'I am confused, Captain Gieyus. What "unexpected obstacles"?'
We gained access to the governor's palace when we were engaged by a small force of Space Wolves.
To avoid capture we escaped into the mines below the city,' Jeremiah explained.
'Space Wolves?'
'The Space Wolves are in the service of House Belisarius, administrators of Hyades. Their presence was unexpected,' Jeremiah said.
'The presence of the Space Wolves is unexpected but not a cause for great concern, considering the area of space we are in. Have you located the target?' Vargas tried to hide his frustration.
'No, lord-chaplain.’ Jeremiah replied.
'Well then as with my original plan I will deploy several squads of Dark Angels to secure the city and we will root out our objective, street by street, building by building.'
Vargas sounded almost pleased. The interrogator was well known within the ranks of the Dark Angels. He had never failed when hunting down the Fallen. He ran them to ground each and every time. He was also known for using any and all means at his disposal to accomplish his task. The ancient secret of the Dark Angels could never be revealed. This above all else was his goal.
'The target must be captured and brought to justice, captain; everything else is secondary.’ Vargas attempted to hide the annoyance in his voice.
'I understand that, my lord, but once again I respectfully submit that we do not need to secure the entire city for one heretic, no matter how dangerous. Lion's Pride will locate and subdue the Fallen. We simply need more time.’ pleaded Jeremiah.
'Captain Gieyus, you have already failed in your mission. However, let it not be said that I am not a fair man. How much longer will you require?'
'We will only need another twelve hours to locate and secure our objective, Lord Vargas. We will not fail again.’ Jeremiah replied.
'See to it that you do not, captain. You've had ample time. Another failure will not reflect well on you in my report.' Vargas's statement was clear.
'My lord chap-' Jeremiah's reply was cut short as a high pitched whine broke through the comms, forcing several adepts to quickly cup their hands over their ears.
'Things are dramatically different with the Sons of the Lion than I remember.' The strange augmented voice burst through. 'In my day failure such as this would not have been tolerated.'
'This is Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas of the Dark Angels. Identify yourself,' Vargas commanded.
'So I am addressing the great Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas. I am honoured, your reputation precedes you. However, you have disappointed me, Vargas, disappointed me greatly.’ The unknown voice laughed.
'I say again, identify yourself.’ Vargas repeated.
'I thought that would have been obvious to one of your reputation, again I am disappointed. Very well if I must: I am the one you seek.’ Laughter once again filled the bridge.
'I will not bandy words with the likes of you! 1 will simply offer you this one chance to surrender to receive just punishment, or we will use ultimate
force.’ Vargas's voice was strained with anger and disdain.
'As I said, Vargas, you have disappointed me. Sending down a simple six-man kill team, delegating subordinates to do your job, I mean really Vargas, I had hoped for better from you.' Venom dripped from the voice of their persecutor.
'You have an expanded perception of your own importance. A simple kill team is more than sufficient to apprehend you.’ Anger grew to rage in Vargas's voice.
'Do you think I am some terrified refugee cowering in a corner?' The voice laughed. 'I am prepared for you and your fellow Astartes, but I do not think that you are prepared for me.’ Again laughter filled the bridge.
Suddenly defensive alarms sounded throughout the ship drowning out the hideous laughter. Vargas quickly turned to the tactical screen. Adepts and servitors reacted furiously to identify the new threat.
'Lord-chaplain, several orbital defence platforms just went active. I'm detecting laser batteries and torpedo bays.’ The adept was shouting to overcome the alarm sirens.
'Lord-chaplain, I'm detecting launch. We have an inbound torpedo salvo!'
'You see Vargas! Do you finally see what a great disappointment you are to me?' With its final assault the voice cut off.
Vargas felt his anger growing, but he was too experienced to allow that anger to completely take over.
It was time to bring this to an end, to bring it to an end his way. He turned to give his instructions when a single voice came from the comm. It was the voice of Jeremiah Gieyus.
'Lord Vargas-' Vargas cut off Jeremiah in mid sentence.
'The target must be located, captured and brought to justice, captain. All other concerns are secondary. Do what you must to secure him. The threat of contamination is too great, and the time for covert operations is over. I will be sorting this my way.' Vargas gestured to the communications officer to close the channel.
'Guidance, bring us within assault range. Activate shields and all weapons batteries,' his metallic voice commanded.
Weapon and defensive system adepts repeated Vargas's words back to him as they accomplished each command with lightning precision. The bridge access doors sprang open as two Dark Angels entered the bridge, taking positions on either side of the door. Should the ship be boarded they along with the adepts, servitors and Vargas would defend the bridge.
Activating the inter-ship comms, Vargas continued, 'Forward launch bay prepare and launch Thunderhawk Squad Alpha for defensive cover. Drop-pods prepare for immediate launch.’
Returning his attention the bridge, he continued his commands, 'Tactical control, display the current position of the Redemptor and all other vessels in the system.’
Vargas turned to the tactical screen. A holographic image sprang to life. The planet Hyades was at the centre. Several ships floated at various orbits above the planet. The orbiters were mostly transports and cargo vessels in standard docking orbits. These ships posed no threat to the Vinco Redemptor. The defence platforms however were another matter.
'How is it you missed the platforms on your initial scans?' Vargas demanded, clenching his gauntleted hands.
'Their power grids must have been down as we approached, Lord Vargas, and we were too far away for visual confirmation.’ the tactical officer replied, failing to hide the stress in his voice.
Vargas was troubled by the fact that the defence platforms were left powered down. Not to mention that these defences had not been included in the intelligence reports. It wasn't uncommon for planets like Hyades to have planetary defence platforms, but to leave them powered down to hide their presence was unheard of. Was it possible that the Fallen had set a trap for them? Well if it was a trap, the fools were about to catch far more than they could have imagined.
'It would appear that we are in for a bigger fight than we expected. So much the better.’ said Vargas, the anticipation in his voice coming through the metallic tone.
Vargas stroked his rosarius and let his hand rest on the two black pearls hanging there. An interrogator-chaplain earned one black pearl for each Fallen who confessed his sins and sought
redemption before his death. Today, he was determined to capture the Fallen that would bring him his third pearl.
The interrogator-chaplain stormed across to the bridge's observation deck. From his vantage point, the massive ship stretched out before him. He could see its weapon batteries spring to life, powerful weapons capable of punching through a ship's hull with ease. Planetary bombardment cannons rose from their enclosed bays, primarily used to soften a target prior to Space Marine deployment by orbital bombardment. However, that would not be their purpose this day, since there was no need to lay waste to the capital city… yet.
Doors covering the massive torpedo bays retracted in preparation of their impending salvo. Vargas knew that within his ship's hull, her crew moved to their assigned combat stations. Cybernetic servitors, half-man and half-machine, lumbered through their programmed duties, moving within areas of the ship where radiation, heat and the harsh bite of vacuum would not allow others to venture.
The Dark Angels commander looked out from the pulpit on the observation deck as the battle-barge closed on Hyades. Small pinholes of light flashed through space towards the great vessel. The incoming torpedo salvo was almost upon them. Subconsciously he grabbed either side of his pulpit, preparing for the inevitable engagement.
'It begins,' Vargas said to himself.
'Lord-chaplain, impact with inbound torpedo salvo in twenty seconds,' the tactical adept declared.