Brother Akileus shook his head, not for the first time that day, in abject disbelief.
He walked down the halls of the Battle-Barge Litany of Fury, still unwilling to believe that this was the fight they were going to fight. Of all the xenos, heretics and abominations still left on planet Kronus, the Blood Ravens on the ground were slowly but surely making their way towards the one possible ally they could have had on the planet. Slowly, but surely, the Blood Ravens were closing in on Victory Bay.
The Governor-Militant, Lucas Alexander, had demanded the Blood Ravens stand down and evacuate the planet. Akileus knew they could not. He had seen the relics underneath the Blood Ravens stronghold. He'd known the fury in Captain Thule's eyes when he ordered them all destroyed. Only Akileus, a select few Battle-Brothers who participated in the fighting, as well as the Captain himself, knew of the terrible secret that lay beneath Kronus, key to the history of the Blood Ravens.
When the Blood Ravens had refused to stand down, Alexander had marshaled his 1st Kronus Liberators in an attack on their stronghold. Though they'd been repelled by a well-timed Orbital bombardment fired from the Litany of Fury, it had only sparked a retreat back to Victory Bay for reinforcements. Then they'd try again, and again, until the Blood Ravens were retreating or dead.
So it had come to this. Captain Thule had ordered the Blood Ravens already on the ground to pursue Alexander back to Victory Bay to lay siege on the general's well-entrenched fortress, a bloody conflict that would stain the honor of both Blood Ravens and Kronus Liberators forever. No doubt this would rile the Inquisition. There would be questions, probably Inquisitorial oversight for a decade or two. He didn't dare contemplate it further.
"Does something bother you, Honored Brother Akileus?"
Akileus looked behind him at a familiar voice. Behind him stood a Space Marine, his hair a pitch-black. By his side was a sheathed power sword, and a plasma pistol in the other, and he was wearing a suit of gilded Artificier Armor, forged ages ago by one of the Chapter's most gifted artificiers.
Captain Davian Thule was a striking example of a Space Marine Captain. His very presence commanded respect from even those of the veteran First Company.
Akileus nodded at Captain Thule, the motion made awkward by the limited head movement in his ancient suit of Tactical Dreadnought Armor, or Terminator Armor. He had long since lost his hair, to the eternal amusement of his fellow First Company veterans. They always joked that he was almost as bald as Captain Boreale.
"Yes, Captain. I know the Governor-Militant is a threat to our operations here, and I know we cannot give up any relics that may still lie buried underneath the ice of Kronus, but there are still so many other threats left. Orks, the thrice-damned Chaos Space Marines, the accursed Eldar, those living metal skeletons, the infernal Tau. Why is it that we go for the Governor-Militant first?"
"The situation demands it, Brother Akileus. He will hound us forever if we do not stop him dead in his tracks here. I do not like it any more than you do. Although if it's any consolation to you, Sergeant Avitus is happy", the Captain said, with a grin on his face.
Akileus couldn't help but smile. Sergeant Avitus was from a world known for its brutal Guardsmen. He would probably enjoy the slaughter they were going to carry out today. Akileus would not.
"Captain. I have a request."
"Ask away."
"I want to be released from my squad. I'd like to be put with the Scouts we brought here."
"Why is that, Brother Akileus?"
"Our Chapter is currently engaged in two conflicts: One here on Kronus, and one in the Kaurava System. Between us we've split up our Scout Company half in half. If our Scouts should be targeted both here and on Kaurava, our Chapter will nearly be extinct in the years to come. Plus, the sight of one of their oldest Brothers, a veteran of untold hundreds of campaigns, will no doubt be a great source of inspiration. They will no doubt have more second thoughts about this than any of our other Battle-Brothers. After all, they are yet new to our Chapter."
"Your argument is accepted, brother Akileus. Go forth with my blessing to support our Scouts. Before you go, however, I'd like you to requisition a weapon from the armory. Unless you intend to solve everything with your fists. You're with our snipers, I doubt you'll need to punch out tanks. You know how the saying goes."
"Walk softly", Akileus said, smiling at his Captain and brother. "And carry a big gun."