Legends of the Smoke Jaguars Chapter 235
Among the twisting branches they shot, moving at a rapid pace between tangled boughs. The turns came and went at random, swelling and shrinking without any rhyme or reason. Vendrick's transhuman mind tried to discern a pattern, to chart the knotted routes, but came up short. If there was a scheme to the maze it was beyond human understanding. Forethought was useless here, there was only reflex and instinct and speed, insane speed.
"Slow down!" Vendrick snapped as they hurtled under a low lintel.
"We won't survive by being slow!" Athra retorted.
"Damn you alien, I'll never get a clean shot at this speed!"
"Then put that gene-bulked brain to use and quit yapping!"
"If I didn't know you valued your life so much I'd swear you were trying to get us killed!"
"Life without risk is boring!" Athra grinned as he gunned the throttle and accelerated.
Vendrick was forced to hang on to the weapons stand as the Vyper corkscrewed through a series of tight twists. Up and down lost all meaning as they pirouetted through. A mortal would be throwing up by now and even an Astartes' physiology was having trouble keeping up. Vendrick braced his feet firmly and clung on, feeling the vibrations of the anti-grav quivering through the vehicle. His Censoria was feeding him information on the molecular structure of the craft and the energy streams running through it, but he did not need the distraction. He gripped the scatter laser tight and watched for danger, but when it came he was still too slow.
A flicker in the corner of the eye and Hythraal was there, hurtling around a blind turn at astonishing speed. He was riding one-handed, further cementing his ferocious skills as he shot towards them. Vendrick tried to bring his weapon to bear but before he could draw a bead the jetbike was past them, and then he felt pain in his shoulder. Vendrick's brain took a long second to register he'd been slashed by Hythraal's sword, the point expertly angling over his pauldron to penetrate his gorget. Diceramite had parted without resistance, and his blood flowed freely and he hadn't even seen the blow, so fast was it.
"Wretched dolt, shoot back!" Athra yelled as he dove into a blind turn.
"Give me a clean target!" Vendrick snapped as he twisted his weapon left and right.
"If you don't act faster we're done for."
"You worry about driving; I'll worry about shooting!"
He dialled up his Apothex to the limit, pushing his body to the peak of potential. Exotic chemicals heightened his awareness and sharpened his speed, but he knew he was tempting death. His brain would cook if he maintained this level for more than a minute, his hearts would burst and his veins tear themselves apart. Too much and he would explode like a demolition charge, a fate he had no wish to encounter.
They jerked right into a forked branch and Vendrick saw a blur coming at them again. He threw his aim left, sinews screaming and ligaments quivering at the intensity of motion. Time was elongated in his vision but even so Hythraal was fast, his abhorrent form growing by the millisecond. Vendrick had no time to check his aim, he could only squeeze the trigger and spray wild. Scatter laser shots peppered the walls, hitting everything in sight and one lone ray struck the jetbike, sending Hythraal skidding sideways. Almost he went into the wall, an impact that would spell doom at this speed, but at the last instant he recovered, flying sideways under their Vyper and away.
"He's good," Athra admitted.
"Get us after him," Vendrick barked as time returned to normal.
"He's long gone," Athra hissed, "We have to press on."
"We need to kill him."
"Then shoot straight next time."
Into the tangled maze they hurtled, jinking left and right at insane speeds. Eldar reflexes were sharp indeed, and even Vendrick had trouble keeping up with Athra's manoeuvres, but then his brain was aching. The Apothex took its toll and he was sagging. Such intense usage drained him, leaving his tongue harsh as sandpaper and his eyeballs throbbing. He could count his teeth by the spiking pain in his gums while his fingernails ached. Vendrick couldn't push himself so hard again, lest he destroy himself.
A flash of bright light through the gaps in the branches announced someone else hadn't been so lucky. Vendrick snapped his head around and called, "Who was that?!"
"Brother Yesuf," the vox crackled, "He's on us!"
"Where?!" Vendrick called.
"Everywhere, we can't track him!"
"Bring him to us, we can take him!"
"Can't see a path... can't..."
A second brighter flash blazed through the gaps and the vox went dead. Brother Yesuf of the Star Dragons and his gunner Perizan of the Crimson Sabres were lost. Two more Censors dead on this accursed world, two more noble heroes cut apart by infernal witchery. Vendrick gritted his teeth as he let go of the scatter laser with one hand and took up his maul.
"What are you doing?" Athra called.
"He's coming back for us," Vendrick growled.
"You're sure?"
"He won't let us go, that wretch..."
Before he could complete the sentence a flash came out of nowhere. A gap in the wall barely large enough to fit a jetbike was suddenly filled with an oncoming rush of engine and blade, as Hythraal appeared, already swinging for his head. Vendrick instinctively swung to meet him as Athra rolled right. Diresword sheared a funnel into the side of the Vyper, but in return Vendrick's maul clipped the lone antler, snapping a piece of wraithbone off. The encounter was over before he'd even registered it, the pair driving away from each other, but the effects were plain. The Vyper was juddering, a troubling shiver making it quiver and drop alarmingly.
"Pull up!" Vendrick snarled.
"He's hit the impellor!" Athra shouted.
"Meaning?!"
"Many things and none of them good!"
"What do we do?"
"We need clear space, hold on!"
Athra pushed the nose down and the Vyper dove into a gap leading out of the tangled branches into the clear air below the maze. Vendrick felt weightless for an instant as they plunged groundward but then the Vyper's nose rose and he felt gravity return. They were clear, circling below the maze, giving him a clear shot in all directions. But he noted they weren't alone. Another Vyper had broken free, Vitcos and Tachna, and they were heading right for the exterior wall. What was their plan, to act as bait, if so it was foolish but Vendrick had underestimated the Smoke Jaguars.
Tachna braced his feet and from his cyclone launcher spewed a hail of missiles. Shaped warheads struck the wall in a broad spread and blossomed into fire. Wraithbone exploded outwards, allowing daylight to stream in and suddenly there was a gaping hole in the side of the arena. Vendrick gasped at the sight as Vitcos swung about, circling back towards them.
"The taste of sweet air calls us to flee!" Vitcos yelled.
"Retreat from battle?!" Vendrick snarled, "Never!"
"This arena is the Eldar's dominion, face him on our chosen ground shall we!"
Vendrick barked, "Censors never yield, relentless in attack, relentless in defence!"
But Vitcos rejoined, "Smoke Jaguars do, when we must! You can stay and die for fool's pride, the Sons of Sedaxus are leaving!"
Vitcos skidded about again and hurled his Vyper for the opening, joined a heartbeat later by four more plunging out of the maze. The Smoke Jaguars had no use for battles of attrition or vainglorious last stands, and chose to seek more favourable ground. Their doctrines proving too divergent for the Censors after all. Vendrick cursed them, even as the bitter mote of satisfaction bubbled at being proven right. They were too craven to ever be true Censors, the Smoke Jaguars had fallen short.
"Run you cowards!" Vendrick cursed, "We shall fight as Marines should."
"Actually, I think discretion is the better part of valour," Athra chimed in.
"What?!" Vendrick blinked.
"Try to slow Hythraal down for me would you?" Athra jeered, "Goodbye!"
In a blur of motion Athra leapt from his seat, a standing jump like a spring unleashed. He shot upwards and snagged a Smoke Jaguar Vyper with one hand, hanging from the blunt wing like a trailing flag. The machine didn't seem troubled by his extra weight as it shot into the daylight and Athra made a rude gesture with his free hand as he fled, leaving Vendrick to die.
The Censor grabbed a handhold as the Vyper rolled over, sinking at forty-five degrees for the ground. He tried to pull himself forward to reach the controls but was unable to shift his feet without falling. Too high, even for a Space Marine, he might live but the impact would cripple him for days, he'd be as good as dead. All Vendrick could do was hang on as he plunged to his death, that and heap invectives on the rank cowards who abandoned him.
"Brother-Sergeant, jump!" a voice roared. Vendrick's head snapped up and he beheld Belphian and Dhulak bearing down, their Vyper near vertical as they raced to save him. Dhulak reached out a single hand and Vendrick saw one chance to live. He pushed clear of the dying machine and flew over nothing, his open hand reaching for life itself. An instant over the abyss, certainty that the end had come, but then Dhulak's palm slapped into his and they clasped tight. Vendrick's injured shoulder screamed as his weight hit hard then his feet smacked into the narrow floor and they clung tight together.
"Hold on!" Belphian yelled as he heaved back. The Vyper's nose rose slowly, encumbered by their weight, while the dying one plunged away. A swift impact and a sharp burst of light described what should have been Vendrick's grave, but then they came level, heading for the large hole in the wall. Two more Vypers appeared, chasing their flight, the Censors running from the foe.
"What are you doing?!" Vendrick snarled, "We must turn and engage!"
"I think you hit your head; we cannot win!" Belphian snapped.
"I never thought you so soft!" Vendrick barked.
"Wake up!" Dhulak shouted into his face, "We can't match Hythraal's antics in the air. We must fight him on our terms!"
"Follow the Smoke Jaguars, never!" Vendrick howled, "I will flay the skin off your backs for this!"
"You can chastise us later, but there must be a later," Dhulak shouted.
Into the daylight they shot, the stark horizon beckoning. The Smoke Jaguars had already vanished, no trace of them left, leaving the Censors to find their own way, but they were not alone. Behind two more machines followed, racing for freedom, but they were denied. Hythraal appeared from nowhere, diving onto them like a swooping hawk. He dove past one machine and his sword cleaved it in twain, sending Brother Wythan of the Sable Swords and Crettar of the Iron Lords into a death spiral. Another slash on the rising loop sent Ingerad of the Rampagers and Justrar of the Brazen Claws out of control. They slammed into the wall just beside the opening and the explosion claimed both their lives.
Hythraal shot upwards, trapped within the dome by his manoeuvre. It would take precious seconds to come about and give chase, time for the overloaded Vyper to make good its escape. Belphian drove among the city towers, putting as much distance between them as the foe as he could. Vendrick had time for one last look back and knew this was not over. Hythraal would come after them, he must. Shameful retreat hung over Vendrick as they tore off, the last three Censors, all alone in a world of enemies.