Secret War: Warhammer 40,000, Ben Agar [list of ebook readers .txt] 📗

he f against the wall, unconscious. He would've slipped out the door if Torris hadn't run out and stopped him.

One of Hayden's hot shots hit the Space Marine square in the face, breaking in the Marine's faceplate and sent him crashing onto his back, growling, writhing.

Darrance was finally on his feet and running as I felt hands wrap around my arms and began dragging me across the floor. I looked over my shoulder to see it was Adelana and Vex.

I gave Adelana a smile which she returned and turned to watch as Darrance snatched up the fallen sword, activated it and plunged it down into the Marine's throat, with all of his weight and momentum behind it.

The Marine's blood coated the deck, but he wasn't dead as he tried to crush Darrance in his grasp, one last ditch to kill another of us before he bleeds out, but with a roar, Darrance tore the sword through his chin, then skull and lastly out the top of his helm in an explosion of ichor.

It was exactly how I'd killed the Sergeant earlier.

Darrance abruptly fell to his knees as the rest of us just looked on, utterly stunned at what had just happened.

We'd escaped from the building, so now what?

+Someone close the doors,+ said Karmen, her tone was strained and pained, but also I could hear the anger in there. More than likely, anger aimed at me for a myriad amount of different reasons.

+We are going to fly to the top of the tower,+ she said. +There is little oxygen there, and it is freezing, someone, please close the doors and get seated..+

Her tone could've been mistaken as condescending, but I could tell it was exhaustion mixed with impatience.

Torris and the Stormtrooper were the ones who finally found themselves enough to slide close the doors.

"What?" said Darrance as he approached the unconscious Arlathan and started to check his vital signs. "What do you plan on doing then? Shooting your way in again?"

Karmen's weighted silence was enough to say that was precisely what she was planning.

Slowly, I climbed to my feet, helped by Adelana and Vex.

"There must be Space Marines up there already," I said as we went to approach the seats.

+I have the void shield still activated,+ she said. +They cannot enter Taryst's quarters if they are. I can deactivate it once we get there!+

I sighed and looked around; Helma was stirring; there was a huge, black bruise across her face, and the Stormtrooper picked her up and placed her into a seat. Darrance was helping poor Halsin, who was conscious now but pale and pained, it looked like his right arm, and left shoulder was broken.

For a second, I couldn't help gape; how the hell hadn't the Space Marine killed more of us? Then the sound of someone crying caused me to jump from my thoughts and turn to Adelana. She was weeping, her attractive features all scrunched up; I wouldn't say it made her unattractive, just a little less so than usual.

I didn't know what to say or do; she sat right next to me; surely there was something I could do? I remembered when I'd wept when I'd first met Estella, she'd hugged me close, but I didn't know if she'd appreciate that. Instead, the old woman staggered up to us and hugged poor Adelana close.

"It's okay, honey, it's okay," she murmured while stroking Adelana's long red hair, and I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing. After all these years being under Glaitis tutelage, she'd taught me much, how to read people, how to manipulate them for your ends. But never did she ever show me what to do for people when they were upset.

I felt stupid; I felt incredibly awkward.

"I...I'm sorry," I managed, making Adelana's red, puffy-eyed attention look at me, causing me to flinch. Did she somehow know I was indirectly responsible for this?

But my fears were allayed as she smiled. "It's okay," she said. "You didn't kill them, but why? I don't understand. Why are the Space Marines trying to kill us? We did nothing wrong! Aren't they meant to be protecting us?"

I looked away and pulled out my pack of Lhos, suddenly feeling like I really needed one.

"You know, don't you?" she asked, but there was no anger in her voice.

"I do," I said sadly while lighting the Lho stick, clenched in my teeth. "It's complicated."

A thought made me suddenly smile. "Or as a friend would've said, 'it's convoluted.'"

Darrance approached and sat next to Vex. "It is, young mamzel," he said. "You are better off not knowing, in fact."

"It's Taryst, isn't it!" said the old woman. "He was into some dodgy business, wasn't he?"

My eyes widened, and I looked at her; I hadn't heard 'dodgy' being used that way since...

"Ma'am, may I ask, you wouldn't be from Elbyra? Or, to be more precise, Velrosia?"

The woman nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I am, was from Salthain, a town in the south. My husband and me left for Omnartus after the war; why did you ask?"

I smiled. "I recognised your use of 'dodgy' in that context. I'm also from Velrosia, Varander, in fact. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Just a bit!" she exclaimed. "Now I think on it; your accent does seem familiar."

I shook my head, funny how such a vast galaxy could somehow seem so small at times.

"You're right," I said, my expression turning stern. "It was Taryst who was responsible for this, all of this in fact. He was us to 'dodgy business.' Although now isn't the time for me to explain. I'll tell you everything once we've escaped."

"Really?" said Adelana, her eyes wide with disbelief.

I flinched under her gaze, knowing that I shouldn't really make such a promise.

"I will," I said, despite my hesitation; they truly did deserve to know. If they made it out alive, they deserved to know the how and the why Omnartus burned.

'Omnartus burned,' I was already referring to it in the past tense, how easily that'd come to me.

Castella sure as hell wouldn't have approved of that.

"You were close, weren't you?" I asked Adelana.

She nodded. "They were more than just work colleagues, Attelus. Grayhelt was like another dad to me, and Velg was a true friend. They...I...I can't believe they're dead."

So that was their names! I decided to make an effort to remember them; they were more innocents dead because of me, and soon, very soon, there would be many more.

Many, many more.

I looked sidelong at Adelana; soon, she'd have to deal with the trauma of not just losing the rest of her friends and family but her whole world.

Perhaps Castella was right; perhaps it wasn't a good idea to save her after all.

 

 

+We will be at the top of the tower in thirty seconds,+ said Karmen sullenly. +Get ready; there are rebreathers under your seats. The climate display shows it's minus twenty degrees outside, so be prepared for the cold.+

I switched on the internal heater inside my bodyglove, unbuckled my restraining harness and slipped off my flak jacket, handing it to Adelana.

"Put this on; you'll sure as hell will need it," I said.

She looked me up and down, her full lips parted slightly. "What about you?" she breathed hesitantly.

I was wearing a tight, sleeveless bodyglove with jeans. I must've looked pretty stupid, giving her my warm, armoured jacket.

"Don't worry about me," I said with a smile. "Got heaters inside my bodyglove, I'll be good."

She nodded, looking nonplussed as she started to slip my jacket on.

I turned away and started to take out the rebreathers from underneath the seats, but I still managed to catch a glimpse of Adelana and the old woman exchanging meaningful looks as she climbed to her feet.

I gave them a rebreather each and slipped mine on, then helped them put on theirs. They were single visored, expensive pieces designed for combat., the oxygen tanks had straps so they could be worn as a backpack.

+I am opening fire with the lascannon, now!+ snarled Karmen and instantly, I heard the familiar sound of lascannon shots through the flier.

Darrance walked by; I could tell he was smirking at me even through his rebreather.

"You have complained about your luck on too many occasions to count, apprentice," he said as he started to help Jelket off his seat with his good arm. "But look at me this day, I have broken my arm, had to run up almost thirty-one stories worth of stairs with a Space Marine chasing after me. I have lost my prized and mastercrafted power weapon and almost got pulped by an autocannon on an ornithopter. But you! You get yet another girlfriend! When will it be poor Darrance's turn, I wonder!"

I flinched and felt my face flush with embarrassment.

Then it was followed by a sudden urge to punch Darrance in the face.

I stormed across the deck and slipped up the slight staircase leading to the cockpit. Watching out the window as the pilot continuously blasted the roof of the corridor leading to Taryst's quarters. It was a strange sight, one which I never thought I'd ever see. Yet here it was, I never thought I'd ever had to go toe to toe and kill several Space Marines either, but for some reason, this seemed the strangest thing of all.

"What are we doing, Karmen?" I said.

She didn't reply.

I sighed. "If I look around the seat, I'm going to see the pilot is blank-eyed, utterly under your sway, aren't I?"

Again, no reply.

"Just like you did with the hundreds, no thousands of mercenaries under Taryst's employ, huh? Sacrificing them to the Space Marine guns so we could escape, am I right?"

+Attelus!+ she cried finally. +Now is not the time for this!+

"No, I guess it isn't," I growled. "Just tell me this, Estella Erith. Was this part of Taryst's plan right from the start? If he didn't have me killed, would I have been amongst those slaved to your will, sacrificed so he could make his escape?"

Karmen sighed. +I would never have let that happen, Attelus. Why do you think I tried to have him recruit you properly?+

"I thought it was because I had 'potential,'" I said sarcastically. "And thank you for admitting it, Karmen! By the Emperor, he was truly a selfish arsehole. Have no idea what Jeurat saw in the bastard."

+Just like you see 'potential' in the Adelana girl?+ Karmen's voice snarled back. +I've seen the way you look at her, the way you talk to her! Do you think I'm blind or stupid? The ends justifies the means, Attelus! If we're able to escape to stop Etuarq from destroying more worlds, their sacrifice will be worth it! Besides, they were all going to die when the planet's destroyed in Exterminatus!+

"You sound just like Faleaseen," I gasped in exasperation.

+It's been done, Attelus! It is too late to argue about it! Let me ask you this, okay? How many people have you killed? Over the last day? Over the last seven months and the seven years of your career? They were just faces to you. Strangers, the men I controlled, I knew them, all of them! Their every desire, their every secret, their dreams. Do you think I wanted to make them die like that? No! I have to live with that, Attelus! I have to live with that guilt. Please don't make this harder than it is, please!+

I laughed bitterly. "You think you've got it bad, Karmen. You've got nothing on me! This whole world is going to die because of me! Billions of people; dead because I took one pict! At least when you die, you can forget your guilt and pain, but I will never get that."

+What?+

I didn't reply as abruptly the wall and roof caved in under the sustained lascannon fire.

Space Marines were standing on the rubble; their bolter fire exploded and panged off the fliers bodywork and window.

+We will discuss this later! Now get to the passenger area and be ready! I'm about to land this sucker.+

I clenched my jaw but still turned and slid