Commander Richell and the others looked down the corridor. They had to go back, toward the horrific cries of the tyranids echoes if they hoped to reach the corridor that Commander Urgo told them of. It was inevitable, that they would have to fight. Something that they were woefully unprepared for.
Richell held up her plasma gun, certain that its use was almost up.
"Well then, looks like we will have to get to that corridor or die trying. If you are so willing to die, Lieutenant, then run ahead and at least die useful as a meat shield."
Jimmy gritted his teeth and stepped down.
"I get it, Commander. I'll fall in line. Now we going to go through hell or not?"
Richell gave him another glare.
"Good. We're getting out of this alive."
Ervin took several deep breaths, and held the metal pipe he managed to pry from the wall. He had no other weapon, having fallen with only the vox. But he wouldn't give up yet. Damn it all if he would die without trying. The two Stormtroopers of course always ready as they stood ahead of them, their hot-shot lasguns ready to fire.
Lt. Jimmy made his way between them, his flamer rested against his hip.
"Let's get this shit over with shall we?"
They all gave each other one more glance, ready to accept death lest it came. Richell sighed as she held onto her autogun, the one she had almost used to kill Ervin. She wouldn't need it after today anyway. She pulled it out and held it toward Ervin.
"Here. Might as well have something more than that stick."
Ervin carefully grabbed it from her hands.
"Thank you, Richell."
With that settled, they began the press forward, all of them at once in a cohesive unit. The screams of distant fighting echoing loud and clear along all of the corridors. It would have driven most mad, but those that pressed into it were already half mad for trying. The darkness of the corridor only illuminated by the wobbling flashlights of the Stormtroopers rifles. One step after another, the ground unveiled before them.
Ervin's heart beat hard in his chest as he walked, the pipe gripped firm in his right hand, and the autogun held up and towards the corridor ahead of them. He pressed himself beside Richell who did the same with him, and they walked together. Not a word was spared, but that the other was there was comforting enough to break through the noise. For Ervin it was what allowed him to keep up his thin line of bravery and not break down.
Lt. Jimmy was on his own between the two Stormtroopers, his flamer the only friend he had currently. This was it, and he was sure of it. After all the hell and torment this life had put him through he felt it, this was the last battle. His finger itchy over the trigger, ready to empty out the rest of the promethium flame wherever it was needed. His two mindless companion's in the Stormtroopers likely content to die. His two adamant ones behind him. Feck it. Feck it all…
Their anticipation was rewarded with the appearance of a large tyranid monster which rammed itself into the wall of the corridor ahead of them. As if it were blind, flailing its body along carelessly, slamming from one wall to the other. Its sharp scythe like hands far too large for it to effectively carry, and its head an armored mass of scales and blood. It seemed mutated and corrupt. Crude in design, disfigured and not as carefully crafted as the other bio-forms which inhabited the hulk. This was a new type of tyranid that none of them had never seen before. Either way it was them or it, and they would do all they could to ensure it was it.
In truth it was a new bio-form that the hive ship managed to produce. Large, hulking, and ready to bash into enemy lines where necessary. A modification of the general hormagaunt, made larger and far more armored, with scythes that were more prepared to bash than they were to slice. The hive ship itself was one that collected a particular type of bio-material which allowed for such a mutation, but it was twisted; corrupted. The hive ship was purposefully left behind by its fleet, to ensure that it did not infect the rest of the hive, for it was a cancer. The ship itself was a mess of mutation and the new bio-forms it created were far from the templates that its queen had designed. No, something had went terribly wrong, and the first Broodlord which came from it was something else. It had gained a sentience of its own that broke away from the hive mind and in turn, created its own. It managed to splice itself into the hive ship itself, and take control over what it created. A truly horrific thing indeed for the tyranids to encounter, but something swiftly dealt with, left to die without nourishment. That it found a hulk to attach itself to then, was a stroke of luck. Or was it? The Broodlord wasn't sure, and it didn't care. Those who came for whatever the strange ship that was within were eaten for sustenance, and the ship began its steps to overtaking the hulk in its entirety. The Broodlord its own hive mind now, developing its own consciousness. It knew not how, but it would not question it. It was merely a matter of its superior evolution having broken away from the previous hive mind which was too weak to overtake it. It grew interested in whatever was within the Dark Age ship, for it came to believe that whatever was inside would help it evolve further. Its own brain functions growing… growing… growing… under the influence of something it did not know. A voice, a whisper, beckoned to it. It wasn't warp related, for it was deep within the shadow of the warp which permeated all its species. This in truth prevented the hulk from fully delving into the warp, and only skimmed its surface.
This particular Broodlord was also unique in that it saw through the eyes of every bio-form that the ship created. It even saw the group of straggling food that was in the sights of one of its newest creations. It needed all the biomass it could have, and currently the hive managed to attain enough to create more of these variations. It needed more still. More. More. More!
The tyranid monstrosity charged forward, towards Richell and the others. Lt. Jimmy let loose with his flamethrower bathing the area ahead of him in promethium, the Stormtroopers likewise opening fire. The tyranid didn't slow down, nor did it stop, unfazed by the flame that scathed its thick armor. It simply pressed forward, even as its flesh began to singe and boil. It lifted the massive scythes that were its arms and slammed them carelessly ahead of it. Lt. Jimmy barely managed to dodge the strikes, the two Stormtroopers jumping backward to avoid the blows. The scythes slammed into the walls as it left massive dents and ruptures in the metal around it. Richell took the moment that it rested to pull its scythes up again and fired a bolt of plasma into its armored head. The blow made it recoil, nearly tilting its massive frame backward as it stumbled, but it maintained its stance and used the momentum to swing itself forward again. Its head broken open, the armor plate that covered it cracked and melted away. Its writhing and bloody brain revealed as it pulsed in unison with the blood that seeped out.
The Stormtrooper's attempted to aim at it, but their shots were blocked as the tyranid pulled up one of its scythe like appendages. With the other it slammed it to the side, crushing one of the Stormtroopers against the wall, followed by an earsplitting crack that was his bones all snapping at once. His hot-shot lasgun falling to the floor.
Richell moved to the side to avoid another blow, pushing Ervin out of the way as he fired twice with the autogun towards the open brain. She pulled up her plasma gun again, only to realize it was out of charge and would no longer work. Damn! One casualty and her weapon down…
Ervin gritted his teeth, and stood up from the ground. This monster before him made him shake, his heart recoiling in terror merely by its presence. But he wouldn't give up damn it! He…
He gripped the pipe tightly in his hands. The auto-gun wasn't doing anything, the bullets simply bounced off of its armor. The tyranid was slow, but just one good swipe with its massive blades and death was certain. So, this would be all or nothing. He clenched the pipe with both of his hands, dropping the autogun to the floor. He raced ahead, full with adrenaline. Lt. Jimmy at the same time was about to pull up his flamethrower again, onto to find it jammed.
"Feck!"
He looked up realizing that the tyranid pressed forward on him. It raised one of its hands to crush him and he swore he saw his life flash before his eyes. And it was nothing but a long line of unfortunate events, a life of war, death and constant loss. He was already tired of it all, and this mission, this was what managed to break him. He just accepted it, letting his flamethrower drop, the strap that held it to him pulling hard on his shoulder. He didn't expect for Ervin to run past him, and with a single jump, narrowly avoiding the swing of the tyranids other arm, slammed the pipe into its open skull. A fountain of the tyranids blood came afterwards as it splashed over the entire corridor, the tyranid slamming itself against the walls to shake off Ervin. He only managed to hold on by the tight grip he squeezed on the pipe itself, stuck deep into the creature's brain. His legs flailing about under him. He kept his eyes closed as he continually forced the pipe further into the head, exerting as much force as he was capable. The splashing of blood against his face and cloths all but nauseating as it made him want to hurl. But he didn't, he stayed strong through it all, and with a final crack, the tyranid stopped moving all at once, its body lurched forward.
The remaining Stormtrooper moved to find his compatriot who was crushed. They were still alive, if only barely. Their chest caved in, and their legs no longer useful. He had to be properly disposed of. His fellow Stormtrooper looked up to him, from where he was on the ground. He knew it too that this was it, the Emperors divine mercy. All he hoped was that his equipment was still usable for the others. With a single hand he held it out, as if a final sign of respect. His compatriot felt an odd reaction to the gesture however. He halted, something no Stormtrooper should ever do. He was a tool of war. Yet he could not stop his eyes from being drawn to the metal hand that the Magos had provided him, a gift that allowed him to continue fighting in the Emperors name. Without it, he would have been put to death just like his compatriot…
...
No matter.
He pulled up his hot shot las gun and put a single laser through his compatriots head, noting that the mask was useless, cracked and un-salvageable. A heartless action to those who were not weapons of war… heartless… good thing that was all he was. Heartless.
Ervin finally opened his eyes, amazed at his luck. He let go of the pipe, and backed away only to trip onto the ground again. Lt. Jimmy snapped out of his daze at the whole turn of events and looked over the tyranid into the darkness. Only the areas where promethium still burned bathed in a faint light from the flame. Well, if there were any others they would have already swarmed them to death. He gave a glance to Ervin who amazed him with his stupidity, even if it saved them. Hell, maybe they did have a chance.
"Good on ya, Ervin was it?"
Ervin couldn't prevent himself from throwing up what little was left in his stomach as he turned to the side away from the monster. Richell knelt beside him, just as dazed as Ervin was.
"That was incredibly foolish, but you made it through Ervin. Managed to kill a big one and this was only your second real fight! Gotta say, you're making a good impression."
Ervin tried to smile to return her attempt at humor, but he wasn't up to it. He really did that. Whatever the hell that was. That he killed that thing was… no, he wouldn't even question it. He wouldn't even give it a thought. Just as long as he was alive.
The remaining Stormtrooper started to remove the armor and other useful tools from his fallen comrade. He picked up the hot-shot las-gun, its pack still in tack, and tossed it over towards Ervin. Both Richell and Ervin turned to face him. Ervin then noticing the now unarmored body of the other Stormtrooper, his twisted and broken body disfigured in a thousand different ways. But what shocked him more was that he was young, far younger than himself, blank in his deathly expression.
"You just…"
Richell knew that it was for the best.
"Come on, get the armor on Ervin. Better you use it than it go to waste. And that Hot-Shot lasgun will do wonders too."
Lt. Jimmy bit his lip, unwilling to voice his discomfort with that. So Ervin got the armor did he? Fine. Seemed like the Commander had a soft spot for him after all…
Ervin didn't get a chance to say anything as the Stormtrooper tossed him the slightly busted armor. He caught it in his hands, noticing how heavy it was, and then looked to Richell. She should be the one to use it if…
"You should…"
Richell gave him a hard glare as she pushed the armor on him.
"Ervin, get that on now. It's suited more for you than me anyway, and give me the vox. I can handle that well enough. And don't get the wrong impression, you are going to have to stand ahead of me alright?"
Ervin sighed, ever so slightly amused. If still shaken by all that happened.
"Alright."
In the Sanctum, the battle continued to rage on just as it had before. As few casualties as possible were lost thanks to the planning of Techpriest Argo, and the line held. The endless swarm of tyranids no smaller than it was before when the fighting started. Emile and Eli found themselves in the midst having to shoot down several of the flying tyranids which descended toward them from the vents above. More continued to pour down, but were quickly shot by the servitors manned autocannons of the Dunestriders. Techpriest Argo was finally done with his calculating as he made his was to Emile and Eli. Using his two arch-pistols he shot down every flying tyranid that came within his range, as if simply a secondary reflex. He had established the perfect defense, and now all that it came down to was the time that they were able to hold out. The battle had gone favorably for now, but there was no other extraction point available. He crunched the numbers and it was clear what his best option was, if the Dark Anvil was to be ensured of victory on this day. So here all of the current forces would stand and fight, to the death. But for the plan that the former Inquisitor and the High lord of House Valor crafted, they would need someone capable of getting to the plasma cores to detonate them. A plan that needed to succeed as soon as possible, if the objective was to be completed as far as he saw it. So, he had to unfortunately depend upon them, the Space Marines.
"Space Marine!"
Emile didn't give him a glance, focused on knocking several more tyranid flyers out of the air, their wings removed from their backs as they spiraled out of control into the swarm below. Likely eaten now that their use was done.
"What do you want Tech priest?"
Argo managed to make it to him, a sudden and large tremor shaking the entire room. He didn't factor it in however, too focused on his current task.
"I need you to perform a miracle."
Emile turned to him.
"What do you mean?"
Argo fired several more bolts past Emile and at more bio-forms.
"Our options are few. We have no choice but to detonate the plasma cores ourselves. Whether our forces survive has become irrelevant in the face of preserving the asset. Do you understand?"
Emile was surprised by Argos willingness to sacrifice not just himself but all of his forces. Emile had listened to him before, and had to painfully go along with his attitude, but this time… he would not. He had always acted on the most precise course of action, and in the past that mean allowing those who needed to die to do so. But this… if this was to be their last battle, then let them die fighting with the genuine hope of being extracted a possibility.
"No, Argo. We can wait until communications are reestablished."
Argo did not like that response, gripping his arch-pistols tight in his hands.
"Did you not see the beauty of that ship, that relic, Space Marine? Can you not fathom that which is stored within and the benefit it will provide to the Dark Anvil? Our glorious task is at hand, and yet you hesitate?"
Emile would not put up with this right now.
"Enough of this, Argo. You listen to me. We will stand strong here, and if we must die we will, but it will be because we have fought to the last. I refuse to allow our forces to be eradicated simply because you do not wish to hold out hope. I am sure that your calculations have been exact, but believe in the strength of the Emperors people.
Argo shook his head in outrage, firing a single bolt into the ground.
"You fool! We are nothing compared to what the Magos intends! The future depends on us, here and now. I refuse to allow you to throw it all away on a chance."
Eli managed to reach his brother, seeing the tense standoff between Argo and Emile. Argo having the audacity to pull up one of his arch pistols and aim it at Emile. The techpriest would do anything to complete the mission.
"You need to go with me to that core, ensure that we survive long enough to detonate them all and sever this hulk in half. Do you understand?"
Eli wouldn't allow this foolishness, and he wouldn't stand for his aggression towards Emile.
"Lower your weapon, techpriest. Or do you want me to end you here and now? Have you forgotten that you are in command of these forces? That if you leave anything falling to disarray will lead to the deaths of everyone here?"
Argo couldn't help but laugh at this absurdity.
"You are tools! Weapons of war! You weren't created to think about the lives of humans, merely to do what is necessary! Servitors who think they have personality and a will of their own. These forces are already dead! The swarm will inevitably break through and all will be slaughtered. Before they do, we need to finish the operation by the only means necessary! Our sacrifice is worthy of the relic that is this ship! And this way, those that survive will at least meet a swift death."
The ground shook again. Though this time that Emile felt it, it seemed specific. Right beneath him. What would cause such tremors? There was a slow rumbling beneath them, something that reminded him of a battle long past. That was it!
"Get away now!"
He backed away, shoving Eli to the side as the metal floor beneath where they stood erupted, followed by a massive snakelike tyranid with large bladed hands. One sprouted in each place where Emile, Eli and Argo once stood. Only Argo wasn't quick enough to avoid it, being impaled though his waist as the tyranid swung him around on its bladed hand. Emile was quick to open fire, busting the head of one of them as it wailed in pain before keeling over, falling back into its hole. Eli recovered just as quick and fired his plasma-gun at the other, severely wounding it as its front body began to melt away. The Dunestriders finally opened their doors as skiitari vanguard poured out and all at once started to fire upon the two tyranid forms, the wounded one dying within moments. The one that held Argo however keeled back into its hole, dragging Argo along with it. The current commander of the Dark Anvils forces was dead.
Emile looked down the hole to see a faint glue light far down beneath, through layers of winding corridors below. He recalled that Viola had told him the plasma cores were located directly beneath their current location. Those faint lights reminiscent of the glow that such engines produce. He had to guess that those were the plasma cores at the center of the hulk. And what was more, he saw the tendrils of the hive ship as it lined the walls of many corridors and rooms down the hole. The tyranids had clearly attempted to get rid of their command with that attack, but it was a risky maneuver. It was a gambit that partially payed off for the tyranids in the death of Argo, but this was also their best option now...
Viola contacted him on his vox much to his surprise and hope.
"Emile, the Magos just contacted me. The plan is a go. The doors should be…"
She was interrupted as the Magos intercepted their communications, contacting all of the forces currently present through loud unseen vox systems that echoed throughout the chamber.
"The doors will open now. All forces retreat within! Course of action is deemed immediate!"
Viola grunted having been interrupted so rudely.
"You heard him Emile. Now, all that's left is…"
Emile looked down the hole towards the plasma cores far below.
"The plasma cores. Do not worry Viola. I will get it done."
Viola responded as swiftly as he had assumed she would.
"No. Emile, that is out of the question… you are too valuable a resource to…"
Emile took a deep breath.
"No, Viola, I am the best chance to get this done properly. The Plasma cores need to be detonated carefully, and they will need to be defended while I rig them to meltdown…"
Eli overheard, for this time Emile and Viola weren't on a private vox. He looked down at the plasma gun in his hands, and thought. A supercharged blast from it would be enough to cause one of the cores to react in such a way that it began to meltdown, and from there all that would be needed would be to wait for it to hit critical mass, instantly causing the others to follow. He knew what had to be done. It was good, having spent his time with Emile. He was a good brother, through and through. But this was it.
"Emile… I shall do it."
Emile looked to his young brother. He hadn't realized that he would overhear. That was out of the question! He was still young, with a life ahead and many battles left. Emile was already past his time…
"Eli, you are still young. Let me do this. I have already…"
Eli put a hand on Emile's shoulder. This was his last goodbye.
"No, you are the most experienced Emile, and you are the sole commanding presence here. Make sure everyone makes it to the ship."
The door to the ship began to open, causing Emile to be distracted for just a moment. Eli shoved him to the side, jumping into the hole onto the corridor below.
"You've been a good Brother and Combat in arms Emile! Live on! Never forget me, and please… help preserve a universe worth protecting!"
Emile stood up only to look down the hole, seeing Eli continue to hop downward from corridor to corridor through the massive holes. He could only stand again as the current forces began their retreat one step at a time towards the doors, the Dunestriders hovering past him to begin picking up as many Guard as possible, large sums of promethium being burned ahead of them with plasma grenades and other explosives tossed into the swarm. An unexpected blue light of energy firing from within the open door to the Dark Ages ship, blasting the entire swarm within a bright blue light that seemingly slowed and confused the entire Tyranid Swarm. Whatever it was, the swarm seemingly stopped for now, and he assumed that it was likely something that the Magos had found within the ship itself. He had to take charge. Emile knew what he had to do.
"Everyone! Begin retreat! Now!"
