Tangmo had a mouth and he wanted to scream. Thankfully, he'd learned long ago to suppress his most immediate urges and was spared the humiliation of a public freak out. He mentally patted himself on the back though, because holy shit it was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. The sun had just fallen and darkness was completing its conquest when Laura contacted him with the sort of news that makes an individual shit himself. The Lovecraftian gods were here. And not some shitty Game Workshop rip off with the alphabets changed around either, nope, it's the genuine fucking article from another fucking reality. Shit, he was starting to miss that blue hair bitch Syrathel now. At least she wasn't an outer-multiverse invader.
"Are you sure you don't want to be elsewhere Tangmo?" Leave it to Ciaphas Cain to notice how stiff and hurried his steps had become. Tangmo however appreciated the Hero of the Imperium's genuine concern. Cain was a bro like that. "I must say, I can see why you would be perturbed. Even I'm ill at ease now that the sun has set."
Cain was absolutely right, and the fact that the Hero of the Imperium brought this topic up almost made Tangmo lost his composure. Despite the abundance of lights that had come to life the moment the sun started creeping toward the western horizon, the bright illumination of the Hive only highlighted how freaking dark the ocean was. If Tangmo was being honest the Hive looked pretty nice, like every five star hotel in the world just did a Dragon Ball fusion and the result was the magnificent palace of glass and steel floating upon the infinite watery void. The Southeast Asian motif made him feel at home too. To see the familiar style of flowing gold and sharp curving crests incorporated seamlessly with the Gothic architecture made his heart soar. Seriously, this place was basically Rapture before everything went to hell, just replace the Art Deco with classical Suvanabhum artistry and you're set to go. He thought about inviting Elizabeth and Eleanor here but quickly disregarded the idea. He didn't want to give them collective PTSD.
But the beatific façade didn't change the fact that the Hive was a nest of Lovecraftian cultists, said cultists were hiding somewhere and had so far successfully evaded the battlegroup. Also the ocean was dark as all fuck. The Imperium and Aeldari drones sent out across the sea looked like guttering candles about to be devoured by the encroaching darkness.
"At least it's bright in here," Tangmo pulled the awesome commissar coat tighter around himself, the neon bulbs weren't warming him one bit. They were currently standing in one of the many grand reception halls, a cubic construct of thick transparent glass held together by tasteful crisscrossing web of golden metal. It must've hosted great parties in the past, which was why Tangmo found it extremely amusing to see the placed filled with guardsmen and Aeldari, the various seating areas now converted into heavy gun emplacements. "I doubt we can get ambush in here."
"The enemy doesn't necessary have to come from inside the Hive," Leilatha pointed at the black nimbus beyond. "They could be lurking just beyond our radar with an army of submersibles, waiting for us to let our guards down."
"A good theory, but an unlikely one," Raine entered the conversation. "The modus operandi of this new foe appears to be stealth and evasion. If they had been more conventional, we should've detected structural damages to the Hive by now."
"And those sum bitches are nowhere to be found, fuck," Tangmo tapped his foot agitatedly and placed his hands on his hips as he took in the reception area. "Wanna do another sweep? I'm kinda running out of ideas here, I mean, we've been scouring the place for close to three hours and found jack shit. And that shit's really stressing me out."
"We can order the troops to do another full sweep of all twenty submerged levels again," Raine spoke up and traded quick look with colonel Arden Fel, her boyfriend standing at the ready to receive the command. "But doing so will achieve nothing but balm our unsettle minds, so I would suggest that we find an alternative course of action."
"A hunter need not always be pursuing their quandary," Leilatha added. "Waiting for the prey to come is an effective strategy."
"So we just wait?" Tangmo quirked his brow, "that's what you're suggesting?"
"Better than chasing shadows at this point," Leilatha nodded in answer. "We achieve nothing by tiring ourselves out. The men are spirited and hearty and will obey us no matter what, but I rather not tire them out when the enemies continue to evade our detection. We could be playing into their hands by overextending ourselves."
"Shit, never thought of it like that," Tangmo stroke his chin in contemplation then tapped his earbud. "Krillen, you there dude? What's the overall situation across the upper part of the Hive?"
"Quiet and peaceful for now," Krillen responded, he and the Cadians were on a level near the surface. "The Sororitas and Aeldari have found nothing so far too. You have orders for us?"
"Hold your positions and stay alert. That goes for every guard and eldar regiment," Tangmo gave his order. "We're through with this cat and mouse game. If the cultists want a piece of us then they'll have to work for their meals."
"Yes sir!"
"That's the best we can all hope for at the moment," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar cap and folded his arms over his chest. "Now what do we do?"
"We've earn ourselves a little respite I believe," Cain started off toward a descending spiral staircase at the center of the reception area, waving for his commissariat colleagues to follow. "Come along then, I don't like drinking alone in a place like this."
"…Okay sure, might as well get a bit comfortable while we wait," Tangmo shrugged and followed Cain. When the pair reached the descent Tangmo turned around and offered the frowning Leilatha and Raine an amused look. "Hey, don't get pouty with me. We're doing exactly what you've suggested."
"By the God Emperor and all his Saints," Raine shook her head agitatedly before shooting Leilatha an incredulous look when the lady commissar strolled after Tangmo and Cain. "Are you serious?"
"It was our idea," Leilatha offered Raine a light grin. "A little rest wouldn't hurt Severina. We haven't gotten a breather since landing on this planet."
After a moment of contemplation, Raine flashed quick sequence of hand signals at Arden and fell in beside Leilatha. If Tangmo's ears weren't deceiving him, he could've sworn the Antari colonel snickered a bit before returning to his duty. Judging by the annoyed twitch at the corner of Raine's eye, Tangmo heard rightly.
"This might be a nest of heretical cultists, but there is no denying their mastery in architecture and creativity," Cain made his comment as they strolled down the gleaming marble stairs flanked on both sides by polished railings of aquamarine tinged ivory, and despite his irrational fear of the open sea Tangmo couldn't helped but agree. They were entering a cocktail bar lounge, the entire area fashioned into a perfect globe of transparent crystal that granted them a three hundred and sixty degree view of the surrounding ocean. The submerged landscape was shrouded in darkness so thick that Tangmo's hair stood on end, already his mind was making evil shapes out of the near tangible ebon. So consume by the abhorrent possibility of the terror lurking beyond the questionable safety of the glass wall, Tangmo forgot to look ahead and bump into Cain's back.
"Shit! Sorry!" Tangmo held up his hands in apology. "You okay dude?"
"I've survived a lot worse Tangmo, I'll be fine," Cain flashed his winning smile and took a few more steps onto the lounge, very pleased with the luxurious interior. His eyes swiftly found the bar, the curvaceous alcohol dispenser was made out of gleaming wood. "That looks like a good place to rest as any."
"I would advise against that, Ciaphas," Raine's words stopped Cain midstride, the lady commissar eyeing the many beverages arrayed behind the bar. Tangmo can feel a thirst coming just by looking at the elegant bottles on display, the ovoid cabinet looked like a lotus bud before blooming. "The local delicacy could be tainted, and I can't think of a more ignominious end for the Hero of the Imperium than alcohol poisoning."
"Then I shall not give you the satisfaction of my demise then Severina," Cain said good-naturedly and strode over to a long lounge chair facing the glass wall, the velvety dark blue leather polished to a mirror shine. He sat down with a sigh and waved for the other to join him. "I wouldn't mind carrying this back to the Immortal Spirit, it would really bring my quarter together."
"I'm sure Amberley will appreciate your thoughtfulness," Raine seated herself down, eyes widening in surprise as she leaned into the backrest, her reaction a lot more composed than Tangmo who couldn't stop a stupid chuckle from escaping his lips. Goddamn the leather was so fucking soft, comfortably enveloping his limbs and easing the knots from his muscles. "On second thought, I think I'll have Andren come down here later."
"Jurgen can be very fast when properly motivated," Cain reached into his awesome commissar coat and withdrew a sizeable metallic flask. He placed it down on the sleek low table in front of them then snapped his fingers. "Blast it, we have no glasses. I'll be back."
"Nah dude, I got this," Tangmo sprang up from his seat and headed back to the bar. "What kind of glasses do we need?"
"The sort where you can enjoy an amasec with," Cain called after him.
"Rocks glasses, got it," Tangmo rolled over the counter and easily found the aforementioned glasses. He sat back down and passed it to his commissariat buddies. "Is there enough in that flask for all of us Cain?"
"I guess we shall find out," Cain made the serving, the quantity on the conservative side. In the end there was indeed enough to go around. "See Tangmo, nothing to worry about."
"I stand corrected," Tangmo picked up the glass and held it up to his commissariat colleagues. Cain joined in with heart, Raine and Leilatha were less enthusiastic but nevertheless lifted their drinks, "to our health and a speedy and flawless success to our mission."
The four commissars clinked glasses and Tangmo downed the amasec in one gusty gulp as opposed to his colleagues more indulgent sips. That shit really hit the spot, the burning heat of the liquor sent pulsing flames across his body, his marrows and veins singing in pleasure as the gloom over his psyche were banished by the fiery ignition. Cain, Raine and Leilatha couldn't help but stare when Tangmo let out the pleased Misato's keening, "fucking hell that was some really good shit, hit me with another Cain!"
"You will not have a second serving," Leilatha said coldly, the chilly timbre made Cain held up his hand in mock surrender while Tangmo's lips trembled in a disgustingly pathetic attempt at a pout. "God Emperor's mercy, don't do that."
"Worth a try," Tangmo shrugged, placed the glass down on the low table and sank back into the leather with a contented sigh. "Thanks Cain, just what I need to unwind."
"Happy to be of service," Cain took a little sip, his face becoming serious as he swirled the amasec around in his glass. "These new enemies we're facing, the ones inquisitor Laura had fought before in the past, are they known to you also?"
"Oh yeah, I know a lot more than her in fact," Damien might have been the Tolkien expert, but the title of Lovecraft lore master belonged to Tangmo. "After she told me about her little encounter with the Cthulhu cult I started digging, and digging, and digging…and holy shit that was a big fucking rabbit hole I fell into."
"How much of a threat are these cultists?" Raine placed her empty glass down, her visage grim and unchanging in its professional intensity. "Lady inquisitor Laura said they worshiped deities not aligned with the Chaos Gods, if so how dangerous can they be?"
"Quite dangerous to be honest," Tangmo leaned into the comfy sofa and glanced at Leilatha, seriously contemplating the pros and cons of drawing her into his arm. The sharp glare she shot him indicated that she saw completely through his intention, so Tangmo settled with sitting on his lonesome. "Yep, the archive was way too detailed for my liking."
"And this archive comes from Holy Terra, yes?" Cain smirked over the rim of his glass and took a hearty swig.
"Now you're catching on to the plot my main man," Tangmo chuckled and shuffled around in his seat until he was comfortable. "Once again the genesis of our latest enemy is Holy Terra."
"So this is like Darwin IX?" Raine asked, "a repeat of our encounter with the kaiju Godzilla."
"Yo, seriously, for all the crazy shit Gojira did at least he was overt about it," Tangmo said. "These assholes on the other hand…holy shit I hope Amberley and Greyfax lives up to their vaulted reputation because Laura's gonna need all the help she can get."
"The deities the heretics worship, do we have an umbrella term to call them?" Leilatha finished her drink and put the glass on the table.
"Call them the Lovecraftian Gods," Tangmo folded his arms across his chest, a good enough serious posture considering that he can't do a Gendo pose sitting like this. "It's actually quite funny though, the first person to come across these eldritch gods was a broke fiction writer by the name of Howard Philip Lovecraft from Providence Rhode Island."
"Our information comes from a fiction writer?" Raine asked with an incredulous raise of a brow.
"All of his accounts were vindicated by future researchers and the Inquisition themselves," Tangmo was very proud of his ability to lie on the spot with a straight face. "Apparently Lovecraft came into contact with the eldritch gods and their cults, unfortunately the man was a schizophrenic mess and an asshole so no one believed what he found. He instead decided to mask his discovery and pass it off as horror stories, his literary canon became very popular throughout the second and third millennium."
"And what have this Howard Phillip Lovecraft unveiled?" Cain asked.
"The name of the deities, the name of the cults for each deity, the name of the daemons aligned with each deity, and finally the characteristic of each deity," Tangmo rounded out each point then titled his head to the side, his visage curious. "I wonder from what angle the fuckers are gonna come at us. The cultists aligned with the Lovecraftian gods preferred subterfuge over direct insurrection. As for the gods themselves, their goals are not very clear but it's definitely maligned in nature."
"Subterfuge or no, the Lovecraftian cultists have proven themselves to be more than capable in the field of warfare," Leilatha said. "To be able to destroy a Chaos warband along with a large contingent of Traitor Astartes bespoke of a great tactical mind and combat prowess."
"I don't think the cultists are human anymore honestly," Tangmo stared at the lightless nimbus that was the ocean. "If Cthulhu is here, then Father Dagon and Mother Hydra are not far behind. The grunts we will be facing could be the Deep Ones."
"What are Deep Ones?" Raine finally finished her drink, the empty glass joining their fellows on the table, "some kind of lesser daemons?"
"Sort of," Tangmo easily got into the groove of the conversation, affecting an easy pose used by laidback academic. "The Deep Ones were human when they were born. You see, they're the spawns of a Deep One father and a human mother, and they looked normal during the first stages of their lives. Then when those sum bitches reached adulthood they started changing, becoming more like their dads, that being fishes."
"Fishes?" Cain spoke up.
"The Deep Ones are children of the god Dagon, who is a kaiju size half man half fish humanoid," Tangmo explained, trying his best to contain his enjoyment of spread the gospel of Lovecraft because his commissariat colleagues were growing quite distraught. "I'm betting a hundred thousand credits that the Deep Ones are operating within the vicinity of the Hive. Amberley said the planet was abandoned close to a thousand years, plenty of time for the population to mutate completely. They're pretty easy to spot, they're half man half fish, and not the pretty kind like Ariel from the Little Mermaid either. The Deep Ones prefer aquatic environment but have no problem being on land."
"I see," Cain adjusted the collar of his awesome commissar coat and glanced at the panoramic glass wall. "I am starting to understand your distaste of the ocean."
"Is it possible that the Deep Ones could be lurking just beyond?" Raine made an extremely legitimate point, but Tangmo suspected that she piped up for the sole purpose of making Cain flinched. She was successful. "It's so dark. The submersible drones can barely illuminate the place."
"If there are hostiles swimming in the ocean our radars would've already spotted them," Leilatha countered and took out her data-pad. She typed quickly across the screen and grunted in an affirmative tone. "Nothing but local faunas can be detected within the immediate vicinity. Furthermore the drones serve as forward sentries for us, and they haven't come across anything yet."
"Our radars and drones are programmed to spot things of the military natures, vehicles, power armors, electronic devices and energy weapons. The Deep Ones and other Lovecraftian beasties are biological in nature," Tangmo sat up straighter, his hand instinctively going to the Desert Eagle laspistol at his belt. He glanced at the map dominating Leilatha's data-pad. "That school of fish could be a flock of Deep Ones for all we know, our sensors unfortunately can't tell the difference."
It would've been good if Tangmo noticed this shortcoming earlier, but the constant thalassophobia had made him quite distracted to say the least. This latest revelation elicited immediate reaction from his commissariat buddies. Cain, Raine and Leilatha sprung off the couch and ran up to the glass window. Tangmo followed a heartbeat later at a more moderate pace.
"The glass is rather thick," Cain commented and ran his hand over the transparent crystal surface, "five inches if I remember correctly." He turned to Tangmo then. "How do the Deep Ones operate? Can we expect them to attack the Hive en mass like the orks and the Tyranids?"
"Judging by the Chaos warband's casualties, their tactical acumen eclipses the orks and the Tyranids," Raine narrowed her eyes on the darkness, the light from the Hive failing to penetrate the ebon of the ocean. "No, something tells me we're being watched."
"This is commissar Tangmo to fleet, do you read me?" Tangmo tapped his earbud and with a quick wave drew his commissar buddies back from the glass wall. Standing too close was tempting fate a bit. "Who's in a charge of the current aerial reconnaissance squadron?"
"Good old me, lord commissar," Tyra beamed from the other end. "It's a nice clear night up here, the moon and stars are pretty and bright."
"Yeah, I wish I could say the same from under the sea," Tangmo offered the spunky pilot a nervous chuckle. "How many aircrafts are up in the sky right now?"
"The usual complements, thirty Valkyries split into six teams of five, twelve fighters circling above them, and finally eight reconnaissance aircrafts cruising at a comfortable altitude of ten thousand feet," Tyra listed off the battlegroup aerial assets, her cheery tone dropping a few octaves when she realized this was not a social call. "Enemies spotted?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Tangmo went on. "Do the Valkyries carry depth charges?"
"We do lord commissar," Tyra was nodding on the other end. "Victoria, how much are we carrying right now?"
"Each Valkyries carries a payload of twenty four depth charges, as per lord commissar's suggestion that we armed ourselves with aquatic capable weaponries," Victoria the co-pilot made her answer. "Do I cycle the armament into the bombardier hatch?"
"Please do Victoria," Tyra made her command without any prompting from Tangmo then opened the main communication channel to the other aircrafts. "All Valkyries, armed the depth charges and await my command."
"This is Ciaphas Cain to every defensive battery around the Hive, load the ordnances and assume maximum readiness, I want spotter to use night visions and thermo readings," Cain made additional orders to the Immortal Spirit battlegroup, the Hero of the Imperium's quick thinking earned him an appreciative nod from Tangmo. "Keep your eyes on the ocean."
"Oi, why is everybody suddenly running all over the rampant? And why are the heavy guns and artilleries turning outward?" Laura's voice blared across the intercom, her timbre was mildly concerned. "Tangmo, what the bloody hell is going on?!"
"That's what I'm trying to find out, but just to be on the safe side, I recommend that you and your gal pals get ready," Tangmo told the British inquisitor and switched the frequency back to Tyra. "Yo Tyra, is everything ready?"
"Awaiting your order lord commissar, the Valkyries are in position and making tight circuits around the Hive," Tyra said, "when you're ready."
"Drop the depth charges, thirty seconds between each payload please," Tangmo said and drew one of his laspistol, his commissariat buddies doing the same, sidearms held lax but ready. And they waited, unblinking eyes trained on the impenetrable black beyond the crystal barrier. Seconds seems to last hours and Tangmo was starting to get impatient when the depth charges exploded brilliantly, five blooming flowers of fire that banished the darkness and painted the ocean in searing white. Tangmo would've loved for his paranoia induced hypothesis to be wrong, but this small hope was destroyed when the flaring lights, brief but powerful, revealed shapes darting in alarm from the detonated munitions. Numerous and swimming in packs, they were humanoid but sporting frills and fins, revolting fleshy augmentations birthed from twisted eldritch mind.
"By the God Emperor we must – ahhh!" Honestly, hearing Raine squealed like a girl was a novelty worthy of a hearty laughter, but in that moment the four commissars were struck silent when a pack Deep Ones appeared before them, hovering silently not an arm's length from the glass wall. Blue bioluminescent hummed to life across their bodies, painting the limbs with sickly abominable patterns that were extremely garish to behold. Pissed at having been jump scared, Raine pointed her bolt pistol at the Deep One in the middle, "fucking bastard!"
"Lower your weapon Severina," Cain snapped at Raine, the commanding timbre surprising the lady commissar but she complied, albeit with a very nasty glare. "If you shoot that thing we'll either drown or get cut to pieces by the shrapnel."
"The daemons are examining us," Leilatha swept her gaze slowly across the ranks of Deep Ones, the spawns of Dagon appeared to be doing the same with their lidless bulging eyes. The fuckers looked almost like Abe Sapien from Hellboy, but more feral in appearance and sporting sharp teeth and claws and talons. So basically the fish man thing Sally Hawkins fucked in Shape of Water, another Del Toro classic. "Tangmo, what do we do?"
Tangmo locked eyes with the Deep One Raine had taken aim at earlier, because the fucker looked to be the leader of this group. The Thai commissar took a deep breath, holstered his laspistol, clasped his hands behind his back and took a step forward, his nose almost touching the glass. The Deep One responded by swimming closer.
"You understand me, don't you bitch?" Tangmo smirked as the Deep One pressed its palms against the glass, the fierce glint shinning in his bulbous eyes indicating that he indeed understood the Thai commissar. There always comes a time in a man's life when after reaching the zenith of his fear, the accumulated anxiety and stress suddenly decompressed, leaving the individual with an almost Zen like emptiness that put the world around him into greater clarity. It was the kind of emptiness that makes a dude feels invincible. Gone were the terrible weights holding him down, all that had made one cower and weep were now nothing but obstacles waiting to be destroyed. Tangmo had peaked his fear, came to the conclusion that he was fucked no matter what, and was now flashing the Deep One his best shit eating grin. Then he mimed a gun with his hand and pressed the tip of his index finger to the fishman's head. "Good, because I'm gonna make this real fucking simple. All of you are fucking dead, do you hear me?! You think this is gonna be easy like when you fucked those Chaos bitches over?! Hell fucking no! We're gonna fuck you up and turned this fucking planet into a fucking desert, so you better pray to your shitty little octopus god because the God Emperor is about to tear him a new asshole! We will massacre you! We will fuck you up!"
Tangmo had both of his middle fingers raised at the Deep One, waiting eagerly for the fishman to roar, hiss or start slamming his fists on the glass in a vain attempt to punish the Thai commissar for the egregious insult. When the Deep One did not react after several minutes had elapsed, Tangmo knew something was wrong. The leader only reaction was a small tilt of the head, barely an acknowledgement, lips peeled back to reveal rows of needle sharp teeth. It wasn't a feral display of anger or challenge, because Tangmo recognized it as a smirk, an amusement borne out curiosity and excitement. The Deep One drifted away then, his pack shadowing his movement, and with an elegant kick of his legs swam away into the ocean stygian nimbus.
"Well Tangmo, that was rather peculiar," Cain slipped in beside Tangmo as he lowered his middle fingers, the Valkyries were still bombing the ocean and the swarm of Deep Ones had seemingly increased. "The beasts understand us and possess a frightening level of cognitive thinking."
"And that is seriously freaking me the fuck out," Tangmo traded look with Cain, in that moment the Thai commissar and the Hero of the Imperium saw through each other façade. Yep, they were both scared shitless. "I mean, I kinda hope the Deep Ones were gonna start going feral and shit, headbutting the glass until it cracked and throwing a tantrum like Syrathel did. Instead we got that creepy shit!"
"Missed her, Tangmo?" Leilatha asked neutrally, and Tangmo honestly can't decide whether she was joking or threatening him.
"I wouldn't mind something familiar to kill right now," Tangmo winked at Leilatha and tapped his earbud. "This is commissar Tangmo, I'm sure all of you have seen the fish people?"
"Indeed sir, we're getting a very good look at them," Krillen said calmly, but there was no denying the minuet hint of tension in his timbre. "There are places where the Hive is directly connected with the ocean at large, hangars and storage units, what are your orders?"
"Set up choke points and kill zone along every passageway connecting us with those vulnerable spots," Tangmo made his command. "Hold the line for now. We need to assess their fighting capabilities."
"Oh my fucking God Emperor, is that the fucking Deep Ones?!" Laura blurted across the intercom, her off-key shrieking would've been hilarious if the situation wasn't so dire. "Tangmo! Are those really the Deep Ones?! Like those creepy wankers from the Shadow Over Innsmouth?!"
"That's an affirmative Laura, straight outta fucking Massachusetts," Tangmo made his confirmation and started for the spiraling stairway with his commissariat colleagues. "Be advised, every freaking waterway within the Hive is now considered compromised, keep your eyes peel and shoot anything with scales instead of skin. Good luck and stay safe dude, I'll be fighting them down here."
"Thanks mate, give them hell," Laura was obviously smiling on the other end as she cut transmission.
"Alright, we need to get back to the troops and set up multiple layers of defenses. We also need to keep an avenue of retreat open if something were too…"
"Wait."
Cain grabbed Tangmo's shoulder, stopping the Thai commissar dead in his track, then pressed his finger to his lip for silence. For the minute that followed the four commissars didn't dare moved a muscle, ears straining to catch a glimpse of any acoustic anomalies. Beside the hum of the ventilation systems and the pounding boots above, nothing was out of the ordinary.
"What do you hear, Ciaphas?" Leilatha asked, her eyes sweeping the floor and ceiling.
"The air coming from the pipes and the ducts," Cain fixed his gaze on the bar from earlier, laspistol in hand as he crept slowly toward it. Tangmo, Leilatha and Raine swiftly formed a wedge around the Hero of the Imperium, sidearms brandished. "It sounds strange, as if something is clogging the pipes."
"How can you tell?" Raine tilted her head to the side then tightened her grip on her bolt pistol. "Now that you mention it the hum has become…deeper?"
"Indeed Severina," Cain turned to her and quirked a brow. "You must've read through both versions of my memoirs, I stated many times that I grew up in a Hive. The claustrophobic ambience of the metropolis is very familiar to me, and I'm very quick at picking out noises that are not supposed to be there."
"The Deep Ones are coming through the pipes?" Tangmo asked.
"Impossible," Leilatha shook her head, the four commissars were only a few paces from the bar now. This close even Tangmo can tell that something was wrong with the duct built into the floor. "The pipes are barely large enough for a rat to fit through."
"Yet it is occupied," Cain said grimly, and as if to confirm his point a dense wet gurgling emanated from the sink built into the bar. The four commissars halted their approach and trained their weapons forward, "as the sound have just proved."
"What could it be?" Leilatha asked and flicked the safety off her bolt pistol. "Spawns of the Deep Ones?"
"One way to find out."
"How about you don't?" Tangmo grabbed Raine's arm and gently but firmly pulled her back before she can approach the sink. She shot him a sharp questioning look and he shook his head in response. "That is the most cliché jump scare bullshit in the book Raine. You're gonna peer at the sink and then something's gonna burst out of the pipe and either maim or kill you, and I don't think Andren would appreciate that very much."
"No he wouldn't," Raine grunted and nodded her thank at Tangmo. She glared at the bar and pointed her bolt pistol at it, the gurgling had changed into slow hissing, the rhythm was that of a sickly breath, "how do we proceed then?"
"In the most logical way possible. We're gonna take ten big steps back, present our sidearms, take aim and fire at that fucking bar like it's Napoleon's Old Guards cresting the hill," Tangmo proceed to back away from the bar, his commissariat buddies matching pace with him. "Damn shame about the alcohols, but I think I know what's in the pipes, and they're fucking nasty."
"I had a feeling you would know something," Raine grinned at him then trained her eyes down the iron sight. "I don't hear the sound anymore."
"Let's get loud then! Light the fucker up!" Tangmo drew his second laspistol and pulled the triggers, the blazing white hot barrage tore into the bar and ripped the wood and steel to shreds and splinters. Leilatha, Cain and Raine joined in a nanosecond later. Bolts and las made short work of the alcohol cabinet, and amidst the twinkling glasses and blooming fires a hellish roar erupted from the destroyed bar, the octave rivalling the discharging weapons. Tangmo grinned and held up his fist, the commissars ending their fusillade. "Show your ugly face you slime motherfucker."
The pipes lining the floor beneath the bar burst opened with a tortured groan of rend metal, but what emerged was not water but a viscous mass of amorphous liquid. Heaving its malformed mass out of the ground until the entirety of its bulk loomed over the commissar quartet, Tangmo tsk audibly at the abomination while Leilatha, Cain and Raine whispered prayer of protection to the God Emperor.
"What in the name of the God Emperor is this thing?" Leilatha growled lowly as the living liquid heaved itself into a churning mound. Tentacles sprouted from the putrid brown body, a term Tangmo used loosely, every appendage covered in claws and talons the size of his arm. And if one stared hard enough shapes of limbs, eviscerated and half decomposed, can be seen beneath the roiling rotten surface. "A daemon of Nurgle?"
"Nope, that's a shoggoth," Tangmo stated calmly and the Lovecraftian abomination unleashed a low rumbling cry, the volume was terribly tangible and abrasive on the ears to the extreme. The damn thing had no orifice but it can scream, courtesy of the many mouths studded across its body, tongues rolling from lipless pairs of mandible and maxilla. "They're fucking slaves to the Lovecraftian gods, near mindless and used only for backbreaking menial jobs. This fucker is big though, and something tells me we're witnessing what could possibly be a warrior variation of the shoggoth. Goddamn, it's ugly as shit."
"Can it be kill?" Cain was doing a very good job of keeping calm, managing to look dashing and fearless.
"We're about to find out," Tangmo twirled the twin laspistols around his fingers and pointed the laser guns forward. "Let it rip!"
Honestly Tangmo didn't have a clue as to whether shooting the shoggoth would do anything, but inaction was never a solution in his book. He had studied the creepy Lovecraftian motherfucker extensively, having read both Lovecraft and August Derleth's stories. The problem was that he only had secondhanded anecdotal to go by. Thankfully Warhammer 40k weaponries proved extremely effective against the shoggoth. Being a disgusting gelatinous oozing blob the shoggoth was extremely vulnerable to laspistols, the energy weapons tearing large sizzling chunks away to baleful abominable cry. Bolts were surprisingly getting the intended effect too, largely due to the mass reactive round detonating inside the shoggoth, sending splatters of gore flying in every direction. The shoggoth wasn't going down without a fight though. The beast surged forward with a hellish bellow and swung its tentacles wildly at the four commissars. If the quartet had been grunts and squealing damsels the shoggoth would've made easy killing, alas the Lovecraftian horror was dealing with the most battle hardened unflinching mofo on this side of the multiverse. In a blur Tangmo and his colleagues darted at the shoggoth with swords brandished, shimmering silver steels flew in whispering hisses. Even something with rudimentary intelligence like the shoggoth was stunned by this turn of event, the mass of rippling goo stuttered in its advance as the swathing tendrils missed the four commissars completely.
"Welcome to the Imperium of Man, motherfucker!" Tangmo barred his teeth gleefully as he went super krabi-krabong on the congeries of protoplasmic bubble. Having hostler his two guns Tangmo drew his krabi and katana and switched on the power, the blue coated blades cleaved catastrophically into the shoggoth, the brutal energy weapons mutilating and incinerating the Lovecraftian monster with horrific ease. Leilatha joined him and together their power swords sang blisteringly across the air, the deadly dance carved pieces off the shoggoth in a shower of vivacious gore. Raine and Cain were on its flank, stabbing and slashing deeper into the beast churning mass while Tangmo and Leilatha kept it pinned. When the shoggoth was reduced to a pathetic heaving mound of crumbling liquid, Cain brought his revving chainsword down and spilt the congealed creature down the middle, revealing a pulsing orb that was ridged like a brain which Raine proceed to ram her power sword through. The shoggoth roiled and spasm violently but after a moment went still, leaving behind a dirty shit color puddle.
"A great killing blow Severina," Cain smiled dashingly and wiped fleshy speck from his cheek with a flick of a thumb. "You slay the beast."
"It was a collective effort Ciaphas," was Raine clipped respond as she adjusted her awesome commissar cap, but her expression softened as she gave Cain a little smile. "But thank you for the complement."
"Lord commissar! Lady commissar!" The four commissars glanced up at the spiraling stairway and found Andren leading a group of Antari and Valhallan down the steps at a dangerous sprint. He and Jurgen appeared to be shoving each other for a spot at the front. "We heard gunfire, what has – what the hell is all that muck?!"
"Yo! Get back up the stairs now!" Tangmo stabbed his krabi at the Antari and the Valhallan, the train of guardsmen screeched to a halt, sending several people sprawling down the steps. "We're not the one in danger, you are! Get your asses back up there and fortified our position! There are fucking shoggoths on the loose along with the Deep Ones!"
"I would have to refute that first statement Tangmo, because I don't believe we are out of danger just yet," Cain pointed his gore slick chainsword at where the shoggoth died, the puddle that was the monster's remain was starting to boil as more gurgling ululation rumbled from below. "Jurgen, kindly stay where you are please, we're going to need someone to cover our withdrawal."
"As you command lord commissar," Jurgen leaned dangerously over the rail and braced his trademark heavy melta atop the barrier, the Valhallan's toothy smile was scary to behold. Tangmo questioned the wisdom of using such a powerful weapon inside an underwater structure, but if there was anything that could seriously harm the shoggoth it would be meltas. "I'll keep all of you safe and sound, not to worry none."
"I'll help," Andren refused to leave and joined Jurgen as rest of the Valhallan and Antari rushed back up the stairs. "Two guns are better than one after all."
"A rightly correct logic that," Jurgen nodded then narrowed his eyes on the putrid sludge emerging across the floor, smearing the rich carpet in filth. "What in the Holy Throne is that?!"
"The thing you and Andren are supposed to be shooting at!" Tangmo waved his commissariat buddies hurriedly at the staircase, sheathed his swords, and drew his laspistols. "Move it, I'm taking the rear, go!"
"Ladies first," gotta hand it to Cain, Tangmo knew how much the Hero of the Imperium wanted to be the first up the steps, but instead he stood aside for Leilatha and Raine like the gentleman that he was. "We'll be right behind you, don't worry."
"Thank you," Leilatha tipped her awesome commissar cap handsomely in thanks while Raine offered Cain a sharp nod.
"Nice to see you two getting along," Tangmo smirked and let off a few rounds at a shoggoth that was slithering toward the stairs. It hissed when the las scorched its body but instead of bulling blindly at the Thai commissar it started swerving behind the furniture, using the inanimate object as cover. "The fuck – the slime actually grew a fucking brain?! Aww shit, now they know how to think, not like our job wasn't hard already!"
"Not smart enough," Cain threw an Inferno grenade over the armchair and set the shoggoth ablaze. The creature shrieked balefully as fire consumed its bubbling mass. To the surprise of both Tangmo and Cain the other shoggoths came to the rescue, dousing the fire by throwing themselves bodily at their enflamed kin. "And yes, despite her best attempt I believe I'm getting along very well with Severina."
"Still waiting for her WrestleMania match with Amberley," Tangmo and Cain leapt up the stairs three steps at a time after Jurgen's melta beam tore into the bulbous shoggoths, putrid geysers shot skyward as the churning protoplasms died en mass. It wasn't until they were halfway up that Tangmo dared to look back. The Thai commissar spat a slew of impolite curses in his native tongue when he saw that Jurgen and Andren's covering fire was barely able to stem the tide of shoggoths bubbling out of the ground. Fucking great, a few of them were already on the stairs.
"Nicely done Jurgen, colonel Andren, now let's get back," at Cain's urging Jurgen and Andren abandoned their position and hurried up the steps. Tangmo tripped over himself when he reached leveled ground, Cain thankfully reached back and grabbed his arm before he planted his face on the ground.
"Thanks dude," Tangmo sprang back on his feet and pointed his smoking laspistols at the stairway, wet gurgling ululation were rumbling closer and closer. "Blow up that fucking stairs! The shoggoths are fucking fast and they're getting close!"
Jurgen responded quickly and pointed his heavy melta at the stair, sending a long uninterrupted beam of superheated white light at the spiraling structure for close to a minute. The Valhallan had successfully turned the top portion of the stair and the surrounding floor into steaming mush when Andren dashed forward and threw a satchel down the newly made hole.
"Hit the deck!" Andren had barely finished his sentence when a massive explosion tore the stairway apart, the blast throwing everybody flat to the ground. Tangmo was tossed across the hall, only stopping when he collided into someone. Groaning, Tangmo waited until the world stopped spinning before rolling off the individual he had crashed into.
"Shit, sorry about that," Tangmo turned around and was greeted with thick, lustrous red hair. "…Kasteen?"
"Indeed lord commissar," Kasteen coughed and started fixing her hair into the proper Militarum bun, and damn she was pretty. "You were a lot heavier than I thought."
"Gotta lay off the midnight snacks," Tangmo snorted, got up, and held his hand down to Kasteen. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"
"I've had worse tumble than this lord commissar," Kasteen chuckled good-naturedly and took his offered help. "But thank you for asking, that was very considerate of you."
"I'm always a gentleman," Tangmo was trying his damndest not to look down, but alas he was a mere mortal man and the lure of womanly beauty was too much for him to bear. His eyes descended, found himself unable to blink or look away, got a good gander for the heck of it, then said. "Not that I mind terribly much Kasteen, but the front of your shirt is completely open. As in, I can see everything from the neck down to the waistline. You look good by the way."
"Eek!" Kasteen squealed sharply and quickly button up her shirt. Her face glowing as red as her hair, Kasteen scowled at Tangmo. "You could've told me sooner!"
"I know, but I have no regret," Tangmo shrugged and Kasteen was opening her mouth to voice her admonition when her temperament suddenly changed, the simmering outrage morphing into bleak fear. "Leilatha is standing behind me isn't she?"
"Yes," Kasteen rasped, snapped a sharp salute, and extricated herself from the doomed Tangmo. "I need to see to my troops, good day lord commissar, lady commissar."
"Hey Leila!" Tangmo spun around and didn't quite manage to achieve his dashing smile, courtesy of the dark malice radiating from Leilatha. "Good to see you alive and well!"
"You know I can shoot her dead on the spot," Leilatha said lowly and made a show of flexing the bolt pistol in her hand, nearby Kasteen was making a beeline for Cain, "for indecent display unbefitting of a Militarum officer."
"That would be a gross abuse of power," Tangmo's reasonable tone was not putting Leilatha in a good mood. "I mean come on, it was right there! I can't not look at it!"
"Perhaps you can turn your gaze to the more pressing matter at hand?" Leilatha pointed at the glass walls, Deep Ones in great numbers were swimming outside and watching the battlegroup from every conceivable angle, their movement mocking in serenity. "Do you have any idea what to do about them?"
"What are the conditions of the troops stationed across all twenty submerged levels of the Hive?" Tangmo knew when to cut the crap and behaved with the expected martial decorum demanded of him, and that moment was now. Drawing the data-pad from his awesome commissar coat and flipping it open, Tangmo's fingers danced swiftly across the screen as he brought up the holographic map of the Hive, more specifically the layers immediately below the ocean. Situated in what was essentially prime real-estate location the many habitation blocks were of great size and grandeur, each connected by transparent tubes bearing maglev trains that transports people and goods to various parts of the Hive. The buildings in this area were comprised of high end homes and condos, great entertainment complexes decked out in light and gold, administrative offices of the more opulent positions, and massive cathedrals that also acted as hospitals. Scanning the hologram, Tangmo pointed at a large rectangular hub. "Who's in command of the central terminal?"
"Al-Rahman, come in, do you read me?" Leilatha tapped her earbud as Raine, Cain, and the Valhallan and Antari main characters joined them.
"Enemies have been spotted lady commissar but they are not doing anything besides watching us. I've put the Tallarn on highest alert, but since they're outside there's little that can be done," Al-Rahman updated them on the situation. "I'm hearing scattered report of a firefight, have the humanoids found a way inside the habs?"
"Did any of the shoggoths appear at the central terminal yet?" Tangmo cut in. "Were you guys attacked?"
"No lord commissar," there was clear confusion in Al-Rahman's voice. "I'm sorry, but what is a shoggoth?"
"Watch the vent and sewage pipes Al-Rahman, shoggoths are semi-sentience slimes that are in league with the humanoids outside, they're called Deep One by the way," Tangmo had changed his transmission to encompass every frequency. "They are extremely dangerous but are very susceptible to heat base weaponries, which we fortunately have in abundance. The shoggoths are traveling through the air ducts and the piping, so watch for the exit points and be prepare to blow them to kingdom come when they appears."
"Copy that lord commissar," Al-Rahman replied sharply. "We'll keep the central terminal free of any invaders."
"Good, because all of us need to get over there immediately," Tangmo gave his voice a serious timbre. "All battlegroup units under the sea, initiate tactical withdrawal and return to the central terminal with all haste. Our new foes are native to the Hive and they'll likely try to isolate our forces, do not give them that chance." The Thai commissar then tapped his earbuds and switch frequency. "Laura, Yuki, Nikki, how bad is it up there?"
"It's pretty bad, but we haven't reached an apocalyptic level of fucked yet," Nikki's calm statement would've been a lot more soothing if it wasn't for the cacophonic battle raging in the background. "The shoggoths are popping up everywhere and the Deep Ones are swimming across the waterway, we don't know what they're trying to do yet. Things are contained right now, but I'll really appreciate it if you guys get back up here and – fuck! It got Isha! Get that fucking thing off her!"
"Yo Tangmo, what the hell is going on up there?" Damien spoke up the same moment Nikki terminated her panicky transmission. "Is that depth charges I'm seeing?"
"Deep Ones and shoggoths everywhere man," Tangmo told the Canadian Astartes. "You guys found anything yet?"
"Beside the creepy lightless slum at the bottom of the ocean, we haven't…" Tangmo really hate it when words trailed off midsentence, because it usually means something bad just fucking happened. "Call you later Tangmo, we've just found something."
"Good luck dude," Tangmo didn't know if Damien heard it or not, he hoped so, but he didn't have time to ponder as he waved at the main characters. "Time to go ladies and gentlemen, we're getting back to the surface. Move it, let's fucking go!"
Being the heroic dude that he was, Tangmo, colonel Andren and the Duskhound acted as the rearguard while Leilatha and Raine led the column of guardsmen down the wide passageway toward the maglev train station. Not wanting to give Raine more reasons to be snarky with him, Cain and Jurgen joined Tangmo and the Antari, barrels trained on the now empty reception area.
"The shoggoth doesn't seem to be following," Cain commented when the rearguard finally entered the tunnel, the hollow echoes of their sprinting footfall were very disturbing on the ear, like the silent moment before a jump scare happens. "I want to believe that they're frightened of us, but I know better than to trust unfounded optimism."
"That's why I like you Cain, you're a freaking realist in a galaxy of bleak dogmatisms," Tangmo let out a sigh of relief when they entered the train station and found that, besides guardsmen rushing inside the locomotive, the place was free of Lovecraftian monstrosities. "Now let's get the fuck on that train before the inevitable unexpected calamity befalls us."
The rearguard sprinted inside with a speed that could be described as unseemly. The shape of the locomotive was nearly identical to the Shinkansen, the only difference being that its double-decked and the comfy interior reminded Tangmo pleasantly of the Hakone Romance Train. The doors had barely slid close when the locomotive took off, the speed going from zero to a hundred kilometers in the span of several seconds, sending Tangmo and Cain sprawling to the carpeted floor.
"Welcome aboard," Leilatha reached down with a helping hand and Tangmo took it, his girlfriend easily pulled him back up. Nearby Raine went to assist Cain, the tsundere routine between them was pretty amusing to behold, with the lady commissar grunting sharply at every thanks coming her way.
"Much obliged," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar coat and cap. "The train is clear?"
"It is," Leilatha nodded the same moment the locomotive entered the transparent tunnel. "We should be reaching the central terminal within a few minutes."
Tangmo nodded with a grunt, but before he can say more the vista outside caught his attention. Sure, he fucking hated the deep open ocean, but Tangmo was man enough to admit that the place was freaking beautiful in a terrifying majesty sort of way. Lit up by a continuous staccato of depth charges, the underwater Hive blinked in and out between warm orange and soothing stygian, glimpses of the vast hidden landscape filled with jagged mountains and valleys can be seen between blooming explosions. And swimming through this nimbus on trails of shimmering bioluminescent flew the Deep Ones, no panic in their formation as they spread out across the Hive in streaks of electric blue. Several groups swam close to the locomotive Tangmo and the main characters occupied, but the speed prevented him from getting a clear detail.
"What are they doing?" Raine asked as the central terminal loomed up before them. Flashes of lasguns and bolters danced across the crystalized wall. "Looks like the terminal had been attack."
"Not one bit surprised," Tangmo checked his twin laspistols and turned to the guardsmen, all of them armed and ready for action. "We're going in hot, make ready!"
Tangmo knew immediately that things were bad the moment they hovered into the parking runnels, because water that wasn't there before rose up on both sides of the locomotive like unfurled wings to splash across the windows. The place was flooded, not a good omen but Tangmo had gotten used to the universe kicking him in the balls. But did it have to be under water? Fuck! Tangmo spat a shockingly foul tirade of Thai curses but composed himself when the locomotive came to a stop and the doors slid open. He had a fucking reputation to keep so he was the first to leap outside, and landed in frothing water that was already lapping at his knees.
"Well fucking shit, this is pretty fucked," Tangmo shook his head and with Leilatha headed down the flooded station toward where elevated sandbag parapets had been built, the Valhallan and Antari following close behind with unsure steps. "Watch your footing, even if the water is kinda clear you can still slip and stumble."
"And watch for murky splotches! It's those gelatinous things, the surface usually darken before – look out!" Standing atop a sandbag, major Salahdin trained his Zodd lasgun forward and opened fired on a spot about ten paces to Tangmo's right. A dark shape erupted from the sizzling water, gouts of steam puffed into the air as blood red laser vaporized the sentience slime into invisible atom. "Move it! There are a lot of them around and you're the last group to arrive!"
"You heard the man, get your asses into gear people!" Although he wanted nothing more than to run, Tangmo instead waved Leilatha and the main characters onward. "I'll cover you so get the fuck moving, I wanna get out of this fucking water!"
"I'll be waiting where it's dry," Leilatha winked at him and dashed up a ramp between two pillboxes with a group of Valhallan. She traded nod with Salahdin and took her place along the battlement with the Tallarn troops. The lady commissar was awesome sexy personified as she placed one foot on the topmost sandbag and pointed her bolt pistol at the churning water. "Covering fire! In the name of the God Emperor let none survive!"
Tangmo had honestly expected things to be in a much worse condition, with the Tallarn teetering on the edge of collapse at having to fight in an environment that was an absolute anathema to their modus operandi, and the shoggoths swarming and breaching the defenses. What he got instead was a scene of the Desert Warriors staunchly and effectively holding back the tide of gelatinous Lovecraftian horrors, the rising flood heaved and roiled with clear frustration as amorphous shapes rose above the water, their gurgling abominable roars crumbled to shrieking hisses as las, melta and plasma turned them to steam. The only sort of panic he saw were from troopers who can't swim and Tangmo honestly can't blame the poor bastards, he might be able to backstroke across the Chao-Phraya during a storm but even he was freaked out by the torrent quickly filling up the central terminal.
"Excellent work major, this is some top class shit you've just accomplished," Tangmo joined Salahdin as the Valhallan and Antari scrambled into the Tallarn's defensive perimeter. "Where's Al-Rahman?"
"He's at the western rampart," Salahdin stabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "There's a massive sewer junction and freshwater converters in that vicinity. The slimes, shoggoths as you have called them, made their initial attack in that direction. But we were ready, even after they came at us from every direction the line was held."
"Mighty fine soldiering Salahdin," Tangmo nodded and let off a few shots at a shoggoth trying to bum rush the sandbags. After the beast dissolved into bubbling splotch he continued. "Can I ask you a question major, and if I offend you then I apologize in advance."
"Ask away sir," Salahdin snorted good-naturedly. "I doubt it'll be as bad as the questions you pester the Sororitas with."
"Don't hold your breath dude," Tangmo grinned. "How did you manage the defenses so magnificently? Given how the Tallarn came from a desert planet, I thought you guys would be wholly out of your elements."
"A most common misconception lord commissar, ones we Tallarn harbors no offense," Salahdin said. "We are well verse when water is concern. Given how rare such resources are on our home planet, all of us have developed a keen skill in locating underground currents and reservoirs. And when water is finally found, we need to make sure that nothing lurks in the depth, the animals of Tallarn are very dangerous you see."
"You guys are life savers dude, thank you," Tangmo held up his thumb, earning a deep grunt of appreciation from Salahdin, then tapped his earbud. "This is Tangmo, how are my commissar buddies doing? Anything to report?"
"The line is holding so far Tangmo, the shoggoths have failed to make a breakthrough," Leilatha answered him.
"No breaches in my sector Tangmo, we're repulsing their attack for the moment," Raine made her more somber input.
"Nothing to add that haven't already been said Tangmo, except that we're the last regiments still underwater," Cain gave his neutral comment. "I would dearly like to know what our next move is."
"I think we should get the fuck out of here," Tangmo announced and some of the Tallarn within earshot let out a cheer, the mirth died quickly after Salahdin rounded on them with a glare. The Thai commissar then changed his transmission. "Yo Yuki, Laura, Nikki, what's the situation up top, me and the troops are heading up."
"Get your fucking ass up here!" Yuki's high pitched bellow almost ruptured his eardrum. "There are Lovecraftian motherfuckers everywhere, the fucking ocean is filled with them and we need your expert ass right now!"
"You heard the lady, time to go people! The moon is nice and bright tonight and none of us are gonna see it if we stay in this flooded shit hole, so let's get the hell back to the surface pronto!" Tangmo bellowed into his earbud and the guardsmen answered with a hearty shout of acknowledgement. Since the central terminal was just beneath the surface of the ocean, the topside was easily accessible via a network of exquisitely carved stairs, the steps wide enough to accommodate a dozen trucks driving side by side and the guardsmen used this avenue to great effect. The first to go up were the wounded, followed by heavy weapon teams and their disassembled machines, and finally the troopers, the haste of their footfall were forgivable in this instance because the flood was rising fast.
"The aquatic mutants are responsible for this," Tangmo suppressed his thalassophobia and remained behind with Salahdin and the rearguard while everybody else was already breathing fresh ocean air. It took a moment for Tangmo to realize that the Tallarn major was talking about the Deep Ones. "They caused the flood."
"For real?" Tangmo and the rearguard didn't stop running until they reached a stair rest that was well above the waterline, where three sets of steps branched off in an upward direction. Taking a moment to gather his breath, his eyes never leaving the lapping water, Tangmo tapped his earbud. "All flamers make ready, turn the barrels downward, we're gonna the flood the place with fire before we leave."
"I saw them tinkering with several panels on the other side of the wall," Salahdin pointed at one pane where many bioluminescent shapes had gathered. "And they've been watching us ever since."
Tangmo narrowed his eyes at the aforementioned direction and grinned when the detail became clear to him. Although faraway Tangmo can see that the Deep Ones' movement was nervous. Heads were turned sharply at each other, fingers were pointed in clear arguments, and several Deep Ones broke off to observe the battle from a different angle before swimming back to their cohort. Yes you slimy assholes, you're not fighting Chaos heretics with piss poor morale but one of the best fighting forces in the Imperium of Man. Some of the Deep Ones were looking his way, so Tangmo tapped his earbud and said:
"Light the fucking place up."
Torrents of burning promethium poured onto the flood below, the flames caught immediately and within heartbeats inferno roiled above the frothing water, furious red and orange painted the opulence of Hive Somnus in the daemonic hue of Tartarus. The Deep Ones recoiled from the destruction unleashed, so Tangmo added salt to injuries by doing John Cena's 'You Can't See Me' taunt, followed by DX crotch chops, and finally the Stone Cold Steve Austin middle fingers salute. Judging by how their pulsing colors turned a deeper shade, Tangmo had successfully pissed them off.
"That'll put them in a good mood," Tangmo adjusted his awesome commissar coat and waved for Salahdin and the rearguard to follow. "Now we can leave."
