C. Goto - Dawn of War

“The others have gone on ahead, captain,” replied Corallis, coughing as a trickle of blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. “They have rigged this marker to explode. It was a trap.” As he spoke, he lifted his hand from the ground, revealing what he had found before the battle started. A small, blinking device was buried just beneath the surface.

It was a mine.

C.S. Goto (ebook by Undead)

01 – Dawn of War

“There are Eldar explosives and demolition charges all around the menhir, captain,” reported Matiel. His squad of Space Marines were working their way around the great stone marker, studying the ground and noting the relays clamped into the stone itself. “We dare not move them-the trip mechanisms are unknown to us, and we would risk destroying the stone… and us.”

“I understand,” said Gabriel, his attention still distracted by the scouts who were carrying their sergeant into the back of one of the Rhinos. Corallis was not quite dead-it took more than a few bullet wounds to kill a Space Marine-but he was as near as it was possible to get.

“What about the triggers?” he asked, collecting himself again.

“I think that we can replace the triggering devices, but that is all I would care to do with this xeno-tech,” replied Matiel, somewhat reluctantly.

“See that it is done, Matiel. We would not want the eldar to pay us a surprise visit and blow us all into the warp,” said Gabriel, a characteristic smile drifting across his face, in an attempt to lift the mood.

“Was this a trap?” asked Isador, striding over from the Rhino, into which Sergeant Corallis had just been loaded. The Librarian looked resolute, as though the ruin of Corallis might have been the last straw.

“No, I don’t think so,” replied Matiel, nodding a swift greeting to the Librarian as he joined the group. “Judging by the placement of the charges, it seems likely that they planned to collapse this area of the summit-burying the menhir, and anyone else who happened to be nearby.”

“Corallis did say that the eldar left in a hurry, so perhaps we disturbed them before they could finish the job? Maybe the Warp Spiders were left to complete the demolition?” suggested Gabriel, looking to the others for their opinions.

“Or perhaps they left the summit to lure us in, leaving this stone as bait, planning to use the Warp Spiders to blow it when we arrived?” said Isador, more suspicious than his captain. “We should not give these aliens the benefit of the doubt, Gabriel. Just because they are the enemy of our enemy doesn’t mean that they are our friends. Look at what they did to Corallis.”

“Either way,” said Gabriel, nodding at the plausibility of Isador’s version, “the eldar clearly thought that we would want to take a look at this stone, and it also appears that they were keen to ensure that the Alpha Legion did not get the chance to look at it.” Gabriel flicked his head towards the killing field behind them.

“We should certainly see what is so special about it. Isador, please take a look at the stone… Take as much time as you need.”

Isador nodded and made his way over to the menhir, carefully stepping between the Space Marines that ringed it. He raised his hand and touched the smooth, featureless surface of the stone, closing his eyes in concentration. Somewhere deep inside the rock, there was a faint, rhythmical pulse, as though it was breathing. He leant in closer, pressing his ear against the rock, straining with his mind to discern the hint of sound within. It was a whisper.

The roar of a Rhino engine starting up made Matiel and Gabriel turn away from the menhir. One of the Rhinos started to roll down the mountain side, heading back towards the field-station in the Pass of Korath. An escort of scout bikes ran alongside it, as Corallis’ squadron refused to abandon their sergeant. The banner of the Blood Ravens was held by the company standard bearer, who stood solidly on the back of an open-topped armoured transport, marking the passage of an honoured warrior. It fluttered in the strong winds that blew across the mountain top, beating the wings of the black raven and making the scarlet drop of blood in the centre of the emblem pulse like a heart.

“May the Emperor heal his wounds,” whispered Gabriel, staring after the convoy. Matiel just bowed his head in respect.

As the vehicles dropped out of sight, the sound of another engine drifted through the breeze, and Gabriel watched the horizon intently. It didn’t sound like another Rhino, but it was moving much faster than the slow procession that was taking Corallis down for medical care, whatever it was. After a couple of seconds, a red and black Tartaran Chimera crested the summit at high speed, lifting into the air as the angle of the ground flattened out and then crashing back down onto its tracks.

The transport skidded abruptly, sliding in an ugly arc as its momentum pushed it precariously close to the side of the summit, but then its tracks bit into the rocky ground and dragged it towards the Blood Ravens, sending sprinklings of soil and stones cascading over the edge of the peak.

The Chimera rumbled heavily over the corpses that were strewn over the mountain top, squashing them unceremoniously under its thick caterpillar tracks, apparently unconcerned about whether they were Chaos Marines or the smouldering remains of eldar. As the transport ground to a halt in front of Gabriel and Matiel, it left a path of mulched flesh and pools of blood in its wake.

Given the manner of the arrival, Gabriel already knew who to expect when the rear hatch lowered into a ramp and Inquisitor Toth stamped out into the mid-morning sun, dragging Colonel Brom behind him like a beaten dog.

“Captain Angelos, this is insupportable-” began Mordecai, striding straight up to Gabriel and breathing directly into his face.

“Inquisitor Toth,” interrupted Gabriel smoothly. “How nice to see you. As you can see, we have been rather busy, and I should apologise for not finding the time to keep you informed.”

“It is too late for pleasantries,” replied Mordecai, unimpressed by Gabriel’s transparency. “Not only did you break from camp without informing the official representative of the Emperor’s Inquisition, but I am given to understand that you also found and destroyed a potentially valuable alien artefact, before declaring war on an eldar force and then requisitioning a detachment of Brom’s Imperial Guard to oversee your field-station. Needless to say, captain, the Inquisition will not look favourably on these actions.”

“And Colonel Brom, greetings,” said Gabriel, choosing to ignore the tirade from Mordecai-reminding everyone that the inquisitor had no power over the Adeptus Astartes. Brom nodded a brisk greeting and then shrugged his shoulders, perhaps indicating that he was as much a victim of Toth’s umbrage as Gabriel.

“I will not be ignored, Captain Angelos, and you will answer to me. I may not have the power to commandeer your precious Blood Ravens, but I certainly do have the power to have you placed into custody for obstructing the affairs of the Inquisition,” said Mordecai, fuming.

“You overstep yourself, inquisitor,” replied Gabriel quietly, fixing Mordecai with his sparkling green eyes and narrowing them slightly. “I am obstructing nobody. You made it perfectly clear that you had no interest in the events on Tartarus, having already condemned it to the ravages of the imminent warp storm. In this context, I fail to see why it would have been more than mere impoliteness not to inform you of our movements here. If you wish to dispute this matter in the company of the inquisitor lords, then I will be happy to entertain you. But not now-perhaps later. As you can see, there is rather a lot for me to attend to here first. You may notice, for example, the litter of dead Alpha Legionaries strewn over this very mountain top-the very forces of Chaos that you seemed certain did not exist on Tartarus,” finished Gabriel with something of a flourish.