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For the next few days, as the Blade of Caliban prowled into the inner Piscina systeels prepared the for war; they were readying the a Space Marine could make It was not just a mission, it was a sacred oath they had sworn, and they would not rest until it was complete or they were dead It was more than a simple quest, it was a state ofall other considera­tions in pursuit of their goal

During a crusade, they did not rest or sleep, spending only an hour each day in the semi-conscious meditative state allowed by the catalepsean node i their battlegear and in prayer Now that Boreas had , they repainted their arels First Cos They were now entitled to personal heraldry, and spent hours with Boreas and the old texts he possessed, researching their crests and colours according to Chapter tradition The Interrogator-Chaplain taught them new battle hymns - the secret Catechism of Hate reserved for the Fallen, the Opus Victorius in honour of the loyal Dark Angels’ victory over the Lutherites, and the Verses of Conde of the Fallen and their un

All the while, the Blade of Caliban cut through the ether searching for the Saint Carthen Sen Neziel was in regular contact with the Thor Fifteen, and after eight days had passed, they had proceeded beyond Piscina III and were heading further into the inner reaches of the system There had been a few false alarms, when one or other of the ships had detected an ano Most turned out to be system malfunctions, radioactive asteroids, and once they ca out of the warp and had drifted in systee communications array out of operation The Blade of Caliban had nearly passed them by when they encountered the distress call Boreas had a short and explosive exchange with the trader’s uide the stray vessel back to the trade routes A e of concern from the cap­tain of the Thor Fifteen and Conored them He was focussed on the crusade, and would countenance no distraction or deviation frooal of their search

Boreas spenttheuided their prayers until they caer, his hatred of the renegades fanned into a barely-controllable fury as Boreas taught him more of their betrayal and the civil war that had riven the Chapter Damas’s ire was colder, more introverted He took every ly writing out the Opus Victorius on his power ar hieance Hephaestus sie and workshop, blessing every gun, every bolt shell, every energy pack and blade with the strength of the Machine God Thu breathlessly as he fired round after round into static andthe Fallen with every shot For hih

And then there was Nestor He see of the Chapter’s hidden past He gave theorous he could devise, and declared the condition, ready for the holy war He had perhaps changed in one way though - he seemed even quieter He becaer the search dragged on, as if he wanted to be free of the ship itself Whenever Boreas broached the subject, he would reply that he was intent on con­cluding their mission as soon as possible, for he feared for Piscina while the Fallen ht be in the systeency to pursue the Saint Carthen, he had brought all of his command with him For the first time in millennia, there were no Space Marines on Piscina IV, only their attendants Always, even on the short recruiting missions to Piscina V, Damas, Zaul or Thumiel had been left behind as coed the situation, that perhaps he had been lured from Piscina by his foe He dis at the back of hishim as he practised battle drill with his brethren But there was nothing he could do except fol­low to its conclusion the course of action he had chosen It was his sacred duty as ato seek out the Fallen wherever they olden opportunity to fulfil that duty He had declared crusade and the future was now set, for good or ill Piscina IV was still garrisoned by fifteen thousand Impe­rial Guard and the Imperial commander’s own troops; even the Fallen would not be able to face such nu, contact was made The Thor Fifteen had detected a ship just outside the stellar orbit of Piscina II and was ate Boreas ordered the Blade of Caliban to poith all speed to the area Outwardly, there was nothing nificant about this contact than any of the others, but he felt inside that this time they were on to the foe, that the ulti­ It was still two days’ journey to intercept the rogue vessel, and he gathered the Dark Angels in the chapel All was physically ready for the co battle, now they were to make the last preparations of their minds and souls

For the first day they fasted and hts Boreas spent this ti on the future Unless the Chapter was engaged in a full-scale war, the Tower of Angels would be redirecting itself to Piscina, dropping into the warp in response to Boreas’s warning Part of him worried that his fears were unfounded, and that his actions would be deemed rash and selfish There was also part of him that wished that were true, for it would mean there were no Lutherites at Piscina, and he would not have to conduct another interrogation He had per­formed one other since his encounter with Astelan, but it had been htforward than the first The Space Marine had ranted and raved, totally corrupted by the Ruinous Powers, and despite the agonising attentions of Boreas had refused right to the end to repent his sins He had finally died screa the name of Lion El’Jonson There had been none of the innuendo and guile of Astelan, none of the supposed revelations about the Horus Heresy, which even now disturbed the Chaplain’s thoughts

But the greater part of him wished for another con­frontation with the ancient eneain, after many ed for the cleansing of holy battle to wash over him, to wash away his questions and fears with the blood of his foes Truly, Boreas realised with a shock as he prayed through the night, we live for battle and battle alone A Space Marine never felt so strong of purpose, so alive and aware of his own potential, as when he was on the battlefield, and it was a feeling that Boreas had too long been denied Even the clash with the orks had been perfunc­tory, clinical, a mere brawl coement that had not tested him or distracted him from his problems

On the second day, Boreas led the battle-brothers in final prayer

Born in the darkness, a dreaht

Armed with zeal, arht

Swords of the Emperor, shields of Mankind,

Destined for war, fated for death

Protectors of the weak, slayers of evil,

We fight ’til we draw our last dying breath

There is no retreat, there is no surrender,

Our hate of the foe drives us eternally on

While aliens live, while heresy festers,

There can be no peace until the last war is won

Strengthen your heart, harden your soul,

Launch yourself gladly into death’s hungry iveness,

There is only war

Physically ready, and spiritually pure, the Dark Angels waited impatiently as the Blade of Caliban neared the interception point The Thor Fifteen was approaching fro h the middle watch of the day when the attendants at the rapid strike vessel’s own augurs reported an energy source close at hand

The Thor Fifteen had encountered the Saint Carthen first and was engaged in a long-range duel The Thor Fif­teen’s captain, Jahel Stehr, was calling for aid when Boreas strode onto the bridge He glanced at the main display screen and watched the battle for a un decks of the renegade ship, strobing across the syste blue waves Missiles fired in return streaked across the starry backdrop but passed harmlessly beneath the Saint Carthen The pirate vessel was closing on the Imperial ship, and within a few ines On all fronts, the Thor Fifteen looked outclassed

’She’s heavily ar voice reported Boreas knew only too hat the ene heard from Astelan how he had her fitted out as a pirate vessel that had laid waste to many convoys under his command

The Thor Fifteen was ill-prepared and poorly com­manded, Boreas assessed, and ordered maximum power from the plasma reactors in an attempt to close the dis­tance as quickly as possible He co bays His plan was to crip­ple the Saint Carthen’s engines and then make a small strike at her command deck Once under control, he would turn off the life support systems and kill everyone inside He could take the vessel with minimal losses and, more importantly, if there were Fallen aboard, only he and the other Dark Angels would encounter theo, he and the others had sworn to protect the Chapter’s dark secret with their lives Like hie of the Fallen becoels’and it would be they alone who atoned for it