Entr’acte Part Three – Deliberations

The Thunderhawk flew over a field of carnage. Black smoke, think and oily, crawled lazily towards the sky, tainting an otherwise beautiful sunset. On the scorched field, hundreds of wrecks could be spotted, lying twisted, as though thrown about by some malicious child. Guardsmen had died by the score as their Chimaera’s were demolished by the powerful weaponry of the xenos Eldar.

Setting down gently, its decent causing smoke and dust to form small whirlwinds, the Thunderhawk lowered an access ramp. Down the ramp walked a trio of armoured figures. The figure in the lead stopped at the foot of the ramp, and surveyed the scene of destruction around him. His dark green armour had been cleaned up, and the scars of the engagement which had taken place earlier that day had carefully be repaired by the loving hands of the Tech Adepts. On his chest, the artificers of an age long past, had crafted a skeleton, and in the pale light of the setting sun, the bones gleamed with an almost supernatural light. 

“What now?” Boreaus asked, his massive form kneeling beside the charred remains of a sergeant. Looking across the horizon before turning back to face his advisors, Ciaphas shrugged, an unusual gesture for a Marine. “The Xenos have given us a beating yesterday. We have fought the heathens of Rhiadan long enough to know that they will seek to exploit this victory as much as they can. Our defeat” Ciaphas winced inwardly at the hated word, “has hurt the morale of the PDF badly. They see now only gloom and doom ahead. Already General Bruslk has begun to withdraw the frontlines so that only the cities are still protected. He has yielded the field to the Eldar, and gone over to the defensive. They will win this conflict, if we do not intervene. It is necessary that we acquire not only Mel’thion the Warlock, but also that this planet does not fall to the Xenos. Should we have to choose between the two, for the sake of the Honour of the Chapter and the Lion, we must capture Mel’thion so that he can lead us to Adnachiel.” Daedalus, who until now had remain passive, his eyes closed, his mind scanning the field, chose this moment to speak “And if the planet falls, Sire, what then?” Looking his advisor straight in the eyes, Ciaphas said “If that should come about, it is unthinkable that we let the Eldar have it, and let knowledge of our defeat become public. I will not have the reputation of the Dark Angels tarnished on this backwater world. If the planet becomes untenable, I will order Exterminatus…”

Boreaus stepped towards the Master of Vendetta, and placed his mailed hand on Ciaphas’ shoulder guard. “I am sure that we will fight hard before that comes about, and in the fires of battle the honour of sons of the Lion will never be tarred, and our enemies will fear us, for we are fear incarnate! I have known you long enough, Ciaphas, to know that you have a stratagem at hand, come now, enlighten us…” Smiling at the astuteness of the Chaplain, he nodded. Daedalus, though psychic had often failed to guess his true intentions and ploys, though he was a capable commander in his own right. Boreaus, on the other hand, never failed to sense what he was about. “Indeed, I do. The Eldar will exploit the withdrawal of the PDF, and with their far superior speed, they could potentially cut the remaining defences to shreds. If they are, as we suppose, aided by Adnachiel they will know of our usual contingencies. Roboute of Ultramar might have written the Codex, but much of its teachings on warfare are reflections of that done by our Primarch, blessed he be. The Codex dictates that we dig in, and allow Bruslk to withdraw his forces in good order, whilst maintaining a force to intercept any probes by the enemy. It goes to follow that Rhiadan expects that from us. But as you recall, the Lion often pounced on his foes when they expected him to be defensive. That is what we shall do.” Taking out a datascript from his holster, he handed a copy to both Daedalus and Boreaus, Ciaphas continued to explain: “I have examined the forward edges of the battle area, and identified which points are the weakest. These will be struck by the Eldar. The Tau are still in disarray, thanks to the efforts of Marxus, and will not be ready to present a threat at this time.” Looking again at Daedalus, who was intently studying the strategic map displayed on the datatranscript. If Master Ciaphas was wrong, or had miscalculated, then this planet would feel the wrath of Exterminatus sooner, rather than later. Seeing his advisor frown at the layout, Ciaphas could not help but smile inwardly. Daedalus, though wise, was an overly cautious commander. His underling, Marxus, though, was proving to be very adept…

”Daedalus”, he said, “I have decided that your student, Marxus, shall have the honour of hunting down the Warlock. It will prove to be good for him, as I am sure that you will agree, and he has accorded himself well.” Pleased that Ciaphas would give such a task to a librarian, despite his well known reluctance to rely overly on the psychic arts, Daedalus nodded. “I concur. It will be a task in which I am sure that he will prove victorious.”

Having finished their business of surveying the carnage, the trio boarded the waiting Thunderhawk, the guards who had been posted in the meanwhile returning just after them. Its passengers aboard, the massive gunship powered its engines, dust and debris flying away in the rush of superheated air, gently taking off, setting a course for the blood red horizon.