CHAPTER SIX
Sleep eluded me whenever I sought it. There was always more to do, missions to plan and defenses to harden, civilians to save from the hordes outside the walls. These few hours were something of a luxury I allowed myself. A moment of silence from the constant clamoring of the mortal souls around me.
This luxury was interrupted by a soft knocking on my room I had taken for myself, a minor chamber in the complex that was the Imperial lord's home. I let out a sigh and lifted myself from the cot I laid on, opening the door to see a servant, clad in fair clothing, with the same symbol of the noble house that had approached me upon my first day here. That had been, six days ago now. Six days since we had started our defense. It seemed longer.
"The lord of the house of Irvecido would appreciate your acceptance of his urgent request to meet with him in his home." I looked down at the mortal servant long enough for him to evert his eyes, it did not stop him from pushing the letter of cream colored paper towards me.
"I do not have the time to waste on lord Irvecido. You can tell him that I am fighting a war for his planet, I will not feast with him." The man gave me a tight smile and tried to press the letter further.
"It would please the lord of the house if you would meet with him."
"If it is so important he meets with me then he may come here himself and speak to me." The man didn't move, holding the letter out with trembling fingers. I had gotten five such letters already. Two tucked under my door or left wedged in its frame, the other three delivered by servants like this. It was then I saw the fear in the servants eyes, not of me, not of whatever I could do to him.
I may have been irritated, annoyed by the day before and missing fighting along like minded warriors, but I was still human too, somewhere under all that armor.
"Take me to him." I responded finally and left with the messenger through the winding halls of the palace. I saw soldiers lining the chambers we passed through, many bedrolls were empty, never to be filled again or being sat on by idly chatting soldiers smoking or drinking recaff in preparation for the day ahead of them. Almost all stood when I would enter a chamber, many saluting in respect. I nodded back to them all, knowing the hell they would face today.
With the shrine district party evacuated and almost no way of going door to door with so many infected wandering that area now, we moved on to further parts of the city, marketplaces and middle class habitations. Thankfully, many of these habs had roofs we could land the gunships on, descending into their confines to look for survivors and pockets of traitor PDF.
That was the end of our good luck. The power had gone out to them long passed, sparing the soldiers the view of the carnage until their lumens had pierced the shadows. Many, even those who had been fighting on the front, vomited.
Uncountable bodies lay piled in corners and dead end halls. Thousands of civilians were trapped and hunted, cowering behind others as the infection spread through the ranks. Black blood soaked the rockcrete, torn bodies long decaying squishing and sticking to our boots, a haze of green and black swirling over our heads. That was besides the flies and insects that swarmed around our feet. The infected on the top floors were dead, crushed remains from their hungry kin. We guarded stairwells and started our clearing. Doors were opened, infected had spilled out. I took three squads into the first habitation block I entered. Seven soldiers returned with me, not a single civilian saved. Casualties among the other deployed squads had been even worse.
It was not the first time I had pondered if the loss of life in the soldiery was worth the handful of survivors we found. In all, three hundred people had been saved from the higher class homes, two entire districts. Those homes were solidly built, it made sense we found survivors there. The Cathedral, having stood for a month before I had drawn a horde like they had never seen atop it, another few hundred souls.
How many more would we find? Every life deserved to be saved, that was part of our duty as soldiers of the Imperium and I would sell the lives of my guardsmen when I must, but they were men too, with families of their own that waited for them to come back. This was not something I had thought of before my time with the Tarth colony. Watching them go about their lives brought me closer to the mortals I had protected before.
Listening to the miners who worked upon my Monastery talk of their wives and children with gripes and laughter was alien to me, yet endearing in its own way. It reminded me of one of many reasons I fought for my Emperor.
I wished again for Astartes to battle alongside, to bring to bear the power we held. I would have wiped out these infected in droves and cleared the city of its filth with flame. But I had no such forces. I had a guardsman, PDF with degrading equipment. I felt weak, like a swordsman with a blade made from crudest iron instead of hardened steel.
I shook myself of these ponderings, knowing they served no purpose but to cloud my mind from my duty. To fill me with doubt. I would not let it fester.
We had boarded a rail system now, shooting through underground tunnels that connected the noble houses to their Imperial Governor.
Lights flashed overhead as we raced along, the clothes of the messenger fluttering from the wind. As we decelerated my armors servos moved slightly as it compensated for the deceleration. This room, like all its kind, was cut from the stone of the mountain and polished to perfection. A small staircase led upwards to a second platformed where a door opened farther into the castle. The servant led me through the statue line's chambers and walkways. Paintings of important events of the planet, the first founding, the noble houses who had settled and made their domains here, passing down power from one generation to the next.
There were no signs of the plague within this palace, servants could be seen drifting among the signs of wealth, feather dusters casting off the night's silt. At the end of a fifty meter hall we finally came to a large set of doors, two human servants pulling on gold rings that were bolted into the granite. They swung open without a sound, Astartes and mortals walking into a chamber as large as the bridge of my own ship.
Upon a raised dais an obsidian throne held vigil, and upon it, the lord of the house of Irvecido. Hung all around the chamber were banners of his heritage, more paintings of great events and gems and gold cast together in carved stone and shaped metal. Amber lumens basked it all in their soft light, faded shadows casted upon the ground.
From the doors to the throne twenty house guards stood, jewel encrusted lasguns held straight up in salute, eyes flickering from open helmets towards me when I stepped passed them. There was no rug to cover the floor and my boots boomed on the polished stone.
It was a habit I had picked up from my squad Sargent as a line brother. Better to let the mortals know you are coming.
The lord himself was a fair man, not fat or thin, somewhat muscular under his fine clothing and chains of gold. Dark green eyes peered out from a clean shaven face, his features could have been noble, belonging to a man of Ultramar even.
"Chapter Master, I'm glad you received my invitation." The fact I ignored them went unsaid.
"I have been busy, the dead walk the streets and there are many lives that are lost every hour we waste." As I spoke the man plucked a piece of fruit from a nearby platter and chewed, nodding in agreement.
"It is most devastating, such a sad loss of life on such a scale, our city will take many years to recover. How long do you think it will take you to purge the city of those, monsters?" I knew that men such as these would be eager to try to exert their influence during this time. The planet's bureaucracy still ran. Cities continued to operate, work never stopping. With so many noble families missing from the capital, their assets were waiting to be secured by those with the means to do so. The house of Irvedido was in the perfect place to do so.
"I couldn't say, progress has been slow. Four months, perhaps more." I truly had no way of knowing how long this siege would last. I desired to secure as many civilians as possible, but as my knowledge of the situation grew, the realization that it might be impossible to reclaim the city at all. Without heavier weapons, greater manpower, bombardment might be the only way. Unless my own forces or the Inquisitor could find a way to rip the coordination of these monsters away, to kill the one leading them.
The noble tapped his fingers along the arms of his chair before pausing at my response, a flicker of shadow passing over his face.
"That is quite a long time Chapter Master. We have survived a month already and it has devastated us. Our Colonel Vovek has done his best, but our world was never known for its martial glory. We are a world ripe for industrialization, minerals and metals are our greatest exports."
I knew that information already, but a thought poked at the back of my mind. For a world so rich in minerals, they had little to nothing in the way of vehicles, there were no orbital stations for construction or defense. Many of the more common technologies were missing from the planet. I summed up my musing in a single question.
"Why does your planet have no ships? No aircraft?"
"The Mechanicus," He said as if it answered all questions. "Soon after our founding the lords of the planet grew rich with the ore we drew up from the surface of the planet. We had more than enough to pay the tithes, much of which went to the nearby Forge-world. Our founders sold the excess to traders, they grew used to their wealth, ore came and went from the surface to the sky every day." He grasped at a gold goblet beside him and drank to ease his parched throat.
"They started to miss on the amount due to the Forge-world, paid bribes to the correct officials and started to sell more to off world traders, their armies grew, their decadence as well. The Mechanicus soon learned of it, and sent a delegation to find out why less and less ore was coming in."
"They found out what was happening and punished us for it, besides the forces they had raised, the founders could do nothing against the agents of the Administration and the Mechanicus. They ripped away their power, killed those responsible and set up tithes of almost unmatchable heights. Their Enginseers destroyed every aircraft they found, every ship, every lander. A new pact," He spat the word, voice filling with more and more venom as he went on.
"Was put in place, all but the barest scraps of our planet's bounty was given over the Mechanisms, whatever was left over was picked up by the Administration and we were given what they thought we were owed for it. All this wealth", he gestured around him. "Is from that faded time, we are a poor world now Chapter Master, the Mechaniscus saw to that. They agreed to never come back, not that they would ever need to."
"And now?, I asked." What did your Planetary Governor find that made him try to strong arm the Mechanicus?" If he was surprised I realized that bit of information, he didn't show it, busy with taking another sip from his cup.
"We hit a new vein of adamantium, a huge one, more than enough to fill the tithe for a dozen years. The Mechanicus wanted all of it, and our lord refused, he tried to make contact with others, to start selling to them again. The Mechanicus tried to stop him, so he boycotted all of the Administratum landers, giving only what the tithe demanded. Our planet has grown weak from the yoke of this pact, we don't hold the power we did one hundred years ago. He wanted that power back."
Such were the tides of the Imperial machine, now knowing more of the story I wasn't in the least surprised. The Mechanicus could be as ruthless as any Imperial body, should the need arise. Few would go against their power, if they chose to wield it. I didn't mention I was partly here for that reason alone. I needed the weapons of war the Tech-priests could make.
"For any to go against the Mechanicus, even a Planetary lord, is at best foolish. Even Space Marines understand the authority they wield over the production of our worlds. Your Governor, even if trying to only regain some kind of lost power, was ignorant of what he faced." The lord of house Irvecido said nothing, only gazing forward into nothingness as thoughts danced around inside his mind.
"Speak honestly with me now, noble. What is it you wish to ask of me." Some of that haughty attitude faded, the story of his planet's withering wealth draining him.
"Our master's stubbornness has cost us greatly in these past years. You are right, our soldiers are without weapons, our ore recyclers are faltering without the proper maintenance of the Enginseers. However it may make me seem, I wish to restore order to our home, to start up trade with the Mechanicus once more and see our planet at least continue on again. Of course, I wish to take up the Governance should our lord be declared dead, and I want your and the Inquisitors backing." Another set of politics, always they seemed to dog me now, those with high blood seeking that fabled power Astartes could muster on the field.
But, if it would get them trading with the Mechanicus again, then my own goals would be fulfilled, my Chapters future, secured.
"I cannot guarantee anything now, but I will take your words into consideration when it comes time to see who will rule this planet. If, the standing Planetary Governor is dead." He gave me a small smile and a nod, having expected nothing more.
"That is all I ask my lord, if I can be of assistance, please let me know. My palace is open to you and your forces." I was sure he was simply attempting to be helping to make himself seem more capable in my eyes. Truthfully, I would most likely leave much of that to the politics of the planet itself. As long as they did not descend into civil war, I didn't care much who ruled.
The few days after this meeting passed in relative quiet. More people were saved from districts we ventured into, PDF and Tarth guardsman fought and died in these raids, but they were getting better at killing these monsters, they held their ground at the groaning and grasping masses. I was proud of that fact, that they had been bloodied and yet stood firm.
I gazed upon my officers as they worked in the Strategium. Our operations had finally settled into a pattern, the constant brainstorming of how to defend our lines against the waves and PDF showing fruit. The old Captain had shown his experience in these weeks, working closely alongside Vovek to perfect the plan they currently held for taking back the city.
"It seems to be endless." The PDF Colonel murmured to himself, looking down at the holotable. I didn't find anything wrong with that comment. As the days passed, it appeared more and more apparent that the millions who had lived here, fewer than we had first assumed still lived. I had hoped for perhaps ten thousand to be found, but even the gunfire I had seen in my first few days here were growing less frequent, patches of civilians that we had tried to contact or find, ghosts.
Our arrival had forced the traitor's hand. No longer did they allow pockets of resistance to live.
In terms of military might, the possible millions of infected we faced was not an unfamiliar number to me. I had taken part in campaigns and crusades against Ork numbering far greater, traitor crusades where rivers had been drunk dry by their crazed servants. The only difference was that our side often held numbers at least somewhat equal. Endless lines of trench works filled with guardsman, supply lines that stretched for hours and layers upon layers of command networks and faulty communications. This was perhaps one of the smallest battles I had taken place in for a hundred years.
A few thousand guardsmen, a single bastion. If the enemy would only come at us, where we could hold up on the walls and beat them back. Instead the men deployed before their greatest defense, stretched thin over kilometers of rubble and ash as undead hordes in their ten thousand came and died. Yet even if we could kill ten thousand infected in a day, there were so many more that remained.
It was during these days that information finally came to us of a stronghold the enemy PDF used. It was these that I wanted to hunt down more than any other. The plague zombies were a threat, but only during their mass waves and when caught by large groups, dozens could be killed by a single trooper in a well placed position. It was the traitors moving among them unharmed that harassed our ranks, found the pockets of civilians and saw them turned, of that I was sure.
But surveillance from the Strike Cruiser in low orbit above had been monitoring the city, sending information and updates as they came. It had taken a day to confirm, but a group of traitors had been seen coming and going from a ruined precinct, a bastion of dark stone and metal that held purview over lower sections of the city. A plan was set in motion, we would raid the compound and find out all we could of their leader.
"Sosa, ensure squads Kurko and Diago are part of this force." I had served alongside each of them and found them dependable." He nodded and added their names to a data-slate.
"Have the men been performing well in the field my lord?" He asked almost hesitantly. I nodded, knowing he had helped train many of the officers while the Helikian had taken over the physical side. He wanted to know how well he instructed them, how they held up in real battle.
"They are doing Tarth proud Sosa, your instructions have served many of them well." This was true, those who served in the Tarth guard were full time soldiers after all, given wages above other standard workers of the Capital. They trained, performed mock battles, each day but a few out of the week was given to making them into fighters who would hold the line. They had done just that. Sosa let a small satisfied grin onto his face.
"Good, good. I hope all continue to do Tarth proud my lord, it is our home, and I won't have any of them sully its name of foreign soil."
"All that I have seen so far has impressed me." He was pleased by the words and returned to his duties.
Within the hour my thunderhawk was racing over the ruined city once more. The arbities station was a small fort unto itself, high walls made to repel mobs of civilians and low caliber weapons. It wouldn't stand up to a proper force, but it was just as much of a symbol of the Imperium's might as much as its churches.
"It feels good to finally take some fight to these traitors." Diago says in the dim light of the hold. The men around him nodded and a another Sargent by the name of Brovalic leaned back slightly in his oversized seat, balancing a knife in his hand.
"I can't imagine fighting alongside such abominations, it's an affront to the Emperor it is, Throne curse them all. They cast away their chance for a place at the Emperor's side, I say we send em to hell." That again got a bit of a cheer from the soldiers, the Sargent looking up at me finally, an eager glint in his eye.
"I can't wait to see the looks on their poor faces when the Chapter Master comes storming down that ramp, I've seen you in action before my lord, it's an honor to fight beside you." He was bold and I liked that, dipping my helm to him.
"We will bring destruction upon the traitors and make them pay for what they have done to this city and its people. I will count on each of you to help me do it." They thudded their boots on the floor in their confirmation of our future acts.
Then the thunderhawk cannon boomed to open our way into the compound. It rattled the hold, shaking teeth and metal as thrusters heaved to bring us down. The front ramp slams down and I roar our the battle cry as ancient as our Imperium.
"For the Emperor!" My bolt pistol booms in my hands and blood bursted to cover a wall inside the complex, the traitor who had stood there turned to chunks of flesh. We went for the opening created by the gunship, over the debris and into the building. Dim lumens that hadn't gone out in the explosion provided a way forward, powered by a backup generator in the basement.
I paid it no mind, sword sparking with energy as a dozen foes came from doorways and into the room, a reception place by all accounts, where they held criminals until they could be placed in cells. Two of my own fell in the charge and ensuing firefight, falling to the ground clutching at blown off limbs and crying in pain. The medics within each squad were quick to move them out of the way, called to Sargent Kurko before I continued my advance.
"Hold this room! See to the wounded." He nodded once and set his men to defensive positions while the rest of us stormed towards opened doors and upwards, boots smashing cursed flesh into the ground.
It was a tight fit for me, the stairs made for human forms, the pauldrons of my armor scraping on the rockcrete the structure was made from, but I kicked open the next door all the same, a dozen traitors opening fire, red beams of energy spattering upon my armor. I pressed into the room, bolt pistol barking and taking the lives of three traitors before I was in range to use my swords. Squad Diago followed me in, catching those focused on me unawares and putting a quick end to their struggles.
In other rooms other squads cleared without my assistance, my sensorium picking up flurries of lasgun fire and the injured groaning of dying men. I didn't stop, casting one quick glance over the room, overturned tables and desks, nothing of use. This pattern continued for two more levels before I converged on the last, my armor was marked by now, black spots where the paint had been worn and the ceramite heated.
Whatever defenses the arbities had to defend from assaults such as this were inactive, no turrets descended from the ceiling to stop us, put out of commission by its previous inhabitants. I was thankful for that, and hoped to find some arbites alive before all of this was over.
Upon the top floor was where I started to see the first signs of true chaos taint, the walls here were a shade different than the gray they were supposed to be, small lines could be seen where decay had started to weaken the structure.
I looked back at Diago and received a nod, he and his men were ready. My armor told me that there were four lifeforms on the other side of the walls, thin enough to be pierced by my suits internal auger system, but that was not what made me hesitate. I could smell something, off, in the air coming under that door, something fowl was taking place beyond it.
I cut down this door as I had all the others, kicking at the weakened metel only to dive away from the opening a moment later.
"Rocket!" I yelled to the men behind me, stepping to the side as the missile came screaming passed us to impact a few meters away. The world exploded into dust and debris as my audio dampeners activated to muffle the blast. I wasted no time in checking in on the men.
In a mortal heartbeat I was inside the room, one bolt round took the chest man holding the launcher, two more bursting the heads of the soldiers beside him. An officer, by the looks of his filthy uniform, fired his laspistol at me, but I caught them on my armor, making tiny movements to ensure they hit undamaged places. In another few beats of his mortal heart I was upon him, reaching out with my now free hand and grasping him around his throat. He weazed as I squeezed, clawing at my gauntlet helplessly.
"What is your name." He tried to say something, but only yellow flem and fluid came out covering my wrist. My lips curled back in disgust and rage. This one was starting to be changed by chaos. I relaxed my grip enough to let him breath, and he choked again, this time with an answer.
"Aplasa." He got out, and I threw him towards the wall to look around the room. It had been some kind of command center, what had been cogitators links to monitor the city were mostly smashed to pieces, a small holotable was dark, no power to project itself. The symbol of the Aqualla, which had dominated the back wall, was defaced with all kinds of symbols to the Plague god, and I turned towards the guardsman who winced just to look upon it.
"I have this handled here Sargent, see to the other squads and help destroy any remaining resistance, I want this entire place locked down." He tore his gaze away from the arcane symbols and had his men move out, I briefly saw the three wounded, supported by their fellows, and two bodies killed by debris that they carried with them.
"I- I won't tell you anything!" I turned my helmet back to look at the man, flinching as my red lenses peered down upon him.
"Perhaps not me, but I know somebody who you will." He narrowed his eyes and I brought up my boot in one swift motion before crushing his leg at the knee. He screamed and cursed at me, but I wouldn't take a chance of him getting any ideas. With the officer down I sought out the rancid smell, in a back room connected to the main strategium I found it.
An alter to the chaos god of Nurgle rose from the center of a room, a cauldron of crude iron, filled with all manner of limbs and fluids, was boiling over a fire lit with human fat. The walls were covered in more arcane symbols to channel power to the altar. The entire building would need to be destroyed and cleansed, but I lacked the flame to do so. I was about to connect a vox to the Inquisitors ship in orbit when a burst of static wracked my vox, and a voice filled with gargling flem filled the room.
"Astartes." My hearts thudded with combat stims and I raised my blade to the alter, weary of some demonic foe coming from within. A presence filled the room, heavy and forbearing.
"You are becoming a pest on my side." The voice rumbled, black blood and sickly green puss starting to leak from the symbols within the walls.
"You are an abomination, and I will cleanse you from this planet in the name of the Emperor." The presence retract with a chortaling laughter, my vox free of static at last as I make contact with Inquisitor Michael's ship.
This was only possible due to how low the behemoths hung in orbit, the signal bounced off the relays within the palace.
"Chapter Master, I hope the fight there finds you well." I left the room I was currently in and back to the strategium, pausing only to reach and grab the still moaning traitor.
"I have something for you Inquisitor, a traitor of some rank." The line was quiet for a moment and I thought I heard him move from a busy room before he spoke again.
"Did you? My strikes against the cults in other cities have gone well, but none of them knew the identity of their leader. I will send down my agents to pick him up." I sent a data burst to his ship's coordinators from my place within the city.
Then I was on the first floor once more. Pleased as I turned the corner to see that all the Sargents had survived.
"Casualties." I asked plainly, and each of them updated me. Six bodies laid draped under cloth, some stained with blood. A few others were draped on the floor and being seen by the medics, outside the thunderhawk had turned around and readied itself for departure. At the walls a horde of some few hundred undead grasped at us, but were helpless to the firm steel bars and rockcrete pillars.
From behind I could hear Brovalic asking Diago about me, if it was as ferocious as he had heard the Angels fought. Diago was busy seeing to his own injured, but spun the man a quick tale of our small battle. Others listened in, all interested. They would see more before this war was out.
I peered upwards as a lander marked with the symbol of the Inquisition pierced the sky, its outer hull still hot from re-entry. It took a few minutes for them to land, and by that time my soldiers had moved the injured and dead back into the thunderhawk for transport. The lander's engines whirled as it touched down beside my craft, and its door opened with a hiss of recycled air. From down the ramp Micheal's agents walked, but only the one in front was given any attention.
He wore the armor of a stormtrooper, helmet clipped on his belt and hot-shot lasgun strapped to its backpack. Grenades and a bolt pistol sat at his waist. Eyes of hard blue peered out from a chiseled face, scared from a decade of constant war. He looked at me without the normal amazement of most mortals and I knew this was not the first time he had seen a Space Marine. Still, he bowed his head before he spoke to me.
"My lord, my name is Groda. The Inquisitor told me you have a prisoner for us?" I nodded to him and motioned to the soldiers behind me. Two troopers dragged the man towards the agent, and they threw him to the ground at the stormtroopers feet. The man crouched down, eyes flickering to his pulped leg for a moment before he grasped the man by his jaw, squishing flesh and shaking him slightly, his accent thick.
"The hell that awaits you is beyond your comprehension." He stood up and with a hand motioned for the others dragged him into their shuttle.
"The Inquisitor will let you know as soon as he speaks." I watched the traitor struggle fruitlessly as he was shackled to the floor with heavy iron chains.
"I will await it eagerly, but that is not all. Does your armory contain flamers?" The look in the man's eye told me he knew what I was asking about, and nodded slowly.
"I will send down a team, this place will be purified." I trusted the Inquisitor to see this done, but couldn't help the annoyance that filled me. I had hoped this place would have been a bastion within the city to launch strikes from, high and strong walls to keep out the endless undead. Other places would have to be found, if there were any left.
A vox signal pinged in as the Inquisitor's aids lifted back into orbit. A quick glance told me it was coming from the medics within the palace. I accepted the signal and Farus's voice came through, the sawbones sounded tired.
"I have an update for you my lord, but I would like to speak of it in person." I gestured to the squads to start loading up into the thunderhawk.
"Understood, I will be there shortly." The line cut and the gunship's engines roared once more in preparation, the soldiers quiet as we lifted away from the stinking city. Diago made his way over to me, no others sitting beside me. He spoke low, almost a whisper that I was easily able to hear.
"My lord, those symbols, what." I held up a hand to silence him.
"They are nothing but the crude markings of the damned Sargent, pay them no mind." He was not convinced, of that I was sure, but I didn't want to have to purge the ranks of my soldiers should they start asking the wrong questions. In truth I hated the practice, ripping apart the minds of those who would often be the first to come in contact with the being of the Immaterium.
But as it pained me, I understood its reasoning, knowledge of beings of power on the other side of the vail was a closely held secret within the Imperium, entire worlds had been put to the torch to protect it.
"If you say so my lord." I placed a hand on his shoulder, and his heart rate jumped a bit.
"By the end of this conflict you may see many strange things, the galaxy if filled with them Sargent, xenos and heretics do things that make men question reality, keep faith in the Emperor, he is all that matters in those times." He nodded once more and I let him go, ignoring the eyes of all those inside the hold.
Back at the Palace I made for the medical center, soldiers coming and going, civilians being transported away after being checked for infection. As I passed a group of them waiting to climb into an lander, a hand reached out and grasped at my wrist. I stopped the jerk reaction to pull and and strike, more surprised at who would dare to touch me in such a way. It was the wife of the petty noble who had been given the Emperor's mercy days ago.
"You said my husband would be fine." She spat at me, any wonder of what I was gone from her gaze. Her daughter was cowering behind her skirts, eyes downcast.
"We depended on him for everything, money, protection. Now we have nothing, no future, no past. What am I to do with this one?" She all but yanked the child in her grip forward, the girl whimpered for only a moment. I could see signs of other abuse on her form.
"Your husband was infected, there was nothing to be done for him." Two soldiers wandered over, holding their lasguns close to their chests. One stepped forward.
"We will remove her my lord, she-" I held up a hand to stop him.
"There is no need, simply see her on the transport." He nodded and the line of people got moving once more, but the eyes of the small girl rose and lingered, filled with pain and sadness, until her mother yanked her along once more.
I finished my journey to the apothecarium, if it could be called such, and journeyed over to the sawbones. He was looking into his microscope once more, and by the looks of it, his health had declined even farther than the last time I had seen him.
"Farus." He jumped slightly from where he had been leaning over the desk, peering at the scrolling screen of a data-slate.
"My lord, I didn't even hear you coming." He gestured down to the samples of raw tissue that sat on this desk, a can of discarded gloves sat nearby.
"I had some of the men get me larger flesh samples from the zombies, this plague is, startling, but I've said that before." He drew in a breath for a moment before letting it out, removing his gloves before wiping away a bit of sweat with his sleeve.
"But its still changing, this sample," He pointed at a bit of flesh that sat on a steel platter.
"Its structure has changed from when just yesterday, something is, causing a mutation, even if it is receiving no stimulation, I couldn't explain how this has come to pass." I had a feeling the warp had something to do with it, and it meant nothing good.
"What could these changes mean?" He frowned for a moment and looked around us, seeing who was within earshot.
"The cells of these abominations decay at a rate that doesn't allow their muscles to function at a normal rate, not enough energy to the cells, but these changes improve them." Inside my helm I raised an eyebrow.
"Explain what you mean." He looked on guiltily for a moment before he nodded.
"I believe this mutation will change these beasts from the shambling corpses they are to well, running, corpses my lord." My hearts sank at that, much of the reason we were able to hold our lines was the fact the enemy were slow, hard to kill of course, but a quick jog could outpace them. If they could run. The image of a swarming horde overcoming the guard flashed through my mind, and I blinked away the sight.
"How long do you believe it would take for these changes to come into effect?" The chief medic could only shrug.
"I have no way of knowing my lord, at this rate of change, a few weeks, perhaps longer. You will start to see the infected develop out in the field soon enough, but I have no better estimation." I nodded and thanked him for the update, knowing I would need to inform my command staff.
They took the news well, both Qerka and Sosa knew it would be important to keep the information from the lower troops for now, until we could devize strategies against this evolved threat.
"Should we pull men back to the walls?" Qerka spoke in the small room we stood in, his eyes were staring hard at the table, and I knew he was thinking of the men that would die should this evolution come to pass in full.
"We still do not know what is keeping the infected from spilling out into the countryside, all it would take is one to get into the mining towns and those could fall as well, and then we would have an outbreak for this entire province. If the entire world fell to the infection." The solution went unsaid, but I saw the way the Colonel's hands tighten as they sat across his chest.
"Damn these traitors." He muttered, tone dripping malice.
'Hopefully the Inquisitor will provide information on their leader soon. Until then, operations will stay as they have." The two leaders nodded and I turned my gaze to the holo before us, evaluating the manpower and supplies for the coming pushes. In two days time we would be venturing into the-
"My lord, I have a vox coming from within the city." Everybody in the room turned to the comms officer, runes on his station flashing for an incoming message.
"Open the channel." He nodded and pressed a few keys, audio spitting from a nearby speaker. The voice was gruff, not helped by the static that crackled along with it.
"This message is for whatever slaggers keep flying to and from the palace. You keep stirring up the hordes and its making it harder for us to scavenge for supplies. By the throne stop, its hard enou-"
"Are you a civilian of the Capital?" I overrode him. This was the first time we had any contact with those civilians who had supposedly gathered together and formed bands. The line was quiet for a moment before it cracked again, a bit of pride creeping into the static.
"I was a Warehouse Master before the dead started walking. But I haven't gotten this old vox equipment working because I wanted a nice chat. I only want you to stop flying all around the damned city. You got two of our outposts overrun just within the past few days." Sosa took a step forward, speaking into the air.
"If you had contacted us before then we would have been able to make plans around these outposts, do not blame us for your lack of communication." A scoff came through the line before the Warehouse Master responded, heavy with sarcasm.
"You will have to forgive my lack of trust in soldiers. We've had plenty of communications come in, but whenever we sent people to be rescued, they ended up missing or slaughtered. How can we know you were any better?" I interjected before any of the mortals could speak.
"What do you mean your people have gone missing?"
"I mean that those damned soldiers in the city have promised us safety before, but none of our numbers ever report back from their 'safety', soon enough we figured out they had no interest in helping us." Vovek spoke next.
"I am Colonel Vovek and I speak for the PDF here in the city. Any soldiers inside these walls are loyal servants of the Emperor, if you can tell us where you are we can arrange transport-"
"I'm afraid not, we aren't the trusting types anymore and we are doing alright for ourselves. We don't want to end up like those souls at the Cathedral."
"Many of the civilians at the Cathedral survived." I said, the line going silent for a long moment before it returned.
"Then why did you have to bring the entire building down? It was one of the last nice things to look at in the city." I could have explained it, but there were more pressing things to ask while the channel was open.
"If you do not seek to be saved then so be it. But if you have information on the traitors inside the city then it is needed for the effort of saving it." The man chuckled for a moment, an irritating sound given the ever present crackling.
"I'm afraid that's not how this is going to work. We will share what we know, but only after you do the same. Food, weapons, clothing. We need all of it and you're going to give it if you want what I know." I saw Sosa frown in irritation and go to speak again, but raised a hand to still him. Vovek looked at me with eager eyes. He was more than willing to agree to this deal.
"I will meet with you at a location of your choosing. I will come alone. After I have seen your words have worth, I will give you the supplies you desire." For a long minute the vox was quiet, and the voice came back.
"Warehouse thirty four A. Tomorrow at noon." Then the line died, and with it the insufferable cracking. Sosa turned to look at me.
"My lord you cannot be thinking of truly going alone."
"You're not going to try to keep supplies from them?" The man shook his head.
"Of course not, their situation is understandable and I would have done the same if I had been in his shoes. I won't be blamed for circumstances outside our control." I had asked for Vovek's sake, having seen the way his eyes had narrowed at his fellow commander minutes before.
"I will not be alone. A thunderhawk is a mighty weapon in its own right. I will be safe enough for a meeting." He nodded, knowing there was no way to sway my plan. I turned to the PDF Colonel.
"Vovek, speak to the quartermasters and start setting aside supplies, while we may not be stretched there is a timetable to keep to ensure our men have enough." He nodded and left, leaving the strategium with only Sosa and myself, discounting the other handful of officers.
"Walk with me Sosa." He nodded and fell into step beside me, my gate slowed as we made our way to the walls overlooking the city. Leather and ceramite boots scuffed the stone, the stillness of the air tainted by the small wines of my armor's servos and the venting of heat from my powerpack.
We came to rest on a turret that jutted out from the wall. A soot pile from a fire lit by the soldiers who had stood guard here last night swirled in the wind, filling the space with the scent of oil.
"Tell me how the men are doing." Sosa seemed surprised by the question, taking but a moment to school his features before he spoke.
"As you said yourself my lord they are performing well in the field." That was not what I had been after.
"You are their commanding officer, but you are also a man. I want to know how their moral stands currently stand. Surely you must hear things from those under you?" He frowned for a long minute, mulling over his thoughts.
"Surly my lord you cannot be bothered by what the men think of you?" I shook my head, the body suit I wore stretching around the muscles of my neck.
"They are fighting flesh eating monsters Sosa, I do not fear these creatures, and you have seen enough that you do not as well. But they are fresh troops, trained well, yes, but that cannot prepare any for the horrors of what war is. And this disease is no normal war. I know beside me they would not think of desertion, but I want to know if I am pushing them too hard." I had surprised myself with the question. For the long years I had served my old Chapter we had fought alongside guardsmen many times, and every time they failed or succeeded I had paid it little mind. They were warriors, if lesser than ourselves, and could not be held to the same standards. Yet I cared for these soldiers who were my own, these mortals who fought and died for the planet I had been given.
Sosa was quiet, turning his worn face out towards the city and its darkening skies. The moment stretched, a burst of lasfire from below caught both of our attention and brought him out of his silence.
"It is hard on them my lord, seeing your friend be devoured, there are many squads who cannot say they have the honor of fighting alongside you. There have been many deaths, but I am confident the Tarth guard will come out of this conflict stronger and harder. Out of all the foes they could have broken their teeth on, these are cruel ones, but it will serve as a good teacher."
There was no teacher like raw combat experience, that I knew from personal experience. All the hypno indoctrination and battles between brothers could not prepare you for the feeling of sinking blades into a traitor's stomach, to trade bolt shells from within a crumbling hive city, racing to escape a falling tomb.
"I can only hope to make it back alive for that experience to put to good use." My armies leader leaned forwards a bit, resting both hands on the stone.
"We will succeed here my lord, I have no doubts. Soon we will know more about the enemy and be able to strike at their heart. The city might take longer to reclaim, but without a leader the traitors will crumble, and from there, the work of purging this filth can begin in earnest." There was a layer of aggression tied into those words. It had become personal for him too.
"With faith and fury General, with faith and fury."
The next day I stood in my thunderhawk alone, the powerful engines whining down as we landed in the location given to us the previous day by the civilian leader. The sun was high above, beating down upon the heads of the dozens of people who stood around as the ramp lowered. They were civilians alright, torn and patched clothing hung off thinning forms from malnutrition. A wide mix of weapons were gripped in tight hands, from lasguns to autoweapons, some even holding wood sticks with metal shards wrapped in wire.
Their leader was not a barrel chested man as Eric had been, but small, hardly coming up to stare into my chestplate. But come up to me he did, his form betraying the, to him, powerful voice from his chest. He stopped two meters away, looking up at me with eyes that had seen death, but even then, now face to face with an Astartes, there was fear there, fear of the unknown.
"You are Madeco." I spoke, and my voice rolled out from the vox grill of my helmet around the small landing zone, making many flinch at the volume and look around, as if the infected would come pouring from the empty places between large cargo crates.
"I am." He said somewhat stiffly, trying to get control of his beating heart. I was used to such behavior, while some mortals were not over awed by Angels of Death, such as nobility, others could hardly believe their sight, this was one of those times it seemed.
I gestured behind me to the crates that filled the thunderhawk, each was made of metal and stamped with the symbol of the Drakes.
"These crates are filled with the supplies you asked for, rations, munitions, weapons." The small crowd almost surged forward at my words, hunger was clear to see in their eyes, but I held up a hand, and all stopped in their inching.
"They are yours, as we agreed upon, but now you will tell me what you know." I stepped to the side and allowed the people to mob the crates. Inside the thunderhawk its crew watched the people below them sack the bay, David and his men holding weapons close at hand. They were a good crew, having yet to disappoint me. They eyed those rummaging inside the crates of goods with untrusting eyes, protective of the machine they brought into battle.
For a moment the Dock Master stood and watched, ensuring the supplies his people carried out were indeed of fair condition, then waved me along inside the warehouse itself.
Crates made for hauling cargo had been repurposed as living quarters, handmade ladders stringing the stacked containers together. It was a small town, at least a hundred visible just in this small area alone. Campfires burned with thick oil soaked cloth, gaunt faces looking up and out from hoods and hats.
Bright white light shined down upon all of it, industrial bulbs made to provide illumination to what had been a dark space, for there were no windows looking inside, nothing to distract the past labor force from their tasks. Up a set of rusting stairs I followed Madeco, tensing slightly as the metal groaned under the weight of my power armor.
With servos whirling softly and the grinding of rust under boots we stepped inside a small office, a place for a man of his station to look over thousands of workers. Now above most of the crates I could see how far the warehouse stretches, hundreds of meters of metal and rockcrete, all organized into neat rows.
Madeco sat himself behind a steel desk, feet tapping the metal floor as he organized his desk, filled with stacks of paper and data-slates filled with information. Even in the midst of a plague, it seemed the man didn't venture far from his ways.
"Excuse the mess, you get used to it." I said nothing, taking in the room and its exit points, firing lines and points of defense. Habits I had been living for years and not ones I was ever going to forget.
"You said you had information on the enemy PDF." He finally looked up from his papers and nodded, pouring himself something that smelled as if it could rust iron.
"I do, as I told you over the vox, we had people getting 'saved' by them before we realized they were not the 'good guys'." He brought up his fingers and wagged them at the end. I waited for him to continue.
"A few groups had to fail to report back and we got the message. Thankfully I was smart enough to keep our place here hidden, so we were kept safe." He took a drink from his cup and winced a bit, but swallowed down the substance all the same.
"The next time we got a vox message asking us to send more people we laid a trap for them, seven came and we left their bodies laying in the street, quite the ambush it was." Again he looked down at his drink, but this time couldn't bring up the desire to take a sip.
"Do you know where the enemy was taking your people? The location of any of their bases?" The Warehouse Master looked up at me and shook his head.
"Of course, but that will cost you extra." My hearts thundered at his words. Anger filling my blood as his daring to seek more from me.
"I gave you supplies in return for information on the traitors, you will honor our deal." I loomed over Madeco, grill distorting my voice as he moved back in his chair.
"You can't expe-" I cut him off, a gauntlet coming and resting on the back of the wood chair, splinters flying as the wood cracked under my grip.
"That is not good enough, I have soldiers dying every day because we cannot put an end to the hordes, information on their leader could save their lives and your city. I will not ask again."
Madeco was pale, his heart trying to beat itself out of his chest. He sucked in air through a trembling mouth and nodded.
"Alright," I leaned back, taking a small step back from where I had pressed myself against his table, now with dents.
"In the habitation zone to the south, the old food distribution center, my boys have seen them coming and going out of there. But the place is filled with infected most of the time, its dangerous." He reached out and took his cup, hand shaking slightly to taking a sip, and then a longer drink.
"The other is at the ore recycling center, a massive building on the far side of the city, you can't miss it. I was told a large group were turning it into a fort or something, building barricades." I was slightly surprised that such activity wasn't picked up by our sensors onboard the Light, but there was only so much its pict-feeds and auger arrays could see on the ground.
From there on he was far more forthcoming with his information, and I rung him for everything he could tell me. Remaining troops, patrols. Sadly he had little besides that he had already given. When we walked out of his office twenty minutes later, the eyes of his people quickly fell upon him, he had drunk almost all of his bottle, and swayed slightly.
I had only ever drank heavily once in my life.I had been a brother of the line then, bringing death to whatever my squad leader had pointed us in the direction off. During a combat assignment to clear a continent of the fowling presence of greenskins alongside a regiment of Cadian guard and Space Wolves detachment. After we won, the Wolves had brought out their special brews in celebration. At least one guardsman died trying to consume the substance.
I tried to convince the man to get his people out of the city, but he stubbornly refused, even in his state. There was no trust for the authority of the Imperium in him anymore, a month of living and scavenging to live had robben him of that security. I wondered about that for a moment, on many planets citizens had spent months in perhaps worse conditions and remained steadfast, what kind of ruler was the Planetary Governor that his people had such little faith?
I could have forced it, landed my gunships with squads of soldiers and corralled the people into their metal hulls, but looking out over the small sea of faces I knew that they wouldn't go without a fight. Even now the makeshift weapons many of them used were covered in dried black blood and kept close at hand.
"I will inform my soldiers of locations to avoid flying over as to not draw attention to your people, but the offer of safety will be yours as long as you desire it." He looked up into my helmets red lenses for a long moment and shook his head. I nodded, the metal underfoot clanking as I descended back to the rockcrete floor, the crowd parting with shuffling steps. I went back to the thunderhawk, its engines rumbling, fans whirling and kicking up dust. All of the crates had been picked clean and moved out of the hold, already being cut up by men with tools to be repurposed for their survival.
"Back to the palace, I have what I came for." Without a response the turbines started to spin faster, landing gear raising as I settled myself into a seat. For just a moment I closed my eyes in thought, already contemplating how best to make use of the information I had gained. Bombing wasn't out of the question, but the Planetary Governor was hopefully still alive, alongside a number of other nobility that would need to be saved if possible.
While nobility often irritated me, the power balance of the planet was still hanging on by a number of threads, powerful men and women mobilizing to seize power once the dust had settled. Or so the noble Irvecido had informed me in the letter I had received this morning
A vox call interrupted my thoughts, the rune flashing in front of my eyes alongside a multitude of other bits of information. I accepted, and the voice of Inquisitor Micheal came through.
"Chapter Master, I believe I have what we need from the traitor. I will be coming to the city side to assist in the next steps." I was slightly surprised by that. It had seemed he had been happy to run operations from his ship, but at last he was going to get his hands dirty himself.
"I will meet you at the palace then Inquisitor. We have much to discuss." The thunderhawk banked left, inertia pulling me alongside it, shifting my body inside my armor. It made me think about the last time I had properly cleaned the body glove I wore under it.
"I will be there within the hour." He ended the vox, returning me to my thoughts of the coming conflict. I met with Sosa and Colonel Vovek to discuss what I had learned from the civilian leader, we spent the time waiting for the Inquisitor pondering the best way to strike at these targets, Vovek pulling up old paper or data-slate maps of the area's.
"I don't think a full assault would prove beneficial. We have maintained our position here because we have been on the defensive, it would cost too many men to overwhelm them, not counting the potential of the infected joining in and swamping our men from behind." Sosa said as he leaned over the holo-table, eyes flickering to data and faded images. I didn't miss the way their eyes turned to me. It was to be expected, and I would have it no other way.
"As I have before I will lead a few squads to strike at their hearts. We have the benefit of the enemy not knowing when we are coming, Vovek, is there anything in the area that could provide a distraction?" The Colonel paused for a few seconds to think, brow sinking before his fingers went to the holo, moving the map to peer over a location west of the recycling center.
"The manufactorums here are used to produce promethium for all the mining operations within the capital and outside. Huge amounts of it are stored. If we were able to do a controlled explosion, it might get the attention of our foe. At the very least, it would make them look at the smoke."
"Sosa I expect you already have an idea for a team that would be able to pull off such a task?" The commander nodded, arms crossed as he tapped a thumb idly.
"I do, but the question now is, when do we strike?" Before an answer could be given the doors opened and Inquisitor Micheal made his way through, followed by his regular retinue of servants. Like before he was dressed for battle, the tail of his coat settling behind him as he stopped at the table. He nodded to me first and then to the others, both of the soldiers looking uncomfortable by his sudden arrival.
"I've come with good news, the traitor captured gave up the location of their headquarters." He smiled a bit, and looked down at the holo-map to see the building already on display. His eyes went to my helm for a moment, a dozen thoughts dancing across his face before Sosa spoke.
"We were contacted by a civilian who was convinced to give information on the enemy. However, he knew little of their troop numbers or placed defenses." The Inquisitor reached into the leather satchel and passed a small data-slate to Sosa.
"This contains all the information the heretic held. Now, how far are you into this plan of yours?" We filled him in on our idea's and added his own gained knowledge to our plan. There were still bits of blood speckled on the clothing of one of his aids.
For the next hour we debated the pros and cons of different methods of attack. As the night grew longer and the mortals started to stifle their desires to yawn from days of poor sleep, I held up a single armored hand.
"We can continue this tomorrow with fresher minds, the infected have been lulling recently, less and less are thrown at the defensive lines and the men have grown well versed in their destruction. Take the night and rest, you all deserve it." I got a round of nods from the officers in the room and they left, tricking out in ones and twos, carrying out their own debates on the matter. Micheal looked at me from where he still stood at the table, and leaned back to his full height. He wore his own exhaustion like a well fit glove.
"Chapter Master, would you walk with me?" I nodded and we left the strategium, strolling along the walls just as I had done with Sosa not too long ago.
"The nobility of this world, I've been told you have contacted the only remaining player in the capital?"
"He contacted me, wants my backing for himself after all this is over, stability will need to be returned." I let that hang for a moment, curious about his own opinions on the matter. While the title Space Marine carried with it plenty of power, the Inquisition held just as much, if not more in many circles.
"I've been dealing with their vox calls at all hours, every noble petty and great is trying to convince me why they would be the best ones to rule the planet, they sure are a bold bunch." He leaned on the stone, looking out into the city.
"And the lord of the house of Irvedico, what do you make of him?" I wondered if he knew about the real history of the treaty with the Mechanicus, it would be surprising if he didn't.
"He's better than some, honest enough, but I wasn't sure if it was to gain my confidence or not."
"He told you about the deal then." I idly gazed at the information that was scrolling past my vision, casualty reports for today that I had downloaded from the Strategium. That answered that question.
"He did, I'm not surprised by it, when the Tech-priests are threatened they will often take steps to ensure that it never happens again. Losing a resource such as this world would put back their forges, they could never allow such a thing." When I looked back down at the man beside me he was holding a small crystal in his hand, a ruby gemstone inscribed with a hundred small runes. I didn't ask about it, only pausing to watch him rub his thumb across its surface in a routine fashion.
"That they do. I have to be an honest Chapter Master, I'm not interested in stepping on the toes of the Mechanicus, nor are you, I think." He slipped the crystal back into a small pocket in his coat and folded his arms, waiting for my answer.
"I don't. Who rules this planet is of little concern to me, other than they honor the pact they made and the ore they dig from the ground is shipped to the forges. Beyond that, my only priority here is to save the people and this city. Putting down whatever beast is directing these hordes." That wasn't totally true, if I could throw my weight behind a leader who was going to treat his people well, I would do so. But I knew that efficiency came before comfort. We lived in a galaxy of war after all.
"If the raid goes well this could all be over in a matter of days." I somehow doubted that, even if the infected became mindless beasts or dropped like puppets with strings cut, there were still traitors to snuff out, the entire city would need to be cleaned of the filth that now sat rotting in every corner. Another thought came from the back of my mind.
"I don't suppose the captive told you about how these monsters work." There had been no information in his notes about the infected.
"He confirmed that his lord is able to control them, alongside members of his council of seven."
"There is a council?" Micheal nodded.
"I'm not sure if all of them have some kind of ability, or if it's ritual based. From bits and pieces some of my aids have recovered the leader is a psychic assuredly. And, more disturbingly, the source of the plagues power seems to be sacrifice." My lip curled at that, the practice among the traitors had always filled me with disgust.
"All the more reason to purge them, we cannot let a single one escape. This disease cannot be allowed to spread." A burst of gunfire caught our attention, a dozen cracks far off in the city. I knew there were no guardsmen in that sector. Perhaps the guns we gave the civilians were proving helpful in their fight for survival. Or their damnation.
"How many have you saved?" Micheal asked me suddenly, peering intently as the gunfire that died off in a few strangling flashes of light.
"Not even a thousand. The habitation units we have managed enter were often filled with only the dead." I gestured a hand out towards the city.
"That group of civilians I met with was the largest numbers I have seen yet. I think they might be some of the only ones left alive. We don't have the numbers to clear every building, every room."
"Ensuring the infection cannot spread to the rest of the planet, killing its leader, takes priority." I rested my hands on the stone, feeling it grind under ceramite when I moved my fingers.
"Thankfully all the mining towns within a hundred mile radius have been evacuated." The Inquisitor smiled.
"They didn't like it at first, but this office does carry a bit of power behind it." Another surprise. I was reevaluating my opinion of the man all the time it seemed, rare was it when one of his kind weighed human life so high.
I wondered about that for a moment, having seen so many high Imperial offices discard those souls under them without a thought. During my time with my old Chapter I had three encounters with his kind. None of them are memories I could count as pleasant. What some did in the name of the Emperor, often made we wonder who they served. Themselves, or the Imperium.
Micheal raps his knuckles across the rock twice in quick order and stands up.
"I think I've kept you long enough Chapter Master, I'll be joining your assault on the enemy base, please keep me informed." I listened to his chains and steel toes boots descend from the wall. A breeze blows in, carrying with it the scent of decay and blood.
