IV
Bastion III
Beneath the chaos of Castle Rock and above the sullied Underhive lay a labyrinth of canals and access corridors for the maintenance staff that takes care of the facilities of the cities above and beneath it. Pipelines filled with flammable gases and water spanned across every wall of these seemingly endless corridors, delivering the much needed utilities for the civilians above and below. The hard working ratings and their dedicated servitors sheltered in solace from the mayhem their city had under come. Each had their own, seemingly menial yet vital, tasks to perform in order to keep Castle Rock in running order. Without even a handful of these vital workers, the city would slowly fall into disarray.
The specter that stalked these halls was all too aware of this fact, skulking and assessing each of its vital targets with the tactical genius of a super-computer. They work ignorant to the beast that lurks in their midst, stalking them with blood thirsty intentions. One of the grease-caked workers, a middle-aged woman by the name of Savitiri, overheard a calamitous noise down one of the corridors near her station. Suddenly caught off guard by the disturbance, Savitiri made her way to down the dark, humid hallway to see the source. Holding her glo-lamp in front of her to light the damp, dreary corridor, the Skyfall woman pressed on ignorant to the horror that awaits her.
Upon arriving at the scene, Savitiri covered her mouth and coughed as her gag reflex trigged at the sight of one of the servitors mangled and gutted like a wild animal. She held the lamp up to it to see it fully in the light, the lobotomized servant had been almost completely severed at the midriff, its intestines shredded and scattered around the corridor in a horrific display. Several deep gashes a few centimeters apart covered his neck and head; the wounds appearing to be surgical, striking every vital artery with deadly precision.
"Cain," she said into her shoulder mounted vox, with disgust heavy in her voice. "We need a clean up crew in sector 34-Delta. Something got to the servitor at the primary gas valve."
"Roger, dispatching servitor team now." Replied the man at the communications office "Does it look like an animal did it or something?"
"I-I don't know." Savitiri replied leaning in closer to the servitor's corpse "Some of these look like gunshot wounds, but…"
"But what?"
Savitiri reached down, her face a skewed and pulled a fragment of black bone from one of the Servitor's neck wound. She looked curiously, seeing it shaped like a sharp barb like an ancient arrow head. "What the hell?" she said to herself. The sickening crunching of bone rattled in Savitiri's head, her body suddenly paralyzed in agony. She opened her mouth to scream but only a thick stream of blood poured out. Her eyes glanced down to see a massive barb, much like the one she held in her hand painted with her own blood protruding from her sternum. She was slowly lifted by an unseen force causing her to spasm in unimaginable pain. Savitiri looked up at the shadows to see what caused her to levitate. A hideous set of six, glowing, blue eyes stared at her in her dying moments. In a spectacle of light and color, the creature revealed itself to be a titanic mantis creature hanging upside down on the ceiling and using its several meter long tail as its choice of weapon. In both shock and panic, Savitiri shook, letting out a broken scream before its tendril maw enveloped her skull, crushing it like a rotted melon.
The beast released her decapitated corpse and returned to its invisible state. A series of metal boots clamored against the metal grating, three servitors escorted by a rating worked their way down the dark, menacing hallway. The creature poised itself for yet another glorious series of kills.
The hot desert wind of high altitude Castle Rock made it extremely difficult for Commander Tahmid to light his cigar. Ashok nervously toyed with his steel lighter as he watched the horror of the battle in the stars. The massive, city sized vessels easily seen from the surface of Skyfall. Horrific explosions made a caustic firework show in the day for those who hastily prepared for the defense of Castle Rock. Ashok still fiddled with his lighter, desperate for a reprieve however brief and simple. He spared another glace upward to see a huge splinter-shaped Tyranid vessel dangerously close to Skyfall. A massive storm seemed to collect at the horizon rapidly enveloping the battle above. Powerful bolts of lightening arced from the grey clouds. Soon the entire space battle was out of site shrouded by the foreboding storm. In awe Ashok witnessed as dozens of black dots, far off in the distance, carrying the enemy powered from the storm toward the earth below.
Hearing the mumbling sound of one of his Space Marine ally's voice growing near, Ashok turned to face him, seeing only the more distressing image of Captain Abdul baring a look of defeat. Speaking once more into his vox unit, Abdul removed his hand from his ear and marched fully toward the PDF Commander, his emerald body guard three paces behind him.
"Well?" began asking Ashok, not truly wishing to know the answer.
"Things are grim at best, Commander." Abdul began, standing with Ashok at the edge of the hangar "The Void's Cry is confirmed to be downed and contact has been lost with Triton's Web. In addition, those specks off in the distance are meiotic spores, each carrying up to twenty Tyranid foot soldiers."
"Damn," hissed Ashok throwing his failing lighter down finally in frustration "Those are awfully closer to us than the north pole, Captain. What do you have to say about that?"
"Predicting the Tyranid is like predicting where the wind will blow in the next hour, Commander." Spoke the Invader with conviction "All it takes is some small tactical action by the Star Captains to affect the entire fleet's method of attack."
"Commander!" a young soldier said, running as fast as he can to his superior officer "We have received reports from Bastion III that the alien has made planet fall 500km out or less from their location. They still have several hundred civilians stationed there Commander."
Ashok felt his stomach rise to meet his dropping heart. Wiping his beard nervously the Commander stood in shocked silence. Looking up at the soldier with a fiery passion, Ashok spoke.
"Mount up three Valkries and defend those people with all your might." He ordered.
"Yes, commander." Bowed the messenger
"Negative, soldier." Interjected Captain Abdul "Until we receive the word from the Grim Singer, unnecessary aeronautical missions are denied."
"Of course, my lord." Bowed the messenger to Abdul
"Double Negative, Soldier!" barked Ashok "You follow my orders directly!"
"Of course, my commander" stammered the Soldier quite confused, but not leaving in fear of his orders again being overridden.
"What gives you the right to think you can order my men, Captain?" continued Ashok removing his sun shades and looking up with spite at the Invaders Captain. "Need I remind you whose planet you are standing on?"
Abdul's lip curled into a growling anger at the audacity of this old man before him.
"Need I remind you who has the experience in fighting these alien brutes, Commander Tahmid?" barked Abdul "That storm out there is not natural. It is the first element of a Tyranid invasion. They are releasing radioactive elements from their ships to the surface of Skyfall to adapt the planet to their needs. If you fly your men into that there's no telling what they'll face."
"Disregard his orders Soldier," said Abdul attempting to contain his growing impatience "All air forces remain grounded until further notice."
The Commander began to open his mouth again to retort but before he could, a collection of Novamarines approached. The leader of them a graying, older looking marine, the bolts implanted in his forehead implying his rank as Sergeant.
"If I may interject, gentlemen." He began politely and uniform "I'm Sgt. Appius, Novamarines 5th Company. With both your permissions I could lead a defense mission with ground forces. If there is a highway that leads to or near Bastion III, a Combat Squad of my men and a few squads of your PDF Commander could reach it in ample time via ground transport."
The two leaders stood in silent thought for a moment.
"Is there such a road to the Bastion, Tahmid?" asked Abdul
"There is, highway 14, connect to 36, it will take you right there." Replied Tahmid
"You think only a combat squad is capable of dealing with this vanguard force, Sergeant?" asked Abdul
"In contingency with about two or so fully equipped squads of PDF Troopers mounted in Chimeras, I don't see why it would be unachievable." He replied with a warm smile "It won't be a walk in the park but we can't lose any more troops than that if the mission goes awry."
"Do I have your permission, Captain?" grumbled Ashok, sarcastically to Abdul.
Abdul said nothing; he simply skewed his face and nodded.
"Soldier," Ashok said turning to the still waiting messenger "Dispatch two Armored Fist squadrons from 6th Company and have them ready to depart on Sergeant Appius' command."
"Yes, Commander!" he said with a salute before darting off to the main dispatch center within the base.
"Sergeant Appius," Ashok said turning to the aged marine giving the sign of the Aquila. "My men are at your disposal, don't whip them too hard."
"Well noted, Commander." Appius replied, returning the sign of the Aquila
Appius returned to his blue and bone squad, having been completely armored and prepped for three days, ready to deliver the Emperor's justice.
"Brother Democritus, Brother Theocritus, Brother Kreios, with me." Ordered Appius pointing with his full hand to each of the disciplined marines as he marched past "Brother Hippolyos, you as well. Your holy promethium will be most useful in dispatching this vile menace, I predict."
"Aye, my Sergeant." The Marines replied in unison, hefting their mighty bolters and following steps behind their superior officer.
Terentius, the hot-headed plasma cannon wielder quickly ran after his Brothers, those remaining sighing in a collective annoyance. Terentius finally reached his Sergeant, despite the massive bulk of his heavy weapon and spoke eagerly but his voiced laced with disappointment.
"Sergeant, you will need a mass of plasma to fight off the big ones, too, will you not?"
"Keep on to the Rhino brothers I will meet you there." Said Appius, stopping to talk to the youthful marine before him. Given that Appius was tall his towering presence over Terentius only made the already stout marine seem shorter. "Your heavy fire power is more needed here, brother. Besides a fast action mission has little use for someone who uses your style of weapon."
"You think I can't keep up, don't you?" reeled Terentius "You don't think I'm as capable do you. You never have!"
The other marines pretended not to watch as their normally calm sergeant grew swelteringly angry. Terentius realized the harshness of his tone almost immediately, looking down in shame.
"I'm sorry my Sergeant," he began.
"Do not apologize for addressing your concern to me, boy." Said the sage suddenly calm again, before leaning down and speaking softly to his subordinate "But do not think that I will not make an example of you before your brothers if you outburst against me like that again. There is no room for selfishness in a Space Marine, Terentius. Meditate on that, and we will discuss your actions further when I return."
Turning on his heel and unhinging his helm from his belt, Appius walked down the tall hallway that leads to the base of the mount. Terentius turned to his fellow marines, without seeing their faces Terentius knew they looked at him with mocking eyes. Terentius was one of the youngest to be inducted as a space marine in his Chapter's history. He knew many both envied him for his premature skill and looked down on him as immature and lesser. Outbursts like that only fueled their feelings. He only hoped the one who truly believed in him, Sergeant Appius, could forgive him for his foolish, childlike ways.
A blue and bone quarter patterned Rhino powered down the 36th highway of Skyfall, two desert camouflaged chimera tanks hot on its trail. The three armored transports excelled on flat ground, moving at about 70km per hour at a flat out speed. The Chimera's, being lighter tanks, can naturally go faster on a road but are trailing their command vehicle with great precision. In lieu of the chaos of the past few months highway 36 was a disastrous sight. Vehicles had been abandoned in panic and personal belongings were left in effort to reach Castle Rock before the dooming invasion.
Occasionally a corpse or even a group of corpses could be seen, the refugees' bodies' haven given up in the sweltering heat and dry air in their vain attempt to find safety. Vehicular collisions were common in the masses, the remains of victims of fatal accidents left behind to rot in the desert sun. At several points the convoy's advances slowed to a crawl, attempting to traverse over dozens of neglected vehicles, left behind in a senseless traffic jam. War truly did bring out the worst of human panic and need for survival.
After over an hour of nonstop travel the convoy saw the doomed Bastion III. The massive copper tower stood like a beacon in the distance, a symbol of Imperial military prowess. Many of the four facings of the tower were opened allowing automated heavy bolter turrets to be placed for ultimate defense. Atop the bastion a large powerful vox relay pulsated red, the very tip of it being devoured by the low storm. The grey storm clouds were now black and hung low above the military tower. Powerful red lightening struck down and acid rain poured down around the settlement, as if the weather itself was targeting the encampment. With Appius' knowledge of the Tyranid from the Tyrant War, he was too familiar with this concept.
The convoy barreled over the bodies and neglected vehicles of failed refugees with little care in attempt to get closer to their objective. A massive off-ramp lead the convoy to the road that leads to the encampment. As they drew closer the sight and sound of gunfire and screams of civilians filled the cabins of the transports. Appius gazed out the view slits of the Rhino's cockpit. Through the red lenses of his bird-like Mk 6 helm, Appius watched in horror as he saw they had arrived just short of on time. Several mutilated and chemically dissolved corpses litter the encampment, the mud caked with gore from both alien and human soldiers alike. He watched as several civilians ran for their lives, holding on to loved ones, only to be gunned down by the vicious Tyranid known as gaunts. Vile blue and black monsters scattered the large base firing bio-weapons at the scattered refugees while the black and brown PDF soldiers already stationed at Bastion III volleyed their lasguns into the dozens of encroaching insectoids.
Popping the hatch at the top of the cockpit, Appius pulled himself up with ease and gripped the storm bolter mounted on the Rhino's hull. With the martial precision signature to the Adeptus Astartes, Appius began unloading the duel barrel weapon into the unsuspecting Tyranid invaders. Powerful explosive shells tore through the weak carapace of the creatures with ease, leaving gaping exit wounds, spattering the muddy earth with orange ichors. The Guardsmen vehicles followed suit firing their turret-mounted multi-lasers into the larger creatures. These hulking creatures, well towering over space marines, were obliterated by the high powered light, turning the mighty insect warriors into little more than a pile of steaming gore.
Brothers Kreios and Theocritus opened the back hatch of the blue and bone APC, unleashing torrents of holy bolter fire into the masses of Tyranid. The Novamarines and PDF powered through the encampment, leaving a trail of orange, spattered corpses in their wake. Meters away from the mighty Bastion III, the convoy screeched to a halt, turning on their sides and opening their boarding hatches. Two dozen guardsmen and five power-armored behemoths emerged into the pouring, unnatural rain.
"Unit II, scatter and find any survivors, we will have your backs." Barked Appius nobly, unsheathing his chainsword "Unit III, take the remaining PDF into the Bastion and fortify it, this is far from all they've got. Squad Appius! Purge the alien!"
The units all followed their orders without question as the tide of gnashing teeth and claws engaged them with an insatiable hunger. Pressing the activation rune on his chainsword, the sergeant's blade whirred to life meeting head on a leaping gaunt, talons extended for the kill. Appius caught the monster mid air with a graceful swing, severing it at the midsection, coating the sage's ancient armor with orange slime. Carrying the motion fully, Appius spun cleaving the scalps from two other hunched over Tyranid, causing alien fluid to spray from their exposed brains.
Squad Appius unleashed a hail of bolter rounds into the crowd of gaunts, not ceasing in the rapid march. Las and bolter fire from the transports and tower fired past their shoulders to aid the fight. With every shot a spout of orange ichors sprayed into the air coating the soggy earth with their gory remains. No one creature got closer than a meter before meeting their gruesome demise at the hands of these angels of death. Yet another Tyranid attempted to attack the sergeant, leaping in the air in effort to slash downward. Appius quickly brought his bolt pistol up to bare smashing the muzzle into its chin, shattering its chitin before firing a heavenly round into its head. Hippolyos ignited the flame at the end of his holy flamer and doused the horde in chemical fire. The burning creatures screamed as their organs ruptured and burst from the intense heat and their fleshy underbellies were scorched away.
Chitin and gore spattered beneath their boots as Squad Appius marched over the sea of dead monsters to meet the final gaunts in combat. Hippolyos torched the remaining beasts in holy fire while Appius struggled with the remaining gaunt. The creature clawed at his thick ceramite armor but was met with failure. Jumping up yet again, Appius fired a single bolt round into its stomach; grazing it just enough to stun it and deliver the killing blow. With a swing of his chainsword, Appius cleaved the head from the downed Tyranid with ease, leaving a gushing orange stump in his wake. The warriors stood triumphant and caked in alien blood. Quickly reloading their weapons in unison, the team assessed their surroundings. The roar of alien beasts and gunfire still aplenty, but worse yet, the rain had suddenly stopped.
"I don't like that." Spoke Kreios looking to the stormy sky.
"Neither do I." returned Appius raising his hand as a symbol to fall back "Withdraw to the Bastion, we'll rendezvous with the others."
As they turned, Democritus noticed a strange mound beneath his feet. Sparing it only a brief glance he noticed it begin to rise and split the earth.
"Sergeant," he said cautiously backing up, his weapon raised.
As soon as he spoke, a series of violent tremors shook the ground they stand on, causing several more mounds to appear. Within seconds of the first tremor the first mound burst, scattering mud in all directions. A large serpentine Tyranid, much like the bipedal, crowned warriors emerged, its sternum a massive fleshy orifice. The creatures hissed at Democritus, who hesitated for a second too long.
"Raveners!" he cried raising his bolter and merely firing merely a single shot as a blast of hot, venomous mucous shot from the creature's chest using a violent spasm with enough force to knock Democritus from his feet. As the others turned to fire at the Ravener, though easily dispatching the monster, three others emerged from the earth in a similar fashion. As well countless miniscule insects burst from the ground around their feet, little more than a mobile collection of vicious teeth.
"Fall back!" barked Appius into his vox praying the others had not already met a similar fate. "I repeat! All units; fall back!
Appius began marching backwards firing several bolts into the oncoming, serpentine threat but causing little impact. He spared a glance at Democritus and felt his stomach boil in rage. The marine lay still, his breast plate already melted away, the acid boring through his dense ribcage and dissolving many of his vital organs beyond healing. Appius turned away and began sprinting; unloading the clip of his pistol into the horde, several shots taking chucks off the Raveners or obliterating a close knit collection of the swarms beneath them.
The serpentine beasts slithered quickly, wrapping themselves around and between the corpses of their fallen cousins and firing several shots of putrid acid at the marines. Running past the Rhino, Appius shouted at the pilot who still mounted the Storm bolter, firing an onslaught of devastating shots into the oncoming horde. The bastion opened and the marines charged in covering the sergeant as he followed up the steps behind them.
"Get out of there, Priam!" Appius bellowed at the pilot, suddenly noticing the guardsmen of Unit II, around half their original numbers, and a group of civilians being followed by six or more Raveners and a horde of gaunts. These Raveners fired spines from their chests, launching dozens of poisonous barbs at the humans, instantly killing three civilians and two members of the PDF. One Appius' pursuers squirmed with unnatural ease past the transports, firing a thick ball of mucous at the sergeant. A good portion struck his helmet, immediately disabling his automatic sensors and rendering him blind. Appius quickly removed his helm, but the beast was already atop him before he could rectify himself. The Ravener squealed in pain as several bolter shots from both the bastion and the rhino ripped his dark blue torso to shreds of orange, chitinous gore.
Priam, who had pivoted his storm bolter to protect his sergeant, unleashed a torrent of fire into the armored back of the Tyranid beast, severing it in half at the chest. Just as he had turned to face the still present threat at his rear, one of the monsters had sprung atop of him ripping one of his mighty arms from his shoulder in a single swipe of its talon. Fighting the creature off with one arm and all his might did nothing to stop the wicked maw of the creature from biting down into the soft of his armor and tearing out his throat.
"No!" bellowed Appius wishing to charge the beast but was further cut off by two Tyranid gaunts having slipped though his vision. With a mighty swing of his revving blade, he hacked great, fatal wounds into the creatures' heads. Appius readied his stance as another enormous serpent charged at him with breakneck speed, six arms ending in thick, razor-sharp bone talons poised for the kill. As the creature lunged, Appius spun with its momentum, grabbing its massive crown of chitin with his free hand and driving it to the muddy earth. Using all his superhuman might to keep the creature down, he drove his chainsword through the creature's eye and out the other, letting the revving blades liquefy its wretched mind before finally removing the now orange sword.
"Sergeant!" bellowed Hippolyos, firing his entire bolt pistol clip into the encroaching Raveners, each bolt purely stunning it momentarily "We need to fall back now!"
Appius turned on his heel and charged up the stairway to the heavy metal bulkhead. As he ran in, Hippolyos unleashed the remains of his flamer canister into the oncoming Tyranid in one last attempt to repel them before the doors locked with thousands of kilograms of pressure.
Out of fuel, Hippolyos' flamer turned off, and the marine let himself lean against the archway of the bastion. Appius turned off his blade and sheathed it, feeling safe for the mean time, and allowed himself to catch his breath. As he panted he looked at the camp's survivors. Scores of terrified men and women held tightly to their young, frightened children, all of which were covered in the filthy, toxic rainwater. Many of these parents tried and failed to remain calm for the young ones. The sound of muffled cries, sobbing and constant terror filled the room. The grey, metal bastion was quite spacious, capable of housing scores of soldiers during times of strife. However, over a hundred terrified people of Skyfall now filled the multi level bastion. His ornate armor riddled with xenos filth and the infected rain water, Appius walked slowly observing the facility. The thick, ancient walls built ages ago for a war long forgotten had aged considerably. The metal of the facility had rusted in many places, and many of the computers had long since ceased to function or its inhabitants had forgotten their uses. It was shabby at best, but it would hold, for now.
A young woman with a shaved head and wearing the traditional Skyfall PDF uniform made her way down the primary stairwell. Her skin was well tanned, like many other Skyfall civilians, her hair and eyes a dark brown. Patches of grey could be pinpointed through out her hair, no doubt induced from the stress of her recent disposition. She was well fit, short and quite attractive, however her eyes had noticeable bags beneath them, indicating lack of sleep. She walked with dignity and discipline, no doubt from years of rigorous training for a day such as this. She approached the Sergeant, placing her hands over her chest in sign of the Aquila before speaking.
"I assume you are in charge here." Appius spoke, never more calm and polite then now.
"So to speak." She said removing her hands, somewhat stunned to be in the same room with an Adeptus Astartes let alone speaking to one "Lieutenant Nazli, Skyfall Planetary Defense Force, 2nd Company, 9th Platoon, at your service my lord."
"Sergeant Appius. Novamarines, 5th Company" the Sergeant replied returning the sign of the Aquila and walking up the stairs to the main command room. "I hope you'll forgive me if I skip anymore pleasantries, but there is little time. The oncoming swarm will only increase and we must find a plan of evacuation. I'm aware these bastions often have underground access, is there any such access here?"
"There is," she began "Though I'm afraid it was long ago sealed and it's beyond our knowledge of how to open."
"Perhaps we can find a way to override the seal." He replied "Where is it?"
"The basement level." Said Nazli
"Theo." barked Appius to Theocritus, who was already on the second level.
"Yes, Sergeant?" the marine asked approaching quickly.
"There is an underground access port in the basement of the bastion that has been sealed for generations," began Appius "Have some of Unit III aid you in locating it and do your best to open it by any means necessary."
"Understood, Sergeant." Theo replied with a nod quickly running to the lower level.
"What about outside communications?" asked Appius turning to the Lieutenant
"All vox stations within the bastion have been disrupted by the storm." Returned Nazli "Though the primary relay is strong enough to possibly get a signal out, however weak."
"Good, I need a vox officer and a handful of your guardsmen to follow me to the roof." Appius spoke gravely "If we don't get a distress signal out and we can't open that tunnel then we're not going anywhere, and we only have as much time as it takes those tunneling bastards to get in."
Captain Leon rushed down the rocky corridor to the main command facility of Castle Rock. Leon entered the granite rotunda to be met with the faces of Commander Tahmid and Colonel Cyprian and their respective Commissars. The commanding officers' faces were lit with the pale green light of the hololith at the room's center. A single PDF vox-caster stands between the two factions' leaders, fervently attempting to maintain the broken signal between Bastion III and Castle Rock HQ.
"I came as soon as I heard." Spoke the Captain "What's the situation?"
"Bastion III has come under heavy resistance," began the thick-accented Cyprian "Squad Appius has managed to secure the tower with grievous casualties."
"Is he on? Can I speak to him?" Leon urged.
"I can't seem to get a decent signal, my lord," Replied the vox-caster. "The storm's interference has become too strong."
"Damn, then what resources do we have available to us?" inquired Leon.
"Captain Abdul is currently in conversation with Admiral Marcellus of the Grim Singer." Replied Tahmid. "Last I heard Marcellus should soon sound the all clear; we should be able to carry out an aeronautical mission."
"What was stopping you before?" Leon questioned, looking puzzled.
"Captain Abdul demanded all aircraft stay grounded until the space battle came to a close." Returned Tahmid, with a scoff.
Leon felt not only offended but enraged at the fact that Abdul had so easily usurped his position as supreme commander of Skyfall's defense. Taking in a heavy breath heatedly, Leon exhaled composed.
"Well I must remind myself to have a discussion with Captain Abdul in private." Leon muttered, rubbing his temple in mild frustration.
"I've got a signal!" shouted the Vox-caster hastily handing the head set to Leon. "You must hurry; I have no idea how long I can keep the signal pure."
Quickly retrieving the headset, Leon lowered his cream-colored hood and placed the earpiece over his head of blonde hair.
"Castle Rock this is Bastion III. Do you read?" said the familiar, elderly voice of Sergeant Appius.
"Appius you idiotic old bastard." Barked Leon with a smile of relief to hear his old friend. "Need I re-read you the codex before you go on crusades without my permission?"
"Captain if I had a throne for every time you said that I could purchase the entire Chapter." Replied Appius loudly, attempting to be heard over the roar of heavy bolter turrets firing into the ever-growing Tyranid populace.
"Indeed, Brother." Leon said, respect for his elder friend ever-present in his tone. "What's your status?"
"Poor, Captain." Appius said, looking up at the rapidly moving black clouds above. "We have half a platoon here and easily a hundred survivors. We need immediate reinforcements; the xenos is only growing more aggressive by the moment."
"We're working on that as we speak, Sergeant." Captain Leon pressed his hand over the microphone and turned to Tahmid "How fast can you prepare a Valkyrie Squad commander?"
"Immediately." Tahmid said, taking direct action and pressing down the corridor, lighting another cigar as he walked with vindication.
"Commander!" yelled Anwar following quickly behind him.
"Help is on its way, Appius," Pleaded Leon "We received word not 5 minutes ago that the Tyranid vanguard fleet was annihilated. The enemy army is capped now, what you see is all they have. Hold out a while longer, old friend."
"Bloody great!" laughed Appius over the roar of the alien swarm attempting to climb the tower. "Tell me thank Admiral Michel when I get back, eh?"
The other end lay silent for several seconds; the lump in Leon's throat rendering him incapable of speaking.
"Captain, do you read?" said Appius turning to the Vox-caster with him, who vigorously fiddled with the controls of the relay.
"Yes, I read you Sergeant." Leon said solemnly "I, uh, I don't know how to say this but: the Triton's Web and its crew were destroyed in the process of dispatching the Tyranid flag ship."
Appius too fell silent, his heart heavy at the thought of the loss of his great Admiral.
"Priscus is dead, Appius." Leon said driving the hammer of sorrow into Appius' chest. "He gave his life for us all; and for Skyfall."
The line grew heavy with dizzying static. Leon turned to the vox-caster who only shook his head. The connection was lost, but there was nothing more to be said. Leon now left the fate of one of his greatest friends and most noble soldiers in the hands of Commander Tahmid.
Taking great puffs from his thick cigar as he marched, Ashok began barking orders to the crew on the flight deck in order to prepare a daring rescue mission. As he approached one of the three Valkyries commissioned for the retaliatory attack, he began removing his gaudy, cotton Skyfall robe to reveal his hardened brown and black Carapace armor. He reached out to a guard who carried his black helm, incrusted with a platinum Imperial insignia of the Aquila, the planetary symbol of Skyfall carved into the heart of the twin-headed eagle. A collection of exactly thirty guardsmen of the Skyfall PDF's 4th company, the Drop Company, made their way into the hanger; fully equipped for a standard air mission.
"Commander Tahmid," shouted Anwar quickly running after his Commander, his black coat-tails flowing behind him "Ashok wait. What exactly are you expecting to do?"
"I sent those boys out there to die, Anwar, unknowing of the horrors they'd face." he began placing the helmet on, and struggling to get the strap past his grayish beard. "Its only fitting I lead the spearhead to bring them home."
"With all due respect commander, that's a stupid plan." Exclaimed the Commissar. "You are needed here, where the true fight is. If, Emperor forbid, you were to perish on this senseless mission the PDF would be thrown into disarray."
Ashok looked and Anwar with disgust and frustration, removing his thick sunshades to look him in his beady red eyes directly.
"Senseless?" growled Ashok "You think these people's lives are senseless? Those are dedicated soldiers out there. Those are innocent men, women and children about to be torn apart by a vile threat!"
"Commander, I merely-" tried to interject Anwar
"No shut the hell up!" bellowed Ashok, the massive hangar growing silent for a moment before continuing along their routine. "I grow extremely tired of you questioning my judgment, Commissar. You hear me? Commissar! Not Lord Castellan, not Lord General, not even Lord fucking Commissar! Regimental Commissar. You answer to me. Understood?"
Ashok turned from his Commissar furious, returning his sunshades to his cavernous face and preparing to meet the PDF soldiers from Skyfall's 4th Company standing at attention. Anwar continued after his Commander, persistent to make his point.
"Commander if you'd allow me to finish-" spoke the Commissar meekly.
"What?" barked Ashok turning to his Commissar one last time "Speak your damn mind then!"
"I mean the mission is senseless for you to attend. I volunteer myself to lead the spearhead." The Commissar stood promptly and looking dignified at his commander hoping he listens to his advice for once.
Ashok stood in thought for a few moments. Perhaps this boneheaded albino is right. He thought to himself. Ashok, himself was far too valuable in times of war such as now.
"Alright," replied Ashok reluctantly, Anwar trying not to look proud in response "You're right. I permit you to lead the retaliation, Commissar Anwar."
Ashok began removing his tight helmet and began walking past the commissar to return to the command rotunda. He stopped beside him and gave him a sideways glance.
"Don't screw this up." He said threateningly before heading out of the hangar.
Anwar's face contorted into a sickly smile. He turned to the soldiers now under his command and marched before them, spouting words of zealous encouragement signature to the Commissariat.
Governess Amira sat in her large lavish office; the room plastered with paintings of famous Guardsmen and Governors whose roots are imbedded in the history of Skyfall. Over the marble floor sprawled a lush and vibrant rug made of the finest of Skyfall furs that took majority of the floor space. Elegant, antiquated furniture for meetings and recreational breaks lay arranged in pristine formations. Amira continually readjusted her massive desk's organization; placing her quills parchments and data slate in different calculated positions before looking dissatisfied and stressfully replacing them.
Amira was not completely young, roughly forty-years-old or so, so to speak, but her appearance gave the distinction of an older age. Her tanned face stretched in places, causing small wrinkles and imperfections. Sun spots plagued her skin, her constant diplomatic missions all over the primary cities of Skyfall leaving her at mercy of the hot sun's radiation. Her raven hair was, as always tied into a bun neatly behind her head and held in place with a platinum quill, a gift from the previous Planetary Governor and unofficial badge of office. A single silver streak stands out through her dark hair a bizarre trait she'd had since her early twenties. Her eyes coated in various degrees of cataracts, well past the time for cybernetic replacements. Amira did not believe in defiling her body by unnatural means, a rather unpopular opinion in a hive city such as Castle Rock.
A man dressed in a white robe, draped with gold fibers spun into a fulsome head-wrap shawl, entered the room. He was Ahmet Avahkian, Director of Internal Affairs here at Castle Rock and Amira's personal advisor. His right eye was replaced with a platinum bionic orb; several tiny wires shattered his face, acting as fasteners for the device. His dark, aged skin was pitted and worn, much like that of the Governess. Aside from a chin covered in a bushy, black goatee; he was completely bald. Beneath his gossamer robe, traditional coveralls of the lower ranks of the Adeptus Terra could be seen.
"Governess," he said with a bow of respect, his accent laced with elements of his peasant upbringing outside of Castle Rock "More reports from the Corridors have just arrived."
Ahmet handed a mid-sized data slate to Amira, who sat upright and balanced. She took a few brief glances, feeling her gullet rise at the crime picts of horrifically mutilated ratings. Several were merely bloody, deep puncture wounds like gunshots hitting every vital organ with computer precision. Others were dismembered, disemboweled and reduced to caustic displays of what was a human body. Amira covered her mouth, feeling bile rise in her throat at the site of a woman's head had been crushed in from the top, the remains of her brains oozing out onto the floor. She turned away handing the slate back to Ahmet.
"What could possibly have done this?" she asked, struggling to keep her last meal down.
"We suspect it could be a series of gang attacks from the Underhive. They could be using the madness of the invasion as a window of opportunity to attack and emerge into the over world." Spoke Ahmet seemingly calmer about the situation.
"What human-being would do that to another person?" she said skeptically
"The cartels in the Underhive are vicious, my lady. No doubt this could be the first set of possible terrorist attacks." Ahmet replied certain in his theories
"You sure this is human? Not one of those monsters?" Amira seemed quite worried for the safety of her civilians, now having done some research on the menace they were facing in addition to what she had been told by Captain Abdul.
"Highly unlikely, my lady," he began "Only creatures reported to make planet fall are almost 200km out north of hear. Doubt they could make it that far on foot without being spotted. In addition even if they could, Castle Rock has been locked down for the past week. No one is getting in or out without direct permission from Commander Tahmid."
"I suppose you're right." She said with a slight smile, feeling a bit more at ease. "I want a full Enforcer team down in the corridors around the clock, searching for the punks that did this. Use lethal force if necessary."
"Absolutely, my lady." Replied Ahmet, bowing his head again.
"In addition amp up security here at the Administratum, if these cartels think they can try to take my city they're dead wrong."
"Of course, my lady." Ahmet gave a final bow and retreated from the room, the massive oaken double doors opening from the outside as he exited, shutting tightly behind him.
Amira stood, feeling uneasy. The thought of both an invasion from aliens and an insurrection from within terrified her. But Amira must remain ever diligent in her duties, not allowing her personal fears and paranoia to get the better of her, though the word "terrorist" gave her the unnatural sixth-sense feeling of being watched. Amira felt that opening the massive blinds to see the view of Castle Rock's underground city and letting in the artificial sunlight radiating from Castle Rock's interior summit would possibly shake some tension.
Amira walked gracefully to the shades, her black boos clacking against the marble floor. She wore a sea foam green, two-piece suit, trimmed with black. It was uncommon for women on this world to wear such masculine clothing, though Amira was known for her unorthodoxy in her personality and beliefs, why stop at fashion sense? She arrived and the opened the five meter tall blinds to reveal the massive turret window that leads to the sprawling city. As the mahogany blinds split, artificial light flowed into the room, instantly brightening the large gloomy surroundings and putting several of Amira's worries at ease.
A shimmer of light in Amira's peripheral raised several alarms in her mind. At first dismissing it as a trick of her perishing eyes, Amira continued to look out at the bustling city. The shimmer appeared again but much more prominent in her vision this time. Slowly, and with dread, Amira looked to her left. A massive hulk of ghostlike light stood next to her, easily standing over 4 meters tall. Light seemed to bend around the ghost, creating the illusion of its presence, but being so transparent it was almost impossible to detect at all. It was then that her eyes met the specter's; 6 glowing blue almonds stared back at her, black slits acting as pupils.
The frightened woman collapses and screamed in blood-curdling terror. Within seconds, platinum plated honor guard flooded into the room; five soldiers armed with the heavy hellgun lasgun variant. By the time the men could even focus at what the Governess was seeing it had leapt upon them. After having slaughter the first three soldiers, scattering their blood and viscera across the gaudy decorations the creature revealed itself as a large, bi-pedal mantis with a tendril maw, a set of gory talons for hands and massive, bony scything talons mounted beneath its black and turquoise shoulder chitin.
As the soldiers turned to fire at the now visible creature, it turned at the waist firing massive toxic barbs from the crevasses of its bony, ribcage exoskeleton. The barbs knocked one soldier to the ground, penetrating his armor with ease, the barbs injecting vile toxins directly into his punctured heart. The other stumbled as a barb grazed his knee, causing it to go numb. He looked up in dread as the terrifying visage of the Tyranid stand before him. "No" he began to scream, as its tendril maw enveloped his head, penetrating the platinum plated flak helmet and the bone of his skull. A heinous slurping noise was heard as the soldier's body shook into violent spasms before falling completely limp. Once the creature had finished he released the soldier his face gaunt and agonized as he was lobotomized alive by the vicious monster.
The creature turned and marched in unnatural movements to Amira, who stood paralyzed in fear only capable of screaming as the monster approached her. The creature now stood, humbling the distraught woman and engulfing her in its shadow. Sobbing in surmounting fear, Amira began pleading to the creature and the God-Emperor to show her mercy. The mighty, clawed talon of the beast outstretched and gently slid down the face and breast of Amira, coating her in the blood of her protectors. The specter stood back admiring its work before vanishing right before her eyes. Amira still sobbed, huddled down in a fetal position when the reinforcements of her Honor Guard entered the room to see the horror the creature had left, with no culprit in sight.
Three black Valkyries flew at mach speeds, closing the gap between Castle Rock and Bastion III within mere minutes. Anwar stood, surrounded by twelve of 4th company's finest Drop Troopers, fully equipped with grav chutes in the case of a rapid disembarkation. The soldiers stirred nervously awaiting the moment they were told to drop and engage a vile threat even five of the Emperor's holy Space Marines could not fully dispatch.
The closer they approached the Bastion the higher the black storm above seemed to rise, though powerful gusts of wind seemed to be combating the VTOL. The vessels shook as the mighty turbulence tried to halt their rampageous advance. The bastion was now clearly in sight, Anwar gesturing to one of the Navy Officers mounting the heavy bolter to open the metal sliding doors. The wind rushed into the cabin filling it with the smells of toxic pollution, blood and burning flesh. The jets slowed to a halt initiating their vertical landing engines, hovering a km from the bastion. A guardsman wielding a massive green flag adorned with a platinum Imperial Eagle waves at the top of the brass tower: the colors of Skyfall signifying the survivors held out.
"Vertical Landing Procedure completed, Commissar." Spoke the pilot into Anwar's inner ear "We await your orders."
As if we can't see the bloody thing. Thought Anwar caustically. He spared a glance down at the base of the tower. A blanket 300 meters out in all direction of black and blue chitinoids swarmed at the Bastion, clawing at the thick metal doors and climbing atop one another in attempt to reach the fleshy contents within, like a rodent attempting to crack open a nut.
"Connect me to Squad Appius' signal pilot." Anwar said with a sneer at the alien
"Right away commissar." Replied the pilot.
After a few seconds of static, a silence cleared and voices could be heard in Anwar's ear.
"Blessed be the God-Emperor!" Shouted Appius gleefully "You're here."
"Indeed, Sergeant." He replied, his sneer still maintained "This is Commissar Anwar of Skyfall PDF. What's your status on the survivors?"
"We have roughly 100 imperial citizens, two full units of Guardsmen, some severely wounded. And of course there leaves Squad Appius."
"Hmm, interesting." Anwar said, uninterestedly, his mind beginning to formulate tactical options "Around how many xenos do you detect out there Sergeant?"
"Uh, a few hundred or so." Appius returned with a confused look, turning to Kreios and giving a frustrated shrug. "Wh-Why do you ask?"
"Well Sergeant it seems we're well out numbered," Anwar began. "And it would seem a rescue at this point in time would not be tactical."
Appius stood confused, looking at the Valkyries with worry before running down into the bastion.
"What are you saying Commissar?" he barked behind grinding teeth as he powered down the stairs, skipping 3 or 4 steps a stride.
"A few dozen losses now could potentially wipe out this vanguard if done properly am I right Sergeant?" Anwar asked with a twisted smile.
"Get everyone into the basement now!" he shouted to Lt. Nazli before returning his finger to his inner-ear vox. "That's awfully cryptic Commissar, regardless I don't like how it sounds."
"It seems we all have to know when to cut our losses for the greater good Sergeant." Anwar said with a forced sigh before tuning his signal to the pilots'. "All vessels arm Hunter-Killer missiles and fire on my order."
"I swear you sick son of a bitch, don't you dare do what you're thinking!" shouted Appius entering the basement. Theo and several Guards worked in tandem, using a crow bar to pry the escape hatch open. Several bent crowbars lay off to the side a symbol of their failure.
"Already been done, Sergeant." He said vindictively "They will sing of your men's sacrifice all over Skyfall once this is over Appius. Ironic, no? In death you become more immortal than in life."
"Listen you self-righteous bastard. There's no need for this! You have the means to save us! To save them!" cried Appius his heart suddenly feeling heavy as the sea of terrified families poured into the basement.
"I'm sorry Sergeant your signal is growing weak." Anwar turned to the co-pilot and gestured to cut the signal.
"Damn it there are children in here, you monster!" Appius screamed his voice cracking in rage. Hearing the cackling static on the other end, Appius ripped out the vox-bead and threw it to the ground.
"What is it sergeant?" Hippolyos asked genuinely concerned.
"They're going to blow the damn place." Appius said softly, those who heard immediately panicked, Lt. Nazli and the others attempted to calm the refugees but it was to no avail, many stormed up the stairs again banging at the doors in a vain effort to survive.
Appius lurched at the door pushing the other guardsmen out of the way and attempting to shove the crowbar deeper into the seal. Hippolyos and Theo helped in tandem until it was almost halfway deep. The three then pulled and pushed in the same directions in effort to pry the hatch open yet again. With the concerted strength of three Astartes, the door finally began to give, the stale air of the corridor pouring into the bunker. People began crowding behind the Marines waiting for the hatch to open, while others trampled over one another in terror trying to open the primary doors.
After seeming millennia long seconds the hatch finally sprung open, Appius breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the civilians and began gesturing to them. Before any could even approach the hatch, a mass of chitin and tendril emerged from the hole firing a spray of deadly spines into the crowd downing a half dozen peoples with its poison barbs. Appius stood stunned, foamy blood leaking from his mouth as he placed a hand on his neck. A thick poison barb penetrated fully past his soft armor and through his throat. Spitting a kilo of blood the Sergeant collapsed, his spinal cord torn and being plagued with the vicious alien viruses. The crowd screamed in panic as the serpent emerged fully, a swarm of the tiny wyrms scattering into the basement around the tail of the beast.
Hippolyos quickly ignited his flamer and doused the creature in promethium at a range so close, the spout of the flamer nearly touched the Ravener's body. The beast screamed in agony as its body was engulfed in potent chemical fire, singeing away its thin flesh and rendering its exoskeleton useless. The blackened monster collapsed beside Appius, dead, and Hippolyos entered the tunnel unloading his canister, forming a barrier of fire between them and the swarm of creatures working their way up the tunnel. After crushing the wyrms with his mighty ceramite boots, Theo dropped down to his dying sergeant, foaming at the mouth as poisons too potent for even an Astartes infected his pure blood. Theo did not know what to do but watch as his valiant leader died in his arms, choking and gagging on his own blood.
"Turn it into a parking lot." Anwar growled to the pilots watching Bastion III unaware of the avoidable chaos and death he had caused within it. A second after his order, six high-powered, anti-tank missiles fired from under each wing of the Valkyries, targeting the mass of the Bastion with infrared sensors. Kreios spout a curse as he saw the missiles shooting towards him at break-neck speed. He attempted to order the troops to take cover but it was completely futile. Before the orders left his lips, the missiles had stuck the side of the mighty, ancient Bastion; the penetrating tips tearing though decimeters of steel before reaching the inside of bunker, where the primary explosive detonated. Every floor of the Bastion caught fire immediately engulfing the survivors in flame and incinerating them before they had even felt pain. Plasma cores and power generators exploded throughout causing the bastion to begin exploding outward violently. Less than 5 seconds after penetration the entire bastion erupted into a blaze engulfing the two-hundred or more xenos that surrounded it, torching them all with ease leaving nothing more than blackened husks.
Ten seconds after the detonation passed the ruins of Bastion III and scalded remains of its inhabitants rain down upon the entire encampment. Only a demolished foundation of the once great bastion remains, smoldering with the intense head of its destruction and fueled by the corpses of the innocents within. Anwar grimaced, feeling a bit of success.
"Alright men, how was that for a drop mission?" he said with a disturbing grin "Drinks on me tonight, boys!"
The ignorant and obedient soldiers applauded a bit in response.
"Take us home then." He said into his vox, the pilots immediately responding with action. The Valkyries pivoted in place and engaged their primary thrusters, shooting off toward Castle Rock leaving the remains of their heinous act behind them. "Connect me to Castle Rock, co-pilot." He ordered.
A few seconds of static passed before they were connected to the primary vox center. After several more seconds Captain Leon, Colonel Cyprian and Commander Tahmid were connected to the line.
"Strike Wing this is Castle Rock, do you read?" Tahmid spoke.
"Castle Rock this is Strike Wing, reading loud and clear" Opened Anwar "I have grave news to deliver."
He was met with only silence knowing he had a captive audience.
"The bastion was lost upon arrival, my lords." He lied convincingly "They were overrun; we had no choice but to destroy it in hopes to spare those still alive inside a quick death. In the process, the alien foe has been completely eradicated. We are in the clear for now, my lords. I-I am so sorry, my lords. There was nothing more I could have done."
Silence was still deafening on the other end. Tahmid and Cyprian feeling the grievous loss of the civilians and the PDF, Leon held himself up against the hololith, his weight angling it slightly in a way it shouldn't. Leon was fit with rage, allowing such an action to be taken so recklessly by his friend. Appius' death now lay heavy on his conscious leaving him incapable of speaking.
"You served the Imperium well, Commissar." Tahmid spoke for Leon "We will all weep and pray for those lost today."
Having been spoken for, Leon left the rotunda in silence. The deaths of so many of his loyal companions and friends in one day was hard to take as it was, but knowing this was only the beginning filled Leon with the debilitating feeling of his lack of leadership. Perhaps Abdul deserves this position more than I. He thought, his pride shattered.
"Your words are meaningful, my Commander." Anwar said with faux sorrow "We are on route now."
"See you when you soon, Anwar." Tahmid replied signaling to kill the signal.
Anwar sat down next to one of the over prepared soldiers, lying against the uncomfortable seating, feeling triumphant having dispatched an entire alien order without having to put boots on the ground. His peaceful demeanor was interrupted when the ship suddenly lurched to a crawl. His vox crackled back to life; it was the pilot.
"Commissar the storm has touched down in front of us. There doesn't appear to be any way around." He said awaiting instruction.
"So?" questioned Anwar standing up again "Go through! I thought you were experienced pilots of the Imperial Navy!"
"Aye, Commissar." Replied the pilot embarrassedly, the vessels picking up speed again and entering the thick storm clouds. After only a few seconds in the storm the jet began shaking and shuttering. Anwar told the men to close the doors to reduce turbulence. Still the vessel shook violently, forcing Anwar to grab one of the Kevlar straps that line the roof. He smiled and laughed a bit, as if enjoying the ride. He looked at one of the drop troops, whom appeared to be quite nervous.
"What's a matter, Hun?" he said with a grin, still holding on as the ship shook violently again.
"This is some mighty severe turbulence." She said worriedly "We've never had anything like this before."
"Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen." He said turning his back to the soldiers and looking at the front of the jet "I've been on dozens of these things on plenty of different worlds. This is completely normal!"
Hair-raising screams and the crushing of metal filled Anwar's ear, before he could raise his hand to his ear to respond to the pilots, a black, bony talon as long as the ship was tall tore through the front of the ship. In a millisecond of panic, Anwar's eyes widened. The talon struck Anwar severing him down the center, slicing through bones, cartilage and organs as if they were the softest butter. A fount of gore and blood spattered the passengers as the talon continued its path down the length of the ship, a wall of fire following close behind it. The other pilots and passengers watched in horror as the command plane was split in half by a massive, flying blur. The thing moved so fast and was concealed so heavily by the storm no one could make out what it was. Both halves of the command plane exploded in horrible spectacle before falling into the abyss of black clouds below.
The vox at Central Command crackled back to life, the distressed voice of a co-pilot flooding the waves. Tahmid and Cyprian now engaged in a different conversation turned to the Vox-caster. They rushed to him, Tahmid picking up the headset and listening to the grim report.
"Command vessel is down!" shouted the co-pilot "I repeat! Command vessel is down! Oh God-Emperor they're everywhere!"
The rest of the cast was terrifying, the sound of gunfire and screams the only thing tangible and audible as Tahmid continued to listen in horror.
The gunners of the ship to the right swung open their doors, a horde of black and blue creatures, much like the gaunt ground soldier, flew around them on orange, bat-like wings. The gunners began unloading volleys of powerful heavy bolter fire into the winged monsters as they swooped around, firing their insidious bio-weapons at the gunships. The massive bolts hit the chitinous abominations and tore them to ribbons, knocking them out of the sky permanently. As the two ships thinned out the menace with their powerful weapons a second brood of massive 4 meter tall beasts baring similar bat-like wings, flew around the vessels, using massive talons the shape of hands to tear massive gouges from the ships. One such creature landed on a heavy bolter of the left most ship, digging its massive claw into the gunner's chest with ease and throwing him out into the storm behind it. The guard passengers unleashed their las fire into the monster, devastating its wing membranes and knocking it from its perch, doomed to fall to its death.
As another stood up to man the gun, the smaller creatures began surrounding the high speed vessels, in some cases landing on the hull. A gunner and several passengers of the plane to the right were hit with the vicious bio-weapons. Squirming organisms penetrated their armor with barbed beaks and began burrowing deeper into their bodies. The soldiers thrashed in agony attempting to remove the quickly burrowing living ammunition before it devoured them from the inside out. In response, the vessel to the left maneuvered down in attempt to shake the assailants from the hull. As it rapidly descended, a smaller Tyranid was trapped by the pull of a turbine and was sucked in, causing the turbine to burst into flame. The gunship, now thrown off balance began tumbling out of control; many of the Tyranid flew into the cabin, taking this opportunity of weakness to devour the occupants.
The larger creatures took notice to this, signaling to the smaller ones through a psychic synaptic link to attack the remaining plane's weak point. Six or more of the winged Tyranid flew directly into the turbines of the last plane, causing both to detonate fiercely, severing the wings from the rest of the vessel. Commander Tahmid listened in frozen horror as the passengers and crew screamed in peril as their plane fell to meet a fiery demise at the desert earth bellow.
The line grew silent. Static filled the cast. Tahmid slowly returned the earpiece to the vox-caster and turned to Cyprian, his dark face seeming washed out with horror. Tahmid stared at the Colonel for several long moments, all the while the rocky rotunda remained silent.