Aboard the bridge of the Furious Abyss.
Chapter Master Zadkiel of the Quillborn stared at the approaching frigates, which closed the distance like swift arrows.
"Horus is willing to pay the price, using the Vengeful Spirit as an anvil to draw fire and create an opening."
"The hammer he swings is not only meant to defeat me, but to seize the Furious Abyss."
"Lord, leave them to me." Belanos bared his fangs.
Zadkiel recalled the Black Emperor's warning. "Escort fleet, intercept the enemy."
Three frigates and five destroyers formed their lines, locking in a savage engagement with the green-hulled enemy vessels.
Aboard the Blade of Horus, Captain Serghar Targost of the 7th Company stared at the holographic tactical display.
The Warmaster had entrusted command of the boarding party to Targost, his battle honors stood second only to Ezekyle Abaddon and the traitor Garviel Loken, even above Aximand's.
Had the Warmaster possessed any intention of reconstituting the Mournival, Targost would have been named a member without question.
Targost's mind flashed through the limited structural schematics Regulus had provided. He opened the vox-channel.
"Either."
Captain Tybalt Marr of the 18th Company was known among his battle-brothers as The Either.
"To attack the Vengeful Spirit, the Furious Abyss's plasma reactor must be running at overload."
"Boarding target, the cooling conduits."
The assault fleet's steel hulls were torn open in the savage advance, boarding torpedoes burst from the wrecked remains.
Wreathed in fire, metal debris drifted, seven vessels were destroyed by the escort screen to buy the boarding opportunity.
Marr slid into the Furious Abyss's interior, hailfire streaked through the flickering, blurred air.
Marr took a step, his form shrinking behind a metal console.
Bolts roared, the grating at his feet exploded.
He set his bolter to rapid-fire, counted silently in his mind, seized a fleeting gap, and lunged.
His sweeping fire claimed the lives of two front-rank enemies.
He unclipped a fragmentation grenade from his belt and hurled it.
The grenade rolled down the track and detonated.
Through the swirling smoke, the Honor Guard raised their storm shields and surged through the hatch.
Marr followed close behind, charging into the compartment.
With a dull, thunderous crash, a brute form struck like a battering ram against the Honor Guard.
The Word Bearer's two-handed sword swung like a club; it smashed against the storm shield with a shrieking crack.
Belanos's blade struck the Honor Guard's arm; the storm shield clattered to the floor.
Belanos wrenched his blade, ripping open the Honor Guard's abdomen.
Marr raised his bolter, aiming at the Word Bearer.
Belanos let out a beast-like roar, driving into Marr's chest.
Pain shot through Marr's abdomen, the Word Bearer's savage strength exceeded anything he remembered.
His frame was also a full size larger than other Word Bearers.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Belanos drove Marr backward, slamming him into a fuel tank.
Marr's vision swam with stars. In his dazed mind, he recalled the Warmaster summoning him and Serghar before the operation:
"Serghar, Either." The Warmaster's gaze, brilliant as stars, had fixed upon them.
Standing at the galaxy's center, Marr heard the Warmaster's voice:
"Ezekyle asked me to entrust the recovery of the Furious Abyss to him."
"But I chose you."
"Can you help me take back my ship?"
"Of course, " Marr's head swung forward, crashing hard into the Word Bearer's skull.
Belanos staggered back, Marr raised his bolter and unleashed a volley.
Marr slammed onto the deck, the barrage scorched the Cataphractii Terminator black, yet Belanos kept advancing relentlessly.
Marr felt heat building at his back, then a lightning bolt of realization struck his mind.
He pulled out a grenade and retreated rapidly.
Belanos lowered his stance, charging at Marr like a rampaging bull.
Marr raised his arm and hurled the grenade.
The moment it left his hand, his heart went cold.
The grenade was not aimed at the enemy; it landed at his own feet.
Boom!
Thousands of shards tore Marr's lower body into a bloody pulp.
Bang!
Marr's face hit the deck his visor lenses drove into his eyes.
Thud!
He twisted his neck stiffly, following the sound toward the massive shadow.
A warrior two sizes larger than the beast-like Word Bearer raised his left boot.
Blackness swallowed his vision the sole came down on his head.
Marr's temples caved in his flesh was ground into paste.
Zadkiel crushed the Son of Horus captain's head. "Belanos is a servant of the true word, he cannot die at a heretic's hand."
Boom!
Zadkiel frowned, following the explosion, the hatch had blown open.
A squad of Sons of Horus charged out, the main cooling conduit behind them was ablaze.
'Damn it!'
"Cease lance fire," he ordered over the comm.
As the "Mentor of Disorder" drew his power sword, he fixed his gaze on the Sons of Horus.
"Heretics, you have boarded my ship."
"You have ruined my great plan to serve the One True God."
"You are guilty!"
"The One True God..." Targost echoed in confusion, 'Had the False Emperor dropped his mask, or were the Word Bearers still foolishly serving the False Emperor who had punished them?'
Targost's right shoulder fell away, as if severed by a blade.
"Sorcerer."
Targost snatched the hilt of his falling blade and lunged at the Word Bearer.
The Word Bearer activated his blade as well, the energy field edge was longer and broader than Targost's.
Targost spun his blade, thrusting at the enemy's chest.
The Word Bearer swung to meet it, but halfway through, his arm abruptly lengthened.
Like a coiling serpent, his arm whipped aside, bypassing the energy burst of Targost's blade.
The power sword shrieked as it sliced through Targost's body, blood-mist exploded.
Zadkiel's gaze swept over the cascade of damage reports flashing on his tactical display, he opened the comm again.
"Establish contact with Jules."
The surface commander of Ghana's Rock was Captain Jules of the 13th Company, Sixth Chapter of the Shadow of Order.
Static crackled then Jules's voice came through.
"Zadkiel, what do you want?"
"My ship has been damaged in battle worse the Sons of Horus boarding party has crippled the main cooling system." The Black Emperor's warning resurfaced in Zadkiel's mind.
'Had My Lord not warned me, allowing our escorts to intercept most of the boarding craft, my losses would have been far greater.'
"The plasma lance cannot fire, and void shield defenses are weakened."
"I must temporarily withdraw from the battlefield."
"Assemble your company immediately, I can extract them."
"I will not leave," Jules replied.
"I will hold Ghana's Rock. Until I fall, the rebels will gain nothing."
"But there are some technical personel, they are crucial for rebuilding the Arcane Prism mines and related industries after Ghana's Rock is restored."
"You must take them with you."
"Very well," Zadkiel agreed, then added: "I have a piece of good news for you, the Vengeful Spirit has also suffered heavy damage. I believe it will be forced to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield as well."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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