ached from the effort, but I ignored it, vaulting over another chest-high wall, then weaving around a doorway.

I leapt off the parapet, across the two-metre gap, onto the next rooftop with space to spare, a bit more than intended, forcing me to roll. When finding my feet, I slipped on the acid worn surface, but I found my balance in an instant, barely slowing in the process.

My tired, stinging eyes looked to the ornithopter again, it was close, too damn close, and it caused me to hiss through gritted teeth. It indeed seemed like I'd overestimated my abilities, time to improvise.

I dropped onto my side and slid prone behind the parapet, watching my right. This was truly desperate. I had to time it exactly right, and only there would be a millisecond to do it.

While trying to control my breathing, calm, with wide eyes, waited, trying to calculate how close it was through sound alone. My heart thundered in my ears so loud it was a genuine struggle, and I hoped, hoped beyond hope the ornithopter wouldn't ascend any higher.

It was a glimpse of a blur, but it was enough as I was abruptly up and sprinting, activating my sword.

My foot was on the parapet, and I was about to plunge into the air while roaring with all my might when the las-bolt fried through the ornithopters reinforced window and evaporated the pilot's head. It must've taken less than a second, but it all seemed in slow motion to me, and I managed to switch my footing and leap back as the ornithopter immediately tilted forward and began to fall. Then turned, and its back propeller swung straight toward me. With a frightened yell, I dived to the side, and it missed my toes by such a close margin I swore I felt it brush the tips of my toes and hit the ground so hard it would've broken my ribs if my bone structure wasn't enhanced. The agony that passed through me made my vision blacken and gasp for breath.

It was the ornithopter exploding that brought me back to reality, and with a long groan, I rolled onto my back.

"Attelus, you there?" crackled my vox link.

"Hayden," I hissed. "Why didn't...?"

"Just made it into position a few seconds ago, didn't know you were up to anything," he said. "What were you doing, anyway? Jump off that building and kill the pilot through the canopy?"

"I..."

"Then what were you going to do after that?" he snapped, and I'd never heard him so angry before.

Die, I realised with widening eyes; I'd never even considered what I would do after killing the pilot.

"Are you insane?" he snapped, and I barely stopped myself from replying, 'on the verge.'

"I...I thought you were dead," I blurted. "It was killing people, and I had to stop it."

Hayden sighed. "Alright, alright I..."

"Are you forgetting about me?" snapped Darrance's voice. "I was in far more danger than the apprentice. I do not know why I had agreed to be a 'distraction.'"

"Darrance, how many?" I gasped while starting to struggle onto my feet.

"How many? How many what? People killed? Well into the dozens, I'm afraid. Twenty alone were killed when the ornithopter fell into the street, even more from the resulting explosion. But I suspect many, many more would have died if we had not shot it down..."

"If I had not shot it down," interrupted Hayden in a pitch-perfect imitation of Darrance's haughty tone and voice.

"If you had not shot it down," conceded Darrance. "I do not know why they were so readily killing innocent people to get to us."

With a curse, I was then finally up and limping my way toward the doorway, "Hayden, how is everyone else?"

"Miraculously alive," he said. "Everyone, even Helma, but if you and Darrance hadn't drawn it off, well..."

He let it hang.

The corner of my mouth twitched; as much as that was good to hear, I couldn't help but think, great, it'll just be more of us alive to be later slaughtered by Space Marines.

There was a long pause, and it was Darrance's voice that broke it.

"Well, did anyone else think that was a bit anticlimactic?" he said. "The apprentice's way of killing the ornithopter would have been far more spectacular. Good shot, though, Hayden."



Everywhere it was a morass of chaos and death, ruined, destroyed vehicles laid throughout the street, scattered and shattered. I could hear the screaming of the countless injured and see people moving through it yelling the name of a loved one or friend. Blood was everywhere; it sloshed around my shoes as I struggled through it all; at times, I had to push my way through a crowd of dazed, stupefied civilians, muttering unheard apologies all the while.

The dull, dead look in their eyes and their weary way of movement reminded me of myself, back during the war. I could dully remember once stepping on a pane of glass and looking down to see my reflection for the first time in months. I was once exactly like them, and it scared me more than I could admit.

I wanted to do something for these shocked, terrified people, but what could I do?

I could hear the warbling claxons in the distance from the oncoming Magistratum vehicles, drawn to the chaos Or at least I hoped it was the Magistratum; it could be the remaining Adeptus Arbites coming to finish us off. If it was the Magistratum after their numbers were so depleted, what could they possibly do?

This was our fault; it was our war that had caused all of this. More innocent victims to add to the tally.

Darrance and I met a few blocks down; he fell in step with me wordlessly. We were both sullen, and sombre and guilt weighed heavy upon me.

It took a while for us to get back to the thoroughfare. It was Jelket and Roldar who greeted us as they stood guard at the perimeter.

"Hello," said Jelket, looking at Darrance and me with a hanging jaw of utter awe. "That was..."

He trailed off as he saw my grim expression, and I shook my head. Too many had died again because of us; we didn't deserve any praise.

"The captain wants to speak with you," said Roldar grimly.

I nodded glumly and walked past them, I instantly saw Helma standing next to the ruined arbites van, talking intently into her vox, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. Pacing near her was Arlathan, doing the same thing.

Helma glimpsed us as we approached, and I gave her an un-enthusiastic wave; she nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Got you, yeah. Talk more when we get there, got to go."

Helma cut the link and turned to us.

"Well, that wasn't destructive at all," she said.

I pursed my lips and shrugged, unable to think of anything to say, unable even to appreciate her massive understatement.

She sighed, scratched her head then looked me up and down with what looked like appreciation. "We'll be getting a replacement transport in about fifteen minutes."

Avoiding her gaze, I nodded.

"Why so long?" Darrance demanded, causing Helma's narrowed eyes to snap at him.

"A travesty like this has further-reaching consequences," she said, as though explaining it to a child. "Traffic is backed up for miles around, including the medicae and service vehicles coming to help. I have ordered a ship to pick us up now we're on the top level, but air traffic is almost as bad due to the PDF reinforcing their orbital platforms."

Darrance sniffed, grimaced and looked away.

"And you!" she snapped, looking at me. "Stop your damned sulking! This is war, and sometimes innocent people get caught in the crossfire! What's done is done; get over it."

I pursed my lips and shrugged again, shuffling my feet. That was easy for her to say; if I hadn't taken that pict, this might have never happened.

Helma grimaced in anger, opening her mouth to chastise me more but stopped as Arlathan approached.

"No good," he said. "Been trying to get through to the Adeptus Arbites, no reply."

"Not surprised," said Helma.

"Do you...do you think they might've left off-world?" I said.

Arlathan shrugged. "Seems a pretty good guess," he said. "I've got my boss to send a few of us to have a look at their precinct; hopefully, they will find something."

I frowned and thought, more likely to find their deaths.

"Until we've got that confirmed, we've gotta keep our eyes out!" snapped Helma, and it was Darrance's and my turn to give her condescending looks.

"So?" said Darrance. "What do we do now?"

"We wait," stated Helma, once again stating the obvious. "You two need to help secure the perimeter. Attelus, you take the north with Torris and Selg. Darrance, your name is Darrance, right? You..."

"I uh," I interrupted.

"What is it?" she growled, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits; obviously, she wasn't used to being interrupted.

I flinched and decided not to press it, nodded and started north. I didn't want to be near Torris now.

It was then that Arlathan abruptly reached for his vox, making me stop and turn back. "Yes, sir?"

His face paled even worse, and I knew exactly why.

"They've entered the system?" he said. "Yeah, yeah, and they're, what?"

There was a very long, weighted pause during that time Arlathan kept nodding and had to wipe the nervous sweat from his eyes.

"And the SDF have engaged?" he asked, and he nodded again. "Okay, thank you, sir. Please, keep me updated."

"Is it...Is it Space Marines? Was Brutis Bones right?" I stammered.

Arlathan nodded. "Yeah, it's frigging Space Marines," he sighed. "But not those Grey Knights he kept going on about; they're apparently from a chapter in our records called The Desolation Inculpators five standard Astartes ships and one unclassified one. The System Defense Force are engaging now."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, and how long will they last? I wondered.

"They are on your database?" said Darrance with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," said Arlathan, with yet another nod. "They helped defeat a rebellion on Omnartus about two hundred years ago."

I sighed, then sloped my shoulders, and now they've come to destroy it, how ironic-ish.

"What are you doing?" demanded Helma, almost making me jump out of my skin. "I ordered you to guard the perimeter, so hurry it up!"

"Yes, mamzel!" I exclaimed with a salute and left.



I stood on guard for what felt like forever until the flier finally frigging arrived when I'd initially walked up; Torris had given me an ugly glance before ignoring me utterly. All the while, a horrid mixture of guilt, fatigue and fear curdled in my guts.

The anxiety didn't abate either after the flier had landed, and we walked up its ramp and strapped ourselves into its seats. It just got worse. Here I was, trapped inside a small, defenceless metal box that I had utterly no control of; in any second, an arbites flier could swoop in and blow us to bits with one missile or lascannon shot.

I struggled to control my breathing as Arlathan, who sat next to me, looked at me and asked.

"You alright, kid? It sounds like you're having some kind of mini heart attack."

All I could reply with was a nervous nod.

"What? You alright? Or having a heart attack?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A bit of both, really," I said.

Arlathan sniggered and shook his head.

I looked over the faces of the other passengers; Verenth had his face covered with his sweaty, tattooed, intertwined fingers as he hissed some prayer I couldn't hear. Selg was sitting silent, staring off into space, his lasgun laid on his lap. Jelket was in the midst of stripping and remaking his lasgun, with practised, lightning-fast precision despite the rocking bumping craft, he seemed as calm as calm could be, but I could see his hands were shaking slightly. Roldar looked like he was asleep, but I could tell by his stiff body language; it was an act. As though sensing me looking at him, his left eye opened slightly and swivelled my way.

I smiled and gave him an encouraging nod, which he returned, and after smacking his lips, he yawned in the most impossibly fake way imaginable, then went back to 'sleep.'

Helma was sitting across from me, her attention set down to the floor, her brow furrowed in the deepest of thought, her fingers massaging her temples.

Darrance was cleaning his overlarge, ornate power scimitar with a fancy bit of cloth. I wondered yet again how he had got such a weapon; was it a family heirloom? If it was, it just emphasised my theory; he was a descendant of some aristocracy, somewhere. Or he could've killed an aristocrat and stole it from them. Either way, it was a highly identifiable weapon for a family enemy of the family members themselves.

Next to Darrance was Hayden, and as always, he was as calm as calm can be. His attention raised to the ceiling, his long-las held between his knees and also pointed upward. His thick arms wrapped around it as he intertwined his fingers and nonchalantly twiddled his thumbs. He'd lost his auspex during the ornithopter attack and, I wished he hadn't.

Last was Torris, whose face was set in grim determination and looking sidelong down at the floor, his shotgun gripped in his right hand so strongly his knuckles were a lighter shade of brown, wincing every so slightly with pain at every judder and shudder of the ship. I tried to get his attention, tilting forward in my harness and holding up my hand, but my friend gave me nothing, making me suddenly scratch my jaw to make it look as though I was doing nothing.

Arlathan's suddenly vox beeped yet again, and, with impressively fast reflexes, he activated it.

"Yes, sir?"

All attention was now fixated on him as he nodded and acknowledged. He was like this for a good few minutes before saying farewell to his leader and cutting the link.

Then he leaned forward in his seat and placed his face into the palm of his hand.

"What is it now?" sighed Helma.

"The System Defence Force are already losing," Arlathan said through his fingers. "Two ships of ours dead to their none. One of ours has already been boarded by Space Marines and is being slaughtered from the inside and...'

"And what?" said Darrance.

"One of the Astartes ships has broken through," said Arlathan. "It's headed straight this way and will be hitting orbit in about twenty minutes."

I sighed and facepalmed too.

Helma activated her vox and barked, "pilot, what's the ETA?"

"With the current air traffic, ma'am, about half an hour," he said over the internal speaker.

There was a collective groan from everyone but Hayden and me; I was too lost in thought. I couldn't help but believe that ambush was just to delay us for the Space Marines. Etuarq would've known it was going to fail at killing us, and spectacularly at that.

"Well, make it sooner, pilot," snapped Helma. "We haven't much time!"

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" said Selg, his tone depressingly matter of fact.

Helma's attention snapped to Selg, her face as hard as a stone, but her expression suddenly softened.

"It's a fact of life that we all die, Selg; your name is Selg, right?" she said.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, mamzel, and with respect, I know that. I've seen enough death in my life to know that. I'm just tryin' to face up to it. We're up against Space Marines, the legendary angels of death. Even me with my small learnin' knows that."

A smile then split across Selg's broad face. "It don't matter; I don't matter. If they're as strong and tough and big as they tell us, just being able to stand up to them and fighting them will take balls of steel. I've already faced those daemons and lived. If I can do that, I can fight Space Marines, too. Being killed by a Space Marine is the best death I could hope for."

"I just hope it'll be a quick and painless death," he said.

I looked on in silence, stroking my chin with my finger and thumb. Frigging brave words I had to admit, and I couldn't help but envy him. At least if he died, he died permanently.

We'll see how well Selg does when he faces them, but I had a feeling he meant what he'd said.

"Good words," said Helma, smiling. "But we'll see if your bark is as effective as your bite."

"I once saw my friend Selg here," said in Verenth. "Tear out a man's throat with his teeth. So I can say his bite is as strong as his bite."

"Won't make any difference against Astartes," I blurted out, despite myself, then I smiled. Verenth's and Selg's earlier apprehension toward me now seemed a little hypocritical. I could quite honestly say that I've never bit out a man's throat before and would be quite incapable of such a feat. That had to be one of the most brutal acts of violence to perform on another human being; I've ever of and, I was a ruthless, pragmatic assassin.

I glanced at Selg and saw he was looking witheringly at Verenth, indicating he didn't at all appreciate his friend sharing this bit of information, which must've meant it was true. Selg was a big bastard, bigger than Hayden or even Garrakson was, when high on stimms who knew what he was capable of.

From then on, we sat in silence, except for Helma and Arlathan, who kept on relaying orders to their subordinates through their vox links.

I closed my eyes, fighting against the apprehension in my stomach and called out to Faleaseen with my thoughts, hoping she could answer the questions I had forgotten to ask when we'd last met.

But I got nothing; Faleaseen must still be recovering, that or being blocked again either by Torathe or the Space Marines somehow.

I clenched my jaw, wishing to call for Karmen too but knew she couldn't hear my thoughts, and despite being surrounded by so many people and so many familiar faces, I couldn't have felt more alone then. It seemed everyone I had built up any genuine comradery with was dead. Elandria, I'd fallen in love with her, fought and killed with on countless occasions with her. She was murdered on that bitch, Glaitis' order, at the hand of the Mimic, both dead and deservedly too. Then it was Castella, who was like an older sister to me; she was the heart and soul of our small organisation. As Darrance had said, she was the best of us. I would miss her terribly. I'd never see her smiling face ever again. After she was Garrakson, he was a true friend, a good, honourable person. As much as his end saddened me, and as much as I still found it hard to understand the idea of 'a good death.' I knew Garrakson's demise was one any guardsman could ask for.

I looked at Torris; I just hoped that it wouldn't ruin my friendship with him. Torris wasn't a guardsman, a soldier. That world, that philosophy was as foreign to him as it was to me; I hoped one day soon he might understand, and I along with him.

My brow furrowed, even though it now seemed years ago now, I remembered thinking about losing comrades and that it must've been what it was like to serve in the guard and ironically considering asking Garrakson about it. So this is what it was like; I just wished I didn't have to learn it the hard way. But then another realisation hit me; this was my future with my new found immortality. I'm going to have to suffer through the deaths of every one of my friends, lovers not just from combat but of disease and old age as well. I would linger on Karmen, Torris, Darrance, Hayden, Helma, Adelana. All of them and anyone else I'll ever meet.

Faleaseen had said earlier whether I would take my status as a perpetual as a gift or a curse, well...

Abruptly, I shook away the thought, now wasn't the time to get lost in such painful thinking. I had friends here and, now, that was all that mattered. Friends worth fighting for, and I would continue making friends like that, over and over and over again. Their memory would live on with me.

Perhaps, this immortality was a curse for me but a gift to others? I would be able to live to remember others, to pass on their stories for their descendants so they could forever be remembered? Perhaps I could live to pass on my encompassed wisdom and knowledge from generations past, so those that come won't be doomed to repeat their mistakes.

I sighed and shut my eyes.

"You alright, kid?" said Helma, causing me to open my eyes and look at her; she smiled at me strangely. "The look on your face looks like your thinking over some heavy gak."

I opened my mouth to lie but, the beeping of Arlathan's vox link stopped me.

"Yes, sir?" he said.

For a good minute, the Magistratum detective listened and acknowledged. Before finally finishing.

"More good news, I assume?" I said.

He shot me a withering look, which was gone as quickly as it came.

"If you are a fan of bad news," said Arlathan, sadly. "Yes, the battle in the void is going terribly and, the Astartes ship has entered orbit; they have boarded one of the orbital platforms and are slaughtering the Planetary Defence Force troopers within..."

Arlathan was stopped by his commlink again and activated it.

"Yes?"

The call only lasted twenty seconds or so but, during that time, Arlathan's pailing face and dropping jaw showed it was the worst news of all.

"They've ejected drop pods," he said while wiping the sweat from his eyes. "Three of them, according to the orbital scanners..."

He trailed off in his sentence.

"And let me guess," I said grimly. "Brutis Bones was yet again right; their trajectory is..."

"Taryst's tower," he interrupted, his expression hard, as though he was utterly determined to stay being the bearer of bad news. "They're going to make landing within half a kilometre and in a few minutes time."

"Well, gak," I sighed.

"And yep!" said Selg, sounding almost infuriatingly cheery. "We're all gonna die."



It wasn't long before the ship's pilot reported the fire trails over the internal speaker. I, Arlathan, Helma, Jelket and Roldar got up from our seats to watch through the pilot's window and the explosions from the orbital defence weapons shooting at them. We all let out a triumphant yell when one of the drop pods exploded violently in mid-air from a lucky shot. We were a few kilometres away and flew through the sky but, I could almost feel the impacts of the two remaining drop pods hitting the surface from here.

I sighed as the pilot chastised us to sit down; we were soon to land. Taryst's massive tower dominated the polluted skyline even alongside the broad, distant mountain range further north.

Hesitantly, we sat back into our seats. We were only a few minutes away, but I knew that the Space Marines would beat us there.

Very soon, Helma was on the vox; I could hear even from here the panicked screaming from here.

"They're attacking the alley now," she reported. "Penetrated the gate with a meltabomb; at least twenty-five of us are down already."

I sighed and scratched the back of my skull, imagining the poor mercenaries weapons raining ineffectually over the Astartes armour. They were there mostly to escape the constant war and have a more comfortable life under Taryst's employment, only now to be suddenly slaughtered by Space Marines and not knowing why. I felt sorry for them; they didn't deserve this fate, and, soon, very soon, we would be joining them.

"Landing in five minutes," said the pilot, his voice shaking distinctly over the speaker.

"Great," sighed Arlathan sarcastically.

I said nothing and shared a glance with Darrance, his face resolute and, I imagined my expression was similar. Our power weapons were our only hope to penetrate Astartes power armour.

This would be the ultimate test of my ability and, the fire of the coming fight raged in my belly, but I pushed it aside. Escape was the priority now and, I had to find Adelana and get Karmen from the medicae centre.

And if I had to die in the process, so be it. As much as the knowledge of my soul having to bathe in the warp terrified me, I was willing to suffer through it, for Karmen, for my friends.

I cleared my throat loudly, so all attention turned to me.

"There's a way to escape," I said. "I have a plan."

Then quickly, I told them.



Our hurried feet clanged down the boarding ramp and onto the landing pad. Darrance and I at the lead, power swords held ready. It was standing on that small plateau that showed just how massive the tower was and how insignificant I am in this vast, vast universe. We couldn't see further than a few metres through the thick cloud, but the black wall was still prominent; it conquered the view, destroyed it like I was looking out the window of a ship at the blackest void. No matter how far I tilted my head, I could never even glimpse its peek. The flashing red lights that laid at every story seemed to be repeated forever and ever.

"So, where to first?" asked Helma, hellgun aimed at the doorway.

"The medicae centre," I answered as I swiped my card across the security lock, causing the large door to hiss open abruptly. "We need Karmen Kons for the retinal scanner."

"And why the hell do we need to go to Vex's office?" growled Helma as we walked into the broad corridor.

For the thousandth time, I sighed; I had too many ulterior motives to count and swallowed them all.

"We need Vex to access Taryst's cogitator," I said. "He may have had information stored there that might allow us to find our enemies."

"That's a hefty, 'might' there," said Arlathan.

I pursed my lips and shrugged. "Well, what else we can do?"

Arlathan just grimaced, silenced.

A hololith schematic of Taryst's tower suddenly sprang from Helma's armoured gauntlet.

"The closest to us here is the medicae facility," she said, although I'd already known this. "the one Karmen Kons is in is on the ground floor; the nearest elevator is this way!"

With these words, she took the lead and activated her vox link.

"Sergeant Thol!" Helma said, but she paused, her brow furrowing slightly. Then she suddenly snarled a curse and punched the wall. The little, green hololith shivered and shook with the impact.

"The vox is being jammed!" she snapped, although I'd already guessed this fact. "Follow me! Sergeant Thol and his squad will be meeting us at the elevators!"

With my heart in my throat, we weaved and wound through the corridors, our weapons constantly sweeping over every nook and cranny of them. It was eerily empty and silent, a stark contrast to the constant hustle and bustle only a few hours ago. It unnerved me more than I'd care to admit especially being aware of the slaughter going on below.

Finally, we found the elevators, turning a corner to see a twenty man squad of men wearing Stormtrooper carapace and with hell guns in their hands in all but two, one with a plasma gun another, a missile launcher.

They approached us, past the stairwells on each side, one of them holding his hand out in greeting.

"Oh, thank the Emperor, you're here!" exclaimed the soldier, his voice crackling through his respirator's vox link. "When the vox went down, I feared the worst!"

Then his helmet head tilted as he saw Selg and Verenth.

"I uh," said the Stormtrooper.

"Do not worry about them!" snapped Helma. "They are with me, Thol!"

Thol straightened and nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"We're headed to the ground floor!" She said. "To medicae facility number one! Get your men into the elevators!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Instantly he turned and pressed the elevator call button, and we waited in silence.

Again, it was the silence that unnerved me and, I went to gaze down the right side stairwell, standing beside the three Stormtroopers who stood with weapons aimed down it. I expected some sound from the battle below to echo through, but there was nothing. It really did remind me yet again just how freakishly tall the tower was.

"Is it true?" asked one of the Stormtroopers, making me jump out of my reverie. "Are we under attack by Space Marines?"

I didn't say anything, unable to answer.

That was answer enough for the Stormtrooper as he looked away and swore in a language I didn't understand.

Then the two elevators finally arrived and, we went to file inside.

I was riding in the elevator with Helma, Darrance, Verenth, Selg, Torris, Arlathan, Hayden, Darrance, Thol and four of his men.

My stomach lurched as it abruptly descended, and I realised something, something of the most utmost importance. It must've been hours since I'd smoked my last Lho.

Sniggering slightly, with a shaking hand, I reached into my flak jacket. I pulled out that ceramic case, that familiar ceramic case I'd bought seven years ago on the refugee starship I had left Elbyra on and the ship in which I had performed my first, paid assassination. I'd been sloppy, of course, got caught by the ship's authorities and was about to be executed until Glaitis had saved me and taken me in as her new apprentice. I'd always wondered how she just so happened to be on the same ship at that exact time, and now I knew.

My thumb flicked it open, and I began to slide one out.

"No smoking allowed in the building," snapped Helma, suddenly making me flinch in fright.

I turned to her, my eyes wide with incredulity. Then my brow furrowed, and with slow deliberation, I pulled out a Lho stick, stuck it into my teeth, pulled out my igniter and lit it—all the while keeping my attention locked on her.

Helma grimaced, her jaw clenching slightly before she held out her hand to me.

"Screw it," she said. "And screw the rules, give me one."

I smiled and did as asked, then lit it for her with my igniter. She was in the midst of thanking me when the elevator found the ground floor, and as it did, I expected bolter fire to tear into the lift, exploding us into mist instantly. But there was nothing. Jelket and Roldar were the first into the lobby, fanning out with guns raised, followed by Verenth and Selg, then Thol and his men. Again, besides us, the place was empty, but the silence was gone. From around the corner, I could hear the chatter of las-fire, the screaming of slaughtered men and the familiar roar of bolter fire. It was even louder and throatier than Brutis Bone's one, despite being so far away.

"Let's go! Go!" urged Helma, the smoking lho stick clenched in her teeth. "We haven't much time!"

We were on the north side of the tower, opposite the alley entrance so furthest from the Space Marines. This had been obviously organised by Helma, even before I'd told her of my plan. I wasn't quite sure how to make of that. Too bad the only elevator to Taryst's grotto was on the eastern side. I hoped we could reach it without incident on Vex's floor, but my instincts seemed to scream that it wouldn't.

What if they took out the cable of the elevator to Taryst's grotto? That was the only way up there; I guessed we could take another ship in the large hanger on the seventieth floor but doubted any of those would be anywhere near as quick or as advanced.

I just hoped it would be large enough to convey us all, not to mention a few others as well.

As we moved, Helma ordered ten of Thol's men behind to guard the elevators while the rest kept onward, into the corridors. Thol and four Stormtroopers took the lead while the other five covered the rear. Like every corridor in the tower, it was wide, allowing them to walk abreast with ease, even with their armour and abundance of equipment.

It only took around sixteen, seventeen minutes to reach the medical, but I must've smoked through at least six lho sticks during that time. My nerves were killing me as I expected that around every single turn and junction, there to be a huge Space Marine, with bolter raised to blast us into red mist, or chain sword readied to tear us apart. Still, each time there was nothing, nothing but more empty, white, brightly lit corridor. Which just made it all the worse as our ears assailed continuously by the roar of battle and the constant cacophony of horrific, blood-freezing screams that were getting louder and louder and louder with every step we took through that maze.

We arrived finally at the medicae; the Stormtroopers spread out to secure the entrance along with Darrance, Arlathan, Selg and Hayden while the rest of us went inside Thol leading with hellgun raised.

He almost immediately walked into a tall, scrawny young man wearing glasses and, I instantly recognised him as the assistant medicae who had attempted to stitch my facial scar back together hours ago. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember his name.

The assistant blanched and screeched like a girl, dropping the metal plate he held, which fell to the floor with a horrid crash!

"Please!" he cried. "Please don't kill me!"

Thol didn't lower his hellgun as Helma approached the assistant, a suspicious sneer on her scarred features.

"This place was meant to be evacuated by all civilian staff; why are you still here?"

Another medicae emerged from one of the rooms, he was old and wizened, and he too I recognised as the one who'd worked under Brutis Bones, although I couldn't recall his name either.

"We stayed because we still have patients to attend to," the old medicae said.

"Aheth!" exclaimed Verenth. "Thank the God-Emperor; you're still okay!"

Aheth grimaced. "Yes, young Verenth, I am, but I won't be for much longer going from the commotion going on outside."

Then he looked at me. "Mr Attelus Kaltos, good to see you're still well and breathing."

"Only just," I said with a smile.

"So could you be so kind as to inform me why, exactly, you are here," said Aheth.

"We need to take Karmen Kons," said Helma, in a tone showing she wouldn't brook any argument.

"Why?" said Aheth, his arms folding over his chest, obviously ignoring Helma's commanding voice.

"We haven't time to explain!" she snapped. "Where is she?"

Aheth sighed wearily. "Of course you don't; she's this way, follow me."

With that, he turned and led us to the second room, which he indicated with a lazy sweep of his hand.

Helma and I slipped inside and, there was Karmen, lying deathly still. The only indication she was still alive was the slight constant rising and falling of her ample chest. Her face still completely covered in bandages.

My heart fluttered from the sight, and for a good few seconds, I was unable to move, unable to breathe. Thol and the assistant pushed past me and together began to ready her for being moved.

"Hurry it up!" snapped Helma, and we all involuntarily flinched as a deafening shriek echoed through the building, making us instinctively look over our shoulders.

"That was close," said Thol, unnecessarily.

I hissed through clenched teeth, shuffling with my rattling nerves and impatience, then with a shaking hand, absently began to take out another Lho stick.

"Please, do not smoke in here," said Aheth, looking at me intently.

I eyed the old medicae sidelong and found I couldn't help but feel the highest respect for him. Here he was staying back when everyone else had left, just to look after his patients even while the bolter fire and screams echoed through the corridors. I imagined he would've done the same while we were fighting those daemons desperately. Keeping calm and collected the whole damn time. I had a bad feeling that Helma's earlier chastisement was just posturing to back up her authority and power. Then when I'd refused to let her boss me around, she'd tried to save face by smoking herself. Aheth was standing up to me, purely out of duty and care for his patients.

My attention turned to the assistant, whose name I still couldn't remember and he too I couldn't help respect as well, perhaps even more so. I knew Aheth had at least some experience in facing down terrifying, in human beings, but he, I was sure hadn't, but yet here he was. Sure he'd coward when Thol had aimed his gun at him, but I couldn't blame him for that.

With a smile and a respectful nod, I closed my Lho case. "Of course, sorry."

Instinctively, swiftly I stepped aside as Thol wheeled Karmen's bed out of the room, and the rest of us turned to follow; everyone except Aheth and the assistant and I turned back to him.

"Halsin," said Aheth, and it took me a second to realise he was addressing the assistant. "Go with them, look after Karmen Kons."

"And you?" I asked, my eyes narrowing, instantly guessing what he was up to.

"Staying here," answered Aheth simply, as though it was the easiest decision in the 'verse. "There are still patients I need to look to but tell me, young assassin. What are we up against?"

I sighed, shuffling nervously and decided not to lie to a dead man. "Space Marines."

Aheth nodded, his face almost serene despite this news. "Thought so, and will they spare my patients?"

Tears abruptly welled in my eyes. "No, no, they will not."

"Again, I'd thought so. Can you just do me one favour?" said Aheth.

"Name it."

"Can you give me a weapon?"

I blinked, that was the last thing I expected, but without any further word, I reached into my flak jacket, pulled my pistol from its shoulder holster and handed it to the old medicae. I fought back the sadness welling in my heart; I had carried that autopistol since the war on Elbyra. My father had given it to me when I was a child; it was a simple thing, like billions upon billions of others manufactured across the galaxy. Nothing special, but it had never jammed on me; I very rarely had to strip it and clean it. I had forgotten this; for so long, it was just a pistol to me with no sentimental value at all; it was my sword I'd always truly treasured, which was natural me being a swordsman. But giving Aheth my pistol felt like I was tearing off a limb.

Aheth took it. "Thank you, if my patients are to die, I will die fighting for them."

Then he tilted his head meaningfully, and almost instantly, I understood. It said, do not worry, your secret will die with me.

I nodded then and, fighting back the welling tears, with the now openly weeping Halsin, turned and left.



We emerged back into the corridor; I half expected to be greeted by splattered, scattered corpses but found everyone alive and well. Helma glared at us in anger for the delay. A rage I couldn't blame her for, but I ignored her. Then within a split second wave of the captain's hand, we were instantly moving again.

I walked aside the Stormtrooper pushing Karmen's bed and had to fight the urge to glance at her always. Instead, hesitantly electing to listen to the firing bolters and screams. I couldn't believe the mercenaries were holding off the Space Marines for so long; how many were there, fighting? How many have died already? How many mercenaries were yet to die? But what I couldn't wrap my head around was that they were fighting, still fighting against enemies they had no hope to defeat. They were mercenaries; they held no surge loyalty to Taryst and his organisation, especially after the Rogue Trader's more recent acts. They had no real reason to sell their lives short.

A dark thought occurred to me as we walked, and I furrowed my brow, looking down upon the supine Karmen. She hadn't been in communication with me for a long time; perhaps she was controlling their minds like puppets, as Etuarq had with Edracian as he had, perhaps controlled his mercenary force back at Edracian's mansion-fortress. I remembered that they'd the same psychic implants in their brains I once had, implants that allowed Karmen to delve into their minds easier than ordinary people. Implants that she had implanted. Did that allow her also to control them easier?

The thought made me sick; out of all the morally ambiguous actions taken during this time, this one stunk the worse. Assuming it was true, of course, but something within me knew it was.

This probably was what Taryst had been planning all along; too bad he didn't live long enough to see it.

The sound of battle receded as we came closer and closer to the northern elevators, and the sound of grinding teeth caused me to look sidelong at its source, finding it was Helma, the lho I'd given her smoked and discarded a long time ago.

I was opening my mouth to say something. However, as I approached the last corner, I didn't know what into the elevator lobby and the two leading Stormtroopers exploded, their torsos reduced into bloody ruins, and their legs smashed against the wall with such force they became plastered there. Blood and ichor coated us. I barely managed to close my eyes in time to keep from being blinded. Helma wasn't fast enough as she screamed in agony and clutched at her face with clawing armoured fingers.

"Back!" yelled Roldar, the sergeant taking the lead. But it was for nothing as I saw a Space Marine for the first time and regrettably not the last time in my long, long life. It abruptly appeared around the corner, its heavy, running footfalls shaking my bones and innards. Its bolter raised. It was only a fraction of a second before everything turned into a blur of screaming chaos, but for me and perhaps just me, it was enough to get a good look.

I'd heard Space Marines were huge, but I never imagined they were even half this huge. Standing at over two metres tall even out of its armour, and as wide as I was tall. Its light red and gold armour was more unadorned and less adorned than Brutis', but that made it all the more intimidating. The helm it wore was inhuman, unforgiving; its eyes glowed an almost undead red with an intensity that seemed to bore into my brain.

Despite the fear I felt, I was then moving, as the Space Marine was in the midst of pulling the trigger of its mind-bogglingly huge boltgun. My power sword blazed into blue life and sliced straight through the bolter.

The Space Marine bellowed out through the grill of its helm, but it wasn't out of fright, or fear or rage, or even in surprise at my inhuman speed or of my possession of a power sword. I didn't know what kind of sound the Space Marine uttered, and even until this day, I didn't know even after meeting many of its kind and fighting alongside them on countless occasions.

The Space Marine reacted, far faster than anything that size had any right to react. Instantly, it smashing the remains of its bolter at me. I darted back, and it missed me by the barest of margins, the onrush of air that followed almost knocking me off my feet. With its free hand, a fist large enough to fit my head into and more, it threw a punch at my skull, a blow I barely weaved under, but it seemed to see this coming as with the same arm, it swung its elbow toward my torso. I danced aside; then the space marine thrust its bolter my way; I leaned out of its path then saw the opening and dashed forward, cutting my sword into its side with a roar. The sword's power field cut through the ceramite with ease and drew a massive, brief burst of blood, but I instantly knew it was far from a killing blow; I'd only succeeded in making the huge bastard angrier. With a horrible roar of curses, it spun out, forcing me to throw myself hard to the floor to prevent my body from being pulped by its gigantic limbs.

Then the Space Marine raised its armoured boot to crush my head.

The whine of Hell gunfire echoed, and the constant stream of red light swathed into the Space Marine's side. It penetrated the armour with ease, sending it reeling and cursing savagely but was far from dead.

Wordlessly, Thol stalked forward, quickly retrieved the fallen plasma gun from one of the dead Stormtroopers and vaporised the Space Marine's skull with a single shot. I was in the t junction, and something caught my eye as Thol approached, looking like he would congratulate me or something. I suddenly kicked out my feet and was up, smashing my shoulder hard into Thol and sending us careening clumsily back into cover a millisecond before bolter rounds tore into the wall where we once were.

I'd seen the messy remains of the Stormtroopers who'd guarded the elevator lobby and two more Space Marines emerging into view. One with a bolter, the other with a power sword and bolt pistol.

"gak! gak! gak!" I screamed; Darrance was abruptly beside me, power sword held ready

With impressive speed, Thol was up and tilting around the corner, about to pull the plasma gun's trigger, but Roldar pulled him back.

"You might damage the elevators!" he yelled over the cacophony.

"Go!" yelled Darrance, giving me a meaningful look. "Take the western elevators, Attelus and I will hold them off!"

I gaped, unable to appreciate what was, perhaps, the first-ever time Darrance had called something other than 'apprentice' as pain suddenly thundered through my chest, and I looked to Karmen. That meant she'd be out of my sight! I'd be utterly unable to protect her!

Roldar seemed to see this instantly and said, "don't worry, kid, we'll protect your girlfriend!"

"You're insane!" exclaimed Thol as he attempted to fire around the corner with his hellgun, and two other Stormtroopers joined him but quickly found themselves pinned.

"Yeah," said Darrance with a shrug. "And you should thank your Emperor that we are! Now go! We will meet you on Vex's floor!"

Thol nodded, then hesitantly, he and the other Stormtroopers began to withdraw, along with everyone else. I couldn't help watch Karmen being wheeled away forlornly.

"Focus, apprentice!" snarled Darrance, and I tore my attention away from her, just in time to see the Space Marines abruptly appear.

I had the one with the powersword, whom I assumed to be a sergeant. Darrance, the one with the bolter. Just my frigging luck.

Before I could think, the sergeant was cutting a downward vertical arc. I swiftly sidestepped then sliced out horizontally, an attack it barely managed to back-step in time, obviously taken off guard by my enhanced speed and agility. The hesitation didn't last as long as the sergeant's huge boot kicked out. I weaved underneath and cut up at his exposed knee. But the Space Marine had withdrawn his foot far too fast and was cutting his power sword in a vast horizontal arc. I slid back, only just out of its path and sidestepped the Space Marine's following thrust.

Then something odd occurred, the Space Marine laughed. Its laugh was somehow even more terrifying than its roaring and curses. It boomed down the corridor like a bolter shot and made me flinch in fright, then; for the first time, I heard a Space Marine speak.

"You are quick, tiny man," he said with amusement. "A challenge, almost. I never thought I would find a mortal who could even start to fight me mono a mono."

I grinned through my gasps. "I'm not mortal," I said.

The Space Marine tilted his huge helmeted head in what seemed to be curiosity; then I was moving, cutting out at his thigh. The Space Marine's power sword blurred and parried my attack with ease; the impact made pain shiver up my arms and sent me stumbling sideways. I barely managed to lean aside of his uppercutting gauntlet, then dart away from his slashing sword, slipping back out of range from another potential attack.

The Space Marine laughed again and pointed the tip of his sword at my head. "You! You are quite skilled! For being able to stand against me, you deserve the honour of knowing my name! I am veteran sergeant Letharc of the sixth company of the Desolation Inculpators! And I will slay you in the God-Emperor's name! Traitor!"

I grinned again, dearly wanting to see how well Darrance was going against his opponent but didn't dare take my attention from Letharc for even the barest fraction of a second.

I pointed my sword at his head and echoed his stance. "I am Attelus Kaltos, mercenary assassin now given purpose! And I am not a traitor; I'm the same as you, merely a pawn manipulated to be here!"

"I am no one's pawn!" roared the Space Marine, his strange sanguine mood replaced suddenly by terrifying rage, and he hurtled at me like a huge, psychotic grox.

My eyes wide and teeth clenched in fear, I dived aside. The Space Marine rushed past, and his slipstream hit me in mid-air with the force of a tank, throwing me across the floor, bouncing for what felt like forever before finally coming to a stop. My whole body was alive with agony, and stars briefly dominated my vision. If it wasn't for my Wraithbone bone structure, I was sure I would've been far worse off.

The tumultuous footfalls of the Space Marine seemed to shake everything like the strongest Varanderian earthquake as he slowly approached me. Bellowing laughter again, and his shadow darkened my vision. My back was to him, but I could see from his silhouette he was raising his foot for the finishing blow, and he said.

"You are quick for a mortal, but you are still like all of your kind. So very breakable."

Before I knew I was moving, I stood and pivoted into a thrust, which impaled him through his breastplate almost to the hilt.

If he felt any pain at all, he didn't show it, but his complete silence seemed to announce his shock louder than any cry or yell.

"It seems we have more in common than just being pawns!" I snarled, then with all my strength and a roar almost as loud and powerful as an Astartes. I turned, and with the sound of cracking ceramite and the spraying of blood, I pulled my crackling blade up through his chest then out the top of his skull. My back was to the Space Marine, but I heard and felt him crash into the floor with such force it seemed to shake the entire tower.

I had no time to even slightly consider the seemingly impossible achievement I had just managed before the sounds of Darrance's struggle drew my attention.

He had lost his sword, and his right arm hung limp, bloody and broken. His face was a mask of grimacing desperation as he continuously dodged and darted through the Space Marines, horrifically fast-flying fists and kicks. I saw the Marine's bolter laying nearby, almost cut in two.

Fighting against my pained limbs and attempting to abate my incessant gasping. I charged at the Space Marine's vast back. It was only about ten metres between the Marine and me, it took me less than a split second to make the distance and my footfalls, all but silent across the floor, but somehow he was in the midst of turning toward me as I lunged at him. So my sword stabbed straight through his faceplate instead of the back of his head.

Instantly, I kicked out into the Marine's gorget, allowing me to tug out my power sword and dropped to the floor as the Desolation Inculpator. I landed harder than predicted; my knees buckled from the impact and forced me into a crouch. I gasped once, twice then my attention rose to Darrance.

He gaped at me with eyes as wide as saucers while clutching at his arm; it was without a shadow of a doubt that I'd never seen Darrance in such a state before.

"How?" he managed.

"Luck," I said with a shrug as I slowly stood; my whole body shook with adrenaline and fear on a level I'd never felt before. Like I'd just drunk twenty cups of caffeine in as many seconds.

He continued to gape, his jaw working dumbly.

"Or the blessing of the Emperor!" I snarled sarcastically, losing my patience. "Get it together; we've gotta move."

I smiled as I pushed past Darrance; it felt good to be the one chastising him for a change.



Darrance seemed to find himself quite quickly, pulled an injector from one of his belt pouches, and plugged it into his neck, injecting it with an audible hiss.

Painkillers or combat enhancers? Both more likely, either way, it was more than fair enough under the circumstances.

In silence, we moved back toward the northern elevators, and as we approached the t junction, I stopped at the corner and peeked around it.

"Clear!" I hissed through clenched teeth, and we slipped out, swords raised. Darrance was forced to wield his normally two-handed scimitar with one hand, but he still managed to carry it quite well.

I bit back a sigh, finding I was missing Elandria more than ever now. I would've given anything for her to be here than Darrance, her or Castella. It seemed due to our similar specialities Darrance, and I had been forced into an impromptu partnership. But the thing was, I didn't like him, and he didn't like me. Also, he lacked the physical assets both Elandria and Castella held in abundance.

I shook away the thought, sickened by it.

"Tell me how, apprentice," snarled Darrance suddenly.

I rolled my eyes. "You saw how!" I whispered back. "Took him by surprise while he was trying to kill you!"

"No, I meant the other one," he said. "I saw his remains...How?"

"Luck, okay?" I snapped. "Now keep quiet! They might..."

I wandered off in mid-sentence as abruptly another two Space Marines plodded into view, in blocking the elevators. Both had bolters; one held a huge auspex the other had a meltabomb and looked like he was about to use it.

For a split second, they stood looking at us as if caught unawares; then their bolt guns raised.

"Stairs!" I yelled, and without hesitation, Darrance, I split up. I darted up the left side stairs; he went up the right. Taking them two at a time, with an almost reckless abandon.

"After them!" I heard one roar, and then came the thundering, shaking of running feet. I made it up the first flight a millisecond before bolt rounds exploded the wall where I was and started up the second.

The Space Marine's curses echoed up the stairs after me, and a split second after the stairs shook with his ascent. I found the third flight, and quickly, from the space of his footfalls, calculated he was taking four steps at a time and would be upon me in another two flights. I was the quicker sprinter, but his legs were almost as long as I was tall upon reaching the peak of the fourth stairwell and a desperate plan instantaneously formed in my thoughts. I unlocked the door with my key card with quick hands, flung it open, and slipped behind the door, my back to the wall.

This took less than a second but was done just before the Space Marine was on the turn. I held my breath, knowing he would hear my breathing, perhaps even smell my sweat. When he didn't continue upwards, I knew he hadn't fallen for it, so I pushed the door closed and moved, flinging myself hard against the floor, out of sight, behind the next flight of stairs. The bolter rounds ripped the handrail and wall asunder in my wake.

"You are a quick little boy," said the Space Marine as I heard his feet slowly started ascending. "Or girl, I can't tell; I doubt many can. You are far quicker than a normal human, and you seem immune to my auspex. What are you? Mechanicum enhanced? Did that traitor Rogue Trader have you made? As a bodyguard, maybe? Or as an assassin? I would have given you the chance to surrender, but with that trick you just tried to pull, you must have thought I was stupid. I also smell the stench of a recently dispelled powerfield. You wield a power sword, and that combined with your speed makes you a threat, even for an Astartes like me."

I sniggered. "Your two brothers found that out the hard way," I gasped. "And for a Space Marine, you talk way too much."

There was a long, weighted pause, and the Space Marine's feet stopped, then he laughed; it was the very last reaction I'd expected.

"You are trying to bait me," he said; it was a bland statement, not a question. "I had recently lost the signatures of brother-sergeant Letharc and brother Pellrenth; did you kill them? Did you actually manage to kill them? An impressive feat, I must confess. Although I do suspect the reason, you managed it was they underestimated you. I will not make the same mistake."

Then something heavy suddenly landed beside me, and I knew what it was without even looking. My arm instinctively shot out, my tiny hand barely able to wrap around it even slightly, but my enhanced strength allowed me to keep my grip and throw it down the stairs with a grunt. I smiled as I heard the Space Marine yell out, then the frag grenade explode. I fought the urge to lunge down the stairs and try to plunge my sword into the Marine; I didn't know what condition he was in, so the risk wasn't worth the reward. I leapt to my feet and started sprinting up the next flight of stairs. Despite his claim not to underestimate me, the Space Marine had managed to do just that.

I swiped open the next door and dashed inside just before more bolter shots bellowed after me. I ran into an office area, a vast expansive room filled with rows upon rows of cogitator desks. I hadn't chosen this floor by accident. Instinct innately made me weave, dart side to side, through the fire aimed at my back. I vaulted and leapt over and around the countless obstacles in my way, never slowing, never hesitating as bolt rounds exploded and tore apart everything around indiscriminately. Ancient cogitators, each worth more thrones than I'd see in a lifetime, destroyed forever. It would've saddened the long-suppressed historical scholar in me if I wasn't running for my life.

There was only one exit, one door set in the centre of the northernmost wall and seeing this caused me to curse. I veered right, knowing that would lead me toward the corridor leading toward the elevators. I needed to get to the 31st floor, needed to get there to convince Helma to bring Adelana and the others with us. I just hoped they'd taken my advice and gone to Vex's office instead of being evacuated like everyone else.

My hand reached into one of the pouches on my belt and pulled out two krak grenades, a simple act made hard while in flight and would've been impossible for almost anyone else. I risked a glance over my shoulder. Seeing that the Space Marine hadn't followed me further into the room, electing to stand near the doorway and to shoot at me from there, as I'd hoped he would.

With a laugh, I discreetly primed both grenades, then slid, pivoting on the balls of my shoes and threw one in a curving arc straight at the Space Marine. He reacted instantaneously, faster than the other Marines before, diving to the side as it detonated. I'd predicted this as well, so I threw the second straight into his path. It exploded right next to him, and he roared in rage and pain.

Not daring to dwell on my achievement, I ran for the doors, pushed the unlock button, and shoulder barged through. I turned right, a second before more bolter rounds shattered the glass doors after me. I sprinted on, whispering curses constantly; I'd hoped the grenade would've killed him or slowed him down more, but alas.

Struggling to breathe, I slowed to a jog. I needed a rest; I needed to...

My thoughts were interrupted by the roar through the wall; I stopped and saw the Space Marine smash into the corridor a few metres ahead of me. His armour was blackened and cracked; the explosion had knocked off his helmet, showing me for the first time the blunt, flat, cheek boneless features of an Astartes. Half of his face was bloody and battered. If I'd continued sprinting, he would've crushed me into a pulp.

"You! Little! Bastard!" he growled, raising his bolter and aiming it at my skull.

I leaned aside the round and was about to dart forward, but a second shot forced me to the floor. I rolled into a crouch and, with the flat of my sword, desperately knocked aside the next. Sending it careening and exploding a large hole in the wall, it sent horrid jolts up my arms, causing me to cry out. I clenched my teeth, ignoring it and knocked away another and slowly began to advance. Dodging and ducking, deflecting and darting through shot after shot, but I was merely delaying the inevitable, I knew. The Marine laughed.

"You cannot keep this up forever!" he roared, having lost all sign of his earlier calm and calculated manner. "I will not let you close in! And I will avenge my brothers!"

Just need another metre! My mind screamed.

I took one more half a step and, in my exhaustion, miscalculated the next shot; it detonated far too close to the hilt, sending it flying from my grasp. Any other sword would've exploded into shards then, sending them slicing into me in the ultimate betrayal for a swordsman. Still, it was a mastercrafted Velrosian blade, so it stayed in one piece.

My instinct screamed that there was only one way to close the gap, and I threw myself forwards into a dive. An action that seemed to take the Marine off guard for less than a split second, he didn't expect me to keep advancing without my sword, it was only a split second, but it was enough for me. Bolter shots thundered over me by mere millimetres, and I finished in a crouch. I ejected a throwing knife from my sleeve and sent it flying with a backhanded throw. I was only two metres away; the blade moved so fast it almost instantaneously embedded into the Marine's left eye socket. He cried out and reeled. I was abruptly leaping, pulling out my last krak grenade, primed it then stuffed it into the Marine's gaping maw.

I darted back as it went off and the Marine's head was just suddenly gone. A krak grenade was designed to take out tanks; they exploded in a small concentrated radius, so there was very little shrapnel, luckily for me or else I could've been torn apart by shards of his skull.

For a few seconds, the Marine's corpse stood deathly still before abruptly collapsing against the wall and slid to the floor.

I stood, trying to catch my breath, gazing down at the body. I'd almost liked this Space Marine; I almost regretted killing him. Then I laughed; I didn't mean to; it just burst from my throat in an insane bark. That was the third of the inhuman Astartes dead at my hand! I have managed to achieve three times in one day, not many others could claim in a lifetime! What other absurd things would I manage to do in my now limitless life?

My laughter slowly faded into a chuckle, now truly glad I hadn't used that grenade on those mercenaries in Edracian's fortress earlier. It was funny; somehow, I knew that was that very same grenade; fate was a truly strange mistress, wasn't it?

Shaking my head, I turned back and retrieved my sword, and although there was no blood on it, instinct made me whip it before sheathing it. I approached the dead Marine and bowed in the most profound respect before setting off again at a brisk pace, fighting the roiling sickness in my stomach.



With the Marine dead, I now heard the battle still rumbling through the lower floors. The now way too familiar sound of bolter shots, accompanied by the immediate screams of agony and death. I could hear las shots and solid projectile fire here and there, sometimes.

I peered around the corner, leading to the elevator lobby cautiously and held back a relieved sigh when I found the coast was clear. Unlike on the other lower levels, this lobby only had one exit and entrance, yet another reason why I'd chosen this floor. I was glad I'd taken the time to learn the layout of much of Taryst's tower. I'd decided to use the southern elevators, guessing that Karmen would have her puppets guard that side the most due to it having the only lift to Taryst's grotto.

I pushed the elevator call button then instantly slipped to the left side wall; as I saw the elevator, there was the one ascending, my sword activated and readied. They were large, strong, sturdy things. I knew they could carry two, maybe three, Space Marines, so my caution was more than justified.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to find this floor, but it felt like a lifetime before it finally dinged, and the doors opened.

I had to fight the almost overwhelming urge to immediately just run in there; I kept waiting, watching. It wasn't until the doors had almost slid completely closed that I moved, placing my foot between them, so they opened again. It was empty, much to my relief, and I stepped inside.

I pushed the button for the 31st floor, such an absurdly, stupidly simple act under the circumstances I couldn't help but laugh.

The elevator surged into its ascent, and I slipped my shaking hands into the pockets of my flak jacket then tapped the tip of my shoe on the floor at an even faster rate than usual. I was still high on adrenaline; it made me twitchy and impatient, my breathing shallow while watching the changing numbers on the screen overhead.

It felt like my lungs could explode at any second, and my thoughts whirled with anxiety. Had Helma and the others reached the 31st floor? Had they even made it to the elevators? If they had, was Karmen still with them? Had a stray bolt round managed to hit her? We were risking much in this escape attempt; what was going to happen after we lifted off? How were we going to escape the Astartes ships and into the warp? So much was left to do, left to achieve.

I sighed and turned to look out the window, away from the ascending numbers. Omnartus travelled out before me, as far as I could see and the mountain range further south. I remembered what seemed like a lifetime ago, looking out at the mountains, thinking of the flowers that had evolved to survive at high altitudes to avoid the pollution that had covered most of the surface of the world. I'd never thought until now that it was a good metaphor for me. I'd gained much since then, an almost indestructible bone structure reflexes far beyond that of a normal human being, but what I'd gained more than anything else was wisdom.

The elevator found the 31st floor, and there, the view of the hive outside the window was abruptly engulfed in thick blackish brown of the pollution clouds.

As I turned and exited the elevator, knowing that was, perhaps, the last look I would ever get of Omnartus. Then abruptly, I realised that it was most definitely the last good look I would get of Omnartus; it was soon to be dead. Dead just because of a simple pict I took. There was no way we could stop the Space Marines from destroying it. No way in hell.

My heart sunk and horrid regret, fear, and anger seemed to expand through my chest like cold, painful writhing tendrils.

"Why did it have to come to this?" I whispered to myself while walking into the corridors. "Why? Emperor, why?"

I felt tears welling in my eyes and let them flow freely.

What had I done to deserve this?

Despite being almost lost in loathing self-pity, I walked the corridors, instinct making me innately find the fastest way. When I'd reached the vast cogitator cavern, I saw six Stormtroopers, Selg, Hayden, Torris, Jelket and Roldar, standing guard around the medicae assistant and Karmen's bed, just outside Vex's office. They all looked far more beaten and battered than when I last saw them, and I had a bad feeling those storm troopers included the ones Olinthre had earlier left to look after Vex. I hurried my pace, jogging toward Karmen to see if she was okay.

Without a word of greeting, they let me through, and I only just managed to notice their silent expressions of awe at seeing me still alive.

"How is she?" I asked, and it took me a second or so to recall his name again. "Halsin?"

"She is fine," said Halsin, his already enlarged eyes even larger behind his glasses. "I...I..."

"I, what?" I snapped and instantly regretted my tone; I was tired and oh so irritable. "I'm sorry."

"I do not understand how you can still be fine," he said.

I pursed my lips and shrugged. "Got lucky, I suppose," I said.

Hayden approached, patted me on the shoulder and said, "that and a frigging gak ton of skill, I bet. Do you know how Darrance is?"

I flinched, realising I hadn't spared one thought for my erstwhile comrade. "I don't know; we got split up in the chaos. It looks like you guys ran into trouble too."

Hayden nodded. "Found another Space Marine on the ground floor, tore its way through us like a whirlwind, killed six of the Stormtroopers with us. Would've killed us all if Thol hadn't purposely overloaded his plasma gun; the explosion vaporised him and mortally wounded the Marine. I finished it off with a point-blank shot of my long-las.

I nodded and sighed; I barely knew Thol, so his death didn't affect me much, but the destruction of the Plasma gun irked me. With Darrance MIA and that gone, it just put more pressure on me to be the damned hero. Now I'd seen the endurance of an Astartes first hand; I doubted that a hotshot from Hayden's long las would affect them much unless at complete close range.

"That's six down, I suppose, I said.

Hayden's brow furrowed in bemusement, about to ask me to elaborate, I was sure, but then Helma, Arlathan, Verenth and five more Stormtroopers emerged from the office, a sullen-looking Vex in tow. I could hear weeping and pitiful pleading, and an ugly, middle-aged woman I instantly recognised as one of Adelana's colleagues walked out after them.

"Please!" she cried as she tried to grab at Helma's elbow. "Take us with you! Please!"

"Getaway!" snarled Helma, snatching back her arm. "All non-combatants were meant to evacuate! You should have left with the others! Emperor only knows..."

The captain trailed off in her sentence and gaped as she saw me.

"You!" yelled the lady at me, and behind her, I could see the kid, the gruff old man and lastly, Adelana emerging from the office. Adelana's smile made me weak at the knees. "We did as you told," carried on the woman, who I'd momentarily forgotten was there let alone speaking to me you 'Go to Vex's office at the first sign of trouble,' so here we are! Please help us!"

Tearing my attention away from Adelana, I nodded and smiled the most reassuring smile I could muster at her, but for the life of me, I couldn't frigging remember her name.

"We need to take them with us," I said to Helma in my most commanding tone.

Helma's eyes narrowed. "Did that Space Marine smash your brain out of your head? Are you insane or stupid? You yourself couldn't tell for certain how big Taryst's escape craft is! They might not be able to fit with the rest of us! Anyway, even if it does, they'll just slow us down; it's a no go, I...

She trailed off in her sentence, and her features softened for a second, and for that second, she seemed, despite her huge scar, almost beautiful.

"I am sorry, Attelus but..."

+We are taking them with us!+ Karmen's voice suddenly echoed through my thoughts, and everyone else's it seemed as we all seemed to flinch in fright simultaneously.

"Is that you, the infamous Karmen Kons, I've heard so much about!" snarled Helma. "You finally deem us worthy enough to speak to us?"

+I have been occupied,+ she replied hesitantly, and I could see she was exhausted. +I can tell you for a fact, captain, that Taryst's ship does indeed have enough space for them and us. We are taking them with us!+

"But...!" tried Helma, but Karmen interrupted her.

+There is no time to argue! There are very few mercenaries left now, and soon the Astartes will be here!+

Helma grimaced, looking like she'd try to argue more, but she let out a huge, irritated groan before bellowing.

"Alright! Alright! Attelus, it's because of you; they're here, so they're your damned responsibility! The witch is right! We've got to move!"

With that, she waved us onward, and we began toward the exit. I fell in step with Adelana.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I shrugged and pursed my lips. "I did nothing; it's Karmen you should thank, not me," I said, and I couldn't help wonder why she did.

She shrugged back. "You still tried, so thank you."

She hid it well, very well, actually, but with all my years of training, I could still tell the poor girl was utterly terrified. I couldn't help but be impressed and even a bit envious. She was better than me at hiding her emotions even after all that time I had spent as Glaitis' apprentice. Already, I could see potential in her, great potential.

That might've been why Karmen had insisted they come with us.

"It was the very least I could do," I said, feeling my face flush almost walked into Hayden's back as he and the others suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Too late," said Helma as five Space Marines, their bolters raised, abruptly fanned out into the cavernous room.

"How?" managed Roldar, a nanosecond before the Space Marines opened fire.



With all five shots fired, someone went down, Jelket's right arm exploded, and the poor man couldn't even scream as he was flung onto his back and instantly lost consciousness. Selg's large chest suddenly had a huge hole I could've seen through if it wasn't for the deluge of blood. One of the Stormtroopers lost his head, literally. Another's torso simply evaporated, and a third Stormtrooper's hip and stomach were gone.

The rest of us leapt for the cover of the surrounding cogitators; I gripped Adelana by the arm and pulled her roughly after me. The old, gruff man being a combat veteran, wasn't far behind, but the middle-aged woman flung herself foolishly to the floor, but the boy didn't even move. He just stood still, slack-jawed and stupefied, and I couldn't blame him, in all honesty. Not even I could run fast enough to save him before a bolt round exploded his body from the hips upward into nothing but red mist.

Adelana cried out what I assumed to be the boy's name, but I couldn't even begin to hear her over the deafening cacophony, which seemed to shake the entire structure to its core.

But the woman somehow miraculously stayed unscathed as she coward through the chaos.

The survivors leaned out and fired back; there were countless lines of cogitators between the Marines and us. But they were shattered and smashed easily; they wouldn't protect us for too much longer.

I cursed, kneeling and clutching at my sword. I was useless right now, there was no way I could dash across the room through that amount of bolter fire without being hit, and even if I did somehow manage that, then I'd be locked in close combat with five frigging Space Marines.

Fighting one at a time was bad enough, thank you!

I felt a shaking hand grab at my flak jacket's sleeve, and I turned to find it was Adelana, her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears. It pained me to see her so upset, and she pointed at the woman who was still curled up in the middle of the thoroughfare, still somehow unharmed. I knew what Adelana wanted me to do; I didn't care much for the woman, in all honesty. But with a roar, I suicidally sprinted from cover, grabbed the woman by the scruff and hurled her behind the next line of cogitators. Despite her obvious obesity, I threw her easily and even over the bolter fire, I heard a crunch and her piggish squeal in agony as the impact broke something. It made me wince in sympathy.

I darted back to join up with Adelana and the old man, feeling the fire strafing my wake.

As I made it, Adelana abruptly threw her arms around me in a tight embrace; her thanks murmured into my chest as the old man clasped my shoulder, and I couldn't help but think what Karmen thought of this.

"Karmen!" I roared. "Karmen! Why the hell didn't you see them coming? You've gotta do something we're trapped like rats and pinned down!" Please!"

+I am doing something!+ her voice growled in my head so strong it made me wince with pain. +I need to concentrate, so leave me alone! Just watch your left!+

Her psychic voice conveyed more than just anger at my interruption, but also something else. Shaking away the thought, I looked left, past the cowering woman and the blank, black plastcrete wall beyond.

What the hell did she mean by that? Adelana let go of me as we saw Roldar die; a bolt round blew half his torso into oblivion as he attempted to lean out to shoot his inherited hellgun.

"Damn it!" I breathed. "Roldar!"

Another Stormtrooper was torn apart a second after, Torris, who took cover beside the poor bastard, screamed as fragments of bone and carapace armour embedded in him. He fell to the floor, clutching at his face.

Then I saw something I never thought I'd ever see; Arlathan Karkin burst from cover with surprising speed, grabbed the unconscious Jelket by the gorget of his flak armour and pulled him into shelter. Halsin then ran up and began the utterly pointless attempt at stemming the blood.

I sighed and shook my head while scratching the back of my skull, Torris was surely a more savable cause, but he was two rows back, so they didn't know he was injured at all.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" yelled Adelana, sounding admirably calm.

I opened my mouth, my first instinct to lie, but as I met her gaze, it died in my throat.

Instead, my reply was a sad smile, and carefully, I peered around the corner to see the Space Marines. They hadn't advanced at all, just stood out in the opening, shooting through the lines of cogitators; there were only a dozen rows left; we didn't have much time.

A hand landed lightly on my shoulder, making me flinch in fright, and I turned to see it was the old man. He held pushed me aside and pulled out an autopistol that was tucked in his pants. Tears welled in my eyes as I instantly recognised it. It was Castella's; she'd given it to him in the mailroom hours before.

I fought the urge to snatch the pistol from his hand as he raised it and fired. The pistol was now his, and I had no right to take it.

Besides, he'd be better at shooting it than me, I was sure.

The old man emptied the clip pistol's clip and miraculously wasn't torn apart in those ten seconds.

With practised professionalism, he pulled back, ejected the empty clip and reloaded, then turned to me.

"Where is she?" he asked. "The nice, beautiful young woman who had given me this?"

I winced and hissed, my attention falling to the floor.

The man's expression turned sympathetic as he instantly understood.

"I am sorry," he grunted. "I hope she died well."

I shrugged, my eyes still downcast, not sure if she did.

"Well!" he said as he popped out to shoot a few shots. "Have no fear! It looks as though we will be joining her soon! At the God Emperor's side!"

Again, I shrugged and shuffled my feet, knowing that I won't be, not for long anyway. Also, because I knew that sentiment was complete and utter bs, to be absorbed by the warp was the only fate for our souls.

I wanted to say this but held my tongue, knowing now wasn't the time for such words.

I winced as the echoing destruction of the cogitators became even louder; it would be soon, very soon, I would be losing even more friends.

+Clear the left side wall!+ said Karmen, +and be ready to move!+

"What?" I said less than a second before an explosion suddenly shuddered the entire place; it was so strong that even the Space Marines hesitated in their fire. Another followed that it knocked the old man off his feet, and I stopped Adelana from falling with a quick hand on her shoulder.

+Someone, hold on to me please!+ she cried, then there was a third explosion.

I saw a large part of the wall had become superheated, and I realised what was happening a second before the fourth explosion finally blew a huge hole through in a rain of heavy, ground shaking debris. Instantly a flier screamed through the gap; the pintle-mounted Autocannon set in the ships open side spewing withering fire at the Space hovered low off the floor and waited.

+Get in!+ Karmen screamed.

It took me less than a second to recover my wits then I was pushing Adelana and the old man toward it.

"Go! Go!" I yelled, and they needed no more prompting; they ran across the gap and together helped the injured woman to her feet.

I glanced out from the corner; the Space Marines had fallen back into the corridor; not even their armour could withstand Autocannon fire for long. Yet still, they were trying to shoot from behind their cover.

After seeing this, I sprinted out, straight toward Karmen, Jelket, Arlathan, Halsin and a remaining Stormtrooper.

"I'll take Karmen!" I yelled, pushing past the Stormtrooper to take her bed off him. "Arlathan, Halsin! Take Jelket! You! Torris is injured behind the last row; he needs your help!"

I didn't wait for a reply before I was moving again, almost recklessly pushing her toward the flier as bolt rounds exploded around me, she was strapped down so safe from falling off, but I could still trip and fall easily.

Eventually, I reached the flier, running to the other side, then, with Adelana's and the old man's help, lifted her inside.

I turned in time to see Verenth, Vex, and Helma climb inside; both of them didn't bother to spare me a look; both looked beyond terrified. Verenth looked like he was on the verge of despair; Selg was dead, his friend. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.

I slipped past and looked around the edge of the flier, seeing to my satisfaction that they'd followed my orders. Arlathan and Halsin carried poor Jelket, who, much to my shock, was somehow now semi-conscious. His head lolled about, his face a mask of shock and agony.

Following them was the Stormtrooper struggling with Torris, the large ex arbitrator's arm over his shoulder, his face coated entirely in blood. I looked down to the entrance, seeing the Space Marines were properly pinned, but I doubted that they would be for much longer. I saw no sign of any.

Without hesitation, I sprinted forward, making the roughly twenty-metre space in such a short time the Stormtrooper didn't notice me until I was slipping Torris' left arm over my shoulders, forcing him to flinch in fright.

"Come on!" I roared, and together we ran toward the flier.

Just then, the frigging Autocannon decided to run out of ammunition.

I reacted faster than even I knew, shoving the Stormtrooper into cover. He cried out and fell to the floor as I slipped beside him.

With a roar, I lifted Torris onto my back; he was a good one hundred and thirty kilograms even out of his armour. It was a feat of strength I would've been utterly incapable of before my enhancement, but even now, it was a struggle; my back and legs screamed in pain.

Roaring again, I ran on with all the speed I could muster, stepping side to side in a pathetic bid to avoid the surely soon to come bolter fire, but I knew it was all for nothing. I heard Torris mutter something about leaving him behind.

But the bolter fire never came; instead, there was a yell, a pained cry that made me look over my shoulder; what I saw made my eyes widen with surprise and almost stop in my tracks entirely.

Darrance was amongst the Space Marines, his power scimitar a blur of slashes, keeping them at bay. One of the big bastards was on the ground, both of his legs cut off at the knees, three of them were disarmed, their bolters cut in twain and discarded on the floor.

The Stormtrooper then caught up and helped me carry Torris the rest of the way. We don't bother to take him around the other side of the flier; together with help from Arlathan and Halsin, we lifted Torris into the ship.

+Get in!+ Karmen roared in my mind, but I ignored her, turning back to watch Darrance in his desperate fight.

"No!" I said and started into a sprint, activating my power sword in a blaze of blue light.

+Attelus!+ she cried, but I ignored her; enough people had died this day! I didn't like Darrance; he was arrogant and, at times, downright cruel and incredibly condescending. A jerk who I would never even consider being friends with, but he was a comrade; we'd fought side by side on numerous occasions. He had willingly put his life on the line against the ornithopter only because I'd asked. He'd stood up for me when Etuarq had cruelly torn into me verbally.

I wasn't going to let another comrade die after losing so many already, not even Darrance.

As I ran, Darrance was abruptly disarmed, one of the Space Marines smashing his sword from his grasp with a mere flick of his wrist, then he was in the midst of wrapping his huge paw around the stunned Darrance's neck was when I converged on them.

All their attention was on my comrade, so they didn't see me coming until my power sword sliced through the wrist of the Space Marine, reaching to crush my comrade's windpipe. I darted forward and cut apart another's bolter.

"let's go!" I roared, and we turned, sprinting and weaving as the last remaining bolter fired at our backs while the rest gave chase. Their huge feet hit the floor so hard it was a struggle for me to keep my footing as they shook everything.

"Karmen!" I yelled. "Get the flier going!"

She didn't respond.

"Karmen!"

+You're insane!+ she screamed, her psychic voice high pitched with panic and upset.

"Just...frigging...do...it!" I screamed, wanting to say, 'I'm nearly there,' but said nothing, knowing now wasn't the time for my snark.

A second later, the flier lifted off and started toward the huge hole in the wall, hovering only about a metre off the floor.

With a feral snarl, I picked up the pace and glanced over my shoulder; Darrance was lagging a good three metres behind. He was barely keeping his distance from the pursuing Marines.

"Frig!" I snarled as I saw the nearest Marine's gauntleted hand reaching to wrap around Darrance's ankle.

The hotshot took the Marine straight in the face; it didn't kill him but sent him sprawling backwards, head over heels, smashing hard into the Astartes running just behind.

Despite myself, I laughed and turned away, raising my sword in thanks to Hayden a second before the flier flew through the hole.

I veered right as the distance lessened and saw the flier turn outside, so its side was facing the tower, Hayden and Arlathan waving us in. The gap was a good five metres wide; I was pretty confident I'd make it, even onto a rumbling, constantly moving flier, just, but Darrance...

It was a frigging long way down, thirty-one stories down to a very, very messy death.

Despite this, I didn't hesitate, throwing myself into oblivion toward the open. I screamed, my arms swinging, flailing around as if it'd make me go further somehow. I mustn't have spent more than a second flying through the air, but it felt like a million frigging years. A million years, screaming before finally landing on the ledge of the passenger area of the flier with such strength, it caused pain to echo up my legs and me to cry out.

I cried out, my hands spinning around as I began to overbalance and fall. Arlathan's hand grabbed me by the collar of my flak jacket and pulled me back in.

Arlathan looked like he was about to say something, but I ignored him and turned just in time to see Darrance jumping off after me.

Instantly, I knew he wasn't going to make it, not by a long shot.

With a cry, I sheathed my sword, threw myself to the floor and reached out, down below the flier's bottom side and my fingers barely wrapped around the wrist of Darrance's reaching arm.

Darrance yelled out, and he swung to a stop as the flier began to pull away.

"That is the second time I meant to die today!" he cried. "But it is the second time you've stopped me from doing so! Soon you might be even with me, apprentice!"

I laughed and began to pull him up, but there was a cry of dismay; then something huge and heavy landed abruptly landed into the flier. Something so huge and heavy it caused the ship to tilt sideways a good thirty degrees violently. Before even I could react, I abruptly slid off the deck and flew into empty air.

I screamed, and my hand shot out desperately, only just catching the ledge with my index finger and thumb. I cried out again; the wind and cold battered at me as I struggled to get a better grip while the combined weights of Darrance and me threatened to make me let go. The flier abruptly adjusts itself flat, only a split second after I got my grip, but I still couldn't see what was going on inside the flier.

A dead body was suddenly flung from the flier. I knew it was dead because it didn't scream, and I managed to see brains and blood flood from its crushed skull. The blood coated Darrance and me as it dropped by us. I couldn't tell who it was; it fell too fast.

I hoped to hell it wasn't Adelana.

"Karmen!" I screamed as the flier began to veer, and my fingers started to slip. "Help me!"

Then on the left, someone abruptly fell to the deck, their head over the edge, looking down at me with wide eyes. It was the old man; I still couldn't remember his name.

"Help! Please!" I cried.

The old man didn't reply, couldn't reply as two huge, armoured fingers wrapped around his neck and squeezed.

The man's head popped off with an almost absurd abruptness, then his corpse was tilted forward and off the edge, falling through the black-brown clouds out of sight.

Then the Marine appeared over us; its red eyes unforgiving, unrelenting then reached out.

I cried out and closed my eyes, preparing myself for the pain and long fall after, but instead, I felt the fingers wrap gently, almost daintily around my hand, and suddenly, I was hauled back onto the craft along with Darrance. The Marine lifted us with breathtaking ease.

Gasping for breath, I tried to comprehend what had just happened, but I was quickly answered.

+I cannot hold it for much longer!+ Karmen's voice screamed through my thoughts.

Either she had miscalculated or was using understatement because a split second later, he shook his head and was seeming to regain himself. Then began to advance on Darrance, drawing back his fist. I fumbled for my sword, seeing now that Darrance had lost his, but my arms, my fingers and upper body screamed with pain. I glance about, leaning on my left elbow to see the others were crowded in the furthest corner, holding on for dear life. Adelana was there, much to my relief, Arlathan, Verenth, Torris and the old woman, the one remaining Stormtrooper. Helma and Halsin were laid still on the deck. Hayden's back was sitting back against the wall beside Karmen's bed and Jelket; his head hung limping lifelessly forward, and I winced as I saw his right shoulder was almost crushed into pulp.

Darrance scrambled back, trying to make space between him and the behemoth, but his back quickly hit the edge of the entranceway. The Marine, punching to crush Darrance's slightly built body.

The hotshot round exploded deafeningly through the flier, hitting the Space Marine in the punching hand, causing him to stumble slightly. I turned to see Hayden; he had his smoking long las raised with one hand.

It was only a slight opening, but it was enough as Arlathan sprinted forward with a roar and the Stormtrooper opened fire with his hellgun, blasting the Marine in the face in an almost constant stream of laser shots.

Arlathan drew a short sword from a sheath on his belt, and it came to life in a blaze of light. I recognised it immediately as one of Glaitis' power blades. I'd forgotten he'd taken it after her death and, with one slash, cut it into the back of the Space Marine's knee.

The Marine didn't make a sound, no scream or anything, but his leg gave out even still, and he dropped into a kneel.

Before Arlathan could finish him, the Space Marine swung out his hand and clipped the Magistratum detective's chest. I winced with the sound of bones breaking, and he f against the wall, unconscious. He would've slipped out the door if Torris hadn't run out and stopped him.

One of Hayden's hot shots hit the Space Marine square in the face, breaking in the Marine's faceplate and sent him crashing onto his back, growling, writhing.

Darrance was finally on his feet and running as I felt hands wrap around my arms and began dragging me across the floor. I looked over my shoulder to see it was Adelana and Vex.

I gave Adelana a smile which she returned and turned to watch as Darrance snatched up the fallen sword, activated it and plunged it down into the Marine's throat, with all of his weight and momentum behind it.

The Marine's blood coated the deck, but he wasn't dead as he tried to crush Darrance in his grasp, one last ditch to kill another of us before he bleeds out, but with a roar, Darrance tore the sword through his chin, then skull and lastly out the top of his helm in an explosion of ichor.

It was exactly how I'd killed the Sergeant earlier.

Darrance abruptly fell to his knees as the rest of us just looked on, utterly stunned at what had just happened.

We'd escaped from the building, so now what?

+Someone close the doors,+ said Karmen, her tone was strained and pained, but also I could hear the anger in there. More than likely, anger aimed at me for a myriad amount of different reasons.

+We are going to fly to the top of the tower,+ she said. +There is little oxygen there, and it is freezing, someone, please close the doors and get seated..+

Her tone could've been mistaken as condescending, but I could tell it was exhaustion mixed with impatience.

Torris and the Stormtrooper were the ones who finally found themselves enough to slide close the doors.

"What?" said Darrance as he approached the unconscious Arlathan and started to check his vital signs. "What do you plan on doing then? Shooting your way in again?"

Karmen's weighted silence was enough to say that was precisely what she was planning.

Slowly, I climbed to my feet, helped by Adelana and Vex.

"There must be Space Marines up there already," I said as we went to approach the seats.

+I have the void shield still activated,+ she said. +They cannot enter Taryst's quarters if they are. I can deactivate it once we get there!+

I sighed and looked around; Helma was stirring; there was a huge, black bruise across her face, and the Stormtrooper picked her up and placed her into a seat. Darrance was helping poor Halsin, who was conscious now but pale and pained, it looked like his right arm and left shoulder was broken.

For a second, I couldn't help gape; how the hell hadn't the Space Marine killed more of us? Then the sound of someone crying caused me to jump from my thoughts and turn to Adelana. She was weeping, her attractive features all scrunched up; I wouldn't say it made her unattractive, just a little less so than usual.

I didn't know what to say or do; she sat right next to me; surely there was something I could do? I remembered when I'd wept when I'd first met Estella, she'd hugged me close, but I didn't know if she'd appreciate that. Instead, the old woman staggered up to us and hugged poor Adelana close.

"It's okay, honey, it's okay," she murmured while stroking Adelana's long red hair, and I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing. After all these years being under Glaitis tutelage, she'd taught me much, how to read people, how to manipulate them for your ends. But never did she ever show me what to do for people when they were upset.

I felt stupid; I felt incredibly awkward.

"I...I'm sorry," I managed, making Adelana's red, puffy-eyed attention look at me, causing me to flinch. Did she somehow know I was indirectly responsible for this?

But my fears were allayed as she smiled. "It's okay," she said. "You didn't kill them, but why? I don't understand. Why are the Space Marines trying to kill us? We did nothing wrong! Aren't they meant to be protecting us?"

I looked away and pulled out my pack of Lhos, suddenly feeling like I really needed one.

"You know, don't you?" she asked, but there was no anger in her voice.

"I do," I said sadly while lighting the Lho stick, clenched in my teeth. "It's complicated."

A thought made me suddenly smile. "Or as a friend would've said, 'it's convoluted.'"

Darrance approached and sat next to Vex. "It is, young mamzel," he said. "You are better off not knowing, in fact."

"It's Taryst, isn't it!" said the old woman. "He was into some dodgy business, wasn't he?"

My eyes widened, and I looked at her; I hadn't heard 'dodgy' being used that way since...

"Ma'am, may I ask, you wouldn't be from Elbyra? Or to be more precise, Velrosia?"

The woman nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I am, was from Salthain, a town in the south. My husband and me left for Omnartus after the war; why did you ask?"

I smiled. "I recognised your use of 'dodgy' in that context. I'm also from Velrosia, Varander, in fact. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Just a bit!" she exclaimed. "Now I think on it, your accent does seem familiar."

I shook my head, funny how such a vast galaxy could somehow seem so small at times.

"You're right," I said, my expression turning stern. "It was Taryst who was responsible for this, all of this in fact. He was us to 'dodgy business.' Although now isn't the time for me to explain. I'll tell you everything once we've escaped."

"Really?" said Adelana, her eyes wide with disbelief.

I flinched under her gaze, knowing that I shouldn't really make such a promise.

"I will," I said, despite my hesitation; they truly did deserve to know. If they made it out alive, they deserved to know the how and the why Omnartus burned.

'Omnartus burned,' I was already referring to it in the past tense, how easily that'd come to me.

Castella sure as hell wouldn't have approved of that.

"You were close, weren't you?" I asked Adelana.

She nodded. "They were more than just work colleagues, Attelus. Grayhelt was like another dad to me, and Velg was a true friend. They...I...I can't believe they're dead."

So that was their names! I decided to make an effort to remember them; they were more innocents dead because of me, and soon, very soon, there would be many more.

Many, many more.

I looked sidelong at Adelana; soon, she'd have to deal with the trauma of not just losing the rest of her friends and family but her whole world.

Perhaps Castella was right; perhaps it wasn't a good idea to save her after all.



+We will be at the top of the tower in thirty seconds,+ said Karmen sullenly. +Get ready; there are rebreathers under your seats. The climate display shows it's minus twenty degrees outside, so be prepared for the cold.+

I switched on the internal heater inside my bodyglove, unbuckled my restraining harness and slipped off my flak jacket, handing it to Adelana.

"Put this on; you'll sure as hell will need it," I said.

She looked me up and down, her full lips parted slightly. "What about you?" she breathed hesitantly.

I was wearing a tight, sleeveless bodyglove with jeans. I must've looked pretty stupid, giving her my warm, armoured jacket.

"Don't worry about me," I said with a smile. "Got heaters inside my bodyglove, I'll be good."

She nodded, looking nonplussed as she started to slip my jacket on.

I turned away and started to take out the rebreathers from underneath the seats, but I still managed to catch a glimpse of Adelana and the old woman exchanging meaningful looks as she climbed to her feet.

I gave them a rebreather each and slipped mine on, then helped them put on theirs. They were single visored, expensive pieces designed for combat., the oxygen tanks had straps so they could be worn as a backpack.

+I am opening fire with the lascannon, now!+ snarled Karmen and instantly I heard the familiar sound of lascannon shots through the flier.

Darrance walked by; I could tell he was smirking at me even through his rebreather.

"You have complained about your luck on too many occasions to count, apprentice," he said, as he started to help Jelket off his seat with his good arm. "But look at me this day, I have broken my arm, had to run up almost thirty-one stories worth of stairs with a Space Marine chasing after me. I have lost my prized and mastercrafted power weapon and almost got pulped by an autocannon on an ornithopter. But you! You get yet another girlfriend! When will it be poor Darrance's turn, I wonder!"

I flinched and felt my face flush with embarrassment.

Then it was followed by a sudden urge to punch Darrance in the face.

I stormed across the deck and slipped up the slight staircase leading to the cockpit. Watching out the window as the pilot continuously blasted the roof of the corridor leading to Taryst's quarters. It was a strange sight, one which I never thought I'd ever see. Yet here it was, I never thought I'd ever had to go toe to toe and kill several Space Marines either, but for some reason, this seemed the strangest thing of all.

"What are we doing, Karmen?" I said.

She didn't reply.

I sighed. "If I look around the seat, I'm going to see the pilot is blank-eyed, utterly under your sway, aren't I?"

Again, no reply.

"Just like you did with the hundreds, no thousands of mercenaries under Taryst's employ, huh? Sacrificing them to the Space Marine guns so we could escape, am I right?"

+Attelus!+ she cried finally. +Now is not the time for this!+

"No, I guess it isn't," I growled. "Just tell me this, Estella Erith. Was this part of Taryst's plan, right from the start? If he didn't have me killed, would I have been amongst those slaved to your will, sacrificed so he could make his escape?"

Karmen sighed. +I would never have let that happen, Attelus. Why do you think I tried to have him recruit you properly?+

"I thought it was because I had 'potential,'" I said sarcastically. "And thank you for admitting it, Karmen! By the Emperor, he was truly a selfish arsehole. Have no idea what Jeurat saw in the bastard."

+Just like you see 'potential' in the Adelana girl?+ Karmen's voice snarled back. +I've seen the way you look at her, the way you talk to her! Do you think I'm blind or stupid? The ends justifies the means, Attelus! If we're able to escape to stop Etuarq from destroying more worlds, their sacrifice will be worth it! Besides, they were all going to die when the planet's destroyed in Exterminatus!+

"You sound just like Faleaseen," I gasped in exasperation.

+It's been done, Attelus! It is too late to argue about it! Let me ask you this, okay? How many people have you killed? Over the last day? Over the last seven months and the seven years of your career? They were just faces to you. Strangers, the men I controlled, I knew them, all of them! Their every desire, their every secret, their dreams. Do you think I wanted to make them die like that? No! I have to live with that, Attelus! I have to live with that guilt. Please don't make this harder than it is, please!+

I laughed bitterly. "You think you've got it bad, Karmen. You've got nothing on me! This whole world is going to die because of me! Billions of people; dead because I took one pict! At least when you die, you can forget your guilt and pain, but I will never get that."

+What?+

I didn't reply as abruptly the wall and roof caved in under the sustained lascannon fire.

Space Marines were standing on the rubble; their bolter fire exploded and panged off the fliers bodywork and window.

+We will discuss this later! Now get to the passenger area and be ready! I'm about to land this sucker.+

I clenched my jaw but still turned and slid down the handrails on my palms to the deck, hitting with a loud clang!

Adelana looked at me with wide, confused eyes, looking like she would ask me something but seemed to think better of it.

"I'll tell you later," I growled and walked past her.

She watched me as I did, looking like she was starting to regret getting involved with us, and I couldn't blame her, in all honesty.

The flier veered steeply to the right, and I joined with Darrance, the Stormtrooper and Verenth, standing at the door. The only four of us the only ones still in any condition to fight, and Darrance was a debatable case at best.

"What's your name?" Verenth asked the Stormtrooper, hauling his inherited Hellgun and adjusting the gun's pack on his back.

"Daylith," answered the Stormtrooper. "Trooper Daylith Vark."

Verenth nodded. "Good to meet you, Vark. I'm Gilret Verenth, good! Can't stand seeing all these guys dying around me who I don't even know their names or even their faces."

Vark nodded back. "I doubt we'll make it any further, those frigging Space Marines. They aren't human."

I couldn't help but smile; now that was the understatement of the millennia.

+Alright!+ came Karmen's voice. +There were eight of the bastards, but I had killed four with the lascannon. It's run out of energy, though. The rest of them have fallen back, their backs to the shield! You're going to have to hold them off until everyone else is off the flier, somehow.+

"Karmen!" I sighed. "Really? Four of them? You're frigging insane; you know that, right?"

"She is a psyker," said Darrance, sounding insufferably calm and cheery about it all. "They usually are."

+I...I know I'm asking much of you...+

"Hell, yes, you are!" interrupted Verenth.

+Just hold them off!+ she snapped. +And this isn't what I ask of you; this is what the circumstance asks of you. Succeed in this, and we live and if you don't...+

She let that hang.

+Once everyone else has disembarked, I'll take care of the rest, okay? Now open the door!+

Vark, his hand visibly shaking even with his thick, armoured gloves on, reached out and, with one swift tug, opened it. We hovered a few metres beside the strange sight of the rubble covered, red-carpeted corridor. A place I'd regularly been in for six months and hated every second of it, now it was destroyed, perhaps I should've been elated, but all I felt was dread.

Vark looked as though he was to jump, but I stopped him with an outreached hand.

"Darrance and I first," I said. "We'll draw their attention, allowing you and Verenth to get on there without being blown into bits, okay?"

The Stormtrooper's expression was hidden, but by how quick his nod was, I could tell he thought it was a damned good idea.

"Everyone!" I yelled over my shoulder and activated my sword in a blaze of blue. "Wish me luck!"

Without waiting for an answer, Darrance and I leapt.

A microsecond after my feet hit the debris, I was running diagonally across the width of the corridor. My eyes fixed on the Space Marines as their bolters opened up in a deafening crescendo and strafed my wake.

It was only four metres between them and me, but it may as well have been miles. As it was earlier, time seemed to slow. I could see and feel it all innately when they were pulling the triggers and where exactly they were aiming a microsecond before it happened.

I weaved, ducked and darted countless bolter rounds. I'd lost sight of Darrance in the utter chaos of light and sound, being too involved in me living from one split second to the next.

My progress slowed to a snail's pace; I'd barely been at it for a second or two, only made it half a metre before feeling fatigue ebb at my limbs.

Hellgun lasers started to stream overhead and sliced into one of the Space Marine's torsos. The bastard barely flinched and just fired at the shot's source.

I cursed, smashing away a bolt round flying for my head. I needed to get into close combat to stop them from firing at the others, but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't. Even if I did, even with my enhanced abilities, there was no way I could take on four of the Emperor's finest for very long.

"Faleaseen!" I screamed through clenched teeth. "I could really use your help right now!"

There was no answer, nothing, as a bolt round managed to skim my shoulder, but luckily didn't detonate, making me reel back. Utter agony and blood abruptly ran down the length of my arm.

I cried out but managed to keep my focus.

"Frig it!" I roared, giving up on trying to advance and purely devoted myself in deflecting the bolt rounds, sending countless of them hurtling away to detonate on the walls or floor.

Another shot skimmed me, glancing off my ribs, throwing me off my feet and to the floor.

Winded, gasping in agony, I kicked out my feet and was up again, darting and winding through the fuselage to draw their fire. I wanted dearly to look back to how my comrades were faring, but frigging didn't dare.

For a split second, the Space Marines seemed surprised at this, then concentrated their fire even more on me.

"You aren't going to kill any more of my friends!" I snarled. "You ugly, misshapen bastards!"

+Attelus!+ Karmen cried. +Everyone is off the flier now! Get back and down, now!+

"Why?" I snapped. "What the hell do you plan on doing?"

+Just do it!+

I threw myself to the floor, screaming at the pain it caused, just a nanosecond before the flier smashed suddenly through the left side wall and into the Space Marines. The impact rocked the whole tower to its very foundation. The integrity of the entire corridor had already weakened, cracked by the Lascannon fire, or else this would've been impossible. The flier's momentum caused it to slide and screech briefly across the floor, then crash out the opposite side of the corridor. It transformed into a hurtling fireball that plunged through the sky like a meteor, and I could see the now laughably small figures of the Marines falling along with it.

It all happened so quickly that it seemed they were there, then they just weren't.

Then the void shield flickered and disappeared.

+Move! Move!+ urged Karmen. +More of them will be here soon!+

Slowly, I picked myself up, still awed by it all as the others hurried past me. I saw much to my surprise that both Verenth and the Stormtrooper (Who I was ashamed to admit, I'd already forgotten the name of) had made it. Verenth was helping the medicae assistant, while the Stormtrooper did the same for Helma.

Arlathan was now up, helping the somehow still alive and breathing Jelket. Darrance walked by too, looking unharmed beside his broken arm and was supporting Hayden, who seemed pale and pained. How the hell the sniper was still conscious after suffering his injury was beyond me.

Next was Adelana, she wheeled Karmen's bed, and I tried to meet her gaze, but her attention stayed firmly forward. Her mask of fearlessness was gone, and she looked terrified, completely, utterly terrified. I had a horrible feeling she was scared of me.

Lastly, it was Vex, and the old woman, both of them had Torris' arms laid across their shoulders. Her attention was to the floor, but Vex was looking at me.

"Remind me to never to punch you again," he said, raising his black bruised knuckles to me. "Still hurts like a trigger, and after seeing you do that..."

I nodded nervously after seeing what I'd just done. Dodging and deflecting all that, they must've thought I was some freak, that I was as unnatural as one of those Space Marines, and I was, to an extent.

With a sigh, I deactivated my sword's power field and sheathed it, slipped my hands into the pockets of my pants and followed them.

I entered through the crimson curtains when I heard the elevator open and turned to see another two Space Marines emerge.

One was wearing very modified power armour and carried a bolter, a large crane jutted from the top of his back, and I could see he had the cog on his left shoulder plate, announcing his allegiance to the Tech-Priests of Mars.

He must've been the one who had hacked the security of Taryst's elevator; that was how they'd been here before we'd arrived.

The other was in very ornate armour; his left hand was a power claw, sheathed in dancing light. His right held a plasma pistol.

I smiled at them, and as they raised their weapons and opened fire, I'd already stepped through the curtains, and the void shield activated.

+Yes, Attelus,+ said Karmen. +Taunt the Space Marines, such a good idea.+

I took out a lho stick, placed it in my mouth with my index finger and thumb then lit it.

"Come on, Karmen," I breathed, even though the very act of speaking hurt. "Allow me some fun in life, please."

Her reply was an exasperated sigh.



In silence, we rode the elevator down to Taryst's quarters. I sat alone in one of the corners, trying to cope with the constant agony.

All of us were exhausted or injured in one way or another. I was both. There was a massive tear right through the skin and tissue, down to the bone in my left arm. But already, the blood had clotted despite the hideousness of the wound, frig it was agony. It seemed my bone had deflected the bolt before it could detonate, or else I would've ended up just like poor Jelket.

Disarmed, literally, and I couldn't help but smile at the terrible joke.

The bolt round that had hit my side had torn a huge gash in my bodyglove; there, a horrific blue-black bruise was in plain sight. Again my wraithbone bone structure had deflected the shot before it blew a hole in my torso and before the kinetic force could pulp my internal organs into mush.

Adelana was kneeling next to the old woman who was curled up in pain against the opposite wall. I don't know what I'd broken when I'd thrown her, but she'd seemed to be able to cope with the pain it caused until now. She was quite a tough old bird; I had to admit. It didn't lessen the guilt I felt over hurting her, though I'd saved her life. I could've been a bit more gentle in the process. Guess I didn't know my own strength.

Adelana suddenly noticed I was looking at them and looked back at me with wide eyes.

I smiled at her, and despite the pain, it caused, gave her a small wave, but much to my hurt, she flinched, and her eyes abruptly fell to the floor.

Arlathan approached, limping the way while clutching at his side, then sat beside me but said nothing.

I sighed. "What, you think I'm some kind of freak as well?"

"No," he said, and my attention snapped to him, seeing it for the lie it was instantly.

Arlathan sighed too and, with a pained grunt, adjusted his seating, "yeah, alright, maybe a bit. We all saw you do all that stuff, dodging all those frigging bullets. I've never seen anyone move nearly as fast as you. Then we saw you get hit not once but twice, but still, get up and still keep going, that's just...that's just..."

"Impossible?" I said.

Arlathan only shrugged. "It's more unnatural. How? How did you get that way?"

I hissed through clenched teeth and closed my eyes as a new wave of pain passed through me. I almost lost myself to sleep in that second; it was an act of tempered will just to open my eyes again.

"It's...It's a long story," I hissed. "I'll tell you later."

Arlathan looked pointedly at my arm. "And that wound. I was given basic medicae training in the scholarium, and that wound shouldn't have stopped bleeding; hell, you should be unconscious from blood loss!"

"You say that with Jelket in the room," I growled. "Now, can you leave me alone? It's pretty frigging obvious I don't want to talk about this right now, okay?"

"You were the one who brought it up," said Arlathan with a shrug he instantly regretted. "At least give me smoke, could really use one right now."

With a heavy sigh, I opened my case of Lhos and handed him one. I was getting low; only five were left.

Arlathan smiled, took it, and I hesitantly lit it for him with my igniter.

"Think about this," Arlathan said as he exhaled smoke. "If I thought you were some; therefore, would I be sitting next to you, smoking your Lhos?"

"Yes," I said, without missing a beat.

Then we laughed, laughed like there was no tomorrow, laughed with the idiot joy that only those who knew they had survived something they shouldn't have survived could. I laughed even though each time it hurt.

Our laughter drew all attention to us and took us a good half a minute for us to stop.

I looked at Adelana once finally done; her expression was one of bemused, gaping horror as she gazed at me. The old woman had regained some of herself as she smiled at us in understanding.

"I can't believe we are still alive," gasped someone, and we looked to see it was the Stormtrooper; he kneeled on the floor, his hellgun pointed to the ceiling. "We should all be dead, Space Marines. I can't believe it; I just can't..."

He trailed off in his sentence, then he turned to me, his expression unreadable beneath his helm. "All because of you."

I furrowed my brow, unsure what to make of his panicked tone and started to get to my feet; sensing something wrong; I reached for my sword.

The Stormtrooper tore off his helmet, revealing plain, ruddy features and short messy blonde hair stood up and abruptly approached, his heavy boots clanging across the metal floor.

Then he suddenly fell into a kneel.

"Surely you are blessed," he said. "Surely you are an avatar of the Emperor's will! To be able to move so fast and survive those bolt rounds, you truly must be. The God-Emperor must have sent you to protect us!"

I took a step back, utterly bewildered, and Torris burst out in a bitter barking laugh, followed immediately by a horrid groan of pain.

"I'm not, I'm not," I stammered.

"Yes, you must be!" he said on. "In the scholam, they taught us of the saints, ones said to be an embodiment of the God-Emperor himself, they taught us they fought with inhuman strength, speed; Iand endurance. Just the same as you."

I laughed nervously and realised everyone's attention was on me. Arlathan looked on with an amused smile. Adelana's expression was that of profound confusion. Still, I could see a bit of understanding glinting in her bright blue eyes, she too must've been wondering how I was able to do what I did, and she must've thought his explanation made sense; the old woman had a very similar look. My heart sunk at such a thought.

Verenth's brow furrowed, and his arms folded over his chest as if the mere thought I could be the chosen of the Emperor made him want to break something, probably me.

Vex was sitting, arms wrapped around his knees, looking up at me through his glasses, his expression unreadable, and yet again, I was reminded how frigging young he was.

Torris seemed amused like Arlathan, but sarcastically, as though he knew that I was so far from being chosen by the Emperor, the Stormtrooper couldn't have been any more mistaken.

And I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"I'm not!" I snapped, managing to regain my wits. "Get the frig up now!"

"But..!"

"Get the frig up!" I yelled, anger abruptly overtaking me. "I don't even think the Emperor is even a god! I Haven't even been to an ecclesiarchy service for years! I'm the least pious person you could ever meet! You're so frigging mistaken it isn't funny! Now get the hell up!"

Again, the Stormtrooper hesitated.

"Now!" I roared.

He slowly got to his feet, glaring at me balefully and almost nose to nose. "So, what are you then, huh?" he snarled through his teeth.

I said nothing, just glared back, a glare that said, 'someone who can kill you before you can blink, so shut up and back down.'

The Stormtrooper did, spitting on the floor before retreating into a corner, his face foul.

I held back a sigh and turned away, trying to look discretely sidelong at Adelana to see how she'd reacted to that. She watched me walk by, gaping up at me in what could've been awe or fear in equal measure.

The elevator then abruptly found the floor, shaking to a halt, before the doors slid swiftly open.

I was the first to step into that familiar white, brightly lit corridor, the cells lining the sides of the walls and couldn't help but blanch as I realised the others were going to see the corpses still in them.

Vex, who was helping Halsin, was the next out; then it was the Stormtrooper with Helma and Verenth aiding Jelket. Last were the bewildered Adelana and old woman, pushing Karmen's bed. I meant to ask what the woman's name was but felt it would've seemed rude.

I allowed the others to pass and fell in step with Adelana.

"I'm sorry, Adelana," I whispered to her. "I have no idea what you can make of all this."

She looked at me, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't understand what's going on, Attelus," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Space Marines? Why are we here? Why are they killing us? I heard you talking to yourself, or her," she nodded at Karmen as she laid lifeless on the bed. "You were saying something about this world dying soon and that you feel guilty about it, that at least when she dies she could escape her guilt, but you won't be able to; what did you mean by that? How were you able to hit the Marines gunshots with your sword and dodge them? If you aren't chosen by the Emperor, then how were you able to do all of that? The way you said it, it seemed you knew for a complete fact that you weren't, and she's a psyker; how did she become part of this organisation? I...I...I."

She looked like she was going to have a panic attack, and I reached out to comfort her but abruptly drew it back as I thought better. I barely knew her; she barely knew me; I didn't know if it'd be appreciated.

"I'm sorry, Adelana," I sighed and shook my head. "I will tell you everything soon, I swear I will, but I will say this. This is reality; this is the era we live in; there is only war, Adelana. There may not have been war on Omnartus, nor most worlds in the Calixis sector, but it is always somewhere. It has found you; I'm sorry to say, as it had found me, as it has found countless upon of others. Trillions before us and more to come. I'm sorry, so, so sorry."

She looked at me, a sad, almost sympathetic smile on her face that seemed to say. 'What happened to you that made you like this? Whatever it was, I am sorry.'

I looked away, unable to stand her pity.

"What's the password?" growled the Stormtrooper; he stood at the keypad, his eyes hooded sullenly and looking at me. Everyone else looked into the cells with wide-eyed horror."

I cleared my throat. "It's j-garrakson."

The Stormtrooper raised an eyebrow, but that was that as he turned away and typed it in. The door swished open, and he flinched in slight fright.

"Vex!" I said; he was staring into the cell that contained Interrogator Heartsa's corpse. He instantly snapped from his stupor and looked at me.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"Get onto Taryst's cogitator," I said, even though I knew he knew what we expected of him. "Hack it and get all the data you can."

Vex nodded, and we filed into the small room. Jelket was placed on the bed with the Halsin and Helma while the rest of us milled around. I fought the urge to join them and my eyelids from closing.

Vex pulled out a miniature cogitator from a bag slung under his shoulder, pulled out a cord and connected it into the giant black table and began to type into it loudly.

I leaned my back against the wall and began to take out my ceramic case of Lhos. Then I caught Adelana looking at me again from the other side of the room, still with that damnable smile, and she didn't look away when I looked back.

I wanted to tell her to keep her pity to herself but felt it was more than I deserved from someone like her. But the more I saw, the more it didn't seem like pity; it was something else, something I couldn't place my finger on.

Before I could think more about it, Darrance walked up to me. "We have better take a look at that ship. You know where it is; there might be medicae facilities on it."

I nodded, pushed myself off the wall and walked for that small door. It slid open, and we began down the corridor lined with shelves holding many plasteek supply boxes.

"Attelus Xanthis Kaltos," said Darrance, and it made me stop in my tracks and turn back.

"What did you just call me?" I said.

Darrance shrugged. "Your name, or has it been so long since you have heard it that you have forgotten it?"

"Is that your idea of a joke?" I asked with genuine bemusement.

He shook his head. "You don't know anything about me, do you?"

"No, I don't," I said with an uncaring shrug and folding my arms across my chest.

"Just like I don't know how you became what you are now," he said. "But I do know that it all happened after that psyker had visited your medicae room. It seemed strange to me why Glaitis had made them keep you on life support for so long after the Twilight Bar incident, and now I know why. You were going to be her new little super-assassin that you were made, no—engineered to be the one to finally kill your father. What did that psyker do to you, exactly? I saw frigging bolter rounds bounce off you. It has scared the others, but you know that already, right?"

"Yeah, I know," I sighed and turned to start. "It's even more complicated than that, believe me."

"You just have to be careful," he said. "If an Inquisitor besides Brutis Bones sees that, they might have you captured and on an operating table before even you can blink, okay?"

"Good to know you care, Darrance!" I said with a slight wave of my hand, still walking and keeping my back to him. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You bloody well better!" he snapped at my back.

The small door slid open, and I stepped into the hanger. The massive ship loomed over me and dominated the place. Weapons bristled all over it; there was a Lascannon on each wing, three high yield heavy bolter turrets, one on top, one on the bottom and one on the back. Lastly was a Plasma cannon set underneath the nose.

It was streamlined and smooth, made for speed as well as comfort, thirty metres long and a good sixteen wide, excluding the wings, which were both about half the length of the body. I couldn't identify what design it was or make; I didn't have much knowledge in such subjects. But I could tell it would easily transport us all no problem.

I just hoped it was warp travel capable; Glaitis' ship in orbit had warp drives, a Geller field all of it, assuming it was even still there; with the vox down, there was no way to know.

The door swished open behind me, and I heard Darrance let out a long whistle.

"Nice," he said, and I looked over my shoulder at him.

"What's nice?" I asked.

"Why the ship, of course," he said. "A Salvani class VIII Guncutter, I can see Taryst spared no expense and had a good taste while at it."

"A Guncutter?" I said. "So, not warp-capable?"

Darrance snorted and shook his head with an amused smile, then approached the ship, rubbing his hand on its sheened metal surface.

"A ship this size isn't even slightly large enough to house a warp drive, let alone a Geller field, too," he said. "You show your ignorance spectacularly."

I pursed my lips and shrugged, feeling he was merely stating a fact rather than trying to insult me.

"We all can't know everything about everything," I said.

It was Darrance's turn to shrug, but he said nothing, so enraptured by the Guncutter.

"It'll have an internal medicae capability, right?" I said. "If this ship is so frigging, super special awesome and all."

"Yes," he said while beginning to walk around the ship, gaping in awe.

I had no idea that Darrance was so into ships; he would've been the last person I could've imagined being interested in such a subject.

"I would even say the medicae facility would even be automated," he said after a long pause. "I would suggest you get the psyker and the other injured here."

"She has a name, you know," I said.

"I'm sure she does," he said almost wistfully, still keeping his back to me, still sliding his hand across the Guncutter.

"Fine," I said. "Be that way, then."

I turned to walk away when the door suddenly slid open, and Adelana stepped into the hanger.

"Oh, hi!" I said and felt a smile unintentionally crossing my face.

She smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Vex sent me; he's managed to get into the cogitator's vox system. We've received a communique, and she wants to talk to you."

I nodded; she looked very visibly scared all of a sudden.

"Yes," she said, shivering despite the warmth in here. "She said...She said that she was an Inquisitor."



Adelana, Darrance and I emerged back into the quarters.

Everyone who could still stand was crowded around the cogitator desk, gazing down at the large display. It was now showing the head and shoulders of; a woman wearing black, ornate power armour. Her skin was a dark chocolate brown, and her blue eyes were incredibly piercing, suggesting they were extremely advanced augmetics. Her long, thin white hair tied into a top knot.

I stepped into view of the display, the others stepping aside to allow me in.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she saw me.

"You are Attelus Kaltos," she said; her voice boomed from the speaker; it was the confident voice of someone who was a leader, a true leader and who knew it but didn't revel in this knowledge. It was a statement, not a question.

I managed a nod, and she smiled, it was a sensual smile, but it wasn't pleasant at all. It was almost predatory.

"Yes," she said. "Wesley had told me much about you in his reports. I apologise; allow me to introduce myself. I am Inquisitor Jelcine Enandra of the Ordo Hereticus."

She held up a Rosette, briefly, casually as though such a thing didn't give her power and influence beyond measure.

"I have just arrived in the system," she said. "I have brought with me ten ships of the Calixis battlefleet, and they are about to engage the Space Marines."

I involuntarily flinched as some of the others suddenly let out a cheer.

Their elation didn't last long as Enandra's expression darkened and said, "I doubt they will last long, though; they are merely a distraction."

"A distraction?" said Arlathan. "A distraction for what?"

She sighed. "A distraction for your escape. My personal ship, the Audacious Edge, is built for battle and stealth, and we have entered the system undetected. We are orbiting the blind spot of the local star. It is at great risk that I am talking to you now."

"How?" said Darrance. "How did you get this frequency?"

Her eyes narrowed again but in bemusement. "Wesley gave it to me in one of his astropathic messages; he never told you that?"

"No," I said and wondered how the hell he got it in the first place; he seemed to have neglected to tell us a lot before his death.

+I gave it to him,+ said Karmen. +I gave him this frequency; I knew Taryst had a high powered vox situated down here, one capable of interplanetary communication. I felt that the reinforcements he sent for would need to know it, although I didn't believe it would amount to anything. Obviously, I was wrong.+

'Wesley also told us he never got any reply," I said. "Did you send anything back, mamzel?"

Enandra's eyes widened and straightened as if I'd asked the most stupid question in the verse.

"Yes, of course, I did," she said. "Where is he?"

"He's...He's dead," I answered hesitantly. "I'm sorry."

"Really?" she said but didn't seem at all upset by this, more surprised. "Always thought that old bastard was indestructible. Tell me later how and why he died; we don't have the time now. It's sad to hear; I was hoping he might be able to talk my former master down from this, rather disproportionate, retribution for Omnartus and its people."

Adelana and the old woman looked at me then, looking very anxious all of a sudden.

"You two should get to the ship," Arlathan said to them. "Take Karmen with you, please."

They both nodded and hurriedly; they took Karmen's bed then left the room.

"Did I say something wrong?" said Inquisitor Enandra.

I hissed air through clenched teeth, "not everyone knows everything."

"Frig yeah, we don't," said the Stormtrooper sullenly.

"What's happened to the System Defence Force ships?" said Arlathan.

"Already dead," stated Enandra. "Or, to be more precise, destroyed. The Space Marines had lost none of theirs in the process, but a few were damaged. The Marine ships are all now in orbit, blockading the planet's air traffic and destroying the orbital platforms and soon, very soon, they'll initiate the Exterminatus once the orbital battle is won."

"What about the surface to orbit defence turrets?" said Arlathan.

Enandra sighed again. "From what I understand, according to the PDF vox; I have been monitoring him, they seemed to have been...sabotaged."

"What?" said Arlathan, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Then it hit me. "it might've been the Adeptus Arbites!"

Enandra turned her head and said sceptically, "Adeptus Arbites?"

I nodded and quickly relayed the events of their earlier ambush. It was rushed and abridged, and I withheld some details.

Enandra looked at me sidelong once I finished, her jaw clenched slightly. She could tell that I'd skipped some things, but after a few seconds of pondering, she eventually nodded.

"I see," she said. "After you had informed me of that, your theory does have some merit, that they are either under the influence of my former master or Inquisitor Edracian, but at this point, it matters little. Do you have a void capable ship?"

"Yeah," I said. "We also have a ship in orbit..."

"I don't care if you do!" Enandra interrupted me suddenly. "You are to go to my ship and none other! Any other ship is suicide at this point and besides."

She smiled, but again it was that predatory and strangely sensual smile. "I would like to talk to all of you face to face, and I mean literally, so I can make sure you are..."

She paused and raised her eyes to whatever ceiling was over her in a mock, exaggerated imitation of someone struggling to find the right word to use.

"Proper," she said eventually.

"In all honesty, mamzel," I said, leaning close to the screen. "The way you said that doesn't give us much incentive."

She laughed, and it was a genuine laugh; it was almost musical, and I couldn't help but like it. "Yes, I guess it wouldn't. I like you, boy. From what Wesley told me, I knew I would like you, Attelus Xanthis Kaltos. Son of the infamous Serghar Kaltos, it seems you didn't inherit his anti-social qualities."

"You know my father?" I asked as I felt my face flush.

"No," she said, for the first time smiling genuinely. "I know of your father; there are very few within the Inquisition who do not."

"Of course there isn't," I sighed.

"Anyway, your ship has more than likely been destroyed anyway," she said, becoming sober and professional again.

"So, what happens now, mamzel Inquisitor?" said Verenth, his voice shaky.

"The Calixis battlefleet ships will be first engaging the Marine spacecraft in about half an hour," said Enandra. "They will be fully engaged another fifteen minutes after that, so I need for you to wait for that timeout then leave Omnartus. Fly for the local star, and once you are ten thousand kilometres away, send me a brief communique on this frequency. There I will give you the coordinates of the Audacious Edge. Then I will allow you to board and from then on wait it out until the Space Marines and my erstwhile master have left the system. Does that make any sense?"

"Wait, with respect, mamzel Inquisitor," said Verenth, and I couldn't help wince and hiss through clenched teeth. "Did you just say, 'wait it out until the Space Marines leave?'"

Enandra glared at him, her jaw twitching slightly, dangerously. "That isn't quite verbatim, but it's close. So, yes."

"Aren't we gonna do something?" he cried. "We can't just stand by and watch! They're gonna destroy my world!"

Enandra sighed, her eyes falling to the floor, and for a second, there was true despair on her attractive face.

"Yeah," she said as her gaze suddenly snapped back on us, a look of fiery determination on her face. "Yeah, I do, and if you don't want to, there is another option. You have a weapon, you can use it on yourself, or I could do it for you. I'm sorry, I am; I wish it could've ended in another way, but it's too late. Just too late."

Verenth listened with wide, teary-eyed horror, his mouth gaping, and I felt sorry for the Hammer.

"I must end this communique," said Inquisitor Enandra. "I have almost gone over the safe time gap already. I am sorry; I wish all of you luck and hope to see you soon."

Then the screen abruptly went blank.

For a long time, we were silent, the only sound, the pained moans and groans of the injured.

The first one to find his head was Arlathan. "Alright!" he snapped. "We've got three-quarters of an hour to get things ready! Attelus, Darrance, Verenth, Vark! You four get the heavily injured into the ship."

"What are you doing?" said a voice, and we turned to see Helma was groggily getting off the bed; she was smiling at us. "Brutis Bones put me in charge, didn't he?"

"You shouldn't be up, captain!" cried Vark, but she waved him off.

"I have been unconscious and useless for much of what has happened," she said. "I'm sorry, now it's about time I will be of use."

Helma turned away and hauled up Jelket by his good arm, then placed it across her shoulders,

"I heard what the Inquisitor had said," said the captain. "She's right; we can't stop this. But if we escape with all we know, we can make sure that Etuarq will never be able to do it again."

She started to the door, and I held out my hand to offer help, but she shook her head in decline.

As she passed, I once again saw the enormous black bruise on the side of her skull and fought the urge to flinch at the sight of it. I had no idea how she was awake, let alone moving.

I reached down and hauled up Hayden; he was the heaviest of the injured, so thought it was fitting I carried him.

"Well!" I said. "You heard the mamzel! We've got work to do."



It took us a good ten minutes to take the injured into the ship. The interior was almost beautiful, comfortable and well made. Soft, red carpet with slight gold lining was on the floor; the walls were cream, curling waves produced from thin lines of gold. The corridors were as thin as any other ship its size but seemed slightly wider because of the decoration. Darrance was with us; he seemed to know the ship's layout and showed us to the medicae area. We laid Hayden, Jelket on two of the four gurneys while Torris, who was still conscious, laid himself down. The two servitors who staffed it immediately began to treat their wounds. Darrance left for the cockpit, claiming he needed to 'get to know the controls.' Or something.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I was at all comfortable with Darrance piloting, but I kept this thought to myself.

I wandered off to explore; I found the lines of small personal quarters near the medicae area, eight of them on the lowest level of the ship, all of them a good size and luxurious. Then the engine room at the other end.

I ascended the stairs into the large common room and kitchen and found both Adelana and the old woman there. The old woman's torso covered in bandages, and they sat in silence in the corner on one of the large comfortable couches. Adelana seemed to be staring out into space, looking hunched and defeated, my black flak jacket laid crumpled on the floor at her feet. The old woman was asleep, her head hung forward, and her snoring reverberated through the room.

For a few seconds, I stood, looking at Adelana and admired yet again just how attractive the young redhead was. Quickly, I decided not to disturb them and turned to walk up the stairs I assumed led to the cockpit.

"What's going to happen, Attelus?" Adelana asked abruptly, making me stop in my tracks.

I turned back to her, but I had no idea what to say, what to do.

Then again, she started to cry. "How?" she cried. "How could this happen?"

My attention fell to the floor.

"My world!" she yelled. "Is my world going to die?"

All I could manage was a slight nod; I saw no reason to lie anymore.

"But why?" she whimpered. "Why?"

I didn't answer, couldn't answer.

"What's going to happen to my friends? My family? My mother, my father, my little brother and sister? Can't we save them?"

I only shuffled my feet.

She shuddered with tears and looked away.

"Why? Why did you save me?" she cried, her face abruptly turning into a mask of anger. "Why have you brought me here?"

"I thought..."

"No! I bet you didn't think!" she snarled. "You never stopped to consider what I wanted. Was it because I was nice to you? Talked to you? Are you that pathetic? You said that this was reality; this was the 41st millennium, that there is only war. What if I didn't want to know that? What if I wanted to live in ignorance? What if I wanted to die in ignorance?"

"It's not just that," I murmured, fighting back the tears starting to well in my own eyes.

"What?" Adelana snapped.

"It's not just that!" I cried, my hands curling into fists at my sides and just then, Helma, Verenth and Vark walked into the room. "...It's not just that."

"What is it then?" she yelled.

"I'm...I'm not a good person, Adelana," I said. "I've killed a lot of people, and I'm going to continue killing a lot of people."

I pursed my lips and gave Helma, Verenth and Vark a glance.

"When I met you, Adelana, when we talked, it lent me a new perspective," I paused. "No, sorry, it renewed an old perspective. I'd just been through hell, but you, talking to you, made what I'd went through worth it because it assured me that there were good people out there worth fighting for and worth dying for. Even though this galaxy is a horrid, dark place and I've seen the worst of it, I believe that you deserve to live and..."

"So, you wanted to save me just because it inspires you?" she interrupted, sounding horrified.

"N-no, that's not what I meant," I stammered. "I couldn't save Omnartus, hell I couldn't even save your friends! I...I."

I stopped and sighed. "No, no, you're right, Adelana. I brought you here for selfish reasons; I never even considered how you would feel about I was warned, but I didn't listen. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

"Go away!" she screamed, and the abruptness made me flinch in fright. "Get away from me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't even talk to me!" she roared. "Leave me alone, you selfish bastard! I hate you."

I recoiled at her fury, nodded, then turned and started toward the exit. The others moved aside to let me past.

I paused at the peak of the stairs and looked over my shoulder at her. "I still intend on telling you the truth, Adelana," I said. "When the time is right, of course. I'll tell you everything I know, and once you know it, you will have a new purpose, a reason to live. You can hate me all you like, and I understand if you do, but please don't hate me. I was selfish and idiotic, without a shadow of a doubt, but that's because I'm only human. I'm a flawed, idiotic human. But hate, hate, Adelana is the worst emotion us humans possess. It has been the source of so many of our problems; it can be manipulated by those who know-how. It can twist and contort and drive good people like you into becoming monsters. Monsters like me, like my master, like the man who ordered the death of this world, like my father. So I ask you not to hate me, not because I don't want you to hate me, but for yourself, for your humanity and your sanity. I hope you can one day forgive me, Adelana. I truly hope you can, but I'd understand if you can't."

She continued to glare at me, her expression still set in anger, but I could see in her sea-blue eyes that she'd understood what I'd just said.

I turned and started down the stairs, ignoring the others as they watched me leave.

"I'm sorry," I said under my breath, finally letting the tears flow down my face freely.



In sullen silence, I went to the medicae servitors and had one bandaged my arm, then applied soothing salve to my ribs while I smoked my last Lhos as I winced and hissed with the pain.

+Attelus?+ Karmen said as I was in the midst of slipping my body glove back on.

"What do you want, Karmen?" I growled.

+I heard what you said to that Adelana girl.+

"Of course you did," I sighed.

+Now, are you aware of what Glaitis tried to make you into?+

"Yes."

+Do you remember what I said to you in this bunker a day ago?+

"You said quite a few things back then," I said. "Elaborate."

+I said I was here to save from losing your sanity,+ she said. +Like I had back in the ruins of Varander seven years ago, do you remember that?+

"Yes, I do," I said. "And I'll always appreciate what Estella Erith did for me back all those years ago, no matter how much she has changed. I needed you back then when I was a stupid teenager..."

+But you don't need that now,+ she finished. +I don't know how you managed to keep your sanity after all you've been through in the last few months.+

I laughed suddenly, bitterly. "How do you know I'm still even sane, Karmen? What does that even mean? Is there some indelible line between sanity and insanity? Torris had said that I suffered from something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That doesn't sound sane to me!"

She didn't reply.

"No, I think you need me more than I need you," I said. "The woman that was once so caring and kind is now a woman who can callously control and have thousands of people slaughtered..."

I paused and sighed. "The woman I'd once loved, now I know she is capable of such acts."

+I...I won't try to justify what I've done, Attelus+ she said, her voice breaking with utter sadness. +I'll just say I did what I believed I had to, that none of us would be here right now if I didn't do it. But you are right; it is morally wrong.+

Yet again, I sighed and remembered the saying, 'anything and everything to win,' Karmen had adhered to it to its most logical extreme. She was the embodiment of pragmatism; she was far stronger than I could ever claim to be. Karmen showed the dark side of that philosophy, the philosophy I've always tried to live too; I hoped that I wouldn't wind up that way.

But was sacrificing all those men worth it? Just to save the few of us? Just because of the meagre knowledge we know. In all honesty, I wasn't sure.

Inquisitor Enandra also adhered to that, sacrificing all those ships, all those Navy personnel, so that we could escape the fate of Omnartus. A fate we had a hand in causing. I should've felt privileged, I suppose, but it made me feel sick more than anything else.

+Do you hate me?+ she said, interrupting my train of thought. +Do you hate me, Attelus Kaltos?+

"No," I said without a second's hesitation. "Do you think I'd hate you after what I'd told Adelana? That'd make me the biggest hypocrite in the millennia-long history of hypocrites. So no, I don't, I won't."

She sighed with palpable relief.

+But you don't love me anymore?+

"No," I said, it was a lie, but it was one of those few lies that needed telling. "I can't; I'm sorry."

Her reply was silence.



I left the Guncutter and walked back to Taryst's quarters. Only Arlathan and Vex were still there, and both glanced up at me as I entered. Vex knelt in front of his portable cogitator, his fingers a blur as they worked over the keyboard while Arlathan stood over him, leaning forward to watch Vex work. I was surprised the temperamental little teenager would put up with that.

"How goes it?" I asked, trying to attempt to hide my severe depression under a mask of fake cheer.

"As good as it can go with such a short time limit," said Vex sullenly. "I have managed to hack in, and I am uploading as much data as I can into my cogitator, but it's all frigging encrypted. It's an encryption code I've never seen before. I'm hoping that I can find something, anything I can use to decrypt it."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "I know that the sniper, Hayden Tresch is also pretty good with cogitators. He'd hacked into the Adeptus Arbites data stream a few months ago; he'd have been able to help you if he wasn't fighting for his life right now."

Vex shrugged. "I wouldn't want his help anyway; I am Vex Carpompter. Vex Carpompter doesn't need any help."

"Don't be stupid," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "Everyone needs help from time to time. You needed help from sergeant Garrakson so you could effectively punch me in the face. I've needed help on numerous occasions to survive many of my battles."

Vex shot me a withering glare. "That is all to do with physical violence. When Vex Carpompter works with data, Vex Carpompter does not need help!"

I shared a bemused look with Arlathan, who smiled and said, "Vex Carpompter better stop referring to himself in the third person. It makes Vex Carpompter sound like a complete arsehole."

Vex let out an animalistic growl. "Okie frigging dokie!" he snarled through gritted teeth. "Just shut up and let me concentrate, okay?"

I smiled and shook my head; if I was even half as skilled in something at the same age as Vex. I'd have been almost as arrogant as him.

On second thought, perhaps not, I could've been classed as a master swordsman at seventeen. I guessed the difference between him and me would've been that I didn't know I was as good as I was. Vex knew he was; his skills were in huge demand; in fact, he'd probably earned more thrones in his short life than I would in decades. Also, I'd never intended to use my martial arts and fighting abilities besides being a mere hobby.

I was just another killer, an effective one but still only one among billions upon billions of others. Now Vex, he was one of the very few who held such skill outside the Adeptus Mechanicus, and I couldn't help but wonder how he'd gained such knowledge, especially at such a young age.

We acquiesced to his request, Arlathan and I wandered the room in silence as we waited for Vex to finish his work.

I kept glancing at my wrist chron, seeing the remaining fifteen minutes quickly whittle away. Every once in a while, Vex would announce some set back with another animal roar of frustrated rage, and he hit the floor with his fists.

It wasn't until one minute remained when we heard something other than an utterance of anger from the young hacker. It was a whoop of triumph.

"Got you, you son of a bitch!" he cried. "I've got you!"

"What did you get?" I asked as I approached.

"This!" exclaimed Vex, pointing at a line of code that looked like all the others to me. "This will allow me to decrypt the data! It's all binary, but binary made in numbers from another language! I see it's Cartharsian! A language from..."

"Yes, that's all well and good and all," interrupted Arlathan. "But how much data did you get, exactly?"

"As much as my miniature cogitator's memory core is able to hold," he said, the sullen tone returning. "Only about two hundred years worth, if I didn't have to leave my main cogitator behind..."

"Oh, shut up!" snapped Arlathan. "We couldn't bring those with us even if we weren't running from Space Marines! Two hundred years will have to do, now come on! We've got to go!"

"But I still have to decrypt it!" Vex whined.

"Can you do that later?" I growled.

"Y-yeah."

"Well, then do it later!"

Pouting his lips in anger, Vex abruptly tore out the cord and climbed to his feet.

Arlathan grabbed Vex by the arm as the hacker closed the cover of his portable cogitator, and we moved quickly out the door. Most of the plasteek supply crates had been taken off the shelves, carried into the ship, I assumed.

"So," said Vex as he tore his arm from Arlathan's grip. "What happens now?"

"Now," I said. "Now we're onto the hard part."

I was taken to my quarters by the two Stormtroopers. I stepped inside with a sigh, my hands in their pockets.

"Can you," I said, turning back to them. "Please get me some Lhos; I could use a smoke right now."

One shook his head as if to say, 'bloody addicts,' but the other nodded and said, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you; it'd be more than appreciated," I said.

He nodded again and walked out of sight.

I walked further in, and the door slid shut behind me; the place was unsurprisingly spartan, gunmetal grey with bronze edgings and linings. It was surprisingly large, though about six by seven metres wide; a double-sized bed was in the right side corner and a large cogitator bank in the left. There was another door against the far wall, which I guessed to lead into a private bathroom, but I just couldn't be bothered looking.

Now I was alone; the depression I'd been holding back was beginning to overwhelm me again.

I needed something to take my mind off everything; I needed to do something. Enandra may have been right about my mistakes, but I was still responsible. I closed my eyes and inhaled through my nose, deep down to my stomach, then exhaled out my mouth. An old breathing exercise my father had taught me for what felt like a lifetime ago now.

I stretched my weary, stiff muscles for a good thirty minutes after that were pushups and crunches. Then despite my exhaustion, I began to train. They'd taken my sword, so I worked on my hand to hand drills. First, I practised singular techniques, always ten times slowly, then fifty times fast. Left then right jabs, left then right crosses the Back fist, the uppercut, the hook. Kicks followed them, first the front kick, both snapping and thrust, roundhouse kick, side kick and the hook kick. I worked through every technique I knew, some I hadn't practised in years. Even indulging in the fanciful stuff I usually wouldn't bother with, the spinning side, hook and round kick. Afterwards, I practised the jumping kicks (At first, I'd almost jumped into the ceiling due to my enhanced strength), the axe kick. My father had taught me those techniques despite advising me against using them due to their impractical nature, only so I'd understand them if they were used on me, just in case.

Then it was shadow boxing, and by frig did I get involved in that. I never felt so focused, and I seemed to move so fast; it almost seemed like I was dodging and parrying my techniques. Every step, every pivot and strike felt verged upon perfection despite my speed.

Being so lost in my training, I hadn't noticed the Stormtrooper enter until he shouted my name.

Utterly drenched in sweat, I turned.

"Sorry," I gasped, leaning forward with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

The Stormtrooper shrugged and tossed me a small pack of Lhos, which I almost failed to catch in my haste.

"There ya go," he said. "You're lucky I could find them, kid. The mamzel doesn't approve of Lho, medicae studies say..."

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed. "I've heard it all before. Thanks for this, though. Appreciate it, I do."

The Stormtrooper took another step inside. "I don't intend to tell you what to do, but..."

"Please!" I snapped. "I'm not in the mood! I need this now! Now please, just leave me alone!"

He stood there for a few seconds staring at me, whatever his expression was, hidden behind his helmet, before eventually nodding and backing out the door.

I stood up straight and, with shaking hands, placed the lho in my mouth and, with my igniter, lit it.

After wiping the sweat off my forehead with an arm, I looked at the cogitator. It was an old battered thing, large and boxy.

I remembered that Enandra had mentioned we could watch Omnartus, and I began to approach it. Then suddenly, the door behind me swished open, and I turned, anger abruptly hitting me, thinking it to the Stormtrooper again.

"Look! I'm..."

I stopped and gaped as I saw it wasn't him.

Karmen Kons stood in the door, her face still bandaged, the psy limiter around her neck. Her bright blue eyes focused on me.

"What do you want?" I said, turning away. "Here to try and justify what you've done again?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just wanted to check up on you."

I had nothing to say; anger blazed through me always, but it wasn't at her; I didn't know what it was about. The universe, I guessed, for making me be in this gakky position.

"You've been training?" Karmen said as she walked further inside. "Good idea, take your mind off it."

I took a sharp inhale of Lho.

"Yeah, I guess," I said and grimaced as tears welled. "We've failed Karmen. Omnartus is dead, and there's nothing we can do; everyone says that we're going to live on so we can stop this from happening again. But! How can we? If Etuarq can see the future if he can do all this, how can we stand a chance? How?"

"Maybe the God-Emperor..." she started.

"Don't give me that grox gak!" I snarled, making her start. "How do you know that this wasn't the God-Emperor's will? That he wanted this? It is his Astartes, his angels of death doing the deed, isn't it? If it wasn't his will and if he is truly the god people claim, why hasn't he intervened? Why, Karmen? Why?"

"I...I don't know," she said.

"What's the point, Estella?" I sighed. "If humanity is so frigged that we can do this to ourselves, what's the point in trying to save us? I saved Adelana because she was a good person, but now what's she going to become? Like me? Like you? I'm screwed up; you're screwed up because of humans invading and destroying our country, and don't frigging try to claim it was just because of Chaos. Sure, whatever! But that those flaws exist in the first place for Chaos to exploit says something, doesn't it?"

Estella sighed. "I have no answers for you; humanity is frigged. We've always had arseholes among us, and we're always going to kill each other. Just look at you; you've made a career out of killing, haven't you? And you are going to continue killing people. You are one of those arseholes, Attelus; you know that, right? Many would claim that you are truly evil for what you do."

I glared at her. "I have been told that in no uncertain terms before, on numerous occasions. Why do you think us mercenaries are thought to be the scum of the verse? And I'll admit, it's true we just kill for money, for no true ideal or anything we could be seen as truly evil, easily."

"So, what are you going to do?" she said. "Put a laspistol in your mouth and pull the trigger?"

I didn't say anything, knowing that such a thing would be pointless as Faleaseen would just bring me back and feeling, perhaps, it wouldn't be too bad an idea if it was permanent.

"Do you expect every arsehole would do that?" said Karmen. "See, that the human race would be better off if they just pulled the trigger? Do you think Etuarq is going to do that? No. Well, then it's up to someone else to do it, then, isn't it? Or at the very least, stop him as you'd once shown, as I'd once shown, as Adelana had once shown. There are good people in the world. It also shows that complete and utterly irredeemable arseholes like Etuarq are going to continue making good people into people like us. It just makes it all the more important we stop him? Isn't it?"

I looked at her, wide-eyed, stupefied.

"You were wrong, Attelus," she said, shaking her head. "You do need me more than I need you, and for all your going on about not hating people, you are bordering on turning into a hypocrite. For all your humanity is gak crap, aren't you?"

I still couldn't say anything.

She then grabbed me roughly by the wrist and began pulling me out the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We're going to man the frig up and see what a true arsehole is capable of!" She snapped. "We're going to watch Omnartus die!"



"I've been hired," I said as we moved. The now four-man Stormtrooper escort walked both in front and following behind.

Karmen smiled; although I couldn't see it, I could tell. "I'd guessed that would happen."

"The Inquisitor said she was going to hire all of us," I said. "That we had no choice in the matter."

"No," she said. "No, we don't."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at her sidelong.

"You're worried that you are merely replacing one slave master with another," said Karmen.

I shrugged. "Yes and no. After all, I've learned from this disaster is to read people better. I think she's legit, Karmen, but I might be wrong."

"What do your instincts say?" said Karmen.

"My instincts say," I smiled. "My instincts say that I'm right, that Wesley was right to trust her, and she'll be a great ally and employer. We were truly lucky that she came to us, but my instincts also say..."

"Says, what?"

"It just seems all too convenient," I said.

She laughed. "Really? A world destroyed? And we just manage to luck out enough to be rescued by a good person who's willing and ready to help us in our endeavour? You call that convenient?"

"Yeah, I do," I said without hesitation.

"If it's any consolation," Karmen said. "I agree with you."

One of the Stormtroopers had voxed forward, so we were unmolested as we walked into the Sensorium then taken to an enormous pict viewer, already showing the familiar brown cloud-covered world of Omnartus. There were eight chairs set in front, six of which occupied. Darrance was in one, his legs crossed, elbows on his thighs and his hands intertwined index tapping, watching so intently he never noticed our approach. Torris was on another until he saw us, then his eyes widened with abstract surprise, and he pushed himself to his feet.

Vex was there too; he sat hunched forward on his seat, his fingers flying across his portable cogitator's keys, but every few seconds, the kid would glance up at the pict screen.

Vark sat, still in his carapace armour, and he barely spared us a glance, his expression a contorted mask of disgust and rage. Next to him was Helma, she seemed to watch on impassively, but I could see her eyes were welling with tears, her hands gripping the armrests so hard, her knuckles were stark white.

The last two I couldn't have been more surprised were there. Arlathan was watching from beneath a hooded brow, leaning forward, his expression intense. He only noticed us after Torris got to his feet, and he looked almost as shocked as Torris that I came. Last was Verenth, and to see the ex-hammer there made me respect him all the more. He looked at the screen with fierce, laser-like intensity.

"You're here!" exclaimed Torris. "I didn't expect to see you here."

I shrugged and managed a smile. "I...I guess I should..."

I trailed off as I looked closer at the feed, seeing the vast explosions ripping across Omnartus' surface in seemingly sporadic bursts.

Torris' eyes narrowed, and he looked at Karmen. "He's here because you made him come, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I felt he should witness this."

He bristled with barely contained anger. "Do you have any idea the psychological damage this could do...?"

"I'm fine," I interrupted softly, stepping closer to the screen. "I need to see this."

"No," said Arlathan so firmly, it forced me to look at him while he was abruptly getting to his feet. "I agree with Marcel. You shouldn't be here, Attelus."

"If you think it's going to be psychologically damaging for Attelus," growled Karmen. "How can you be here then, Arlathan Karkin? This is your homeworld; yours and Verenth's there. Won't it be even more psychologically damaging for you and him?"

Arlathan's jaw set. "I watch because I think it'll temper my will," he said. "Force me to work all the harder in the future to stop it again. Force me to keep on working inward to turn myself into a better person. I've been trying to do that, lately and because of that, I agree with Marcel. He shouldn't be here, but I agree for a different reason."

"And what's that?"

It wasn't Karmen who'd said it, and all of us turned to the speaker. My eyes widened, and I gasped in shock and surprise. Now she was the very, very last person I expected to see here.

"Adelana!" I gasped.

With a sad smile, she walked toward us through the hustle and bustle of the Sensorium, her two-man Stormtrooper escort at her flanks.

Everyone, even Vex, got up from their chairs.

Arlathan was so shocked he seemed unable to answer her question.

She continued to look at Arlathan. "And what reason is that?"

He managed to find himself. "I believed he should be with you. Helping you through this instead, but..."

"But, here I am," she said. "I can see all of you are shocked to see me here."

"Can you blame us?" said Torris.

Her attention fell to the floor. "No, I can't. I don't even know how I can be here."

"So, then," I said. "Why are you here?"

She looked straight at me; her large eyes sparkled with tears, but there was no anger there, just a sadness of such strength it took my breath away. "I've never seen my world from orbit before. I wanted to see it for the first and last time before...Before, I'll never see it ever again."

I wanted to point out that technically we're weren't watching Omnartus from orbit at all but kept my idiot mouth shut.

"Will you be able to handle that?" said Helma. "I mean, won't it..."

She wandered off in her sentence.

Adelana shrugged. "I don't know, but if I can't, and I decide to...If I decide to take my own life, please do not try to stop me. My life is my own, and if I choose to end it..."

"Your life isn't your own," said Enandra as she walked toward us, the Psyker and one Stormtrooper, who I guessed to be her lover at her sides. "It is the Emperor's, and only in death does duty end."

Adelana flinched at the Inquisitor's intensity, terrified of her.

Enandra's hard expression disappeared suddenly, replaced by a warm smile. "You are still young, Adelana. You still have duty left unfulfilled."

"But, I..." Adelana squeaked, and she began to retch with tears. "But I..."

I threw caution to the wind; despite the intense anxiety it caused me, I took Adelana in my arms just as she started to collapse to the floor. Pulling her close and she wept into my chest; it reminded me disturbingly of Elandria only a day or so ago. I'd failed in saving her just as I'd failed to save Omnartus, to save Castella, Garrakson, Wesley, so many. I just hoped I wouldn't fail Adelana as well or that I already had.

"You may end your duty, Adelana," said Enandra sadly, and somehow her words made Adelana stop her weeping and turn to look at her. "I will not stop you, that is your right, and I honestly wouldn't blame you. But I sincerely hope that you do not. That you managed to leave your quarters to be here speaks of a strength of will that astounds me. You have potential, great potential, Adelana."

Enandra attention turned up, and her eyes wandered over all of us. "All of you have great potential!"

She looked back down at Adelana again. "I can see that others can see that too," she said as she glanced at me pointedly. "Please see that, and please believe that even at the very, very worst of times, there can still be the best of times later."

"I don't care!" Adelana suddenly screamed, making me flinch. "I don't care about your potential crap! My mother! My father! Everyone I know and love are going to die! Why should I care? Why?"

"That is the truth in life," said Enandra. "It is such a truth that it is now, as an ancient Terran dialect would call it, cliche. All of us will face death, everyone, everything. Whether it is sentient or not. You must care, Adelana, because if you don't, you will end your life, which won't make anything better. It will just completely and utterly eliminate any potential of it ever getting better. Do you think your mother and father would want that? For you to snuff out the life, your life which is a life of such boundless potential that they had the honour and luck to bring into this galaxy, just because they have died? Just because they were claimed by the one absolute that will claim us all."

She shook her head. "No, I don't believe they would."

"You can't...You can't," Adelana whispered weakly.

"I can't know that?" said Enandra with a shrug. "Is that what you mean? No, maybe I cannot, but I am an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. I am a product of decades of experience and learning. And if I may sound extraordinarily arrogant, I can read people frigging well. From what I can read of you, I can see you are an intelligent, well adjusted and good person. Most of the time, but there are always exceptions. Usually, that means their parents loved them dearly, treated them well, but not too well. I'm sure they made mistakes; no one is perfect, but..."

Enandra trailed off. "I am meandering, my apologies. Adelana, just think on that, please," she sighed.

Then much to my shock, Adelana made a slight nod. I'd never been held in such awe ever before; this woman, this Inquisitor, was genuinely great. She was worthy of her position and more, on the same level as Brutis Bones, perhaps even more so. I could tell Enandra's words were also aimed at me. Even if I knew it'd all be for nought, I wouldn't have done it after Estella's earlier words.

With this thought, I glanced over my shoulder to Karmen. I caught her looking at us, and she suddenly flinched her attention toward the floor.

"Thank you," said Enandra, and she walked by us, then stopped to stand and watch the pict feed with us.

Still holding Adelana close, I watched Enandra, my brow furrowed, my expression grim. My earlier suspicion rekindled. She was good, just too good to be true.

I pushed away such thoughts, clenching my teeth and inhaling sharply.

"Please," said Adelana, "please let me go; I need to see."

Even though it stung me to do so, I instantly did as told.

She smiled at me sadly. "Thank you," she said, although I wasn't sure why exactly she was thanking me.

Then Adelana walked past, and we watched the pict feed.

We watched Omnartus burn.

Then die.



It happened only over about an hour; it was hard to believe such an act could be possible. Billions of lives snuffed out, just like that, an hour seemed like a bit of time in a human's lifetime, but in this galaxy, it wasn't even an eye blink. It almost made me laugh out loud as I thought that metaphor was indeed the understatement of the galaxy, perhaps the universe. For the first time in what must've been thousands of years, the black-brown pollution clouds dispersed by the falling bombs, they fell to such an extent and number the blue skies of Omnartus would've been seen clearly by those living on the upper hive.

The view would've only lasted a few minutes before being engulfed in fire. Each explosion was massive, in quick succession followed by another, then another until it seemed to conjoin into one tremendously huge dome of flame, and even that just seemed to grow and grow and grow.

I couldn't look away as tears flowed down my face freely and my body seemed locked in place. I couldn't even glance to check on Adelana, who stood right beside me.

Verenth got up and left about halfway through, storming out, snarling, cursing and crying almost insanely.

The poor bastard, I hoped he'd be okay.

Once it finally finished, we were silent for a long time. I stood still, struggling to breathe; the agony in me felt like a freezing, constant jolt of raging thunder that tore my insides asunder, hollowing me out.

I was brought out of my stupor by Adelana's weeping, and I looked to her, though I had no idea what I could say. She turned and stormed off, her hands covering her face. I raised my hand, but I didn't know why, as she disappeared from the Sensorium.

I stood there gaping stupidly, hand still held out.

"What are you doing?" said Karmen, and my attention snapped to her, anger raging through me suddenly.

"What?" I growled.

Karmen stopped as she approached me, tears shining in her eyes, the bandages that covered her scared features crinkling with her grimacing, "go to her, you idiot," she squeaked. "She's only here because of you. Help her."

"How?" I gasped out.

"Tell her why, Attelus," she said. "Tell her the truth. Like you'd promised."

"But she'll hate me!" I cried.

Then she slapped me in the face, striking me; it stung horribly and sent me to my knees. I heard a crunch! Indicating she'd broken her hand, but she didn't let out a cry of pain or anything.

"It doesn't matter if she hates you!" Karmen roared down at me. "That's your damn fault! Don't be so frigging selfish! I can't believe you can be so selfish! Now get up and tell her everything! And deal with whatever consequence it brings because it is your own!"

I wiped the blood from my split lip with a forearm, fighting back more tears and climbed to my feet with shaking limbs.

"What about Verenth?" I said. "Surely he deserves to know too."

"I'll take care of him," said Karmen. "Don't you worry. Now go frig you!"

I nodded and turned, then left.



The two Stormtroopers led me to Adelana's quarters. They understood my haste, so it only took us a few minutes to find it.

I said my thanks to them and pressed the door alarm, then waited.

I waited for a good half a minute, trying to keep calm, tapping the tip of my shoe on the floor while smoking another Lho.

After that time, I hesitantly called again, thinking the worst, but this time, the door almost immediately slid open. I found myself almost face to face with the old woman.

"What do you want?" she said, looking at me darkly.

"I'm glad you're here," I said. "I'm here to fulfil my promise to Adelana; I believe you too deserve to know the truth."

"Of course I bloody do," she stated. "Omnartus may not have been my native world, but I have lived there for the past six years."

I nodded. "May I come in?"

The woman's eyes narrowed, glancing me up and down, before eventually nodding and stepping aside to allow me in.

"Thank you," I said and slipped inside.

The quarters was identical to mine, but the illumination globes were off, endowing the place in darkness. The light from the corridor outside allowed me to see Adelana, who was curled up in a foetal ball on the bed.

The quarters was in almost complete darkness as the door slid shut, and the woman walked past me, sitting on the bed next to Adelana.

My eyes quickly adjusted, and in gaping silence, I slowly approached, unsure how to begin or even where.

"It's alright," said the old woman, and I could see she was smiling at me. "Take your time."

I sighed and nodded, and I could hear poor Adelana crying softly into her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," I said. "I didn't mean...I didn't mean for this to happen. Please don't hate me, please."

"I'm sure you didn't," said the old woman. "How could you? But it seems like you think you are somewhat responsible for this travesty."

I shrugged, unable to say anything more; my courage was fast failing me.

"I've made...I've made mistakes, stupid, stupid mistakes."

"And who hasn't?" said the old woman. "Look what you did to Vex?"

I flinched at the mention of that. "I shouldn't have done that, but I've done worse...I don't know where to start."

The woman shook her head as she stroked Adelana's hair. "Where else can you start? But at the beginning?"

I sighed, her words reminded me of Garrakson, and then I knew exactly where to start.

"I was born in a country called Velrosia, in its capital, Varander on the agri world of Elbyra..."



I told them almost everything, leaving out most of my very rocky relationship with my mother, especially of what she'd done to me when I was really young. I spoke of my father's teachings and who and what he was. I told of the invasion of Elbrya, how I'd survived in the ruins of Varander, but left out my desperate cannibalism. Then my subsequent meeting with Estella Erith and our battles and subsequent escape south.

It didn't take long for Adelana to sit up and watched at me with a wide, watery-eyed, almost awed gaze.

I told of how Estella had attempted to change my memories. I spoke of my decision to become an assassin and my escape from Elbyra on a refugee ship. My first paid killing and of how Glaitis saved me from execution then took me under her wing.

Most of my six-year employment under Glaitis I skipped. That time wasn't important to the overall story. It felt like years wasted; I was mostly a low-level enforcer, almost all of what I'd learned during that time was from Glaitis telling me, rather than showing.

I told of my arrival on Omnartus, of Karmen placing the mind lock on my mind. I gave a summary of the six months, fighting the local Hammers with Garrakson, Torris and Elandria and the search for Brutis Bones.

Then the Twilight bar incident, I left out how utterly injured I was by the Arco Flagellant and Faleaseen fixing and enhancing me just that I was in a coma for a month.

All of it, pretty much all of it, from my fight with Elandria, all the way to just before we met them at Vex's office. Never once did they interrupt me; I just sat utterly taken in with every one of my words.

Once I'd finally finished, the old woman and Adelana sat in stunned silence for a good ten minutes.

"I...I," squeaked Adelana, breaking the silence.

My attention snapped to her, my breath baited, hoping to all hell she'd believed me that she wouldn't hate me.

"You've led one interesting life, Attelus," said the old woman. "I don't know what to say."

"You believe me?" I said.

"I do," she answered. "It's a lot to digest, but I believe you."

I nodded, finding I liked this woman; I just wished I could remember her damn name.

"So," said Adelana. "The whole reason you were born was so you could take that pict, so this...Etuarq can use it to destroy Omnartus?"

"Yeah," I said. "I told you it's complicated."

"That's horrible," she said. "I don't understand..."

She wandered off in her sentence, and her attention fell to the floor.

"Don't understand what, honey?" asked the old woman.

"How, how can you be okay after learning that?" she said. "After everything you have been through, how can you be so..."

She grimaced and sighed, looking like she was struggling to find the right word.

"So sane," she said before I could make a suggestion.

I sniggered slightly and shook my head. "I am far from sane, Adelana."

She opened her mouth and inhaled, looking like she would say something but seemed unable to.

"I'm sorry, but I have to say, Omnartus died because of a pict? A single pict?" said the woman.

"Yes, a pict I took," I said.

"The guilt you must feel," she said.

"Is overwhelming," I said.

"But it's not your fault," said Adelana. "No, really, how were you supposed to know it would lead to that."

"I should've..." I said, tears welling in my eyes and my hands balled into fists. "I should've known; I should've done something. But I was so caught up in selfishly saving my own arse."

"Wanting to live isn't selfish, Attelus!" Adelana cried. "I think many others would've done the same. Although maybe you wouldn't have succeeded, you mustn't let your guilt overtake you! You still have to stop that Etuarq monster!"

I looked down at her, shocked.

She sighed. "Thank you for telling us, Attelus. It must've been taken a lot of courage to have done it."

"Yeah," breathed the woman. "Hell yeah."

"I thought you'd hate me," I said.

Adelana shrugged, "after what you said in the ship before, I did some soul searching. You were right; hate is one of the things wrong with the galaxy. So I won't hate you, I can't. You were just a pawn in this; I see it now."

She frowned. "But I'm not sure I'm grateful that you saved me. You did it for selfish reasons and..."

"And?"

"Just give me some time, please," she said. "Just let me have some time, too...I've gotta think moreover."

I nodded. "Yeah, more than fair enough, I will hopefully see you sooner rather than later," I said, getting the hint and slipping my hands into their pockets, then turned and left.



Still escorted, I walked back to my quarters; it was only a few doors down from Adelana's.

When the door slid shut behind me, I stepped inside and let out the most protracted sigh yet. The exhaustion hit me again, along with the many aches and pains of my injuries.

I stumbled in and threw myself onto my bed; I laid there, staring up at the gunmetal grey ceiling.

An entire world dead, it was hard to believe. Hard to comprehend that humanity had such insane power at its hands.

How many billions of years did it take for Omnartus to evolve and change into what it was? Only to be reduced to fire and ash in a mere hour.

Again, I tried to sleep, but my mind was awash with thoughts. I still couldn't believe Adelana didn't hate me even after finding out the rather central role I'd played in the destruction of her homeworld.

She seemed almost to feel sorry for me. I didn't need her frigging pity.

But on second thought, the way she looked at me, it wasn't pitying, not really. It seemed almost to be admiration. Now she knew what I'd been through, the horrors I've had to endure.

The visitation alarm shrilled suddenly, making me flinch in fright, and I let out a pained groan.

"Whaaat?" I growled as the door swished open, and Darrance stepped in.

"Apprentice," he said with a formal nod.

I didn't reply, just glared at him balefully.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your brooding," he said.

"What do you want?"

Darrance sighed. "Alright, alright, I can't really blame you for being upset right now."

"Oh, good to hear!" I said sarcastically. "Good to know you understand."

"I've been working on things; with Glaitis dead and Hayden in a coma, I am now the senior-most assassin in our organisation," said Darrance. "I thought you should be updated."

I sat up on my bed. "Life goes on, I guess," I sighed.

"I visited Hayden just before," he said. "The medicaes say he will live but will need an augmetic to replace his shoulder."

I frowned and looked to the floor guiltily; I'd forgotten about poor Hayden entirely in everything.

"And what about Jelket?" I asked.

"He will live, too," said Darrance. "Don't know how he made it; it's almost miraculous."

I nodded. "Good, that's good."

"I have also written up an astropathic communique I will send to Glaitis' cult," he said. "It's too dangerous to send it now; the Space Marine fleets are searching the solar system for us as we speak."

My expression darkened. "And what does it say, exactly?"

"Pretty much everything," said Darrance with a shrug. "Excluding your psychic enhancement, of course, and your apparent manipulation of Jeurat Garrakson."

"You're sure that's wise?" I said.

"Yes," he said, without hesitation. "If we are to one day stop Etuarq, we'll need all the allies we can get."

I grimaced. "What if they're secretly allied with him?"

"What if they're not," he countered. "Besides, if they are, he had probably informed them of everything anyway; now they think we trust them."

"That sounds awfully like backwards logic to me," I said.

"Does it?" he said with a smug smile. "You seemed awfully quick to trust this Inquisitor; how do you know she isn't secretly allied with Etuarq? It's one of your many weaknesses rearing its ugly head yet again, can't say no to a pretty face, can we, Attelus?"

I sighed. "Under the circumstances, we don't have much of a choice to trust her, Darrance. But yes, perhaps you're right."

"Trust nothing, suspect everything," intoned Darrance.

My frown deepened, and I briefly considered telling him of my suspicions, but for some reason, I quickly decided against it.

"What are you going to do now?" said Darrance. "Lay there and keep on mopping? Or something constructive? I'm going to the bridge; you coming?"

I raised an eyebrow. "We're even allowed on the bridge?" I said.

Darrance shrugged. "Not sure; I thought I might try."

Then a thought hit me. "Why are we still here?" I said while straightening, my eyes widening.

"What?"

"Why are we still in the system?" I elaborated. "Why haven't we escaped into the warp already? It's too dangerous to stay here, just too dangerous."

Darrance shrugged. "To watch Omnartus burn? Confirming its destruction, maybe the Inquisitor is completely sure in the stealth abilities of the ship."

I shook my head. "I doubt it's just that if she's so sure, why were her forces readying for a fight?"

Darrance shook his head. "And You would know why it could be just in case."

"Hmm, perhaps," I conceded with a shrug. "But I still feel..."

"You coming or not?" said Darrance impatiently.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I think I will."



To my surprise, we were allowed onto the bridge and even more surprising, Helma and Arlathan were there chatting with Enandra. The Inquisitor was back in her power armour and sat cross-legged on a solid, copper coloured plasteel throne in the bridge's epicentre, like a regal queen of old. Flanking the thrones' was the mute psyker, on the right the Stormtrooper sergeant, who was now helmetless. His handsome square-jawed face was insanely masculine, almost on par with an Astartes, his red hair typically close-cropped and short of a soldier.'

I'd half expected it to be the same bridge in Faleaseen's vision but found it couldn't have been any more different. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Why are we still here, mamzel Inquisitor?" I heard Arlathan ask as we came close, stepping through the constantly moving crew. "Shouldn't we have left already?"

I smiled, glad I wasn't the only one who'd come to such thoughts and once again impressed by the detective's intellectual acumen.

They glimpsed Darrance and my approach, and all of them turned to us.

"Ah!" said Enandra, smiling and waving at Darrance and I. "Colohris had voxed ahead that you would be coming; it's good to see you both!"

"Mamzel," I said with a polite, slight bow, my hands held behind my back.

"I agree with Arlathan," said Helma abruptly. "Why are we still here?"

Enandra sighed. "I guess, after everything you've been through, you would be suspicious of me. I understand. I said that all of you held potential; this emphasised even more now. I see you are already asking the right questions; that is good, very good."

My eyes narrowed. "I am surprised you approve of that," I said.

She smiled and looked at me, sidelong. "Knowledge is power, young Attelus, and sometimes knowledge can only be won by asking the right questions."

Enandra tilted her head and smiled wider, placing her fist against her cheekbone. "Or by shedding and bleeding enough blood, but you would know this more than anyone, wouldn't you, Attelus?"

I couldn't help but smile and nod back; yes, I did. Or at least I thought I did.

I hoped I did.

I was wrong; I didn't know, of course.

She sighed again and reclined back on her throne, stretching her legs and placing her palms behind her head.

"I want you to know that you can trust me," she said. "I want all of you to know I am not like Glaitis or Taryst. That I am willing to share my plans and truths..."

"But only if we ask the right questions?" asked Helma, her eyes narrowed approvingly as her arms folded across her chest.

"At first, yes," said Enandra. "But once you have shed enough blood and bled enough blood that you won't have to anymore."

"Are you going to tell us or not?" Darrance said through clenched teeth.

"Of course I will," said Enandra sounding amused at Darrance's impatient tone rather than annoyed. "You asked the right question; I will give you the answer you deserve. But my psyker Selva will have to take certain liberties with your thoughts to make sure it won't leak out, understand?"

We glanced at one another in hesitation; no one liked the idea of a psyker rifling around in our minds. Especially me.

Enandra raised a hand. "She will not erase your memory of it; just make sure it will be hard to rile up this information by another of her kind. Just a security precaution, I assure you."

Eventually, all of us nodded our approval.

"Good," she crooned. "As I had said before, knowledge is power, this also includes, know your enemy..."



Four hours later, I was back in my quarters. Enandra had given me back my sword, and I was stripped to the waist, my pale white skin glistened with sweat. Training slashing and slicing, stabbing and stepping. Every attack of the unactivated blade whistled and sung with absurd brevity. I could've sworn it followed a split second after I'd finished.

Inquisitor Enandra had told us her plan; it was audacious and detailed but leaned on assumptions a bit too much for my taste. But she didn't have the luxury of farsight that Glaitis did. Or perhaps she did; perhaps that was why she could plan on such assumptions, I couldn't know. Her psyker hadn't done anything intrusive, just blocked our surface thought, so we couldn't speak of it verbally. I didn't know the details. It'd worked on me, or it'd seemed to for Selva.

With a snarl, I side kicked the air, then cut diagonally upward. I'd been training for a good hour now, how I was managing to do it after everything I'd gone through today. I didn't know, but some energy drove me onward despite my aching limbs and horrid weariness. It was anger, I supposed, and pain, the pain of a different kind than that echoed in my body.

I'd practised for another ten minutes when the visitation buzzer chimed again.

I let out an animalistic growl and kept attacking the air, some of my considerable skill lost in my anger at the interruption.

A good ten seconds later, there was another chime, and I snarled, "go away!" Even though I knew whoever was at the door couldn't hear me. I didn't care who it was; I wasn't going to answer.

The third shrilled so long after the second I'd thought whoever it was g up and gone.

I flinched in fright and finally stopped my training, wiped the sweat from my forehead with an arm, then absently, skillfully sheathed my sword and stormed toward the door.

"What the frig are...!" I roared but wandered off in my sentence as the door swung open to reveal it was Adelana. Her attractive face set and hard, but I could still see her eyes very briefly glance me up and down in appreciation. She was holding my beaten, torn, and bloodstained flak jacket before her.

It took me a few seconds to regain my self, stammering stupidly in monosyllables.

She blinked away tears and shook her head in bemusement.

"Can I come in?" she said.

"I...I'm sorry! Of course! Come in!" I stammered and stepped aside.

She stormed through the door, handing me my jacket on the way and rounded on me, making me flinch. "I was thinking about what you said, and you were right!"

"Uhm, I've said a lot. Can you please elaborate?"

"You said on the flier that once I knew the truth, it would give me purpose! A reason to live!" she snapped. "And you were right."

I smiled and laughed, and this caused her to hiss as though hurt and look away. "That'd be the first time in a bloody long time I was right, then," I said.

"I want to help!" she said. "I want to help stop this Etuarq, help make sure he can't do this again!"

"Okay!" I said as I laid my sheathed sword onto my bed and turned back her, slapping the sides of my thighs. "Talk to the Inquisitor; she'll have someone willing to help you, then."

"I want you to help me!" he said. "I want you to teach me!"

I furrowed my brow and looked at her sidelong, unable to hide my surprise; it was more surprising I didn't see this coming.

"I...," said with a shaking voice. "I'm not qualified to teach you anything; I'm only an apprentice. I wouldn't be..."

"I saw you dodge bullets! I saw you deflect them with your sword!" she exclaimed. "Who else is more qualified than you?"

"I've never taught anyone about anything in my life," I said. "I can do that stuff, sure, but that doesn't mean I'm a good teacher."

"Then you'll learn!" she said. "Just like I will learn! I'm only here because of you! So it must be you who trains me! Please! You are partially responsible for the destruction of my world; you owe me this. You owe me!"

I flinched, hurt by her words and the truth behind them. I would've liked to teach her; I really would've...

"Why me?" I breathed.

"I already told you," she said hesitantly.

I looked into her eyes. "Is there, is there...another...another..."

Adelana met my gaze for a good few seconds, but her eyes widened, and she abruptly tore her attention away.

"I just need someone to teach me, and you owe me," she squeaked.

"Yes, yes, of course," I sighed and closed my eyes, once again feeling guilt hit me. I barely knew her, and Elandria wasn't long dead; what the hell was I doing?

"I should leave," she said and pushed past me, walking quickly toward the door.

"Adelana!" I said, causing her to stop and look back at me.

"I'll teach you," I said. "Starting tomorrow."

She smiled sadly and nodded, then went to leave again.

"Adelana!" I exclaimed again, and she halted. "I have to ask how old are you?"

She furrowed her brow, bemused. "Nineteen standard. How old are you?"

"Twenty four standard," I answered, and her eyes widened with surprise.

"Really? You look seventeen or eighteen," she said.

I sighed. "Yeah, I get that quite a bit, anyway. I ask because you must know I've been training from when I was pretty much old enough to walk. It'll take you a while to get up to my level."

"I understand," she said. "I have been studying to be in the Magistratum, so do have teaching in close quarters combat."

"And long-ranged combat?" I asked.

"Yes," she said with a slight nod. "I was third in my class at the shooting range."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head; damn it, everyone seemed to be a better shot than me, "I really, strongly suggest you get Hayden Tresch to teach you how to shoot better; that's just not me. I'm an average shot at the best of times."

She frowned and shrugged, "I was third at the range," she said again. "But I had an average of ninety-eight point five per cent. The two others higher than me were only point one and two per cent over me, respectively. Maybe I could teach you how to shoot, then?"

I smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Will meet you at the training facility at 0800 hours tomorrow morning."

She smiled, nodded again, and left.



With a snarl, I sliced off the soldier's head, then impaled his ally through the chest. A third attempted a point-blank full auto flurry with his lasgun, but by the time he'd raised his rifle. I'd already darted in, cut it in two, then opened his throat with a diagonal slash.

Behind me, Adelana, Verenth, Vark and Helma slipped out of the cover of the two nearby outlets. Their hellguns fired flurries of laser down the wide, dirty brown corridor. The enemy soldiers took cover thirty metres away, cowering behind the outlets there.

"Cover me!" I shouted, then started sprinting forward, pulling out a frag grenade, pulled the pin and threw it into the left side.

The resulting explosion, followed by screams and the five others on the right leaned out, opening up with their lasguns.

I dodged and deflected the las-fire before darting behind the nearest outlet, throwing a knife a Microsecond before moving, which stuck fast into the eye socket of a soldier.

It'd allowed my friends to advance behind me, and withering hell gunfire strafed through the air followed by more screams.

I clenched my teeth and pushed my back against the wall. Three months! It'd taken the Space Marines three frigging months to finally give up searching for us in the solar system and leave into the warp. I knew they'd be tenacious but didn't expect it to take that frigging long. It was a harrowing, stressful game of cat and mouse we played; we'd almost been caught five times once a Space Marine craft had passed within two hundred kilometres of us. It was so close for void ships we may as well have been breathing down each other necks.

During that time, I'd tried to teach Adelana how to fight. I didn't do very well at first, showing how to do techniques far too fast and expecting her to perform advanced fighting forms, which came to me as naturally as breathing, but for someone starting, it seemed almost impossible.

I'd tried to get teaching advice from Darrance, but he proved to be pretty damn useless in this regard. If he was upset, me a mere apprentice, was teaching someone, he didn't show it, and I hoped he'd keep it out of his report. I would've gone to Enandra, but she was busy with the whole business of keeping us alive.

Adelana had proven to be a pretty lousy close-quarters combatant, despite being surprisingly fit and robust. She was a Magistratum trainee, so she was used to a submission, grappling style. I used more of a striking style, so she'd had to start almost all over again. Adelana had also admitted privately she was thirtieth in her class, out of forty total.

Out of a moment's inspiration, a month in, I'd decided to used my father's teaching as a template. Despite his anti-social tendencies, he was a good teacher, and she'd improved more since then but was still far from being even below average.

But in contrast, thanks to her help, my marksmanship had improved somewhat.

Much to my surprise, Enandra's plan had gone exactly right. Once the Space Marines had left, we'd emerged from hiding, and as she'd expected, Torathe had been hiding as well, waiting for us. After a brief void battle, we'd been boarded.

We'd been ready; Enandra had briefed us fully before we'd dropped the stealth field, and we'd set up pre-built defences of shoulder-high flak board walls throughout the ship. The only danger was of Space Marines being on Torathe's craft, but Enandra had predicted there wouldn't. She'd believed that it was now personal between her and her former master, that his pride wouldn't allow their help in this fight. Also, he'd had the Astartes for so long they wouldn't agree to spare any more for any longer.

So far, that theory too had proven true; there were no Space Marines among the number of Imperial Guardsmen and navy personnel taking part in the fighting.

Vex had firstly hacked into their vox network and had shut it down with some sort of virus or something. So, even outnumbered and took numerous casualties, we'd pushed them back into their ship, leaving countless corpses in our wake. Enandra had surprisingly put me in charge of a kill squad consisting of Adelana, Helma, Torris, Verenth and Vark. I'd expected everyone but Adelana to resent me for this, but they'd quickly fallen in, following my orders without complaint and hesitation. It seemed finally being able to take the fight to those responsible for Omnartus' fate had allowed them to put aside their dislike of me for now.

I'd at first been hesitant for Adelana to take part in the battle; her training was far from even beginning in my eyes, but she'd insisted on fighting with a passion and fire, I couldn't even begin to deny. Besides, what she lacked in close combat ability, she more than made up for in skill in a firefight. This was a boarding action, and even though I'd never taken part in one before, I knew it'd be mostly close range and brutal.

"Clear!" I heard Helma call, knocking me from my train of thought, and I slipped out of cover.

Wordlessly we continued to cautiously, silently, professionally advance, from outlet to outlet, shadow to shadow. I led the way, sword held at the ready, but the power field deactivated. It wasn't long before we heard more running footfalls from around the next corner, and quickly I calculated it to be at least twenty pairs of boots. Karmen and the other in incorporeal psyker had gone forth first, using their abilities to shatter and destroy the glow globes throughout the enemy ship.

With quick movements of my hands, I sent Torris, Helma and Vark back behind an outlet a few metres back. While me, Adelana and Verenth slipped behind the nearest, all of us dissipating into the shadows behind our cameleoline cloaks. Over the past few months, almost everyone had been hard at work training to fight and everything in between. Adelana hadn't excelled at much, but she'd done well at stealth. The others were trained by one of Enandra's men, and he'd taught them frigging well. Although I was sure, both Vark and Helma had first-hand experience in commando tactics anyway.

We waited for the enemy to storm down the corridor; they'd heard our firefight, they were on the losing side, and there was a strong camaraderie among them. They wanted to go to their comrade's aid as quickly as they could; this made them almost reckless, predictable.

They barely check their flanks as they passed us by and went to check the bodies of their dead comrades. I was right; there was twenty total a full squads worth. I raised the replacement autopistol, given to me by Enandra's armoury and blew a hole through the back nearest guardsman's head with a manstopper round. Seeing it for the signal, it was the rest of my Kill team opened up, catching them in a crossfire. They wore thick, grey flak armour, but it provided them with no protection from the highly penetrative hellgun fire. It was a slaughter; within a few seconds, they were dead or grievously injured.

I finished the last screaming survivor by stabbing him through the heart, and Torris approached me.

"Can't believe that worked," he said.

I shrugged and pursed my lips. "One thing you can always rely on is the idiocy of humanity."

He smiled grimly. "Yes, of course," he said knowingly.

I smiled back, knowing he meant me, but didn't care, then waved us onward.

We found the next corner in silence, and I peered around carefully, the coast was clear, and I signalled this. As part of the briefing, Enandra had provided us with the schemata of Torathe's ship, The Imperial Crusher; from this alone, it seemed that she'd been planning a confrontation with her former master for a very long time. I'd studied it well and had the printout in my pocket. But I didn't need it now. I knew we were advancing along the port side, through the fifth level. There was going to be a staircase in another two turns about eighty-five metres away. The stairway zigzagged up to the tenth level. The bridge was a level above that; we had separated and scouted ahead of Enandra's main push, taking a long way around, the path least tried. They'd know we were here after that first ambush, there would be more of them coming our way, but the vast majority were distracted. Another kill team, led by Arlathan Karkin, was advancing along the starboard side; we were to converge together on the tenth level at 1800 hours.

I glanced at my wrist chron; it was only fifteen thirty-two. Until then, we were to sow chaos and confusion in their rear echelons.

This was my type of fighting; she'd chosen me well. I felt Arlathan was vastly under-qualified, but he'd seemed to have found great favour with Enandra. It was quite rare to see the pair not together over the past few months though both Darrance and Hayden were with him, so if he followed their advice, they should do pretty well.

We moved down the corridor unmolested, but we never lost our disciplined, zigzagging advance, checking every inch and every corner with our green hazed, low light gazes.

As we reached the next turn, I heard more footfalls; they were light but quick and disciplined. Quickly, I calculated they were walking down the stairs, about eighteen metres down, although I couldn't tell how many exactly.

I ordered us to fan out with deliberate hands, Adelana, Helma, and I to the left. Torris, Verenth and Vark, right. I signalled to let them past, then we wrapped our cameleoline cloaks around us again and waited.

It only took a few minutes for them to come around the corner, but it felt like forever; there were ten of them, peering through a slight gap in my cloak. They had no lamps on their assortment of weapons, indicating they too had low light vision contacts. One of them carried an auspex, and I couldn't help but smile. We'd all gone light, wearing synskin bodygloves.

They were good, very good I figured they might've been some of Torathe's entourage, sent to stop whatever infiltrators had moved so far into their midst.

With bated breath, I watched as they walked right by us, expecting in any second for one of them to notice something, anything that'd give us away. One of them, a towering brute in carapace armour, even seemed to look right at me, but he saw nothing and moved on with the rest of his mates.

I changed my mind; these bastards were too good; they could wreak havoc on the main force. I indicated this with a tap of my vox link, and in an instant, we were up and firing into their backs at a practically point-blank range. Four of them were cut down, but the remaining six reacted with impressive speed, starting to spread out into cover a few, even managing to turn and fire back; one shot winged Verenth causing him to cry out and spin away. One clipped Vark's thigh, and he was forced back into cover, clutching at his wound with a pained growl.

I activated my sword in a blaze of blue and dashed in, decapitating one and kicked another in the ribs sending him smashing hard into his comrade and against the wall.

Another tried to swing out at me with the butt of his autogun, but I weaved away the kicked it from his hands so abruptly it took him a second to realise it'd gone allowing Adelana to bash in his face with the swing of her hellgun. The next tried to bring his gun upon us, but a point-blank shotgun shot from Torris exploded the side of his skull, then Helma converged on the last, taking out his legs with a sweeping kick, stamped on his face; which connected with a sickening, crunch! Then finished him by stabbing the tip of her knife into his neck.

I killed the last who was starting to get to his feet, cutting him horizontally across his chest.

I turned to the others and nodded my approval, especially at Adelana, genuinely impressed.

"They will be missed," hissed Helma, whipping the blood from her knife on her thigh.

I shrugged. "We'll worry about that later, check on Verenth and Vark, please," I said.

Torris and Helma nodded, then turned to help the injured.

"I am alright," said Vark, limping into view, gripping his thigh.

"You'd better head back," I said. "You're in no condition for-"

A flicker of movement caught my eye. The slightest thing but still made me slide to the side, so the slashing sword from the darkness at my back instead cut across my lower bicep.

With a cry of pain, I struggled to keep my balance. The dark corridor was suddenly alight with hellgun fire. Only a little more than a shadow, the figure laughed and, with breathtaking speed and agility, dodged and weaved through it.

Then his sword's power field came into life, a thin curved blade, I could see him now. He wore carapace armour and a storm coat. His sharp-featured face half-covered in a fringe and was smirking almost psychotically; how the hell he'd almost got the drop on me was beyond me. Then he dashed straight at Adelana, thrusting at her.

Clenching my teeth against the pain, I snarled and smashed aside his thrust, throwing a sidekick that sent him spinning back.

I charged forward, cutting out at his thighs diagonally. He parried and reposted with a high horizontal slash at my skull. I ducked. He was forced to backpedal from the counter cut.

"Ahh!" breathed the attacker, his voice hoarse and whispering, like a desert wind. "Attelus Kaltos! I have heard so much about you!"

I grimaced; seriously, does everyone know me?

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"I am Interrogator Leonard Rodyille," he said with a deep bow. "Inquisitor Etuarq sends his regards."

I waved everyone back. "You're Etuarq's Interrogator?"

"No," said Rodyille. "I am Torathe's Interrogator, but I am truly working for Etuarq."

Suddenly came screams, hideous, blood-freezing screams that seemed to erupt from Rodyille.

"What the hell are you?" I hissed, recoiling back in horror.

"He said you would be here," said Rodyille, ignoring my question. "At this exact time, he sent me to kill you and your little friends. He knew you'd be here; he must also know that I'd kill you."

I laughed despite myself. "You think that, do you? Feuilt thought the same thing too; then he died at my hand. I think he's sent you here because you've run your course; you're no longer useful to him. You're expendable."

Rodyille grimaced. "Your father taught me how to fight! How to kill! I am his best agent! His most loyal! I have been enhanced beyond normal human ken! I am too valuable to be expendable!"

"Enhanced?" I said, my eyes widening. "Best agent? So you're not the only one? You're the same as that assassin who attacked me on that thoroughfare, aren't you? I wonder how many of you Etuarq has out there in the sector; you're not special. Your master, Etuarq, just manipulated the death of an entire world, then he has sent you to be sacrificed at my blade. How can you be loyal to him? I just don't understand."

Rodyille's jaw clenched but said nothing.

"You seem to know much," I said. "Join us, Leonard Rodyille. Tell us what you know, and we can stop the bastard!"

Rodyille smiled and sniggered.

"Do you know why I've told you this?" he said.

"Because you're so sure you can kill me, it doesn't matter?" I said, and he frowned, indicating I was right; I couldn't help finding it amusing, knowing even he managed to, it wouldn't make any difference at all.

I smiled sadly. "No matter what I say, you won't see sense, will you?" I sighed.

With an enraged roar, faster than thought, Rodyille dashed at me, slashing out at my neck.

I blocked and reposted with an upward vertical slash, forcing him to sidestep. He spun into a hook kick which would've smashed knocked my legs out from underneath me if I hadn't backstepped.

He cut overhead, and I slid aside then stabbed at his head. He leaned back by a hair's breadth, and I followed with a darting horizontal strike at his stomach.

Rodyille barely managed to parry it and threw a front kick at my chest. I slid aside and countered with a kick with my bladed shoe at his shin. Rodyille threw himself back.

"Oh, for frig's sake!" I heard Torris' exclaim. "Are we just going to stand around and watch you fight? Frig! It's even happening so fast I can't even make out what's happening!"

I smiled and knocked away Rodyille's charging thrust. Throwing a roundhouse kick that crashed into his side, sending him stumbling, it would've shattered his ribs into oblivion if it wasn't for his armour, I was sure. Pain flared up my leg, but I ignored it, finding my feet in a blink, before sliding into a vertical, downward slash aimed at Rodyille's sword arm.

Rodyille managed to recover and pull his arm out the way by the barest of margins. I turned my blade and pivoted into a horizontal slash. Rodyille dropped into a kneel and sliced up at my groin.

I parried and kneed at his face; Rodyille leapt to his feet, ejecting himself out the way, arms out wide.

He went to stab at me, but I sidestepped, darted in then wrapped my free arm around his wrists. Too close to use my sword, I smashed an elbow hard into his jaw with a crack! Sending him reeling and crying out, then backfisted him in the side of the face. His back bashed against the wall, causing him to straighten. With a strangled cry, he managed to tear his arms free and desperately chopped out, forcing me to dance blindingly fast back. But the tip still cut a painful gash across my chest.

I clenched my teeth and growled in pain but barely blanched.

"You bastard!" Rodyille slurred, indicating a broken jaw. "You frigging bastard!"

Then again, I heard the screams, and for a split second, Rodyille's face changed. It was a horrifyingly hollow-eyed, hollow mouthed, tortured monstrosity that seemed to writhe and struggle under his skin. Then his face was back to normal, healed, instantaneously.

"What the hell are you?" I gasped.

With a feral snarl, Rodyille turned and started sprinting back the way he came.

Now with clean shots, my comrades opened fire at his back, but he innately weaved side to side through it and disappeared around the next corner.

"You alright?" asked Adelana as she stepped to stand beside me.

"Yeah," I managed with a nod, not sounding at all convincing. He said he was enhanced as well. Was Etuarq using his power also to change his spies?

I blinked as suddenly memories flashed through my thoughts, but with new additions. I could now see the writhing, screaming faces in the skin of the daemons I'd fought with Castella.

I remembered the same screaming faces jutting from the sides of the conduit and in the streaming and swirling light that rose from its tip. I could see the faces now flowed through the air around the pews Edracian had lifted with his telekinesis like ghosts.

+This is hardly a surprise,+ said Faleaseen. +I should have known; no true daemons are alike, those things that had attacked you at Brutis Bones' hideout. Were not daemons of the four, it seems. I do not know how it had gone undetected so far, but that is not your problem now, now you must...+

"I know!" I growled through gritted teeth, causing everyone around to flinch in fright and started down the corridor without even a backward glance.

"gak! gak! gak! After him!" I roared. "But we need him alive! Hurry! Hurry!"



Me, Helma, Torris and Adelana moved silently through the darkness with the utmost care; now I knew how skilled our quarry was at stealth. I wasn't taking any chances. Vark and Verenth having gone back for medical treatment.

My teeth were on edge, adrenaline still pumping through me.

I really wanted to chase after the bastard, but that'd open us up for an ambush. I knew if he'd just run, Rodyille could be anywhere on the ship by now, and we'd never find him.

I hissed a curse under my breath, wishing like all hell I could've sent back the others also, but another possibility was he'd gone back to get reinforcements, and they'd most likely be too much for me alone to handle.

Actually, there'd be most likely too much for all of us to handle, but I digressed.

Another reason was there was just no way I could cover even a fifth of the area by myself.

When we eventually arrived at the start of the stairs, utterly unmolested, I wasn't sure how to feel about it, in all honesty.

I held up a hand for the others to halt and cautiously peered up the stairs, expecting in any second for a withering fire to shower down at me, but there was none.

Clenching my teeth, I signalled the all-clear, and despite the stairs being made of metal, my feet didn't make a sound as I started to ascend and couldn't help feeling a bit of pride when even I could barely hear the footfalls of my comrades following me.

There were four flights until the next floor, and I knew it led into a mess hall. It was a large span, about thirty by forty metres, tables and chairs, everywhere a bloody great place for an ambush.

I glanced around the door, seeing the place was empty or as empty as I could see from here. It was in tidy condition, stark and clean to an almost ludicrous degree.

I darted to stand behind the right side of the door as Adelana joined me, pushing her back against the wall, Helma and Torris just behind.

"Torris," I whispered. "Hunker down and watch the door and our backs. Adelana, Helma, with me."

With weapons raised, we swiftly slipped inside. Me in the lead, and with two quick points of my fingers, I ordered my comrades to split up.

Six main thoroughfares were splitting up the maybe seven-metre long tables. The doorway was set in the centre of the room, and we advanced through the right. I checked the left, Adelana down the middle and Helma on the right. My plan was if and when we reached the other side; we'd check the cooking area before falling back to search the left.

I guessed or hoped that Rodyille hadn't gone back for reinforcements; surely they'd be here already?

My heart in my throat, pistol raised and continuously swept across the scenery. Back and forth, back and forth, and we moved hunched and low, so we could easily see beneath the tables.

When we'd found the end of the room, I'd glanced back to check on Torris. I couldn't see him and be glad at this fact.

I ordered Helma and Adelana to wait and watch the room, then vaulted over the serving bench, landing into a silent crouch. I knew there was a cold air chiller behind the cooking area, and in there would most likely be where Rodyille was lurking.

I approached the small, large door and slowly pulled it open with my sword hand, seeing only a little of the large cold room beyond.

Sword readied, I slowly searched through the hanging skinned carcasses, I tried to hold my breath, so my steaming breathing wouldn't be visible. I was afraid, terrified. Hoping to all hell, Rodyille wouldn't be able to overwhelm and kill me. I didn't know how long it'd take for Faleaseen to bring me back. An hour? Two hours? A day? It didn't matter; it wouldn't be quick enough; I was the only one able to stop him, and with me out of the picture, it'd allow him to kill the others.

He must've known this; now was the time to strike when I was alone.

I spent a good ten minutes searching every inch of the place, but there was no sign of him, nothing. I really wanted to look again, just to make sure but fought the urge. We were already low on time to meet our objective.

With a slight sigh, I left, closing the door behind me. On second thought, perhaps it was a bit too obvious.

Helma and Adelana glanced at me, confused; they'd obviously thought the same as me.

I shrugged and, with quick gestures, indicated we were searching the now right side of the cafeteria.

They nodded, and we began to head back in the same formation and searching the same way.

It was when we were all the way through that Rodyille decided to strike. On the far right, one of the tables was abruptly flung into the air, smashing hard into poor Helma off her feet and across the room. Adelana barely managed to dart out the way with impressive speed, and I simply sidestepped.

Rodyille seemed to materialise into view, his curved sword coming into life, and he sprinted at Adelana. Adelana and Torris opened fire, forcing him to slow and weave through it, but I was already moving and activating my sword. Even still, he reached Adelana before me. Lightning-quick, he pulled Adelana's hellgun from her hands, turned and fired a flurry at Torris.

I heard Torris cry out, and his shooting stopped. Then Rodyille dropped it, grabbed Adelana by the hair, and then placed the edge of his blade at her throat, making me stop in my tracks. Hissing through clenched teeth, my pistol aimed.

He smiled insanely over her shoulder. "Ahh! I could tell you liked this girl. Who wouldn't? She's just so damned pretty. So very, very pretty. Don't move! Or I will spill all her pretty blood onto the floor."

I clenched my jaw. "I don't understand how this is going to help you," I said. "Let her go!"

"I don't know how this will help me, too!" he exclaimed. "I'm just having a bit of fun! I know this is Torathe's final hour!"

"You also know now that to Etuarq, you are expendable," I said. "He had sacrificed Edracian and his entire organisation. He had sacrificed Feuilt once they'd lost their use! Join us! Help us! Now please let her go!"

"I have helped influence Torathe," said Rodyille conversationally. "I am partly responsible for the death of Omnartus; would you take me in knowing that?"

I flinched and hesitated. "If you regret it and wish to..."

"Well, I don't!" said Rodyille simply, suddenly throwing aside Adelana and shooting a Hell pistol he'd hidden behind her.

It happened so quick; not even I could react as the highly penetrative, superheated shot shattered my wraithbone rib, burst my left lung, then out my back.

I wheeled, twisting, crying out in agony and fell onto my back, writhing, gasping. My pistol and sword flung somewhere from my hands.

Rodyille laughed. "You speak grox gak!" he snarled. "My master would never! Ever! Abandon me! And for that...!"

He threw aside his hellpistol and grabbed Adelana by the ponytail as she was in the midst of getting to her feet. Then stabbed her straight through the shoulder.

Adelana screamed an agonised scream; then he threw her to the floor so hard I could hear bones break.

"You'll have to watch me torture poor pretty, pretty to death here before I kill you!" he snarled.

"I'll...I'll," I gasped.

"You'll...you'll what?" Rodyille said, in mock imitation of my gasping. "Kill me? What? In the condition you are in now? I doubt it! I will not be killed by you on this day of days!"

He clutched at Adelana's cameleoline cloak and pulled her back to him, sliding her across the floor, making the poor girl cry out.

"Oh! Perhaps! I could do something else!" he said. "Something worse than plain old torture, yes!"

"N-no, no!" I cried as sharply as I could, fighting to keep awake.

He grabbed her by the hair again and pulled her up so they were face to face, then licked the nape of her neck. He smacked her across the face twice with short, sharp movements.

"You bastard!" Adelana snarled through clenched teeth, blood oozed from her split lip, and she spat right into his face.

Rodyille laughed then backhanded her to the deck.

"S-stop!" I pleaded. "Stop this!"

Rodyille ignored me, just continued to laugh, and he began to rip off Adelana's cameleoline cloak roughly.

"Can't you see," I gasped. "It's the souls that Etuaq used to enhance you. They're driving you insane! Please, we can help you."

Still, Rodyille laughed and finished pulling off Adelana's cloak, she was struggling, raining punch after punch into Rodyille's face with her gauntleted fists, but the bastard barely flinched. Despite the bloody broken nose she'd given him. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and pinned Adelana's arms over her head.

"Stop, you son of a bitch!" and despite the agony, climbed with agonising slowness to my feet. "Stop this now, or you'll never come back from this if you continue...!"

"Or you'll what?" he snapped.

"I'll kill you," I snarled. "I'll kill you in the most painful way imaginable."

Rodyille suddenly ran at me, and I only just managed to slap away his punch as it headed toward my face. The act sent waves of agony through me; I cried out, my vision blurred, and I couldn't stop his kick from colliding against my chest, sending me careening hard to the floor.

He was on me, grabbing me by the hair, then smashed my skull against the deck. My vision blackened, and I writhed with the pain. Then Rodyille hooked me across the jaw.

"Don't be stupid!" he roared. "Don't say stupid things! People who say stupid things like that are stupid! And deserve bad consequences for their stupidity!"

I would've laughed at his idiotic, redundant words, but he kicked me hard in the guts, and I reeled forward, gasping like an aquatic creature deprived of water.

Rodyille got to his feet and began back toward Adelana, turning his back to me.

I was on my knees, grasping his storm jacket with a shaking hand. I was weeping openly now, but not out of pain, Adelana had been through so much, but she was still a good person despite it. If he raped her, it'd break her; I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't lie back and do nothing!

"Please!" I hissed. "Please!"

Rodyille smiled and kicked me to the floor with the tip of his boot.

"Karmen!" I cried, curling up in a foetal ball. "Faleaseen! Help, please!"

I got nothing.

Nothing! I knew Karmen and the other psyker would be busy battling whatever psychic thralls Torathe kept, but I couldn't understand why Faleaseen wasn't able to help.

Adelana was crawling across the floor, reaching for her hellgun, but Rodyille stamped on her hand. I winced as I heard her fingers break.

Then he grabbed her by the neck, with one hand lifting her as effortlessly as Brutis Bones had hauled Arlathan when in power armour months ago now.

Adelana struggled, choking in his grasp with one, smooth, deliberate movement, and he unzipped her bodyglove.

I winced and closed my eyes, unable to watch. Then it hit me; this could be me one day; this could've been me years ago. Psychotic. It reminded me horrifyingly of my dream, the dream I'd truly wished to forget, the dream that'd terrified me beyond anything before or anything ever since. The dream I would never tell any living soul.

Then I heard it; two hell gunshots echoed from behind me; they shot over me, so bright they left orange after images on my retinas despite my eyes being closed.

I looked, and Rodyille stood with a shocked, gaping expression on his face. Two large, red hot holes burnt through his torso.

He let go of poor Adelana and fell to his knees, then collapsed limply onto his back, dead.

Despite the pain it caused, I turned back. Seeing Helma holding with one hand her smoking hellgun, how she'd kept hold of it was beyond me. She was broken, both her legs and other arm hanging in unnatural angles, and Emperor only knew what other bones.

Helma smiled at me. "I am sorry," she gasped, indicating a punctured lung. "I know you wanted him alive."

Then she lost consciousness.

Adelana got slowly to her feet and viciously kicked Rodyille's corpse.

"Frigging bastard!" she snarled.

"Adelana," I gasped, and she approached my side. , Looking down at me with distinct, almost ironic concern and held out her good hand to offer aide.

"Forget about me; I'll live," I said. "Check on Torris, please."

With great hesitation, Adelana slowly nodded and went to do as asked. Reaching for her vox bead and began calling for aid.

Rodyille was right, I thought with a smile; I wasn't the one to kill him on this day of days.

I never got to hear all of Adelana's words before darkness utterly overtook me.

Finally reached 10,000 views, anyway here's the epilogue. Took me five years to finish this story and it became a part of me almost. Now onto the sequel (or the interquel which I haven't finished yet) I hope all of you have enjoyed reading this and thank you if you did! Also, I find it strange that Hamar Noir and The Ritual have overtaken it in views due to not being 40k and a lot longer. Thanks again!


The figure ascended a staircase that swirled and twirled around and over a vast collection of floating rocks and boulders, both great and small. Everywhere around it was a backdrop of pure, cloudy, contorting chaos made up of reds, oranges, purples and colours utterly unknown to humanity.

Eldritch forms steadily moved, contorting through its depths, black things of indiscernible shape, some the size of titans, some the size of humans and everything in between.

The thing which was Wesley Jeksen lacked legs and hands; instead, it walked on the stumps, which ended its arms at an unnatural rate of speed. Its movements halting and flickering. As he moved, he changed, warping and crunching into a form that resembled a man, but was far from human.

His arms elongated, his hands grew back, and he sprouted short legs from the stump, which ended its torso as it too grew in length.

Its skin withered away, replaced by purple sinus, which was rough, coarse like the bark of a tree. Wings sprouted from its back; wings made up of countless multicoloured feathers made from the same stuff as its skin. Its eyes bulged and moulded into circular milky white orbs, and from its face, a large, curved beak grew.

A large ornate golden staff abruptly appeared in its left hand, which became three razor-sharp talons.

After what seemed an age, yet somehow didn't, the thing found the top of the stairs. There was a huge rock and set upon a throne, its back facing once-Wesley.

The throne's true size and dimensions were unknowable. In one second, it seemed to tower over the thing; the next, it was so small it didn't even come up to its knee. The shadow it cast was a complete contradiction to the throne itself, engulfing the daemon in its darkness when the throne was tiny, but not when it was massive. The shadow also always seemed to flicker, blinking in and out of existence in a pattern unknown even to once Wesley, but there was a pattern, of that its ancient, alien intellect was certain.

The daemon fell to its knees, bowing to the throne.

"Master," It said, but it seemed to say it in every language known, Low Gothic, high gothic, Velrosian. Sartathian, Fenrisian. Even those languages and dialects thought extinct, and those not known at all by the mortal races. Its voice echoed through the miasma, making the floating rocks reverberate and the things in the cloudy light of reds, oranges, purples and colours unknown to humanity moan and murmur. Whether it was in fear or pain, or both could not be known.

"Everything has gone as you had planned," said once-Wesley. "Omnartus is dead, billions more mortal souls have been fed to the machine and the Inquisitor Etuarq's power and influence grows."

The Thing sitting on the throne suddenly got to its feet, making the once-Wesley pause.

"His fate is sealed," It said after a long moment. "He does not know it, but he does your work, your bidding. The one with the initials AXK is now in place, and through him, chaos will spread all throughout the Imperium of Man. Billions upon billions more will die, and billions more will know you and bow to you, as they rightfully should. It all started with the invasion of the seemingly insignificant little world of Elbyra, the invasion that you had guided through the Halo stars. All we need do now is wait for a few short decades, and all your plans will come into true fruition. The Imperium will burn, and the galaxy will be yours. My master, my weaver of fate."

The thing looked over its slender shoulder at once-Wesley and, with its massive beak of razor-sharp silver teeth, smiled.



Surrounded by her stormtrooper escort and Relcreth, her blank. Inquisitor Jelcine Enandra approached the bridge. She'd been fighting at the front, her still crackling power fist coated in gore and blood. Her armour splattered all over with the stuff. She walked by Darrance and Hayden Tresch; both were wounded and unconscious. Their backs on the wall as two medically trained stormtroopers were treating them.

She'd also heard the word that poor Attelus, Torris and Helma were in critical condition back in her medicae triage on the Audacious Edge. If Enandra were the praying type, she would be praying for them on their behalf. She just hoped they'd live, to survive through all of that, only to die now would've been a tragedy.

According to Adelana, they were attacked by an Interrogator Rodyille, who was a double agent for Etuarq. She'd never known about this Rodyille until now; he must've been recruited during Torathe's three-year absence. She knew all of them were formidable; young Attelus' was skilled in particular, and for this, Rodyille to take out all of them single-handed spoke of great skill. Too bad Helma had been forced to kill him; Enandra would've liked to have...Learned from him.

Adelana had also claimed that Rodyille hinted there were others of his kind out there. More elite, unbalanced agents working for Etuarq somewhere, which scared Enandra more than she cared to admit.

She'd also lost communication with Arlathan and his kill squad hours ago. She'd only found out about the injured Darrance and Hayden a few minutes ago. There was no sign of Arlathan and the rest.

Enandra couldn't help feeling great concern; she'd come to like the ex-magistratum detective over the past three months. She saw great potential in Arlathan. Attelus too. But his was a different potential than Arlathan. Attelus could be a great assassin and spymaster, perhaps one day even surpassing his father in skill. He could also be a leader, a great planner and manipulator. Attelus' mind was complex, labyrinthine and imaginative, according to Selva. Along with willpower and strength of character beyond belief.

But Arlathan! Arlathan Karkin had even greater potential; he could be genuinely great. He could be a true leader, cunning, forward-thinking and manipulative beyond compare and perhaps even more willful than Attelus. But he could also be charismatic, something Attelus Kaltos was not. Attelus had too much of his father in him. Enandra had already decided Arlathan would make for an excellent Interrogator. She had to admit, not many would see it, but Enandra did. That was one of the many reasons why she was an Inquisitor, she saw potential when others didn't or wouldn't, and so far, she'd never been wrong.

Enandra just hoped to hell she hadn't already sent him to his death.

They turned the corner directly, leading finally to the bridge of The Imperial Crusher. Enandra had ordered all her troops back, she wanted to take the bridge, she wanted to confront her former master, but she saw something unexpected. Something that made her stop dead in her tracks along with her escort.

She'd expected the huge adamantium doors to the bridge to be closed. The bridge staff inside waiting for their meltabombs to blow through, with their weapons raised.

But the door was already destroyed, and the scene inside took Enandra's breath away and bile to rise in her throat. If she weren't more versed in seeing such visages, from her decades of service to the Golden Throne, Enandra would've vomited onto the deck there and then.

Corpses laid everywhere, almost floating in a knee-high sea of blood that expanded out into the corridor.

With her powerfist, she hesitantly waved the others onward.

Their boots sloshing through the blood, they slowly approached, with guns raised.

Her stormtroopers were first in, fanning out with admirable calm and professional ability, Their hellguns covering every inch and corner.

Enandra, when she was a young Interrogator, must have been on this bridge countless times, and besides the numerous dead, it hadn't changed at all. The bronze walls with silver edging and the piloting cogitators and navigation view screens.

Enandra also recognised many of the dead, some she'd known for years like captain Qyalt and many of Torathe's longest-serving warriors.

She then saw a few of hers, six of them all of them. Fultol Smetrel, Ukulth Nerlark, Olik Smarl, Kilvt Plyrth, Kajl Jofet and Serl Jorl. All of whom she'd sent to accompany Arlathan Karkin.

Relcreth's hand laid on her shoulder, but she didn't even flinch; she'd long ago gotten used to the presence and even touch of a psychic blank. He pointed, and Enandra looked to where he indicated, and she saw him. Inquisitor Devan Torathe laid as dead as everyone else; he wore his trademark grey carapace armour and grey storm coat. His once handsome features now creased with age, he was bald on top, but his long white hair around it grew down to his hips. Enandra could see his throat had been slit.

Her eyes narrowed, not sure how to feel about this, not sure at all.

"Search for survivors!" she snapped and was about to say more, but suddenly one of the cadavers shuddered slightly.

Then something burst out from underneath, letting out a strangled scream.

In an instant, every gun, including Enandra's plasma pistol, was aimed at the blood-covered figure.

"I'm on your side!" the figure cried, raising his hands in supplication. "Don't shoot!"

"Who are you?" demanded sergeant Kollath.

The figure swallowed and instantly seemed to regret it before answering, "I am detective Arlathan Xathrian Karkin of the Omnartus Magistratum, and I'm on your side! I'm on your side!"

Hmm, sorry if this is against the rules as it's been ages; I think posting a link to the sequel Secret War: Upon Blood Sands.

Secret War: Upon Blood Sands

Three years after Secret War. Attelus and the other survivors are sent to investigate the war-torn world of Sarkeath. With Attelus' hallowed heroes, the men of the Velrosian 1st fighting on the surface, it's personal. Especially when their leader, General Tathe, had ordered a successful Exterminatus months before. Is this yet another scheme of their shadowy foe? Or a dead end?



Extract

When they'd seen it out the cockpit window, they thought it some sort of mass mirage. That their eyes, or worse, their minds were playing a trick on them. It was Attelus who said that it couldn't be either (yes, he was aware of the irony) that seeing was believing.

The sand, it was blood.

As far as the eye could see, the sand had transformed into a deep crimson which reflected the sunlight almost too blinding degree. The sun hung in an eerily, beautiful, clear blue sky. That was the most unsettling, the contrast of the brilliant blue and the blood-red, it frayed their nerves, made their minds reel at the impossibility. When they'd gazed on the world from orbit, it'd seemed the brown-beige of a regular desert world.

When Attelus had said it was real, he was only saying what everyone knew. It was blood, the blood of billions, no trillions.

When Attelus had seen it, it'd almost driven him over the edge. But he hid his fear, his recognition. He'd forgotten the disturbing vision Faleaseen had shown him three years ago, of a ruined city bathed in sands of blood and a blue sky. It'd rushed all back. It was sheer willpower that prevented him from falling into a panic attack.

All of them knew, no matter how much they didn't want to accept it, that the entire planet was made of blood sands.

No one was willing to leave the ship, least of all Attelus. Despite this, he was the first to step upon the blood sands.

His breathing into his re-breather was almost deafening. When his boot had landed, he'd expected it would be wet; it wasn't, it felt normal. That just made it more disturbing.

Attelus could feel the eyes on his back of the others watching him from the cargo bay.

"How does it feel?" Karmen's voice erupted over the vox, almost making Attelus jump out of his skin.

"Like, sand, normal sand," Attelus said as he stomped his foot trying to make it look comical. "There's nothing wrong here!"

Karmen didn't reply, and Attelus turned back to them. Everyone, including Darrance, was there and in full gear. Syn skin bodygloves and cameleoline cloaks. Their faces were hidden behind re-breathers and inbuilt glarevisors. Only Karmen stood out in her form-fitting gold and white power armour.

No one wanted to breathe the air of Sarkeath, but the Adeptus Mechanicus recently invented their re-breathers. Instead of working like normal re-breathers, with the canisters having to be replaced after a few hours, they recycled carbon dioxide into oxygen; they could be continuously used for two weeks before the filters needed replacing, more if used sparingly.

The only thing that set them apart was their builds, what weapons they wielded, and their initials painted on their mask's foreheads. Attelus wore his trademark black flak jacket so stood out, he had to, as the leader he needed to be easily identifiable.

That meant easily identifiable to the enemy, of course, but Attelus didn't mind this. He, unlike his allies, was immortal.

"Poor choice of words," said Adelana as she shuffled her foot. "Something is very wrong here."

Attelus frowned. Now that was the understatement of the millennia, he wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut.

It wasn't long before everyone followed Attelus' lead and first stepped on Sarkeath's surface. For a few minutes, they awkwardly wandered around the ship.

It was Halsin who broke the silence.

"Maybe, maybe we'll acclimatise to it," stammered the medicae.

"And that, is exactly what I'm afraid of," said Vark.

Attelus frowned, he couldn't help agree with the Storm Trooper.

"That eldar was right, wasn't he?" said Jelket. "We're going to die or lose our minds, aren't we?"

"Or both," said Helma.

Helma's words sent a sudden wave of anger and determination through Attelus. It quashed his fear and trepidation like a boot crushing an ant.

"No, we're not," said Attelus as he turned and started back to the guncutter. "We've got a mission we're going to complete, and nothing will stop us! We're throne agents! The elite of the elite! Not daemons, not blood sands or even blood god himself can stand in our way! We've wasted enough time. Now move!"

Attelus' determination seemed infectious as the others were knocked from their stupor and started moving. Only Adelana stayed still, her expressionless attention fixed on him.

"What are you staring at me for?" Attelus said.

Adelana said nothing. She flinched and fell in step with him.

Time to get this over and damn well done with, thought Attelus.


Jelket sat strapped in his seat, fighting the bile rising in his throat and the sickness welling in his guts as the all-terrain vehicle bounded across the blood dunes.

'The blood dunes,' a term coined by Verenth. 'Blood sands,' 'blood dunes' Jelket wasn't sure what term was worse. Verenth sat across from Jelket his head bounding about and silent. The silence seemed to dominate everything. Trepidation and was thick in the air despite them wearing re-breathers.

Jelket gazed past Verenth, out the small window behind him. He saw one of the bikers, driving beside them although he couldn't make out who. The bike disturbingly kicked up red dust in its wake.

Attelus, Adelana, Hayden, Delathasi and Helma rode them. While Vark drove the ATV and Torris was at the pintle-mounted storm bolter. Karmen sat in her trance, her face couldn't be seen, but every so often she would twitch and writhe. Obvious even in her power armour.

Jelket frowned. He'd worked with Karmen many times, and on countless occasions, she'd leave her body, but he'd never seen her so stressed and strained before.

He'd grown fond of Karmen, despite her ability and her penchant for extreme pragmatism. Jelket hoped this mission wouldn't cost her.

At times like this, Jelket missed the good old days, under Taryst's employ. Back when all he had to was patrol corridors and practised at the rifle range. His thoughts wandered back, back to his old squad. All of them had died along with Omnartus, although none he'd seen die first hand. Jelket smiled and looked down at his prosthetic hand as he opened and closed it repeatedly. He'd lost his arm and lost consciousness a split second before his sergeant and best friend, Roldar had lost his head. Jelket closed his eyes and exhaled heavily out his nose. He supposed he was lucky. Lucky it was him and Roldar who had carried Attelus back instead of another. Lucky that his arm had been exploded instead of his skull. Jelket frowned and looked out the window, at the outrider who he thought might be Attelus. Or was he? Roldar had been ranting and raving at Attelus for keeping secrets, but now Jelket knew, he wasn't sure if he wanted too. Despite his search for truth in other fields. Maybe Roldar was the lucky one. He'd died a quick, honourable death. A death not many soldiers of the Imperium would.

Jelket had left the guard because he couldn't handle the constant battles and death, yet here he was, at it again. The others could go on about having purpose and all that crap, but Jelket was here because he had to be. He wasn't inhumanly skilled and fast like Attelus or as vastly talented like Hayden Tresch. He was a damn good shot, but in essence, he was just normal, a know-nothing ex-guardsman who lived in the shadows of the best of the best.

At least he wasn't responsible for the death of an entire world.

Karmen suddenly jolted upright in her seat, causing Jelket to flinch back into reality.

The vox crackled awake.

"Attelus!" Karmen said. "I have finished my sweep of Kelitia."

Kelitia was Sarkeath's capital city and main hub. Containing its largest spaceport and the head base for its administratum, that, and where the Elbyran contingent had been deployed originally. That naturally made it their first target to investigate.

"Yes, go ahead," Attelus said.

"I..." Karmen paused. "I could not go far...I..."

"It's okay, Karmen," said Attelus. "We understand-"

"No, you don't. It is like the world itself resists me. The air is like sandpaper, constantly scratching on my ethereal form, and something just keeps trying to pull me into my body. I have never experienced it before. Every second I'm out is painful."

"I'm sorry, Karmen. Did you find anything?"

Karmen sighed. "Honestly, no, Attelus. I could only see as far as the outskirts; there were no life signs. Nothing. But the entire city is in complete ruination."

"Like it was bombed?" said Halsin.

"No, that is where it gets strange. I have seen cities destroyed by bombardment. But the ruins of Kelitia seem different-"

"What do you mean, different?" growled Vark.

"They...I am no expert on these things, but it seems that it was crumbling. It seems to have aged for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. It's like nothing I have ever seen."

There was a long, weighted pause.

"This is just getting weirder and weirder," said Halsin.

"Now that an under..."

Attelus wandered off in one of his catchphrases.

"Halt!" he cried. "Everyone stop! Now!"

Instantly Vark stopped the ATV.

"What? What's wrong?" demanded Karmen, her voice shrill.

"Figures at our twelve o'clock," said Attelus.

"I never saw anyone!" said Karmen.

"Karmen, please calm down," said Attelus. "We know your abilities are being repressed, don't beat yourself up."

"Have they spotted us?" said Verenth.

"No they...by the Emperor!" Attelus breathed.

"What's wrong, now?" said Vark.

"Don't worry, they're enemy; I don't doubt it. Fifty or sixty, about a kilometre away" said Attelus. "Delathasi, Adelana, Verenth with me on point. Hayden, cover us. The rest of you guard the ATV. We're going to-"

"I want to go," said Jelket on a whim.

Attelus sighed. "Jelket we're just scouting and-"

"Please, boss."

Attelus sighed again. "All right, if you must. Just hurry it up! They might see us soon!"

As the others threw the cameleoline tarpaulin over the ATV and took up their positions. Attelus, Adelana, Delathasi, Hayden and Jelket advanced. Hunched and silent, invisible beneath their cameleoline cloaks. Jelket could barely keep up and didn't feel invisible. He was sweating despite having his bodyglove's fans on full power.

Jelket had yet to see these enemies. Soon after Attelus had reported their presence, they descended into the bottom of a dune.

Attelus had described them as 'Khornate cultists.' Jelket had fought their kind many times during his years in the guard. But despite this, when they converged on the dune's peak, lain prone and Jelket watched them through his scope. Jelket reeled and barely contained a gasp, understanding why Attelus had cursed earlier.

Never had Jelket seen such brutish freaks. Their skin brown and bronzed from the sun they were covered in rough scars, scars that almost seemed to cover every inch of their freakishly bulging musculatures. Many scars were carved into patterns and sigils that made Jelket's stomach turn. Sigils announcing their allegiance to their horrific god.

They didn't wear armour, just robes. Robes which were once white but now stained all over with blood. It differentiated from cultist to cultist how stained the robes were. It was obvious that those with less staining stormed at the back of the large, unruly mob. They were unhealthy, their eyes bloodshot and psychotic. The weapons they carried varied as well, many had chainswords or long bayonet swords or massive two-handed axes. The ones with less bloodied robes carried auto guns or las guns, all in terrible condition.

All of this Jelket had expected what caught him off guard was their teeth. To a man, if they could be called 'men' any more, their teeth were sharpened into jagged, disgusting, brown incisors, like the teeth of feral predatory animals.

"By the Emperor," Jelket breathed.

They were moving quickly, almost with purpose. Kelitia was still fifty kilometres away, if they'd came from there they must've been walking for a while. Did the enemy know of their presence, already? Send out this party to intercept them?

Jelket doubted it, but as Attelus would say 'there's no such thing as coincidence.' And it seemed like one hell of a coincidence that this cultist mob just happened to be heading their way at this time.

Jelket's microbead beeped.

"Fall back," said Attelus. "I'd like to ambush them here, but it'll only be a few minutes before they're here. So we'll fall back, fifty metres. Adelana, myself, Helma, Verenth and Torris will set up twenty-five metres north. Delathasi, Jelket, Vark and Hayden twenty-five metres south. Karmen, Halsin reveal the ATV. Draw them in with the pintle mount; we'll hit them from the flanks. Throw frag grenades, then catch them in a crossfire. Any questions?"

There was a chorus of confirmations.

"There's frigging seventy of the bastards!" said Jelket.

"We can do this, Jelket! Fall back, now! We haven't much time!

Jelket barely kept back a curse and did as ordered. Was Attelus losing his mind, or lost it already?

"Take any survivors for interrogation?" said Adelana.

Attelus barked a laugh. "Adelana, we've got more chance interrogating intel from a rockcrete wall than getting anything from these zealots. Kill them all!"



Attelus hated waiting, but as much as he hated it, over time, he'd learned to cope with it. Well, 'cope' was a strong word, in all honesty. A long time ago he'd decided he didn't have what it takes to be a soldier. Waiting, standing still was a large part in soldiering. Ironically here he was commanding an infiltration squad into a warzone, a job that would usually be the realm of soldiers.

"Hostiles sited," said Halsin over the vox in his almost enviously cool, calm manner. "Opening fire."

The heavy chatter sound of storm bolter fire erupted.

There was a psychotic, blood-curdling roar that shook Attelus to his core, and he had to fight the urge to cover his ears and writhe.

Perhaps he'd overstepped the mark, perhaps Jelket was right.

Attelus repressed the thought; if the others thought the same way they'd have said so.

"Seventy metres," announced Halsin.

"Prep grenades," Attelus hissed into his link as he pulled the pin of his, applying pressure on the stub.

"Sixty metres."

Attelus clenched his teeth and gripped the handle his auto pistol harder. He wanted to check the clip of dumm dumm rounds for the hundredth time but fought the urge; even the slightest movement could give him away. They might be blood-crazed khornate cultists, but he wasn't going to underestimate them.

"Fifty-five."

The scarred bare feet came into view, stampeding past so hard it seemed to shake the very world.

He waited for as many pairs as he dared before giving the order.

"Grenades! Now!" Attelus snarled and threw his.

The explosions ripped through the horde, sending many screaming and sprawling in every possible direction.

"Open fire!" Attelus snarled, throwing off his cloak, his silenced auto pistol spitting sending reeling a reeling cultist writing off his feet.

The others opened up a second after, Adelana's booming bolter fired a metre from Attelus' left. Attelus saw half a stunned cultist's torso explode into a red haze. Another cultist's head was vaporised as he raised his las gun to fire, Hayden's work. Helma's hell gun blurted flurries, slicing through cultists with almost innate accuracy. Torris's shotgun barked, over and over. Erupting messy holes through the cultist's ranks.

Attelus cut down cultists left and right. There was no cover, so he and the others focused their fire on the enemies with ranged weapons. His dumm dumm rounds were hollow point, designed to expand on impact against soft tissue. Low on penetration, but high on stopping power. Unlike the others, he didn't wield a rifle, this due to his close-range specialisation and desire to travel light.

About forty of the enemy lay dead or dying in the initial few seconds of combat. But despite this, the cultists gathered themselves with impressive speed and charged. Six came at Attelus, screaming out their devotion and rage. They were, even more, terrifying up close, their savagery breathtaking in its intensity. Spit flew from their razor-sharp, brown maws. Their bloodshot eyes wide and chainswords and blades raised with unskilled wild abandon.

Attelus knew their horrific appearance, and the psychotic way wasn't just for their god. It was calculated. Used to inspire fear and demoralise their enemy. He fought the fear thundering through him, hiding it under a cool, calm exterior.

He killed two with the last three rounds in his clip, blowing out the back of the skull of the first then put two through the second's chest. Even with his quick hands, Attelus didn't have time to reload, so dropped his pistol and drew his powersword, activating its edge in a blaze of blue.

The third cultist was on him, swinging his whirring chainsword at Attelus' skull. With ease, Attelus ducked and disembowelled him with a horizontal slice.

The fourth cut down wildly. Attelus slid out the way then beside the cultist and slashed through the cultist's ribs and heart.

The fifth and sixth came at him almost at once. One thrust his long blade at Attelus' guts, the other chopped around his chainsword. They were quick, deceptively skilled, but to Attelus they seemed to move in slow motion. Their attacks ridiculously telegraphed. Attelus darted aside of the long blade, and his powerblade decapitated the cultist. The one with the chainsword was still in mid-swing as Attelus lunged and plunged the tip of his sword through the side of his chest.

He pulled out his sword and glanced about. Only a few cultists were left. Adelana, with her monomolecular sword, engaged one. Adelana was struggling. Losing. This while Delathasi was fighting three at once, another two lay dead near her. Delathasi was skill was impressive as she dodged and weaved and parried. But she wouldn't last much longer.

Attelus didn't hesitate. In a split second, he crossed the distance and cut down Adelana's cultist as he was preparing the final blow.

The gasping Adelana nodded her thanks, and Attelus nodded back, before charging at one of Delathasi's enemies and severed his spine with a slash. Another turned to this new enemy, but it opened him up for Delathasi to open his throat with one of her mono blades. She weaved beneath the third cultist's chainsword then half his torso exploded, sending his limp corpse smashing to the sand. Attelus turned and saw Adelana knelt, her bolter raised and smoking. She gave him another nod.

The fight lasted a few seconds more, as the last seven cultists were cut down by Jelket, Verenth, Helma and Hayden in a vicious crossfire.

Attelus forced his breathing to slow; adrenaline pumped through him painfully. Blood sprayed over him.

Delathasi approached. "Is that it?" she said.

Attelus nodded dumbly, and with a shaking hand, he looked around. No one was down; no one had suffered an injury.

Attelus knew they could've avoided the cultist mob; he knew it was a huge risk. This engagement It'd used precious munitions they may need later. But they needed this. They needed a morale boost.

That was why he'd risked this, that's why he'd risked everything.

He just thanked his luck that it worked.

Attelus activated his vox link.

"Everyone, regroup!" he ordered.