Librarian Uwala was awash in power as the squad of marines secured a perimeter around the Thunderhawk. Men threw down their weapons to claw their own eyes out at the images Uwala was sending to their weak minds. More than a couple turned their weapons on themselves.
He sensed the coming of the reinforcements before they arrived and the Marines were well placed to deal with the new threat coming from the hive. The marine pilot had cleared the Thunderhawk's previous occupants. He was currently at the controls getting the gunship ready for a hot lift.
A couple of stormtroopers were ripped apart by the mass-reactive bolter shells as they arrived. Rounds of fire crisscrossed as the marines and stormtroopers exchanged fire. A marine fell back in response as a round found its way into the neck of a marine. Another marine was pitched back as the plasma rifle opened up. The sight of marines laid low by pitiful mortals brought a storm of rage to Uwala and he lashed out with a bolt of lightning from the end of his force staff. Three troopers fell over dead, their bodies contorted in agony at the massive amount of power that rushed through them. The Marines around them turned up the volume of fire and more soldiers died to the onslaught. Another ball of plasma launched itself at a marine. It hit between the shoulder plate and chest plate and another marine was maimed.
Leviticus tossed a pair of smoke grenades. Yannick fired a few shots but Leviticus was back in cover. Smoke filled the area and the remaining stormtroopers took cover around their wounded comrades. They would be ineffective while the smoke lingered in the area.
'MARINE! I am Inquisitor Yannick! You fight with disgrace! Come out and receive the Emperor's Judgment!' sounded the booming voice from the armored Inquisitor.
'Perhaps, but not by you,' replied Leviticus. Bursting out of the shadows with his robe billowing out behind him, Leviticus charged into battle. His sword held in his dominant right hand.
Yannick caught the movement out the corner of his eye and ducked a wicked swipe meant to cleave his head from his shoulders. Withdrawing a Thunder Hammer from under his cloak, Yannick prepared to do battle with Leviticus.
Uwala moved with purpose to close the gap between him and the stormtroopers. Another marine lie wounded and this was not acceptable. With a mighty yell, Uwala leapt into the air assisted by the servomotors in the suit to land behind the wall the stormtroopers were using for cover. The stormtroopers were awed at the agility of the massive marine and the moment of laxity brought about their swift end as a two handed swing of his force staff broke skulls. Uwala withdrew his bolt pistol and looked around for any remaining combatants. Two marines rushed around him and checked the bodies. One marine leaped behind a wall to withdraw a stormtrooper by the collar of his uniform. The marine's other hand held the plasma rifle that wounded several marines.
'What should we do with this one Lord Uwala?' asked a marine.
'I don't care. Any other Brother injured?'
'Yes my lord. Their weapons were strong enough to damage my armor to allow a round through.' Another marine announced.
Uwala thought a moment and spoke again, 'Then get the dead and wounded aboard, the rest of you with me. Let us retrieve our brother.'
Leviticus and Yannick were still locked in combat. Each attack was being dodged or parried by the other. Leviticus had quickly realized that the Inquisitor was also a marine and changed his tactics accordingly. The Inquisitor was well versed in the arts of war, but he was not a front-line soldier. Every swing of his hammer was efficient, but not adapted. Leviticus noticed the mechanical motions and sought to exploit that weakness.
Yannick circled in to bring his hammer down on Leviticus's chest but the Dark Angel had another plan. The Inquisitor committed himself to get in close to his opponent where the sword would be ineffective. Leviticus let him come, but as the Inquisitor came inside Leviticus's guard, the Dark Angel lashed out with his combat knife and plunged the tip deep into the neck of the Inquisitor.
Yannick never had the chance to avoid the impact. His weight thrust himself further along the knife so that the tip broke through the other side of his neck. With his spinal cord cut, Yannick dropped to the ground.
Leviticus stood over the body to catch his breath. Yannick was a worthy opponent, but now he needed to make good on his escape. Quickly swapping the helmet and cloak with those on the body, he planned to ride out on the Inquisitors Thunderhawk. He had just lifted the body when the stormtroopers walked through the lingering smoke of the two grenades. The wounded were being carried by the survivors.
Leviticus looked at the survivors before addressing them. 'We must go! The Thunderhawk was attacked and we may still need to fight our way off this planet. Leave no weapons on the dead.'
'Yes Lord Inquisitor.' replied one of the stormtroopers. He looked pained at the thought of leaving his dead comrades. Leviticus wanted to encourage the soldier, but he needed to get off world. The less said the better.
Leviticus made his way with the Stormtroopers in front of him. The residents of the hive parted at the site of the Inquisitor and the wounded soldiers being carried out of the place of battle. Leviticus carried his burden and that cowed even the strongest of the humans around him. He strained his senses in the silence trying to detect what he expected to find as he reached the starport. It was not too much longer when the sea of humanity parted from the other direction as an entourage of Marines, led by an Epistolary, approached from the opposite direction.
FRAG!
The Marines whipped out their bolters and pointed them at Leviticus and the stormtroopers. The troopers were disheartened by their losses and cowed behind their proxy Inquisitor. The Librarian stepped forward.
'State your business, Inquisitor.'
Leviticus shot a look at all the black-armored marines before him. The heraldry on the Librarian was familiar. 'I've come for this renegade. I was not aware that he was hunted by his own chapter as well.'
The Librarian paused and then spoke softly, 'Yes, we have been looking for our lost brother for a long time. We were hoping to rehabilitate him into the Chapter and take up the Emperor's cause.' A few of the Marines shifted a little uneasily. 'Perhaps, we can arrange to remove you of your burden for the use of your Thunderhawk.'
'Since you are here and not my guard, I may assume that it is I who needs to ask to be brought aboard my Thunderhawk.'
The Librarian started laughing, 'you are perceptive, Inquisitor. Perhaps if situations were different, I would have called you brother. Yes, we have taken control of your ship on the pad. We will bring you all back to our ship. There we will discuss what is to be done with you and the rest of your guard.'
'So be it, but I also request that we may be able to reclaim the dead to be given the proper honors for serving the Imperium.' The stormtroopers at Leviticus's side were relieved at the prospect of giving their dead the appropriate honors.
'They were a worthy if inferior foe. You may reclaim your dead for transport where they will receive their honors. Time is short. Let us begin.' The marines separated the stormtroopers from the Inquisitor and removed all their weapons. They were marched up to the landing platform to perform their grisly detail of cleaning up the dead under the watchful gaze of the Marines. The walkways upon which they stood were now deserted. The populace had gone into hiding at the turn of events and wanted to be as far from danger as possible.
The section of the hive was relatively deserted as the Guardsmen policed up the bodies of the dead and set them in the Thunderhawk to be transported away. Leviticus stood by the Librarian guarded by two marines. The Librarian turned and softly continued, 'You did well brother to last so long and to make for a daring escape. I do not think anyone has tried to leave a planet posed as an Inquisitor before, but it is a very large galaxy. Next time, you might want to try and cover your boots.'
'Yes, Brother-Librarian. If I may, how did you find me?'
'The carrier the Administratum uses get paid double by the Inquisition for any possible leads to heretics, mutants and the like. Marines are not very good at going undercover and you were discovered. The carrier sent a psychic message out and both of us responded.'
'Hmmm… So what do we do now?' asked Leviticus.
'A lot will reside with you; we are only a small group of less than one hundred Angels. We are currently led by Lord Leliel. He is a great warrior, but he has forsaken his oath to the Emperor. He cares only for himself. Brother Xaphan is our sole Techmarine. He has done well to mend our armor and provide us the material we need for war. Apothecary Assiel is also a recent find and has been most beneficial to the group. They will want to inspect you before you join the rest of the marines. We operate as a silent entity and do what we must to survive. The less people know of us the better.'
'And what of the Deathwing?'
'They are starting to get better at tracking us. We can only operate in a sector for a couple months before we must depart. Sadly, there is enough corruption in the Imperium that we can always find work, supplies and safe havens.'
'I do not like the sound of this, not at all.' Stated Leviticus
The stormtroopers finished their duty to the dead and everyone boarded the Gunship. As the ship left the platform, Librarian Uwala sent out a mind pulse into the hive that purged the minds of the humans in the hive of their presence. Should the populace ever be asked what had happened; they will simply respond that nothing had happened and that it has always been that way.
The Thunderhawk landed in the Landing bay of a small cruiser, Techmarine Xaphan stood on the deck. His servo arm poised idly over his head. He gave a cold look at the new possession his brothers acquired.
Now I will have to rebuild the blasted contraption to get it ready for Marine use. Leliel might even make this his new personal craft.
The front hatch dropped and the Marines descended with the Stormtroopers in tow. Three marines were carried out and they made their way to the Apothecarium. The sight brought a snarl to the Techmarine's face. He turned toward the new bird and set to work inspecting this latest acquisition. He motioned over a group of servitors that began to perform their designated functions. A group black armored marines appeared out of a corridor and upon reporting to Xaphan; they set to work repairing and cleaning the Gunship.
Leviticus turned back to the bustle of activity that had descended upon the Gunship. It seemed feasible in such a small group that brothers will have to take up additional duties. He had recovered all of his gear and made to follow the Librarian when a Servo-Arm pushed him back and away.
Xaphan brought his scarred face close to Leviticus. 'You had better be worth the lives of those marines that were carried out. We have lost too many brothers to rescue whelps. We do not replace our losses easily and it seems that more are lost to recover but a few.'
'Only time will tell.' Leviticus replied.
'Time, is a luxury none of us has anymore. More Dark Angels Legionnaires are appearing than has ever happened in time since the destruction of Caliban. Best learn that quickly. Something is happening out there and I don't want to be caught without my weapons!' With that, Xaphan turned and assisted the brothers with their duties repairing and modifying the Thunderhawk.
Leviticus left to find the Librarian. He crossed the threshold of the blast doors and skidded to a halt as Uwala approached on the other side.
'Follow me.'
Without a word, Leviticus followed. So far, his time with this bunch of Fallen Angels was not shaping up well at all. The men took pride in their work, but it looked as though they had no direction. They were a rabble. Not a finely tune instrument of the Emperor. Leviticus pondered this as he was led toward the Apothecarium. The tension in the room was thick enough that it was suffocating. All the marines from the Thunderhawk stood around an operating table with their helmets removed.
On the slab was a Marine stripped down to his waste. His right arm was gone and the flesh surrounding it looked melted. The plasma burn was so intense that the veins around the wound had burst as the blood within flash boiled. The marine's breathing was very shallow and erratic. The Apothecary came out of a back room carrying an assortment of tools and drugs. He set to work on the body and the black clad marines stood silent vigil. Occasionally, Leviticus would sense the penetrating stare of one of the other marines. The second slab saw a second marine lying still. Only two sections of his armor were removed and two fresh wounds had not sealed. The marine was dead. Without a pulse, Larraman cells could not be sent to the wounds to close the wounds. A brother knelt next to the dead Angel, his head resting in the palm of his hand. Leviticus walked over and put a gauntleted hand on the kneeling marine.
The marine looked up with a tear in his eyes. Leviticus was shocked at this display. Marines knew no emotions other than anger and serenity. The marine saw the quizzical look in Leviticus's eyes and answered the unspoken question. 'He was my brother, before we became Dark Angels. We passed the Trials together and have always fought together. We were not even separated as we fled Caliban and found ourselves scattered through space and time. Now he is gone, and I remain.'
'He died fighting for something bigger than himself. That is most noble sacrifice any one can make.' Leviticus replied.
'I know, and I tell myself that constantly. But what does one do after he has lost a life long companion?'
'You remember him and repeat and hold his name in honor. You have already taken up the same task as he. Beyond that, you are a marine. Marines never relinquish control for they know now fear. Even more, you are a Dark Angel. The first of the mighty legions, we served the Emperor personally before the Lion was even found.' The weeping marine nodded his head and let out a large sniff. His eyes were red and swollen but they had that knowing look that told Leviticus that his words were having an effect. Leviticus looked up to see the rest of the Fallen Angels in the room looking at him. The marine on the table had died and the extraction of the Progenoid glands had been completed.
The Marine at Leviticus's feet rose up. 'Thanks Brother.'
'Thank you for rescuing me, Brother …'
'Paschar'
'Thank You, Brother Paschar. I am Leviticus.' Leviticus looked over the marine standing before him. Leviticus finally noticed the punctures in Paschar's armor. 'It looks like you need to be checked by the Apothecary.'
'Huh?' Paschar looked puzzled before looking down at his armor. He became aware of several puncture wounds in his armor and the recent scar tissue that had formed over the areas where the armor stopped and his flesh began.
The Apothecary took no time to address his new patient's wounds. The remaining marines filed out to leave the Apothecary to his medical duties and then the grim task of removing the bodies of two marines.
Leviticus assisted Assiel with Paschar's armor and helped to bind his wounds. He looked over at Uwala who was still standing quietly at the corner of the Apothecarium a small smile touched the corners of his lips before he turned to leave.
Paschar was badly wounded and would not be ready for combat for some time, but he will live. Leviticus assisted him back to his quarters and spent the night in silent prayer as Paschar slept.
'Well? Where is this newest member of the crew that cost us so dear?' Leliel questioned.
Qalbam stood facing the lord. 'When last we saw, he was with Brother Paschar. Leviticus is still blinded by the Imperial light.'
A grimace came to Leliel's scarred features. 'Then we will have to shade him from that light and open his eyes to the real world and the real opportunities that were hidden by it.' He marched over to the transparisteel window that looked out at the planet below. Uwala, you will not get the upper hand on me. I will see you dead before I let you get any stronger. 'We depart the system in six hours. As soon as the Navigator takes us into the warp, I want to see this Leviticus.'
'What of the Stormtroopers and the corpses?'
'Put them into Airlock Three.'
Qalbam smiled, 'Yes Lord, it will be done immediately.'