Jeremiah looked at each member of his kill team in turn, then spoke.
The Lion watches over us, his guiding hand leads us this day. Praise the Lion.' His words made a physical impact on his team. Evoking the name of their primarch sent a ripple of pride through his men, reminding them all of the importance of their mission.
'Who are we?'
"We are Sons of the Lion! We are Dark Angels.' Their response was in unison, a testament of their honour, an oath to right the sins of their brothers. Each in turn fell into line, taking up the position that he had been assigned.
Elijah was the most recent addition to Jeremiah's team, having proven himself on several campaigns before finally earning the honour of this placement. Although the youngest in age, his experience was equal to that of any of his battle-brothers, and his keen eye and attention to detail made him the perfect choice. Nathaniel was next, being the oldest and most experienced as indicated by the grey that gathered at the temples of his short-cropped black hair. He and Jeremiah had served together the longest and he felt it his duty to look after the younger Elijah. However, his constant reference to Elijah as 'y°u ng one' at times visibly annoyed his battle-brother.
Marius was always third. His plasma gun was best suited to supporting Nathaniel and Elijah should they ran into unexpected trouble. As always, Jeremiah took the fourth spot, allowing him a tactical position should the need arise. He was followed very closely by Gilead, with Sebastian bringing up the rear.
Once again Elijah attempted to scan their surroundings. The soft almost imperceptible hum of static was the only reading that he could obtain. With ritualistic precision Elijah made a series of adjustments. A slight change in the hum's pitch was the only result.
'The interference seems to have worsened, Brother-Cap… Jeremiah. I'm uncertain as to the exact cause,' Elijah explained as he brushed away a large beetle that was crawling across his helmet visor.
'We could be picking up some kind of feedback or impulse from the promethium mines,' Nathaniel theorised. 'Intelligence reports indicated that the entire
area was honeycombed with mine shafts and pipelines that feed to the many refineries on Hyades.'
Jeremiah nodded his acknowledgement and signalled that they keep moving. As the team moved through the dense brash the jungle seemed to engulf each member. It became so dense at times that Jeremiah would momentarily lose sight of his battle-brothers.
The foliage of Hyades was of a type that he had never seen before. Its shapes and colours all appeared similar, but it was dramatically different. Leaves like small combat knives scraped and scratched as they tore across Jeremiah's armour, and the vines and branches seemed to voluntarily constrict and contract around his arms and legs as if trying to capture or restrain him for some purpose. This feeling was reinforced by the many sounds that swirled around them. Most were similar to sounds he'd heard on other worlds, others however, seemed to be calling out to one another. Jeremiah was certain that they were being observed. His only concern was whether they were being stalked as well.
The team continued to make its way through the jungle. As they proceeded, Jeremiah noticed skeletal remains of small creatures ensnared in ivy-like foliage around the base of several trees. They continued to trudge through the thick jungle, receiving momentary respite from the native fauna of Hyades when the occasional clearing would appear. The jungle ceiling was not as generous. There were no breaks or openings, with the canopy allowing no light to penetrate its shielding of the jungle floor. The visual
enhancements of their helmets coupled with the Lion's gift of genetically enhanced vision were all that allowed them to see.
They were moving through one of the few clearings when a fury of sound and movement erupted from beneath a thicket of tangled vine to Jeremiah's right. He unleashed his sword ready to meet whatever was coming for them. A small, fur– and feather-covered creature leapt up onto the exposed gnarled root of one of the trees. It turned, hissed and spat at Jeremiah, spraying the right flank of his helmet. The ceramite underneath the creature's spittle began to blister. The poisonous phlegm was not strong enough to actually penetrate his armour, but Jeremiah did consider that if the creatures were bigger they could pose a serious threat.
The rodent-like thing hissed again in defiance and leapt from the root. It had made two hops deeper into the woods when suddenly the ivy-like growth ensnared it. The creature instantly began to convulse and blue-white tendrils of electricity danced across the ivy and its now stunned victim.
'Stay vigilant brothers. It would appear that Hyades's reputation is well deserved.'
'I think we may have discovered where some of the interference is coming from,' Elijah stated.
'Small rodent things, electrically charged, carnivorous ivy; I think this place's reputation may be an understatement,' Nathaniel added.
'That may be,' said Jeremiah. 'However it will not deter us from our objective. Let's keep moving.'
* * *
The Dark Angels had been travelling for almost two hours when Elijah's voice broke through the comm. 'I see light ahead.’
The team slowly began to spread out, taking great care to move quietly: detection at this point would be disastrous. Jeremiah crouched and crept up behind Elijah. Then he raised his right hand, making a closed fist, and the team stopped instantly, frozen in place like ancient statues.
A beam of light began to strike the leaves and trunks of the trees as it moved slowly across the jungle. The searchlight indicated that they had finally reached the capital city. Using hand signals, Jeremiah instructed Nathaniel to move forwards to the very edge of the jungle to retrieve better information on their current situation. Nathaniel slowly moved through the foliage while the other members of the team remained perfectly still awaiting his return.
'I would estimate the kill zone to be one hundred to one hundred and fifty metres across,' reported Nathaniel. 'Looks like a manned weapon emplacement every thirty metres, and two squads of Sentinels patrolling the kill zone in thirty-minute intervals.'
Jeremiah pulled the entire team back into the seclusion of the canopy, with the exception of Nathaniel, Gilead and Sebastian. Nathaniel was left to observe and report the activity of the planetary defence forces while Gilead and Sebastian were dispatched to reconnoitre along the perimeter and report back any weakness or opportunity that the team could exploit. Upon his return Sebastian's report echoed Nathaniel's. Jeremiah awaited the final report. If
Gilead's report mirrored the others then he would need to formulate a new insertion plan.
Prior to their departure, Jeremiah had been given a fairly detailed intelligence report of Hyades and its capital city of Lethe. Included in that report were troop strengths, defensive capabilities and a fairly detailed map of the city as well as a layout of the governor's palace and control compound.
Initially the plan was to reach the city walls, scale them and move through the city under the cover of night until they reached the compound. According to the reports, there was no known conflict or crisis in this area of space so Hyades's defences would be minimal. Something must have changed to cause this level of fortification. This heightened level of defence was not a coincidence, for in Jeremiah's experience coincidence did not exist. His thoughts were broken when Gilead's voice broke through the comm.
'Jerem… hssssst… the jungle I… Hsst…'The rest of the transmission was lost to static.
Jeremiah looked at the rest of the team, confirming that they had received the partial comm transmission as well. With a quick nod of his head he sent his battle-brothers into action. He had no idea of Gilead's location or condition; he only knew his direction. The team formed a skirmish line, moving as quickly and as quietly as possible. Stealth was not a skill that most Marines possessed, their sheer bulk making that difficult, but fortunately the jungle provided them with enough cover and background noise to make things a little easier.
'Gilead, respond please. Report your location and situation,' Elijah requested.
Tra…. brea… p… Kil… alls,' was the only response.
The team had travelled through the jungle for three hundred metres when Jeremiah ordered them to stop. He then signalled to Elijah to try to make contact again.
'Gilead, respond please. Report your location and situation,' Elijah repeated.
Gilead did not respond. The Dark Angels waited, but there was no response.
Jeremiah's frustration grew. One of his team was lost, and he wanted know why, but he could not jeopardise the mission by sending more men out to look for the missing Marine. He scanned the jungle in front of him looking for a sign, any indication at all of what could have happened to Gilead. The plants and trees here were not as dense as the area they had come from, and the strange electric ivy, which the team called the shocker vines, was much more prominent. That might account for the increased difficulty with the comm. He wondered just how large the ivy would grow and if it could become a threat to him or his battle-brothers.
Transmission breakin… Ha… ound end to kill zon… making way back…' Gilead's voice broke through the comm.
'Understood Gilead. We have moved closer to your position. We will await your arrival,' Elijah responded.
Within minutes Gilead broke through the jungle, rejoining the team.
'What have you found out?' Jeremiah asked.
'There is a large section of the jungle that has not yet been cleared away,' said Gilead. 'And it goes right up to the city wall.'
'How wide is this area of jungle?' Jeremiah asked.
'At least one hundred and seventy-five metres, brother, if not wider,' Gilead responded. 'I managed to scout into it about one hundred and fifty metres before I realised that I had lost comms, and turned back to report.'
'Excellent work, Gilead.' Jeremiah stroked his chin while turning away from Gilead.
'You seem troubled, Jeremiah,' Elijah said.
'Our leader is curious as to why the details of the kill zone were not in our intelligence reports,' Nathaniel speculated.
'Exactly What has occurred on Hyades that would require this heightened defensive posture? And why now?' Jeremiah's words silenced the team.
'The time for speculation is over brothers, whatever the cause it will not deter us from our holy mission. We move on.'