Chapter VII

The cruiser sidled up to its mooring at the Emperor’s Bounty installation. The space station was far older than all the ships surrounding it. It had definitely seen better days. Contained within the Praedium Colonia system, the station was primarily used to transfer foodstuffs grown within the system to the rest of the Imperium. Until it was touched by Orks, the foul beasts had tainted the food supplies with their fungi spores so that by the time the shipment arrived at their destination the container held a couple of them. Since that time, the planet had been cleansed into a lifeless rock. The station then became a haven for those not wishing to be found.

                The marines under Lord Leliel disembarked onto the station and began their respected missions. Leviticus and Paschar were teamed up and made their way around the station. They walked casually in their simple robes but their weapons were still in easy reach. After a while, they felt a need to take certain corridors and go to certain places, drawn by some unknown force. They eventually came to a small row of taverns and clubs of dubious origin. As they walked toward one tavern, another robed figure walked out of the same tavern and made his way in the opposite direction. The two marines were about to pursue when the tavern the figure left erupts into a large fight. A mob of people collapsed on the bar to see what was going on or to join in. The brawl was brutal but the lawlessness of the station would not see this put down in a timely manner. Paschar wanted to break it up but they were under orders not to make a scene.

The two pushed through the masses and continued their patrol towards the area of the meeting on the other side. They were walking along a docking ring for some smaller craft when a very large marine in black armor burst from one of the airlocks. Followed along with a group of humans, he walked with a purpose in his steps and with urgency. He strode over to one of the dock masters and picked him up easily.

‘Where is the Voice of Caliban docked?’ the marine asked.

‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’

‘Liar, I know that it was on its way here! Where is it?’ The marine’s hand squeezed the arm of the dock master until there was loud crack of bones breaking.

‘Let.. Let me check,’ the man half-shouted in pain.

‘Do that and be quick about it. You are already exhausting my patience. ‘

The dock master turned to a data cogitator and with his good arm, he typed in the query. ‘The Voice of Caliban departed a little while ago.’

‘Where was she headed?’

‘We don’t ask.’

‘Frag your insolence!’ With a quick swipe, he cuffed the dock master so hard his skull caved under the impact. The marine turned back to his human helpers. ‘Find out where he went and hurry.’

Leviticus stood locked to the deck plating. Here was a marine that was leading humans in some sort of crusade, but what really riveted his attention was the emblazoned red symbol shown prominently on has armor. The same symbol that Paschar and he had covered – the Dark Angels Legion.

The other marine noticed the two and approached. ‘What? Have you never seen a marine before? Don’t you two look in a mirror?’

                Leviticus pulled his mouth off the floor and responded, ‘We have never seen another Dark Angel blaze through without disregard to the Chapter.’

‘Pah! The Chapter? The Legion from which it was spawned is long gone. The Chapter is wrapped up in keeping their precious secrets. Their self-absorption has weakened them. They do not bother me. What bothers me are you.’

‘Us?’

‘You and every other Fallen Angel. What despicable things have you done? For what deluded reasons, have you bartered your souls away? Was it all at once, or has it been a piece at a time? What foul oaths have you taken?’

Paschar stood mute. Leviticus was angered. ‘I have taken no foul oaths and I will not be lectured by a single marine who doesn’t care about that which we built under the guidance of the Emperor.’

‘Ha ha ha! You are a Crusader then! You are even more deluded than I thought. Although, you are right in one aspect, I do not care about all of this. There is too much corruption here, in this time. The Emperor would have to start another Great Crusade in order to purge the Imperium and make it whole again.’

‘And you? What are you?’

‘As far as you need be concerned, I am just another Fallen Angel with a score to settle. Now, before you delay me further, I suggest you let me continue my mission or face the consequences.’

Leviticus and Paschar parted to let the marine through and then fell close into step behind. ‘Your mission?’

‘I am tracking down another of our brethren, one whose mind is so warped that he believes he can absolve us in the eyes of the rest of the Dark Angels! Insanity I call it. He poses a greater danger than anyone could realize, and I will see him brought down before too much longer.’

+ + +

Grand Master Camael sat upon the command throne on the bridge of the battle barge, the Ira Leoninus. The system of Praedium Colonia filled the transparisteel view port. The interrogation of the people on Caminus Mundis revealed little until the Librarian probed the minds of a few individuals. The lasting effects of a mind pulse were unmistakable. The person them self could not remember anything and it would hold up under normal interrogations. They discovered enough that they found out what they needed and a cogitator in the starport had recorded some vital information. The record contained the name of the vessel and its flight plan to the next destination. Whoever commanded that vessel of Fallen was no true spacefarer. Otherwise, they would know more about what the Administratum records and the processes needed to move a ship between points. Camael saw the Chaplain enter onto the command deck.

‘How are our newest members to the Chapter?’

‘Resting and recovering, the apothecaries are tending to them at the moment. By the Lion, may they be better than what’s out there.’

‘So you’ve got word.’

‘Yes, the ship arrived here a while ago. It will still be two days before we are able to stage an assault on the outpost. I will be meeting the Sergeants later to discuss plans. We have also stumbled onto another surprise.’

‘Really, the Lion has been very gracious to give us another surprise.’

A smile came to the Grand Master’s face, ‘Yes, one of our other ships had been in pursuit of another renegade. They are both on our targeted station at the present. They just arrived in system. They will catch up to us in four hours.’

‘Who’s on board?’

‘Sergeant Haken and Sergeant Rampel with Deathwing’s 4^th and 5^th Squads.’

‘Who are they pursuing?’

‘Grendelwulf’

‘Really, I have heard of this renegade. It is told that he leaves behind quite a mess wherever he seems to show up. I am sure his presence on the Rock will be greatly appreciated.’

‘Yes, it will.’

+ + +

It took Leviticus a little while to remember this place. It was the place of the brawl earlier that day. They continued to follow the massive form of Grendelwulf through the station. One of his servants had found his quarry and now the two were moving at a great pace. Men on each side swore as the grizzled marine pushed aside any that would stand in their way. The two marines followed in their wake. The fight had died out and there in the middle of the tavern were the remaining men of Grendelwulf’s company watching a few beaten men over the ends of their weapons.

‘Which one?’ Grendelwulf asked.

The human pointed and the hulking form knelt in front of one of the beaten men.

‘Where did he go?’

The man spat into Grendelwulf’s face, but said nothing.

‘I don’t have all night, so let us forget the routine pleasantries, shall we?’

The marine withdrew a knife and waved it in front of the human before speaking again,

‘This beautiful piece of work is a mono-blade. It is one of my favorites. It can cut through meat and bone as if they were butter. Now, where did he go?’

‘Feth y--!’, the sentence was cut off as Grendelwulf plunged the silvery blade deep into the man’s abdomen, impaling him to the wall behind.

‘Wait here,’ Grendelwulf sighed and glanced at his servants. Understanding his intent, they picked another man from the group. He calmly walked towards the second man, placed his large hand on his shoulder, and effortlessly threw him on top of the first man. 

Grendelwulf approached the two men and separated them. He held the second man in his iron grip, quickly pulled the mono-blade from his companion, and then silently sliced all four fingers of the man’s hand. The man screamed in pain, but Grendelwulf paid it no mind and grabbed the man’s neck. The man cradled his sliced hand, looking at the fingers, which had fallen to the floor. Again, the question was asked, ‘Where did he go?’

‘Go frag yourself! We were told to expect you. You will not get anything from us.’

Grendelwulf was getting angry and he began to clench his fists, knowing that he held the other man’s neck. The man’s eyes bulged as the huge marine crushed his neck utterly within his grip. Releasing the grip, the corpse slumped over.

Leviticus watched the man work. It was gruesome but it was starting to have the desired result. Only a man of honor would die keeping a secret and these men had no honor. The captive kept looking between the corpse of his comrade and Grendelwulf. The bloody blade again rested on the captives lap.

‘N-no! I will not tell you anything. You’ll have to kill me!’

‘You are already dead, it is simply a matter of how quickly, and when I let you die.’

The silvery blade flashed again, but this time Grendelwulf took his time as he sawed the foot off the captive. The screams would have curdled the blood of a normal human. The marines just filtered it out. Plopping the dismembered foot on the captive’s lap, Grendelwulf asked yet again, ‘Where did he go?’

The man’s face had paled and in agony, but said nothing.

‘I must have aimed too high when I stuck you in the belly against the wall,’ Grendelwulf placed the point of his combat knife between the man’s legs. The man looked up quickly as the marine poised the blade to cut.

‘ Valhalla!’

‘And someone can verify this?’ Grendelwulf asked, seeming disappointed at having to halt his work with the knife. The marine’s audio-receptors picked up the tone and stress levels in the man’s voice and were within the margin for being truthful. Nevertheless, to Grendelwulf, these captives were scum, part of the cancer eating away at the Imperium and cancers had to be removed.

‘He can.’ The captive bobbed his head to the right. Grendelwulf looked over and moved over to the man indicated.

‘Shall we have an encore of the floorshow, or do you wish to tell me your ‘friend’ here is lying about you?’

The next captive sat there with sweat beading off his brow. Grendelwulf left the knife with the other captive, but that did not stop him from quickly standing and bringing an armored foot upon the captive’s leg releasing another scream. He asked again, ‘Is he speaking the truth?’

Leviticus caught a quick glimpse of light on metal and noticed the end of several weapons. ‘Action rear!’ Bringing up his Bolt pistol, he fired off a quick round. The bolt held true and brought down the man in the adjacent structure. The tavern erupted into a firestorm. Grendelwulf shifted into a covered position leaving behind the captives. Grendelwulf’s men opened fire as well and both groups traded shots with each other.

Leviticus and Paschar kept in cover. Without their armor, they could not operate fully. They still managed to adapt themselves quite well otherwise. Each pull of the trigger stopped one weapon from firing. Grendelwulf held his bolt pistol in his bionic arm and dropped people left and right.

As quickly as it started, the firefight ended. Grendelwulf lost one of his own people and two others were hurt. Grendelwulf did not care; they were all expendable. He had gotten what he needed, a confirmed destination. Looking over, the captives were no longer human. They were nothing but dead organic masses. Picking up his knife, Grendelwulf started to make his way back to his ship before stopping. He turned back to Leviticus and gave a Warrior’s bow. Leviticus and Paschar both returned the bow.

‘Glory and honor on your quest, Crusader,’ was all the Grendelwulf said before leaving.

‘And to you Brother,’ came the voice of Leviticus but Grendelwulf had already left.

+ + +

Leliel sat across from a rather portly human. His clothing suggested a life of opulent wealth. Those his features were pinched and worn from a life filled with hard times. Leliel sat patiently as the man rummaged through sheaves of parchment and the occasional dataslate. Leliel looked at all the different commissions the man carried. Search the ruins on some planet looking for STC technology; capture a live Tyranid Lictor or Tyrant for study with doubled rates for multiple specimens, re-establish contact with team on another world. Several were very lucrative, but they were all legal and that meant paperwork. Paperwork that left a trail that the Dark Angels can detect. The man finally found what he was looking for a parchment with quick scribbles of writing. The only evidence of a job that was not legal.

‘Ah, here we are! Let us see what we can give you Lord Leliel. Arms smuggling is not your style and politics are a little too visible for you. Dedicated cargo runs will not cover the monetary demands you have set. Ah! Here is one for you and your marines. An object crashed landed on an agrarian world a on the other side of the sector. The locals cannot handle it and have quarantined the area in case it is a weapon of mass destruction. This object as piqued some interest as to it's identity and can it be used. Your job will be to get there first and retrieve it before anyone else. Forty million credits to get it and then a percentage on whatever is discovered and sold.

‘Any friendly forces?’

‘No, The PDF is enforcing the quarantine zone. No one in or out, except through the decontamination camps which are refugee camps. The only way through is to be cleared free from any contagion. Since it landed near one of the few large cities, it may be months to clear decontamination unless you’ve got resources to get you through the lines faster.’

‘Any biological risks?’

‘Don’t know and for that many credits, I don’t think they care.’

‘I am debating this proposal, it is tempting, but I will need to check on a couple things before I accept your offer. Let us reconvene tomorrow morning at nine hundred hours. I’ll have my decision by then.’

‘Fourteen hundred is the soonest for me.’

‘Fourteen hundred then, until tomorrow.’

‘Until tomorrow Lord Leliel.’ The man lifted himself out of the chair with grunt and waddled out of the tavern.

Leliel activated his Vox, ‘Return to ship, we are done for the day.’

+ + +

‘Return to ship, we are done for the day.’

Leviticus and Paschar got the message and waved over the barmaid. The two had found a tavern with a commanding view over a section of the station. He was torn internally over this breach of discipline. During the Crusade, this behavior would not have been tolerated. It invited sloppiness and inefficiency.

Paschar was quite content, he agreed that this would not be allowed but then he pointed out that only those loyal to Leliel would put in the extra effort. Faced with this reasoning, Leviticus yielded and indulged slightly. He then made a point to spend the evening in prayer.

+ + +

Back aboard the ship, the marines gathered to discuss the events of the day. Uwala was there as well but appeared not to be in the best of health. Paschar had arrived ahead of Leviticus and was detailing their encounter with the Fallen Angel Grendelwulf. Leviticus quietly bade the Angel honor and victory in his quest. Leliel will want to hear more about this encounter now that the information that another Fallen was found is out.

Leliel strode into the chamber and bade for silence. ‘Tomorrow, I will meet with a man that has a mission for us. All marines will reprise their duties tomorrow. Sergeant Leviticus, we need you to detail four marines to assist Techmarine Xaphan in loading provisions and send another marine to Assiel to make sure the Apothecarium is well provisioned.’

Leviticus replied, ‘Yes, Lord Leliel.’

‘Dismissed,’ Lord Leliel turned and left the common area. Leviticus asked for volunteers for the duties. Vehuiah took his combat team to perform both tasks. With only five men to patrol the station, Leviticus was stretching his resources thin. He stood silently contemplating what his plans for his combat team when he finally noticed that Uwala did not leave with Leliel.

‘You do not look well, Brother Librarian.’

‘No, I would not believe that I am. There is a veiled presence in the Warp. I have tried to pierce the veil multiple times but it is actively resisting. I believe that the Dark Angels are approaching this station. Make sure your entire squad is ready for them. I am taking precautions and have established a psychic veil over us but it will not hold against the powers that established the other veil. Heed this warning. If it is the Dark Angels, then we will not escape in time before they arrive. There will be bloodshed. Prepare your squad to be ready to face our bothers.’

Stunned at the news, Leviticus marched back to inform his squad to don their armor and prepare for any attacks. Leviticus went back to his own quarters and began the Rites of Adornment. Finally donning his own helmet, he sat in meditation. Again, he may have to kill marines loyal to the Imperium. The sword of Omael rested before him, how could he use a blade used to expand the hopes, dreams, and glories of Man? Then use that same blade for the defense of one man against his brothers that still follow the path he was forced to leave? The blade should be used to further the wills of the Emperor when he walked among the Legion, not for the pettiness of one marine’s desire to remain alive. ‘A marine shall know no fear.’

He left his quarters and made his way to the Armory.

+ + +

Xaphan was hunched over a bolter reciting little prayers to the war-spirit of the bolter as he dismantled the weapon to make repairs when Leviticus walked into the Armory. The Techmarine sensed Leviticus’s presence but made no move to address the newcomer. He quietly continued his work until he found the reason for the bolter’s unbalanced spirit. Removing the broken parts and anointing new ones, Xaphan silently reassembled the bolter and blessed it before turning to face Leviticus. ‘What brings you to my armory at this hour, Sergeant.’

‘There are portents that tomorrow may be a dark day for us and I am here to request that a chainsword be issued.’

‘A chainsword? To whom will this token be blessed?’

‘It’ll be issued to me.’

‘I see, but don’t you already have a power sword that you brought with you. One with a history I’ve noticed.’

‘It does and because of that history I feel it would disgrace the war-spirit of the blade to carry tomorrow.’

‘Blades are meant to cut. It does not care what it cuts as long as it cuts. That is all that is needed to sate the war-lust in any blade. I see no reason to deny your weapon that which it is made to do.’

Leviticus felt the awful weight of the Techmarines words settle on his shoulders. The Techmarine was right, but it still distressed him.

Xaphan noticed the weight settle. He knew long ago that men were a different type of Machine, one that was not made by the Machine God, but a machine nonetheless. The machine before him had a deeply troubled spirit. ‘I am not a Chaplain but I can see you are deeply troubled. I have just finished sanctifying the chainsword of Brother Erosoti. Since he fell to your blade on the Observation Deck, the spirit of his chainsword will accept you as a better warrior and will not fail you.’ Xaphan retrieved the ancient weapon and presented it to Leviticus. The blade was heavier than Omael’s sword and not as well constructed, but it was sturdy and Leviticus knew that it would be there when needed.

Leviticus bowed. ‘ Thank you Brother Xaphan.’ Hooking the weapon to his belt, he turned and left the armory. Walking down the corridor, he met Leliel coming the other way. ‘Leviticus! Why are you armored?’

‘ Brother Librarian Uwala has sensed the presence of the Dark Angels in the system. He advised us to take additional measures. I agree with his assessment.’

‘But I do NOT Sergeant! You and your squad are NOT to be in armor tomorrow during the meeting. I do not want anyone to know that there is more than one squad of marines on this ship. You are not to appear as if you are part of an organized force. It is critical that we continue to appear like rogue squad of marines. Without that cloak of deception, we will not be able to acquire the resources we need to survive and operate alone. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, Lord Leliel.’

‘I don’t think so. Upon the conclusion of my meeting tomorrow, you will be placed on bread and water and will perform penance before we make planet fall.’

‘Yes, Lord Leliel.’

‘Now get out of that armor and tell your squad to do the same. I will send Sergeant Jehuel to make sure this order is carried out! Dismissed!’ Leliel then turned and plowed his way down the empty corridor in an ill mood.

Leviticus also marched down the corridor with anger surging through his body. It was not until he got back to his quarters that he realized that he had unhooked the chainsword and held it in a very tight underhand grip. Even without engaging the motor, it was still capable of incapacitating the Lord. The call for blood had risen in Leviticus.