The team stood at the entrance to the maintenance tunnel where the Dark Angels had first gained entry into Lethe. Sounds of conflict were all around them; explosions and weapons fire from different directions. During their journey several quick direction changes
had been needed, but Torin and Elijah worked very well together. Ragnar was relieved that something finally seemed to be going well for them.
Elijah was the first to enter the maintenance tunnel, followed closely by Nathaniel, and then the rest of the group. Haegr was the last one in. Emergency lighting panels illuminated the dull grey rockcrete walls. Elijah moved quietly, until finally reaching the exit door. It still wore the scars from the kill team's creative lock picking techniques.
Elijah slowly opened the door and stepped into the waiting jungle, scanning the immediate surroundings. He moved slowly forwards, trying to get a clear scan. The auspex display screen distorted and blinked out for a split second and then reset and blinked out again. It was still useless.
Nathaniel stood about three metres behind Elijah, visually scanning the surrounding area.
'How does it look, Eli?' Nathaniel asked.
'Hold your position, Nathaniel, the auspex isn't functioning,' Elijah replied.
The rest of the team cautiously stepped into the jungle, fanning out along the wall. There was no kill zone. The jungle grew right up to the walls. Vines and other forms of foliage had even begun to grow up along the wall, covering it with a thick layer of greens and browns. As Ragnar and the other Space Wolves moved into position they exchanged quick glances.
'It must be the heat or the promethium still causing interference,' Elijah said, preoccupied.
Jeremiah and Nathaniel noticed a change in their Space Wolf companions. They were almost frozen in
place, eyes locked on the jungle. It was as if they saw something that was not there. 'Put that contraption away Elijah.’ Nathaniel ordered.
'Seems to be clea…' A red cloud rose just above Elijah's left shoulder, drizzling red mist on his armour's shoulder pad and the side of his face. The shot spun him around, causing him to lose his footing and fall.
One of their own was down, and the ragtag Adeptus Astartes group reacted instantly. Nathaniel ducked his head and ran towards his fallen comrade while the rest laid down a pattern of suppression fire at their unseen attackers. Ragnar and Jeremiah each broke to opposite flanks while Haegr and Torin stood the middle ground.
Nathaniel moved through the tangle of vines and branches that clogged the jungle floor finally reaching Elijah. He found him lying prone, face down in the dirt. Grabbing his right arm, he spun the younger Marine over onto his back. The round had managed to penetrate the armour at the lower rear section of the shoulder pad, grazing the upper arm. The wound was minor and Elijah was already climbing to his feet.
Branches erupted all around them as the enemy began to fire once again. Firing short controlled bursts they retreated back through the jungle to rejoin their companions.
Once the six Marines were together again, Ragnar activated his internal comm system.
'If we stand here we're just waiting to get shot,' Ragnar declared.
Then what would you suggest?' Nathaniel asked.
The best defence is always a good offence. We charge,' Ragnar answered.
'Agreed,' Jeremiah confirmed.
Ragnar slung his boltgun, drew his bolt pistol and sword, thumbed the activation rune as he'd done hundreds of times before, and dived through the dense foliage separating them from their unseen enemies. A bestial howl rose as he charged, the Wolfblade offering their own howl to the battle cry.
The six warriors crashed through the jungle on a head-on collision course. Firing blindly into the barrier of trees and brush in front of them, their swords arched through the air cleanly slicing branches away as they cut a path through the harsh foliage. Ragnar emerged from the jungle onto a path and the scent of Chaos poured into his nostrils. At least they were not facing their fellow Marines.
A ragged, feral-looking guardsman leapt from the jungle slashing wildly at Ragnar, striking the armour of his chest plate, which stopped the attack cold. The clumsy attack reminded the Space Wolf to stay focused and to keep his mind on the events of the here and now. A simple flick of his wrist and a downwards strike imbedded Ragnar's sword deep in the enemy's neck, severing the head from his body.
Members of Cadmus's elite unit of storm troopers poured from the cover of the jungle onto the Space Marines. The remnants of their once-proud uniforms hanging from their bent and twisted bodies were the only indication of who these inhuman beasts had once been. Tooth and claw, talon and horn replaced the once cherished weapons of humanity. Some still carried these weapons but they were now merged with their wielder in an unholy union of flesh and metal.
These creatures were greater in number, fierce, and showed no hint of fear, but they were incredibly outmatched. Undeterred, the storm troopers warriors swarmed over the combined members of the Wolf-blade and the Dark Angels.
Haegr's weapon howled from his roundhouse swings, sending the mutated attackers sailing back into the jungle when his hammer struck home. Jeremiah made quick work of the filth surrounding him, his efficiency wasting neither time nor energy. Torin's speed and finesse with a blade allowed him to dance around his opponents, throwing them off-balance. Nathaniel and Elijah fought back-to-back encircled by attackers, using their decades of service together to combine their fighting prowess to overwhelm and confuse. Ragnar, meanwhile, used sheer ferocity to wade into the filth of Chaos.
In a matter of minutes, the Chaos-tainted troopers lay dead on the jungle floor. Ragnar knelt down next to one of the fallen warriors, wondering if this poor soul realised that his misplaced loyalty to Cadmus had led him to this end.
The acrid scent of Chaos nauseated him; the air was heavy with it. When they had first explored the jungle, a few days ago, birds and other indigenous life had been extremely active, now there was nothing. Even the buzz beetles that had constantly harassed them were no longer anywhere to be found.
The Space Marine squad followed Ragnar through the tainted jungle, ignoring the footpath. They simply made their way through the foliage, cutting and slicing through the vines and bushes. Ragnar stopped
occasionally to confirm they were heading towards the temple, moving on quickly when he was reassured, for time was of the essence and caution was a luxury that they could no longer afford.
As Ragnar moved through the trees he came across a huge number of tracks, cutting a swathe through the jungle, moving directly towards Lethe. He held up his fist, signalling for the rest to stop.
'What do you have, Ragnar?' Torin asked.
'Fresh repto tracks, hundreds of them, moving towards the city.’ Ragnar answered.
‘Why should we be so concerned about a bunch of reptiles?' asked Haegr.
These new forces pose a threat to both the Lion and the Wolf. A new faction is approaching the city,' Jeremiah replied.
'Exactly! The forces in Lethe must be made aware of this new development. We must contact Varnus,' Ragnar said.
Servitors shuffled around the command centre, having moved the bodies of Magni and the governor, ready to conduct the necessary repair rituals. Varnus hunched over the comms pulpit. He did not like the new information he had just received. The reptos had been causing work delays for a while on Hyades, and it would appear that they were moving in force on the city. Their objective was still unclear to him, but Ragnar was right, the Space Marines needed to know about the new threat.
The heavy steel doors of the command centre opened with a clang and five Astartes warriors entered,
their ancient armour glittering with a blue-yellow glow. Spikes like thorns on a vine ran up the sides of both legs. Horns erupted from the sides of their helmets, curving up and rising high above the green glowing eye-lenses. These were not Astartes. These were Thousand Sons Marines.
Three Traitor Marines moved to the body of the fallen Space Wolf while the other two remained at the entrance. It was then that Varnus noticed a sixth figure, standing in the shadows just beyond the entrance, revealing only a vague silhouette. Terror rose up within the tech-priest as he faced these ancient enemies of mankind.
'Foolish son of Mars, your time is at an end.’ announced the figure at the rear of the group.
Those words were the last that Varnus would ever hear as the melta gun superheated his body from the inside out.
Ragnar and the other Space Marines broke into the clearing that surrounded the entrance to the temple. The surrounding area was exactly as he remembered, the tiered pyramid, faces leering out from the stones. When they had first found the structure he had wanted to enter and investigate it. Things might be different now had he followed his instincts then, but at the time they'd had other issues to contend with. He would see to it that he corrected that mistake. Signalling the others, he headed in.
The entrance of the structure was primitive in design, crudely hewed blocks of stone with mud used for mortar. The jungle did not intrude here as it
did at the city; it was as if it had simply accepted the structure. The interior floor was hard-packed dirt. They moved through the temple, the blue-green phosphorescent glow from the foliage dimly lighting the winding corridor. Deeper and deeper into the pyramid they descended. The dim light cast shadows across the stones, exaggerating the evil faces with even more vile expressions. Ragnar took point, followed by Jeremiah and the others. Besides the sounds of the Marines walking through the corridors, there was only the sound of the wind that whispered softly.
Ragnar wondered how long the temple had stood here. Had the reptos built this place, or their ancient ancestors? And for how long had they worshipped the gods of Chaos?
As the Space Marines descended into the temple, the light started to change. Eventually, the rough, primitive, construction transformed into a smooth rockcrete corridor, and the natural phosphorescent light was replaced with glow-globes. The hard-packed dirt floor was replaced with the standard textured plasteel plating. The sudden change in the corridor caused the Marines to stop and evaluate their situation.
Torin approached Ragnar, followed closely by Jeremiah. As the three huddled in intense conversation, Haegr, Elijah and Nathaniel took a rear guard position.
'I sense that we're close,' said Ragnar.