Josla awoke to darkness, she moved and her entire body stung. She lift her hand to her face in panic, she was soaking wet. Was this blood? She kept touching her face, white hot pain seared as she touched her left temple, a rough area of skin where she had been burned. Still panicking she felt out, find a hot surface before her, it had a strange flaking surface, like dry leaves or rotting leather. She tried to moved, but realised her leg was stuck, she tried to moved whatever was holding it down, but to no avail. There was no serious pain from her leg, and she thought she could feel her muscles tensing, but she had heard tales that the brain still registered things that weren't there after severe trauma. She heard a groan of metal and instinctively turned to look, her head hitting a protruding object above her, more pain filling her body. She turned again, more slowly this time, trying to work out what was going on.

It was then she saw a small sliver of light high above her, barely visible but there. Josla began laughing, the relief that she hadn't been blinded too much for her. She heard a groan from beyond the flaking wall, not of metal this time, something living was just behind the barrier. The woman stopped herself from calling out, remembering the fight from before, the major and the general. She didn't know what either of them was doing in the tau camp, nor did she know if it was one of them groaning nearby. Could the plasma pistols explosion really have done all this? Her head span with questions that she couldn't answer while her body burnt with pain. She had to focus.

She checked her belt pouches, hoping to find something useful. She slower ran her hands around the openings, spare ammo clips, grenade, water bottle, empty space were her knife should be, more ammo clips, her rescue beacon! She slid it free and held it up, rubbing her thumb across the surface to find the button. She gave the plastic switch an enthusiastic prod, dim blue light swelled on the screen for a moment before fading away again. She waited, worried. That wasn't supposed to happen, so she pressed once more, sparks burst from the device, peppering her vision with white dots and burning her hands. She dropped the ruined box and let out a frustrated profanity, punching the flaking surface in front of her. The flakes dropped all over her, drawing another obscene outburst from her lips.

Josla calmed herself once more, trying to think of a way to escape her prison. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness, warped shapes appeared dull grey against dull black around her. She could make out the curved surface of the panel in front of her, it was a broken section of tau architecture, it seemed to have sheared of from the building above and fell just in front of where she had been thrown be the plasma pistols blast. It was a miracle it hadn't killed her out right, but it had also trapped her. To one side she felt the smooth edge of an alien crate, the wall section had cut it in half, sealing it against the building it rested it against. On the other her legs were trapped beneath something flexible, but heavy, it had coiled over her legs weighing them down.

She leant forward slowly and felt for some way of freeing herself. Her legs were under heavy metal cabling, it was really heavy duty stuff, a twisted bundle of metal fibres about 10 centimetres thick, it had coiled up and then been pinned in place by the falling wall.

The woman traced the cable back, finding a torn end against the fallen panel trapping her. With all her strength she pulled on the cable, slowly pulling it away. She groaned through gritted teeth, the cable was heavy and did not move easily. Slowly as it began to move she slid the first section off of her legs and behind her, the weight on her legs releasing slightly, preparing herself for the next section she ran her hands along the cable checking which section to move next. She slowly began digging her way to freedom, still utterly unaware of what had happened, not knowing what she might find when she was finally out in the open.

Her muscles complained as she strained the move the sections of cable, each one putting enormous strain on her as she slid them off of her legs. She was sweating from the effort, the hot air and cramped space didn't help matters but finally she felt her leg slide away as she moved another section of cable. Determined she crawled forward, over the remaining cable, heaving sections of it away, or sliding over them where she could. She finally came to the edge of the fallen section of wall, it was curled and buckled, melted in places, the flaking surface was the once white finish peeling away, revealing the crystal structure beneath, now warped and bubbled by intense heat.

She stuck her head out into the world, the light hurting her eyes, squinting trying to make out some detail. Slowly a barren, blackened parody of the tau camp revealed itself to her. Everything was in ruins, the buildings has had been broken and bent over by some immense force, the ground was burnt, nothing but ash beneath her, and a terrible wind howled through the husks of buildings. Josla stood slowly, awestruck by the devastation around her, mind racing as she tried to understand what had happened. She heard the groan again, the weak sound of something wounded behind her above the creak of cooling metals. She went for her holsters on instinct but found they were still empty, but span anyway ready to defend herself from whatever may be there.

She saw nothing at first, her eyes darting across the scene before her, the alley she had been stood in was utterly devastated, debris littered it, the wall section that had crashed into it smashing crates and chunks of crystal building material had embedded themselves in the ground. Finally she saw what was groaning, the blood stained face of General Geart could just be seen beneath the rubble, his arm was a ruined stump from the elbow, the pistol taking his forearm when it failed. He moaned again, Josla approached cautiously though the man was clearly no danger to her, she knelt next to him taking in the extent of his wounds before asking the only thing she could think to ask.

'What happened?'

Geart released a wheezing breath before speaking 'No… Idea. Some kind… of… explosion. Think I… knocked out.'

Josla went to speak but was stopped by a third unexpected voice from behind her.

'I don't think that should be a top concern for either of you.' The voice was familiar, but it had a breathy, moist edge to it now. The woman span and rose to her feet in one fluid motion, the now burnt face of the major looking at her with venomous eyes. His lower jaw was visible as the flesh was burnt away, his nose a charred mess and through his tattered shirt, blistered skin show through, weeping puss and blood. He spoke again.

'I may as well have a little bit of fun, as I can't see me escaping with the Empire now.' Air and spit escaped from his torn cheek as he spoke, giving his words a grim, angry tone. He stood a few metres away, a large metal beam held in his hands, Josla didn't know how much his injuries would affect the crazed traitor. Nor did she know how much her injuries would hinder her own abilities. There was a grinding sound as Geart tried to free himself, the sight of Craft driving him to free himself despite his horrific injuries.

'Wait your turn General!' Craft sneered 'I'll get to you in time, try not to die while you're waiting for me.'

Craft leapt at Josla, a violent swing of his improvised club smashing into a ruined wall as she dived away from the attack. Too weak to evade properly, she ended up on her knees in the burnt earth as the psychotic man charged her again. Craft took a violent swipe at her head, calling out in fury as he did so. She dived forward beneath his swing, tackling him to the ground the force of his swing spinning them both as he fell, the metal beam went crashing into nearby rubble as he pair fell side by side. A Swift jab to the jaw had the horrifically scarred man screaming, another to the ribs took the air from him, but he recovered quickly and dived upon her again, grabbing her short hair roughly he slammed her head into ground, her world spinning for a moment.

A follow up punch caught her jaw, a loud click resonating through her head as the blow connected. She let loose a wild attack, nails caught in flesh tearing away more of the majors ruined face. He twitched with pain hands pressed to the bloodied mess that was his face, collapsing to the floor. Josla rolled away from him, quickly righting herself even though her head still swam from the attacks, prepared to defend if needed. The major still howled in agony, writhing on the floor but glaring at her still, he took his hand away, revealing the damage she had done, milky white gunge coated his face, all that remained of his eye following her attack. He backed away from her, his remaining eye darting all over now, looking for some kind of weapon to save himself, unaware he was retreating toward his doom.

Geart struck out as soon as Craft was close enough, he wrapped his one good arm around the major neck squeezing tight. The major squealed in surprised, his remaining eye wide and blood shot and full of fear, his arms flailing hopelessly behind him trying to escape the vengeful General.

'Go, He is mine.' Geart growled through gritted teeth. Not looking up at Josla as he strangled the hated man finally in his grip. Josla said nothing, just turning and running for safety.

Wyn had looked unblinking at the blast, his bionically enhanced eyes unharmed and seeing far more than normal eyes could comprehend. He had watched the electromagnetic pulse echo out first, its force burning out quickly before the main explosion filled his view. His thermal sensors had just shown white, but he saw the beauty of the radiation swirling through the inferno, and the flashes of fission and fusion as atoms were created and destroyed all flooded his brain from the variety of mechanical enhancements he had received.

He had remained stood completely still for almost an hour after the explosion, watching the colours of the after math washing over the blast zone. The marines around him were oblivious to the display he was taking in, and it was with reluctance he moved away and stored the information in his memory banks. The wondrous results would be of great interest to the mechanium, insight into the alien technology so they could properly process it. Though the Xeno designs were an affront to the Omnissah, they were still of interest to them.

Grimes was being treated by a marine somewhere at the rear of the lines, He had also persuaded Collus to collect Bartos and the other two after the explosion. His reasoning that the Tau camp was neutralised in the explosion had been enough to get his team picked up. No sign of the Jadden or Josla though, they had both been deep within the camp during its destruction and his calculations left little chance of them making it out of the camp alive. It also meant that the mission was likely a failure, and a pretty comprehensive one at that, 3 of the team dead and the target too. Inquisitor Vigilem would not be pleased, and currently he held rank over Bartos so he would be held responsible, though the mechanium would prevent any serious repercussions.

Chief Librarian Collus approached him, sliding his helmet over his head as he prepared to speak.

'Tech-Priest Wynor, I have arranged for yourself and the rest of your team to be picked up by your storm raven. I trust this is acceptable'.

'Indeed, though I will need to search the ruins, evidence must be found that my colleagues have been terminated.'

'I'm afraid that will not be possible. This area is under the control of the Sanguine Dragons and I cannot allow you access.'

'This area is under Imperial control and as an Inquisitorial Agent you cannot deny me access.' Wyn turned to the marine and waited for his response, watching the man flush with anger at his statement.

'We are space marines, we do not answer to the Inquisition!' Collus said proudly. The Tech-priest did a quick historic check on is retained information. He had not encountered such a declaration before and was unsure how to respond. Eventually he cross referenced his information and replied.

'My records indicate that your chapter serves the Imperium and the Emperors will. The Inquisition has authority over the entire Imperium as an extension of the Emperors will. Therefore I cannot see the validity of your statement? Unless you have new information for my data core proving that either, the Inquisition has had its powers revoked by the High Lords of Terra or that the Sanguine Dragons Chapter no longer operates in service of the imperium. Do you have documentation to suggest either of those eventualities?'

Collus said nothing, a look of anger and confusion on his face, just staring at the man and his blood stained robes. Wyn took this as confirmation that his calculations were correct.

'Excellent, I will discuss this with the remainder of my team and we will keep you informed of our activities were it is possible.' Wynor swept past the giant marine and headed into the camp, leaving him alone at the edge of the camp.

He awoke with a violent cough, He had no idea how long he had been unconscious for, but it was still light enough to hurt his eyes. His memory was blurry, only flashes came to him, the fight on the bridge then the explosion, it all made very little sense. Slowly he pulled himself upright, his clothes where tattered and burnt as was everything around him. The building before him had been warped into an arc over his head, this had evidently provided him enough shelter to survive. He continued looking around, his eyes falling upon the figure next to him lying motionless, covered in ash and dust the blue skin barely visible through the layers of dirt.

Jadden realised this was his target, but his head still swam trying to remember how he had got there. Everything was blurry, images flashed that made no sense, screens filled with alien symbols and flashing lights. He took a deep breath and cleared his head, he stood slowly taking in all the aches and pains, assessing if he was seriously injured. He twisted his back causing a jolt of pain to light up his side, a pained grunt escaping through clenched teeth, he felt for his ribs, finding one that was clearly broken, several chunks moved around beneath his fingers. He was thankful none of the bones had pierced the skin, though he was almost certainly bleeding internally, the chance of infection was greatly reduced. Slowly, he crouched to pick up his weapon, gently sliding it onto its mounting on his back.

He wondered how he was going to deal with the Ethereal laying at his feet. He doubted he would be able to carry him now, and he knew the xeno wouldn't go quietly. He tried his vox bead, but he got nothing, the explosion that had caused the destruction around him had fried the circuits rendering it useless. He reached into his jacket, pulling out his rescue beacon and casually tapping the button, the light glowed softly for a second before dying again before he tossed it to one side. Seeing little else he could do he pulled a packet of Iho-sticks from another pocket, lighting one with a zap of electrical warp fire from his fingertips, taking his time to enjoy the calming fumes. Again he checked his ribs, the muscle was swollen around the shattered bone, the whole area was awash with pain as he lightly touched the skin.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention, they were hurried but uneven. Someone weak, obviously looking to escape the blast zone, unlikely they would be a danger to him but he gripped the hilt of his blade in preparation. He took another lungful of fumes and waited, ready for the stranger to come into view. He relaxed as he saw Josla turn to corner, sliding to a halt at the sight of him, she looked exhausted.

'Jad?'

'Hey, you alright?'

'Urr yeah. What are you doing here?'

'Honestly? No Idea, but I have the target.' He waved a hand at the prone figure before him. Josla was still confused 'Where are Wyn and Grimes?'

'No idea, Grimes got shot though.'

'Alive?'

'Was last time I saw him.' Josla had relaxed a little now and walked up to her commander. 'What's the plan now?'

'Depends, are you injured?' The tall man offered her an Iho-stick as he asked. She took it, feeling around on her belt for a means of lighting it, Jadden raised his hand as a small charged of electricity surged between his fingertips. Josla light the Iho and gave thumbs up before she replied.

'Depends what you want be to do?'

'I've managed to shatter a rib, I'm not gonna be able to carry the target.'

'You look fine?'

'Why do you think I'm not moving? So you gonna be able to manage him?' Josla eyed up the alien leader, stretching her joints.

'Yeah, I know I won't be getting out of here unless he comes with us.'

'I knew there was a reason I kept you around.' Jad joked, turning to walk away casually before doubling over in pain, a violent grunt bursting from his throat.

'You so nearly looked cool then boss' Josla quipped, walking up to him gently helping him stand upright. 'Sure you don't need me to carry you.'

'I'll be fine, wasn't expecting it to be quite that difficult to walk is all.'

Josla quickly lifted the Ethereal, he was quite light, his slim frame caused her little trouble and the pair began a slow walk out of the campsite. Their progress was slow and painful, Jadden was in constant pain and Josla had never seen him so badly injured, even gene stealers hadn't wounded him to the point he couldn't carry some one if he had needed to. Josla had no idea where anyone was and they were still deep within the camp, and there could have been enemy soldiers who had survived like they had. She would never let it show, but she was terrified.

Wyn and Bartos had been speaking together for some time, but they had stayed some distance from her and Grant. Grimes was unconscious on a low medical bed which swamped his frame due its intended use by marines. The marine who had been attending to him had told her that he would probably never walk again without extensive bionic implants, but he should survive if he was taken into proper medical care relatively quickly. She looked at him, the swathes of bandages wrapping his entire torso hiding the multiple gunshot wounds the soldier have suffered. Grant kept his eyes on the inquisitorial team members, they evidently could not agree on what to do next, nor even on which of them had authority in this situation. Grant had voiced his opinion that they should regroup, acting as if he was a part of their team, but of course he wasn't and nor was she but they had no commanding officers, they had been swept up in the heat of the moment trying to help the inquisition that they forgot they were essentially refugees, with no orders and nowhere to go.

Alishia knew that Wyn and Bartos would have to get evidence of their targets destruction, they probably also wanted to find a way to get out of being found at fault. Her own training in the Commissariat had taught her to punish someone for a failure were ever was possible, it helped maintain order and discipline. She could only imagine the extreme degree that could be taken to by the inquisition. If it was up to her, she would have just got onto a ship and enjoyed the journey rest. Eventually she would be reassigned, but it could be months before they reached another warzone, and that sounded perfect to her. She let out a long sigh, knowing that such a thing would probably never come to pass, they may not even get of this planet the way things had been going. The two mysterious inquisition soldiers finally walked up to them, Batty spoke first.

'We have a request of you both.' He was evidently hesitant about what he was going to ask them 'And you have no obligation to go along with this, but we would appreciate it if you did.'

'Go on.' Grant said flatly, he evidently didn't like the sound of what was going to be asked, neither did Alishia. Wyn took over the request.

'We calculate that despite overwhelming odds, some of our teammates may be alive. We request your assistance in searching the Tau encampment to try and find them.'

'You want us to go in there?' Grant asked angrily, 'We have no idea what could be in there? What about radiation?'

'I can assure you Corporal that there are extremely high levels of radiation, however we would be able to counter any negative effects that you may suffer.' Wyn even sounded desperate, his mechanical voice slightly strained now.

'We'll do it' She cut in, Grant turned to look at her, disbelief evident on his face.

'You cannot be serious?' He protested.

'You got some plans I don't know about corporal?' Grant didn't have a reply, he just stared 'Then get ready, because we have nothing, no regiment, no commanders. Nothing! We will be left behind to rot on this planet, so we may as well stick with these guys.'

She walked up to Bartos, her expression stern. 'What do you need us to do?'