Above Sigma V

[dark jobo]

Above Sigma V

A Dark Angels short story by John Eagles

Chapter 1

Above Sigma V

 

The claxon rang out like a banshee’s scream.

“ Shut that damn noise off,” shouted Captain Vaune, trying to concentrate on the tactical display in front of him. Two more ships had just appeared from behind the planet and were vectoring in on them and trying to get a firing solution, just as he had expected. The trap had been sprung too early by far to catch an experienced Imperial Navy Captain like him, or had he missed something?

Too late now he thought, his response was already in motion, the strike cruisers hiding in his auspex shadow were already moving to intercept and would have a volley of missiles under way in a few seconds, just as he had ordered them to do.

“ Any other contacts on the scope, Jan” he asked is auspex operator.

“ Nothing Captain, just the battle barge and the 2 destroyers,” reported Jan Scaven in a steady voice, he had been here too many times before to worry over only 3 enemy vessels attacking them, and served with Captain Vaune long enough to know the out come of the encounter.

“Spirit of Vengeance and Dark Nemesis firing, Sir” reported Sven Grimond the tactical officer of the Damnation.

Captain Vaune watched his display as the green arrows sped towards the two red triangles that marked the enemy vessels.

“Open fire with the forward batteries” Vaune commanded, and a split second later he felt the ship shudder as the massive laser cannons and vortex shells exploded from their launchers.

“ Vengeance and Nemesis report kills Sir” Grimond reported, and seconds later added, “ Our target destroyed too Captain, all weapons hit with maximum yield”

“ Thank you Sven, I can read an auspex display” Vaune replied, and felt a little guilty at his sarcasm, Sven was only doing his job he knew.

Opening a channel to the rest of the ship he paused, what to say next, what to say that they hadn’t heard a hundred times before?

“Captain to the crew, all enemy vessels have been destroyed,” “well done” he added as an after thought. Always good to praise the crew he thought, not all of them were as experienced as his bridge crew.

Rising from his command seat he said “ask Master Belial to join me in the sanctum Jan” and without another word strode towards the massive bulkhead doors at the rear of the command bridge.

The other members of the bridge crew smiled to each other with the thought of what their captain was about to say to one of the Astartes most celebrated warriors.

Master Belial of the Dark Angels Chapter had had little faith in the Captain s plan to draw out the defenders of Sigma V, but as usual the captain was right, not that Master Belial had ever travelled on the Terrible Damnation before, but even he should have been aware of Captain Stark Vaune’s reputation as one of the best captains in the Imperial Navy. Even among the Legion Astartes captains he was well know, and even respected by those that had served with him in the many conflicts they had all been through.

“I will be there shortly” came the metallic voice of Belial over the speaker in front of Jan, and he shiver at the thought of the massive god of war on the other end, “rather the captain than me” he whispered under his breath as he closed the com.

 

On the planet below, a dark figure in power armour watched the outcome of the battle impassively. The Navy had acted just as expected, his sacrificial ships had played their part to perfection, and the Imperium would now launch their futile assault against a rouge planetary governor, totally unaware of the real threat that faced them.

“Brother Ractor, inform the troops to be ready for the assault” he said to the black clad warrior waiting behind him.

“As you command Brother Captain”, Sergeant Ractor replied, and turned to leave, annoyed by his captains refusal to use his proper title.

“We have been lucky this time Brother, records show this is the Terrible Damnation, an Imperial Guard Capitol Ship, not one the Angels fleet”, Captain Pressus said.

Brother Sergeant Ractor merely grunted and left the command bunker at a swift walk.

A good warrior Ractor, he thought, but with little vision, it maybe time to find a new second in command. Pushing it from his mind, Captain Pressus returned to his display screen to watch the doomed assault begin, a smile slowly spreading over his face.

 

 

The Sanctum was cold and dark as Vaune entered, and he shivered despite himself. This had once been a stateroom of great beauty, but now resembled the monastery abode of his passengers so completely it unnerved him. As he stood in silence contemplating his surroundings, he heard one of the other doors hiss open.

A metal giant in bone white armour strode through the entrance and strait towards him.

“ You requested an audience” the giant hissed from the vox grill on his helmet.

“Master Belial, welcome” Vaune greeted the giant and bowed slightly.

“Enough of your diplomacy, Captain, time is short and I must supervise my Brother Warriors planetary drop”.

Taken aback slightly, Vaune stumbled over his report of the short action that had just taken place. The massive warrior in front of him, turned slightly as he finished his report, his metal gloved hands flexed before reaching up to his helmet. With a loud click and hiss, Belial broke the containment seal of his Terminator Armour and removed the helmet.

“Forgive my curt manner, Captain, but time is short, and our enemy is now aware of our presence”, he said in a gravelled voice.

“Of cause Master Belial, all is ready for your assault”, Vaune managed to reply.

The Master of the Deathwing was an even more impressive sight with his helmet off, the years of service in the Astartes showed in the many scars covering his head. Many knew of Belials epic duel with the Orc Warboss Ghazghkull on Piscina, but few had seen the damage caused by the Warboss, and a vicious scar ran down one side of his head from crown to chin, a vivid purple colour even after all these years.

He turned to face the Captain once more.

“I will inform my troops” he growed and turned to leave.

“If I may ask a question Master”, Vaune managed to blurt out before the warrior had taken more than a few steps. Belial stopped and half turned.

“What ?” he said, him calm manner slipping from his voice.

“Why use my Capitol Ship to transport your force, the Dark Angels have a fleet of immense size and power ?” The question hung in the air for what seemed like an age to Vaune, before Belial turned his head to answer.

“Surprise Captain, the element of surprise”, and without another word strode from the room, leaving Vaune to ponder the answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

Planet fall

 

The hull of the Stormbird “Blackraven” groaned under the stress of atmospheric entry. Sergeant Vermal of the Ravenwing grinned slightly, thinking that the sound reminded him of the way his M4 Blackshadow bike complained when he put her through difficult manoeuvres. Across the cabin, Interrogator-chaplain Asmodai caught the small facial expression and cocked his head to one side, questioning his subordinate without a word.

“Sounds of battle, Brother Chaplain” he simply said, and was rewarded with a slight nod from the skull helmet of the senior chaplain seated opposite him.

The terrible visage of death all the Astartes Chaplains wore scanned the other Ravenwing Marines in the cabin, all of them seated uneasily in their harnessed seats, disliking not being on their war bikes. Soon, he thought, soon enough you will be hunting again my angels of death.

“60 seconds to land fall” the vox system crackled in their helmets, the pilot warning his cargo of Dark Angel bikers.

“ Mount up and prepare for immediate battle dispersal” the Sergeant voxed to the other members of 2nd squad.

“Yes Sergeant” came the chorus of replies, as the Marines released their harnesses and moved towards their tethered bikes at the rear of the cargo cabin.

“30 seconds” came the update from the pilot.

Sergeant Vermal felt the comforting weight of the bike underneath him, and calm settled ever him.

“ Better Sergeant ?” he heard Asmodai’s voice in his helmet, humour possibly in the voice.

“ Yes Senior Chaplain” he replied, as the engine growled to life under him,“ Time to do my duty”.

Under his skull faced helm, Asmodai smiled, such a willing tool for him to use in his hunt for the Fallen, if only they knew the truth of their mission.

“Planet fall in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, hull down, doors opening” the pilot voxed.

“2nd squad disembark, battle formation Alpha” Vermal ordered.

As one the Ravenwing bikers leaped from the Stormbird’s cargo hold, and formed up into a perfect diamond shape, Sergeant Vermal at the apex.

“Auspex to full power, find their sentries”, Vermal voxed to the other members of the squad. He glanced at his own display looking for enemy contacts. Nothing, only the green symbols of his own squad and the Stormbird falling behind them as they sped towards Sigmaton, the capitol city of Sigma V.

The briefing he received aboard the ship had said there were likely to be rebel Guard units positioned around the city, ready to defend against such an attack as they were about to launch, but nothing.

At the tactical display aboard the Stormbird, Asmodai watched the squads progress, looking for any signs of the enemy too. He noted that there were no units around the Capitol as well, and realized why.

“Sergeant, cancel the attack, new heading South-SouthWest, a small bunker complex about 3 miles from your position”.

A clever ploy of the enemy, he thought, to route their broadcast from the Capitols vox system, and cursed himself for not anticipating it.

“Confirmed, South-Southwest, target now bunker system Charlie” came the Sergeants reply.

Asmodai thumbed a button on his control pad, opening a secure channel to the Terrible Damnation.

“Master Belial, our quarry has moved I believe, sending new coordinates”, a stream of data following his transmission.

“I had anticipated this” came Belials steady voice over the vox, “We will be ready for your signal Brother Chaplain, out”

So confident in your own judgement, Asmodai thought, I hope that doesn’t bring about your undoing my brother.

The bike squad sped on.

 

3 miles away, dug into a trench system, the black clad warriors of Brother Sergeant Ractor’s squad checked their weapons for the last time. As soon as the order had come through, they had taken up positions ready to outflank the Imperial Guard assault, and cut the head off the lumbering beast that is the Guard at war.

“Still no sign of the armoured column Brother Sergeant” trooper Waxon reported over the vox. Strange thought Ractor, an armoured column of tanks and troop carriers should have been visible on the auspex by now.

“Keep scanning Brother Waxon, don’t let them slip by us” he replied, an uneasy feeling starting to creep into his mind.

Captain Pressus had always lead them well, but his arrogance worried Ractor, almost to the point of dislike. Still, the plan had seemed sound when he had see it, and such tactics had work on numerous occasions before without problem, why should today be any different he thought.

“A single drop ship has landed Brother, keep vigilant, it may be an advanced scout unit, wait for the main force before you attack”, came Pressus’s voice over the vox, a hint of excitement showing through his usual calm tone.

The feeling of unease in Ractor jumped up and slapped him in the face, this is not right, he thought as he unholstered his Plasma Pistol.

 

“Brother Sergeant, I thought I picked up an auspex contact for a second, 400 yards to the North, but it’s gone now”.

“Calm yourself Brother Nathan”, Sergeant Vermal responded, checking his own auspex and seeing the warning icon flashing red.

“Safeties off, be ready for action, Brother Nathan is right” he voxed the rest of the squad.

“Contact confirmed Brother Sergeant”, Chaplain Asmodai voice barked in his helmet “350 yards to your North, tactical squad, engage and neutralize”

“Change course, attack !”, Vermal told his squad, the chemicals released into his system by his Space Marine enhancements starting to work.

Within seconds they were bearing down upon their target, but the enemy opened fire before they could get within range of their bolters, a missile flying just wide of Brother Salemi as he swerved his bike, and almost lost control of his machine.

With the skill of a warrior born in the saddle, Salemi righted his bike and returned fire, to far way to be accurate, but enraged by the attack upon him.

The rest of the squad joined him, and a hail of fire raced towards the enemy position, explosive bolts sending showers of dirt into the air, to be joined by a red clouds of blood as shells found their mark.

A second missile raced skyward, the weapons controller crumpling to the ground under the hail of fire.

Vermal heard the grunt of pain as one of his squad was hit, but no-one broke formation, their enhanced bodies able to deal with light wound easily.

Then the world seemed to explode around Vermal, his auto-senses darkening to protect is eyes from the small sun that seemed to have appeared around him, and warning lights started to flash in his helmet display.

“Brother Sergeant!” he faintly heard Nathan’s voice call out.

Then the world started to go black around him, and Sergeant Vermal slipped from consciousness as he slipped from is bike.

As he hit the ground, the rest of the squad finished off their enemy, the Multi-melta on Brother Deteus and Brother Mithal’s attack bike vaporizing the trooper with the Plasma gun who had hit their Sergeant, the rest of the dug in troops falling under the continuous bolter fire.

As the rest of the squad went to check their enemy was really vanquished, Brother Nathan returned to where his Sergeant had fallen.

Carefully undoing the helmet, he checked the Sergeants readout for life signs, relieved to see a steady pulse and the medical equipment already releasing the chemical agents into his system, allowing his body to start the accelerated healing process all marines possess.

“Senior Chaplain”, Nathan voxed, “The sergeant is hurt, plasma wound at close range, but he seems ok”.

“Brother Nathan, I expect a proper report, not a child’s rambling”, Asmodai chastised the Ravenwing veteran.

“My apologies Senior Chaplain, enemy force neutralized, minor wounds to 2 of the unit, effectiveness at 90% Sir” he voxed back, relived his helmet hid his reddening face from the rest of the returning squad.

“ Secure the bodies and await Master Belial’s arrival Brother, and well done”, Asmodai replied, turning his attention to his control panel and sending the arranged signal to the Terminators waiting on the starship above him.

“And so the hunt begins”, he whispered to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

The Prey

 

The air burned with an acrid taste as the Terminators materialize out of the eather just yards away from the Ravenwing squad, Master Belial at their head.

Interrogator-Chaplain Asmodai was due to arrive shortly by Rhino to view the scene in person, and make the final decision on the origins of the traitor marines now lined up in the dirt, their black armour stained red with their own blood. Even Nathan know the icon etched onto their shoulder pads, the Eye of Horus, symbol of the hated Black Legion, leaders of the rebellion that had nearly brought mankind to its knees.

Belial strode over to his Brother Marines, and with a nod to Nathan, moved to examine to corpses more closely, nudging the first with his armoured foot.

“How far is the bunker complex”, is spoke to no-one in particular.

“Approximately half a mile, Master”, Nathan offered, not sure if the question had been directed at him, but feeling someone needed to answer it.

“Far enough for him to slip away, again”, Belial seemed to be talking to himself again. As Nathan was about to ask who had slipped away, the Master of the Deathwing, suddenly turned and looked strait at him, and the question died on his lips.

“Set your teleport beacons to broadcast for point to point transport Brother Nathan, we must move quickly”, and turning he spoke to his statuesque Terminators over a closed channel Nathan couldn’t hear.

He was still reeling from the fact that Belial had known his name, when the noise of the Rhino’s engine first made an appearance in his ears, via the external microphones in his helmet.

“Brother Chaplain”, Belial spoke over the communal vox again, as the Rhino closed the distance to them, “I am sending the Ravens to the far side of the complex, with your assent Brother”.

“I concur Master Belial, have they been informed of the target ?” Asmodai seemed almost hesitant to Nathan’s ear.

“NO” came the snapped answer from Belial, “They are to halt anybody trying to leave the complex, understand Brother Nathan ?”

“Yes Master” came the instant response from the new leader of the 2nd squad, “Mount up Brothers, we have work to do”, and with that he moved away from his superiors, and rejoined his fellow bikers as they fired up their engines and prepared to move. With a last look to where his Sergeant lay unconscious still, he started his own bike and relayed their orders to the rest of the squad, even though they had heard the order over the vox themselves, taking charge always gave him the inner calm he could never find away from the battle field.

“Move out, maximum dispersal, cover as much ground as you can Brothers, no-one is to escape our claws” he reiterated to his men as the Rhino containing Asmodai came to a halt, and the Chaplain disembarked, followed my a medic.

As the bikes moved away and the medic went to help Sergeant Vermal, Belial approached Asmodai and stopped, bowing slightly.

“My apologies for any slight earlier Brother Chaplain, I was not thinking strait, He has this affect on me”, admitting the weakness was not easy for Belial, but he knew Asmodai had already seen it in his actions.

“No need to apologise, Brother, I know you and Pressus were once close, his betrayal must cut deeply” the Chaplain replied, trying to sooth the armoured monster before him.

More than you know, thought Belial, Pressus had once been like a birth father to him, and even when it was obvious his friend was turning his back on the Emperor, and the Dark Angels, he had not had the strength to deal with the problem in the only way allowed, Death.

Now he had that strength, and would not hesitate to use it against the traitor.

“These are of no use to us” Asmodai said, breaking Belial’s train of thought, “destroy them so no corruption can seep from them”

“At once Brother Chaplain” he replied, and turned to Brother Orsini and nodded. Instantly the giant Marine stepped forward and pulled the trigger of his Heavy Flamer, unleashing a torrent of burning promethium that engulfed the traitor marines, turning them to nothing more than charred lumps of fused metal and bone. With this done, Brother Orsini returned to his place in the squad, awaiting their next orders.

 

Sitting in his bunker, Captain Pressus was stunned, how had he been so wrong, how could he have misjudged the situation this badly.

Although he could not unscramble the vox transmissions, he could tell from the frequencies and coded data that they were not Imperial Guard, and now he had lost contact with Ractor’s Black Legion squad.

Only Marines could have taken them out without them having time to transmit a report.

For the first time since his escape from the Rock, home of his ex Chapter, the Dark Angels, he felt fear in his gut.

Then he had had the instructions of Master Cypher to consol and guide him, now he was on his own. The few troops he had left at his disposal would be useless against Marines, he knew, a few squads of PDF would not even slow them down.

Escape was his only option again, although the thought of running sickened him, he was out of choices.

He opened a vox link to Lieutenant Grint.

“This is Captain Pressus, Grint, do you copy?”.

“Yes Captain, I read you loud and clear, what are your orders Sir?” came Grint’s reply, in his aristocratic voice that Pressus hated so much.

So much for your plans of being the next Governor he thought, you and your troops might just buy me enough time with your lives, to escape.

“Brother Sergeant Ractor has engaged the enemy in grid 24 and stopped their advance” he lied, “move your men up to support him, engage any force you encounter, not that there should be much left by now”

“Understood Captain, just one thing though”, “You lie” the last words not coming over the vox.

Pain shot through his left side and he spun, part reflex, part inertia from the slug that had just hit him.

There in the door way was Grint, in all his pomp, with a snub gun in one hand and his chain sword in the other.

“I have been monitoring the vox myself, Captain”, the last word coming out as a sneer “and it appears you are wrong about Brother Ractor and his men” the smug expression on his barely hidden.

Before Grint could continue his sentence, Pressus sprang with the speed of a wild animal, clearing the distance between them and drawing his power sword in one motion.

A puzzled look appeared on the Lieutenants face as Pressus ran him through, the smell of burning flesh the last thing to pass through his nostrils, and then his eyes glazed over and he fell backwards as Pressus pulled his sword free.

Damn the man, Pressus thought, the wound would not slow him down much, but the damage would take time to heal, time he didn’t have.

Checking the area outside the bunker, he was surprised to see it clear, no PDF troops in sight.

Before things could get any worse, he decided to make a break for the Chimera parked on the other side of the compound, at least he could still make good his escape, he thought.

He was only half way across the square when the figure stepped from behind the Chimera onto full view, Storm Bolter in one massive hand, and a power sword half as long again as his own, in the other.

“No where to run this time, traitor” Belials voice boomed out, “I will do what I should have done a long time ago, Pressus” he spat, and started to advance across the ground between them.

Pressus was totally stunned, not only had he failed to escape, he had fallen into the hands of the only people in the galaxy who would show him no mercy, no quick death for him now, unless…

His power sword moved with the swiftness of an Eldar, but just as he braced himself for the pain of his own blade, it stopped.

“Oh no Fallen Brother Pressus, that will not happen, I have questions for you first, many questions, about many worlds” Asmodai said in a cold tone, holding the power sword inches away from Pressus’s neck, as Belial moved forward and removed the weapon from his hand.

Pressus’s mind shrieked in panic, he had heard of Fallen Brothers who had been captured, and the torments they had gone through, begging for death to release them.

“I will handle things from here, Master Belial” Interrogator-Chaplain Asmodai said, removing the Blades of Reason from his belt, as two skull face Chaplains took Pressus by the arms

And with a nod Belial withdrew, without looking back, as the screams started.

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed, dark jobo.