Locum Ignotum Chapter 17
The streets raged with the sound of battle, the terrible roars and screams of men and women fighting and dying. Amid the wooden buildings, fire and destruction raced freely, setting structures alike and filling the air with black smoke. Thunder rolled across the town, like a mighty storm breaking as death stalked the alleyways, sparing none.
On one side there were hundreds upon hundreds of cultists, screaming in fear and delight as the tide of battle overtook them. Against them strode Ajax, the immense war machine wading through their ranks like a man fording a river. They surrounded him on all sides, clubbing and scoring at his armour with their crude weapons but they did little more than scratch his paint. In return his weapons smote them down in droves, obliterating them with ease.
Running in his wake Chaplain Wrethan was amazed by Ajax's power, by the fury and wrath he brought to the fray. The Storm Heralds chased the Dreadnought with all haste but they could barely keep up with the ancient warrior. They had fought as hard as they could, Wrethan was caked in gore and the ceremonial skulls hanging around his neck were stained by blood. Yet even combined their efforts were dwarfed by the Contemptor's slaughter.
Wrethan saw a knot of cultists charging at the Dreadnought, dozens of them all at once, Ajax however merely drew back his fist and swung it wide. It stuck them like a bulldozer, sending broken and sundered bodies hurtling away in sprays of blood. Wrethan saw a few of them go sailing away over the rooftops, dead already, as their corpses fell like rain on the streets below. Then Ajax did it again and again and again, each blow shattering all before him.
The Dreadnought came to a junction and foes spilled out from both directions, flanking him. Ajax however merely lowered his arms and fired simultaneously in both directions. His Kheres assault cannon hit the foes to the right, mowing them down like wheat before a scythe. Meanwhile to the left his fist's in-built flamer spewed plumes of burning promethium over the packed masses. Cultists fell screaming to the ground, beating at the flames that covered them head to toe.
Wrethan was about to let forth a cry of triumph but then he spied another foe approach. This one was different, one of the thrice-accursed Emperor's Children, clad in shimmering power armour covered in arcane symbols. His left hand was encased in a crackling power fist and from the right side of his exposed head arose a large single horn. He was an Aspiring Champion of Chaos and he was running straight at the Dreadnought.
The Champion raised his Power Fist and yelled, "Your death is ordained by Chaos!"
Ajax faced him as he ran and boomed, "TREACHERY BEGATS VENGEANCE."
Ajax swung his fist to meet the foe but a second before it could make contact the Traitor dove headfirst to the ground, letting it pass over him. He rolled over and then came up right between the Dreadnought's legs. Wrethan gasped in shock as the Champion smashed his fist into Ajax's knee, blasting free a chunk of armour plating and staggering the Dreadnought.
The Champion rose up behind Ajax, power fist flaring with energy but the Dreadnought swung on his gimbal waist and brought the length of his assault cannon around. The multiple barrels caught the Champion in the side and sent him flying, leaving him sprawling in the dirt. Ajax clomped about, a small limp evident where his knee ground on itself but otherwise unimpaired. Meanwhile the Champion flipped back up and screamed, "I shall rip you out of your tomb and Jubila will at last reward me!"
Ajax sneered, "TRY OR NOT AS YOU WILL, EITHER WAY YOU DIE HERE."
The Champion sprang back towards the Contemptor and Ajax made to intercept him. Wrethan saw the Heretic prepare to leap out the way again but this time Ajax was ready. One second before he could dodge the assault cannon blazed and a burst of rounds smashed into the ground before the Champion's feet. The Traitor was momentarily stunned, staggering to one side and slowing down. He was off balance and unable to respond as Ajax lurched forwards and grabbed him around the torso in a mechanical fist. Ajax lifted the Traitor bodily off the ground, leaving his feet to kick the air uselessly. The Champion tried to smash the hand apart with his power fist but the angle was poor and he could do nothing save glance off its thick armour plates.
The Champion looked up into the fierce eyes of Ajax's sensor dome and cried, "For the Dark Gods…"
"GO MAKE YOUR EXCUSES IN PERSON," Ajax snarled and then he activated his fist's disruption field. Arcing energy surged all around the Champion, pouring through him and ripping his body apart cell by cell. The Traitor screamed and thrashed for a moment as a sickening aroma of cooked meat arose, then his skin went black and crumbled away as he roasted to death.
Ajax opened his fist and dropped the charred mess, then he pressed on to continue his rampage. Once more enemies fell before him and the cultists wavered to see the unstoppable war machine bearing down upon them. Wrethan however was distracted, from a small hovel he saw signs of movement and his enhanced hearing picked out cries of distress.
Wary of a flanking action he diverted off to investigate, confident that he could handle whatever was in there. He approached the door and charged through, weapons held ready. What he found inside shocked him to the core, in one corner was a gaggle of mortals, cowering in fear and shielding young children with their bodies. In the other were a pair of Emperor's Children, clad in lurid armour, one with a pair of ritual knives the other bearing a baroque bolter.
Yet it was what was between the two groups that shocked Wrethan, it was Baruch. He was clad in loose robes and in his hands was a blacksmith's hammer while his face bore an expression of anger and defiance. He was putting himself between the Chaos Marines and the civilians, practically unarmed and unarmoured.
Wrethan reacted instantly, his enhanced mind processing the situation in a heartbeat. He threw himself at the nearest Traitor, the one with the ritual knives. The Heretic turned and leapt to meet him and Wrethan was disgusted to see that the right side of his face was covered in multiple eyes, slit like a snake's. The Heretic twisted to meet him, bring both knives up point first as they closed.
Wrethan swung his Crozius wide and the Heretic was forced to duck to avoid the energy field surrounding the golden head, which threw off his own attack. The ritual knives carved across Wrethan's breastplate, leaving furrows in the black veneer but failing to penetrate. Then the pair smashed together in a clash of Ceramite plates, wrestling for leverage.
Wrethan anger grew as he realised that at such close range the foe's knives were better suited than his Crozius. He felt impacts on his back as the Traitor tried to stab him over and over, seeking a weak point in his plate. Wrethan struggled to break free but the Chaos Marine hung on grimly and they staggered back and forth in a struggle for supremacy.
Recognising that he was at a disadvantage Wrethan changed tactics, he twisted his shoulder about to create an inch of space then brought his other hand up. In his fist was the blunt stub of his Bolt pistol and he jammed it right under the Traitor's chin. The Chaos Marine's many eyes widened in shock then his head detonated as a bolt round buried itself within his skull and exploded.
Wrethan felt the weight slide off him as the corpse fell but at that moment there was a trio of flat bangs, the sound of a bolter firing. He spun on his heel and saw the terrible sight of Baruch falling back, his chest ruined and his black carapace shattered by the rounds. Wrethan roared in anger and leapt at the other Chaos Marine but the Heretic was not unprepared.
To Wrethan the warrior seemed to be moving in slow motion as he brought his bolter about with inexorable inertia. The barrel gaped like the maw of a hungry predator and then it fired, spitting rounds at him. Wrethan was in mid-charge when he felt the impacts across his chest, rounds slamming into him. His plate was gouged and torn, craters blasted into its surface and one of the ceremonial skulls hanging around his neck shattered as a round caught it.
It was like being hit by a sledgehammer but despite the ferocity of the attack his blessed power armour held true and not one round penetrated. Wrethan's rage erupted in a roar of frenzied anger and he crashed into the Chaos Marine at full pelt, swinging his Crozius before him. The energy field flared as it made contact and the concussive blast threw the Heretic backwards, making him fall down with his armour blackened and smoking. The Chaplain didn't give him a chance to recover but stamped down on the enemy's neck with an armoured boot, snapping his spine.
Wrethan turned his back on his fallen foes and raced to Baruch who was lying in a pool of blood. His hearts yet beat as his implants fought to stem the damage but one look was enough for Wrethan to see that the wound was fatal. Not even an Astartes could survive such an injury.
Wrethan dove to his side and cried, "Baruch you fool, what are you still doing here?"
Baruch was gasping for air, his ruined lungs filling with blood but he whispered, "They couldn't leave, I had to stay."
Wrethan glared at the civilians cowering in the corner and spat, "You sacrificed yourself for the likes of them?!"
Baruch gasped, "It was my duty."
"You fool," Wrethan sighed shaking his head, "You complete fool."
The Chaplain felt Baruch's pulse slowing and said, "The Emperor calls you to His side, do you wish to absolve your sins first?"
"The dark," Baruch whispered, "I see the dark growing and it makes me afraid."
Wrethan couldn't help but say, "Don't be weak, die proud, not pleading for your life."
Baruch looked up and feebly gripped the Chaplain's arm as he gasped, "Not for my life… I'm pleading… for yours. I see the dark growing in you… the contempt for common people."
"Me?" said Wrethan in confusion.
"If you let your hearts fill with hatred you will come to despise… those you are sworn to protect," Baruch gasped, "That way lies Chaos… Promise me you will remember your duty… your purpose to serve humanity."
Wrethan saw these were Baruch's last moments and lowered his head to say, "I swear it, I swear I will remember. I shall not forget that our duty is to protect the Emperor's people."
"I know… you will", Baruch said with a gurgle of blood in the corner of his mouth, "I claimed not… to desire war anymore… but when the call came I didn't hesitate to pick up a weapon…. It seems Ganaar… was right after all."
Then his head fell back and his hearts stopped beating. Wrethan slowly laid the body down and closed his eyes. The Chaplain stood up and looked at the civilians cowering in the corner, a part of him wanted to hate them for getting Baruch killed but he refused to consider the thought. Baruch had made him swear to protect the likes of them and he would not break his word.
"Come with me," Wrethan said then strode to the entrance. Outside the signs of battle had faded and he stepped out to see the bodies of enemies strewn everywhere. On the street he saw Matheus dispatching wounded foes with his chainsword and the Sergeant saluted when he spied the Chaplain emerge.
"Report," Wrethan said.
"The battle is over," Matheus said, "The foes' will is broken, they flee in all directions. Honourable Ajax is making sure they don't come back."
Wrethan nodded and said, "We have won this battle but the war rages on. I shall summon a Thunderhawk to evacuate us and the survivors."
"Survivors?" Matheus queried.
"Yes, some were left behind," Wrethan said then he paused for a moment before saying, "We must get them to safety… it is our duty."
