Legends of the Smoke Jaguars Chapter 35
Sedaxus left Victory's Crucible attached to one of the lower outcroppings of the Starfort, emerging into a sewage reclamation plant run by servitors. He was confident his approach remained undetected, a Shadowhawk was practically undetectable at the best of times and he'd taken days to close, relying on inertia to bring him in unpowered. He passed unchallenged as he made his way into Oblivioni Cavum, seeking his objective with exacting determination.
Sedaxus made his way through the fetid environment, smelling bubbling vats of dung and piss as bacteria broke the material into raw proteins. Lighting was faint and the air soaked with moisture, causing dirty droplets to drip from the large fangs of his helm. Shadowy motion drew his attention but it was only a servitor, mindlessly ladling stinking ooze with a long handle. Others were collecting proteins and amino acids, to be reconstituted into food pastes, but he ignored them, he wasn't here to cull servitors, it was his blood Brothers he sought.
Sedaxus slipped from the plant without disturbing anything and emerged into a rusty corridor. His lips drew back over his teeth as he saw the dilapidated state of the Starfort. Pipes hanging from the roof were badly corroded, leaking corrosive fluids that ate them apart from the inside. The walls boasted fungal growths in the corners and the floor was covered in grime. It was hard to believe an Astartes facility could be allowed to fall into such disrepair, especially in space where a single failing system could spell death for all within. The VIIIth had always owned a lax attitude to maintenance and appearance, save for their weapons and armour, but it seemed in the years since his defection the Night Lords had given up caring, leaving it to the mortals to keep the place from falling apart.
Sedaxus sneered as he pressed on, seeking a way upwards. He passed several corridors and turnings but ignored them, his perfect memory containing a plan of Oblivioni Cavum. He hadn't come this way before but could easily extrapolate a route to the areas he did know, he'd explored much further than any of his Brethren in his time here, the Starfort and the system beyond. He trod silently, the finely-tuned adaptions to his plate helping with that. He needed to pass unseen for as long as possible, if he were to reach his goal. Sedaxus had had days to think upon his friend's words and their stark truth had grated. He was alone, against hundreds of foes, a suicide mission indeed. His determination hadn't wavered but he was forced to consider that he'd only kill a few of them before they cornered him. But then on the last day an idea struck, a way to take out every single one of the bastards, all he had to do was reach his goal.
Sedaxus found a broad staircase, with all lumens extinguished. He bounded up them four at a time, ascending to the next level, but there he paused. From the top of the stairs he heard a pair of voices, Transhuman and fierce, speaking the gutter-slang of lost Nostramo. Sedaxus was given pause and tried to map an alternative route, but there was none to be found, he'd have to kill these two and fast, before they could raise an alarm. Troubling, but he had the advantage of them not knowing he was on board.
"Berat krul teg!" Sedaxus called from the dark staircase.
"Vos Ka?" one of the pair called, turning to look down the staircase.
"Niera justsa," Sedaxus replied.
"Niera justsa?" one answered.
"Niera justsa ka!" Sedaxus spat.
Summoned by his cry the speaker stepped down, coming to meet him in the dark. The other hung back, holding his bolter suspiciously, which meant he was the smarter of the pair. The stupid one stepped downwards, not expecting a trap, which meant he was shocked when Sedaxus moved forward, feline-skull helm looming out of the dark like a ghost. The Night Lord gasped and lifted his bolter but Sedaxus was faster. His claws slid out of their sheaths as he drove his left arm upwards, slamming the points under the jaw and up into the braincase, till they broke out the top of the helm.
The Traitor shook in his grasp as death came but Sedaxus held on grimly, supporting his weight. It was a wise move for an instant later a trio of bolt rounds slammed into the back of the dead Marine, fired from his comrade, without any regard of whether the first was alive or not. Sedaxus felt impacts shake his arm but held firm, using the corpse as a shield. His right hand flashed to his hip and came up with his pistol. He braced the body as more rounds slammed into it and levered his hand under the armpit, then fired a single shot. The hail of shots ended as a loud crash reverberated through the stairwell and Sedaxus dropped the corpse without a care. The second Traitor was dead, with a smoking hole bored through him. Sedaxus paused to grab a pair of Krak grenades off the corpses, then sneered, "Vos'tok gha!" as he raced away.
He moved twice as fast now, knowing the pair would be missed soon. Their absence on the vox-net would not go unnoticed and time was against him. Several levels he ascended, moving past alarmed mortals without care. They shrank back at his passing, not daring to impede a Night Lord on his business. He could only trust none of them would note his faceplate was unfamiliar, seeing only a Transhuman moving at speed. But then even if they did note something was off it was doubtful any of them would report it, few mortals ever dared to tell Night Lords anything they absolutely didn't have to.
Sedaxus made his way deeper into Oblivioni Cavum and found himself at the primary comms-centre. This was his goal, but it was not unguarded. A pair of Night Lords stood outside, alert and ready for intrusions. Were the murdered pair noted already, or were they merely annoyingly disciplined? It didn't matter if they were expecting him or not, Sedaxus needed to get into that room and wasn't going to let anything stop him.
He skidded around the corner and his pistol was firing before they knew what was happening. A shining plasma blast took the right one in the faceplate, incinerating the head into a charred stump. Sedaxus managed to get three whole steps before the body hit the floor, but by then the other was firing. A hail of bolt rounds struck his front, cratering his plate and shattering one of the fangs hanging around his neck. Sedaxus twisted his pauldron about to take the brunt but the impacts still rang through him, yet he redoubled his efforts and drove through the storm.
A moment before he reached contact the Night Lord dropped his weapon and went for a knife at his belt. Sedaxus' hand moved like lightning, claws flashing to take the hand off at the wrist. The limb dropped away but the Traitor came back with a roundhouse punch from the other fist that clipped Sedaxus' helm and made his head ring and a grunt escaped his lip, "Yugh". His arm was not impeded however and surged upwards, taking the other limb off at the elbow. The Traitor was left with two stumps for arms, making him gasp and step back to clear room. Perhaps he meant to fight on with only his legs, but the farce was short as Sedaxus' claws plunged into his throat and tore out the windpipe.
Sedaxus didn't bother to watch the body fall as he hurled himself at the door, knowing an alarm had to have been raised. He crashed into the frame and ripped it apart, sending the door toppling over as he burst into the room. He found himself in a broad control room, filling with rings of mortals sitting at consoles, staring at flickering runes with big headphones clamped over their ears. Lumpy Logic engines chattered and steam blew from poorly maintained heat-sinks but that wasn't what drew his eye. What caused him to pause was the Night Lord stood in the centre, idling chainsword in hand.
Sedaxus pulled up as the waiting Traitor levelled his blade and spat, "So, you're the one who killed my men."
"I am," Sedaxus snarled, "And I'll kill you next."
"Work fast don't you, got a name?"
"Sedaxus, the Smoke Jaguar."
"Savare, the Arlstone Strangler."
Sedaxus snorted, "We going to exchange pleasantries all day or fight?"
"Gang-challenge rules, we shall meet blade to blade and see whose better, no shooting or tricks. Muscles and knife, blood and bone."
"Works for me," Sedaxus grunted as he clipped his pistol to his hip.
Instantly the pair hurled themselves at each other, weapons swinging. Savare's chainsword roared to life as he came in with an overhead sweep, while Sedaxus' claws flared with lightning. They both missed their first strike, slamming into each other and bounding off. The mortals took the opportunity to run, ripping headphones off to crowd around the door, screaming in terror as they fought to flee. Sedaxus had no time to worry about them spreading an alert for the tip of the Chainsword came straight at his head, nearly punching through. He ducked left and tried to stab low but Savare swung his blade across, converting his thrust into a swipe with consummate ease.
Sedaxus was forced to break off and reconsider his approach. This Savare was good, an expert with the blade, fast, skilled and vicious. He handled his sword with a sure hand and had a considerable advantage in reach, making it hard for the Smoke Jaguar to close into knife range but not impossible. He feinted left and then went right, spinning past the roaring blade and making a backhanded swipe for the hip. It was a poor angle for a strike but the tips penetrated Ceramite and let blood flow, a shallow wound but one that would be felt.
Unfortunately Savare was in no way impaired. He swung about, using his momentum to spin around and slam a pauldron into Sedaxus' back. The force of the blow sent him stumbling and he crashed bodily into the mortals still clamouring to get through the door. His sheer weight bowled them over, causing him to trip, and he landed on top of a dozen men. The mass of a Space Marine rivalled a ground-cab and at speed his heft killed them. Bones shattered, blood vessels ruptured and organs imploded as Sedaxus crushed men under his bulk, feeling their limbs snap under him like cockroaches under a boot.
They screamed and they howled but Sedaxus threw himself aside, crushing those few he hadn't killed outright. An instant later a chainsword caught him on the right flank, ripping his armour open to leave a bloody furrow in his side. Had he not moved it would have been driven into his spine, ending this fight once and for all, but still it left a lance of fire over his ribs. Savare cursed loudly as he drew back for another strike but Sedaxus kicked up from his pile of broken bodies, catching the swordsman in the groin and forcing him to stumble back.
Sedaxus bounded to his feet, blood dripping off his armour. Savare recovered and brought his sword about, only to have Sedaxus crashing into him. Twin-claws swept in, trying to stab under the armpit, too close for the long chainsword to block. Without any other recourse Savare dropped his blade, freeing his hand to flash down and catch Sedaxus by the wrist, stopping the arm just short of ramming home. The Smoke Jaguar struggled for a moment, but they were well matched in strength and he could not move his arm any closer, they were pinned, neither able to move, the first to break contact would die.
Sedaxus fumbled at his opponent's belt for a moment then shifted position to snatch his plasma pistol. He brought the whining pistol up to fire, only for his arm to be jarred as Savare's other hand came up, holding a bolt pistol. Both of them knocked the other's aim off, sending a plasma bolt high and a bolt shell low, striking the roof and floor harmlessly. The jolt separated the pair, making them stumble back as Sedaxus' pistol wailed an overheating alarum.
Savare levelled his fully-loaded pistol at Sedaxus' head and snorted, "Out of shots…you lose."
"What happened to no pistols?"
Savare chuckled, "Looks like we were both lying."
"Obviously," Sedaxus allowed as he inclined his helm, "But my lie was bigger."
Savare followed the line of his sight and looked down, only to find a Krak grenade lodged in his belt armour, the pin already pulled. "No!" The Arlstone Strangler gasped in horror and went to grab it, but before he could touch it the explosive detonated, blasting him apart. Sedaxus winced as a blast wave slammed home, peppering his front with bits of blood and bone and Ceramite but he stood true until the noise faded. He looked up and found bits of Savare painted across the walls and roof, while a bloody rag of entrails was splattered in a wide circle where he had once stood. Sedaxus wanted to make a pithy retort but he was aching and bleeding. He pressed his hand to the gushing wound on his side and felt Larraman scabs forming as he grunted, "Damn."
Painfully he limped to a working console and bent to his task. The Machine Spirit was still running so it was easy to access the systems. Normally the comms-centre was tasked to monitor signal traffic, eavesdropping on the Orks, but now he set it to broadcast continuously, on frequencies the Greenskins used. Crude or not they'd hear that and learn Oblivioni Cavum's location. They'd flock here in droves and kill everyone within, obscurity had been the Starforts' best defence and he'd just lit a bonfire on a hill for all to see.
Task complete Sedaxus moved on to other concerns. He'd just sealed the fate of every mortal and Space Marine in his place but that didn't mean he'd finished fighting. He wanted to find Kharkul and gut him with his own Claws, not let some random Greenskin do it. A quick internal scan found a mass of lifeforms at the end of one of the extended arms of the station, scores of Transhumans, all gathered together. That had to be the Red Flayer's location, Sedaxus concluded, lording over his minions and gloating manically.
The Smoke Jaguar straightened up painfully and limped from the room muttering, "Got a few hours till the Orks get here, let's see how many Traitors I can kill first."