The Rhino transport finally stopped and Sergeant Silon gritted his teeth as he prepared for whatever sights would greet him outside. The ramp at the back of the vehicle lowered and slammed on the cobblestone ground outside, letting the murky sunlight seep in.
"Marines, disembark." He ordered. The other nine marines in the Rhino with him all walked out as one, their heavy footsteps clanging against the floor and the ramp as they went. Silon followed them and took in his surroundings. The Rhino had stopped just inside the main gate of the fortress; the once great gate building had been desecrated during the betrayal and now had mutilated bodies of battle sisters hanging where the various sculptures of heroes from Imperium lore had once been. Blood had seeped down from the corpses and had left long red stains against the dark brickwork and all of the power armour from the bodies had been removed.
Silon glared and fought to wrestle his emotions into submission. Around his squad's Rhino were the rest of the convoy of vehicles that had made their way from the city, Rhino's, Vindicators and Predators were all gathered here. The Captain's Thunderhawk no doubt, would be pass them soon and land on the other side of the fortress to rest upon one of the sky-shield landing pads that were atop the highest point in the fortress.
Silon walked ahead of his squad and his Rhino. The sergeants from the other tactical marine squads were forming a circle and talking amongst themselves, Silon joined the circle but did not say a word.
"Brothers!" A voice rang out from ahead of their circle. The Sergeants turned and Silon saw a group of fine marines walking towards them. Silon recognised the marine leading them as Sergeant Vangoune, on the night of the betrayal he had seen Vangoune strangle a Sister to death while stabbing her shoulder repeatedly until the limb fell from her writhing body.
"Vangoune!" Markov said cheerily as he shook the other marine's hand, "Heard you had a problem that only my tanks could fix."
"Would that if it were true, Brother." Vangoune laughed, "I could take the barracks, but I have already lost enough men to the wenches within and besides, I would never deny you the pleasure of doing what you love."
Markov laughed and smacked Vangoune's pauldron with his open gauntlet.
Silon also recognised the marine just behind Vangoune, Sergeant Neemphis, his bulky assault pack hung from his back and Silon could see several plasma pistols upon his belt as well as the Sergeant's helmet and his power fist hung and thrummed by his side. The Sergeant's bald head was recently scarred and his face was as ever twisted into a perpetual glare.
"Brother Neemphis." Markov's voice dropped to a more formal tone, "You're injured."
"And you're observant." Neemphis retorted spitefully, "Seraphim bitches killed three of my men before we finished them."
"Not all of them." Vangoune sneered.
Neemphis turned and glared at Vangoune's helmed face.
"No, not all of them. One wench with red mixed into her hair got away and gave me the scar you see before you." He beckoned to the groove along the top of his head.
"How unfortunate, brother." Greghor sniggered, "My devastators and I will look out for your runaway Seraphim."
Neemphis spat and folded his arms.
The three marines behind the two Sergeants each carried a special weapon, one melta, one plasma gun and the last wielded a set of lightning claws and wore an assault pack.
"Brother, Adoine." Markov nodded in acknowledgement of the other assault marine, "I see you weren't one of the unfortunate three."
"'Fraid not, Brother Sergeant." Adoine replied. The helmet Adoine donned had had a golden Aquilla engraved into the forehead, now all that remained was the outline where it had been burnt out, no doubt by his own lightning claws.
Before Markov could continue, the lumbering form of the Thunderhawk drifted lazily overhead. Silon looked up with contempt as it passed them, shortly followed by the two faster forms of the storm raven escorts.
"If that doesn't make the bitches quake, nothing will." Greghor laughed.
Silon as ever remained silent but knew that the sisters would not last much longer.
"Come, brothers." Vangoune beckoned, "I'm sure our glorious Chaplain will have orders for us."
"You mean the Captain, whelp." Neemphis growled, "I ought to kill you for such impudence."
Vangoune unclipped the sheath that held his power sword and extended his arms out.
"You are welcome to try, Brother."
Neemphis shook his head and spat again. "Make haste."
Silon couldn't see it, but behind Vangoune's helmet he was surely grinning.
The courtyard was a ruin. The bodies of the battle sisters were dotted around the torn up ground and the larger forms of his brothers' bodies were fewer but still in high volume. This Silon could take solace in, but still, the sheer amount of dead sisters visible was atrocious. Their vehicles lay in ruin and the barracks looked as if it were standing on faith alone.
He stood alongside the other Sergeants and further alongside them stood the Captain and Chaplain Eisen, they were all looking out from a first floor corridor and all were in silence. The harsh wind outside blew and Silon could see the hair and the robes belonging to the dead sisters dancing with it.
"They have put up quite the resistance." Vangoune's formal and apologetic voice broke the silence.
"There should be none to put up any form of resistance." Chaplain Eisen's harsh voice replied, "How is it so many survived?"
"It was as if a portion of them had foreknowledge of our attack." Neemphis spoke this time, "We found several kill-teams that we had dispatched had been ambushed and there were other instances of our brothers being shot in the back mid battle."
For the first time in months, Silon smiled. He had made a difference; the old Preacher he had spoken to must have survived to some degree and aided others.
"Sergeant Markov." The Captain said.
"Yes, Brother Captain?" Markov replied.
"Bring your tanks to bare. Bring the garrison down upon them, this folly ends now."
"Aye, Captain." Markov clanged his fist against his breast in salute.
"As for you, Sergeant Vangoune." Silon turned and saw Captain Praetus walk over to face Vangoune, not a metre in-between them. "You will pay for this failure at some stage, I promise you that."
Vangoune lowered his head in respect.
"My life if forfeit, Captain."
"No question about it." Chaplain Eisen snorted.
Captain Praetus turned suddenly, took two steps over to Chaplain Eisen and threw a gauntleted punch at his face. Silon's eyes widened as Chaplain Eisen tumbled over with a loud crash. Every Sergeant present backed away.
"Do I need an echo for everything I say?" Praetus snarled down at the Chaplain, "You do not address the men when I am speaking. You forget yourself, Eisen."
The Chaplain got up onto one knee, picked up his defiled crozius and looked up at Captain Praetus.
"Of course, Brother Captain. I forget myself."
Silon couldn't help but crack a smile behind his helmet. The Chaplain was highly responsible for the betrayal that had afflicted the company; whispering heresy in the captain's ear, spurring on the men,killing those who would not comply...
Praetus turned back to Markov and Vangoune.
"Get it done, we move on Heroxes at dawn."
Markov and Vangoune stood still as statues.
"Eisen, with me." Praetus ordered as he began to walk down the corridor. The Chaplain gave the gathered Sergeants one last venomous look before hurrying after their leader.
Silon looked down from the window he stood at and saw two dead marines lying in the dirt. One had a bright plasma singe mark across the back of his neck and the other another two upon his torso. Silon wished no mercy for these traitors, yet still grimaced at the thought of such a death.
"You heard the Captain." Markov said to the rest of them, "Let's take these wenches down."
The gathered marines gave a shout of approval and began to walk in different directions. Silon had to act fast, but how?
If he approached the building to warn the Sisters within about the attack he would be gunned down before he reached the door by either his own brothers or the sisters within. He could not contact those within via vox network as the fortress was still jamming any transmissions, he had no way to warn them. It was over.
An hour later, the stage was set. Markov's three auto-cannon sporting Predator battle tanks rolled into the courtyard and lined up alongside each other. Following them was the slow moving Vindicator, the cannon of which could level most buildings in a few blasts. Along with the armour, Silon and his squad stood alongside Squad Hastus, Jaime and Squad Vangoune. Vangoune's squad stood ready with the assortment of combi weaponry that was issued to most Sternguard squads.
Silon prayed. He prayed that the sisters would find an underground passage of sorts to escape through. He prayed that the other squads positioned around the courtyard that surrounded them would perish if they attempted an escape. All of this was folly however and would not come to fruition though and Silon stayed silent.
Silon looked back and saw the top half of Markov protruding from the tank commander hatch of one of the Predators.
"Let's do this, Brothers! Cleanse these holy wenches!"
"Death to the false Emperor!" The marines around Silon roared in response, "Hail Praetus!"
The Predator tank turrets began to rotate around and all came to face the weaker spots visible on the garrison walls and the Vindicator began to roll closer. Silon grimaced.
"Move!" Vangoune ordered and following his command, the Sternguards rose from their positions and began to follow the Vindicator.
"Move up!" Silon ordered half heartedly, his squad rose and began to move towards the barracks.
Perhaps I'll catch a stray bolt round and be done with this charade. Silon hoped. Better yet I'll fire into these traitors, I'll die along with these brave sisters.
Silon gripped his bolt pistol tighter and began to think of whom to attack first.
Allister. Definitely Allister.
The marines grew closer and the Vindicator stopped. Silon's team crouched on the right side of the siege tank and Vangoune's on the left. Silon was behind Allister and could easily shoot the marine in the back of the head. Oh how he would relish in it, his squad may even be so surprised by his action that he could slay a few more before they killed him. "This is why he sacrificed himself for me, this is why I was meant to survive."
"Suffer not the heretic to live!" A strong female voice suddenly rang out.
Silon snapped back to the present and looked over at the barracks.
A silver clad sister of battle carrying a power maul and a plasma pistol had leapt through one of the ground floor windows and now faced them. In one moment she had landed and fired her energy weapon towards Silon's squad, the shot hitting brother Gerald square in the face. Gerald let out a yelp and dropped his bolter, his hands scrabbled at the glowing substance that was eating its way through his skull and he fell writhing to the ground.
Silon was stunned. He stared at the Sister who he now recognised to be the last Canonness. Her scarred face was contorted in pure fury and she was already sprinting out toward the space marine lines.
"Take her down!" Vangoune's voice roared.
But before a single shot was fired in return, more sisters appeared. Dozens appeared out of the darkness that the craters and the windows and the ruined stairwells provided. They all screamed battle cries and began advancing out into the courtyard.
Brother Kherot took two bolt rounds to the chest and he jerked before falling backwards. Jargen cursed as a bolt round struck his shoulder plate and he raised his melta toward the advancing sisters.
Allister fired a short uniformed burst from his bolter and soon the entire courtyard air was alight with the roar of bolter fire.
The Canonness, flanked now by several Celestians sprinted towards Silon's position, each firing their bolt pistols and with their swords raised high. Allister's gunfire took down two of the screaming Celestians and brother Horatio took down another one.
Through some blessing, the canoness and her last Celestian made it unharmed. She ran past the Vindicator's siege shield and immediately swung her power maul towards Horatio. Silon heard the crunch of bone and the screech of twisted Ceramite as the maul obliterated Brother Horatio's head.
The Celestian had passed her leader and had swung her chainsword at Jargen, who deflected the blow using his meltagun. He attempted to use his brute size and weight to knock her back but the agile and nimble form of the Celestian easily dodged the blow.
Allister stood and swung his bolter at the Canonness, catching her unawares. His blow knocked her over and she landed with a loud clang of her armour. Allister did not waste a second; he fired his bolter with one hand into her pistol wielding arm and drew his knife with the other hand. The Vindicator fired.
The Canonness screamed in pain and she screamed louder when Allister slammed his boot down on her other arm. He crouched down and jammed his combat knife into the Canonness' vulnerable stomach plating. She coughed out a goblet of blood and wheezed as Allister twisted the blade and pushed it deeper.
Silon looked back up at the battle and saw swathes of bolter fire cutting down the charging sisters. They dropped like flies and another Vindicator round ripped through the air and exploded against the building's now weak walls causing a partial collapse.
The Celestian exchanging blows with Jargen saw her Canonness on the ground and turned to swing at Allister. Unfortunately as she did so, Jargen fired his meltagun at point blank range and obliterated her mid section. She fell to the ground in two halves screaming in agony.
Through the dust and rubble of the building came the awkward stomps of a Penitent Engine, the sisters' equivalent to a dreadnought. The crazed pilot of the machine charged it forward with its flamers spitting forth promethium fuelled fire and its buzzsaw like weapons revving angrily. Autocannon rounds from the Predators smashed into it, causing it to swivel and stumble as it ran and a Vindicator round finally silenced it.
"Heretics!" The canonness's voice was barely audible over the roar of bolter fire and the screams from the dying sisters all around them but Silon heard her last words a moment before Allister withdrew his knife and swiped it across the fallen Canonness' throat.
An eerie quiet descended over the courtyard as the last of the sisters were silenced. The vindicator's cannon had smoke leaking from the barrel and all around the line the guns had gone quiet. Silon cursed.
The bodies of the sisters were everywhere ahead of him, their thick blood spread across the ground and their faces, pale and lifeless. Silon spotted two Seraphim lying dead not two steps from the garrison walls, perhaps one of them were the Seraphim that injured Neemphis. He would never know, he had stood by and done nothing.
Vangoune and his team moved forward amongst the bodies and started checking them, Silon followed suit and was surprised when he found Kherot following them, limping from his injuries yet very much alive.
Walking through the bodies filled Silon with rage. The decimated corpses around him had been their allies, their sisters. And now here they were, betrayed by those they considered brothers and dead in the dirt.
Silon suddenly recognised one of the bodies; the Preacher who he had warned upon the night of the betrayal. The aged mortal man had blood splattered across his front and his face was deathly pale.
Silon approached the mortal and looked down at him. To his amazement, the man was alive. He crouched down and removed his helmet, exposing his scarred but handsome face to the harsh winds.
"He-hereti-" The Preacher wheezed.
"It's me, Preacher." Silon said in a hushed tone, "Forgive me."
The dying Preacher looked back up at the Silon and seemed to recognise him.
"Y-you-" The Preacher spluttered, "Hel-Help at Heroxes" He gritted his teeth.
"Heroxes?" Silon repeated confused. But before he could continue the dying preacher interrupted him.
"And-An- gra- me th- emperor's- peace…"
Silon grimaced and closed his eyes.
"Do it or they'll thin- you a traitor-" The Preacher closed his own eyes and waited.
Silon stood and drew his pistol in one movement. He then looked down at the old man, who was muttering a silent prayer and fired at his head.
The shot alerted every marine in the area, Kherot was the closest and he walked over to Silon.
"Guess we missed that one, Brother Sergeant."
Silon looked down at the splattered gore and bone where the Preacher's head had just been and glared.
"You would presume correctly." Silon said bitterly before replacing his helm.
It was all over.