Saeva Abyssi Chapter 18

The assault squads advanced rapidly, moving along the dim narrow corridors with surety and aggression. They advanced by combat squads, securing each corner and junction of the Dark Eldar craft in turn as they advanced. At their head Chaplain Wrethan strode with his skull helm held high, Crozius shining with power and with his Rosarius hanging around his neck on a golden chain.

Slightly behind him strode Sergeant Lorath, with his lightning claws extended and glimmering with deadly power. He was alert and ready for action and yet slightly off edge. The strangeness of the alien craft disturbed him; there were none of the bulky pipes or cables common to human ships nor any shrines to the Emperor. Instead the walls were smooth and made from some odd mix of glass and bone, the floor did not vibrate from the thunder of plasma drives and strangest of all there seemed to be no crew present.

Lorath was used to ships that required thousands of crewmen to operate and this absence made him curl his lip in disgust. "Where is everybody?" he snarled.

Chaplain Wrethan replied, "Eldar craft are notorious for having skeleton crews, there are not enough of their race left to properly man their fleet. Only the most vital locations will be manned, the bridge and whatever passes for an Engineerium."

"Good job too," growled Lorath, "The less of the Xenos in the galaxy the better."

"Yes," replied Wrethan, "The Divine Emperor has decreed there is only room for one species to dominate this galaxy and that species is Humanity."

Lorath agreed wholeheartedly but there was one thing that nagged at him and he said, "Then how can it be that humans have occasionally fought beside the Eldar?"

Wrethan replied, "We sometimes share a common enemy, but that does not make us allies. The one certain thing about the Eldar is that they will betray any alliance as soon as it suits them. The sooner the Eldar go extinct the sooner mankind will be free of their perfidious treachery."

Lorath understood and quoted, "The enemy of my enemy is a problem for later."

Suddenly from up ahead one of the Assault Marines started waving them forward and as they approached they saw that he stood outside a large hatch. There was no sign of foes so they peered inside and were horrified by what they saw. Beyond the hatch were long lines of black cages, each one inhabited by a broken and bleeding body. There were men and women of all ages and walks of life, aliens and twisted amalgams of all three. The one thing the prisoners all had in common was that they were broken, bodies mutilated and desecrated by a hideous inventiveness that delighted in the degradation of others. It was not just their bodies that were ruined; their minds were too, for not one being looked up as the Marines entered. They sat still and drooled, oblivious to their surroundings, no longer able to comprehend anything beyond their next torture.

"Prisoners," gasped Lorath pulling up short, "We did not anticipate prisoners, what do we do?"

Wrethan declared, "Despatch them quickly."

Lorath was surprised to hear that but he wasn't shocked for the galaxy was as a dark place, still killing non-combatants out of hand did not agree with the Storm Herald's code. He felt someone should protest and said, "Father Wrethan, is that necessary?"

Wrethan sternly said, "This is not a rescue mission, we cannot be slowed by weaklings."

Lorath said, "But Captain Toran would want us to spare civilian casualties."

Wrethan stepped closer and placed a gauntlet on the Sergeant's pauldron saying, "Lorath, look at them, look into their eyes. They are too far gone, there's nothing left to salvage here, the Dark Eldar have destroyed them to the core. The best thing we can do for these people is to end their misery and send their souls to the Divine Emperor."

Lorath understood and nodded, there was nothing else to be done and they had a mission to complete, so there was no point wasting time hand-wringing. If this had to be done then best it was done swiftly and surely, better to get the job done and move on. Lorath waved the marines forward and they drew combat blades as they opened the cages one by one, then they dispatched the prisoners with swift thrusts. Lorath personally worked his way up the cages bloodying his Lightning claws with innocent blood. It was the work of but a minute to empty the slave pens, yet the deed sent Lorath's anger surging and his contempt for the Xenos grew to staggering heights. He put down the last innocent then snarled, "The Dark Eldar will pay for this, my wrath will not be sated until they are all dead."

"Good," declared Wrethan, "Hold onto that anger and hone it to a keen edge, keep it ready until the moment is right. Now we've wasted enough time here, move out Storm Heralds."

With weapons held ready the Assault squads headed back into the narrow corridors. They proceeded higher and higher, seeking out the craft's bridge. Lorath led from the front, his anger seething at what he had seen below. The Imperium held that the existence of the alien was a crime in itself but the depravity he had witnessed only made their eradication more righteous. He wanted to rip them to shreds; he wanted to make them pay for what they had done.

It was then that they first encountered the crew, a handful of Dark Eldar emerging from a side room right before them. The Xenos gasped in surprise to see the intruders and reached for splinter pistols at their waists. The Storm Heralds didn't give them time to draw the weapons, gunning them down with a hail of bolt-pistol fire. The mass-reactive rounds caught the frail bodies and blew them apart in showers of thin, watery blood.

Lorath called, "We just set off every alarm on the ship!"

Wrethan cried, "To the bridge, double time!"

At a flat sprint, the Assault squads raced to the heart of the ship, passing every turn without pausing. Soon they saw an ornate arch up ahead, which could only be the bridge hatch. Before the arch a knot of Dark Eldar were hastily trying to erect a barricade, only to gasp in shock when the Astartes appeared. They dropped whatever they were carrying and raised Splinter rifles to unleash a volley. "Charge!" cried Wrethan raising his Crozius and as one the Assault Marines raised their chainswords and leapt forward. Lorath was at the heart of the formation and he thundered forwards, slamming his boots down hard on the deck with every footstep. He felt splinter rounds pinging off his amour, each impact trying to force him back but his weight and inertia kept him barrelling forwards. Stray bolt rounds flew back in return but the intensity of the incoming fire increased as they closed and Lorath saw Brother Orthelo go down, a long jagged splinter protruding from his eye lens.

Ahead of him Chaplain Wrethan was leading the way, surrounded by flashes of light as his Rosarius' Conversion field dissipated the incoming shots. The Dark Eldar saw him advancing and concentrated their firepower, seeking to inundate him in a storm of jagged splinters. The barrage was devastating and yet the Armour of Faith held firm and Wrethan waded through the storm unharmed. With Wrethan leading the way the Assault squads closed the distance and then they leapt into combat. The fight descended into a hacking, heaving scrum of armour and spilt blood. Razor sharp daggers scored ceramite plates while roaring chainswords swung wide in response, sundering flimsy alien armour with ease.

The Dark Eldar fought with deadly grace and unerring skill, dancing around blows and darting forward and back to strike weak points. The Space Marines for their part fought with brutal force and unstoppable momentum, breaking delicate bones with crushing might and tearing blades.

Lorath was in the heart of the fight, his lightning claws already stained with Xeno blood. He hacked left and right, each blow cutting down a lithe figure and leaving steaming offal in his wake. A Dark Eldar came at him with a vicious short sword but a sweep of his claws tore off its arms and left it bleeding out on the deck. Another swung at him with a bayonet on its splinter rifle but Lorath stabbed his claws right into its face and its head crumpled around the pointed blades. The fighting was frantic and close, yet the Space Marines were built for exactly this kind of warfare and their sheer brutal might was unstoppable.

Just as Lorath thought victory was in their grasp he saw a dark blur emerge from the arch leading to the bridge, leaping into the fight with a flashing long-sword sweeping around it. Lorath saw that Brother Farell didn't even have time to react before the blade snicked out and separated his head from his shoulders and then on the return stroke it took the sword arm off Brother Kasich. Lorath reacted on pure instinct, throwing himself at the blurring foe with a cry of rage on his lips. His claws thrashed the air before him and he screamed as he hacked and tore everything before him. The enemy however was not cut down by his strikes, instead dancing around the blows, always managing to be where the claws were not. So fast was his opponent that he could barely see it, only catching glimpses of a tall helm and almond shaped eye lenses crested by a purple plume.

Lorath roared and swung wildly at his foe, but the Dark Eldar dodged left then swung in with a blow across the mid-riff. Lorath snarled as he felt the wicked blade part his armour and transhuman blood flowed. He lumbered about and tried to catch the Dark Eldar in a bear hug but his opponent ducked under the desperate attack and cut again from the other side, carving apart the power armour like tissue paper. Lorath roared in frustration but he just could not catch his foe and could not resist as the Dark Eldar spun behind him and slashed across the back of his knees. Lorath crashed to the deck as his legs collapsed beneath him and his foe closed in for the kill. The sergeant was galled by the skill of his foe, disgusted by the inhuman grace on display and the precision of the blows. But what really stoked his anger was the memory of the lost souls he had witnessed below and the knowledge that this one must have played its part in the circus of horrors.

Lorath snarled in anger and struck out with his claws, the foe swayed back expecting a last blow but that was not the Sergeant's intent. Lorath did not strike upwards, he went down instead and rammed his claws through the Dark Eldar's boot. One blade went right through the Xeno's foot, pinning it to the deck and the alien screamed as it was transfixed in place. Lorath didn't let it cry for long, ramming his other hand upwards to disembowel the Dark Eldar in a spray of blood and entrails. The Dark Eldar collapsed to the deck and Lorath rose, his transhuman body already closing his wounds and reknitting torn tendons.

The Sergeant looked about and saw the fight was over, the frail Xeno no match for the might of the Space Marines. The surviving Astartes were gathering themselves together and clearing their weapons of gore. He saw Chaplain Wrethan performing the Last Rites over the body of Brother Farell, without an Apothecary present the sacred Gene-seed would have to be collected at a later time. Lorath knew that the Chaplain would not appreciate being interrupted so gave a moment of respect for the dead and then said, "This must have been the Xeno Commander, the bridge is undefended now."

"Good," declared Wrethan, "Secure the stations then sweep the rest of the craft, clear out every compartment. Then signal the Thunderchild and tell them that this ship is ours."