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THE TALE OF BOREAS
PART FOUR
It took six hours for the crew of the Saint Carthen to die In that time, the desperate heretics launched fourteen counter-attacks on the bridge in an attempt to recapture the control chamber and reactivate the environmental systems Each assault was met with controlled, deadly salvoes of bolter fire The chances of the bridge falling would have been slim in the best of situations - as iels excelled at ruthless defence, stubbornly refusing to give a centiround to wave after wave of wild-eyed crew out of opened airlocks and deactivated vents, and contending with the lack of gravity, their assaults failed miserably and over two hundred corpses floated in the vacuuly reckless attacks
Only when the ship’s internal scanners register zero life signs outside the bridge did Boreas consider their position secure Even then, there was much work to do For over an hour, the Space Marines swept through the corpse-littered corridors and cha for survivors, or evidence of the Fallen, but they returned eain, it was Nestor who raised the point that had been nagging at Boreas ever since they had stors to the Fallen, where are they?’ the Apothecary asked, turning from a view screen to look at Boreas ’What makes this ship different from any number of other pirate ships in the sector? Perhaps your infor­hter was unnecessary?’
Boreas did not answer ie to the command chair, the black leather now spattered with blood and shredded with shrapnel and bullet holes He gazed over the sparking consoles, looked at the floating corpses and globules of blood ris­ing and falling in the thin atht? Did the presence of the Saint Carthen mean the Fallen were in Piscina after all, or had he over­reacted?
’This ship was once captained by one of the Fallen,’ Boreas told the others ’For nearly a century he waged war against the Ie’
’But he is not here now,’ Nestor said, pushing aside a body and stepping towards the Interrogator-Chaplain He pointed at the uniform of one of the officers ’Look at this one He does not look like a traitor to nia Inia’
’Of course they have civilian insignia,’ interrupted Damas ’They docked with the orbital station, they sent a shuttle down to Piscina IV They were hardly likely to be bearing placards proclai their traitorous ways’
’Questions will be asked,’ Nestor said solemnly ’Doubts will be raised’
’Let the next to the breach in the wall, a cloud of bolter casings suspended in the air around hily’
’We fired on an Imperial vessel,’ Nestor pointed out ’We boarded and wiped out the crew of another ship, with no evidence to support our claim’
’Evidence is inconsequential,’ Boreas said, turning from the tattered chair
’The Inquisition will hear of this, Cohed
’No!’ snapped Boreas ’It is their claiainst ours We swore to keep the secret of the Fallen, nobody must learn of it Nobody! It matters not if we can prove it, because to do so will only declare our shaalaxy We will be crushed, hunted down as heretics, and the Chap­ter will be destroyed’
’They were here,’ Hephaestus said quietly He had been busying himself at one of the data consoles for some time The rest of the command squad turned and looked at hi the bridge and looking past the Tech screens
’Yes, brother-sergeant, I have,’ replied Hephaestus ’I have found their navigational records They have been in the system for several months, and have made frequent journeys to Piscina II One of its moons, to be more pre­cise’
’Aside from planets three and four, the system is uninhabited,’ Thumiel said ’A secret outpost of some kind?’
’That would bedirectly at Boreas ’I have also found data per­taining to a particular type of power plant, of which they picked up several before co to Piscina’
’And what does that mean?’ Damas asked
’Aside from the fact that nearly all of the ship’s power requirements are provided for by its plasht on board is the same as that used in our own backpacks,’ the Techmarine explained ’An inventory of the ship’s ar that would require similar power cells A suit of power armour is the only reason­able explanation’
’So the Fallen have been aboard,’ concluded Boreas
’At least one, probably several,’ Hephaestus added
’Anything else?’ Boreas asked
’Most of the data storage was erased or destroyed e took the bridge,’ the Techmarine replied with a shake of his head
’What are your orders?’ Nestor asked, shouldering aside a corpse that had drifted into him
’Damas, contact Sen Neziel, tell him to despatch a Thunderhawk to retrieve us,’ Boreas said, straightening up, full of purpose again ’Order hiet this vessel Hephaes­tus, transational directions to the Blade of Caliban’s bridge crew and have them lay in the most direct course to Piscina II’
’Do you think destroying the ship will stop any enquiry?’ Nestor said with a shake of his head
’No, but it will destroy any evidence of the Fallen,’ Boreas countered ’We will locate and destroy their base as well, and claiades’
’A lie?’ Nestor asked
’A half-truth,’ Boreas replied ’We will leave sufficient evidence that Traitor Marines had been operating in this systeion they came from’
’Do you think that will allay suspicion?’ Damas asked
’We have hunted the Fallen for ten millennia and con­cealed the true purpose of our quest,’ Boreas explained carefully ’The Inquisition will see ant them to see They may have their doubts, but there will be insuf­ficient cause for them to act or inquire further’
’Thishis head to look at each of the others ’I feel this deception dishonours us’
’The dishonour is already ours!’ rasped Zaul ’Did you not hear the Brother-Chaplain’s words? Did you not con­sider the oaths of secrecy ore? Our past already damns us in the eyes of the Emperor, and we shall never be able to atone for that sin if that shaht, ould be hunted down as traitors, ten thousand years of service and loyalty tar­nished by a els to be re­side the likes of the World Eaters and Alpha Legion?’
’Enough of this!’ barked Boreas ’Hephaestus, lead the way to the docking bay, we shall talk of these matters later First, we must destroy this tainted ship and dis­pense with Captain Stehr and the Thor Fifteen Then ill track the fiends to their lair and eliminate them That is our only concern for the present’
’As you coe of the Blade of Caliban and watched the slowly expanding cloud of gas, plasma and debris that used to be the Saint Carthen He felt relief as he watched the glitteringwent deeper than the eliht to the core of his soul Since he had first heard the ship’s naain after the riot, it had been like a thorn in his h he was almost physically incapable of fear, the ship had coator-Chaplain’sits destruc­tion exorcised that anxiety, banished the lingering doubts and worries that had plagued him recently