Chapter Three.
It was a short hop through the warp from Victuss III to the Rascidaal system. It was a fairly large if unimportant system with five green planets orbiting around the small star that was the system's namesake. Rascidaal II was the largest of the five and had double the population of the next largest. The Ark Lotus cruised through space toward it. My team took the smaller personal shuttle and we joined one of the several trickles of ships that shifted from planet to planet on passenger or delivery runs. Briar was left in command of the Lotus.
Bennett piloted the shuttle with a slow grace, flowing around other craft like water around a rock. All of us were competent pilots but Jones suffered from Space Rage while McGillivray hated pretty much all technology. The rest of us usually took it in turns to fly, or if we needed the edge, brought Briar along with us.
We were broadcasting codes that the Planetary Governor had sent through to us and as soon as we were in range, Space Control directed us away from the main traffic flows and toward the small landing pad beside the governmental building known locally as 'The Fort'.
There were armed PDF soldiers encircling our vessel as it landed but their well cleaned weapons were lowered. They had plain grey uniforms that looked practical, not gaudy like so many planet's decided upon. Whoever thought yellow and lime green were good colours for a uniform wanted feeding to the Orks.
The Planetary Governor was stood at the front of the soldiers wearing plain robes of office. His build was muscular and his stance ridged. I had no doubts now, he was definitely ex-Guard. Up close I could see dozens of small scars crossing his hands, a sign of a swordsman.
"Thank you for your speedy arrival." he greeted us as we disembarked. He strode up to us and shook each of our hands. "As I said in my message, I am Filnir Alacar."
"Silver." I replied simply. "We don't want to waste any time. Do you have the materials that we'll need?"
"Yes. Follow me inside. It has all been delivered to the briefing room. That has been set up as your HQ, if that is fine with you." answered the man. I affirmed that it was.
The journey from the airfield to The Fort was short but we had enough time to take in the features of the surrounding buildings. They were all three story structures made from the same dull red stone, each surrounded by small gardens, a rare commodity for the Imperium in the 41st millennium.
The main government building had none of the pomp that I associated with important government buildings. Everything was made up of simple, sturdy materials and were arranged in such a way that it became a very defendable location. True to its nickname, it resembled a fort or castle far more than a home for the planet's rulers.
Inside was just as cleverly thought out. Corridors crisscrossed and open halls had skirting balconies that provided high ground. There were dozens of statues that portrayed famous heroes and rulers but they were positioned more as cover then as decoration.
"The walls have hidden turrets." observed Amund quietly while we walked down a long corridor. "The paintings cover them."
"Your friend has good senses." laughed Alacar. He addressed Amund. "How did you know?"
"The echoes are wrong." he said without going into further detail. He was a natural genius who truly understood whatever area he stood in. Years spent behind enemy lines tended to instil that kind of sense into people.
"This place was designed to be the scene of any last stand should we ever be invaded again. The outer walls are strong and the inner rooms are lined with automated turrets. When backed up by the PDF troopers it should stand against everything short of an orbital bombardment." explained the governor.
As he finished speaking we arrived at a door. He keyed in a password and the thick titanium door slid open. Inside was a large, dimly lit room with a large steel table at its centre. There was a large holoscreen in the middle of the table and stacks of paper dotted the room. A few maps were laid out upon the table, each showing a different area of the planet.
"Hope you boys like reading." joked Alacar as he motioned them in. "The holoscreen is hooked up to the governmental data system so if you need any information it should be there. It has clearance for information on levels one to three. For security reasons I cannot give you access to the upper levels but if anything comes to mind then I may grant additional access."
"What have you already found out?" I asked, not wanting to waste any time.
"Not a lot. It all started a few months ago from out of the blue, hence why I suspect external influences. There were no reported Xeno activity anywhere within the entire system except for the usual Ork raiders. We even arrested several of the rioters but can find nothing wrong with them physically or mentally. It seems that they are normal people acting upon their own free will but that just cannot be the case."
"This is a peaceful planet and we a peaceful people. Without Imperial aid then we simply wouldn't know where to start searching for this tainting element. Even back in my Guard days it was only my job to shoot the enemy before me while we struggled across the frontlines."
"We'll do what we can." I affirmed. I'd picked up a few hunting and hiding techniques throughout my life, as had we all.
"I cant thank you enough. I-" he began gruffly but was cut off by a beeping on his wrist. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a small electronic device strapped to his wrist like a watch. It appeared to be showing a message across its narrow screen. He read for a moment.
"Damn!" he growled. "They're at it again. This is the second time this week."
He walked swiftly from the room and we followed. Several corridors and staircases later we arrived in a large room with only a single desk and a few bookshelves by way of furniture. The room's main feature was the huge window at its far end that looked out over the city. Alacar strode straight up to the window.
Below us was a sea of heaving bodies. Hundreds of civilians armed with crude weapons stood around the Fort, shouting at the impassive walls in angry voices. They broke against the imposing building like waves against a cliff.
"What can we do?" asked the governor rhetorically. He sighed deeply. "We cannot just shoot up the civilian populous so all we can ever do is sit back until they tire themselves out against our outer walls. Luckily, It would take something more than they could find to break through our defence."
Even as he said this an alarm began to wail then a series of crashes shook the air. A PDF trooper rushed into the room.
"Sir! They broke through. Our video feed shows that they have meltas!"
"Meltas?" asked Alacar faintly, surprise evident in his voice. "Even the PDF only have a few of them across the entire planet. How could they get hold of them?"
"The mob is entering the building, sir. Should we activate the turrets?" stammered the trooper.
"No!" Alacar snapped. "Gather all of the troopers and lay down suppressing fire. Set up some barricades to keep them at bay. I don't want fatalities."
"Sir!" saluted the trooper before jogging back through the door.
"You need any help?" I inquired without taking my eyes off of the swarming streets below. Imperial citizens really were selfish. With Xeno hordes encroaching on all sides and Guardsmen dying by the hundreds they still didn't have the sense to do something constructive rather than smash the place up because the government is a bit flustered and might not make the best decisions.
"If you think you can without killing anyone then you are welcome to try. Just don't do anything stupid, I know what you mercenary types can be like." he grunted, his attention already upon the vox unit that he had just pulled from a draw and placed in his ear.
"What the hell does he want us to do that's not gonna hurt them? Ask them politely to leave? Tickle them into submission?" ranted Jones as we made our way back down to the bottom floor.
It was anarchy by the time we had retraced our steps back to the entrance. Dozens of raving people were shoving their way further into the building with rocks, bottles, knives and a few stubbers. The PDF had set up some rushed barriers but without aiming to kill they were reduced to targeting limbs.
I reached down and felt at the various pouches at my side. There was my trusty bolter pistol, a gift from my father, but that wasn't my aim. My hand grasped the handle of an old laspistol. I'd built it myself during my teenage years and had kept it with me ever since. It wasn't powerful, causing a minor burns at the most, but in this situation it worked a treat.
The others hefted their las-weapons and took aim. We'd have brought better weapons but none of us had expected to be in the thick of it within an hour of landing on the planet. We'd know for next time though.
We opened fire, a volley of red lasers ripping into the sides of the marauding mob. A few fell, clutching at their arms or legs but this only served to indicate our presence to the other nearby rioters. A few more targets were picked off then the mob was upon us.
They may have had melee weapons but they certainly didn't know how to use them. Swish, swish, stab was not a valid technique against battle hardened soldiers. Their numbers didn't help either as they were constantly barging into each other and preventing many from been able to attack. We were easily able to smack them about, aiming for the knockout again and again.
Jones cackled madly, punching left, right and centre. He had little actual skill but his strength and recklessness gave him the advantage. The rest of us fought with more style and with equal effect but the crowd's numbers were too large to simply fight one by one.
"Hold the line." Amund spoke calmly. Without an explanation he pulled back and disappeared into the maze of corridors behind us. I had no idea what he was up to but I trusted his judgement.
I fought one handed, my right arm staying in a defensive position. It was hard to fight with a super powerful lump of metal when trying not to disfigure your opponent. I'd used it to crumple the face of an Ork with a single punch so I didn't like the scrawny civilians chances if it came into play.
Bennett moved beside Jones, covering his flank to make sure that he wasn't surrounded by his own wild fighting style. To my other side McGillivray fought with a brutal efficiency rarely seen outside of the Astartes. A body dropped with his every attack, a skill necessary for survival in the harsh conditions that he had grown up in.
At the end of our line was Gornak. Underneath all of the black coverings his body was incredibly wiry, packing huge amounts of speed and strength into his very thin limbs. His combat style was like that of a beast, furious and unpredictable yet perfectly measured.
The PDF troopers were being pushed back now, unable to simply engage in close combat like us. The main host of the mob was still directed against them. A few had armed themselves with riot shields and were pushing back against the crowd but it was just a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.
I blocked a clumsy swing from a hammer with my robotic arm. The man behind the hammer smiled as it connected but quickly cried out when the arm snapped his weapon's handle in half. He tried to run but the crowd continued to push him forward. I punched his gut with my left arm, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.
The mob gave a huge push forward but came to a sudden halt when an ear-splitting screech tore through the air from above. The rioters, PDF and us all looked up to see what the hell was happening.
On a balcony above the main entrance stood Amund, a rocket launcher on his shoulder aimed down at the centre of the crowd.
"Leave here now. Return to your homes. This is your one chance." he said without raising his voice. The crowd faltered for a moment.
"See! They threaten us with violence and death. Do not fear their oppression. Bring retribution down upon their heads!" shouted an indistinct voice from somewhere within the mass of humans.
The rioters began to scream and shout again. Amund fired. There was no explosion though. A ball shot from the barrel then opened into a large net. A section of the crowd disappeared under it.
"Now!" I roared over to the PDF troopers. Despite never having seen me before they complied, the natural authority in my voice triggering their training to obey. Not that they needed telling to press the advantage.
In the moment of distraction we charged. The ones caught in the net could do nothing and those still free suddenly found themselves being rushed from all sides. Despite their still superior numbers they suddenly found themselves at a disadvantage.
There was a faint hissing sound accompanied by a blinding light, a short scream and the foul smell of burn flesh. I turned to see a civilian wielding a meltagun and a nasty bubbling puddle on the floor next to him that looked to have once been a PDF trooper. The man swung the weapon around, pointing it toward me. His arms looked to be straining under the weapon's weight but you didn't need a steady aim to do serious damage with one of those fearful creations.
Without hesitation my finger pulled the trigger and my laspistol spat a crimson line of energy at his face. It might not be a powerful weapon but when fired at a human's eye it still tends to reach the brain. He dropped dead. We were suppose to be avoiding fatalities but there is a big difference between a protestor and a valid threat upon my life. Anyone that brings a melta to a riot deserves a bullet though the head. In such close quarters it was a death-trap for both friend and foe.
By the look of things, that guy had been the ringleader. The mob lost its heart as his brain oozed out through his eye. Any sense of unity was quickly lost and the PDF were finally able to beat them back. Those that were not beaten unconscious soon fled in panic.
"Quite a welcoming party, wasn't it?" smirked Jones. His lip was split, blood glistening across his teeth making his grin seem demonic.
Amund returned after a few minutes. His rocket launcher was slung across his back and in one hand he held a sound amplifier while in the other was an electric guitar.
"Hey! My guitar. What the hell are you doing with it? You know it cost me a fortune." shouted Jones with concern lacing his voice. The mass death of humans didn't faze him in the slightest but the thought of his most prized possession getting a single scratch set his nerves on edge.
"I needed to get their attention. When I went for my launcher I saw this." Amund explained, passing the instrument back to Jones.
Alacar joined us after briefing the leader of the PDF. His face looked grim but relief was evident in his eyes.
"You do a good job. I'm already confident that I made the right choice when I hired you." The Governor took one last look at the mass of groining bodies around them that the troopers were slowly carrying from the building. "Come, we'll discuss the situation further over a glass of-"
"Sir!" shouted one of the governor's aides as he sprinted to Alacar's side. His voice was on the edge of raw panic.
"What now?" he snapped. "More rioters?"
"N-no sir!" stammered the aide. His features were near frantic now. "The sensors have picked something up in the warp…something big. Preliminary results suggest that a splinter Hive fleet is heading straight toward us!"
"What? Emperor's throne, it can't be!" gasped Alacar. "We don't have the means to defend ourselves against something like that."
We rushed to the communication room and saw that the staff were frantically pressing buttons. On every screen were vague dark patches that showed large object were present within the warp.
"What's the situation?" Alacar questioned.
"We can't get a message through because of the Tyranids' ability to nullify physic powers. We did receive a warning just before our sensors picked the signal up. Imperial forces are on the way but it's going to be a close call. The splinter fleet is relatively small but without backup it will be big enough to consume this system unopposed."
"How long do we have?"
"About a week, nine days max."
"Frak." Alacar turned back to us. "You don't think that this was caused by the same thing as the recent riots here?"
"Genestealers." A form of Tyranid that took over human hosts and spread through a population, destroying the infrastructure of the world while sending out a strong psychic message that attracted the main 'Nid army.
"Highly possibly." I answered. "I'm not certain though. You said that the few rioters that you captured had no sign of any interference. Also, they don't usually reveal themselves hostilely until just before an invasion. This has been going on for months before the Hive was even within your sensors. Add to that the fact that the crowd was very loud while infected humans are usually near silent and that theory becomes less sound."
"Splinter fleets are plaguing nearby systems. It stands to reason that one would break for new grounds." pointed out Amund.
"Due to the peace of this system its population is high and its men inexperienced." observed Bennett softly. "Easy pickings. The Tyranids seem to be able to sense these things."
I looked Alacar in the eyes. "You focus on the buggers. Get the other governors from this system and form a defensive plan. Leave the troubles down here to us."
"Thank you. I don't know what good it will do now but it is appreciated. I must leave now to meet with my peers and generals. Good luck." sighed the governor as he moved to leave. He was visibly shaken at this turn of events. As an afterthought he turned back. "Can I consider your team in my plans?" he asked with a hint of hope.
"We'll see. That kind of thing needs careful consideration between me and my team. Plan for the worst, hope for the best." I responded, avoiding the question.
"I understand." he replied wearily. "May the Emperor protect." he muttered with little conviction before leaving.
"We hightailing it then?" asked Jones once we were away from the governor and his attendants.
"Let the damn bugs come." rumbled McGillivray. "Then at least we've got something to fight. Consider it our victory party." he grinned savagely.
"You all wanted a battle, looks like your wish came true." I remarked. "We do our job, then we decide whether to head off or fight. It would be considered a new job so we'd get paid and wouldn't have to waste time travelling. Either way, as long as we complete our current job within a week then it's all good."
"You and your damn sense of honour." grumbled Jones. He cracked his knuckles. "Credits are credits I suppose. Still, three battles in a row against some overgrown bugs is a bit dull. Where is the fun? Its not like they even get scared or react to traps with surprise. Jeez, the things I have to put up with. I deserve a frakking medal. Well, I guess we had better get started then."
The clock had been started and I was determined to get the first move.