He had left the team behind, chasing after his target. He had gained ground rapidly, but ran into the Tau blockade and had been pinned down and unfortunately there were enough guns that he had to take them out. Jadden blinked amongst the nearest squad, the massive great sword already swinging as he materialised, taking bodies apart with ease. He disappeared as return fire reached him, the shots taking out the last of the squad for him. He jumped from the building he had blinked to and put his blade through a gun drone, he grabbed another and smashed it to the floor. More fire headed his way, which he teleported from again, watching as the Tau took each other out for him. Normally he would have amused himself by watching the paranoid soldiers tear each other apart, but he needed to catch the Ethereal. He dived in again, hacking with cold precision at the fire warriors, their armour no match for his mind sharpened blade. The blockade was routed, warriors fled in every direction, Jadden turned and continued his pursuit, a few quick shots from his bolt pistol took out any stragglers but he let most of the fleeing soldiers go.
Focussing ahead, he realised the Xeno leader was nowhere to be seen, there were too many side alleys in the sprawling encampment, and he didn't know where they would be heading. Until he realised what he had seen earlier. He quickly activated his Vox.
'Everyone who is available, head north. There is a Tau ship positioned ready to evacuate, the target is headed there. Do not let that frakking thing leave the ground.' He shouted before blinking again to a roof top. He could just see the Manta, but he could feel the strain on his body from blinking so many times in succession, and the ship seemed to be miles away now. He forced himself to keep running, just maintaining enough energy to make the jumps between the first few buildings, but he was soon forced down to ground level when he started landing short on the leaps. That was the problem with using the warp, particularly for something big like a teleport, it drained him. He could usually teleport 3 or 4 times in quick succession with no side effects, but after blinking all over the drop site for almost 30 minutes, he was now exhausted. And when he was tired, that when using his powers exposed him to additional risks. But he couldn't rest, he would just have to be careful, if he could avoid drawing from the immaterium for a little while his strength should return.
Jadden reached the Manta, it was across a large open space, Cha'riss was running to it about half way between himself and his escape vehicle. Jadden fired his bolt pistol, the shot hitting the ground about 10 metres ahead of the alien. He came to a halt a span, his guard levelled his weapon at Jadden, standing between the two of them. The carbine fired, Jadden rolled to the side, allowing the shots to go wide. He continued walking as the gunman fired once more. He rolled back the other way, this time firing his pistol on the way up, hitting the Pulse carbine, the weapon shattered and fell to floor. The guard gestured for the ethereal to keep moving as he pulled a slim blade from a sheath on his thigh.
Jadden kept walking, and began swinging his blade in circles, moving the weapon effortlessly between his hands. The Ethereal was at the ramp of the craft now, turning to witness the melee about to take place. The guard steadied himself, taking a low fighting stance, knife held reverse grip in his right hand, left hand kept high and forward ready to defend. The psyker studied his opponent, who had prepared himself adequately for the upcoming fight, but the Tau were not known for their physical combat, indeed any melee training undertaken was a recent development, and they were not masters of the art. The man had probably only had to study once he was assigned to the Ethereal as a guard. He moved with Jad's advance, keeping himself between him and the ethereal, his steps uncertain as he shuffled slightly during the moments.
That was enough for Jadden to know how to deal with the alien, he let loose a wide high swing, making sure the Tau saw it coming. Xeno ducked beneath it, shifting his weight backwards as he did so, he had no way of attacking now his momentum was working against him, Jadden let the weight of his own blade spin him, snapping a kick into the warriors knee. The snap of alien bone echoed in the wide space between the buildings followed by the muffled scream from within the creature's helmet, Jadden let him fall and walked past him, the pain too great for guard to do anything to stop his attacker. Cha'riss turned and ran inside the ship, slamming both hands onto a large button just inside the ramp, it to begin to rise. Jadden broke into a run, charging at the slowly disappearing figure, desperate to reach the target.
'Is anybody going to stop this thing taking off!' He bellowed into his vox, moving at a considerable speed now.
'I'll see what I can do!' came the reply, as there was a crash and the sound of gunfire. The armoured form of Belle crashed through some crates and sped towards the manta. Bannerman unleashed the auto cannon, but its shells couldn't touch the massive flyer. 'Here goes nothing, Brace yourself kid.' Mal yelled as he sped forward.
Without slowing he slammed Belle into a support bracket the aircraft was resting on, smoke and fire erupted from the front the vehicle as it impacted the support. Jadden skidded to a halt, horrified at the sight he had just witnessed. The support buckled under the weight of the manta, the whole vehicle lurched to one side, the massive form seemed to fall in slow motion. The force of the impact as the wing hit the ground knocked Jad to the floor, he looked up to see the wing bend and break, shards of crystalline shrapnel flying from the broken behemoth. He managed to pick himself up, taking in the scene before him. It was then he remembered the Aun'El, he was inside and could have been killed. Jadden cursed to himself and ran again, sliding into a gap in the now buckled entry ramp, finding the inside of the vehicle filled by red warning lights. He ran through the vehicle, past the deck of seating and mountings for vehicle transport to a stairwell at the back of the room, he hesitated, checking the room for a sign of his prey before dashing up the now crooked stairway.
He emerged onto another deck, filled with even more rows of seats, even closer packed, he finally saw the Ethereal, stood at the far end of the now tilted space. The figure was stood at some kind of computer terminal, he turned to face him and smiled as a number of screens flickered into life. Alien symbols appeared, changing regularly. Jadden didn't understand what they said, but he knew a count down when he saw it, the xeno had started a self-destruct.
Josla had taken the lead and she ordered Grimes to cover the rear. It was strange, she had found the square but any fighting that had gone on was over. There were still burning pools of promethium and ruined Tanks, but no one was around. No sign of a victor, and nothing to indicated why the battle had stopped. If the Tau had eliminated the Guard attackers, they would be clearing away the wreckage. If the Imperials had managed to push through then there would still be fighting going on around the square, but there was literally nothing. She had seen a few signs of Earth Caste workers taking shelter, but other than that the place appeared deserted. Wyn's advanced sense had detected nothing either, and he was always keen to share anything he found interesting in his readings.
She didn't like it, which put her on edge. She heard a groan from around the corner, followed by a shuffling sound. She raised her pistols, and gesture for Grimes to take a wide position, cover her as she rounded the corner. She crept up to the edge of the wall, Wyn waited behind her, mechandrites clicking in anticipation. Grimes nodded that he was ready from across the alley way, she prepared herself and swung out into the alley. She found a lone guardsmen, pulling himself along the wall, clutching his shoulder in pain. She kept her pistols aimed at him even though he was in no state to threaten her.
'Hold it!' She ordered, the man freezing on the spot, fear filled his face 'State your name, rank and regiment.'
The man said nothing, just stood there staring at her weapons. She repeated her order.
'State your name, rank and regiment. I don't have all day.' Wyn came around the corner, studying the man as he did so.
'Urr… don't shoot me, please! My squads dead! I don't know what to do!' the solider whimpered. Josla was losing her temper.
'Who the frak are you and why are you here!' She barked, the man flinched away from her.
'I'm Poiller, Private Poiller. I was with the Guard attack, but we were… we got cut down.' He blurted finally. 'Please, I don't know what to do. If they find me they will kill me!'
'It's alright.' She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb. Grimes finally appeared round the corner
'All clear back there.' He said flatly, giving the whimpered man an impassive look.
'Excellent, any ideas what to do with this one?' she asked.
'Dunno, Why?'
'Poor fool had his whole squad killed.' Josla knelt in front of the terrified guardsman 'You'll be okay, we will help you, private.' She said, resting her guns beside her, placing a hand on the man's knee to comfort him? He nodded, facing the floor.
'What are you talking about?' Grime said confused 'He ain't no private? Those are majors stripes on his shoulder?'
She turned to look at the man, but saw only a fist as it lashed out at her. Blood spat from her nose and she fell to the floor. Pain filled her head, her vision swimming.
'Aren't you a clever little frakker' Came the strangers voice, now calm and dangerous. Her vision cleared to see the barrel of her own gun aimed at her face, the other switching between Wyn and Grimes. The man had grabbed the guns as he rose, taking advantage of the group while their guard was down. 'I'm afraid I must be leaving now, but thank you for your hospitality, I'm sure the guns will prove very helpful.'
'Shoot him!' She yelled, rolling to the side, away from him. She heard the whip crack of Grimes' lasgun and the shout of her pistols. There was a scream of pain, but she didn't see what had happened. She lifted her head and looked around rapidly for any sign of their deceitful attacker. Grimes was on the ground , clutching a bloodied wound in his stomach, Wyn had been pushed into a wall, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Beside her a group of fresh bullet holes had appeared in the soft ground where she had been moments ago. The shooter was nowhere to be found.
Without thinking she jumped to Grimes, staring at the gushing dark blood now coating him.
'Wyn, you okay!' She said without looking up, the robed tech-priest lifted himself from the floor.
'No major concerns. Though I believe my cardiopulmonary system has been damaged slightly, as I am detecting decreased blood pressure.'
'If you're not dying then help me.' She grabbed the man's robes and dragged him towards her. 'We need to stop the bleeding.'
'I am afraid I have no useful data with regards to human medical practice.'
'Just put pressure on the wound' She grabbed his hand and put it to Grimes' ruined stomach. 'Grimes, can you hear me. Grimes.' He released a gurgling cough, blood sprayed from his mouth. The motion clearly causing him further pain. He looked at her, wide eyed from the pain.
'What the… What the hell are you doing!' he said weakly. She looked at him puzzled for a moment. 'Kill the prick!' he finished before passing out.
'Grimes! Grimes… Dammit!' She yelled in frustration. Grabbing the mans bloodied lasgun and turning to the tech-priest. 'Do what you can!' she said before running off to find the treacherous Major.
Alishia was first to reach the wreckage of the manta, the bright light from the fire hurting her eyes. She could just make out the ruined rear of the Inquisition teams Tauros, crushed beneath the alien aircraft. Bartos and Grant appear beside her, taking in the scene of destruction before them. Bartos put his hand to his ear, trying to contact anyone on the vox.
'Anyone come in. Boss? Jos? Mal? Anyone!' He had a worried tone to his voice. The seconds slowly passed, and he didn't seem to receive any response. After a few more long moments he jumped again.
'Wyn? What the hell is going on?' Batty said rushed. Alishia didn't have a vox bead of her own, so she couldn't listen in.
'What? Shot by who?'
Her and Grant looked on worried, as they tried to piece together Wyn's story.
'I don't understand? What Major? Where is Josla? What do you mean you don't know?' Batty was clearly getting frustrated by the lack of answers.
Gunfire began splashing around them. They had naively stopped in the open, and now a small number of remaining Tau had decided to try and take them down. They dashed for cover but it was a long way off, Alishia felt a tug on her Greatcoat, a shot passing through it as it billowed behind her. The three dived behind a fallen pile of alien ammunition crates, Shots still peppering the ground behind them.
'What the hell is going on?' Grant said between deep breaths.
Batty replied whilst panting for air after his run. 'Grimes. He's been shot. Wyn is trying to get him out of the camp, but Josla ran off. Some guy pretending to be guard. Basically, I haven't a frakking clue what's happening.'
'No!' Alishia whined. 'How bad is it?'
'I don't know.' Bartos replied, more shots hitting there protective crates 'But we are gonna get shot too unless we sort this.' With that he let loose a volley of shots over the crates.
Alishia added her bolt pistol to the fire fight, but they were trapped in the open and the enemy were well out of her weapons range. Grant was having the same problem with his las pistol. Only Batty and his lasgun had any hope of getting them out of this, thankfully he was a good shot and began methodically taking out the alien gunmen. Alishia turned to reload, spotting an alley way behind them. Grant spotted it too, and gave her look suggesting they use it. She just nodded, and grabbed batty by the shoulder, pointing him to her proposed escape route.
'Better than nothing.' He shrugged. He sent a couple more shots over the crates as cover, whilst they ran to for the alley. They stopped behind the building, and looked at each other.
'Right, what do we do? Everyone has disappeared.' Grant said sternly. Looking to Alishia and Batty as his superiors.
'Hey, don't look at me. I've been dragged into this just like you.' Alishia replied. Pushing the focus solely onto the inquisitorial agent.
'We get the frak out of here. We don't know where the target it, we don't know where the team has got to. We get the warp out of here and get back to the marines.'
'That's it? We just leave everyone? Jadden wouldn't do that?' Alishia replied.
'And he is not here, because he ran off and left us? I don't know what else to do. Let's just get out of hostile territory, find some allies and we can plan from there.
Geart stalked through the back alleys and roadways of the Tau encampment hunting for the murderous Major. He had been taking pot shots at any Xeno he saw, most of them workers and civilians, but the Emperor taught him that they to needed to be exterminated. He had no sign of Craft, but he suspected he wouldn't be leaving the camp, the entirety of the Imperial forces on the planet had been alerted to his betrayal. His only hope was with the Tau, so he needed to stay nearby. Geart would get his revenge, his campaign was in ruins now and he had nothing to lose in chasing Craft down. He headed north, the Tau forces had retreated that way, so he assumed the major had to follow.
The general reached the base of a huge tower, he leant his head back as it soared into the sky, an ice white spear of xeno architecture. He stood there staring at the structure for a moment before moving towards it, eyes fixed on softly curved steps embedded into the side, each with a hand hold scooped into it. Such a subtle design, some would consider it elegant, but Geart was too focussed on his vengeance to see anything other than a tool. He climbed steadily, the ladder easy to climb despite its aesthetic design, eyes fixed up at the platform above him. The tower began curving out, the ladder smoothly disappeared into a tunnelled covering, providing shelter from the winds. Geart continued his climb, coming out onto a round platform about halfway up the platform, providing him a view of the entire camp. Thick cables protruded from the edge of the platform in four directions, securing the swaying tower against falling in the strong winds.
Geart stared out at the camp, his eye drawn to a ruined aircraft gushing smoke at the north end of the camp. Around it small white dots shift in the surrounding alleyways, Fire Warriors, small teams that seemed disorganised. This troubled the aging soldier, he hadn't cleared any other attacks, and the marines were too busy with the main tau assault. He glared at the manta wreckage for a moment longer before moving on. He scanned the alleys north of the tower for any sign of Craft, anything to give away his location and for a moment there was nothing, No movement of any kind no matter where he looked. And finally he saw it, the dull green smudge of an imperial uniform against the side a building. Geart smiled to himself as he slowly walked to the edge of the platform, squinting to focus on the man below him. He was heading north, slightly west of the tower and moving slowly, the wound on his shoulder obviously slowing him down.
The general moved to the north guide cable, wrapping his power fist around it gently so as not to damage it.
He took another look towards the traitor and judged how far away he would end up as he pulled the power coupling loose with a routine prayer to the machine spirit. The energy field died, the joints of the oversized fingers locking into place. He gave a quick pull on the cable, the fist held firm as did the cable. And with a deep breath, he swung onto the cable and descended into the encampment below.