Chapter 4

Erik looked down out of the shuttle's door as it sped across the snow covered trees. The shuttle's belly gently nudged a tree every now and then, sending snow cascading to the forest floor.

Erik stared down, keeping a firm grip on the top of the doorway to steady himself. He thought deeply of the time, not so long ago, when his life had changed forever. Erik's eyes didn't see the snow tipped trees or the towering mountain range in the distance. Instead he saw genestealers, dusty monitors and ravenous slicing blades.

Erik's las rifle bounced against his thigh as the cold air whipped around and into the fast moving aircraft. The freezing air was not impeded by the tough material that Erik's uniform was made of. It was white, with a few small black dots scattered across it. Perfect camouflage for this environment. Erik was not bothered by the cold, his mind was elsewhere.

"Get in here and close that damn door!" shouted Yera.

Erik turned his head to examine his friend. Yera sat hugging herself fiercely, shivering slightly. The others in the shuttle managed to bring a smile to their lips but quickly faded, all of them lost in memories like Erik.

"We're not all thick-hided brutes like you. We can all guess how cold it is without stepping outside a moving shuttle," she shouted playfully.

This raised a chuckle from the group. Erik smiled and closed the door which clicked loudly to inform everyone it was secure. He took two large steps and sat heavily on a bench. He turned his head slowly and brought his mind to the present.

Yera had been with the group for a while. She was the third longest serving in the retinue. Erik was first. Yera and Erik had had plenty of time to get to know each other and often spoke to one another with insults they knew were not truly meant.

Belig sat to Erik's right. He was a big man with huge muscles. He spoke very rarely and almost never made eye contact. Despite his incredible size and strength, Resuditch had inducted him into the retinue to serve as a strategist.

Next to Belig sat a small thin man – the complete opposite of their strategist. His eyes darted around quickly, his fingers constantly fidgeted and he sat hunched over. Erik didn't trust him fully. Neither did Resuditch really. But Husp was a valuable man to have in the team. He could infiltrate and steal anything.

Erik's smile slowly slid off his face and Yera sighed. Everyone in the shuttle was thinking about the previous mission. They had lost a much loved member of the team. Dek had been a good soldier and he had often kept his head down, never choosing sides and deciding to remain neutral in most arguments. When it came to the Imperium against Chaos, though, Dek was courageous and strong.

Erik gathered his thoughts. He would have to say something, he realised. He was Resuditch's interrogator, after all. He drew a breath and opened his mouth to speak but then shut it quickly as the door to the cockpit screeched open. All faces turned to look at the figure standing in the doorway.

Resuditch managed a sad smile as he looked directly at each of his retinue in turn. He closed the door and sniffed loudly. Resuditch's armour was torn and scarred. A bandage was wrapped around his waist, already starting to stain a rusty red.

"Good work," Resuditch whispered slowly and calmly. "You all did better than I could expect of you."

Everyone was silent as Resuditch spoke. Some eyes fell to look at the floor and Husp stopped fidgeting and sat up straight. Erik stared straight at Resuditch and waited to see what he would say.

"The Chaos won't spread to the city, thanks to you and many Imperial citizens have been saved. The Emperor thanks you. It is a sad point we couldn't save Dek. None of you could have saved him."

The last sentence he spoke was sharp and commanding. Resuditch knew everyone in the shuttle blamed themselves for Dek's death, himself included. No one dared to make eye contact as Resuditch scanned the room. Except Erik.

"Chaos had tainted him. He knew what he was doing and chose his own death on his own terms to save millions. Remember him for his righteous life and sacrifice. Not for the Chaos he succumbed to."

Resuditch spoke these last few lines staring into Erik's eyes.

Erik had taken the blow of Dek's death harder than the others, as it was he who'd been forced to deal the killing blow.

Resuditch finally broke eye contact and looked towards the shuttle's sliding door. Outside he could see the scenery rushing past. Resuditch grunted and returned to the cockpit.

Resuditch tapped in the code for the door and it swung open. The group rushed into the room and went their separate ways immediately. Erik entered last with Resuditch. They watched everyone leave, then Resuditch turned to Erik.

"Meet me in my office in an hour. We have to work out the last scraps of evidence that we hand over to local authorities,"

Resuditch said unemotionally, then casually walked away.

Every temporary base Resuditch set up still amazed Erik. This one was no exception. Resuditch had rented three rooms using his Inquisitorial rosette and then combined them, using hammers and scrap metal. Only two of the three rooms had working front doors.

The first two rooms were on floor nineteen and directly next to each other. The third room was underneath the room without the working door on floor eighteen. The second room was on the wall of the building and allowed a clear view out to another icy building across the street.

Resuditch had told everyone only to use the door in the third room as an escape route so they all had to walk up to the nineteenth floor to get into their apartments. The rooms were already large and each would provide shelter for four people. This easily accommodated Resuditch's retinue of seven.

Erik went towards his room and packed away his equipment. He kept a small concealable las pistol on him though. He always carried a weapon. Resuditch had taught him Chaos could strike at any time and there may not be a chance to arm yourself.

Erik left his room and went into their kitchen. Belig sat on a small chair quietly eating a ration, his mind far away. Erik collected his own ration and started to leave when Belig called out to him.

"No one blames you." He said forcing Erik to stop and turn. "I actually admire you for finding the strength to do what had to be done."

Erik thought about this for the moment and was about to reply when Belig stood up and headed for his room. Erik left the kitchen after Belig feeling slightly better.

Erik started to walk towards his room when he saw Yera sitting by the window in the second room with an abandoned ration nearby. He changed direction and headed for her.

"You should eat that. You know we won't get another meal until we're back home," he calmly told her.

Yera snorted and looked at Erik with sad yet angry eyes.

"Dek shouldn't have died. It's not your fault but he was a good man and should have survived," she blurted out after a moments silence.

"He knew what he signed up for. Working for an inquisitor is dangerous."

Yera laughed harshly and returned her gaze to the cold grey building across the street.

"Isn't the God-Emperor meant to be watching over us? Giving us protection? He wasn't there when Dek needed him that's for sure," she whispered bitterly.

Erik swallowed and let the silence stretch. He knew Yera was angry but this conversation was becoming heretical.

"Be thankful he's here for us," Erik muttered just loud enough for Yera to hear and walked away.

Erik didn't know where he was heading but before he knew it he had walked down the simple stairs into the third room and into the training area. Husp was holding a long wooden pole and attacking a thicker pole with ferocity.

Erik picked up another pole and walked into Husp's line of sight. Husp groaned but lifted his pole defensively. Erik attacked sharply and landed two blows on Husp's right arm within seconds. Husp fought back desperately but Erik artfully dodged the swinging pole or deflected it using his own. Finally, Erik delivered a soft tap to Husp's left cheek and hit his right arm with a powerful swing.

Husp dropped his pole and held his arm, swearing loudly. He stalked away from the training area and quickly went back upstairs. Erik sensed someone else had stepped closer to challenge him. Erik turned to acknowledge his new opponent.

Sekt stood with a pole in each hand. He was dressed in his usual black armour with a mask covering his mouth and nose. A dark hood covered the top of his head, leaving only bright blue eyes visible. Sekt had not gone on the mission, as he had been given other duties.

Erik and Sekt leaped at each other. Erik held his pole with both hands and struck accurately, powerfully yet slowly. Sekt swung accurately as well, but with much greater speed. Sekt was a master of close quarters combat and Erik was soon sweating and panting for breathe.

It was not long before Erik was forced entirely onto his defence and gave ground quickly. Sekt danced around Erik attacking from all sides, sometimes striking with both poles at the same time and other times swinging them separately. Erik fought desperately but couldn't find a chance to strike.

Suddenly, an opportunity presented itself and Erik lashed out, swinging in a wide arc in front of him, from right to left. It was too late when he realised Sekt had left the opening on purpose. Both poles came up under Erik's right arm and cracked loudly as it struck bones. Sekt quickly ducked and spun around, bringing both poles under Erik's defences and smashing into his left knee.

Erik fell to one knee and pushed his hands to the floor to balance himself. Sekt carefully placed one pole on the back of Erik's neck and the other at his throat. A second passed then Sekt removed the weapons and stepped away. He bowed to Erik and returned the poles to their stand before heading back upstairs. Erik just dropped his pole in the middle of the room and limped back upstairs. His arm and leg ached but he knew they would be fine within an hour.

Erik headed back to his room to rest but noticed Husp cleaning a las pistol in his room still swearing. Erik was intrigued by this and started over to find out what was wrong.

"I didn't beat you that bad did I?" Erik joked.

"Eh?" grunted Husp, distracted by the complex weapon he held. "Oh. No, of course not."

"Then why are you cursing at the top of your lungs? You'll wake the neighbours," Erik smiled, hanging in the doorway unsure of whether to enter or not.

Husp flung the pistol onto his bunk, along with some of the cleaning utensils. His hands immediately latched on to each other and squirmed about, unable to remain still.

"It's that damn thing," Husp said, gesturing angrily at the las pistol. "It's using up all of the charge in a few shots."

Erik laughed and casually walked into the room and picked up the weapon. He adjusted the power setting slightly to the usual level and handed it back to Husp, who was sitting hunched up, jaw jutting out and his eyebrows scrunched up close to his eyes in a frown of pure hatred.

"Perhaps you should pay more attention when Sekt tells you how to use it," Erik laughed cheerfully and left the room.

Erik looked around and decided Resuditch wouldn't mind if he was a little early for their meeting and started for his office. He had taken three steps when the door in the first room exploded. Erik quickly pulled out his concealable las pistol and headed for the adjacent room. Husp, despite his lack of discipline, was right behind him, ready to try out his working weapon.

Erik entered the room at a run and dived at a nearby metal table. He dragged it to the ground as las shots fizzed over head scorching the walls. Husp dived the other way and managed to dive into Belig's room. A few agonising seconds passed, then Belig's door flew open and Husp and Belig opened fire with their las pistols and combat shotguns respectively. Erik heard numerous bodies hit the floor.

When he raised his head over his battered cover, five dead bodies lay not far from him. They all wore heavy black armour and helmets with a symbol positioned on their left shoulder guards. The symbol was three claws arranged in a triangle.

"Who the-" Husp started but was cut off by a large explosion.

The room seemed to rattle and dust fell around the three stumbling figures. Cracks appeared along the wall and ceiling, spreading from the second room. The one with the window. Erik, Belig and Husp rushed into the room weapons ready.

Yera sat behind cover reloading a las rifle. The window and wall had been obliterated leaving a wide open wound in the side of the building. A shuttle hovered steadily outside while over a dozen armed soldiers clambered into the building using rappels. Erik and Belig immediately started shooting while Husp went to support Yera.

As the bright beams blasted back and forth between the two sides, a door sprung open and Pedell, another of Resuditch's retinue that had not gone on the mission, opened fire with a las rifle, spraying wildly on fully automatic. One soldier fell dead before Pedell was blasted backwards out of sight.

Erik clenched his teeth firmly together and returned fire on the invaders. The shuttle hung menacingly in the air, a constant threat. The heavy stubber attached to its nose swung slowly back and forth. The flood of soldiers had began to slow and Erik hoped they were close to victory. Suddenly, the heavy stubber twitched and froze.

"Get down!" Erik yelled throwing himself to the floor.

The stubber started on the right side of the room and moved slowly across to the left. Debris flew into the air and Erik choked on the dust in the air. The noise was deafening and the destruction was absolute. Walls were shredded along with the remaining soldiers that had been sent in to soften them up. There was no mercy even for their own men.

As the stubber fell silent again, no one moved. Erik was unsure of who had survived. The air was a blanket of dust reducing vision to a few centremetres. With a soft pop, the shuttle fired its final gift. The frag missile soared over Erik's head and crashed into a surviving wall.

The blast flung bodies into the air and the flames that burst into life like blooming flowers allowed Erik a moment to see who else was alive. Yera flew through the air, limp and at least unconscious, if not dead. Belig bellowed as he took flight, but was silenced with a sickening thud as he landed. Husp didn't make a noise but grunted painfully as he landed not that far away from Erik.

Husp dragged himself to his feet with visible effort. Erik tried to do the same but he was bleeding freely from a cut along his gut. Husp looked around and staggered to the stairs. Erik could only watch as he tried to escape. He tried again to rise but only managed a feeble cry. Husp heard him and stopped. He looked back, fear plain on his face.

With horrible slowness Erik watched a helmet-less soldier emerge from the ash that now hung in the air and raise his las gun to Husp's head.

He was saved by Pedell.

He appeared bloody and defeated, his clothes torn bones broken. He raised his las rifle and fired inaccurately at the soldier. The soldier took a glancing hit but turned and fired three shots into Pedell's chest. The soldier was obviously high ranking as he possessed many badges with the usual three claws arranged in a triangle.

Husp spun around and grappled with the soldier. Husp wrestled him to the floor and struck him across the face with his las pistol. The soldier swiftly rose and knocked Husp down. He stood maliciously over Husp, then swung his las rifle around in the same motion Husp had used and hit his jaw solidly. Blood sprayed across the floor, along with many of Husp's teeth.

Other soldiers entered the room and began checking the other bodies. Erik heard vaguely that Belig was alive and saw out of the corner of his eye he was being dragged to the shuttle. He also heard Yera was alive, but she was dying quickly. He clearly heard the order to leave her.

All the soldiers seemed afraid. They moved quickly and didn't talk. They were well disciplined and kept their heads down. They all seemed to take short glances at the helmet-less soldier who stood in the centre of the destruction surveying the work.

Erik remained still and tried to cling on to consciousness. He had no idea what was going to happen to Belig, Husp or himself.

A soldier was dragging Husp roughly towards their entry point where they had taken Belig. Another soldier noticed Erik lying there and started over to investigate.

"No," barked the officer. "I'll see to him. Everyone clear up this mess and get back on the shuttle."

Erik watched the soldier walk slowly towards him. Despite his best efforts, he slipped out of consciousness, still seeing the cruel smile and hearing the heavy thud of the soldier's boots.