The grey Stormbirds of the Dusk Raiders howled over the Lupercal's Gate hive in a sky-darkening swarm, transports bearing crimson heraldry descended across the grey plain.
The hatches slid open, Nathaniel Garro was already leaping out, raising the highest-power meltagun selected from the Mondus Gamma armory, aiming at the traitors.
A searing blast sent a Son of Horus flying with a grunt.
A traitor on the left swung his blade, Garro sidestepped, his Libertas blade's disintegration field crackling to life.
He raised his bionic leg, kicking the Son of Horus's right leg; his blade rose, plunging into the traitor's chest.
Using the momentum of his pivot, Garro tore the blade across the traitor's torso, exploding a cloud of blood-mist.
Watching his Honor Guard, clad in heavy Cataphractii Terminator armor, cut into the surrounding traitors, Garro drove his shoulder into a Son of Horus who had pursued with a swinging blade.
With a dull thud, the blue glow reflected off his helmet as Garro's sword came down.
The corpse toppled onto the grey plain. Garro surveyed the field, the Honor Guard had swept away all scattered traitors.
They advanced to the hive's main gate, forming a cordon.
Grey steel arms rose in unison, aiming at the battlements above the main gate.
A single bolter-round howled upward, striking the great Eye of Horus.
Boom!
The center of the towering symbol burst, erupting in a cloud of black smoke.
The Sons of Horus' black muzzles aimed down at the city below, a torrent of firepower rained upon them.
The automata's defensive protocols activated, unleashing fierce barrages that suppressed the Dusk Raiders.
Blazing beams converged on the Cataphractii Terminator who had fired the first shot, speckled points of light pierced the grey armor, striking the grey plain.
The beams spread rapidly, engulfing the grey armor in an instant.
Garro opened his comm and gave the order: "Contemptor Dreadnoughts, main gate!"
At his words, encrypted signals triggered the sarcophagus support systems, and seven Contemptor Dreadnoughts awakened.
Contemptor Dreadnoughts had only been issued to the Death Guard before the shameful betrayal at Isstvan, but Garro's 7th Company had unexpectedly not received them.
Garro now knew his gene-father had instructed the Master of the Armoury to withhold them from his company.
The seven veterans entombed within had been vaporized by the Mechanicum's weapons during the brutal war at Tycho Brahe. They would have slept on, but the traitor equipment recovered at Mondus Gamma had changed their fate.
Their remnants, wrapped in semi-organic semi-mechanical networks, were wired into conductive vanguard systems and sealed within iron sarcophagi.
During the voyage, they had been awakened only once, for routine maintenance.
Hoarse voices sounded, mechanical frames activated in unison; energy surged into stiffened bodies; the numbness of stasis-sleep receded.
[Weapons systems active. To best suit this mission, your left arm is equipped with a siege claw with an integrated meltagun…]
[Energy coupling complete. Ammunition supply online.]
[Target: the main gate of the traitor Horus's Lupercal's Gate.]
[...]
'Lupercal's Gate.'
'Traitor Horus.'
The Contemptors' visual systems wavered, then focused on the scorched battlements.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
They advanced with heavy steps, pushing past their battle-brothers, charging toward the gate.
The Sons of Horus' fire shifted from the Honor Guard, dense barrages rained down upon the Dreadnoughts.
"Traitors." In the Dreadnoughts' blurred vision, the traitors on the walls merged with the figures who had plotted to kill them at Isstvan.
Beams erupted from raised right arms, crackling into firing ports, pinning automata to the ground.
Cables sparked; machine parts clattered and rolled.
Blazing beams suddenly converged, focusing on the leading Contemptor.
'Life support offline.'
The Dusk Rider entombed within shut off the flashing warning runes, his remnants steamed with scalding vapor.
Thud!
His iron feet grew heavy, stamping scorched craters into the black dust.
Countless runes flickered wildly.
His iron shell was as broken as his flesh, but the target rune had zeroed.
"Traitors... die..."
Three mechanical claws slammed into the steel gate, molten fury poured from the cracked center of the great palm.
Sizzle...
The steel gate glowed red, mingling with the Dreadnought's shattered fragments.
Sparks flew skyward; black smoke billowed.
Amid the deafening explosion, fragmented debris battered the gate.
The concentrated fire suddenly split into six streams, sweeping toward the other six Contemptors.
Boom, boom!
Siege claw after siege claw struck the steel gate, the entire main gate shuddered.
Cracks like spiderwebs widened.
With a thunderous blast, the Lupercal's Gate main gate exploded open.
Atop the hive-spire, Captain Boros Kurn sat upon the black throne, listening to a cascade of unfavorable reports.
The second squad sent to sabotage the network at Hive-09 had encountered the Emperor's Children, the sabotage operation was annihilated before it could even begin.
The fifth squad sent to destroy the power nodes at Hive-19 had lost contact.
'It's as if they knew my plan in advance.'
Kurn frowned. In a typical war progression, after establishing a beachhead, the landing force would usually adopt a cautious approach, digging fortifications and consolidating positions.
The aggressive option would be to attack remaining orbital defenses, fortresses, or bunkers.
Even a decapitation strike against him, but not immediate attacks on infrastructure systems.
"The main gate has fallen!"
Kurn's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden bad news. He rose from the black throne.
"Abort the sabotage plan. Everyone, pull back underground."
"I will convene a meeting at the Tyrant's Den."
"Captain, the rail car is ready for you."
Hearing his guard captain's report, Kurn nodded and strode quickly to the platform.
The whistle blew; wheels rumbled, the train descended in a winding spiral.
With the braking, magnetic locks secured Kurn's legs to his seat.
The scent of metallic steam mixed with damp mildew filtered through his respirator grille.
He did not activate the filtration system.
He knew that for a long time to come, he would be fighting from the underworld.
Only when his father gained the upper hand in the Segmentum Solar would they reclaim their homeworld.
Kurn rose, the magnetic locks disengaged from the floor.
He strode off the train without pause, heading into the damp, dark tunnels.
No major figure of Cthonia, not even the hive-gang high-ups, would ever come here.
This was the grim, lawless fringe of the hive, where even Cthonia's honored gang traditions held no sway.
Only the underhive, the destination of those who had lost the gang wars and had nowhere else to go, loomed in the distance.
Kurn's boots splashed through filthy sewage. He saw broken skeletons scattered along the walls.
A voice suddenly thundered in his ears like a crack of lightning: "I have been waiting for you a long time."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu