Title: Angelus Erroneous
Author: Spike
Chapter: Twenty One
With the battle won, the day was already drawing towards an end. With no else to go and with the growing necessity to seek shelter, we all headed into the fortress, to have a look.
It was Xerxes' idea: he wanted to have a look, based on the suggestion that there could be something in there that we could use.
I had my doubts about setting foot into enemy territory but Bishop said nothing.
No doubt his mind was slowly returning to normal – but in any case, it was best not to provide any sign of antagonism at this point in time.
For some strange reason, running the risk of Bishop reverting back to his homicidal state didn't appeal to me at all.
In the present time, Xerxes was gazing around the fortress with childlike delight.
"Can you believe this?" he said "We've got this place to ourselves!"
I groaned. You mean to tell me he actually enjoys being in this fortress? And that he thinks it as some sort prize?
Some prize…..
Bishop however said nothing.
"With these strong walls we can set up some sort of headquarters here!" the Rogue Trader went on, his voice radiating with enthusiasm "We can set up a permanent position here!"
"What for?" I sneered.
Xerxes flicked his head around to confront me.
"What do you mean 'What For?'" he said "We don't have to be on the move any more! We have somewhere to rest and stay! We have a something to use a base of operations here!
"And we claimed it from the Orks!"
"Funny" I said "I thought that we methods of survival were all dependent on the Orks not knowing that we are here and keeping on the move."
Xerxes blinked as I continued.
"Staying here will only mean they will know that we are here and they won't have to look very hard to fight something that's not green. If we stay here, we will have no where to run and no where to hide! You can't seriously think that three desperate men can hold off an entire horde of Orks?!"
"I concur" Bishop added "Staying here is not ideal for our continued survival"
Not that we had anything left to live for anyway.
Xerxes' facial expression grew with exasperation.
"You both don't get it, do you?" he said "We have achieved a major victory here! We have claimed a massive building! We can do whatever we want with it! And I say that we set up a base!"
I looked to Our Fearless Leader.
"Shall I clobber him or will you?"
"I'll break his arms and you break his legs" Bishop replied.
We both descended onto the Rogue Trader.
And so night descended onto the planet. So we made the group decision to spend the night in safety of the fortress.
I say group decision but really it was decided upon by both Bishop and Xerxes.
It wasn't just that such a notion came into conflict with our policy of continually moving and not staying in the one place for too long. It was also the idea of using the Ork's devices after resisting for so long.
And the device in question being the biggest one we have witnessed to date.
Oh the irony….
Xerxes didn't seem to mind. Sure he seemed previously delighted with the prospect of resting behind the security of enormous, thick walls, but now he had kept quiet about it.
There's nothing like a bit of forceful persuasion.
Such ideas of course certainly have a way of providing peace of mind. As such, he didn't seem to care that we were relying on an Ork fortress?
Bishop also didn't seem to care. My guess that he probably needed somewhere to rest and recover from his battle-lust earlier on. He seemed to abide to the notion that any fortress is a good one and it'll do provided he is able to get his mind back in order.
Hopefully he can get back on track before he can think of trying to kill me.
But to me, I didn't want to stay here at all – never once, since my arrival to this miserable rock did I ever abide to the notion of using the technology of the enemy.
The enemy were Orks and we were the humans. That's the way I saw it and that's the way it will always be.
So why the hell were we staying here, relying on a fortress that the Orks built?!
Such was my discomfort that I volunteered to stay awake and keep watch.
And such was my repulsion of sleeping in the enemy's building that I insisted on staying up the whole watch.
Bishop didn't seem to care – as long as he could rest (which suited my benefit).
Xerxes still seemed keen to sty in the fortress – only now he had a further excuse in that it gave him space and recover from his freshly dealt wounds (courtesy of myself and Bishop).
And so, as the Rogue Trader and Our Fearless Leader rested, I spent the whole night eyes wide open, keeping vigilant watch for any Orks that may approach.
I was expecting more green-skins from the tribe who used to occupy this fortress. I was also anticipating an assault from a rival clan.
But what difference would it make? Every scum-suckin' ork are all the same to me.
Oddly enough, no such assault came. I was left patrolling the battlements waiting for an attack but none came.
I guess the Orks really do sleep.
Or they aren't smart enough to see the benefit of attacking a fortress under the cover of darkness.
As such, the night was uneventful.
Eventually, the colour of the skies began to change colour: the darkness was penetrated by clouds of dark blue with deep orange.
Dawn was breaking.
I sighed – the long vigil was at an end.
It was then that I heard the sound of footsteps approach.
I looked up to see Our Fearless Leader stride along the battlements heading towards me. His expression showed signs of a razor-sharp alertness and no trace of sleepiness whatsoever.
I guess you can take the lieutenant out of the Imperial Guard but not the Imperial Guard out of the lieutenant.
"Good morning" I greeted, my voice dripping with sarcasm "Sleep well?"
"Cut the crap Narc" Bishop shot back "Just give me a report of the night's activities"
Well, he seems to have reverted back to normality.
"Uneventful" I said "No Orks came during the night"
Bishop nodded his consent.
"They're lying low" he concluded.
Somehow I doubted that the Orks were capable of doing such an act.
Our Fearless Leader then fixed me with his steely gaze.
"This gives us the perfect opportunity to get moving" he said "The longer we stay here within the confines of this fortress the more danger we place ourselves in. So get ready to leave immediately. I'll go wake up Xerxes"
"You the boss" I said.
"So don't you forget it" Bishop snapped back.
I blinked. Yep, he can still whip out a snappy comeback all right.
Our Fearless Leader then turned away to head back down from the battlements. I paused to take one last scan of the jungle before me.
It was then that I saw it.
"What the hell is that?!" I exclaimed.
I squinted at the horizon before me. What was that?! I swear I just saw something.
There it was!
Something distant but still looked very large and very metallic.
And it seemed to be on fire…..
Bishop immediately flicked his head back around.
"You see something?" he growled.
Look!" I yelled "Over there!"
Our Fearless Leader hurried back over to my side. He then raised his hands to shield his eyes.
"Where?" he demanded.
"That way!" I answered "Towards those mountains"
Bishop's eyes suddenly widened.
"If I didn't know better…." He murmured.
He then turned to face me.
"Narc" he said "Get ready. We're leaving here pronto. It's important we find where that craft is heading and we get to it before the Orks do"
He then turned to go, immediately moving into motion and heading back down to the fortress floor. I blinked before taking off after him.
"It's a craft then?" I answered "You recognise it!"
"That's right – now get moving!" he shot back.
"What type of craft is it?"
"If I didn't know better" he mused "It looked very much like an Imperial prison ship"
By the time I got my gear together, Xerxes was awake and ready. It didn't take him long to be informed aware of the news and he seemed quite excited with the idea of finding a ruined Imperial prison ship to plunder.
But under Bishop's guidance, we didn't have time to hang around: We had to get out there, find where the damn thing was landing and loot the whole thing for what it was worth.
And so we abandoned the fortress and heading out, guided by the plummeting craft towards the best direction of where we believed it will land.
So far, luck was on our side: It was still early dawn and there had been no indication as yet of the Orks waking up. This allowed us the benefit of time being on our side.
As we made our way towards our somewhat hazy goal, my brain was riddled with thoughts of a mixed nature.
Was it really an Imperial prison ship as Bishop believed? If so, this could well be the biggest catch that has arrive don this planet. Bigger than the escape pods that had come down before, bigger than the pieces of debris that drifted here and bigger than Bishop's shuttle. Raiding a full-blown Imperial ship offered plenty of opportunities for some decent equipment for our usage – ammunition, weapons and other gizmos. Perhaps even stuff that actually worked!
But at the same time, the idea of raiding a prison ship didn't really bode well: We will be boarding a craft populated with lots of criminals: All of them being, no doubt, far from willing to go to a destiny rotting in an Imperial prison. If there are any prisoners still alive on a crashed prison ship they will most likely come in a variety of forms: bloodthirsty desperadoes, maniacal mass-murders, cunning thieves, charming liars, and the type of nutters that would slit a throat just for a measly cred.
The sort of types a normal person would find unco-operative.
The type that may be a problem in fighting a guerrilla war.
Thus, if we get spotted by such a prick in this raid we will have to take immediate action and kill them on sight.
Tough but hey, in this game of survival it's always them or us.
But the notion didn't really bde well in my mind. After all, had fate not taken a strange turn, it could've well been me on that prison ship. And I can say that I could understand the desperation of wanting to get out from a prison ship and taking whatever measures, now matter how desperate, to retain one's freedom.
As we made our way through the jungle, all of us kept on eye towards the jungle canopy, watching the falling craft and following the general direction to the possible location to which it may land.
Suddenly, the falling craft's descent picked up: It screamed across the planet's surface before disappearing from view.
"What the?!" Xerxes exclaimed "Were did it go?"
"Hold!" Bishop commanded.
All three of us ceased our pursuit.
Seconds later, a huge rumble came careering through the jungle. It came with a huge explosion, which let up the canopy with bright flash of light. Seconds later, a series of earth tremors came thundering through. As I struggled to keep my balance, I feel small particles of dust gather in my mouth.
I looked up at Bishop who smiled.
"Seems like it's landed" he said "Let's go"
We had little trouble finding the crashed craft.
I mean, anyone would surely notice a massive monolith of steel situated several feet in the ground and in the middle of a freshly made clearing.
There it was, lying in amongst a sea of uprooted earth and scorched jungle vegetation. Behind it lay an enormous skid-mark, made up of earth and rock, describing the crash landing that the ship had just been through. The shop had come down with so much force that it smashed it's way into any trees that got in it's path and left a trail running for miles.
A trail that anyone would have little difficulty finding.
Much to Bishop's annoyance.
"Would you look that" he muttered, gazing up at the devastation that was the crash route.
He turned to us.
"If this craft hit the planet with that much force than it's certain that the Orks may have felt it and are already on their way.
"Get moving! We have to plunder this ship for anything useful and be out of here as quickly as possible!"
Xerxes and myself nodded our consent and the three of us headed to the ship.
"Narc!" Bishop commanded "Go find the ship's computer and try to find the ship's records! I want to know what happened to the crew! Xerxes! Try and find any survivors!"
And with that we went out separate ways into the ship.
I charged towards the general direction of the cockpit. If the ship's record database had somehow managed to survive the crash then it will most likely be found there….
I ran up to the ship's hull and slammed my boot into it.
Such was the force of the blow that the already weakened metal twisted underneath it.
I made my way through the ship. All around were the sights of debris, ruined machinery and wrecked ship parts.
No doubt the ship had struck the planet with so much force that the impact had ruined everything on board leaving nothing left.
Somehow I doubted that the ship's computer would still be functional…..
Anyway, it seemed that Bishop's observation was correct: This craft was an Imperial ship. As I journeyed through the wrecked craft, I could see the dead bodies of numerous security personnel and many stasis pods containing the bodies of the prisoners that were being transported to the prison.
I was aware of these stasis pods – there were designed to keep troublesome prisoners quiet as the ship made its journey to and from the penitentiary. I guess the Imperium certainly had their own degree of measures to stop any potential rebellions.
Can't say I blame them though – what prisoner, in their right mind, wouldn't want to spend the rest of their life in the Penal Legion?
Anyway, it seemed that Bishop's observation was correct – to which I then paused. How did he know that? Considering the distance from the original sighting and the fortress, it was doubtful that he could've identified a prison shop so easily.
Either there's something he's not telling us or he must be impeccable in his understanding of Imperial ships.
Of course that is to be expected being an Officer in the Imperial Guard, it is expected to know the difference between the various Imperial ships but I doubt that Bishop is telling us everything…..
I shrugged – Even if he was, there was no way he'll be telling me.
And absolutely no way I can force the truth out of him….
So I continued on my way. As I progressed there still didn't seem to be much about as most of the gear in the ship was either ruined or damaged beyond recognition. In fact that the only thing that was still worth savaging were the numerous discarded weapons and ammunition that lay around, no doubt once used by the security guards.
I pocketed the ammo clips as I went. I can still give them a good home…..
As I made my way through the ship, I kept close watch on the control panel of each and every stasis. All of them showed an unfriendly red light, an indication that the occupant was dead.
Can't say I'm surprised. I figured most of them would've died when the ship crashed.
Hold on.
Over there. That control panel – It's housing a blinking green light.
That means that someone must be alive!
What, one person managed to survive the crash where so many others had perished?
Well buddy, looks like today is your lucky day.
I moved towards the capsule, my eyes on the controls and trying to find the release.
Yeah, buddy, not only have you escaped death but you've escaped a destiny of rotting in the Penal Legion in favour of fighting a futile guerrilla war against a whole load of Orks!
And things can only get better from here.
After pressing several buttons on the control panel beside the capsule, I then looked up across the face of the capsule. There, I saw something that looked like a release device. I leant in towards the stasis pod and pressed the release.
Success! A click resounded throughout the ship and the capsule slowly opened.
Immediately a huge burst of steam came rushing through, I immediately shielding my eyes.
Eventually, I felt the pressure within the steam subside. As it continued to billow around, my peered into the capsule trying to see what lay inside.
But what I saw in amongst the steam was completely unexpected.
I saw a face, fully rounded and with a lighter skin tone than my own. The face also boasted a small nose, full-red lips and was framed by a crop of red hair cut short to the lower face.
I blinked, unsure of what to do next.
But it didn't take long before I came to the realisation that….
Then, as the steam slowly cleared, the closed eyes fluttered open. This revealed a pair of brilliant blue eyes confronting me. Although drowsy, the eyes seemed surprised to see me.
And then, somewhat unwilling words, began tumbling out of my mouth.
"By the Emperor!" I gasped. A woman!
I had been around one for so long that I had nearly forgotten what one looked like.
Such as my shock there and then that I didn't see the woman's facial expression grow with alarm.
But I did see the fist she rammed into my face.