'Someone ignited the promethium mines.’ said Ragnar. 'Everything's exploding.’
'Heh, lad.’ said Berek. 'You should see the view from space.’
'What do you mean, my lord?' asked Ragnar.
The pattern of the burning forms an oval. In fact, it looks like a flaming eye glaring up from the planet,
and it's visible from space. I can see it from the observation decks. From your signal, you should be near the centre-'
The comm died. 'In the name of Russ.’ said Ragnar. He dropped the comm quietly, taking in the impact of what he had heard.
Gabriella screamed. Light glowed from beneath her headband and she shook violently.
She gurgled something incoherent. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she banged her head against the Chimera's restraints. Ragnar saw her muscles tense. A vein bulged in her neck.
'Gabriella. What's wrong?' asked Ragnar.
'How can we help her?' asked Haegr as Ragnar pulled a med-kit from its storage bin in the back of the Chimera.
Gabriella started hyperventilating.
Ragnar grabbed her hands.
'Hold on, come back to us, your Wolfblade. We're in the Chimera on Lethe.’
Gabriella's breathing slowed and her eyes met Rag-nar's. 'Ragnar, something terrible is happening. There are… many disturbances in the warp.’
'Hold on.’ shouted Torin from the driver's seat in the front. 'We're heading through a wall of fire.’
Everything became extremely hot and there was a loud bang. The Chimera lurched to the right, sending Haegr flying across into Ragnar. Neither Space Wolf was wearing safety restraints, but fortunately neither of them landed on Gabriella. Torin swore something from the driver's seat in front as he fought for control of the tank.
Another loud bang sent the Chimera lurching back to the left. The two Space Wolves tumbled to the other side of the tank. Gabriella's restraints kept her secure.
'In Russ's name!' said Haegr as Ragnar smashed into him.
Ragnar thought the Chimera had become airborne for a moment, and then a third loud bang reverberated through the vehicle, followed by a metallic grinding. He knew that at the least, the tank had broken multiple tracks. Ragnar smelled oil and the terrible grinding sound continued from the right side of the transport vehicle. With a loud boom, the Chimera shook and jolted from side to side, before coming to a rest with a resounding thud. At least they had stayed upright. Ragnar and Haegr both climbed to their feet.
'Everyone alive back there? Sorry about that – driving conditions are rather poor at the moment,' snarled Torin.
Ragnar ignored Torin for the moment. 'Gabriella, are you all right?' he asked. He looked at her bloodshot eyes and immediately realised it wasn't one of the brightest questions that he had ever asked.
Gabriella managed a smile, as she seemed to notice what a stupid question it was.
'Mighty Haegr is getting out,' announced Haegr. He pushed open the rear access ramp. Stepping outside, he drew his hammer.
Ragnar took a moment to examine Gabriella for additional injuries. Once he was confident that she was relatively unharmed, he joined Haegr.
Reptos swarmed all around them, leaping and running as explosions went off in all directions. There were hundreds of them, milling around in a frenzied mass. One of the creatures paused to stare at the Space Wolves. As if given a silent signal, the others stopped as well, and then the mass of creatures turned their heads as one to glare at the Space Wolves.
Showing their fangs and hissing, they advanced on the Space Wolves, their previous panic apparently forgotten.
'Hah.’ said Haegr, clapping Ragnar's shoulder and raising his hammer. 'Lad, the two of us have them outnumbered.'
FOURTEEN
The True Enemy
Surrounded by reptos, Ragnar and Haegr took the only course of action that made any sense at all: they charged.
Ragnar remembered when his squad of Blood Claws had dropped in the wrong location on Garm and had been overrun by hundreds of Garmites. Only the actions of his old friend Sven and their fallen sergeant Hakon had saved him that day. Then, he had fought like a man possessed; now it was time to do so again. He just wished he had a heavy weapon to provide some covering fire.
Haegr swung his thunder hammer around, scattering reptos with the force of the blow. The huge warrior seemed almost inhuman, as if he were a miniature Dreadnought rather than a man. Bodies of reptos flew into the air and the hammer boomed like
its namesake. A spray of flesh, scales, bone and blood erupted with each swing and Haegr laughed.
Where Haegr used large strokes to scatter the enemy before him, Ragnar leapt into a knot of the creatures. His blade sliced through bodies, sending blood running into the streets. One clamped its jaws on his sword arm, so he took his bolt pistol and put a shot into its skull. He flung the corpse off his arm into the midsection of two others and finished them both with shots. Without hesitating, Ragnar spun around, swinging his sword in a deadly arc that took down two more that were attacking him from behind.
He slammed a repto with the front of his bolt pistol and then fired. The round ripped through the first creature and blew a hole out of the back of the second. Claws raked at his armour, trying to find a weakness. Ragnar felt the scrapes and scratches and the impact of the blows threatened to unbalance him. If he fell, they would win by sheer weight of numbers, but he wouldn't let that happen.
He looked to Haegr. In one hand the giant still held his hammer, but with the other, he swung a repto by its tail. He slammed the creature back and forth into its brothers as if it were a reptilian blackjack. The repto screamed and its brethren hesitated, uncertain how to react to Haegr's improvised weapon. Taking advantage of the moment, Ragnar sprang into the air, flipping over some would-be attackers and crossing to Haegr.
Haegr smashed the street with his lizard flail again and again. The creature was just a sack of skin now, barely holding its remains inside.
Torin dived out of the driver's hatch of the Chimera, firing shots from his bolter as he moved. With a blade in one hand, he expertly decapitated the closest repto, as he maintained his firing. Another repto sprang high into the air at Torin, but the Space Wolfs reflexes allowed him to sidestep the creature's pounce and bring his blade around in a downwards stroke that severed the beast's spinal cord.
All three Space Wolves moved towards each other, forming a circle of blades and bolter fire. The frenzied mass of reptos lost member after member, but it seemed they would never stop coming. Then, the knot of alien beasts was gone. The Space Wolves had broken the horde. The survivors turned tail and disappeared into the smoke of the burning city.
Gabriella walked down the ramp of the Chimera. She had a slight limp, but still managed to hold herself tall. She cradled a lasgun in her arms, and she had a med-kit slung over her shoulder. 'I shot a few on the other side of the Chimera,' she said, looking at the ruined tracks of the vehicle. 'How far are we from the shuttle hangar in the main city complex?'
Torin took an auspex from his belt, while Ragnar and Haegr instinctively checked the area for more signs of immediate danger. 'We're less than five hundred metres from the city centre. Despite the interference, I can still pick up on the signals from the palace. It's this way, follow me.’ said Torin. 'We'll have to walk the rest of the way'
Berek was standing on the bridge of the Fist of Russ, glaring down at the surface of Hyades, with Morgrim,
his skald, standing beside him. The face of the Wolf Lord was contorted with rage at the sight of an eye burning on the planet below.
'Curse the Dark Angels for their arrogance,' he snarled. 'Bring us around. What damage have we suffered?'
An Iron Priest, one of the Space Wolves' own Tech-marines, stood on the bridge, alongside the many Fenrisian warriors assigned as crew. A huge servo-arm shifted on his back and he held a massive thunder hammer with many wolf tails hanging from it, a sign of worth over his many years of service. 'My lord, the battle has drained many of the ship's spirits. The strength of the generators is spent. The proper rites and rituals are replenishing their energy, but for now, providing shields and engines is the extent of their ability. To restore them would take time.'
'Restore the spirits as quickly as you can. I trust in the rites and rituals of my Iron Priest,' Berek said, flexing his power fist for emphasis.