Karn was carrying the unconscious Argus to safety. He turned back for a moment, firing quick shots with his bolt pistol, then ran on. Behind him, the traitor marine cleared the treeline, and aimed his boltgun. A split second later, he was engulfed in an explosion. Karn vaulted over the small hillock to his position in cover, thankful to Oberon for the covering fire.
He noticed the voxbead in Argus' ear clicking. His wasn't; it must be an external attempt at communication. He ripped out his own device, taking the one from Argus.
'... report. I said, report!' - came the crackling voice of the Thunderhawk co-pilot.
'This is Karn. Argus is unconscious. We are under attack.'
'Hold out! Emergency repairs have... We are...'
The message was lost in a hiss of static, and Karn frowned. 'The Emperor protects.' - he mumbled, then picked up his sniper rifle. There was nowhere to retreat. There was nothing else to do. The enemy was before him, and he would hold out. Give the crew the time they needed. He sighted down his scope, aiming squarely at the traitor astartes. He had apparently come through the explosion unharmed. Karn pulled the trigger. The traitor fell back in a shower of black blood, helmet mangled, holes ripped in the chestplate. Karn blinked. He lowered his scope, losing focus.
It was a wondrous sight to his eyes.
The Lux Imperatoris, badly listing to the left, but still capable of flight, hovered to the side. It raked the battlefield again and again with its battery of heavy bolters. Spawn and cultists alike were ripped apart in showers of gore. The Chimera exploded. One more chaos marine was cut down.
Karn tapped his voxbead.
'Thank you.'
The voice of the co-pilot, strained, came through immediately.
'The Emperor protects.'
***
Argus awakened once again, his unconsciousness followed by a quickly dissipating dizziness. He growled, balled his hands into fists, then shook his head to clear it. The world straightened, and resolved itself into the sick room appropriated for the scouts. This time, he wasn't the first to open his eyes. Boreas stood near his bed, reading the dataslate attached. To his left, Grigor was getting out of his own bed, rolling stiff shoulders. To his right, Derex was still lying with his eyes closed, stimulants slowly dripping along tubes attached to his veins.
Boreas let go of the dataslate, and nodded at him. By the time he finished his briefing regarding the end of their last mission, Derex had also come to. The scouts then saw to their equipment, and started gearing up. Argus quickly formed a plan of action - a short combat exercise, ablution, then a visit to Danicus for instructions - but was interrupted by the click and hiss of his voxbead. He plugged it into his ear.
'This is Argus-'
The channel filled with the sound of a blast, then the sharp crack of lasgun fire.
'Push them back! For the Emperor!' - came the distant voice of Danicus. His boltgun barked. 'Where's that vox operator?'
Another blast, and the channel went silent.
Argus tensed. His squad mates were looking at him, intent.
'Emergency equipment check.' He racked his bolt pistol and verified the power cell of his chainsword. Around him, weapons were clicked, grenades were fastened, ammo retrieved.
'Complete.' - said Boreas, ever the dutiful second-in-command.
'Danicus is under attack. Presumably the governor's chambers. Possibly the information manufactorum. We shall secure both locations, and eliminate all resistance en route. Boreas, take point.'
The scouts hurried out, weapons at the ready. Argus switched channels.
'Alpha Squad, come in.'
The vox clicked, and Argus was relieved at the calm voice answering.
'This is Karn. Good to hear you, Argus.'
'We have exited the apothecary and are en route to the governor's chambers. The facility is under attack. What is your position?'
Karn's voice became tense, and Argus could imagine the sniper scout going to combat readiness on the other end.
'South training room. The rest of the squad is here. We'll secure the datasmiths, then link up with you.'
Good. Karn had always shown initiative. He and Boreas were both candidates for the rank of sergeant further on. Or in case I die, thought Argus. That possibility seemed more and more likely with every mission on this Emperor-forsaken world.
No! Focus!
'Move with haste, brother. The Emperor protects.'
'The Emperor protects!'
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