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’Thank the Easped, cla out aardly He stared for a moment at the Space Marines as if it was the first time he had seen them properly It was then that Boreas realised it probably was, at least with their present appearance Their arreen and black heraldry, and festooned with purity seals that fluttered in the wind Dents, bullet holes, las-scorches and pieces of embedded shrapnel still scarred their armour, despite Hephaestus’s best repairs in the time he had been allowed Damas’s armour was cov­ered head-to-toe in the neat script of the Opus Victorium, and the side of Boreas’s own skull helm was covered in a bare metal plate where it had been punc­tured
’Tellso that he could keep a careful watch on the fighting The battle started tothe colonel forced their way to the north with fusillades of lasfire, driving the armed mob away from the keep Bul­lets and las-shots still occasionally whined overhead and the air was filled with the cla and intermittent explosions
’I hardly knohere to start-’ Brade said with a shake of his head, glancing cautiously around
’TellThumiel and Damas to cover the other side of the vehicle with a flick of his hand He heard the bark of their bolters now and then as they fired at rebels who had broken through the cordon of Imperial Guard
’How did you know-?’ Brade asked
’That is not important,’ Boreas waved away the colonel’s question ’You must tell me about the other Space Marines’
’No one is sure when they arrived, they certainly weren’t seen getting off any ship or shuttle that landed,’ the colonel began ’I simply heard from the comman­der’s enforcers that Space Marines had returned to the keep and I thought nothingit was you and the others Then the orks attacked again, in such numbers I haven’t seen since the invasion They overran Vartoth in an afternoon, and we threw up a line to hold the yesterday and noe’re desperately trying to hold on to Barrak’
’I saw the fighting,’ Boreas said ’Where are the Space Marines now?’
’I don’t know,’ Brade replied with a shrug He flinched as a shell detonated against the wall of a nearby building ’I tried to contact you at the keep, but there was no reply, so I sent a delegation to ask for an audience That’s when they came out I only have scattered reports, I’m not sure what happened next’
’Tell ed him ’Every detail could be inored the ers,’ Brade said, his brow creased in a frown of concentration He looked about ready to collapse, his face haggard, his eyes heavy and dark There were three, maybe four of them ’They were definitely Space Marines Their ares My officers tried to speak to their leader, but they were shoved aside, and they dared not persevere for risk of offence’
’How did they knoho their leader was?’ Boreas asked
’He was dressed differently,’ the colonel explained ’He wore long robes like a coat over his ar holsters’
’A sword in a scabbard Did he carry a long sword in an ornate scabbard?’ de
’Yes, yes, I think the survivor htly ’Do you know him?’
’Only of him,’ Boreas replied ’It is not your concern, continue ’You said survivor?’
’Er, yes,’ Brade said, visibly shaken ’The first group headed south, towards the docks, and disappeared I don’t knohere they went My men didn’t knohat to do They contacted me by comm to ask for orders, and that’s when the others came out They opened fire i over the comm, and bolter fire One of the officers, Lieutenant Straven, ran iot away, the others were cut dohere they stood’
’And then?’ Boreas proht
’Then they started the ri anyone in their path, destroying ground cars, tossing grenades into buildings It was carnage We didn’t knohat to do, and by the time a platoon arrived, they were nowhere to be found But it was too late by then Panic began to spread, the word got out that the Dark Angels had turned on us I didn’t believe it, but then everything descended into anarchy There were riots everywhere, halfthe Space Marines down After that, it just got worse and worse’
’And the situation now?’ Boreas asked
’You saw for yourself, I’m sure,’ Brade said bitterly ’The entire city is in revolt, but the Imperial commander is safe, we have tanks stationed at all the roads leading to the palaces Northport is in rains, no ship can leave or land, and the docks are little entthe squad to follow, Boreas began to atehouse of the keep He had only taken a few paces when he turned back to look at Brade
’Thank you for trusting in us,’ Boreas said
’I had to keep ainst the armoured carrier ’I had to believe that you had not betrayed us The alternative is too terrible to contereed quietly ’Hold the periain shortly’
Thethe entry combination, the door slid aside and the Space Marines entered, weapons ready As they stepped inside, the door hissed back into position behind them
Three bodies lay in pools of blood in the entrance hall, the red-robed gatekeepers whose duty it had been to receive delegations fro them, Nestor pointed at the deep knife wounds across their chests and throats The unarmed men had been butchered, probably as they had wel­coressed, they found more evidence of cold­blooded isticians lay at or near their work stations, also brutally slashed and stabbed Working their way up the tower, they found bodies on the stairs and in the hallways With trepida­tion, Boreas followed Daave a howl of anguish and ran forward The bodies of the youths were draped across their cots, sprawled on the floor and sluainst the walls Daot to the last he shook his head slowly
’Their necks have been snapped,’ he stated flatly, the corpses reflected in the red lenses of his helmet He lifted up the hands of the boy at his feet, the youth called Varsin His knuckles were bloodied and broken ’They tried to fight, as I taught them It would have been futile’
’They died bravely,’ said Zaul ’They died fighting for the Emperor’
’No!’ Damas snarled There was no bravery here, just desperation! Pointless, senseless slaughter This served no purpose None of this killing did They were defence­less, all of them’
There was a point, but Boreas chose not to share it with his distraught brethren It was the final insult, the final challenge to the els It was a state­ment of intent, as clear to Boreas as if it ritten in blood on the walls - the Dark Angels had no future
’We must check the vault,’ Nestor said suddenly
’The annihilus is obviously not active,’ Hephaestus pointed out ’If it were, there would be nothing left alive on the island’
’They may have tampered with it,’ the Apothecary insisted
’Very well,’ Boreas agreed ’Nestor and Hephaestus with me Zaul, Thuo to the vehicle bay and ready the Rhino for combat’
As he walked down the stairs, Boreas felt drained and empty The Fallen had done more than si here, in the Dark Angels’ own outpost, they had driven a blade into the heart of the Chapter
They passed signs of sporadic fighting as they travelled through the keep: bullet holes in the wall, a ragged corpse draped down the stairwell, trails of dried blood on the floor
When they entered the vaults, stepping over the bodies of three serfs who had tried to defend the entrance, Nestor carried on past the operations cha open, twisted off its heavy hinges, the locking bolts ripped aside Nestor dashed forward into the small chamber beyond A few ainst the wall
’They have taken it,’ moaned the Apothecary
’Taken what?’ dee crypt and assumed it contained rare or possibly volatile ene-seed, they have taken the sacred gene-seed,’ Nestor replied, his voice a hoarse whisper
’Gene-seed?’ Boreas was confused Then the realisation struck hier welled up ’More secrets! More lies and half-truths!’
’It was for the security of the Chapter, Boreas,’ Nestor said, hanging his head ’It would be folly for all of our gene-seed to be carried in the Tower of Angels What if the unthinkable happened? What if the Rock were lost? Destroyed in the warp, perhaps? After we survived the loss of Caliban the Lion wanted to ensure the Chapter would always endure It was decided that soene-seed would be sent to distant outposts, hidden away, its location known to only a select few’
’What do you know about Caliban?’ demanded Boreas ’What else have you kept from me?’
’Boreas, Brother-Chaplain’ Nestor’s voice was tainted with a harsh laugh, edged with insanity ’I am six hundred and seventeen years old, did you really think that after all this time I would not be a member of the Inner Circle? That’s why a veteran like myself is here, on this forsaken outpost To protect the future, to guard the gene-seed’
The words of Astelan sprang into Boreas’s mind: There was a darkness within Lion El’Jonson A darkness you all carry within you It surrounds you, yet you are blind to its presence Intrigue, secrets, lies and els Chapter, a veil of darkness they had woven around outsiders and theene-seed at all costs,’ Nestor insisted, having recovered fro between Boreas and Hephaestus The Techidly still, stunned by the turn of events As Nestor pushed past, he seemed to snap out of it
’First we must check the annihilus is intact,’ the Tech­ at Boreas