The Awakening

by cmort

A dark tomb world begins to awaken as a mining outfit prepares to harvest the planet.

THE AWAKENING

PROLOUGE

Bringing systems online: Systems now online.

Warning: Multiple sectors damaged. Attempting a bypass. Systems nominal: Beginning waking procedure.

In a small pod, a metallic figure's eyes start to glow green. A series of bright green symbols scrolled across his vision.

Weapon systems online. Functionality online. Waking procedure in progress.

His skeletal form jerked in its sarcophagus, energy pours into his body, causing him to writhe from the power surge.

Systems online. Functionality at 67% His eyes bathe the inside of his Sarcophagus in a light green glow. He looked around, noting the wires, and metal sheathe, that held his form in suspension.

Systems check complete. Running diagnostics. He looked at his hand, and made a clenched fist. The pistons in his arms articulating to allow for his precise movement. Looking through the glass shield, he could see thousands of Sarcophagi, all much like his own, lined against the wall. Each contained a warrior akin to himself, though he could see no signs of activity. A message popped up on his HUD: Systems operational, weapons active. The sarcophagus opened with a pressurised hiss, blasting into the air, and swirling around the floor. He checked his legs, and pulled himself from his tomb, wires popping from their seals. He took a step forward onto a hard, metallic ground, kicking up a layer of dust that danced with the pressurised gasses. In an instant, he swapped through his visual fields; infra-red, night-vison, all seemed to be functioning. Another line of text scrolled across his inner HUD: Objective: Activate the remaining dormant. Repair systems heavily damaged. A green arrow appeared on his HUD, and he turned to face it. His skeletal legs moved with purpose, driven by ancient technology, each step clanged on the cold metal floor. He scanned the Tombs, all of which lay dormant.

(Pre-Data) Warning: Multiple Warp signatures detected overhead. Expect attack. The servos in his legs flexed and retracted, powering him forward in a determined stride.

(Pre-Data) Warning: Multiple groups detected. Defensive protocols offline. Repair systems critical. Above him came a large rumbling, dropping many small rocks, and dust, from the high arched ceiling.

(Current-Data) Warning: Multiple attempted landings detected. Attack Imminent. Repair systems at critical. He reached a large platform and stood still. There were many wires laying criss-crossed over one another. On the platform there was a metal throne, where another Skeletal figure sat lazily, watching over his recumbent brethren. A screen sat next to the entombed figure, covered with runes and pulsing lights. Another message appeared on his HUD: Awaken the silent Lord. He moved to the tablet, and his metal fingers danced across the screen, bringing long deactivated systems online. More reams of numbers flashed across the screen, faster than any human eye could take in. At its final destination flashed a single line, green and rapidly flashing: Awaken...? He pressed the command, and stood back. Electricity pulsed through the wires connecting the Sarcophagi, green reams of text appeared on the small screens next to each case. Throughout the underground world, the brothers began to awake. He looked up at his awakening lord. Someone had come to the dark and silent Tomb World, not knowing what their presence would awaken. They would soon find out.

Systems at One-Hundred Percent. Repair systems at critical: Rebirth, unlikely. Awaking the Necron Lord...Prepare for Battle.

THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER ONE

Blackness, dark and complete, with a singular star radiating it's light and warmth outwards into the void. A smattering of planets hung in the star system, completing their elliptical orbits lazily, without rush or care. A small pinprick of eldritch light suddenly fluttered in the black, and a large portal from the warp opened into real space. Waves of warp energy peeled that back into the open hole, as several large ships exited into the system.

The main ship, a titan of Imperium design, with few weapons, but a sturdy hull, was now hovering over the planet before it, its shadow leering against the planet's green backdrop like a vulture over its meal. The crew members of the main ship removed themselves from their warp crash seats and set about their duties, bustling over the interior like ants in a nest. One of the bridge crew members strode across it, and activated a small holographic table in the centre of the bridge. It lit up the bridge with a low light, casting not far, but just enough, like a small campfire in a large forest. A man of no more than forty approached the table with his hands behind his back. Running his eye over the display, a blinking icon indicated that the system was unexplored. Taking his eyes off the table, the captain stared out towards the Planet. Removing his hat, he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Another successful jump. Well done everyone." A small cheer went up among the crew members. "Ping the other ships. I want status updates as soon as possible. And someone get the navigators a cup of something warm" A young ensign looked to his terminal. The technical readouts of the other ships flowed over it, indicating position and functions.

"It seems that all ships have made the jump successfully, Captain, and are awaiting your instruction."

"Thank you, Eli. Glad to hear we all made it in one piece. Tell the others to begin scanning and landing procedure, I want to know what we have found out here."

"Yes Captain Orsis." Eli swiftly inputted orders into his station, and read the affirmatives from the other ships.

The ships engines fired into life, shifting the massive bulk of the ship towards the planet. Across its hull letters could be read as the ship streamed passed. F-O-S-S-O-R, the bright white letters said. An apt name for this particular craft. From the Fossor, smaller landing craft jettisoned from their hangars, with twin red dots denoting their engines, and begun to ferry men and equipment down to the planet. Some of the larger ships that could fly in atmosphere, fell through the clouds, that coiled around them like a lover's hand. The rumble of their engines shaking the sky and buffeting the atmosphere. From his bridge, the captain watched it all.

Green and lush, one hell of a score. He thought to himself.

Eli tapped a few keys brining up a holographic projection of the planet.

"Sensors indicate that the air is breathable, and that there is potential for large mineral deposits."

"Excellent," Orsis said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Looks like we got lucky on this one, lads."

"Sir, hail from the other ships, landfall procedures are in effect, and are ready to unload, per your orders."

"Thank you, Eli, tell them good hunting."

The Fossor continued on towards the planet, followed by the ships that could land. They sailed towards the planet, dropping low, and allowing their thrusters to guide them safely down. Through the port in the ship, a young man watched the descent of the other ships. He always enjoyed this part, a new planet, a new adventure. He pulled himself away, and begun to prep his gear. He looked around at the shared cabin. It was sparse, and afforded few luxuries, save from those they had bought on other planets. Still, it was home, and had been good to him, and others before him.

Never fails to impress, he thought to himself.

He checked his watch: 11:05pm. She will be fast asleep.

A man entered the cabin, and slapped him on the back. He was tall, with a withered, grey beard, and a slim form.

"Time to get to work, Erif!" Erif nodded, and smiled at him.

"Looking forward to it!"

The two men left the cabin and made their way through the ship to the hangar. Throughout the corridors men and women rushed to their assignments, all eager to explore the new planet and prove themselves valuable, such was the life for miners who frequently needed to jump ship in chase of payment. The two men wound their way through the corridors, until eventually coming to a very large room, containing many ships; the hangar of the Fossor. It was large, and box like, with yellow lights that rolled off the machines that lined the area, as the lighting turned in its case.

The man laughed "Time to crack this bitch, Ey, Erif?"

"I'll drink to that!"

Assembled in the hangar was a gathered crew in their work garments, with a man standing atop a supply box with a small tablet in crooked in his arm. He gave out orders and many gestures, directing the assembled crew, setting them to their positions and jobs.

His eyes alighted on the pair "See you two finally got out of bed. I want you out with the first scouting team. Bring mineral detectors and light drilling equipment. We want samples as soon as we can." He pointed a finger to a small group. "You're with them."

"Any idea of what we will find out there, Orri?

"Throne if I know. Just get to it." The two men saluted and hurried off to their assigned team.

The massive hangar door opened slowly outwards, its hydraulics groaning with the effort as it lowered to the ground. It planted solidly, and settled into the grass. Two nimble transport cars roared into life and swept down the door, their wheels digging into the soft loam.

"Standard procedure," a voice called over the comm. "North-South sweep, two miles, find samples then report back to the ship. No messing around, we are here for a job. Orri out." The comm lapsed into silence, no more needed to be said. Erif took the wheel and tested the accelerator with a few light presses.

"First one to find something gets the first round." The other car swung around to face them. A small face smiled at them from behind the metal cage.

"That explains your terrible reputation for success." Erif smiled back and gave him the finger.

"See you when we get back." The two cars sped off, leaving the ship in the distance.

They bumped along a path of their own making, swerving past rocks and trees, leaving deep, rutted, grooves in the mud that splashed out an over-layer of water.

Truly is a beautiful place, Erif thought, turning the car away from another boulder.

Erif grinned, the wind rushing through his brown hair. This is what life should all be about.

Sam inspected his tablet and then looked up.

"Initial scans say there could be a large deposit about half a click in that direction," he said, indicating with his finger. Erif pressed down on the accelerator hard.

"We'd better get there quick, don't you think?" Sam shook his head.

"Always in a rush."

Forests blurred past them, lakes of pale blue glinted light in the distance, the air was clean and Erif filled his lungs with it. What a beautiful place. The car drove on, the main star shining down on them, a cheery portent alighting them on their way.

From a distance, a large forest came into view. Its trees were tall and broad, green tipped and deeply imbedded in the ground. The branches crossed together tightly in the canopy, leaving a murky shadow on the usually bright ground. Erif pulled the car up at its entrance and switched off the engine. He looked to Sam, who had his face buried in his tablet.

"In there?" Erif said, nodding at the forest. Sam did not look up, a look of concern on his face. "Sam?" he said, punching him on the shoulder. Sam shook his head.

"I have lost connection with the ship. Some kind of interference." Erif looked to the forest, the wind whistling lightly past his ears. It brought the scent of trees, but also something else, something…older. The dense foliage seemed to creep towards them with each gust, both inviting, and foreboding. Shivering slightly, he stepped from the car, and grabbed a hand torch. Smacking it into life, he scanned the forest edge, the shadows evaporating then reforming as he swept the beam.

"It is in there though, right? The deposit?" Sam tapped the screen a few more times, then looked up at Erif. He shrugged.

"Last reports say so. We should get going." Grabbing a small drill and sample collector, he slung them over his shoulder and leapt from the car. "You first," he said.

The air was thick with the smell of life. Beetles and insects flickered through the trees, their buzz like a saw on Sam and Erif's minds. Underbrush snared at the bottoms of their trousers, and the star had vanished from view. Swinging their torches to and fro, the dark shadows seemed only to become enhanced. Spikes of shadow leapt up the tree's trunks while they scanned the ground, picking carefully through its tangled carpet of dead leaves, and tricky roots.

Beautiful from afar, Erif thought gloomily, flicking a bug from his arm.

Sunlight finally breached the web of the canopy, shining down on the clearing. Sam and Erif stopped, and stood very still.

"What the hell is that?" Sam said. A pyramid of what appeared to be some dark onyx sat in the centre of the clearing. Its structure was broad, but not tall, completely alien to its surroundings, its dark form sucking in all the light, radiating an ancient air of power and menace. The two of them stood agape. Erif turned to Sam.

"Is that the deposit?" Erif asked. Sam checked his tablet.

"No idea. But it looks like a hell of a find."

"Better call it in."

Sam tapped the commlink in his ear "This is team two, we've found something…big…" A hiss answered him. "Comms dead."

"We'd better get back."

A howl swept through the trees, rustling the leaves, and sweeping through their coats.

Erif looked up. Dark clouds swam over the sky, filled with rain, and dark intentions. "And fast," Erif began to back away, fearing to let this thing see his back, he headed towards the forest when suddenly a bolt of lightning pierced the sky, illuminating the scene, and striking a nearby tree, causing it to burst into flames. Thunder rolled through the air, like the clap of some great god. Rain, in torrents, began to lash down on them.

"Bloody hell!" Sam cried, covering his ears. The fire swam in Erif's eyes, as it spread from tree to tree.

"We need to find cover!" They looked at the pyramid, and then at each other.

"You first," said Erif.

They circled the pyramid until the found an open entrance. The two of them charged inside, the dark shadow closing around them. Outside, the fire spread, painting the pyramid in swaying colours of red and orange. Smoke and steam coiled around the pyramid, rising from the trees, mixed with the smoke, creating a smog of fumes. The fire crackled, like a mad laughter, its light dancing on the pyramid like some tribal dance.

Inside, the air was bitterly cold and still. Sam and Erif wrapped their coats around them tightly, each breath exuding a small plume that hung in the air almost frozen. A pathway stretched out before them into the murky dark. Large cables were pinned to the walls by black spikes. In the air there was a faint hum that seemed to vibrate throughout the structure. Erif shone his torch along the walls, they seemed to be made of the same onyx like material as the outside. He could not tell if they were rock or metal. What the hell made this? He ran his hand along the wall, it was cold to the touch, but there was no dust. In something so obviously ancient, Erif found it odd. Sam moved past him and further into the pyramid, swinging his light over the inner structure, there was some sort of runic language written on the walls. "What do you reckon it says?" Asked Erif, shining his light on it.

"Bugger if I know," said Sam, pointing his torch down the hall. "But there seems to be a lot of it." They walked through the corridors, getting deeper and deeper into the pyramid. More and more of the runic language appeared, its alien language lost on the two explorers. A new noise appeared, a steady thrum in the air, much like the hum of machinery, it unsettled the two men. "Do you think we'll find something at the end of all this?" Sam asked, looking worriedly to Erif. Erif shivered in the cold air.

"Let's hope so."

Deeper into the structure they went, twisting and turning among its myriads of corridors, not knowing where they were going, but somehow compelled to continue. *Eventually they came across a huge door made of the same onyx like material as the rest of the pyramid. Huge hydraulics lined its sides ready to heft it out of the way. A console, lined with the same strange runic language they had seen before, sat squat against the right hand of the door.

"This thing must weigh a ton," said Sam, flicking his light across the door. Erif looked back up the path they had travelled, and felt a shiver run down his spine.

"I wonder if the storms let up yet." Sam looked to him, both men sensing each other's unease about this place.

"Maybe we should go back?" Sam said, looking at the door once more. Erif nodded. "Yeah…maybe we should…" They made to move away, turning their torches from the door, when suddenly the console sprang to life. Green writing sprawled across its face, its symbols alighting on the walls around it. The two of them turned back around and watched the symbols race across the console's screen. The door shuddered, and began to rise. A blast of even colder air rolled through the corridor, and brushed past their collars.

Past the door, a room, of cavernous size, added echoes of their footsteps as they stepped through the threshold. Each footfall planted reverberated around the room like the thunder of the storm outside. Their torchlight picked out separate machinery around the room. Dark tubes, empty inside, and aligned with the same eerie green glow from the console. Wires ran across the floor, connecting each casket to a centralised dais.

Both walked to the dais, sweeping their lights back and forth, bringing the technology into sharp relief. Erif moved to one of the tubes, and begun to inspect its form. Sam moved to the dais. From his perspective, it looked akin to a throne, but with no one sitting on it. Empty. Looking at the screen, there was a symbol. It made no sense to him, but it seemed determinate. Something had happened here. He followed the line of wires, tracing them back to the other caskets. He frowned.

"I think we should leave," he said, calling over his shoulder. Something skittered in the dark. Sam swung his torch towards the source of the noise, but could pick out nothing. He moved back from the throne and turned to find Erif, who was looking at the inside of one of the caskets. "Erif, it's time to leave." Erif looked at Sam, painting him with his light.

"What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head.

"This place…it is not right. I am leaving." Another skitter, this time closer. Erif looked around and then nodded at Sam.

"Okay, we are leaving. Let us get out of here…" A hand reached from the darkness and grabbed Sam by his shoulder, its powerful grasp bringing a yelp from Sam's mouth. He turned to face whatever had him, and shone the torch up into its form. A face, metal, stoic yet terrifying, looked upon him with green eyes. It showed no remorse, no empathy, nothing but a metal skull that looked at him with no interest. Sam's eyes grew wide, and he dropped his torch, where it spun on the floor.

"Emperor, protect me!" he yelled, grabbing the thing by its hand, trying to loosen its grip. Erif pulled out a las-pistol and aimed for the things head.

"Let go of him!" he yelled. The creature looked from Sam to Erif, and then back to Sam. It placed its hand around Sam's neck. Like a piece of paper, it tore Sam in two, pulling out his spine and sending blood gushing over it and the floor. Sam's eyes rolled back as it dropped his corpse to the ground with a wet thud. Erif looked at the body of his friend, and felt a coldness like he had never felt before, fear gripped him, and twisted its dark knife deep into his flesh. He froze for a moment, then he turned and ran as fast as he could. Behind him twin green lights began to appear in the dark, and metallic forms moved into the light of Sam's torch.

The hum increased. A large skeletal figure, wielding a green glowing staff, and abuzz with small, insect like machines, walked into the light, crushing Sam's skull beneath its foot, spreading a mass of brains over the floor. It looked to its followers, and turned towards the door. He pointed his staff, and the others begun to move. A tide of metal, each step bouncing around the hall, like the march of doom.

The fire had stopped, but the storm was still in full effect. Rain had turned the ground to slippery mud. Thunder rolled across the sky, clouds like deep bruises dropped their watery payload. Erif ran as fast as he could, not looking back. The rain soaked him, driving its cold chill deep into his bones. He did not care. Tears ran down his face, only to be washed away by the rain. In his mind's eye he looked back, seeing the face of his friend as that thing tore him apart. A deep retching overcame him, and he spilled from his stomach into the muddy mess. His feet took him from the pyramid and deep into the forest. He could not remember the way back to the car, and had become lost in the forest. Branches and undergrowth tore at him, shredding parts of his uniform, and trying to trip him. He ignored it. The only thought in his mind was to run.

He finally came out of the forest, and skidded into the mud. He lungs burned from the exertion; it was like glass needles in his lungs. He tried hard to draw air into his lungs. Tapping the comm in his ear, he prayed he could now reach the ship. "I need pickup on my coordinates," he said, drawing a ragged breath. "There is something on this planet, something dangerous. I need help, please respond." A voice piped through. "Is that you, Erif? We hear you loud and clear. Turn on your beacon, we will be with you as soon as we can."

"Thank you," he gasped. With his message complete, he fell back into the mud, letting the rain wash over him. Visions of Sam's death playing across his mind. I'm sorry, he thought. I'm so sorry.

The rain continued to fall, and thunder clapped as a dark applause. A car arrived and pulled up next to Erif. Two men hauled themselves out, and grabbed him, dragging him to a seat.

Erif's eyes were glazed over, and his face had become pale. One of the men tapped him on the head. "You still in there, Erif," he asked with concern. Erif turned to him, staring off into some unknown void.

"We need to get off this planet, we need to get off this planet now." The two men looked him over, and then looked to each other.

"Let's get him back to the ship, and get him to the doctor." They started the car and drove away from the forest. Erif sat in the back, his head bouncing as they hit the bumps. He was in some other place, as far away from the horror as he could be.

The medic cabin was spacious, to allow for the myriad of machinery needed to keep the crew in good health. A single person, a woman, with grey hair and introspective eyes, looked Erif over, checking his pulse, and scanning his brain waves.

Erif wore a blanket over his shoulders, and a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He made no movement as the doctor examined him with her multiple tools.

"Can you hear me, Erif," she asked, not unkindly. Erif nodded, his gaze not leaving the floor. "Can you tell me what happened?" Erif shivered, and continued to look at the floor. "Erif, we need to know what happened. If there is something dangerous on this planet, the captain will need to hear about it." He shuddered, and looked into the eyes of the doctor.

"A metal hand, a skeleton, made of metal. It killed Sam." The doctor nodded.

"Anything else?"

"I think there was more than one. I did not see much. I ran, I…" Tears erupted from his eyes and dropped to the floor. He brought his hands to his eyes and began to bawl. "It grabbed Sam," he heaved. "It tore him in two. I ran, I could not do anything so I ran." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I will tell the captain what you told me. Stay here and rest." She left the room. Erif did not move. Pearls of tears fell through his fingers, and his breath came in hitches.

"I ran. I ran…"

The bridge was quiet, save for the doctor and captain Orsis. "Tell me again, Anya, what exactly did Erif say." The doctor straightened her coat and took a deep breath.

"Erif claims that some form of metallic being killed his friend, Sam, and that there might be more of them, and that this world is dangerous and that we should leave." Orsis nodded, stroking his beard. "What is your diagnosis?" Anya crossed her arms and grimaced.

"It could be some form of psychosis. We have been travelling for a while, and sometimes things happen in the warp."

"A Chaos incursion?" She shook her head.

"Unlikely."

Orsis looked over the holo map, seeing green spots where deposits of rare minerals had been indicated to be in abundance, there were a lot of them. He sighed.

"Call everyone back. I do not know what is going on with this planet, but I'm not taking any risks." He turned to his comms officer. "Put out the word, I want everyone back with the fleet ASAP." The comms officer nodded, and began transmitting on all wavelengths.

"This is a priority one message; all ground teams return to your space craft. Fleet ships, prepare for departure." Orsis turned back to Anya.

"Is there anything you can do for the lad?"

"I can give him a sedative, but he'll need a full health check before he will be cleared for duty." Orsis nodded.

"Give him the shot. We don't need another lunatic around here." Anya nodded, and exited the bridge. Orsis stood still, looking over the map. Two weeks of travel and five hours on the surface. By the throne. "Comms officer Bradley, send out ship broadcast for the navigators. Tell 'em to stop stuffing their faces and get their arses in place. We're leaving as soon as the last ship arrives.

"Yessir." Orsis scowled.

Metal hands and metal beings. Some score. He wiped his eyes, and sat in the captain's chair. "Someone bring me something to drink." He looked out the bridge window, watching as the engine trails of the ships as they left the planet. Could have been a real payday. "Log the planet in the star maps. I think the Imperium would want to know of a planet infested with metal monsters." He leaned back, and someone put something cool in his hand. He supped on it, letting the warming feeling of the alcohol pour through his veins. It was potent stuff, and immediately he felt a haze on his mind. Metal monsters. Metal monsters.

The last of the craft ascended from the planet, dropping long shadows on the cloud and land below. Engines hauled them from the atmosphere, and into the stars above.

Captain Orsis took one last look before turning away to Bradley. "Read me the message, Bradley."

"This is a message from the good ship, Fossor. We have encountered a strange metal race on the planet of (No Name.) Sending coordinates, and the personal report of one Erif LeSan. Our ships are leaving the system post haste. Hope this message finds you well, captain Orsis."

Orsis breathed out. "Good, that should let those bureaucratic shits know what is going on down there. Good work, Bradley." Bradley nodded. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here. Is the navigator prepped?" A young man walked over to the case covering the navigator. He read out the system log on the side, and checked the heartrate and brainwaves.

"All good sir, statuses are all in the green." Orsis nodded.

"Then let's get going." The engines rumbled to life, pushing the great ship further from the planet. Sirens and whistles could be heard all over the ship, indicating that they were about to enter the warp. The warp drives spun up, ready to open a hole in the universe. Across the ship, the crew strapped themselves into their crash seats. A holographic display appeared on the bridge. 47 seconds to warp. Captain Orsis leaned back. I hate warp jumps. Before the ship, a mighty hole was torn in space. A crescendo of light filtered through the bridge's windows. Like a kaleidoscope, it swirled in unimaginable, yet somehow quite beautiful patterns. Like looking into the mouth of hell. The front of the ship passed the event horizon. Around it, the dozen or so other ships slipped into the warp, with the Fossor close behind. Captain Orsis closed his eyes, and felt his stomach lurch. 12 seconds till warp. His fingers gripped the handles of his chair tightly, his knuckles turning white with the exertion. 2 seconds to warp. The entire ship had almost entered the warp. The engines flared once more, driving the ship right through the portal. A racking of energy traced the engines to their terminus, and then they were gone, the hole closing neatly behind them, as if they had never been there at all.

Erif sat quietly in the medic cabin, his drink long since forgotten. The blanket lay draped around him, providing warmth, but no comfort. He looked around, taking in the various tools and medical salves that littered the room.

The doors opened, and doctor Anya strode in. She looked to Erif, a look of concern on her face. She approached him, and sat herself in the chair opposite. "How are you feeling, Erif?" Erif shook his head. Anya nodded. "I'm going to give you a sedative, it'll help you sleep." Erif nodded. Anya walked across the room, and opened a small cupboard. She frisked through the various needless and medicines, eventually finding the right combo. She moved back to Erif and smiled gently. "Sleep well, Erif, we'll be home soon." She took the syringe and put it into Erif's shoulder. The drugs took effect almost immediately, sending Erif into unconsciousness.

Just before he fell from the waking world, Erif saw again the metal being that had killed his friend, its implacable face, and glowing green eyes a nightmare. But then his head rolled back, and he thought no more.

THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER TWO

The Fossor exited into the material world, and moved towards a massive space station. Long lines of traffic waited their turn to enter the station. Moving into position, they hailed the station.

"This is the ship, Fossor, requesting permission to dock." They waited. Eventually, a message pinged them.

++ Fossor, you have permission to dock, please follow the given instructions. ++

A flash from its engines drove the Fossor to its destination, where it connected with the station through various means.

The crew exited the Fossor, and fanned out into the station. Some went to local bars, others looked for more carnal excitement. All were looking for a good time, for which the station could provide in droves.

The hustle and bustle of the station was lost on captain Orsis, who had visited many such places in his time, both as commander and commanded. He took in the smell: oils, cooked food, and heavy machinery, all cleansed by the servitors who patrolled the lanes and rooms of the station, keeping the machine spirits in good order. Their work was important, without them the station could list into the planet below, causing grand destruction and death. For now, it floated peacefully, connected with the planet's orbit below. Orsis pulled up a tab on his data slate, he had an important meeting to get to.

Weaving through the crowds, and politely declining pleasures of the flesh, Orsis made his way to the official side of the station, where he had set up a meeting to discuss Erif's findings. The scent of a thousand meals hit his senses in a pleasant wave, all enticing, all wanting, but he did not have time for such liberties. Perhaps he could grab a bite on his return, he thought to himself.

The official side was a different story to the more open parts of the station. Small angels and iconography of the Imperium littered the walls, leaving no doubt of this place's importance to the Imperium. Orsis could see many scholars and servitors busying themselves with work, they moved past him like the mist around the bow of a ship as it cut a swathe through the ocean. He looked up, a mural of great warriors defeating epic foes a vision to inspire. Naivete in action. I bet they didn't have kids to feed. He grimaced and looked around, wondering if anyone could sense what he had just thought, they sounded almost heretical. No one glanced his way, or made any indication that they had heard his blasphemies, so he moved on, pointing his eyes in the direction he was heading, and doubled his step. It would not do to be late.

A door, protected by two flak armoured guardsmen, barred his way. Their eyes steeled, watching him as he approached. Orsis made the sign of the aquila. "I have an appointment to keep." One of the guardsmen nodded, and tapped the comm in his ear.

"A man here, says he has an appointment." A low sound of conversation could be heard over the comm. The guardsmen nodded at its end, and turned back to Orsis. "Please step forward, and hold up your arms." Orsis moved into position. The guardsmen took a metal rod, and waved it over Orsis, checking for hidden items and weapons. They completed the scan. "All clear," the guardsmen said. He banged twice on the door, and the door opened. Orsis stepped through, and was greeted by a single lamp hanging over a small metal table. There were two men inside, one in the light, another receding into darkness, a small red glow came from the eye of the shadowed one. The other indicated to Orsis a seat, which he took.

"Welcome, captain." The one in the light said, pouring himself a glass of water. "Can I tempt you?" He asked, indicating the water. Orsis half shrugged.

"Thank you," he said, taking a glass and filling it to the brim. The man in the light smiled.

"Let us begin the meeting. You said you had information that the Imperium would need to know," he spread his arms, indicating the room, and its people, around him. "We are here. Tell us what you came to tell us." Orsis sipped his water, and placed it back on the table.

"One of my crew members, Erif, told us that he, and his friend Sam, had encountered some sort of metallic lifeform on an unchartered planet. I thought it prudent to let the higher ups know that something like this existed near other systems." The man with the red eye moved forward, studying Orsis. The machine eye was unblinking, the real one curious.

"A metal being?" Orsis shrugged.

"That's what he said." The shadowed man dipped his head.

"These beings, were they skeletal in nature?" Orsis nodded.

"Yessir, according to Erif." The red eyed man looked to his seated counterpart and made a gesture, the other man nodded.

"Please wait outside, Orsis, we would like to discuss this is private." Orsis rose from his seat, and headed for the door, as he reached for the door release button, the red eyed man called from behind him.

"We would also like to talk to this Erif person, please see to it." Orsis looked back.

"Is he in trouble?" The man at the table looked at him, something glinted in his eyes for a moment, could it have been fear?

"We all could be, captain. We all could be."

Erif awoke to the sound of the door opening. Doctor Anya, and a guardsman, stepped in, Anya carried a hot drink, the guardsmen gave a curious look. Erif watched them as they approached, his mind still sluggish from the sedatives that had been injected into him. Anya placed the cup in his hand and kneeled by his side, she looked to his vitals on the screen, they seemed fine. "Erif," she said patting him on the shoulder. "We need you for something, please follow me." Erif shifted in his seat, and then rose, the blanket falling of him in tumbled waves.

"What do you need me for," he said with a flat tone.

"Some people need to talk to you about what you saw."

"What I saw?" he asked, and then it all came back to him. His eyes went dark, and his shoulders fell. "I don't want to talk about it." Anya nodded and placed a hand on his arm.

"It's important, Erif, very important." The guardsman looked at his watch, and then to Erif.

"Let me try something," he said. He came over to Erif's side and squatted before him. "Listen to me, Erif. I have been told I cannot divulge much information to you about what happened, however, my higher ups have given me leave to tell you one thing, if we are going back, we are going back armed, and we thought maybe you would like the sound of that. So, what do you say, want to get some revenge?"

Erif stiffened, and looked the guardsman right in the eye, a wave of sadness flowed over him, and he lowered his head. He pictured his friend Sam dead in that cold, awful place. He couldn't do anything to save him, maybe he could do something now. He looked up, a picture of cold fury painted on his face. Erif nodded, and the guardsman smiled. "Yeah, I thought you'd like the sound of that."

Erif sat in the room where captain Orsis, the red eyed man, and the other, whose name he had learned was Reffi, all chattered lightly to themselves. The red eyed man turned to Erif, and nodded at him. "My name is Eliphas, and I have been called from far away to gauge the accuracy of your story. In a few moments, I will begin the necessary chants to call forth your memories, which I will then view on this monitor," he said, indicating to a squat machine of bronze in front of him. "There is no need to be afraid, and the procedure is very safe. All you need to is lean back, and let the powers that be do their job. Are you ready?" Erif nodded, a look of grim determination on his face.

"Do it."

Eliphas nodded, gesturing to a chair before the machine.

"Please sit." Erif moved quickly to the chair, where Eliphas placed cables with little suction cups over his head. "Breathe gently, Erif, this will not hurt."

Erif took a deep breath.

"I'm ready."

Eliphas turned the dials on the machine, muttering some benediction to the machine gods. The screen flickered to life.

"Alright, Erif, I am now going to access your memories. Be still, it might take a while to find the right one."

Across the screen images and moving pictures appeared. Some showed a grassy hill with a first lover, others showed massive ships harvesting a planet below. Eliphas kept turning the dials, shifting through the memories like a man panning for gold. Eventually the screen settled. A dark room, with a throne on a dais. Erif looked over at the screen and his face went white.

"That's the one," he said, his breath catching in his throat. Orsis placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to look if you don't want to, son." Erif shook his head.

"I owe it to Sam." Orsis nodded, and turned back to the screen. The other two men watched the screen intently, both had gone very still. A hand, clawed and metal, reached out from the darkness and grabbed Sam. His light brought the monster into sharp relief. Erif watched the screen, his breath coming in gasps. The metal figure grabbed Sam by his neck and began to—

"Let's stop there," Eliphas said, pausing the screen. Orsis looked to them.

"What is that thing?" Reffi's face had also gone white. He looked to Eliphas and nodded.

"Exactly what we feared. Shut it off, we do not need to see any more." Eliphas flipped a switch, and the machine powered off. Reffi looked to Erif, a dark look in his eye.

"You have uncovered something incredibly dangerous, and old. They are called Necrons, and they are a powerful enemy. Please, excuse me, I must make a report at once." Reffi took a data slab from the table and recorded the memory of the Necron onto it. "I will be a while." He marched off from the room, and left the three men. Orsis looked to the red eyed man.

"What are Necrons?" Eliphas looked to him, weighing up in his mind what to tell him. Eventually he shrugged, who would believe them outside those already in the know.

"Necrons are metal beings created long ago. They have some of the most advanced technology in the galaxy, and are considered one of its greatest dangers. It appears that you have woken what is known as a tomb world, a place where Necrons slumber, and await activation. They are merciless, and without compassion. They are some of the deadliest foes the Imperium have ever faced, and they have just woken up."

"How do we stop them," Orsis asked. Eliphas heaved a huge sigh.

"We hit them with everything we've got, again and again, until they're all dead." Erif stood up, the wires still dangling from his head.

"I want to be part of that everything." Eliphas looked to him, apprising him with a nod.

"Before you came, I pulled up your personnel file, two years in the guard, many small engagements but no large action. If you think you have still got what it takes, we can take you on our next assault." Erif nodded, seeing the picture of the Necron in his mind. Only there was a difference now, where there had been terror, now there was only fury.

"I'd like that very much." Eliphas nodded.

Eliphas nodded and grinned. "Then we have a deal."

TWO WEEKS AGO

-The last of the ships left the atmosphere, their engines heaving them out of the gravity field. Beneath the sky, the pyramid still sat, squat and alien, only this time it was not silent. From the entrance the sound of metal on metal pounded, echoing out into the forest. The first of the Necrons burst into the scene, moving through the forest, and crushing the undergrowth. Ancient weapons, made of the onyx metal, powered up, colouring the surroundings in green. They marched through the forest, cracking roots underfoot. Vehicles of myriad design weaved through the forest, buoyed on some invisible wave. The lord came last, pausing at the egress. He looked up into the sky as the ships left his world. He flexed his servos, testing their strength. Soon he would reach out of this paltry planet, and begin a new dynasty out in the stars. -

THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER THREE

It had taken weeks, but finally all the preparations for the attack were ready. A massive fleet, consisting of various battleships, sat near the station, waiting on the last of the crew to ferry themselves to their titanic structures. Head of all of them stood the Scutum, a warship bristling with the most powerful weapons any starship could bring to bear. Her engines moved her slowly, swift manoeuvres were not her forte, but she could hit hard, and take a lot of damage. The other ships hung around her, poised like a metal shield.

The last of the transports finished docking with the main battle-group, and the main ships began to head out further from the station, preparing for warp jump. The Scutum held the prized position, furthest ahead, first into danger, last to retreat. The warp drives powered up.

On the bridge, the officers and servitors chanted the proper prayers for the machine spirits, blessing them as they ran their fingers over their runic surfaces. Eliphas looked around at his hand selected crew, they were some of the finest men and women he had ever served with, and he knew he would need all their courage to fight this foe.He placed his hands on the railing behind the main bridge window, a sword out into the darkness. Into the warp we go

"Sir, telemetry is reporting all systems green. We are ready to enter the immaterium." Eliphas smiled.

"May the Emperor guide us." The warp drives ripped a hole in real space, and the main engines pushed them through the tear. Throughout the fleet, the other ships did the same. The holes sealed behind them, and they were away.

Traveling through the warp took time, and the crew had little to do other than offer prayers and grab food. Erif sat in his bunk, newly dressed in guardsmen fatigues, and a brand new las rifle on his knees. He tinkered with the machine, checking power cells and the overall operation of the weapon. He had learned long ago how to strip and fire this weapon, and the memories came back easily to him. He looked to his watch: 2:45am. She will still be asleep. A knocking came at the door, and three guardsmen poked their heads in.

"We're gonna grab some grub, want to come with us?" Erif smiled at them, but shook his head.

"Maybe in a bit." The three nodded, and made their way to the mess hall.

Erif stopped. He placed the weapon on his bunk, and reached into the pocket on the breast of his fatigues. He pulled out a small picture, on which was a happy woman with a grinning child. A smile crossed his face. I will come home soon. After I have destroyed the monsters, after I have avenged Sam. They took your "Uncle" Sam. I'll make them pay. He put the small picture back in his pocket, and lay down on his bunk. Would he ever see them again? He was now a guardsman, and a guardsmen's first duty was to the emperor, and his unit. As a miner he had shore leave, but now what? He was back to fighting the enemies of the Imperium, and that left little time for home. I will come home; he swore to himself. No matter what happens, I will see you again, you're all I have left now. He looked through the memories of his family, seeing their smiles and happy faces. He leant his head against the back wall, and was asleep in moments.

Erif awoke in his cabin, alone and in the dark. He had been dreaming of his family, and of the monsters. He shook himself, and sat up on his bed, his feet pressing against the cold metal floor. He shivered from its touch. Hauling himself out of bed, he found himself hungry, and decided to eat. Pressing the controls for the door, he moved out into the corridor, and made his way down to the mess.

The mess was nearly empty, save for some senior members of the crew, who were tucking into a small meal on a tray. The smell was not the most appetising, but to the hungry Erif, it smelled delicious.

He grabbed a tray and made his way to the food line, ladling what looked good onto his tray. He scanned the room, and picked out an empty table, and sat alone.

As he ate, the door to the mess hissed open, and a young man, dressed in dark blue robes entered the mess. He too grabbed a tray and sat at an empty table. Lost deep in thought, he ate without much notice to what he was doing. Erif watched him carefully, there seemed to be some form of invisible aura about the man, that radiated great power and a learned mind. Erif took his fork and continued to eat, occasionally glancing over at the man. The man froze, and lifted his hooded head, looking directly into Erif's eyes. Erif looked back at his food, and kept his head down, and continued to eat. Eventually the man finished his meal, and put the tray in the cleaning receptable. He looked over at Erif, a look of curiosity on his pale face. He wondered over, and sat across from Erif.

"Hello," he said, more of a question than a greeting. "I believe we have not met yet. I am Dalin, and you are?" Erif put his hand forward.

"Erif, I'm new." Dalin looked at the hand and smiled, grasping it with his own.

"A pleasure."

Erif nodded. "Same to you."

Dalin nodded. "I don't mean to intrude, but you're the one who came from the planet we are now engaged to attack with, correct?"

Erif nodded again.

"That's me."

Dalin sat back in his seat, and looked Erif over.

"Forgive my inspective nature, but I have never seen anyone who has faced a Necron before. I hear they are quite good at killing."

Erif nodded, the memory of Sam rising in his mind. A deep anger gripped him, and he lowered his head. Dalin reached out to him and grasped him on the shoulder,

"Use it, my friend. Make his death count."

Erif looked at him, shocked at his intuition.

Dalin leaned back and laughed. "You cannot hide much from a Psyker, believe me. Reading minds is just one of the gifts I possess."

Erif laughed.

"What other gifts do you possess?"

Dalin smiled mischievously.

"Well, I could make your head explode. That is always a sight to see."

Erif smirked.

"Quite effective in combat."

Dalin nodded, a light smile on his face.

"It comes in handy, from time to time."

The two men continued to talk, sharing stories of combat, and general mirth. Dalin gesticulated wildly, indicating spells he had used to fell the Imperium's enemies. Erif sat back and listened, drawing in the experience of his companion. They talked for hours, as men and women filtered through the mess hall. Eventually the concert of conversation came to a serious point. Dalin investigated Erif's eyes, his own eyes intense.

"I assume you will want to be on the first drop in? Get right into the fighting?"

Erif nodded, the furious darkness still coiling in his guts.

"I do."

Dalin nodded.

"Then it seems my place is by your side. May the emperor guide us."

The two of them clasped hands and shook.

"May the emperor guide us."

Erif returned to his cabin, determined to catch up on his sleep. Again, and again what Dalin had said to him swirled in his mind.

Make his death count. Make his death count.

I will, he thought. I will.

The passage through the warp went by mostly without incident. A few members of the crew scrapped and quarrelled as cabin fever set in, but this was to be expected. On the bridge the crew moved through the daily anointments and prayers to the machine gods, placing special oils and ointments to preserve the spirit within. Hands travelled across screens, discerning ship integrity and the stability of the Gellar field. Eliphas watched the men and women go about their tasks, proud and confident in their abilities.

"What's the estimate, helmsman?"

A young woman, no more than twenty, read from her tablet.

"We will exit the immaterium in about twenty hours, sir."

"Good, good. Have we picked up any strays?"

The young woman shook her head.

"Gellar field is holding strong, and there's been no reports of incursion."

"Excellent. Keep an eye on it, Grace."

She threw a half sincere salute in his direction, not looking up from her screen. Eliphas smiled, he had not picked his crew for their politeness.

He looked to the shutters, closed when in the warp. He wondered, for the umpteenth time what was beyond those metal folds. Supposedly it can drive a man crazy looking into the warp. Let's hope only thinking about it is safe.

"Status of the other ships?"

Another technician read from his screen.

"Reports are good sir; we haven't lost anyone."

Eliphas nodded.

"Good to hear."

Eliphas sat in his command chair and sighed. Travel through the warp was often tedious, with little to do, and much waiting. He put a hand in his pocket and withdrew and old book. Flipping through its pages, he read from the litany of prayers, drawing his focus from the minutiae of his surroundings. Soon he was deep into the book, his mind cast away to another realm.

Dalin sat in his chamber, meditating, and touching the Gellar field for any breaches. So far there had been none. Moments ago, there had been a ping on the inter-ship comms, indicating that they were close to their destination, and should prepare for re-entry into normal space. Dalin sifted through his mind, drawing out any information he had on the Necrons that he had not been able to find in the databanks he had sought out before they had left for the warp. In truth, not much was known about Necrons, at least none that he could glean with his limited access. The information stored had told him only a few things, and what he had learned chilled him to the bone. They truly were the stuff of nightmares. Implacable creatures who sort out the destruction or subjugation of every other species in the galaxy. They were hyper advanced in terms of technology, and were extremely hard to keep dead. Dalin took a deep breath, the emperor would grant us victory.

"The emperor protects," he whispered to himself.

Erif stared at the ceiling, unable to find sleep. There had just been a ping saying to prepare for re-entry. He stored his weapon in its locker, and put on his gear, a flak vest, and several armoured parts. He donned his helmet and made ready for re-entry. On his room console a voice boomed forth.

"This is Eliphas, real space re-entry soon. ETA: Twenty hours.

Erif shook himself and grimaced. They are going to pay.

Eliphas stood on the bridge, looking at the various screens scattered across the room. Indications blared at him from all directions. Men, and women, hustled to their posts, ready to drop the ship from the warp. A mechanical voice came from the surrounding speakers. "Twenty seconds till warp deactivation." Eliphas held the metal barrier on the bridge facing the main window, his hands gripping the cold metal with intense force. "Ten seconds till warp deactivation." He looked to his crew, certain that they would not fail him. His gaze shifted to the window, where the shutters blocked out the view of what he could only assume lied beyond. "Five seconds till warp deactivation." Eliphas turned to his crew and saluted them.

"This could be the battle of our lives; I just want you all to know that you are the finest men and women I have ever had the honour of serving with. Now, let us go forth in the Emperor's name, and reclaim this planet for our blessed Imperium." The crew rallied to his words with nods and silent prayers. They were ready. "Exiting warp, prepare to drop into real space." A klaxon went off around the vessel, and the ship lurched hard, throwing the crew members against their braces. Sparks of electricity travelled across the ship's hull. A hole, unseen to the crew, ripped open from the warp into real space. The engines flared to life, and pushed them back into reality.

Erif unfixed his restraints, and made for the closest window. They were back in real space, and he wanted to see something other than metal shutters. The planet hung low in his viewpoint, its green and blue colours still washed over it, but something had changed, where bright white clouds had once sat in place, drifting peacefully across the sky, there now was blackened ash clouds that poisoned the world with their toxic fumes. Dark shapes moved other the planet; their shadows cast across the backdrop of the world.

A pit opened in his stomach, and his mouth ran dry. From across the planet, machines of great size began peeling off from the atmosphere, and towards their assembled fleet. They moved with a dark menace, silky yet sure, as if nothing could counter their approach. Alarm klaxons went off in his cabin, and Eliphas's voice came over the intercom. "All personal report to their stations, we are under attack." Erif grabbed his rifle, and quickly donned his gear. Tightening the straps on his boots, he made his way to the hangar. Across the ship, the crew hurried to their destinations, a grim face on each of them.

On the bridge, lights were blaring, a swirling colour of deep red, mixed with the whiteness of the of the console's runic displays. Eliphas sat in his chair, overseeing the battle. So far, the enemy had not come into range, but they would soon, and they would feel the emperor's fury. "What is the situation with our fleet, ensign?"

"I count forty enemy ships of myriad design, our own fleet has exited the warp, and is ready for orders."

"Good, tell them to engage the fleet when they come in range with the long guns, and prepare for ship-to-ship combat."

The ensign saluted, and went about his duty. Eliphas stared out into the blackness at the approaching enemy. This will be an easy win, Eliphas thought to himself.

"Sir, all ships are ready to engage per your orders. Anything else you'd like to say."

Eliphas grinned, baring his teeth at the oncoming fleet.

"|Give 'em hell, and let them feel the emperor's fire. Attack."

Lances of fire erupted from the massive mounted guns of the imperial fleet, cutting across the living metal hull of the Necron ships. Missiles raced across the gaps, their fiery detonations smearing across the hull of the enemy. The sheer force of the fire power was a sight to behold. What seemed like blooming flowers was actually the explosion of heavy ordnance. Despite the withering fire-power, the Necron ships remained unharmed, and continued to approach the imperial fleet.

Erif sat with a group of other guardsmen, and watched the battle unfurl on a console's display. Around him, many of the troopers had their mouths agape, unable to believe what they were seeing. "That should have torn their fleet apart," one man said, his eyes wide, and his mouth slacked. Another nodded.

"There's no way they should have survived that." Erif felt a deep fury rising up in his chest, and he turned to the other two, his eyes blazing.

"So they can take a hit, we still out-number them."

The others didn't seem to hear him, keeping their gaze fixed on the console.

"Bring the nova-cannon online and prepare to fire on my mark."

"Yes sir."

Hands flew across runes, invigorating the ancient spirit of the ship's nova cannon. A behemoth of a weapon, it was known to destroy any ship in one blast.

Eliphas growled to himself.

"Tough bastards, I'll give 'em that. What's the status of the nova cannon?"

"The nova cannon is ready sir, ready to fire on your order."

"Fire."

The ship shuddered in response to the nova cannon firing its first shot, pushed back by the sheer force of the exiting projectile. The shot raced across the distance, and struck one of the Necron's ships full force. The crew cheered at the impact.

"That'll show them," one officer said, punching his fist into the air.

Eliphas grinned.

"Good shot," he said, watching flames belch from the target. "Load up another round, and tell all nova capable ships to do the same."

He stood watching the stricken ship, the grin only broadening on his face. "One down, thirty-nine to go."

The assembled guardsmen cheered at the sight of the damaged Necron ship.

"They're tough, but they aint invincible.

Erif watched the smoking ship as it trailed off from the rest of the fleet.

"One down."

"All ships, fire nova cannons." Across the fleet, great bolts of near lightspeed projectiles hammered into the enemy ships, punching large holes in their hulls. Each hit brought another cheer from the officers, and Eliphas felt himself grow bolder with every hit. He looked at the telemetry display on the holo table, seeing the hit markers flash red were contact had been made. I expected more of a challenge. He looked out to the bridge window once more. Guess you never fought against nova cannons, aye? He smiled; this was turning out to be a good day. Turning to one of his ensigns, he grinned wolfishly, "Seems like this will be an easy win." He looked out once more to the enemy fleet, scanning it with his eyes. The Necron ships came to a stop. Eliphas grinned. They're going to turn tail and run, cowards. "We've got em where we want em, boys!" The crew cheered again.

An ensign looked to his monitor and frowned.

"Sir, I'm detecting energy readings from the enemy fleet, I think they're preparing to fire."

"How are the shields?"

"Shields at full power, sir."

Eliphas smiled to himself.

"Then we have nothing to worry about."

The Necron ships turned to face their attackers, lines of green energy rippled across their surfaces and coalesqued around the batteries of their main weapons, preparing to fire. Even as they readied themselves, they continued to be hit by the Imperial fleet's massive ordinance. But even as they were hit, the holes created by the great guns began to close, and the weapons continued to build, and build. No matter how hard they were hit, they kept on charging.

Eliphas watched the Necron ships as they approached, a small frown had formed on his face. He had seen entire fleets destroyed by only a mere selection of the fire power he had bought, yet not one of the enemy fleet had gone down for the count. A pearl of fear formed in his heart, and he shivered. "I don't like this, they should be in pieces by now. Ensign, call off the fleet, something is wrong here." As he finished his sentence, the first lancing beam erupted from the Necron ship, splashing against the shield of the leading ship in his fleet. He expected it to displace harmlessly on its shields, and dissipate, but it didn't. The beam pierced right through the ship, pinning it from front to back. An array of secondary explosions erupted across the hull, and the ships FoF signal faded from the holo table. "By the Emperor!" he exclaimed, his mouth dropping agape as debris flew past the window. "All ships, prepare for warp departure!" Hands flew across tablets and displays, putting in the required numbers to engage warp jump. Another of the Necron ships fired, spearing one ship and detonating its core. "Ensign, get us out of here!" The fleet began to turn, there ponderous bulk slow to react. Again and again the Necron's weapons hit home, obliterating any ship unlucky enough to be targeted. Molten metal and frozen corpses blossomed from the dead ships, clanging against the thick metal hide of Scutum.

"Warp in thirty seconds, sir!" Eliphas looked out at the destroyed ships, his eyes wide and his hands clenched.

"We never stood a chance."

"Warp in twenty seconds, sir!" Eliphas did not move, around the Scutum the other ships began to enter the warp. A few of the slower ones moved against the Necron fleet, giving every last bit of life they had left so the others might escape.

"Warp in ten seconds." Eliphas could not believe what he was seeing, ships on fire, oxygen leakages, and thousands dead in minutes. A hail came from one of the ships leading the last ditch assault. "Eliphas, this is Ren, its been an honour." Eliphas gulped down his guilt and nodded.

"It has been an honour, Ren." The hole opened up into the warp, and the engines fired, a disappearing sun on a night black as hell.

The Scutum arrived in real space three weeks later at the space station. Across the comm channels alerts had popped up across multiple systems, reports of an assault by metal creatures with advanced and deadly technology. The Scutum herself was undamaged, and was immediately pinged by the station as it exited the warp. The message read: "Scutum, you are to report for assembly at these coordinates ASAP. Bring every ship under you command and prepare for all out assault under war master Terrace, message ends." Eliphas had read the message himself in his private chamber, under a single lamp. Turning off the lamp he tried to make for sleep, but had found it impossible. Finding nothing better to do with himself, he had walked the ways of the ship, finding comfort in old sections that he had long since forgotten, as his place was most often on the bridge. In his mind the flames of his fleet travelled with him, a murky cloud on his mind. He found his way to the bridge, where his crew were busy organising the fleet to link up with the main group. Looking around he looked into the eyes of every member he could, where once he had thought he would see triumph, he now only saw defeat.

Erif sat crossed legged, breathing deeply. He had seen the entire battle on the display screen, not turning away for a second. He had seen the ships burst into flames, and the bodies of his dead brethren. He recalled a musical tune from his home, and relayed it in his mind. It was a soothing melody. A knock came at his door. "Enter," he said. The door moved open. Dalin stepped in, and looked upon Erif and nodded his head.

"You okay?" he asked. Erif nodded again, not opening his eyes.

"I've seen death by those things twice now. I guess you get used to it in the end."

Dalin nodded.

"Our fleet will be joining up with a large battle-group soon. They're pulling in weapons and armour from all over the segmentum, and then we're heading back. What do you think of that?"

Erif opened his eyes and stared into Dalin's.

"I think this isn't over, I think there's still much to be done."

Dalin nodded.

"I think so too."

THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER FOUR

The war had blazed almost out of control. Many planets were lost to the metal tide of the Necron war machine. Planets, once lush and green had been turned to factories, belching out smoke and machines to conquer further worlds. The Imperial response had been swift and powerful, holding the tide back from further worlds.

Erif stood on one such battlefield, las gun in hand, and armoured in flak, he squatted in a hole created by an artillery shell, peering out from his cover at the advancing enemy. "Looks like a squad of four. I want heavy bolters at the ready, we're going tear them apart!"

Two men, muscled and wearing similar armour prepared their weapons. "On my signal," Erif said, putting up three fingers on his hand. "Three, two, one, now!"

The men bearing the heavy bolters popped their heads up for a moment, and unleashed their fury on the Necrons. Round after round punched into the living metal, destroying circuits, and obliterating the shells of their bodies, rending them and turning them to scrap. Erif clapped his troops on the back and smiled. "Another dead Necron. Let's move up!" He looked up at the sky, seeing the Imperial ships continue on to the last hold the Necrons had on this planet.

Above the troop manoeuvres, Eliphas looked down on the planet. Having been pressed into battle many months ago, the Scutum had become something of a symbol inside the massed Fleets. Many times she had brought relief, or provided support in the campaign, and now wore her pitted hull as a badge of honour. Eliphas turned to his second.

"Report." The second looked up from his console.

"The Necron fleet has fled the system, all that's left now is to mop up on the ground." Eliphas grinned, banging his hand down on the holotable.

"Let them run. Seems another decisive victory for the Imperium. Call up our ground forces and prepare firing plans, we're going sweep those bastards off our planet once and for all."

Erif's comm crackled to life.

"This is Captain Eliphas, hold position while we computate a firing solution to support your advance. Eliphas out."

Moments passed, and Erif looked out over the field they had been fighting on. Craters from heavy artillery spotted the land, and bodies, both metal and flesh, littered the battle zone. Each victory had been costly, and there had been many set-backs, but it finally seemed like the war was near an end. From the beginning the Necrons had the advantage, superior weapons, ships, soldiers, but the Guard had the numbers. Slowly they had pushed the Necrons off each planet, one by one the victories had begun to stack up. Now they were nearing the end. All Necron forces had been pushed back to where it had all begun. Now there was nothing left to do but mop up the rest.

And I'll gladly be the one to do it, Erif thought, gritting his teeth.

He looked once more out into the open field, seeing a ragged line of the assembled Necrons approaching at a slow pace. Despite him, and his fellow soldiers best efforts, there were still thousands of them.

He grinned, Wait for it.

Hellfire came from the heavens, smashing into the ground with a thunderous explosion. Metal limbs and bodies were thrown high into the air, those that weren't totally obliterated, at least.

Erif whooped, punching his fist into the air, a gesture that was followed by many of the other Guardsmen.

He and the men charged forward, blasting the last standing Necrons with Las fire, fusing their circuits and melting their carapaces.

Erif stood over one of the bodies, inspecting its face. He breathed deeply, remembering his first encounter with them. He pointed his Las-gun at its head and blew it to bits. "That was for Sam, you son of a bitch." A hand clapped him on his back, and a face appeared from the side.

"I'm pretty sure it was already dead, Erif." Erif smiled at Dalin.

"You can never be too sure with these things."

Dalin laughed. "Good point. Come on lad, one last battle for today."

Thunderhawk's flew across the battlefield, scouting the far reaches for enemy presence.

Tanks, hundreds of them, and thousands of Guardsmen stood ready for the final assault.

In the distance, a great metal structure stood against the sky, a low sun just beginning to appear over its form. Day-break was upon them, it was time to finish the job.

Eliphas stood on a Chimera and spoke through the comm systems to the accrued personnel. Heads turned up at him, and many cheered at the sight of him. Erif stood next to Dalin, unmoved by the display of emotion around him. "Eliphas keyed his comm, and his voice was heard in every ear.

"Men, you have fought bravely, and fiercely. What started out as a disaster has become a monumental achievement of human bravery and spirit, you are all saviours in the eyes of billions. Now comes the dawn, and soon we will have victory on this world, as we have so many others. Beyond that keep lays one of the last bastions of this metal horror, and soon they will be destroyed by those I see before me. Good luck, and good speed. For the Emperor, for the Imperium!" The assembled crowd cheered, some firing their guns into the air. Eliphas stepped down, and hurried off to a waiting carrier ship that would take him back up to the Scutum.

Erif shrugged and turned to Dalin.

"It's not over yet. There's one more planet we need to liberate before this is all over."

Dalin nodded.

"Where it all began."

Erif nodded. "Where it all began."

Erif sat in the mud, writing in a small leather-bound book. The war had lasted for months, and he had detailed it in his journal. Scribbling pictures, he tried to capture the field he had just fought in, but all the battlefields had started to blur together. He shook his head, trying to jump his hazy memory, but it was just not there. He sighed, the field had been the last outer defence of the construct, and they had moved past it days ago. The men were assembled for the last push, and they were ready to go. Dalin sat next to him, reading over his shoulder. "You should publish that. It would be one of the few accounts of Necron contact, I'm sure the scholars would like to have it on record?" Erif shrugged.

"If they want it, they can come get it." He flicked through the pages, smiling with Dalin at their many adventures. "Another day, another battle," he said, closing the book. He looked out at the construct, feeling nothing but anticipation. "Come on, old friend, let's get something to eat."

Eliphas stood on his bridge, sipping from a hot cup.

Good stuff. He looked out over the planet, seeing the scars on the land where the Necrons had been mining, turning planets into more of their kind. He shrugged. Hard bastards, I'll give 'em that. He took another sip, and sighed. Another day, another battle.

The tanks moved into formation, and Thunderhawks zoomed overhead, launching missiles into the construct. The tanks moved as one, followed by thousands of Guardsmen. The Thunderhaws peeled away from the battle, their payload spent. From their view they could see every tank shot, and las rifle discharge, painting the structure with molten holes and gaping rents in the metal. The tanks stopped just shy of the walls, and the Guardsmen went about placing melta bombs to penetrate the thick wall. Gauss weapons rained down on them from above, disintegrating anyone unlucky enough to be hit. From over head a ship passed over, raining death upon the Necrons who laid beyond the wall. The guard began to swarm through the makeshift holes they had created. Spilling through, they were faced with heavy fire, green bolts of energy ripping them apart at the molecular level. Necrons on some sort of gravity field raced into the battle, cleaving men left and right. Some wore the skin of their fallen enemies, their long claws reaping to and fro. Eventually they all fell under the combined fire of the Guardsmen, who wound their way through the factory like a cure in a dying man, expunging every Necron they could. Erif rode along in the first wave, with Dalin at his side. He watched as men were torn apart; some even being skinned on the battlefield before their friends could destroy the ravenous creatures with las fire. Dalin shouted a war cry, and blasted a squad of Necrons with an electric blast, destroying them from the inside. Erif had come to appreciate a psyker at his side, knowing that his battle skills far exceeded his own. Erif yelled with him, and the men continued on.

Eliphas looked upon the battlefield one last time. Smoke rose from the construct, and the men began filing out. He turned to his bridge crew and nodded. "Send out the recovery ships. We're done here." There were no cheers, no celebration, just a grim mood. Eliphas bought up another planet on the holo table and stared at it intently. One last fight.

Erif stepped smartly onto the troop carrier that would ferry him up to the Scutum, and sat in one of the crash seats. He leaned his head back and looked back over the months they had been fighting. In that time, he had killed thousands of Necrons, paying them back every death they had ever dealt him. Dalin sat next to him and shook his head. "Playing it over again? I told you it's not worth it." Erif shrugged.

"I try and remember every single one of them, it's what Sam would have wanted."

"You sure he wouldn't have wanted you to move on?"

Erif shook his head, heaving a deep sigh.

"Not yet…not yet."

Erif's Journal: Battle of Remin Four. Excerpt from a conversation with Dalin. A Necron fleet was spotted two weeks ago by the people of Remin Four. At first, they seemed uninterested in the planet below, then reports came in of a large Necron ship entering the system, they indicate that all action was based around this ship. Dalin theorises that this is some kind of leader caste, and that they are running the campaign from behind the scenes. We will eventually have to destroy this leader, otherwise other Necrons will continue to be produced. From what I can tell, Necrons use a hive-mind structure, but that individual units have very little autonomy, so this would mean that we have a chance to destroy them root and stem, if only we can find and destroy this leader. – Erif.

The final battle. Across the skies of the planet, Necron and Imperial forces battled it out, flanking, adjusting to firing lines. The Necron fleet was outnumbered six-to-one, but they made their superior technology count. Smaller craft flitted between the battle lines, sending off missiles, which splashed over the Necron armour in a fiery ball, sending debris off into space. The Necrons retaliated with smaller craft of their own, spinning in erratic fashion, ducking and weaving through the wall of laser and munitions fire.

Eliphas stood on his bridge and drank deep from his cup. "This is Eliphas, begin landing procedure, we'll take care of the bastards up here, you lot get to ground and find that leader." Multiple blips on his screen flashed their acknowledgment and began to move lower into orbit. He stared at the screen, noting the precision of the Necron manoeuvres. He hated them for what they had done, but he had to admit, they knew how to wage war.

"Sir, more reinforcements have exited the warp, seems to be another battle-fleet!" Eliphas grinned and smashed his robotic hand on edge of the Holo-table.

"Oh good, and here I thought we'd have some room. Get them up to speed and have them hit the remaining Necron forces. If they have troops, tell them to start landing."

The communications officer nodded. He smoothed a small wrinkle on his uniform and adjusted his cap.

"This is the Scutum, transferring orders now." More blips appeared on the battle screen, lined in blue for friendly, they had appeared within the Imperial fleet, and were racing into battle.

Must be one hell of a navigator, Eliphas thought.

Several large ships raced over the viewport, casting a darkness throughout the bridge as they eclipsed the local star. massive constructs of metal and faith, they moved into position, turning their guns on the enemy.

"This is the Imperator; Glad to see you're still alive, Scutum."

"This is Scutum, it's good to be alive. Quit darkening my bridge and go kill some Necrons."

"Roger that. Imperator out."

The blue icons turned green as the battle systems linked up together to create a unified force. Huge red lasers erupted from the Imperator's cannons, splashing a Necron ship, super-heating its armour, and melting a huge hole in its hull.

That's the way, Eliphas thought, a small grin on his determined face.

Erif sat in the back of the craft as it dodged incoming fire from multiple sides. Explosions rocked him in his harness, throwing him around like a rag-doll. Several lines of Imperial guard sat in their crash seats, shaking violently as the ship dodged death for the thousandth time.

"Get ready, we are entering atmosphere in fifty seconds!"

A red light entangled in a metal cage lit up the interior of the craft, painting the men's faces and giving them a demonic look. A young private looked around and yelled:

"Hell of a ride, aye?" He laughed to himself. Several of the men laughed in agreement, but Erif maintained his composure. He was here for one reason, and one reason only, he couldn't afford any distractions.

"Thirty seconds till atmosphere!"

Erif closed his eyes and silently sent out a prayer to the God emperor. Another explosion shook the craft, but she held. "Ten seconds. Get ready!" He finished his prayer and raised his head.

"Hitting atmosphere…NOW!" The entire ship lurched as it entered the planet's atmosphere, the firing had stopped, but the ship still bucked like it was under fire. "Landing in two minutes. Erif looked out the porthole, watching as hundreds of crafts similar to the one he was in race to hit the ground and deploy troops. Streams of vapour spew out behind each of them, painting the sky with straight white lines as they descended. This was it, all or nothing. Erif looked to his left, watching Dalin as he muttered his own prayers. Erif hit him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Dalin smiled and nodded, returning the gesture with his own.

"Prepare for landing, twenty seconds."

The ship bucked in the turbulence, and fired its landing thrusters. "Landing in ten seconds, don't forget to overcharge your las-guns!" the voice over the inter-comm called. The ship hit the ground with force, rocking the Guardsmen in their chairs, and flinging them against their restraints. Erif smiled a cruel smile, his eyes hardening as the doors of the craft descended. They released their crash belts, and piled towards the back of the craft, eager to begin the fight. The first man out took a hit from a green bolt, which disintegrated his shoulder and half his torso. He fell down in a gurgling heap, and slumped against the craft. Erif and Dalin stepped over him, and moved forward. At their backs, the men swarmed outwards, creating a defensive perimeter for the others. As soon as the ship was emptied, it fired its thrusters again, and made for the heavens. Erif watched it go, until it became a blip and vanished in the dark clouds. Dalin took the lead, and called for the men to follow him, Erif, and the others, set off at a loping pace, keeping their eyes on the horizon as they moved from cover to cover. In the first siege of the planet, the fleet had lain down a torrent of bombardment on the site, luck had a rare oversight in the Necron's positions, allowing them to fire directly on the main target, they had soon closed this gap, and forced the fleet to retreat to a further part of the sky, creating many craters for the men to take cover in. Erif and Dalin, with several others, found themselves squatting in such a crater, as overhead green bolts of energy singed the air around them. Dalin pulled up a holo map and studied it intently.

"According to this, we are forty miles out from the forest where Erif first encountered the Necrons. Our mission is to go to that site, and neutralise the temple."

A young soldier raised his hand. "Speak," Dalin said, nodding at the young man.

"Why doesn't the fleet just destroy it from orbit?" Dalin pulled up a tactical map of the whole battle and rewound it back. He pointed to the skies above the planet, particularly around the Necron fleet.

"These bastards wouldn't let us get near it in the sky, any attempts, other than the first, have proven futile. This is a ground mission. So, we're going in, and we're going in heavy." Dalin brought his back-pack around, and opened it, revealing a medium sized metallic object. "Us, and several other squads, have brought demolition charges, we're going to take this bomb, and plant it deep within the temple, with some luck, we should destroy the Necron base, and, hopefully, there leader. Any questions?" The guardsmen nodded; they were of one purpose. "Then let's get to it. Redfaust, you take point, the others, get in line."

"Aye!" They cried, and prepared to move.

The rest of the Imperial lines soon caught up with Erif and his squad. Huge machines rolled through the slick mud, and brought deadly firepower to the advancement. Artillery hefted huge shells that fell on the enemy lines like a shattering boulder, sending metal flying in all directions. Overhead, gunships rain down fire, creating cracks in the line for the men to advance through. Despite their technological superiority, the Necrons were being pushed back.

Erif fired his las-rifle with deadly accuracy, melting the faces of many a Necron warrior, turning them into molten slag. His breath was sharp and fierce, an unbridled joy in his heart, and a determination to win that would shake the sturdiest of foes. Dalin brought about his psyker gifts, rending metal as if it were paper. The rest of the squad acquitted themselves well, pushing deep into the enemy lines with minimal casualties. One had been surprised by a Necron returning to life after previously being thought dead. It had grabbed his leg, snapping the bone easily, and had used it as a blunt instrument, bashing in the Guardsmen's brains before the others had a chance to react. They had laid into it with several volleys of fire, putting it down for good. They had advanced more cautiously then, checking to make sure every down enemy was actually dead.

"These bastards don't know when to quit," quipped one of the Guardsmen. Erif nodded his head grimly, putting another bolt into a Necron's eye socket.

"They'll learn," Erif muttered.

Eliphas watched the battle from overhead, noting the line of soldiers moving towards the temple on the holotable. The attack had been two-fold, it had to be. Every advancement on the ground meant having to risk ships up here to cover them from the Necron fleet. Going in full force and bombing the temple would have been near suicidal, but slowly grinding the fleet back, and giving their men cover, that was something they could do. He looked out to the enemy lines; a small smile ran across his face.

This might be it, if they can get in there, this whole thing will finally be over. His smile disappeared. There's always more to fight, always some other threat to face. He thought for a bit then he shrugged. Let it be so, there is no nobler cause then defending what I love. He turned to the holotable and studied it closely. The attack was going well, the ground forces were making progress, and the space battle seemed fairly even. He had lost quite a few ships, but they had gone down bravely, firing until the last moment where something exploded or ceased to function. He would have liked to have rescued some survivors, but anyone who managed to escape death had simply been killed by the Necrons. He wanted to hate them for it, but in the back of his mind, he knew he would have done the same, would do the same, if given the chance. That's war, I suppose, he sighed internally. Another Necron ship dissipated into a cloud of metal and chemical fire as three of his ships opened up fully on it. The force of the explosions made it tumble into one of its comrades' ships, tearing into it like talons into flesh. A cheer went up among the bridge crew: Some good luck," Eliphas thought. A message came through the speakers on a fleet-wide channel.

"This is Imperator, bloody good shot, that'll show the bastards who they're dealing with." Another cheer went up as the two ships exploded into a small binary green and purple suns with metallic moons racing away from the point of detonations.

Another small victory, let keep them coming.

Erif and his squad found themselves sitting at a F.O.B, waiting for the next attack. It would be soon, they needed to finish their mission, and quickly, before their air support was eroded away. The artillery continued to pound the enemy positions, softening them up before the final push. It had been difficult, many men and women had lost their lives, but they would not have died in vain, Erif promised this to himself. He sat cleaning his las-gun, and checking on his ammo, he made sure he had enough to fight an entire army single-handedly. The las-guns had proven to be not particularly effective against Necrons, but, with enough juice, they did okay. He looked around him, noting the lines of Guardsmen that were forming, the tanks that were being refuelled, and rearmed. The gunships being loaded with rockets, he was a long way from being a simple miner. He slapped another power mag into his weapon, and went to find Dalin.

Dalin sat in a small camp tent, reading the diagnostics from the battle, he held out a hand just before Erif entered.

"Hold," he said, not rudely. Erif stopped and folded his arms. Dalin finished reading the screen and turned with a smile.

"Still reading minds, I see," Erif chimed.

"I could hear your bootsteps from a mile away," Dalin said, continuing to smile. Erif looked at the screen, noting the green mass that was pushing through the red lines.

"How's it going?"

Dalin shrugged.

"About as well as it could, to be honest, we really seem to have caught our foe off guard, and we are making great progress down here on the ground."

Erif nodded.

"And in space,"

Dalin shrugged again.

"We're holding our own. With their technical superiority, it's only a matter of time before they throw us out of the system. Reports indicate they have not seen a leader ship cast ship in the battle up there, we're theorising that he is somewhere down here, on the planet. If we can kill him, we might just win this whole thing. So, we're doing okay, we've got our window down here."

"When do we move out?"

"In an hour, they're just refitting and refuelling the fly boys, then we make our final push on the temple."

Erif smiled fiercely.

"Then it's almost over."

Dalin smiled too.

"Almost."

The final push to the temple had been brutal, the last bastion of the Necron forces had fought with tremendous determination, not giving an inch without taking several lives with them. Even with the air support hammering their lines, the Necrons continued to fight without any form of morale loss. Dalin had to admit to himself that they were impressive warriors, especially when their backs were to the wall. But they did not have the numbers to stop the tide from advancing. Aircraft soared over head, raining down missile fire on their positions, and tanks blew apart their defences as they advanced, belching dark smoke from their exhausts as they pushed the line further and further. In the vanguard, Erif and Dalin fought doggedly, moving ever closer to the temple. Las fire and the Necron gauss weapons flashed between the lines, one was cutting deep lines into metal, the other was obliterating flesh down to the molecular level. Dalin noted to himself that the armour they used was next to useless against such weapons, and that they might as well be naked for all the good it did them. Erif did not notice, his bloodlust had risen, and he killed without thought or mercy. A pit of Necrons sat far out from the lines as the enemy lines retreated with mechanical precision. Erif, Dalin, and their squad dove down into the pit, firing wildly as they went, cutting the, down into chunks with overcharged weapons. They huddled in the now empty pit, waiting for the line to catch up. Dalin breathed deeply and turned to his men. "We will wait here until our main forces catch up, no sense in heading into the nest before we are at full force." Erif turned to him, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I say we continue onwards, make them pay." Dalin put a hand on Erif's shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"You won't get revenge if you're dead. Save your strength, you're going to need it." Erif turned his head away and sat down in the pit, checking his las-gun for wear and tear. Eventually the line came together and Dalin poked his head over the pit. "Alright lads, time for the final push. Get your gear, and let's get going." They hauled themselves out and moved with the rest of the army, ducking between holes as gauss fire ripped over their heads. Ahead of them was a massive structure, like a wall surrounding a small town, it was bristling with heavy weapons and high in enemy numbers. Dalin grabbed Erif and pulled him into another hole, signalling to his squad that they should take cover. "Let's let the tanks deal with that, no sense dying over who gets in first." Erif nodded, but in his mind he thought differently. The tanks rumbled through the lines, and positioned themselves in a firing line. Their massive guns rocked the machines on their treads as they opened fire on mass, hammering the structure with high explosive shells. The Guardsmen took cover where they could, some even hid behind the machines themselves, keeping a low profile in case of enemy fire. The shells struck home, but the walls held fast, they were going to need something bigger to get through the stronghold. The tanks stopped firing and a comm burst went out.

"We cannot penetrate the enemy fortifications, and are under heavy fire so our troops cannot advance, over. Request assistance, over." Another voice, full and gruff, responded.

"Roger that, stay in cover, we'll figure something out, over." Erif looked over at Dalin and half sneered.

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while." Dalin grimaced and looked to the sky.

"Maybe not as long as you think."

The comm aboard the Scutum blared across the bridge.

"We need fleet support to destroy the fortress surrounding the temple, any ideas?"

Eliphas looked at his crew and sighed.

"I'll think of something, Eliphas out." He turned to the holotable and studied it, hoping to find some kind of inspiration in it. He noted the collection of Necron warships hovering over the part of the planet where the temple was located. Every now and then, a small part of his fleet would go and engage them, as to keep them from turning their attention to the fight below. There had been maximum casualties. Of course, he had tried to have them destroy the temple from high above, but all their ordnance had been turned away by the Necron forces. It had been, was, a massacre. He sighed, already he had formed a plan, it wasn't a particularly good one, but it just might work. The main battle was close to the temple, with most of the fleet engaged in ship-to-ship combat, but he had held some reserves back to keep a tactical advantage, placing his surplus fleet where it was needed most, so as not to lose control over the battle by engaging completely. He sighed, again, deeper this time, a heavy, leaden feeling in his gut. He turned to his crew; they watched him closely. "Call up the entire fleet, we have one chance to win this thing before it all goes up in smoke. We're going in, and we're going to hit that temple." Eliphas laid out his plan, and the crew members went to work, hands gliding across the runic tablets before them. Across the holotable, ships pinged their affirmative and begun to move to Eliphas's design. The secondary fleet formed a ball around the Scutum and began to move in. As soon as they were in range, the Necron fleet opened up on the ball around the Scutum, shredding layer upon layer of heavy armour. The ships they destroyed fell into the Necron fleet, crashing and burning a path right through to the fleet nearest the temple. The primary fleet turned and engaged all ships, giving everything they had. The ball passed through the fleet, trailing fire and gas as they were rent by enemy fire, but the Scutum remained intact. The ball reached the skies above the temple, surrounded by enemy ships, who poured fire on them, rupturing their hulls, and igniting ammunition stock-piles on the ships. The Scutum Turned its cannons towards the planet, an internal logic engine began to calculate a firing vector. On the bridge, Eliphas watched a countdown timer as the logic engine took aim. All around him he could hear explosions and siren warnings as his ship took a beating that he knew it wouldn't survive. The countdown reached zero. Eliphas nodded.

"Fire everything." The guns of the Scutum roared, sending a wave of firepower towards the planet. A criss-cross of green beams swept through space, detonating the weapons that raced towards the surface, but they couldn't get them all, ships tumbled around, dead, but still of use. They soaked up the beams, allowing the shells and lasers that the Scutum has unleashed to pierce the clouds. Eliphas turned to his crew and nodded at them. "It's been an honour." A siren wailed: Shields offline. Eliphas closed his eyes as the green energy bolts raced to his bridge. By the Emperor, let it count. The bridge exploded, and the Scutum fell towards the planet.

Erif watched as heavy lasers and missiles came down from the sky, smashing into the fortress, melting and rending it, and blowing it into hot metal shards. A cheer went up, and the tide surged forward, heavy batteries, and tank fire, raked the structure. Erif clambered out of his hole and raced to be the first inside, suddenly a titanic shaking rumbled the ground. Erif looked up, and his jaw feel open. A ship, massive, and on fire, had just fallen through the clouds, trailing smoke as it plummeted towards the earth.

By the Emperor, that's the Scutum! "Dalin! Look up!" Dalin did not look up.

"Don't think on it, Erif. We've still got a job to do. Squad, press forward!"

They hauled themselves out of the dirt and made forward, behind them the tanks rumbled into action, continuing to fire as they advanced. Footsteps squelched in the mud and las-fire danced across the fortifications, leaving small yellow welts as the metal cooled. The fortifications had taken a huge beating, and huge rents had been torn in its perimeter. The Guardsmen poured through, using melta guns and plasma guns to destroy anything in their path. Erif and Dalin were some of the first through the perimeter, squeezed tight by the sheer number of allies. Gauss fire poured down upon them, sheering through the Guard's armour, and obliterating them. Many of the guard fell in the first wave, dropping dead with parts of their bodies completely destroyed, a hot, sizzling border on their flesh where the Necrons had scored a hit. Eventually they're superior numbers won out, and they pushed back the defensive line, and began to probe the outer nest. As if like darkness at dawn, the Necrons slipped away. No one actually saw them retreating, but their absence was noted by a few of the more observant guardsmen, in particular Dalin, who had a perplexed look on his face. "Hold," he called, making a gesture with his hand. "Make sure each of them is properly dead before we move on." His squad moved through the battlefield, pumping las-fire into every Necron they could find. Erif stood beside him, and noting the look on his face.

"What's the matter?" He said, looking around for the cause of his friends perplexion. Dalin shivered.

"There's some foul magic at work with these things. We've seen it before. Every time we start to win, they just vanish into the air. I want to know how." Erif shrugged, uncaring of how his enemy vanished after a battle.

"Does it matter? We have them on the ropes. I say we press on, and figure it out later." Dalin grimaced uncertainly, but then shook his head, clearing it of doubt.

"You're right, win first, learn later." Dalin turned to his men and raised his hand. "To the Temple!" The men cheered and moved forward, stepping over the mechanical corpses that littered their path. There was no resistance as the main army moved past the barricade. A grim silence had fallen over the guard, silence in a main base normally meant traps and ambushes; so far, they had discovered none. Moving further past the barricade, the size of the Necron war-machine was apparent. Huge pipes rented the surrounding nature, belching a cocktail of pollutants into the atmosphere, laying a large, dark, shadow upon the scene. Erif and Dalin moved further in, neither noting, nor caring about the sinister darkness. Weaving through the pipes, and with the army at their back, they made for the temple, with Erif on point. A young private held up his hand and gestured to Dalin.

"Sir," he said, his face white with fear. "It's the Imperator, they have a message for you. Dalin moved over to the soldier and grabbed the comm.

"This is Dalin, Imperator, what's the message?"

"Dalin, the battle up here is nearly lost, and we can't cover you for much longer, get inside that temple and blow them all to hell. This is our only chance."

"Roger that, Imperator, may the emperor be with you."

"And with you. Imperator out."

Dalin looked away from the private and switched his comm to the command channel.

"This is Dalin, everyone move to the temple at once, our window is shrinking, over and out." Like a tsunami, the men surged forward as one, moving to the temple. Dalin turned to Erif. "Alright, Erif, how do we get in?"

"Follow me." Erif took them around the temple to its main access. Inside was dark and cold, with the same machine coils he had seen before lining its walls. Torchlight didn't reveal much of anything, but still they moved cautiously. The tunnels were long and winding, but they encountered no resistance. Any door they came to opened up automatically, as they plunged deep into the temple.

Erif stopped. Ahead of him was the huge metal door with the hydraulics that he and Sam had entered all that time ago. Again, it opened to them without apparent provocation. He, and several other squads that had followed him, moved inside. Elsewhere, the other parts of the army were arming their bombs, and making ready to destroy the structure. Inside was much as how he remembered it, except there was now a slight green light. Erif looked around, feeling that cold knife like feeling from before. He took a few deep breaths, and turned to Dalin. "This is it; this is where Sam died." Dalin nodded, and indicated to another soldier to prepare the explosives.

"Let's not stand on ceremony," Dalin said, peering around the room. "Set the explosives, and let's be out of here." The men moved into position, placing the bombs and setting the timers. Erif walked alone, shining his light over the pods. Inside each of them was another Necron.

Dormant, he thought. Thank the emperor. He continued to walk past the pods, the images of his memory flashing past him. He came to the throne/dais, and shone his torch upon it. Sitting on it, with one hand on the side of his face, recoupment, and motionless was another Necron. It made no movement, and did not rise, so he paid it no mind. Just another machine. He did, however, move to its side, looking at the pad next to its throne. He did not understand the strange markings, but where there was normally green, there was a flashing red text. Perhaps some kind of failure? Erif shrugged internally. He turned back to the men, who had just finished placing the bomb, when a dry rasp cut through the air. Erif jolted, and looked for the sound. His vision came to the emplacement upon the throne. A small green light could be seen in its eyes. Its neck twisted, and the head rose. Erif stepped back and readied his weapon. The green eyes flickered to his, and held them in an ancient stare.

"Welcome." It said in low Gothic. The men all readied their weapons and aimed at the now active Necron. "I have been watching you for some time, across the stars and time, I have watched your progress. Now you have finally arrived." Its voice was hard, and mechanical, and reverberated across the great room. "I will congratulate you on your victories I am truly surprised." Dalin stepped over to Erif, keeping his weapon trained on the Necron.

"What manner of creature are you that would congratulate others on its defeat?" The Necron dropped its head and laughed.

"One who has already secured a larger victory. You may destroy my tomb and my warriors, but you have done nothing to stop my larger goal. You will leave this place a victor, but, in the grand-scheme of things, you have already lost." Dalin growled.

"You will explain."

"We were close, so close, but fortune did not favour us, this time. We were but a few, too many dreamers. They would not awaken, and we could not salvage the dead. I will congratulate you on destroying my warriors. Normally I simply would have had them repaired and back fighting in moments, but I had to rely on our personal systems to do so. It was too slow, and too inefficient. I knew it was only a matter of time between complete loss, or total victory. So, I made a plan. You will destroy this place, and my people within it, but you will leave the planet to find my fleet already gone. Your superiors will say you've won, but you are already doomed." He cackled dryly and raised his head, piercing Dalin's eyes with his own. "We will find more of our kind, and then we will begin the work. We will sweep aside any who oppose us, and enslave those who would be our ally. You have lost." Erif strode forward, and pointed his gun directly at the Necron's head.

"Not much of an army without a leader." He pulled the trigger. The las-fire bounced off some invisible field and melted a hole in the floor. The Necron laughed again.

"That poultry weapon cannot harm me."

Dalin showed him the bomb.

"Do you think this will do it?" The Necron laughed again.

"Almost certainly, but, like you said, what is an army without a leader?" He turned his head, listening to some inner voice. As I prophesied, my fleet has disengaged. Your main ship: The Scutum, caused far more casualties than I accounted for with its little maneuverer, I will not risk any more ships, I need all of them." He turned to Erif, and seemed to smile. "I guess we'll see each other some other day. Farewell." A dark shade swooped over the Necron's body, and, in a moment, he was gone. Erif stepped back and shook himself. He turned to Dalin and shrugged.

"Arm the bombs. Let's get the hell out of here"

The Necron fleet moved away from the planet, each had been given a specific location to search for other Tomb-Worlds. The Imperial fleet moved to intercept, but they were not fast enough. One by one, the Necron ships disappeared into the dark.

On the bridge of the Imperator a young man wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hell of a fight, men. Let's pick up the boots on the ground and find out where those bastards are heading."

The men stood outside the barricade and watched for the last moment. The trail of pollutants put a dark scar across the sun, and singed the men's nostrils. Dalin looked at his chronometer and began to count.

"Five" Erif looked up at the sky, watching as their fleet began to dispatch carrier craft to ferry them to the ships above.

"Four." He looked back at his time fighting, seeing the faces of the dead and injured. He came to Sam's face, and he sighed.

"Three."

I tried, Sam, I really tried. I killed so many, but they will come back.

"Two."

Erif sat on the ground and looked towards the temple. But I'll be ready, and I'll kill a lot more. I'll do it for you, Sam, and for all the others.

"One."

I'll kill them all.

A shockwave raced across the scene, blowing back low hanging clouds and throwing up dust, the sound shattered the air and rolled far away. A huge plume of fire and dust went up. The men cheered and fired their guns in the air. Erif joined in with the mirth, firing his gun up in the air well. He grinned and laughed hard. I promise you, Sam, I'll kill them all.

EPILOUGE

Dalin's log. The war is over, and we have won. The Necron forces were routed and we have achieved total victory. Though many were lost, and much was destroyed, we stand firm in our resolution and bravery.

Addendum: My friend, Erif, still seems to have found little resolution in his endeavour, and has fallen into a melancholy over our inability to destroy the Necron leader. I fear that we may get another chance, before those metal monsters rust to death.