A squad of the planetary defence force appeared at the other end of the passage, while the Space Marines were inspecting the door. Now they were trapped at the end of the passage.
'They've found us.’ snarled Torin.
The defence forces fired their lasguns down the passage at the Space Marines. Although none of the shots
pierced their power armour, Ragnar knew that they could not remain in their position long.
Slowly, the door grated open.
'It's open, let's move.’ said Jeremiah.
Torin and Nathaniel fired their bolters down the passage to deter the oncoming troopers, while Jeremiah, Elijah, Ragnar and Haegr went through the door, quickly checking for enemies in the room beyond.
They stood in the hangar of a large vehicle pool. The outer doors stood open, giving them a view of the city. Ragnar could only see smoke and rubble, punctuated by flashes from lascannons and exploding munitions. A few servitors tended to wires and consoles on the edges of the room. The large hangar was mostly deserted with the exception of a single Chimera.
'We may have found a way to get to Gabriella.’ said Haegr.
'But who opened the door?' asked Ragnar.
This must be a trap.’ said Jeremiah.
'No, it's not. We have a friend on the inside.’ said Torin as he and Nathaniel stepped inside the room between bolter shots.
Torin hit a control, sealing the door once again, now ironically, holding the Lethe defence forces on the far side. He put a bolter round into the control in the hope of shorting it. 'I contacted Tech-Priest Varnus after I activated the vid-screens and told him to do his best to monitor us. I suspect we would have had more help if the power had stayed on, but there's power here, probably from an independent back-up generator.’
Ragnar was pleased that Tech-Priest Varnus was still on their side. Just as he had helped the Space Wolves ambush the Dark Angels, he was helping them now. Faith in the Emperor was rewarded in the strangest ways.
'It's not a trap. Into the Chimera, we're heading to the palace.’ announced Ragnar.
'I'll drive.’ said Torin.
Torin opened the front hatch and got in. The rear hatch opened to reveal a small cramped space, complete with gun ports for the exterior lasguns. Elijah was the first in the rear, Ragnar second, and then Jeremiah.
Haegr paused. 'You want me to get in there?'
'Yes.’ said Ragnar, gesturing Haegr over to the bench. The massive Space Wolf managed to climb in, but Ragnar could tell that the space made for Imperial Guardsmen was tightly cramped for the large Space Wolf in power armour. Torin started the engine. Nathaniel made it to the ramp, but barely, shooting off covering fire as the planetary defence forces entered the hangar.
Ragnar heard the planetary defence force outside even over the roar of the Chimera's tracks. The men hadn't taken long to breach the security door. One of them must have had the proper security codes and Torin's bolter shot probably hadn't done much to the doors controls on the opposite side. The men showed no hesitation in firing, but their guns couldn't penetrate the armour of the Chimera. Elijah returned fire with the Chimera's built-in lasguns.
Ragnar gestured for him to stop. 'These men are following orders, trying to defend their home. They aren't enemies of the Imperium. They don't know what is happening.’
Jeremiah nodded in reluctant agreement, but Ragnar knew what he was thinking. The men of Hyades would fight against the Dark Angels' own battle-brothers.
The Chimera roared out into the city, which had become a battlezone. Rubble and debris were strewn everywhere. Ragnar could hear the big guns of Lethe booming and smell the familiar scent of burning promethium. From the hatches, he saw the blackened bones of Lethe's defenders. Broken tanks lay in the streets, and although the Chimera was an all-terrain vehicle, it shook violently as it ran over the craters and through the rubble left in the streets. A few civilians staggered through the smoke, some screaming for help, while others did their best to run to cover. Ragnar estimated that they were about halfway between the outer walls of the city and the central complex with the Imperial palace.
‘We won't make it to the palace.’ said Nathaniel. 'Our brethren will take out any transport they see, just in case.’
'In case what?' asked Ragnar.
Jeremiah placed a hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. 'Ragnar, we have our own Chapter's secrets and honour to keep. I'm sure you respect that.’
Ragnar was getting tired of these conversations. 'I just hope that whatever your Chapter is doing it's worth destroying an Imperial planet for.’
* * *
Gabriella paced about within the governor's bunker below the palace. It had been hours since the Dark Angels had first entered the Imperial palace complex. The governor had requested she come to the bunker with him for her own safety. Gabriella had brought a few of her House Belisarius guard and Magni of the Wolfblade with her. She had ordered the rest to join in defending Lethe from the Dark Angels. Since Magni had given her the news about the possible deaths of five of her Wolfblade, she was worried and the communication systems from inside the bunker were only receiving interference.
The interior of the main room in the bunker was lavishly decorated with portraits of ancient leaders of Hyades, thick carpets and hand-carved wood furniture. It seemed more like a formal stateroom than a bunker. Commander Cadmus had informed her that this was the safest place on Hyades, with reinforced plasteel and rockcrete walls behind the inlaid wood panelling.
Gabriella looked at Magni. 'This is terribly wrong. Space Marines shouldn't be attacking us.'
'I'll protect you, m'lady.’ Magni said. 'I'm sure that the defence forces will hold out against the Dark Angels.'
Gabriella looked around the room. Even within the bunker, they could feel explosions rocking the city. Suddenly, she shook her head. A glow came from her forehead, shining through her black scarf.
'Lady Gabriella, what sorcery is this?' asked Magni. Are you all right?'
Gabriella moaned, collapsing to her knees. 'There's a disturbance in the warp, I can feel it. Something's coming.'
'Excuse me, everyone,' said Commander Cadmus, entering the room with an entourage of heavily armed men in carapace armour. These soldiers appeared to Magni to be the elite of Lethe's defences, armed and equipped like Imperial Guard storm troopers. 'Thank you, governor, for staying put and keeping Lady Gabriella with you as I requested. I'm afraid that we've had to make some changes due to the current invasion.'
'Changes? What sort of changes?' asked Governor Pelias.
'Changes in leadership, sir.’ Cadmus said, drawing his plasma pistol nearly as fast as Magni's eyes could track him. A blue-green fireball engulfed the governor's head, killing him instantly. His second shot took Magni in the knee, burning straight through the Space Wolfs power armour and dissolving the knee, severing his left leg.
Cadmus's elite troops opened fire on the House Belisarius guard. Taken completely by surprise, Gabriella's defenders stood no chance and the fight was over in seconds. Cadmus and his men stood in the centre of the room; only Magni and Gabriella remained alive.
Magni writhed in pain and shock from the betrayal. Cadmus walked close to the fallen Space Wolf, careful to stay just out of arm's reach. 'I have a message for you to relay to your fellow Wolfblade. Tell them that I have Gabriella, and that the only way they'll see her
again is for them to kill every Dark Angel on Hyades. Am I clear?'
Magni shook his head.
'I'll take that as a yes. This woman is now my prisoner.'
The commander aimed his pistol at Gabriella while one of his men took her and pinned her arms behind her. Still weakened by her vision, she was unable to resist. A set of binders locked her wrists together. Cadmus roughly pulled her to her feet by her left arm. 'Come.'
Gabriella tried to shake him off, but her captor held her with an iron grip. Magni was dimly aware that he was hurting her.
Cadmus's men had fanned out, securing all entrances and exits. In a strange moment of compassion, one threw a rug over the headless governor's body. There would be no statue in the courtyard for Pelias.
Despite the pain, Magni was a Space Wolf, and he would fight to the end. Slowly, carefully, he slipped his bolt pistol out of its holster. While Cadmus was half-leading and half-dragging Gabriella out of the room, Magni took aim at the commander's back.
Cadmus spun without warning, placing a perfect shot with his plasma pistol. The Space Wolfs hand was consumed instantly in blue-green fire. Magni screamed involuntarily. He had never felt pain so intense.
'I can't believe how hard you Space Wolves fight. It's quite remarkable. You should know when you are outmatched and defeated, and just die. Do you