FicWad

Karel smashed into the ground, leaving a small crater where he landed, behind him, Borvus and Vance landed, the scream of their jump packs dying. Karel scanned from left to right with his bolter, checking to make sure the area was clear. behind him, his battle brothers did the same.
after a moment, Karel spoke into his vox bead.
"area secure, you are clear to proceed."
"affirmative." came Commissar Kane's reply.
a minute later, five ragged looking guardsmen, led by the hatless Ivor Kane, jogged round the corner, followed by two hive gangers, both of them women.
Karel stood up, and gazed at the massive structure in front of him.
the Arbites Precinct stood taller than any of the other buildings in the district. it's tall, sloping walls were dotted with sculpted skulls and leering gargoyles. the structure was entirely black, and was large enough to house a strike cruiser.
gun ports were placed in various positions along the walls of the precinct.
in front of them stood a tall adamantium door, a formidable barrier denying access to the intruders.
Karel's critical eye spotted two arches above the door where stained glass windows would once have been. pointing this out to Borvus, the two then outlined their idea to the assembled group.
"it will take time." began Karel, "but it will get us in, and already at a vantage point."
"very well." replied Commissar Kane, "it's probably the only way in."
Karel, Borvus and Vance started systematically jumping to and from the high windows, ferrying the guardsmen inside.
Karel couldn't help but chuckle as Commissar Kane screamed, obviously hating heights.
as he set the Commissar down on the floor inside the Precinct, Kane quicky dusted himself off, turning to Karel.
"i just don't think it's natural for a man to fly, i mean, in a Valkyrie is alright, but this..."
"well, Commissar, i think half the district knows how you feel now." replied Karel heartily.
"sorry." muttered the commissar as Karel stepped back through the arch.
the hive gangers were the last to come, and Crystal rather enjoyed flying over the district, not entirely uncomfortable in the space marines firm grasp.

*

Commissar Ivor Kane watched as his men spread out throughout the precinct. it had origionally been designed to hold convicts and criminals, and also as a base of operations for the adeptus arbites, local law enforcers who usually dealt with riots.
"sir." called Egant from a nearby room, "i've found the armoury."
Kane followed the sound of Egant's voice, gathering the guardsmen to him.
he entered a large room, the walls were lined with weapons of all shapes and sizes. racks of lighter weapons and ammunition filled the interior of the armoury.
"we've hit the jackpot, lads." laughed Kane.
they would be able to hold out here for a long time.

*

Karel stood in the main hallway of the Arbites Precinct. the hall was wide and spacious. they had demolished most of the passageways in the upper levels, to prevent the orks from finding other ways in. they had left one route standing, the main stairwell up to the roof. if things got desparate, they would have to run for it.
Karel watched as Vance, along with the five guardsmen and the commissar, started setting up makeshift defences, most of which were made from rubble and spare girders. Karel was surprised no one had looted the place yet. then the idea came to him that no one had managed to get in. the Precinct's reputation as an indomitable bastion was as much a defence as any wall could be.
Karel turned as Borvus marched up to him, flanked by Crystal and Crimson.
"the demolition is complete?" asked Karel.
"indeed, though we don't have many melta charges left." replied Borvus.
Karel grimaced. there was no shortage of weapons in the Precinct, though melta charges would be a valuable asset.
"sir." called Commissar Kane from the makeshift defences, "could you give us a hand moving these gun turrets?"
Borvus moved to help the Commissar, picking up a heavy bolter turret that two guardsmen would struggle to lift.
Crystal tapped Karel's shoulder guard.
"captain?"
"yes?" replied Karel.
"do you have any idea how to wire up Servitors?"
"no." said Karel curiously, "why?"
"because me and Crimson found a room of about twenty of them, and we thought they might be useful."
Karel turned to the labouring group and raised his voice.
"does anyone know how to wire servitors?"
Sergeant Egant stuck his hand up.
"i've had some experience with the buggers, sir."
"good." replied Karel, "take Borvus and these two here. show them how to wire up Servitors and select some weapons for them to use."
"right away, sir." nodded Egant, and set off at a jog, following Crystal and Crimson to wherever the servitors might be, with Borvus's earth shaking bulk in tow.

*

as morning dawned over Elux city, the occupants of the lower city all ceased their fighting and squabbling, running in fear as they heard the mighty war cry echo over the city. it was then answered by other war cries of the same manner. it was a terrifying call to arms, shouted by things so brutal that even the depths of hell would spit them back out.
"WAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
as the savage call to arms died, hundreds, if not thousands of green skinned, ape like brutes, clad in ramshackle armour clumsily cobbled together, surged from their hiding places and started converging on one group, larger than the rest. in the midst of the great horde, three large, mechanical beasts lumbered, crushing those too slow or too dumb to get out of the way.
they had stumpy, piston driven legs and long mechanical arms with slicing claws on the end. the bodies were nothing more than cylindrical compartments painted with go faster stripes and barbaric war paintings.
at the head of the procession lumbered a massive ork, with a ridiculously small Commissar's hat balanced on top of his head.
they swept through the lower city in a great tide, smashing aside entire buildings in their hooligan battle frenzy, all the while roaring one word, over and over again.
"orks, orks, orks!"
nothing could stand in their way, and they would raid the entire city until they found a way off the planet.

*

Karel knelt before a small statuette of the emperor, carved into a wall support.
"my divine emperor, greatest among mankind, may your strength be with us today. these men and women have fought and bled together, and now the end is near, i pray that you watch over them, and see them delivered unto their destination, wherever that may be."
he bent and kissed the feet of the statuette.
slowly he rose to his feet, and even though he was sure that the blessings of the emperor would go with them, he couldn't help thinking that his mentor, Fangas, would have been better prepared for this.

*

Sergeant Egant continued labouring over how to wire the servitors, more guardsmen joining as they finished preparing the defences, but Crystal wasn't paying much attention.
she was watching Karel, praying before the statuette. as he stood up, Crystal swore she saw a look of sorrow in his eyes, just for a second. she turned to Borvus, who was memorising everything said by the sergeant. she nudged him slightly, and said in a quiet voice.
"Karel seems troubled."
"how so?" replied Borvus.
"just look at him." she said, pointing to the space marine captain.
"ah," said Borvus, "i know what ails him."
"then what is it?" asked Crystal curiously.
Borvus took a deep intake of breath before replying.
"it is difficult for Karel, coming back here." he began, "you see, last time he was here, his former captain, a very close friend, died saving this city. Karel feels guilty because he couldn't save him."
"so he feels guilty because of that?"
"we all do." said Borvus, "captain fangas's death was a blow to us all, save for Vance, he was here after Fangas's time, but Karel was hit hardest. sometimes i worry that he thinks he can't fill Fangas's role."
Crystal fell silent, feeling sympathetic for the space marine.
it hadn't occured to her that these giants of war could feel loss and longing, just like normal people. she had always assumed that they were there to protect the general populace, and for nothing more. now she saw that they too wept for the dead. silently she wondered whether they ever thought about the life they could have if they hadn't chosen to become space marines.

*

Borvus finished wiring up another servitor and watched proudly as it whirred into life. the things resembled humans, but the various mechanical arms and trailing wires told him otherwise.
Borvus picked up a heavy bolter and thrust it into the thing's hand, then sent it off to where Egant was giving them voice identification circuits.
"how many is that, Egant?" he called to the Sergeant.
"twenty, sir, all good to go."
"send ten to man the walls, keep ten down here to man the defences."
"aye, sir."
Borvus walked over to Karel, who was overseeing the distribution of ammo and weapons amongst the guardsmen.
Borvus stood beside Karel for a while, then said.
"the girl cares about you, Karel."
"who, crystal?" asked Karel, turning to Borvus.
"aye, i don't know what it is, maybe she feels like she owes you something, maybe she just feels she's bonded with you."
"you think i might get emotional over her, don't you?" Karel asked, his eyes narrowed.
"i'm just saying, it might be for the best for her not to get too hopeful that she might see you again after this."
Karel nodded.
both turned as Vance strode over to them.
"the defences are finished, and Sergeant Egant has dispatched servo skulls to scout the surrounding area."
"good." replied Karel, "then now we send out the transmissions."

*

thirty minutes later, the defenders, minus the servitors, stood in an ancient looking control room, wires and plugs, as well as various computer panels, trailed over the ground, leading to a dusted off vox unit. as Egant finished wiring up the last panel on the unit, it crackled into life. Egant and Commissar Kane busied themselves tuning it into a general frequency. as soon as they had one, they stood back, allowing Karel, who had been announced the groups unnofficial leader, to speak for the group.
"transmitter, vox unit zero dash one four two dash four, reciever, unknown vox unit. Brother Captain Karel speaking. we are currently holed up in the old Arbites Precinct, our defences are ready, however we are not sure how long we might be able to hold. orks will shortly be advancing on our position. ariel retrieval is required, and strong numbers to repel the orks.
whoever recieves this, please mobilise as quickly as possible."
Karel switched off the vox unit, then turned to the assembled group.
"what now?" asked Crystal.
"now we wait, and hope." Karel replied simply.

*

high in orbit above Culexa Primus, the warp opened, and the foul soup of raw creation spat out the Warp-Rider, freshly returned from holy Terra itself, known to antiquity as Earth. the Warp-Rider cut it's screamer engines, and the bright purple void that spat it into realspace closed, as though it never existed.
on the bridge of the Warp-Rider, Tech Priest Vakel ran as fast as he could to the command pulpit, where Inquisitor Lorelei Grey stood alongside an eight foot tall space marine.
he wore the black armour of the Deathwatch, with the left arm and shoulder guard gleaming silver. the right shoulder guard was yellow with a blood red rim, and the symbol of the Imperial Fists was emblazoned in the middle. a mechanical arm hung over his left shoulder, attached to the power plant on his back. Tech Marine Davrel rested his hands on the railing of the commanders pulpit, and Vakel's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the tech marine.
"Inquisitor Grey, we have recieved a vox from Captain Karel."
"hand it here." replied the Inquisitor.
after scanning through the vox communication, the Inquisitor turned to tech marine Davrel.
"Tech Marine, i trust the Dreadnought assembly line is prepared?"
"indeed it is, Inquisitor." replied the tech marine in a grating, half mechanical voice.
"then, i think it may be time, ready your battle brothers, and i think it may be time to awaken our venerable brother."
"i will see to it immediately." said the tech marine, turning and dissapearing into the bowels of the ship.
Lorelei turned to Vakel.
"Vakel, send a vox communication to Sergeant Major Benvard, tell him to ready twenty Valkyries and initiate a retrieval mission on the old Arbites Precinct."
Vakel turned and strode away, his pride slightly damaged from the sight of the Tech Marine standing in the command pulpit.

*

the green tide turned suddenly, spreding their wave of destruction in a new direction.
from the upper window of the Arbites Precinct, Karel saw the green tide on the horizon, and knew they had intercepted the vox message. around him, ten servitors were lined up along the windows, their weapons already loaded, the half flesh, half mechanical humaniods already searching for targets. beside him stood Borvus. both space marines were armed with Lascannons, the heavy weapons stood as tall as they did, yet they weighed next to nothing in the hands of the space marines.
"for the emperor, brother, and for Rogal Dorn!"
"may they watch over us, captain."
Karel sighted along the barrel of his Lascannon, picking out his first target.

*

below, on the ground floor of the Arbites Precinct, Commissar Ivor Kane lay flat on his stomach, both hands poised on the barrel of a plasma cannon. the heavy weapon was nigh on unmoveable, but with some luck, Ivor wouldn't have to move it.
five servitors were lined up behind the defences, along with his remaining guardsmen, their weapons poised. most had been armed with shotguns, as the weapons with longer range and more firepower had been taken by the space marines and servitors manning the walls. alongside him, brother Vance kneeled, a missile launcher clutched in his hand.
the hiva gangers and Sergeant Egant, along with the other five servitors, were holed up in secondary defences, ready to recieve them when they fell back.
Ivor felt a shiver run down his spine as he felt the earth shake from the sheer mass of pounding feet as the horde drew closer.

*

Karel fired, smiling as he felt the fearsome recoil of the Lascannon. the glowing red mass of lasfire sped towards the horde, and Karel chuckled slightly as he saw a massive chunk of the ork horde simply melted under the superheated charge. it didn't make much difference, the horde was so vast, but each alien that died was another victory for the imperium.
the servitors along the wall fired at once, firing different assortments of weapons into the midst of the orks. hundreds were blown apart by heavy calibur missiles, or disintegrated under superheated plasma charges. beside Karel, Borvus fired his own Lascannon, downing a knot of orks with large rocket launchers.
"a worthy shot, brother!" roared Karel over the fearsome roar of weapons fire.
Borvus nodded, a feral look in his eyes.
Karel sighted down the barrel of the Lascannon, and twitched slightly as he saw something that inspired hate in his heart. three mechanical beasts, akin to the one that had beaten him at the warehouse, stomped towards the Precinct in the midst of the horde. Karel changed his target, sighting one of the massive monstrosities. he heard the Lascannon whine as it built it's charge, then he jammed his finger down on the trigger, and let out a yell of victory as the construct disintegrated under the superheated Lasfire.
"now, that was worthy of the primarch's blessing." he muttered to himself.
he picked out another target, before realising the horde had reached the doors of the Precinct. then he saw a group of orks with missile launchers taking aim at their position.
he shook Borvus's shoulder.
"time to move, Brother."
they both dropped their Lascannons, the weapons would be no more use, and leapt over the railing, dropping to the main hallway of the Precinct far below.

*

Ivor watched as the two space marines dropped to the floor, each leaving cracks in the floor where they landed. they both then took up positions behind cover. a second later, the upper floor they had just been positioned on exploded, bathing them all in false sunlight.
a loud boom sounded on the door to the Precinct, followed by many other precussive booms. the doors weren't literally built to withstand an orbital barrage, but they were still sturdy.
Ivor charged up the plasma cannon as a claw shaped dent appeared in the door.

*

Sergeant Major Benvard stood on the landing platform of camp bayonet, in the upper reaches of Elux city. the glorious main canal ran beneath the landing platform. five valkyries were sat on the landing platform, their engines letting out a low pitched wine.
Benvard watched with pride as several units of guardsmen boarded the valkyries, twenty to each craft.
"this is Valkyrie three six nine, ready for dispatch."
"all clear, begin launch." Benvard yelled into his vox bead. he ran towards the valkyrie, leaping onto the rear ramp as the valkyrie lifted off from the ground.
he pulled himself into the troop compartment and slammed his fist on the button next to him. the ramp began to close.
"all valkyries, follow suit." he muttered into his vox bead, "rendevous point, Arbites Precinct, time til rendevous, two hours. may the emperor's blessing go with us."

*

the doors to the Precinct finally broke and hundreds of greenskins poured inside, spilling across the floor in a dirty green tide.
"open fire!" roared Ivor Kane.
the servitors opened fire, pouring fragmentation shells into the midst of the orks, downing several of the greenskins. the space marines opened fire, killing orks in their hundreds, bolter fire ripping through the ranks. the metallic bang of crudely made guns came from the ranks of the orks, and the defences were peppered with crudely made shells, but the innaccuracy of the orks, coupled with the tendancy of the ork weapons to blow up, meant that very little of the ork fire actually hit home.
Ivor fired the plasma cannon, blowing a massive hole in the ranks of the orks.
the servitors ducked behind cover as they reloaded their shotguns, and the orks seized their opportunity, surging forward towards the defences. the space marines spread their fire, whilst the guardsmen poured lasfire into the ranks of the enemy. Ivor pulled his trenchcoat back slightly, checking the melta bombs strapped to his chest. he looked around, making sure no one had noticed. he supposed he had known from the start that this would be his last mission.
"and i thought i'd live to see the end of my commission..." he muttered to himself.
he came back to himself as the plasma cannon beeped, signaling it had recharged.
"taste imperial justice, bastards!" he roared, taking aim at a large stomping construct that had just barged it's way into the Precinct.
the plasma cannon jammed suddenly, and Ivor realised he hadn't let it cool.
"shit." he muttered.
he watched as the foul construct barged into the defences, ripping apart three of his guardsmen in a beserk frenzy.
Ivor unclipped one of the melta charges from his chest and hit the activation rune, lobbing it as hard as he could towards the construct.
the ork construct exploded in a blazing ball of superheated fire, ripping up the surrounding orks with the power of a miniature sun.
Ivor unclipped another melta charge, attaching it to the side of his plasma cannon and hitting the activation rune.
"fall back!" he roared.
the guardsmen fell back in order, letting off bursts of lasfire as they went. the three massive space marines rolled into covering positions, peppering the advancing horde with bolter fire.
they sprinted into a smaller hall, at the opposite end was a staircase. debris and scraps of metal were piled up in makeshift defences. heavy bolter turrets were set up behind these, automatically set to fire on the orks heat signatures. Ivor dived behind the nearest defence, landing beside Sergeant Egant. Ivor unslung the lasgun from his shoulder, loading it in less than twelve seconds. twelve seconds was far to slow. Egant had a heavy bolter set up on a tri pod, meaning his ribs wouldn't break from the continuous pounding of the recoil. beside Egant crouched the two hive gangers. one weilded a shotgun, whilst the other, a red haired girl who looked slightly younger, crouched with a laspistol in either hand.
the two remaining guardsmen leapt behind the makeshift defences. Egant had a grim look on his face, and Ivor could tell he had been affected by the loss of nearly all his men.
shortly the three space marines barged in, pausing long enough to pull the heavy doors shut behind them.
suddenly a voice crackled over Ivor's vox bead.
"this is valkyrie three six nine, currently circling, prepare for extraction, make your way to the roof."
"noted." Ivor said curtly into his vox bead.
he smiled, standing up and shouted "lads and lasses, we're getting out of here!"
just as he finished the doors burst open and hundreds of orks burst in.

*

Karel backed away, firing bursts of bolter fire into the oncoming horde. the space marines, along with the heavy bolter turrets and servitors, were providing covering fire whilst the guardsmen and hive gangers made their way to the stairwell.
a shot flew wide over Karel's head, and he heard a cry of pain from behind him.

*

Crystal knelt, trying to cover up Crimson's wound as best she could, ripping off a piece of her trenchcoat and tying it around the girl's wounded shoulder. Crimson was losing conciousness fast. Crystal knew she couldn't lift the girl. looking over her shoulder, she saw Karel sprinting towards her.
"i've got her." he said gently, lifting Crimson and carrying her over one shoulder.
they made their way to the stairwell, covered by the heavy bolter turrets and servitors.
Karel pushed Crystal in front of him, forcing her to take the stairs two at a time. as the other two space marines dashed up the stairwell behind them, Crystal could hear the savage shout of the orks hurdling up the stairwell after them.

*

Ivor, being near the front of the procession, was first to reach the roof hatch at the top of the stairwell. he swore violently as he saw it needed a code to be opened.
he heard heavy footsteps behind him, and turned to see Karel carrying the red haired hive ganger over his shoulder and pushing the other one in front of him. shortly the other two space marines sprinted up the stairwell after him. they stood in a narrow corridor, the stairwell at one end and the roof hatch at the other.
"the door needs a code." he said, running to Karel.
Karel frowned, then looked over at Sergeant Egant.
"do you think you could rewire it?"
"given time, yes." replied the sergeant.
"then we'll give you time." said Karel, handing the limp hive ganger to the two remaining guardsmen.
the space marines took up covering positions, and Ivor rushed to stand with them.
"Commissar, you do your men proud." Karel said to Ivor.
"i'll defend my men to the last." Ivor replied simply.
Karel searched the man's eyes and saw no fear, no regret, just the grim acceptance of a man who knew his fate.
Karel wondered if the Commissar's sergeant knew.

*

Davrel smiled as an ancient and venerable figure stomped from the dreadnought assenbly line towards the drop pod bay.
"ready for rapid insertion." he said into his vox bead as the space marines boarded another drop pod.
"insertion to commence immediately." came a voice from the other end.
Davrel took his place in the drop pod between Corvis and Selenus. the doors of the drop pod hissed shut and both drop pods were launched into the vaccum of space.

*

a loud beeping noise came from the hatch as the lock disengaged. Egant put his weight against the hatch and swung it open, breathing in the cool air.
he swung his legs through the hatch, and reached down to pull the brown haired hive ganger through. they both reached in to recieve the red haired girl, then Egant walked some distance away, pulling out a flare as he did. standing a considerable distance away from the hatch, he pulled the pin from the flare and set it down, red smoke hissing out. looking up he saw a valkyrie bank and begin descending towards him.
Egant suddenly turned and ran back to the hatch, noticing that commissar Kane hadn't come through with the Guardsmen.

*

Ivor heard the sounds of orks yammering and shouting, growing ever closer. he turned to the space marines and said "go, i'll make my stand here."
the space marines nodded and made their way out through the hatch, only Karel remained behind.
suddenly, Egant leapt through the hole, running forward and grabbing Ivor's sleeve.
"let go, sergeant!" he ordered.
"no, sir, i can't let you do this!" Egant yelled back defiantly.
Ivor turned and put his hand on the sergeant's shoulder.
"i'm getting old, sergeant, i want to die a hero's death."
the sergeant's grip loosened on Ivor's sleeve, and Ivor was surprised to see a tear leak from the sergeant's eye.
"don't forget you still owe me that drink..." Egant whispered hoarsely, releasing his grip on Ivor's sleeve. Ivor nodded and said "when have i ever kept my promises?"
Egant chuckled slightly, then turned and climbed back through the hatch.
Karel went to follow, but paused just before the hatch.
"you do your regiment proud, Commissar." he said.
"tell the lads that they were twice the men i could've been."
Karel nodded, then hauled himself up through the hatch, slamming it shut behind him.
Ivor turned, and his eyes narrowed as he saw the massive ork that had stolen his hat standing at the top of the stairwell.

*

Gutrippa saw the hatless humie, and he smiled, revealing rows of needle sharp teeth.
"oi, boyz, look watz we got 'ere!"
the humie snarled, weilding a melta charger in his hand.
Gutrippa continued, oblivious. "i betz he wantz his hat back!"
the boyz behind him jeered and laughed, but the human simply stood there and spoke.
"go to hell, greenskin!"

*

Ivor charged at the greenskin, and leapt, grabbing onto the creatures greasy face. he detonated the melta charge, and the world around him exploded in searing pain and bright blue light, engulfing both him and the orks all around him as the melta charges strapped to his chest detonated in a chain reaction, ripping Ivor's body apart. as his torn body fell away from the dead ork, Ivor gripped something that felt familiar, even though he hadn't worn it for ages now. his hat. Ivor's last thought before he died was "at least i got my hat back..."
the Commissar's torn body dropped to the floor, already dead, his duty done.

*

Karel watched as the Valkyrie circled lower, then something behind him grabbed his attention. he turned and saw the hatch thrown open, orks bursting out through the hole. if the damn things got to them before the valkyrie landed, then they would be lost.
a whistling noise from overhead made him look up. he smiled, then shouted to the group.
"get to the edge of the roof, now!"
they obeyed, and a second later, something smashed into the roof of the Precinct, making it buckle slightly.
the doors of the drop pod fell open, and a hulking figure smashed it's way out. it's collossal form was three times as big as a normal man's, and a skull flanked by a pair of wings was mounted on it's sarcophagus like central piece. on one side of the sarcophagus a mighty power fist hung, and on the other side a six barreled assault cannon was mounted.
Karel yelled in rejoice at the sight of the dreadnought. when a space marine was too badly hurt to fight on, yet too venerable to lose, they were integrated into the inside of a mighty dreadnought. massive shells sprayed from the assault cannon, and any orks that got to close were smashed to pieces by it's massive power fist. another drop pod landed, and Karel was overjoyed to see the fellow members of the Deathwatch pour out, their bolter fire tearing the orks to shreds.
he heard a high pitched scream as the Valkyrie landed behind him. Karel ushered the group towards the Valkyrie, ordering Borvus and Vance to remain behind.
Karel jumped onto the Valkyrie's rear ramp as it closed and the Valkyrie powered into the air.
Karel slumped against the wall of the Valkyrie, letting silence fall over the group as the guardsmen mourned for the loss of their Commissar.

*

Crystal smiled as she saw Crimson coming too.
"this bloody hurts!" she said weakly.
"at least you're alive." Crystal whispered into the girls ear.
Crystal then bent down and gently kissed Crimson.

*two weeks later*

Karel and Davrel stood in the command pulpit of the Warp-Rider, either side of Inquisitor Lorelei Grey.
"we are ready to depart?" asked Karel.
"aye," said Davrel, "tech priest Vakel tells me the screamer engines are ready to make the transition to warp space."
"good." Lorelei smiled, "we'll head for the forges of Mars, get the Warp-Rider's hull fixed properly."
the doors to the bridge grinded open and tech priest Vakel sprinted towards the command pulpit.
"Inquisitor, urgent vox transmission from Triton."
"relay it through the vox system." ordered Lorelei.
she turned to a viewing screen as it flickered into life, revealing a silver helmed warrior, a grey knight.
"this is Castellan Garran Crowe, of the Grey Knights chapter, we require urgent assistance. a daemonic incursion has broken out on the jungle planet of Triton, we are holding but we require extraction quickly. the planet is too far gone to be saved, once our extraction is complete the planet must be bombarded from orbit. Emperor's speed to whoever picks up this transmission."
the bridge fell silent for a minute, everyone soaking in what the message meant.
"tech priest Vakel, set course for Triton, activate screamer engines." Lorelei's voice was quiet and nervous.
everyone on the bridge knew what a daemonic incursion meant, and what they had to do.

*

as the tide of daemons surged forward, destroying everything in their path, a figure stood on a high ridge, overseeing the attack. Syrax stood in the hulking terminator armour of his former master, a smile distorting his normally scowling face. this planet was already lost to the ruinous powers, the Grey Knights could do little to stop them now. the Daemons beat themselves against the imperial defences, dying in their thousands, but that was irrelevant to Syrax, so long as they broke the defences. this planet would only be the first of many, thought Syrax, turning away from the carnage. soon, he would recieve the ascent to Daemonhood that he rightly deserved, and then not even holy Terra itself could stand in his way.