Jarnus Haim strolled noisily along the corridors of Sword of Divinity, whistling quietly as he did. He was proud to report that yet another world had been crushed back beneath the Imperial Heel. Whilst he was planning to add a note of reprimand to his report regarding the Emperor's Skulls disobeying his orders, he was pleased with the assault. Very pleased.

He didn't actually know where he was heading but had decided that a stroll might clear his mind a little and allow him the chance to piece together his report before he submitted it to the Adeptus Terra.

As he walked along the corridor he saw a somewhat familiar shape moving towards him. He paused to study the Marine and think of their name, before smiling:

"Greetings, Brother Skhyloch," he said beaming broadly in a way that he felt sure would annoy the arrogant warrior.

"Lord Inquisitor," replied Skhyloch, politely, inclining his head in a neat bow.

"Your Chapter has once again proven itself to be a worthy part of the Imperium. You should feel honoured to be a part of it." Haim knew the words had been placed in a way that hinted the Emperor's Skulls had not had any honour prior to their assault on Insteran, he was deliberately baiting Skhyloch to see if the Marine would rise to it.

"I was already honoured to be amongst the Emperor's chosen," replied Skhyloch, with no sign of anger in his voice, "I also bring a message from Commander Mortairius. He requests your presence in his quarters. At your earliest convenience of course." Although powerful, even a Space Marine chapter Commander could not order an Inquisitor to do anything, only request.

"Good then you can escort me, I'm afraid this ship can be quite difficult to move around in." Skhyloch nodded and gestured with his hand:

"Then follow me."

Infernus, Inviticus and Mortairius all sat in the Commander's quarters discussing the implications of what they had just found. In addition the Master of the Apothecary was with them and old gray haired Marine by the name Skeleross.

"If we were to gain control of such equipment we could repopulate our losses of the last year. We would back up to full strength within say, three standard months," began Mortairius, "If anything we could use it to expand our reserve forces and the scout company to a level where we would never need to worry about recruiting again."

"Perhaps," said Skeleross, "But there are many points to consider Brother Commander. Finding recruits to be trained as Marines is never difficult. Finding recruits who will actually survive to being fully fledged Marines is another matter entirely."

"Perhaps but perhaps a quarter of our recruits die due to sudden mutation in their gene seed. If Brother Infernus is correct these tanks would eliminate the chance of this happening, because they have gene seed taken from the original Imperial Fists. Gene seed that hasn't been passed from one brother to another over millennia."

"It is still a valid point," said Inviticus, "Using this equipment we might be able to produce the same number of Marines slightly more quickly than normal. The question stands as to whether we can really rely upon it to produce new Battle Brethren as stabily and as swiftly as you claim Brother Chaplain?"

"Yes," declared Infernus, "This facility could be used by ever Chapter descended from the Imperial Fists as a rapid means to replace their ranks, say after a very draining crusade where it might take decades to recover. In such times this facility could have the Chapters back up to strength within a year, two at the most."

"Such discussion is pointless," declared a voice from the door way. In it stood Jarnus Haim, who had been there for some time, listening to the intense conversation, "That facility is the property of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they will assess it's value and the Inquisition will test if it is spiritually sound."

"It bears the personal seal of the Emperor," snapped Infernus, annoyed as he felt that he had been caught by the Inquisitor like a child sneaking home late at night, "As far as I am aware the only other one of those still in existence within this Segmuntum is on Earth."

"It could be a fake," replied Haim.

Inviticus raised his eyes to gaze upon the Inquisitor's.

"It is not a fake," he replied quietly, "I have been there and it contains the touch of such power, that is almost beyond explanation. Suffice to say it could only be created by the touch of our Emperor."

Mortairius wondered if Inviticus had gone too far. He knew that Haim was notoriously touchy about the fact that unlike most Inquisitors he lacked psychic abilities. He had risen to his position through being a Commissar in the Imperial Guard. It was never wise to annoy an Inquisitor, especially one as unpredictable as Haim.

"That will need to be verified" began Haim. "If you like I will give you the reports of my twelve Epistolary's Inquisitor who all report the same as I do," answered Inviticus in his usual quiet voice. Haim decided not to respond to this as he slightly changed the subject.

"In addition you will all need to take oaths of secrecy to the Emperor not to reveal this information to any one."

"We only accept the authority of the High Lords of Terra in matters such as these," snapped Mortairius, allowing himself the luxury of getting angry at Haim, "The Inquisition are not our rulers, we tolerate you we do not serve you."

Those words set Haim's jaw into an angry position and his eyes glittered with fury.

"I shall pretend I did not hear that Commander," he began.

"Then I shall repeat it and perhaps suggest to the Lord Commander Militant that you engage in some memory improvement training," replied Mortairius, his voice hard as stone.

Haim said nothing more, he simply turned and walked from the room.

"Wretched man," commented Infernus, "Why can he not accept that whilst all others may bow and scrape before the Inquisition we bow only to the Emperor and Rogal Dorn, the fathers of our fathers."

"Such things are not important," declared Mortairius, "The Inquisitor's feelings are certainly none of my concern. Infernus you are to speak with the Tech Marines and the Colonel of the Gadoorians. See if you can rope together some volunteer test subjects. Inviticus you must commune with the Chief Librarian of the Imperial Fists and find out whether they have any records of this place. Brother Skeleross your task will be to co-ordinate with Brother Infernus and his tech marines."

"In the mean time I shall organise a search team to thoroughly explore the facility. Are they're any questions?" Silence answered him.

"Excellent."

Colonel Laspherec was a cold grim man in his late forties. He had served in the Gadoorian Green Berets for almost half of his life and had seen a good many hard battles. His face was marked by a long white scar that started just below his jaw and pass over his right eye and up on his fore head. Naturally his right eye was now bionic and it regarded Inquisitor Haim with both fear and a touch of annoyance. He also sported a bristling black moustache which grew out with a vigour the hair on top of his head lacked.

"It is rather late for a meeting Inquisitor," he said reproachfully, "I trust this is an important matter that you are about to bring to my attention?"

"All of my work is important to the Imperium," snapped Haim, giving Laspherec an idea of just how important the Inquisitor believed him to be, "However in this case I need to speak to you about it. I require your Guardsmen to carry out a secret mission for me. A covert mission of the utter most importance to the Imperium."

"They are at your disposal but might I ask seeing as the Emperor's Skulls are still in the system why not use them?" asked Laspherec, sure he wouldn't understand even if the Inquisitor bothered to tell him the truth.

"That is none of your business and you are not to tell anyone what the true nature of the mission your men will be going on. As far as everyone else is concerned they are conducting secret training, is that clear?"

"As crystal Lord Inquisitor," replied the Colonel bowing slightly to Haim, "How soon will you need them?"

"Five hours from now," declared Haim, "And see to it that they are issued only with Hot-Shot Las-guns and not normal ones. And when I say only I mean no heavy weapons, only guns and pistols." Laspherec nodded.

"They will be ready for you in that time, they will be waiting out side the main barracks," replied the Colonel, switching off the desk based communicator and turning to the internal communications system located in the other side of his desk.

As he pressed the call button one of his aides picked up the line:

"Yes Colonel?"

"I want you to have three of our Storm Trooper squads assembled outside of the main barracks in five hours time. That's O five hundred hours. Hot Shot Las guns and pistols only, no heavy weapons. Is that clear?"

"Yes Colonel," came back the efficient reply.

"Oh one more thing, should any one ask they are conducting a secret training mission for Inquisitor Haim."

"Yes Colonel."

Skhyloch paused as he considered all of the missions he had fought in. Gun battles with vicious Tyranids in waste high swamps, skirmishes with depraved Eldar pirates, close fighting with Chaos Warriors aboard derelict space hulks. None of them came close to the duty he now followed. Close in terms of importance at least.

The remains of his squad had been ordered to resume command of one of the third company assault squads. Although it was only a small five man squad it had raised Skhyloch within the ranks.

As Space Marines were trained to use all of the equipment allowed to them, Skhyloch had strapped on his jump pack and close combat weapons with ease, but having to sit around a broken down building on a planet that had more than two hundred thousand Imperial Guardsmen no more than five minutes away was not his idea of fun.

Your duty to the Emperor is not yours to reason, he thought. It is by his Will that you stand where you do, never doubt that. He fingered the two power swords by his side. Whilst it was some what against normal procedure even a Space Marine Sergeant to carry two power swords, Skhyloch had been allowed to, a sign of thanks for once again saving the life of his brother.

His armour flashed rune's in front of his eyes which he translated swiftly.

"Brother Xelion, I have unaccountable bio readings. Bearing seven, zero, nine. can you confirm?" On Skhyloch's right Xelion turned in the direction of the life signs and raised the Auspex from his belt. The small hand held sensing unit, flashed information onto his screen, causing the whole squad to draw their weapons.

"Confirmed, heading toward us," said Xelion.

"Contact the Gadoorians, get them to bring some troops over here," demanded Skhyloch. Xelion paused at this order causing Skhyloch to reissue it:

"I can't Brother Sergeant, there is no reply from the Gadoorian's only a pre recorded message saying that their communications net work is under going up grading at the request of Inquisitor Haim."

"Why do I smell a very large rat?" asked Skhyloch, gripping the hilt of his swords a little tighter, "Form up Brothers, and check your pistols." Two of the unit reached down and drew out the smooth ended shapes of their plasma pistols. These devastating weapons had the potential to obliterate an enemy in moments. Unfortunately they were also marginally likely to explode in their users face, often killing them. The rest drew Bolt Pistols and loaded fresh ammunition clips into them.

"Brother Xelion contact the fleet advise them of our situation. Have some Terminator squads put on teleport standby." The Marine nodded and began using his communications equipment.

"Message confirmed," he said and then his skull exploded in a shower of brilliant light.

Without even thinking Skhyloch leapt side ways and snatched up his Bolt Pistol, sheathing one of his swords before he did so. As his roll ended he rose to his knees and depressed his pistols trigger in the direction of the enemy.

Thump, sang the pistol as its mass reactive shell was expelled from the barrel. Whoosh, sang the shell as it's propellant ignited hurling it forwards. Thud, went the target's body as the shell ripped in deep. Splat, was the noise as the target's arm was blown off at the shoulder and their chest cavity opened.

More fire came from the enemy, brilliant red beams, that could only be Hot-Shot Las Guns. Next to Skhyloch one of his Marines with a Plasma Pistol took aim and unleashed a volley of tiny streaking plasma darts. The projectiles set the night on fire as they flew, before burning into a black uniformed body and blowing it apart.

Taking a rough guess at the enemies location Skhyloch powered his jump pack and lurched forwards into the air. He flew down in a rapid but carefully controlled descent, landing in the midst of the enemy. Some how these people had distracted Xelion's Auspex and snuck up behind him, they would pay for the cowardly way they had slain his Brother.

Both power swords now in hand Skhyloch screamed to the Emperor as he slashed at the enemy. As he slew them he noticed they were wearing the trade mark green berets of the Gadoorians. Surely these couldn't be loyal Imperial Guard?

Throwing aside such thoughts Skhyloch hacked down two more of the soldiers and watched as three tried to run. Reaching for his armoured thigh he drew up one of the coin sized krak grenades he kept there. Taking careful aim he threw the grenade at one of the retreating backs.

There was a scream as the grenade struck and automatically slid its mono molecular spike into the enemy's back. The spike was designed to penetrate tank armour, allowing the second part of the grenade to activate.

A moment later and a brilliant white stab of laser energy lit the night as the krak grenade burned through it's target's chest causing their body to burn as they died. The other two were cut down by a hail of bolt and plasma pistol fire.

Then from the other side of them came more Hot-shot fire, slicing down another of his Marines and wounding another in the leg. A moment later and a handful of Krak grenades flew towards them all failing to strike the Marines and simply vaporising portions of the ground.

Cursing Skhyloch fired in the direction of the reinforcements, only to have a Las beam slam into his chest knocking him flat to his back. Feeling no pain as he sat up, Skhyloch thanked the Emperor for his armour, which had saved him from death. Moving to his knees Skhyloch watched in horror as two more members of his squad fell dead, burned down by the Hot-shot beams.

Only the leg wounded Marine remained clutching his Plasma pistol in his hands and blasting at anything that seemed to be a target.

"Brother Zelech, remain in place," he told him, "I'm on my way."

A Krak grenade landed on Zelech's head and exploded with enough force to break down his plasma pistols containment seals. The weapon vented plasma destroying both Zelech's body and a three-metre radius around him.

Pinned down and alone Skhyloch cursed, as he felt the enemy close in. Then an idea struck him. A clever idea. He unstrapped his jump pack and removing a rock from the ground he jammed the activation button on it down. Releasing the throttle break he watched as his pack leapt up into the sky on a brilliant train of fire.

He also watched as the rebels or whoever they were, began firing at the pack, filling the night air with the buzz of their Las-guns. They didn't even hear Skhyloch running until he was upon them.

His power swords glowed with a slight light casting a ghostly blue aura on his armour. Five of the men died before they even knew what had happened and the other three simply turned and ran, throwing down their weapons and disappearing into the dark.

They thought themselves safe until three neat bolt pistol shots caught them in their lower backs, throwing them all into death. Rising from the night like some barbaric warrior icon Skhyloch holstered his pistol.

"May the Emperor take your souls!"

Mortairius sat on the bridge of the Sword of Divinity feeling uncomfortable being in an area where he did not really belong. However the bridge possessed the best communications equipment, which he was using to co ordinate with the planet.

He paused as he realised Skhyloch's report was late. Strange, he thought, I know Skhyloch was unhappy being given guard duty but he wouldn't report in late, he never does. Mortairius scratched his chin thoughtfully. He felt the faint rush of worry shoot through him.

He punched a code into the panel.

"This is Commander Mortairius, I want two squads of Terminators prepared for teleport to the surface," he ordered and a light on the panel flashed on to show it had been received.

Standing up with a nasty feeling in his stomach he began marching in the direction of the armoury.

Skhyloch crept forwards, his power swords strapped to his back, a Bolt pistol in one hand, a Plasma Pistol in the other. He cursed at the fact that most of his suits extra functions such as night vision had been lost when he had lost his jump pack, not that it mattered, he was a Marine, and it would take an army of Guardsmen to withstand him.

He moved slowly back towards the deep crater like hole that led down into the structure he was guarding, waiting around the lip of it were more Gadoorian's, also carrying Hot Shot Las guns. He mumbled a virulent curse upon them and aimed carefully with both of his pistols.

White hot plasma and streaming bolter shells spat across the night air. Four Gadoorians went down hard, their bodies withered away by the fiery plasma blasts. Disorganised las fire streamed out into the night but Skhyloch knew they couldn't see him, their puny infra red goggles could only detect unarmoured heat signatures. Skhyloch's thick armour covered his heat making him appear as cold as the rest of the landscape.

Reaching down to his belt Skhyloch gripped hold of his single melta bomb. The weapon was supposed to be used against enemy tanks. Unlike grenade's it was not supposed to be thrown. The Emperor's Skulls are thinkers, thought Skhyloch, so by modifying this bomb to explode on impact I am continuing that tradition.

He set the bomb to go off in exactly four seconds before he centred on the Gadoorians and hurled the bomb up into the air. The device sliced through the night air and landed with a heavy thud next to one of the Gadoorians.

"Grenade," the man had cried, leaping aside and hitting the ground hard.

Skhyloch counted to four, then six and up to ten. The melte bomb had obviously been damaged when it landed, not surprising as it was not designed to be a grenade. He then paused as he saw some one crawl back to the bomb and gently tap it. He knew they must be reporting it was dud and then another plan struck him.

He raised his plasma pistol and centred on the figure lying next to the bomb. White-hot plasma surged through the night, slamming into the melta bomb and creating an enormous whoosh of noise. A huge piece of the landscape vaporised as the invisible heat of the melta bomb burned it away.

Three horrible screams cut through the night and Skhyloch counted that only three enemies remained. Drawing up his pistols he let rip once more, spraying fire into the Gadoorian ranks and cutting down two more of the enemy. All that remained was the squad sergeant, the tip of his sword visible from the cover he cowered behind.

Holstering his plasma pistol Skhyloch snatched a power sword from his back and charged forwards. The sergeant saw him coming and raised his Las pistol. The weapon fired twice, the first shot going wide, the second glancing harmlessly from Skhyloch's shoulder armour.

His sword flashed with pale blue energy as he reached the Sergeant and then burned through the air. The Gadoorian's blade clashed dully against Skhyloch's, and then whipped round for his throat. Skhyloch though fast and slammed the blade aside with his armoured left hand, thankfully that he caught the power sword on the flat of the blade. Whilst the weapon's energy field scorched his armour, the blade would have severed his hand.

Skhyloch's bolt pistol crunched into the sergeant's stomach, as its barrel met his abdominal armour. The pistol rested for a moment and then gave muffled thud. The sergeant's eyes widened in pain and then suddenly he flew back as the bolt shells propellant ignited. A second later and his stomach ripped open.

Skhyloch advanced once more, checking his Bolt pistol for ammunition as he did so. The weapons had ten shells left and he had one more magazine on his belt. He also reached for the plasma pistol glad of the training he had under gone with the dangerous weapons. It's power level was at half full and without his back pack he had no means of recharging it.

Mortairius found the Terminator armoury a hive of activity. One squad were finishing off the arming process as a Tech adept poured holy oil onto their armour and muttered prayers to the servo motors and gears so that they would not wear away. The Storm Bolters were then blessed that they might shoot straight and slay the Emperor's foes.

Mortairius moved to his own suit, held within a cage of crystal. The suit had been created for the first and only other Chapter commander of the Emperor's Skulls, Njelleus Hharmon. Hharmon had been a Captain in the Imperial Fists for almost a century before the Adpetus Terra moved him over to command the new chapter. After fifty years in charge of the Emperor's Skulls Hharmon had stepped aside to give command to Mortairius. The old man had served as Mortairius' First Company Captain for a further twenty years before he had been severely crippled in battle and placed in the armoured sarcophagus of a Dreadnought.

As if summoned by thought Mortairius heard the unmistakable groan of powerful servo motors and watched with a smile as Hharmon clanked past the small view port to his right. The Dreadnought was a vast improvement over standard Terminator armour, it stood almost fifteen feet tall and carried enough fire power to destroy a small army. In essence it almost looked like a tank on legs.

However being placed into it was an irreversible step, once inside a Space Marine could not be removed without the risk of serious neurological damage. Mostly old, badly injured Marines were placed into them, so that they could continue to serve the Emperor despite their broken bodies. In some rare cases unruly or disobedient marines were placed into them as a form of punishment.

Mortairius turned back to his armour and opened its crystal cage. The skull shaped face mask grinned back at him, it's turquoise eyes shining in the dim armoury light. Reaching first for the heavy boots Mortairius began to lock his armour into place. The tech adept immediately moved to help him and a few moments later the armour was firmly in place. Mortairiuis ran his diagnostic routines and mumbled a prayer to the armour, that it would serve and protect him.

His Storm Bolter clicked as its barrel was loaded with the first shell. His power sword flickered briefly as its energy field powered on and then off. Flexing his armoured fingers Mortairius, clanked from the room, heading for the cable entwined teleport machines.

Skhyloch paused, knowing something was wrong. Ahead of him he could hear muffled noises, it took a second to recognise the sound of gun fire. His helmet head set also began to crackle as he picked up on the short range "conversations" of his fellow brothers.

"Squad Leath fall back," shouted a voice, "form a recall line." The sound of bolters echoed through the cavern as Skhyloch moved into position. His eyes showed him a squad of his fellow Marines, barely visible in their dark blue and black armour, embroiled in a vicious fire fight with more Gadoorians.

This time however there were almost forty of the black uniformed imbeciles, their green helmets clearly visible amidst the glowing discharge of Hot-shot fire. Looking to his Battle Brothers he counted no more than seven, but one of them was hefting a missile launcher to bear on the Gadoorians.

With a whoosh the missile spun across the cavern, landing with a thud in a Gadoorian's mid riff and then exploding in a blossom of flame. In addition to the fire shards of shrapnel spun out, slicing down two more of the treacherous Guardsmen.

Unfortunately a dozen streams of laser energy slapped the missile launcher totting Marine, ripping into his lower body and right armour. He disappeared behind the rather shoddy barricade.

The Gadoorian's advanced, their Las guns blazing brilliantly. Skhyloch cursed his inability to help his brothers. I shall not stand by and watched them die, he declared to himself, at the least I'll take some of those wretched Gadoorian's with me as I die. He reached for his plasma pistol and powered the weapon.

With a scream of sheer primal rage Skhyloch rose from cover and blasted at the exposed flank of the enemy. Several fell screaming under his fire and before they could react he had cast aside his pistols and drawn out his power swords. The sound of combat filled his ears and he screamed to the Emperor for guidance.

Suddenly the faces of the Gadoorian's all filled with fear and they began to fall away from Skhyloch. Skhyloch smiled pleased that his appearance terrified them that much. Then the voice behind him spoke, a deep, bass voice that filled the cavern.

"Enemies of the Emperor, death has come upon you."

There was a rotating whirr and Skhyloch heard the roar of an assault cannon opening fire. Turning he saw the real reason for the Gadoorian's retreat, the huge armoured shape of Hharmon the first company Dreadnought, his huge dark blue armoured form clanking forwards as his assault cannon blazed.

His left 'arm' rose up as it's huge multi launching missile launcher locked on target. The weapon clicked and then spat four missiles out in a spread formation. The resulting explosions decimated the ranks of the Gadoorians. All the time the assault cannon blazed, slaying with every shell it spat.

Hharmon continued his advance and an extremely brave Gadoorian sergeant charged forwards, holding a krak grenade in one hand and a power blade in the other. He gave a cry as he approached the Dreadnought and raised the blade.

Hharmon paused firing and swung his whole enormous upper body round with incredible speed, considering his size. The end of his assault cannon crushed into the sergeant's face, pushing the man's brain through the back of his head. The weapon then hummed as it warmed up once more and continued to spray fire into the Gadoorians.

A moment later and more weapons fire could be heard as Skhyloch saw Mortairius and two Terminator Squads appear. The Terminator squads each had two assault cannons in their ranks, which sprayed more fire into the Gadoorians ripping them down in swathes. The thump, whoosh, thud of Storm Bolters also carried into the air, as the rest of the Terminators brought their weapons to bear.

A few moments later and the noise of weapons ceased, leaving only the dull whirring of Hharmon's assault cannon cooling down and the cries of the dying. Mortairius' skull shaped face plate grinned as he surveyed the battle. His eyes raised as he saw Skhyloch, standing next to five dead Gadoorian's, his power swords soiled with their blood.

"Report Brother Sergeant," ordered Mortairius, as he moved toward him.

"My squad came under attack unexpectedly, they all died apart from me. I then killed our assailants and decided to make sure the facility was still safe. I disposed of another squad at the entrance and then found Squad Leath under suppressing fire. I was about to create a diversion when Brother Hharmon arrived."

"These appear to be Gadoorians," observed Hharmon, his deep voice echoing like thunder.

"They are, Brother Hharmon," said Skhyloch, "Gadoorian Green Berrets to be precise, their supposed elite."

Beneath his armour Mortairius frowned.

"I shall be having harsh words with both Inquisitor Haim and Colonel Laspherec. In the mean time Squads Sil and Mith, you and brother Hharmon will assume guard duty. I will have further units despatched including a tech marine unit."

Skhyloch looked puzzled and sensing his lack of understanding Mortairius explained:

"The tech marines will begin preparations for moving this facility aboard our Fortress Monastery!"

Jarnus Haim cursed under his breath. He had just received a some what threatening call from Chapter Commander Mortairius. Haim knew the Commander was smart but doubted he could prove any connection between the so called rogue Gadoorians and the Inquisitor.

Colonel Laspherec will have to executed for negligance, mused Haim, a pity as he is the only other person who might implicate me. And if he does Haim had risen a long way in the Inquisition in a very short amount of time. He refused to allow anything to change the Imperium and this stupid facility was creating change. The entire Heresy had been caused by the use of this acursed technology and a repeat of that was not a prospect Haim even wanted to consider. Most especially because blaim could be laid on him for not having destroyed the facility.

Sadly both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Emperor's Skulls disagreed with him. As well as the accelerated gene therapy pods, the out post contained examples and STC information on how to create power armour and weapons, information that had been slowly failing over the years.

Haim smiled as he moved along the corridors of his personal ship, Hammer of Justice, a small ship, only a hundred metres long with a crew of twenty nine. He knew all of his crew very well and whilst keeping an aura of command about him at all times, he knew that they were quite fond of him.

As he was almost at the bridge one of the crew rushed up to him.

"Lord Inquisitor, I have channels for you from both Colonel Laspherec and Commander Mortairius. They both say it is extremely urgent." Haim nodded and stepped smartly onto the bridge.

He moved immediately to the communications area and one of the officers there handed him a headset and turned one of the comm screens to face him. The symbol of the Imperial Eagle flashed upon the screen and the silent faces of Mortairius and Laspherec appeared.

"I shall speak to Colonel Laspherec first," he said and Laspherec's eyes focused onto his.

"Lord Inquisitor," he began, obviously furious.

"How dare you address me dog," boomed Haim, his voice silencing the buzz of conversation on the ship, "Your treachoury to the Imperium has cost seven Space Marines their lives. Your rebelious Storm Troopers attacked the Emperor's Skulls in a cruel ambush, which could only have been sanctioned by you."

"Lord Inquisitor I was following your orders," said Laspherec obviously dismayed.

"And what proof do you have of this?" demanded Haim, "Why should I order such Heretic action? You are a traitor and a liar, I shall place you in custody pending my arrival." He waved his hand at the screen and the connection broke.

"Are you ready for Commander Mortairius yet?" asked the comm officer. Haim drew a slow deep breath and nodded. Mortairius' face spread across the screen and as always his face seemed emotionless.

"Greetings Lord Inquisitor," he said, polite as always, "I am grateful you could respond to my call so swiftly."

"Not a problem Brother Commander," replied Haim, "I have an idea as to what this call might be about. Something to do with some treacherous Gadoorians way laying your troops?"

"Indeed," said Mortairius, "I was hoping to speak to Colonel Laspherec personally but all communication to his office has been disconnected, at your order."

Haim gazed carefully at the man on the other end of the line. Whilst Mortairius immense musculature made him appear to be a hulking, dumn giant, he was anything but. His brain was perhaps one of the sharpest Haim had ever come across, which made the Inquisitor naturally wary.

"Yes, Colonel Laspherec has been found guilty of treacheroury, it was under his orders that your Marines were attacked. Rest assured he shall be executed for his crimes." Mortairius seemed uninterested in that promise.

"I want to know why he did it though," declared the Commander, "What reason could he have?"

"Personally I believe the assault which your Marines pulled off so skilfully made him jealous. He sought to teach you that his troops are not utterly inferior to yours, an attempt which sadly failed." Mortairius caught the word sadly but controlled his face to prevent it re-acting. It was entirely possible that the Inquisitor had chosen the wrong word by accident but Mortairius doubted it.

"A good thing it was foiled," said Mortairius gently, "My Marines were not happy serving with the Gadoorians before this, but now."

"I am aware of this, but your Marines are scheduled for departure in what, four days?" Mortairius nodded.

"The Navigators wish to wait for the current warp storm to utterly dissipate, we have a long journey ahead of us."

"I understand you are being shipped all the way across to the Segmentum Ultramar. A pacification mission?" Mortairius was not stupid enough to ask how the Inquisitor could now that. He probably has to inform the Adeptus Terra that he has transferred us and needs to know where he is transferring us to, thought Mortairius.

"Indeed which is why I have ordered the facility on the planet to be removed, such a task will prevent my Marines from growing restless. They are faced with more than a month of warp travel and personally I believe there routine should be as varied as possible now, as it will most certainly grow tiresome later." Haim definitely didn't look happy with that.

"Considering how precious that facility is I would not want it placed on something as fragile as a space ship." Mortairius smiled politely.

"Our Fortress Monastry is considerably larger than a simple space ship, it could not be safer anywhere else, except perhaps on Earth."

"How are the Adeptus Mechanicus supposed to examine it?" demanded Haim.

"They are rendezvousing with us in the Alpha Diatis system, where they shall examine it." Haim definitely didn't like that idea, not one little bit.

"I can not authorise that," he began.

"Sadly although an Inquisitor when it comes to technology you have no say. You are not a member of the Adpetus Mechanicus. The machinery is not heretic or corrupt so you have no say as to where it can and can not go." Haim glared at Mortairius and thought he caught the barest trace of a smile.

"Very well then do what you must, I shall be departing in five days, just to make sure there are no further skirmishes between the Emperor's Skulls and the Gadoorians."

"So long as they do not attack us we shall tolerate them, besides for the majority of the time we shall be aboard our fleet. Apart of course from those of us on the planet moving the facility. Just to make sure there are no more problems I will move some of my Land Raiders down there and perhaps some Dreadnoughts, just in case of trouble."

Does he know wondered Haim? He is clever and that wretched Librarian of his might have pulled the information from me. Haim wondered not for the first time if the way he served the Emperor was perhaps a little brusque. NO!, he thought viciously doubt leads us to the path of damnation. I serve the Emperor by preventing change, by keeping the Imperium the same, in its current beautiful state.

"Very well do as you wish, but I shall be leaving to speak to Colonel Laspherec as soon as possible."

"This is highly irregular Mortairius," said Inviticus as the two of them changed into their formal uniforms, which like their armour was dark blue with black and gold.

"I am aware of that but we do have an interest, more importantly I want to speak to this Laspherec before Haim executes him, I have a feeling that the Colonel is not quite as treacherous as we might think."

"Explain it to me," demanded Inviticus.

"Simple, we both know that Inquisitor Haim vehemently dislikes change, of any kind."

"Yes," agreed Inviticus.

"This facility would change many things would it not?" Again Inviticus nodded, "Which is why in my opinion Inquisitor Haim tried, rather unsuccessfully to have it destroyed. Once it is in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus he is not allowed to do anything, so he tried to act now."

They were walking towards the Sword of Divinity's hanger bay, where they would take one of the many Thunderhawk Gunships, down to the surface. Mortairius had decided that he wished to interrogate Colonel Laspherec as he had more than an idea that Haim had some how been involved.

"You do realise that you are accusing an Imperial Inquisitor of such actions carries the charge of death."

"Only if he's innocent, besides I have good proof."

"Mortairius we have both been taught not to doubt the Inquisition."

"I don't," replied Mortairius, "I have encountered more than a dozen different Inquisitors in my time of service, all have been harsh but fair servants of the Imperium. Haim is certainly harsh but he has an air of distrust about him."

"I must say I agree, I sense the deception from him even without my warp sight. None the less in four days we shall never see him again. Is it really worth it?"

"I do not want to see the Gadoorian's exterminated if they are guilty of no crime other than incompetence. More importantly if it was under Haim's orders than they really had no choice but to carry them out. If they discobeyed them he would probably have shot them on the spot."

They reached the docking bay and strode in, finding a Thunderhawk in the final stages of being prepared for take off. The vast boarding ramp, was done on the floor and was large enough to fit two land raiders and a few squads of Marines inside with room to spare.

They walked up the ramp, through the cargo area and into the small cockpit. Waiting for them was the Thunderhawk's pilots, one of the Chapter's countless support staff. He smiled politely to them both and indicated for them to be seated.

"Just hold on please gentleman, we won't be long!"

Behind them came the buzz of the boarding ramp drawing back into the ship. At the same time the powerful engines began to growl as more and more power was fed into them. Mortairius and Inviticus had been on numerous drops before and decided it would be wise to buckle up.

The Thunderhawk began to growl even louder and slowly, inexorably it moved towards the air lock. For this vast caterpillar tracks were employed dragging it towards the open maw of the air lock. With a click and a slight thud the Thunderhawk was lowered off of the tracks and onto the airlock floor.

The inner doors licked shut with a click and the rush of air was faintly audible from outside the Thunderhawk's thick armour.

"Brace yourselves," advised the pilot as the engine noise increased and the outer doors began to slide open. Mortairius locked his buckle around his chest and gripped the special bars beneath the seat.

Space Marines constantly made use of G-Forces as a means of training. Many chapters conducted weight training or running exercises in simulated high gravity. These made them even stronger than they were already and gave them a considerable advantage when fighting in normal gravity.

The force that slammed them into their seats as the Thunderhawk took off would have knocked out most people and killed older ones. The pilot didn't even appear bothered as he grinned back at his passengers.

"Sorry about that but it is procedure Commander, I know how the Brothers like to work in high gravity."

"No apology is necessary Pilot," replied Mortairius, "Your skill is obvious, just get us to the planet as swiftly as you can."

The Watch Commander had been astonished when Colonel Laspherec had been thrown into one of his cells. He knew better than to question Inquisitor Haim's orders but he made sure the colonel received the freshest food and water the prison had available. Not that the pre fabricated structure they were dwelling in could be called a prison, it was simply a series of walls, with dividing bars to mark out the cells.

However it was not the bars that made the prison, it was the collars locked around prisoner's necks. One outside the range of a certain transmitter the collar shot blades and poison into their wearer, killing them instantly.

The Commander was even more surprised when two huge Space Marines dressed in formal uniform appeared. He had nearly fainted when he found out that one of the them was the Emperor's Skulls chapter commander, but he held himself in check.

"How can I help you Commander?" he had finally asked.

Mortairius smiled.

"You can show me to Colonel Laspherec, and forget I was here should you be asked by Inquisitor Haim." The Watch Commander looked very uncomfortable at the notion of lying to an Inquisitor and was about to say something when Inviticus raised his hand:

"Peace," breathed the Librarian in a gentley, sleep soaked voice. The Watch Commander's eyes rolled up into his head and he sank to the ground asleep.

"Will he remember?" asked Mortairius. Inviticus shook his head.

"It will seem a dream to him," replied the Librarian. They stepped past the sleeping Watch Commander and headed for Laspherec's cell.

They found the colonel in the cleanest cell, which didn't say much. The walls were still white, in places and there were only a few crawling scavengers in one corner. Laspherec sat in the centre of the tiny room, cross legged, his eyes closed in meditation. Without looking up he smiled.

"Welcome," he said, opening his eyes and gazing up at them. For a brief moment genuine surprise appeared on his face. This was soon replaced by a look that was almost fear.

"Has Haim sent you to silence me?" he asked slowly, controlling his fear admirably.

"No," replied Mortairius, "If anything we are here to make sure he doesn't get the chance to silence you."

Laspherec laughed, a cold, bitter sound:

"You are going to disobey the orders of an Inquisitor, at least I shall have company in death." Mortairius would have liked to slap the man for his insolence and was pleased when a waft of psychic wind did so. He turned to Inviticus and smiled with the side of his mouth that Laspherec couldn't see.

"Haim is wrong," declared Mortairius, "He has been trying to prevent us unearthing the artefact we found on this planet ever since he discovered it's worth. Personally I am getting very tired of him. Most importantly I am going to make a formal complaint to the Inquisition and the Adeptus Terra." Laspherec laughed again.

"What good will that do, you'll probably wake up one morning to find a Calidus assassin bending over you. You can't control the Inquistion, if they do something then no one can correct them." Inviticus slapped him again, much harder this time.

"Silence," ordered Mortairius, "Haim has disobeyed orders from the Adeptus Mechanicus and has been trying to meddle in affairs that are none of his business. We know the artefact is sanctified and pure. It bears the Emperor's Seal for Terra's sake, the real Emperor's Seal."

This seemed to bring Laspherec back to the real world.

"You mean it is not a work of damnation."

"No," said Mortairius, half laughing, half shouting, "It is a base of the Imperial Fists, from before the Heresy, only the Emperor's palace could be purer." Laspherec look mortified.

"And I ordered my men to destroy it? I am worthy of death for such a crime." Mortairius held up a hand to restrain Inviticus.

"If you keep up such depressing talk I shall slap you myself an experience you will not enjoy," Laspherec nodded slowly, "Your crime was one born of ignorance and it is well known that ignorance is the armour of purity. Haim is the one at fault and he must be dealt with and he will be."

"I have come to a decision," declared Mortairius, "Haim will probably execute you and a good deal of your senior officers. Whilst the Gadoorian's are hardly the most efficient soldiers, losing there high command would make them even worse. Therefore I have a plan."

"What sort of plan?" asked Laspherec. Mortairius smiled and allowed a coy colouring to fill his voice.

"Do you have any plans for later on this week Colonel?"

Haim didn't know why but he felt uneasy. What felt so wrong about the wretched Gadoorians going to dine with the Emperor's Skulls? Space Marines didn't invite people to dinner, unless they were the main course. Surely they need to preparing for their warp jump, he thought, they leave in less than five hours. He knew that the Emperor's Skulls were amongst the most civilised and informal Space Marine Chapter he had directed, but polite dinners?

He paused as briefly the sickening feeling in his stomach intensified. He immediately paused as he tried to remember the Imperial Guard regulation for formal dining with former enemy forces. As he did he swore and began running towards his ships bridge as fast as he could.

Lance Skhyloch had never felt more insulted and degraded than he did now. The Emperor may protect me in battle, he thought, but is humiliation the price I pay? Skhyloch was being held between two large Gadoorian soldiers, pretending to be half drunk. Despite the fact that Skhyloch was almost seven foot tall and built like a tank he Mortairius had made him a Gadoorian uniform and ordered him to start a fight in one of the illegal civilian drinking establishments.

As the whole planet was under martial law, drinking after sun set was illegal for civilians and a serious offence for a Guardsman, who was only supposed to do such things within the confines of the regimental barracks. The two soldiers were not being particularly gentle but Skhyloch hardly cared.

It would take a whole platoon of these morons to hurt me without weapons, he thought. The stench of alcohol on his clothing assaulted him. How anyone can drink such foul tasting liquid for recreation, is beyond me, he thought. The scent had been achieved by having the liquid sprayed on strategic points on his body as well as in his mouth to produce a suitable aroma.

As well as the smell Skhyloch had been coated with a layer of fake skin, to hide the various plug in points on his body where his armour interfaced with his nervous system. In addition the silver studs of service fitted to his knuckles had been carefully concealed to look like swellings, doubtless from too much fighting.

The two Gadoorians were near to the temporary prison structure and seemed glad to be. It appeared they would be going off duty soon, thought Skhyloch, which probably means they're tired. He was hauled up the small flight of steps and dragged up in front of his cell.

From the very corner of his eye he caught sight of Colonel Laspherec, pacing slowly around his cell. Skhyloch smiled and waited as the doors to his cell were opened. He waited until they were open wide before he acted.

With a heave of his previously limp arms, Skhyloch slammed the two Gadoorians into each other with a heavy thud. The two men gave cry of dismay and staggered back from one another, obviously disorientated.

Skhyloch struck again, his first punch hitting one of the men on the bottom of his ribs. He felt the bones give way beneath his fist and then reaching up he grabbed the man roughly by one arm and hurled him against one of the walls. The weak prefabricated surface collapsed with a crash.

Strong arms incircled Skhyloch upper body from behind, seeking to restrain him. He flung his head straight back and heard a crunch as it hit the Gadoorian's face. Half turning round he threw a powerful punch into his enemy's stomach, before landing a left hook on the jaw. The poor man crumpled to the ground.

Skhyloch moved to the Colonel's cell and with a single twist of his powerful arms, he unlocked the door.

"Colonel Laspherec, please come with me," he ordered and the man did so, not daring to even ask who he was.

Skhyloch paused as he looked at the Colonel's vaunted and highly decorated uniform.

"Strip," he ordered him, moving to one of the unconscious guards and removing the man's clothes. Laspherec did so immediately and after standing shivering for a moment he gratefully pulled on the guard's uniform. Whilst the clothing was a little tight around the stomach, in the dark it would not be noticed.

"Do your guards carry mono molecular knives?" asked Skhyloch as he drew a knife from one of the guards.

"Of course," replied Laspherec, "They are standard issue to all Guardsmen."

"Good then come here and keep very still." Laspherec did so and felt more than a little uneasy when Skhyloch brought the blade up in front of his face. He winced as the blade moved to just under his nose but fought his reflexes and stayed still.

Skhyloch made a few neat scrapes of the knife and the Colonel found his lip felt cold, moving his hand to it he found his moustache gone. Skhyloch discarded the knife and moved to the prison door.

"Let's go," he declared.

Laspherec followed him and did his best to move as silently and swiftly as the Marine. Skhyloch poked his head out of the door and located the nearest sentry. Like a cat stalking its prey he snuck out from cover and wrapped an iron hard arm around the poor man's face. His fist struck hard into the back of the ribs, winding the man so that he couldn't scream.

Releasing his enemy and spinning him round Skhyloch threw another punch, which landed neatly on the jaw, sending the sentry down to the ground. Skhyloch turned to Laspherec and beckoned. The colonel followed him as they moved through the camp, dodging patrols and keeping away from well lit areas.

At last they came up to the perimeter fence. Laspherec was about to ask Skhyloch how he planned to deal with it, but before he could the Marine beganb to walk toward it.

"Wait," hissed Laspherec, "That fence is electrified, you'll be fried."

Skhyloch broke into a run and flung himself towards the fence, leaping as he did so. He crashed against it like a fly crushed to a windscreen and hung there, not moving. Wonderful, thought Laspherec, what am I supposed to do clamber over his dead body and escape?

Then he saw that Skhyloch was moving, the Marine seemed to be wrenching at the fence, all the time keeping his feet away from the ground. A moment later and small hole appeared in the fencing, which soon widened.

"Come on," hissed Skhyloch, "We don't have much longer."

They passed the electric fence only to be confronted by one topped with razor wire. Skhyloch gave a very heavy sigh before he began clambering up the normal part of the fence once again. As he reached the razor wire he gave a brief prayer to the Emperor before grasping the wire in his hands.

Laspherec's hands ached in sympathy as the Marine hauled himself up and lowered his upper body over the wire.

"Come on," he hissed, "Climb over me." Laspherec did as he was told, marvelling at the man's super human resistance to pain. He tried to be as gentle as he could but it was not easy and when he finally reached the other side of the fence he saw sure he could see Skhyloch blood running down onto the ground.

With a hiss of pain from between his teeth Skhyloch swung himself over the fence and dropped with a muffled thud onto the floor. Laspherec watched in awe as the dozens of wounds closed as if by magic and the blood turned first orange then yellow and finally white.

"Time to run," said Skhyloch, breaking into a jog. Laspherec followed him, keeping close behind as they put several hundred metres between themselves and the base. After a good ten minutes of running Skhyloch paused and began looking around them as if trying to gather his bearings.

"That way," he decided and began running again, only much faster this time. Laspherec bravely tried to keep up but it was impossible, he doubted he could sprint at the speed Skhyloch jogged. The Marine did pause and wait for him a few times, until the Colonel's face was flushed red with exertion.

More lights had come into view now and Laspherec understood where they were. Below them were a cluster of small transport shuttles, carefully guarded by a number of Emperor's Skulls, whose dark blue and black armour made them seem like shadows as they moved between their posts.

As the two of them approached the gate was raised and they were ushered swiftly inside. Before Laspherec could even pause to rest he was placed onto one of the shuttles and watched through his porthole in surprise as the Marines collapsed the entire base in moments and scurried onto the shuttles.

A moment later and the shuttle's engines were humming to life as they rose skyward.

Inquisitor Haim swore very loudly as he read the regulation he had been looking for:

Regulation 72446 : Alpha - Concerning socialising with former regimental enemies.

The Regiment should despatch it's most senior officer
and any forces he sees prudent to take with him for protection.

Haim knew that he hadn't had time to process the necessary paper work meaning that Laspherec was still technically the Commanding Officer of the First Gadoorian. He cursed louder and swung round to his bridge crew.

"Get me the status of all the Gadoorian's ships and Imperial Fleet ships in the area, and that includes the Emperor's Skulls."

"The Imperial Fleet appears to be rendezvousing with the Emperor's Skulls," replied the sensor operator not sounding surprised, "They obviously feel they need the protection of their fleet in case the Skulls decide to have a little revenge for their fallen."

"Shut up you idiot," snapped Haim, "Signal the Fleet, order them to return to the planet immediately, by my orders."

"I can't sir," replied the Comm Officer, "They're outside our communications range."

"Then get us into range," screamed Haim, "Now!" He watched through the view screen as the huge ship came about and began to move towards the distant fleet. As they did a series of small transport shuttles hurtled past them, moving at top speed.

"Find out where those shuttles came from," demanded Haim.

"The shuttles are refusing to respond, Inquisitor," replied the Comm Officer.

"Open fire on them then," shouted Haim, as they faded into small silver specks on his screen.

"We can't they're too small and too fast, our weapons!"

"I don't give a damn about the weapons, fire, fire, fire," he screamed.

"The shuttles have moved aboard the Sword of Divinity," informed the Sensor Operator.

"We're in communications range," said the comm officer opening a channel with out being asked.

"This is Inquisitor Jarnus Haim, to all Imperial and Space Marine ships in the area, cease all motion and come to a full stop."

The screen flashed up to show Laspherec's face. The Colonel allowed himself a brief moment of leisure and grinned jauntily at Haim, waving as he did so. In front of the fleet large dark holes of nothingness opened and with silent bang they disappeared.

"They've jumped to the Warp," informed the Sensor Operator as Inquisitor Haim went through a detailed description of what he would do to both Mortairius and Laspherec when he caught them.

The Sword of Divinity spent almost two months in the void of Warp Space. In that time the first batch of accelerated therapy Marines were produced and at present were undergoing even more rigorous training than normal Marines. In addition they were under almost constant supervision from both Infernus and Inviticus to insure that both their spiritual and physical forms were not at risk from corruption.

The Gadoorians trained hard aboard their ships and it became clear that there abilities were improving, due mainly to the fact that Laspherec had conducted a thorough shake up of the command structure, placing battle hardened experienced soldiers in positions of authority.

After two months cooped up inside their battle cruisers the Marines were eagerly anticipating their chance for some combat. Their mission was to utterly crush the defences of the planet Asterlon, in the Alpha Diatis system. The planet had lost contact with them after an assault by alien raiders. As they were on the very edge of Imperial space such an occurrence was not uncommon, but the planet must be reclaimed. Alien invaders were not tolerated.

Should the mission become difficult, the Adpetus Mechanicus was due to rendezvous with them there, primarily so that they could examine the Imperial Fists facility they had salvaged from Dinosis. In addition they would carry a few of the hundred foot tall battle titans, to provide ultra heavy support for the Marines and Gadoorians.

Mortairius stood in the loading bay of Sword of Divinity as the craft emerged from the warp. As they made the drop he waited impatiently as each of the other ships in the fleet reported in. All of them had successfully made the jump. Their journey had taken six months in real time terms, but such an amount of time was insignificant.

"All ships deploy in standard assault pattern," ordered Mortairius, before he clambered aboard his waiting battle barge. These ships would despatch Thunderhawk gunships and drop pods to the planet below, allowing the Emperor's Skulls to land in great force with considerable supporting fire power.

In addition the Gadoorians were being prepared. Whilst the Guardsmen themselves were not the best troops in the world, their heavy support tanks were very useful, especially when attacking heavily fortified positions. Mortairius prayed briefly to the Emperor that it were not Tyranids he would be dealing with. The bio engineered species were his least favoured opponent mainly because there so many of them to fight against.

"Commander we have contact with enemy vessels," reported a voice from the bridge.

"Design?" snapped Mortairius.

"Unsure," came back the reply. Mortairius felt his stomach squeeze. Space Hulks, he thought, containing either Orks, Chaos Marines or Tyranids.

"Please elaborate," he asked as he clanked along the corridors, heading for his Thunderhawk.

"They appear similar in appearance to Eldar vessels, but"

"Yes?" asked Mortairius.

"There are differences, suggest extreme caution."

"You just make sure you deal with those enemy ships."

The mammoth shape of Sword of Divinity advanced on the smooth shapes of the enemy. As it did the enemy ships phased and shifted twisting strangely as though under attack. In reality they were activating chameleon fields, that would hide them from view, making them far more difficult to target and destroy.

None the less Sword of Divinity ploughed on, powering its massive weapons as it did so. From it's hanger bays poured out the Emperor's Skulls Battle Barges, that began heading straight for the planet. Beside Sword of Divinity the Gadoorian's ships, Blade of Death and Overlord slid into position launching their own landing craft and readying their weapons.

The Battle Barges were the first to see combat. The enemy vessels began firing dark purple laser beams at them, that glowed brightly as they collided with strong shields. The Barges returned fire with their missiles and short range lasers, simply fleeing past the enemy so that they could reach the planet. The Gadoorian barges followed suit but their inferior shields caused two of them to slow considerably, allowing the enemy to tear them to shreds.

Behind the barges the battle cruisers prepared their weapons. Coming into range they let out a barrage of bright white laser fire, punctuated in places by streaking silver missiles. As directed by Sword of Divinity's Captain they struck the lead enemy vessel, temporarily disabling the chameleon field. As the ship flickered into view, Blade of Death tore at what appeared to be its engines, firing until the dull fire coming from them went out.

The battle in space raged as the Barges descended to the planets surface. Mortairius found his finger's drumming gently against his thigh plating, as he waited for the ship to land. As he did he closed his eyes to calm himself, knowing such a reaction was foolish considering the number of times he had fought in combat.

As he did it seemed a vision came to him.

He stood once more in the bright yellow armour from his dream of a few months ago. In his hand the vast power sword and the strange combi weapon in the other. This time the forces of Chaos were wavering before him and his throat was dry from shouting. He swallowed to remove the sensation and cried out again:

"Do any of you dare to challenge me, feel the wrath of the Emperor's servants." From the ranks of the Chaos troops the huge red brown shape of a daemon of Khorne appeared, a greater daemon, with an horrific canine face, sharp teeth and a huge axe in its right hand.

"I," it said in a voice like death, "Shall challenge you."

It flew forwards with a rush of its wings, bearing straight down on Mortairius. He turned and raised his power sword ready for a moment then as the Daemon was upon him axe raised to strike he temporarily cast his weapon aside. Reaching up with his hands he blocked aside the axe strike and caught the Daemon's throat in a vice like grip, with his little finger resting on its chin.

Twisting it in the air as it fell he snatched hold of one of its legs and with a display of super human strength he brought the evil creature down upon his knee. It screamed allowed to dark gods better left unnamed and then it was silent. It crashed dead to the ground and Mortairius recovered his sword.

"Come out," he cried, "Not even your dark gods can save you from me. Bring out your leader, let Horus come and drive me back for he perhaps is the only one that could!"

"I shall drive you back," said another voice and a black armoured Chaos Marine appeared, dressed in corrupted Terminator armour. There face was twisted with evil rage that was made worse as it smiled.

"Feel the wrath of Abbadon the Despoiler!"

Mortairius awoke from his reprieve with a start, shaking his head violently to dispel the vision. He focused upon the power sword in his hand and for a moment the thought that it was far too small struck him. Awakening fully he shook his head and reminded himself to go and see Brother Skeleross in the Apothecary when this battle was over.

The Thunderhawk slid lower into the alien atmosphere, revealing a purple sky as they descended beneath the light fluffy clouds. The world was a typical agricultural planet, long, endless miles of fields, stuffed to bursting with crops of all kinds.

As the Thunderhawk dropped at last to the ground Mortairius rose from his seat and raised his weapons. The Storm Bolter gave a click as it loaded its first shell into place. The power sword flickered briefly as it tested its energy cell. Next to the Chapter Commander the other Marines in the ship made ready.

Instead of the usual complement of two land raiders and three ten man squads, the ship contained four Razorback troop transports, each armed with two heavy bolters and a storm bolter. This array of weapons made them capable of fearsome anti personnel fire power.

In addition to the APC's were Mortairius' command squad, containing Skeleross and the Chapter's icon bearer, Deleran. Skeleross and Deleran were both seasoned soldiers, who provided the command squad with a touch more fire power. Skeleross made use of a storm bolter and Deleran a plasma pistol.

As well as the Command squad there was a single Terminator squad and two more tactical squads. Such a compliment was repeated in four other Thunderhawks, who belonged to the second company. Whilst it was unusual for Mortairius to travel with the second company, rather than the first, he often did so, as a means to inspire the elite non-Terminator armoured troops.

The boarding ramp crashed to the ground and the Razorbacks growled out of the Thunderhawk their Heavy Bolters loudly clicking as ammunition was loaded into them. The tactical squads were next, spreading in a sweep formation to secure the Terminators departure. Mortairius was next and he paused on the ramp to survey the enemy.

"Who in the Emperor's name?" he asked. The enemy were clad in purple, tight fitting armour, that displayed there slender bodies to perfection. The helmets were high prowed and often had flying plumes of hair coming from them or sharp blades. The eyes stared out, red as death.

Eldar, thought Mortairius, but I've never seen this sort before.

The purple clad enemy surged forwards, supported by a horde of high flying, screaming jet bikes. Behind these were a number of strange hovering skiffs, covered with precariously balanced warriors. As they advanced Mortairius felt as though he were a rock in the path of the sea.

"We are the rock of the Imperium my brothers," he said, speaking to his battle kin, "The foes of the Emperor shall break upon us." The Razorbacks opened up instantly, stitching the approaching enemy with bolter shells. In addition their Storm Bolters also began firing, providing an even greater deluge of shells to slash into the enemy.

A moment later and the return fire came. A spray of needle like metal shards, ripping out across the air and striking with a clang against the Marine's armour. The initial barrage failed, until a number of larger looking weapons were brought to bear, that seemed to launch clouds of splinters at the Marines.

"Return fire," bellowed Mortairius as he and his Marines laid down a withering barrage, that ripped the enemy. Behind them, came the whine of the Thunderhawk's missile launcher as it brought the weapon to bear on the enemy and opened fire, just as it began to lift gently from the ground.

The explosion that followed threw down several Marines and decimated the enemy lines, reducing the troops on foot to piles of crushed flesh. Unfortunately those mounted on the flying skiffs were obviously made from sterner stuff. The Eldar on board them were returning fire, pushing forwards the whole time.

Do these beings not know to retreat? thought Mortairius, all they do is attack. Let them, for we shall crush them in the Emperor's name. Beside him Deleran raised the Chapter banner into the air. The banner was made in the shape of a long spinal column, topped with a leering skull. At the top it branched out as if to carry a banner, but none hung upon it. Instead there lay a number of skulls which represented how many successful crusades had been undertaken by the Emperor's Skulls.

"My enemy," boomed Deleran, "Death smiles upon you."

"Death," cried the nearby Marines, rising suddenly and rushing forwards, their bolters roaring as they fired. The enemy seemed unprepared for this and soon Mortairius was wading into a vicious hand to hand brawl.

It seemed that these Eldar were equally relentless in their hand to hand attacks, but their armour was not as strong as the Marines, which allowed the Emperor's Skulls to slowly and inexorably cut them down. Inch by torturous inch they pushed the Eldar back, all the time supported by the blazing turrets of the Razorbacks.

As more enemy began to arrive to reinforce the position, the growl of Land Raider engines rose above the battle. A moment later and three of the massive tanks roared into the enemy, their bolters spraying death. On either side of the massive tanks a twin Las-Cannon rose and locked onto an Eldar skiff.

The weapon shrieked as it discharged. A brilliant orange red beam slid from it, slamming into the centre of the skiff with explosive force. The skiff's armour buckled and then in a flash of plasma and fire it exploded, showering wreckage across the nearby area.

Another shot spewed from the Las-Cannon's on the other side. These grazed the underside of another skiff, shattering it's anti gravity systems and dumping it the ground with a heavy thump. Two more shots landed in the centre of it, blasting its single hull mounted weapon off and killing more than half of the warriors who had been aboard.

"Death falls upon those that lack faith," cried a familiar voice as Infernus strode into view, his Crozius already thick with dark blood. His flamer belched fire, sending several Eldar screaming to the ground.

"Maim them," shouted one of the Eldar, a female one with even more scanty armour than her fellows, "For killing them would be too boring."

This enigmatic and half naked woman dash forwards supported by similar dressed soldiers. They ripped viciously into the two tactical squads spraying blood high into the air. The blood clotted almost instantly and fell with a light patter to the ground.

Mortairius roared a challenge to the enemy and advanced on them, power sword glowing. His Storm Bolter clicked and then spat shells, cutting down two of the semi naked Eldar. In instant response the enemy raised their pistols and returned fire, leaping towards him in high arching somersaults the moment they fired.

The shots clanged against the Terminator armour, and Mortairius ignored them as he reached the first of his enemies. Using the Storm Bolter as an extension of his fist, he clouted the alien across the face with it, drawing a long bloody gash in their etherealy beautiful features.

He stepped into them, barging them down with his shoulder pads and swinging his power sword at another of their kindred. The sword bit through alien flesh and slew its target, sending Eldar blood scattering like rain.

A thunk came from behind Mortairius and he swung his Storm Bolter back, knocking away one of the Eldar who had been trying to stab him. Another blade landed against his armour as he turned, this one actually tickling the skin as it pierced the thick plates. Pressed on all sides Mortairius raised his Storm Bolter and made ready to cut the enemy down.

Fire destroyed his vision as brilliant orange flame rolled around him. The Eldar shrieked as their naked flesh burned and many dropped writhing to the ground. Mortairius turned an instant later to see Infernus, his flamer cooling and his Crozius embedded in an alien skull.

"Hope you don't mind the assistance Brother Commander," he almost juantily, "But you might need a little space cleared around you." Mortairius smiled beneath his skull mask.

"Your assistance is always appreciated Brother Chaplain," replied the Chapter Commander, drawing his Storm Bolter up in fluid movement and spitting out three neat shots towards Infernus.

The Chaplain didn't flinch as two more Eldar dropped dead behind him, including the one who was crawling up behind and was about to stab him in his groin.

"Vigilance is the only armour that keeps us alive," said Infernus, striding away to kill more enemies.

Skhyloch stood next to the small side door of the Thunderhawk as it slid slowly open. The air howled in to greet them, and the land rushed by far below.

"Assault Section form up," he shouted and the twenty five Marines shouldered their jump packs and fixed their weapons in place. With a clutter of metal on metal they moved to the door of the Thunderhawk.

Unlike the normal Marines, Skhyloch's section would be deployed from the lower atmosphere, enabling their Thunderhawks to take up high altitude support positions. In the mean time the assault Marines would use their jump packs to descend through the air and launch a cross offensive on the enemy's flank.

"All plasma pistols, check containment fields." There was a hiss as the order was carried out. Hot clouds of steam shot from the pistols vents like smoke from a dragon's nostrils.

"Bolt pistols, load ammunition." Magazines slid into pistols with a click.

"Marines secure your combat weapons." Chainsaw edged swords slid into bolt holders. Heavy bladed axes, were strapped to thighs and knives slid into their sheathes.

"Prepare to disembark, and let the Emperor guide as we fall to the ground," intoned Skhyloch.

"May he guide us," echoed the Marines, as they moved into line at the door. The light above the door changed from red to green to signal that the time had come to deploy.

The first ten man squad leapt through the door, vanishing instantly as their power armour pulled them down to the ground. Skhyloch's stomach felt uneasy. He had never really gotten used to the idea of jumping out of a perfectly functioning gunship. He paused whilst the second squad leapt through before he headed up his own unit.

The ground piralled up at him with frightening speed. Skhyloch fell for a long way before he slapped the controls of his jump pack, murmuring a prayer as he did so. The pack fired its thrusters and for a moment he felt as though he shot upwards instead of down. Shaking his head he sighted the enemy below and co-ordinating with his squads he made ready to attack.

A scream sounded on the comm line and he watched in horror as one of his Marines spiralled down towards the ground faster and faster, their jump pack in smouldering ruins.

"What happened?" demanded Skhyloch. His eyes located the source of the problem, ten winged shapes, hurtling towards him, with weapons in their hands.

As they neared he identified them as being Eldar with wings on their back. He had encountered the so called Swooping Hawks before, but they did not carry heavy weapons, or attempt aerial combat.

"Marines, drop altitude," he ordered. Whilst jump packs enabled the Marines to move from lower atmosphere to surface they were not capable of air to air combat, "We shall slay these cowards upon the ground." Despite his words Skhyloch raised his bolt pistol and took aim upon the rapidly approaching shapes.

The weapon spat twice in rapid succession and he was rewarded with seeing one of the enemy fall from the sky like a stone, their holed wings flapping uselessly. More fire spat from the flying foe, but the Marines were dropping to fast, rocketing towards the ground with seemingly reckless speed.

At the last possible moment they all fired their packs to decelerate and with a jolt Skhyloch found himself standing on solid ground, enemies before him. He unhooked his power swords and smiled ferally beneath his helmet.

"Kill them," he shouted, rushing at the Eldar, swords glowing with their blue energy field.

The enemy were just about to raise their rifles when Skhyloch fell on them. His blades burned bright in the air as he hacked and slashed at the enemy, spilling blood all across the ground, in wide dark red jets.

A moment later and his fellow marines joined him, blasting away with their pistols at close range. Droves of Eldar fell to the ground, their bodies torn by weapon fire. Unfortunately their insane counter attack was so vicious it took even Skhyloch by surprise.

Even when their legs were blown out from under them, the Eldar still crawled resolutely toward the Marines, firing their rifles, hurling knives and even the odd grenade.

"Even though they outnumber us, we shall not fail our Emperor, KILL THEM!" roared Skhyloch as his swords slashed around him in a blur opf motion.

It is often said that in modern warfare the presence of a single man can make little difference in the out come of a battle. Unfortunately there are always exceptions to the rule and Lance Skhyloch was one of them. Standing alone in the midst of the enemy, whilst his Marines fell back he kept fighting relentlessly, his twin power swords, cutting through Eldar flesh, until little by little the enemy were being whittled away.

As only five Eldar remained, a roar of bolt pistol fire swept up from behind him, killing the remainder of the enemy in a cloud of blood. Skhyloch almost felt upset that the enemy had gone, the lust of battle was upon him. Seeing another group of the purple armoured aliens he reached to the leader of the group he had slain, a female with long black hair, and pulled up her severed head.

"See the price you pay for the Emperor's wrath," he shouted. He cast the head into the midst of the enemy and was surprised when they coolly threw back the head of one of his Marines.

"He was lucky," they shouted, "Your deaths shall take far longer." Without further conversation the two forces surged together, but this time the Marines were not outnumbered.

The Eldar were cut down in mere moments, their limb bodies lying broken upon the ground.

"The Emperor guides us," declared Mortairius as he gazed into the dead eyes of an enemy, "Against him you stand no chance of victory."