'Wow,' breathed Patreus.

Brother Svein, helmet clipped to his belt and auburn braids hanging loose, was grinning. 'That's the Ulfhednar,' said the Grey Hunter, pointing proudly at the Land Raider. 'He's been with our company for two hundred years. The Iron Priests had him forged for our lord. It was their gift when he took command.'

The Land Raider was parked over by the trees. Under the splattered mud by its tracks, its sides were painted in the Space Wolves' blue-grey. Weapons bulged from its sides. Behind the lascannon sponsons and over the door-hatch were hung two round shields. They had prominent central bosses. One of them was painted with knotwork and the other with a swirling cross. On either side of each of them, two wicked-looking spears had been fastened to the bodywork.

Patreus was staring. 'Wolf Lords get good presents!'

Nasty, helmet tucked under one arm, was stood next to Alaster. He was giving Patreus a cynical look. He leaned over to Alaster. 'I think he's having tank envy,' he whispered.

Patreus glanced their way, irritated but not offended. 'But what a tank!' he said. 'It's an amazing machine!'

Svein beamed with pride, his parted lips revealing a pair of massive canines.

'He'll be bringing it flowers next,' Nasty said.

Alaster ran his eyes over the tank. He could see why Patreus was impressed. The Ulfhednar was an imposing machine. Here and there the paintwork was scratched and the armour plate dented. The scars made the tank look all the more impressive. Decorated it may be but the Ulfhednar was still a mighty engine of destruction.

He looked around the camp. The area was dense with trees – the Ulfhednar was parked in one of the few gaps. The dense branches knotted overhead, blotting out the sky. The camp was well-concealed from overflights.

The rest of the camp was no less remarkable then the Land Raider. In between the trees, the Wolves had erected three longhouses. They were actually built around trees – Alaster had been inside one of them, just after they'd arrived the previous night. He'd been sent there to get his injuries looked at and his armour repaired. It hadn't been a long trip. By then, Alaster's body had already finished healing itself. The scar was almost gone and his chest wasn't sore anymore. As for his suit, that had been a quick fix with a couple of spare plates. The most difficult part had been finding an appropriately-coloured can of paint. The first time he'd come out of the longhouse, Kodos had taken one look at him and said he looked piebald.

The longhouse had been a noisy place, filled with Space Wolves. Some of them had been eating, a lot of them drinking, some of them were checking over their weapons and in the corner, one group had been sparring with each other. A circle of enthusiastic onlookers had formed. It was all quite surprising – for such a fast-built base, it seemed homely. Alaster was led to understand the Wolves were good at this sort of thing – apparently with all its tremors and storms, buildings on Fenris frequently had to be re-erected. They had lots of practise putting things up fast.

He looked around. It was busy outside the longhouses too. Marines moved back and forth amongst the trees. As Alaster watched, one of the landspeeders zoomed off with a quiet whine of its engines, disappearing into the woods on some errand. As it moved away Alaster got a flash of the Great Company's badge, the red cog with the yin-yang wolves inside it.

Suddenly overcome with curiosity, he spoke to Svein. 'What does that represent? If you don't mind me asking, that is?'

Svein blinked. 'The Ulfhednar?'

'No, I meant your crest.' Alaster pointed at Svein's right shoulder pad.

'That.' Svein brushed a lock of hair back. 'Well that's not much of a secret, is it? There'd be no point putting it in public if you didn't mind people asking.'

'That would be self-defeating,' Alaster agreed.

'The heraldry's pretty straightforward. Our lord works closely with the Adeptus Mechanicus. At first, not everyone in the Fang liked it. Some of the other Wolf Lords thought they were too close. But he doesn't see any shame in it – because there isn't – so when he was raised to the lordship, he gave us this crest.' Svein grinned toothily. 'The wolves' heads over a cog – the two groups working together. Let the critics growl if they want – I'm proud of my brothers. We've more than proved ourselves the last two hundred years.'

Nasty was watching. 'So what does all the red and black mean?'

'My other shoulder pad?' Svein pointed; Nasty nodded. 'The jagged shapes are our pack – squad – markings. A pack is for life – it's hardly ever dissolved, so we keep the same patterns as long as we serve. But the colours reflect your status, which is from your experience. Wolves start out as a Blood Claws – young, untried, short-fanged. Eager to prove themselves in battle.'

'A bit like our assault corps,' Patreus said.

'Similar, maybe,' Svein said, face diplomatically-polite. 'Sort of. Anyway, Blood Claws have yellow and red as their colours. But when a pack's proved itself and no-one doubts its skill, its warriors are raised to Grey Hunter. That's me, by the way. We get black and red.'

'Kind of like veteran status, I suppose,' Alaster said.

Svein reached up and gripped the runestone hanging from his neck. He looked thoughtful. 'Kind of,' he agreed. Alaster got the feeling Svein wasn't too keen on others comparing themselves to his army. Fair enough, he supposed. The Space Wolves were ancient. They'd been one of the Emperor's original Legions. Their reputation was a lot for anyone else to live up to. 'We get specialist training – like crewing vehicles, or piloting Thunderhawks. That sort of thing. We're older and wiser and cool-headed.' Svein looked alarmed, as if he'd said the wrong thing. 'Don't get me wrong, I still like cracking enemy skulls with my axe. It's just that I've learned it's not the only way to fight – and maybe not always the best, either.'

'Axes are fun,' Nasty said.

Svein beamed again. Anything to do with violence seemed to get that reaction from him. 'Well said, Brother!'

Patreus rolled his eyes but said nothing.

'So where do you go from there?' Alaster asked.

'Well the next stage is Long Fang – Wolves that old usually do have long fangs, too! Their colours are white and black. They get the heaviest weapons – they have the skill to use them wisely. Sadly our younger brothers probably don't. The final level is Wolf Guard – yellow and black.'

Alaster nodded. 'There's a squad – uh, pack – of them with us, isn't there?' He'd seen them around camp, impressive figures carrying massive guns.

'Just the one, yes,' Svein agreed. 'To be honest we could do with more – but needs must.'

'Hey,' Nasty said, 'are those the big guys who hang around with the Wolf Lord?'

Patreus winced. 'Nasty. They're called Terminators – because of their special armour. Were you paying any attention in training?'

Nasty affected a hurt expression. 'Oi. Just because I'm not a clever-clogs like you!'

Svein looked at Alaster. 'Are they always like this?'

Alaster nodded. 'Most of the time. Don't worry – I'd be more worried if they weren't bickering.'

Patreus glared at Alaster this time. Nasty was ignoring them, busy eyeing the tank. He might have criticised Patreus earlier but Alaster could see Nasty wouldn't mind a ride in it if he could get one.

Svein snorted. 'But yes, he's right. The "big guys" are the Wolf Guard – the Wolf Lord's personal bodyguard. The toughest warriors in the Company. I tell you, watching them fight is amazing! A couple of weeks ago, we got attacked by a horde of Genesteelers. This was back in one of the cities. One of the Wolf Guard just stood there, ripping into them with his assault cannon. He got them all, too. The Blood Claws charged but when they arrived, there was just Nid-sludge everywhere. It was unbelievable!'

Alaster heard a hiss and a quiet whir of pistons. 'Heads up – sounds like the Ulfhednar's opening up!'

The hatch at the back lowered to the ground. Moments later, boots sounded off the metal. Sgt Kodos walked out, accompanied by the Wolf Lord himself. Einar Thorbjornsson was an intimidating figure, even for a Space Marine. Snarling wolves' heads had been painted onto the knee pads of his Terminator armour. A massive wolf-pelt was draped over his shoulders. Given the size of the pelt, Alaster was glad he he'd never seen the thing it had come from. His breastplate was marked with a beautifully-crafted pair of yin-yang wolves over a cog – a large rendition of the Great Company's badge and a symbol of the Wolf Lord's personal authority. In one hand he carried a massive storm bolter. He held it nonchalantly, like it weighed nothing. Alaster still hadn't gotten over the presence of the Wolf Lord himself on this mission. It had brought home just how important this was.

Kodos saw the three of them. A cynical look crossed his face. 'Speak of the devils!' he said to Thorbjornsson. 'There they are, up to no good as usual!'

Thorbjornsson glanced at him. 'I'll leave you to brief your men, Sergeant. I need to speak with my Wolf Guard.'

Kodos nodded. 'As you wish, sir.' He saluted.

Thorbjornsson nodded with reserved politeness then strode off toward the nearest longhouse. Alaster caught a glimpse of the nearby Wolves snapping to attention. One of them, taken by surprise, dropped a flagon of ale. The formalities were undermined by the laughter of his packmates.

'Okay you lot, get over here,' Kodos said. 'Patreus, Nasty, stand guard. Karo, come with me.' He gestured to the Land Raider's open hatch. Alaster stared – they were going in there?

'Why do we have to stand around?' Nasty moaned.

'Because you're not good for anything else, that's why,' Kodos snapped back. Alaster blinked. Looking carefully, he noted a hint of tension around Kodos's eyes. Something had the sergeant preoccupied.

He followed Kodos inside the Land Raider. It was darker there. It took his eyes a moment to adapt. There wasn't much space inside the troop compartment. It was full of boxes and odd devices, masses of cables and half-packaged satellite dishes. Over in one corner sat a neat pile of several big superconducting batteries. There were three of the big cubes. Next to them-

Alaster stared. Stowed on a rack were several jump packs!

Kodos saw where he was looking. 'Yeah, thought you might spot them,' he said.

Behind them Alaster could hear the sounds of the camp, leaking in through the open hatch. The inside of the Land Raider smelled faintly of machine oil and cardboard from all the boxes.

'I thought the Wolves didn't use jump packs,' Alaster said.

'They don't usually,' Kodos agreed. 'There was a plan to give them to one of the Blood Claw squads. Apparently they don't know any better. But since we're here and we do … well, lucky us. Makes sense. We have more training – and some of us more experience.'

Alaster couldn't get his eyes off the jump packs. They were painted the wrong colour, he noted. He wondered if that would cause a problem with the Machine Spirits. Something to worry about later, he supposed. 'So we'll be using them?' he asked.

Kodos nodded. 'Yes. Because as of five AM tomorrow morning, things get interesting.'

'We're moving out?'

Kodos nodded. He dug into one of his belt pouches, pulling out a slate. He put it flat on top of one of the crates. 'Look at this,' he said. He tapped a key. The slate's face lit up. A holographic map flickered into life above it. Alaster peered at it. 'This is based on our latest surveillance footage.'

It showed a shoreline. There was a circular bay with a large island in the middle of it. No, that wasn't an island. It was glossy and flesh-coloured. Alaster noted four pylons grouped around its circumference. The structure was grossly organic. The cove surrounded it like a moat. On the shore beyond were clusters of secondary growths, towers and pools and less identifiable things. They were all embedded in a mass of filamentary strands that wound across the ground. In places it looked like a spreading net of blood vessels, in others a mass of mould-strands.

'Yuck,' Alaster said.

'It is a bit gross, isn't it?' Kodos agreed. 'This is the hive centre. This is what we're going to destroy.'

'So the Nids have themselves a hole,' Alaster said. 'I take it that cove isn't natural?'

'No it isn't. It's an impact feature. This thing was deposited by that Nid ship, the one that got shot down.'

Kodos was looking at Alaster expectantly. Alaster realised there was something else he should have spotted. He looked carefully at the map.

He noticed the shoreline and the cove were cut off from the inland, by a steep mountain range. 'Mountains,' he said. 'They're not easy to get at.'

'It's given them natural ramparts,' Kodos agreed. Was there just a hint of satisfaction in his face? 'Makes the area hard to attack.'

'Air support?' Alaster asked, trying to think strategically.

Kodos shook his head. 'Been tried. They've got defences up now. The only way to get in is to come in low – below their radar, as it were.'

'So we're going in on foot?'

Kodos nodded. 'Well, we're going in on jump packs – but yes, basically. You see all these crates? These are the targetters we need to get into place. That's the objective. We need the bombardment targeted carefully. We don't know which bit of this structure is the key one. So we have to get all of it.'

Alaster nodded. 'So we'll be unloading the tank?'

Kodos shook his head. 'No.'

Alaster blinked. 'Then how…?' He looked at the map. The mountains didn't look tank-friendly.

'The targetters need protecting. The Wolves won't teleport. With Nid air defences in the area, drop-podding isn't a good option. The best is to keep them inside the Land Raider.'

Alaster nodded. 'I see that, Sergeant – but how do we get the Land Raider through the mountains?'

Kodos pointed at something, a faint linear feature that vanished just on the edge of the mountains. 'The Nid spore came down on what used to be a large town. Seventeen thousand people. It had a train station. There's still a monorail line running through a tunnel. We managed to sneak a servo-skull in there a while back. The tunnel's still open. It's big enough to take the Land Raider and the army through the mountains.'

'That's a good place for an attack,' Alaster said.

Kodos nodded. 'Yes. But the entire army isn't going to be in the tunnel.'

'Isn't it?'

'No. We'll be going through ahead on the jump packs. The landspeeders will come with us. Our job will be to distract the Nids, break them up while the others come through. Once the Wolves are out of the tunnel, the landspeeders change duty. From then on they'll be supplying heavy firepower to support the Blood Claws.'

Alaster nodded with a feeling of enlightenment. He had wondered how the Blood Claws managed without heavy weapon support. 'So what do we do after that?'

'We switch to roving strike mode. We jump in whenever there are deep concentrations of Nids. We hit the big ones, we jump out. While we're at it, we get to spot for the Long Fangs.'

Alaster whistled. 'So we're not going to get bored, then.'

'This is a big honour,' Kodos said. 'Thorbjornsson's letting us lead the assault. Frankly, I'm surprised. I'd thought if anything, we might get used in a support role. But no – we're going to be in the thick of it.'

Alaster looked at the map. It was definitely an honour and a big responsibility. Something else occurred to him. It was also the most dangerous single duty of any in the assault. 'How's Fegust?' he asked.

'Recovering,' Kodos said. 'They've patched him up. He should be ready to fight by tomorrow. That's good, given that we're striking before dawn.'

Alaster nodded. 'What about extraction?'

'We'll have a Thunderhawk pick-up,' Kodos replied.

'I thought you said there were air defences?'

Kodos pointed at a shape on the map. 'There are. That's what we think these are. When we set up the targetter beacons, we're going to take them out as well.'

'Oh.' Alaster nodded. 'What happens if we don't?'

'We die,' Kodos replied succinctly. 'The barrage is due to start no more than ten minutes after we get the targetters in place.'

Alaster blinked. 'That's cutting it a bit fine, isn't it?'

'No – in fact it's probably too loose. Do you think the Nids are just going to leave them alone, once we put them up? Skak no. There's no point us doing all this, only for the Nids to smash the beacons.'

'So we have to take the air defences down, then.'

'Yes.'

Alaster whistled. 'Well, it's nice to know we won't get bored.'