The train carriage rocked and lurched as it sped through the night, forcing me to hang onto a handlebar helpfully attached to the bare metal wall. After waiting a minute to ride out any further movements, I resumed my patrol. The carriage was around 30 meters long, and 9 wide. The majority of this width was taken up by the vaults, each one 4meters deep, 9 meters long, doors of hardened ceramite locked by codes known only to a select number of people, only one of which was on this train. There was a corridor, 1 meter wide, running between the vaults, straight down the middle of the carriage.
There were two of us in carriage B, me and Corbin, a man whose hulking stature rendered him almost as tall as the train carriage. We were stormtroopers. Tempestus Scions. The finest human soldiers. Trained by the Schola Progenium's Drill Abbots for years to fight and die in the name of the Emperor. We were train guards. But this was no ordinary train. This train had, locked away in the 18 vaults in its 6 carriages, objects designated to be of strategic value absolute. According to our briefing papers, the objects had been captured from the Eldar in battle and that's all we needed to know. That, and the fact that their value also seemed to be equally high to the enemy. Four hours in, however, and I was wondering if we were actually needed. There had been nothing, not even the slight indication of something. But my mind did not wander. Continue patrol. Slide back viewing portal shutter. Check inside, using helmet torch to see. All ok. Slide shutter back. Resume patrol. On to the next one. Repeat procedure. Nod in acknowledgment of my squad mate. On to the next one.
Three of these cycles passed. That's when the train ground to a halt, the lights went out, and all hell broke loose.
I heard someone scream over the vox. A hellgun fired, the snap-hiss of the discharge deafening in the close quarters. My hellgun was up, pulled tight into my shoulder. I heard Tam roar something along the lines of the Litany of Hate, the sounds of fighting in the background. I heard Corbin roar There was a whisper of movement behind me. I turned, saw the Eldar warrior standing behind me. His green armour was plumed along the edge of its tall helmet, alien designs etched onto it, swirling in patterns far beyond human compr In one hand he held a strange pistol, in the other he held a chainsword, a chainsword that was decending towards my head. Time slowed down. In all probability, I was about to die. I could see myself collapsing to the floor, my head gashed and bloody. I could see my squad mates dying, hear their screams, smell their blood.
No. I was a Tempestus Scion, and we do not just die. I brought the stock of the gun up, blocking the chainblades downwards swing. The teeth chewed into the stock, ripping and tearing at the dull metal. The blade withdrew, the alien pursuing another line of attack. The pistol came up, levelled at my chest. I pulled the damaged stock back into my shoulder, pulled the trigger. The alien fired. A searing beam of light burst from the barrel of my gun, lighting the dark for an single instant. An invisible fist punched me in the chest, sending me to the floor. I looked at my chest. There was a shuriken lodged in the armour plate, but there was no pain. The carapace had saved me. My opponent was not so fortunate. It was leaned against the wall, body tensed in pain. There was no blood, the beam having cauterised the wound. The green warrior sank to it's knees. It had dropped the gun, but still held the chainsword. This it swung forward, missing me in its pain. It tried again. Despite its clearly fatal wound, the xeno was still trying to kill me. Understandable, nobody liked to die without someone to take with them. Understandable, but unacceptable. I drew my combat blade, held its sword arm still, and punched the blade into its throat, withdrawing it with the same violent movement. Now there was blood. It oozed out, forming a puddle on the floor as the xeno fell forward onto its front.
I looked around, saw Corbin. He was lying on his back, a chainsword in his stomach. I saw the still form of a xeno lying next to him. I unslung my hellgun, approached the two forms. As I came nearer, I saw why the alien did not move. Corbin's blade was embedded in the things eye. I quickly worked out what had happened. Corbin, like me had been attacked from behind, and like me, had turned. But unlike me, he had discharged his hellgun, missing in the heat of the moment. Also unlike me, he had been run through with the chain sword. But in his final moments, he was avenged by his own hand. Corbin stirred. So not dead. But soon. I looked down at him. With some effort, he was raising his hand, raising it towards his face mask. He took it off. Two green eyes stared at me, a silent plea in them. His mouth began to form words that never came. One final rattling breath, and he was gone, unseeing eyes staring at me. I knelt, and closed his eyes. "Rest comrade, may the Emperor watch over your soul. Your duty is over, for only in death does your service to Him end"