Chapter 12 Part 3

Chapter 12: Battlefield Kronus

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Part 3

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Eres Badlands

Kronus

Eliphas froze when a movement in the distance caught his eye. A group of Corpse Worshipers trudged up a sand dune and calmly looked around. A Necron Drone buzzed overhead, and he felt despair. It couldn't end like this! He couldn't get back to the Basilica of Pain!

The machine carried on, flying out of sight. The Guardsmen kept walking, none the wiser.

The Dark Apostle stared at them, staying frozen until one of the Sorcerers let out a burst of choked laughter and pointed at something behind his back. Eliphas glowered at the witch, though still glanced over his shoulder. A weathered stone pillar rose from the sand. Only its top was visible. However, that was enough. Runes of protection and concealment glowed red with power and anger. An adherent of the Primordial Truth had been here before, sometime after Khorne's Daemon ended up imprisoned. While they were unable to free it, they had hidden the place from the unbelievers.

Eliphas laughed as well. It wasn't over! He could still succeed!

"Get working!" He demanded.

"We need to find the entrance to the prison." One Sorcerer said and pointed at the sand below their feet. "We have to dig."

Was there no end to the indignities he had to suffer?! Eliphas wanted to scream, to rip and tear to pieces the offending Sorcerer. However, he needed the bastard. He needed the worse to wear sacrifices alive as well.

"Don't just stand there!" He snapped at the remaining Astartes. "Get digging!"

And so, he began to dig as well.

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Field Hospital

Victory Bay

Kronus

It was warm and comfortable. It felt like home… Home, I couldn't even remember what or where that was. There was only war and duty. I cracked my eyes open, and they felt like stuffed with cotton. All my senses felt like I was stuck up in a cocoon.

What did I do to myself this time?

I charged a Daemon, didn't I? Didn't I promise to myself not to do something this dumb again?

"Inquisitor, you're awake." A familiar and comforting voice rumbled.

Turning my head to the right was harder than it should have been. Slower too. I blinked owlishly at Anteas. He sat near my bed in an over-sized chair that somehow managed to support his bulk. His right arm was gone. Seeing him that way sent a pang of pain in my shoulder, and I glanced down. There were a lot of snow-white bandages I could see.

"Did I get my arm cut off too?" I croaked.

"You charged the Skulltaker like an Emperor damned fool." Anteas rumbled. He glared briefly at me until something warm stirred at my side, and he relented.

I turned my head to the left, and a few blinks later I could recognize a mop of dark hair sticking out of a cocooned standard-issue blanket. I stared at the kid sleeping at my side and looked questionably at Anteas.

"If the Emperor's merciful, she's taking care of any Warp taint we picked up when that thing dismembered us. Your Commissar friend is recovering in the next room and should be under Selene's effect as well."

"I presume that we won?"

"We did more than that." Anteas cracked a rare smile. "We faced the Skulltaker himself and either banished it or killed it for good. We're unsure which yet." He sat straighter and all but shone with pride as he told me this.

"Skulltaker? Don't ring a bell." I couldn't recall hearing about this particular monster before.

"Herald of Khorne, a nasty piece of work. Murdered several Gray Knights during the First War of Armageddon. Even just banishing it back to the Warp that spawned it won you many favors, Inquisitor. If we managed to kill the beast for good…" Anteas' smile became wistful.

"That was the point of the exercise." I pointed out.

"Indeed. In related news, as we speak, our forces are clearing up the primary defense lines leading to the Warp Portal. They'll need time to replenish supplies, conduct repairs and strengthen anti-Warp wards, however by this time tomorrow, we should begin our final assault." He looked pointedly at me. "Neither of us will participate. At best, we might observe from the safety of the General's command center here in Victory Bay."

I nodded lightly. I could live with that.

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Spas Invadar

Kill Kroozer

A Mekboy screamed in agony, while Kaptin Bloodfang da Bloody, smashed his power-claw into his back. He did so repeatedly and with great vigor.

Kaptin Bloodfang wasn't a happy Ork. And when Kaptin Bloodfang wasn't happy, he made sure his Boyz knew it as it was propar!

The Kaptin hasn't been happy for weeks now. He missed the Waaagh on the planet below. He missed slamming his Kroozer into Hummie ships and hearing them break! Most of all, he missed having almost enuff Dakka at his beck and call!

Bloodfang missed having working engines too because without engines you couldn't invade! Every one 'new dat!

That's why, Bloodfang had his crew paint the Kroozer red, and if the remaining Mekboyz couldn't fix da engins, he would have them out pushing!

He wanted Waaagh, damn it!

"Kaptin! It's da Boss!"

The Comms boy hollered from the Comms konzol, where the Mekboyz had him stuck after he got his legs cut.

"Boss!" Bloodfang bit off the ear of the unfortunate Mekboy and hollered with a bloody smile.

"Bloodfang, you spawn of a squig!" Gorgutz roared back. "Get your scrap piles movin! We're attacking the hummies! Ram their city! Invade them! Waaagh!"

"WAAAGH!" Bloodfang roared back. He would let the slight go this time. He wasn't the spawn of a squig, damn it! His spores came from a Squiggoth that got stuck on a Kill Kroozer! It was a really tasty Squiggoth too!

"Driver! Drive us into da Hummiez! Comm Boy! Call da fleet! We're moovin! Ramming Speed! We're Invading! WAAAAGH!"

"WAAAAGH!"

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Bridge

Armageddon

Blood Raven Strike Cruiser

The crew on watch observed the battle on the surface with great trepidation. While occasionally Imperium forces had to ally with Xenos to achieve their objectives and combat greater threats, this alliance of convenience was particularly onerous. First, there was the treacherous Eldar, who not a week earlier fought against the blessed forces of the Imperium. Then, there were the Necrons, damned machines who until now had brought only death to every world they touched.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there was a massive Chaos infestation down there, one the fleet might have to purge with orbital fire when it became feasible.

Captain Steven Ignatius couldn't wait for that blessed moment.

"Captain, thermal blooms! The Orks are on the move!" An Auspex operator reported.

"Verify that! Battle stations!" Ignatius barked and coaxed the Machine Spirit to feed live data into his implants.

Sure enough, the shattered remains of the Ork fleet were on the move. Data feed on the Imperial fleet in orbit, satellites, and ground stations soon gave him a comprehensive picture of what the beasts were doing.

"Captain, the Kill Kroozer's engines remain crippled. The beasts have a rocket strapped to its back…" The Auspex Operator trailed off. "Are they pushing it?"

"It's the Orks. Such insanity works for them. Have the auxiliary vessels maneuver behind us. Thirty-Seventh Destroyer Squadron will remain on station protecting them along with the Cruiser Swift Retribution." Hopefully, that would be enough to keep the Tau squadron honest. "Have Vengeance form up on our starboard side. Launch small craft."

Ignatius had to keep that side covered – it suffered heavy damage during the engagement with the Eldar, then even more while they reduced the Tau fleet.

"Enemy vessels are maneuvering…"

The Captain cursed. Even before the tactical hololith could update itself, his implants told him what the beasts intended.

"Full military power to engines! Weapons, the Kill Kroozer is the primary target! We can't let them get through!"

The Orks weren't moving to engage his command or even flee. They shifted to a lower orbit and if not stopped would crash into Victory Bay, causing untold devastation!