Chapter 11: Mission

“Sotha!”

Sotha, who was struggling alongside his battle-brothers to eliminate the last pocket of active Necrons, turned his head immediately upon hearing the Captain’s voice. He saw Everich walking toward him; the Captain’s left arm had been severed at the elbow, the stump still wisping with smoke.

Yet, this did not affect the Captain’s resolute expression in the slightest, as if the wound were not on his own body at all.

“Why are you here?”

“Our drop pod encountered enemy fire during descent and drifted slightly off course, but fortunately—”

“That is terrible.”

Everich interrupted him with a frown.

“You should be at Chapter Master Amurad’s side right now, not here.”

“Captain, I don’t understand.”

Sotha sensed that something was wrong. The doubts he had felt before entering the drop pod resurfaced from the depths of his heart; many things had felt off from the very beginning.

But Everich clearly had no intention of explaining. He glanced at his surroundings and then shouted

“Seventh Company! Assemble!”

After finishing off the Necrons in the crypt, the warriors gathered—fifty-three in total, including one Chaplain. These were all the survivors of the Seventh Company, most of them wounded.

“We must completely destroy this node and prevent the Necrons from repairing it.”

As Everich spoke, he looked at a warrior wearing a red and white helmet—his adjutant.

“Are the melta bombs ready?”

“Yes, Captain.”

At that moment, the ominous sound of grinding metal echoed from the southern entrance of the crypt, as if countless iron boots were trampling the ground. Sotha didn’t need to look to know that the main enemy force had arrived; clearly, their masters were unwilling to abandon this vital energy node.

The Seventh Company Captain looked at the entrance, then turned to his left, meeting Sotha’s steadfast gaze.

He took a deep breath and continued

“You are the last fifty-three of the Seventh Company. Upon your shoulders rests all the honor of the company. Perhaps I have not been fighting for as long as others, but I have sworn to witness this to the end! The Seventh has fought until now, and will continue to fight until all of this is over—a final battle to end the Necron nightmare, a final battle to fulfill our duty and defend the honor of our brotherhood!”

At this, the black-armored Chaplain stepped forward, his voice stern and booming

“What then is your intent? Will you join me in beseeching the souls of our fallen brothers, asking them to lend us their strength in the coming battle and stir our fighting spirit? All of you!”

In an instant, every Astartes turned toward the Chaplain and knelt on one knee upon the hard stone floor. Sotha did the same.

Some were slower, hindered by their wounds, but not one hesitated.

The Chaplain stood before them, raising his crozius high, and watched as they followed his lead.

“In the name of the most exalted Majesty, the Divine Emperor, we beseech Thee.”

“Long live the Emperor!”

The group responded in unison.

“For the honor of the Emperor and the tireless devotion of His defenders, we beseech Thee.”

“Long live the Emperor!”

“Those who gave their lives, those who traded their existence for our survival in the eternal torment of the undying, we implore Thee: recall the souls from the deaths of our brothers, and receive them unto Thy side!”

“Death is our name!”

The Angels of Death replied as one.

By now, those stumbling mechanical nightmares had emerged from the darkness of the corridor. Cold green flames burned in their hollow eye sockets, and their gauss flayers were held level at their chests. Like toy soldiers lined up with precision, they marched with perfect, rhythmic steps toward the living gathered in the crypt.

“Prepare for battle! You lot, go plant the melta bombs!”

The soldiers of the company began to take their positions. Just as Sotha picked up his bolter, preparing to find his own place, the Captain appeared before him, handing his own sword and a helmet to Sotha.

“Take these. Lead your squad and get out of here. Go to the Chapter Master. If you head in that direction, you should be able to find them.”

His voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority.

“That is an order.”

As if knowing what Sotha was about to say, he added that, then turned and walked toward the Chaplain.

“Captain—”

Sotha reached out a hand, calling out. Everich paused, but did not look back.

“I will return shortly, no matter what.”

With that, he donned his helmet, turned, and summoned his five remaining squad members, heading in the direction Everich had indicated.

Everich, having reached the Chaplain’s side, looked back and watched Sotha’s figure disappear into the shadows of the corridor, whispering

“May the Emperor protect him.”

“And may the Emperor have mercy on us.”

The Chaplain’s words drew a bitter smile to Everich’s lips. He unholstered the bolter fixed to his thigh and moved behind cover. By now, the undead had begun to fire, and a torrential rain of dissociation beams descended upon the area held by the Astartes.

*BOOM—!*

With a massive roar that shook the entire crypt, the energy node supplying the whole sector was severed, and darkness instantly engulfed the surroundings.

“FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!”

With a roar, Everich fired the first shot at the enemy.

The other Astartes unleashed their fury as well. The muzzle flashes of the bolters became tiny beacons in the darkness, while the beams fired by the undead were like ghost-fires in a tomb. The two intertwined, accompanied by the constant sound of heavy bodies hitting the ground.

“Why?”

Hearing the gunfire behind them, Aksel glanced back, then hurried to Sotha’s side.

“You’ve asked that four times already.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It is an order. There is no need to understand.”

“Sotha!”

Aksel grabbed the other’s arm, and the entire squad came to an immediate halt.

“We are not cowards!”

All eyes were fixed on him. Although Sotha was not wearing his helmet, his expressionless face was no different from the mask of one.

“No one said you were a coward.”

“Then we should be fighting! Dying alongside our brothers! Instead of… running away!”

“I repeat: this is not running away. This is an order—the Captain’s order.”

“Why? What mission requires just us? We are not veterans, nor are we Terminators.”

“Watch your tongue, Aksel.”

After glaring at him, Sotha pulled his arm from the other’s grasp and continued walking.

“Admittedly, we are not veterans, nor are we Terminators, but we are still Astartes—warriors of the Emperor, extensions of His eternal will. I hope you can better appreciate your own value.”

Faced with Sotha’s words, Aksel was momentarily speechless. He looked at the others, but after a brief pause, they followed in Sotha’s footsteps.

“Fine. I hope this mission is worth it.”

Shaking his head, Aksel hurried to catch up, while the gunfire behind them gradually grew faint with distance…

(End of chapter)