Jeremiah bent down to stare into the eyes of his adversary, mimicking the Fallen's last offensive move.
'Your time is at an end, betrayer. Confess your sins and be redeemed,' he spat.
1 will confess nothing.’ Cadmus said, coughing up blood.
'The betrayal was not mine but that was your beloved primar…' The Fallen's final words would never be heard as Jeremiah's sword tore up through his chest plate, ending Cadmus's life.
THIRTEEN
An Uneasy Peace
The two groups of Space Marines stood at opposite sides of Cadmus's secret bunker. Both had private reports to make to their superiors and had respectfully stepped away from each other. Since both teams had comms in their helmets that they could use to sub-vocalise, the physical separation was more a matter of propriety than practicality. Gabriella sat on the floor near the Space Wolves, rubbing her wrists where her bonds had cut her flesh. Her ordeal had obviously exhausted her, and she seemed focused on recovering her strength.
'Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas, this is Captain Jeremiah of Kill Team Lion's Pride. The threat was eliminated. Our mission has been accomplished,' Jeremiah said, hoping that the signal would reach the Dark Angels battle-barge far above the planet. The static seemed to have died down on the comms.
Nathaniel and Elijah flanked Jeremiah, waiting for the response and watching their Space Wolf counterparts. The mission was over. All that remained for them to do was to protect their secret.
With one eye on the Dark Angels, Ragnar also made contact with his superior. 'Wolf Lord Berek Thunder-fist, this is Ragnar of the Wolfblade. The Dark Angels have completed their mission here and will be leaving soon. There is no reason to continue your attack.’
Torin and Haegr stood quietly, weapons at the ready. The tension hung thick in the air. Both sets of Space Marines hoped that the fighting would end.
Jeremiah moved further away, hoping that he would be far enough from the Space Wolves to avoid being overheard. He didn't want to reveal his Chapter's secrets to their most intense rivals, no matter how honourable they were individually.
'Captain Jeremiah, is the heretic dead?' asked Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas, his voice ringing cold and metallic.
'Yes, my lord.'
'Do you have possession of his remains?' asked Vargas.
'We do, yes.’
Activate your beacon. A retrieval team will come for you.’ ordered Vargas.
'Interrogator-chaplain, may I boldly suggest that we break off the conflict with the Space Wolves?' asked Jeremiah.
'You overextend yourself, captain.’ replied Vargas.
The conversation between the Wolfblade and the Wolf lord fared no better.
'Young Ragnar, it is good to hear you.’ The booming voice of Berek Thunderfist came over the comm. Aye, the battle is nearly over, and we will have these traitors and hang their suits of green armour in the Fang as trophies. Bring about the guns again! Blow them into space, lads!'
Ragnar cringed. He had heard that tone in the Wolf Lord's voice before when he had stood shoulder to shoulder with Berek in battle against Chaos Space Marines. He knew what kind of warrior the Wolf Lord was: he lived for battle, and would never stand down.
'Lord Berek, the commander of the PDF forces was a traitor. Chaos has infested this planet. The Dark Angels only attacked to eliminate that threat. We need to stop the fighting. There's no reason for either side to continue this battle.’
'Ragnar, you know that I wish you were still one of my lads instead of a member of the Wolfblade, but I hope your time on Terra hasn't made you soft.’ replied Berek. 'The Dark Angels are still firing, and I'll suffer in the frozen hells of Fenris before I drop my shields or let up, so you had better get them to stop first.’
'I understand.’ said Ragnar turning off his comm. He looked over to the Dark Angels, to see if the sensitive part of their conversation was over. Jeremiah nodded and waved Ragnar over, even as Jeremiah continued his conversation.
'Interrogator-chaplain, please hear me out.’ said Jeremiah, looking at Ragnar. He knew that Ragnar could not stop the Space Wolves, and in truth, Jeremiah knew that the Wolves were merely defending their territory, no matter how things had escalated. He
hoped that the next words he spoke would be inspired by the Lion himself.
'We are in possession of the target, his comm, and his bunker. We have all of his information secure but only because a group of Space Wolves have agreed to a truce with us. If we do not cease hostilities and agree to open negotiations, we will come into conflict with them,' Jeremiah said. Then he looked at Ragnar and added, 'The target put up a hard fight, and we will not be able to hold against the Space Wolves. When we fall, they will have possession of all our target's secrets,' he stated aloud for the benefit of the Space Wolves.
Static crackled over the comm. The Dark Angels and Space Wolves fell silent, waiting for the interrogator-chaplain's response. Ragnar could feel the apprehension as everyone waited for the reply. The only sound came from one of the infernal beetles, floating in the air, oblivious to the moment.
Elijah grabbed the insect in mid-flight and crushed it in his gauntlet. Despite themselves, the six Space Marines grinned.
'It is my decision, Captain Jeremiah of Kill Team Lion's Pride, that we open negotiations. Such an action will be to our advantage. Maintain your truce. Recover what you need. The Lion watches over you.' The metallic voice of Interrogator-Chaplain Vargas made the last blessing sound far more like a threat.
Torin sub-vocalised over his comm to Ragnar. 'Are you sure about leaving this bunker in possession of the Dark Angels?'
Ragnar nodded ever so slightly. He knew Torin would see the answer. They had Gabriella. She was more
important than whatever secrets Cadmus held. Besides, Ragnar was sure that Jeremiah would not end his quest against Chaos. To Ragnar's surprise, he trusted the Dark Angels to ceaselessly battle their mutual enemies. Jeremiah wouldn't give up, any more than Ragnar would.
'Our duty is to protect Lady Gabriella. Jeremiah, I trust you and your battle-brothers will take care of this bunker and of Cadmus.’ said Ragnar.
Jeremiah looked Ragnar in the eye. So much had happened between them in such a short time. 'You have my respect, Ragnar of the Wolfblade. You and your brothers are men of honour.’ he said.
Ragnar nodded. Saying nothing, he, Torin and Haegr turned and left. Ragnar offered Gabriella his arm for support, but she shook her head.
'I can walk, Ragnar.’ she said, favouring him with a weak smile.
'My lady, this bunker is out in the jungle, and you might do well to conserve your strength until we've returned to the city.’ he offered.
Very well, you may assist me.’ she said, regaining the tone of authority.
The Space Wolves paused to wordlessly exchange salutes with the Dark Angels, although Gabriella did not acknowledge their recent allies. Jeremiah and his men said nothing, and began their search of the bunker for any information left by Cadmus.
'Come! There are lizard-ape creatures that mighty Haegr wishes to add to his legend.’ Haegr said, raising his hammer. 'Follow me.’ he bellowed and led the way out of Cadmus's secret base.
* * *
Inside Lethe, the battle continued. About halfway between the city centre and the outer walls, Mikal and the Wolf Guard had encountered a squad of Dark Angels. The Dark Angels' weapons were covered in blood and gore, evidence of the many men they had slaughtered since the assault had begun.
Mikal roared as he and the other Wolf Guard fired into the Dark Angels. Seven of their enemy fell as bolter rounds smashed into their ranks. They weren't dead yet, as Space Marines could survive extreme amounts of damage, but they were out of the action. The three remaining Dark Angels reached the ranks of the Wolf Guard, swinging their chainswords and firing their bolt pistols. Mikal licked his fangs. Like most Space Wolves, he preferred dealing with his enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
Chainsword struck ceramite as a Dark Angel thrust at Mikal. The Wolf Guard swung his power fist into the helm of his attacker, disregarding the chainsword strike, trusting that his armour would hold. It did, and the power fist made short work of his opponent's helm.