Weeks had passed since the first evidence of the Unforgiven had been found, and during that period the men of the Order had carried out their mission with their armour at minimal power, to prevent detection. The Dark Angels’ scrying device had been disabled and examined, the area of battle was investigated, and a number of mountains and other geographical formations had been surveyed. Remiel believed that they had located at least one tomb. More importantly, however, they had located a number of signs of the Adeptus Mechanicus mission. After several near discoveries, mainly due to servo-skulls and similar sensor-servitors, the techpriests’ primary force had been found. It had been trailed for two days until they started to excavate, using a number of arcane tools. The men of the Order had dug in to monitor their progress, easily defeating attempts by airmobile guard units to detect intruders.

The adepts had dedicated their strange biomechanical servants to examining the artefacts that they were uncovering, thus allowing Remiel and Duma’s men an easier time of staying hidden. In situ for three days now, they had discovered that their quarries were accompanied by another Fallen, who was helping to direct the unearthing of some form of ancient weapon. This had been a surprising revelation, and there had been much debate as to whether he had been in contact with the one accompanying the Rogue Trader’s force, and if they should try to communicate with him. Before this could be resolved, however, events took a different turn. Firstly, the adepts and many of their servants headed off north, and had not returned after a day. Then, scant minutes previousl,y a number of metallic xenos had appeared, almost as if from nowhere. Things were complicated further when the men of the Order watched as an Unforgiven force swiftly moved in and methodically took both the guardsmen and aliens apart.

Remiel looked out from under a layer of silt, viewing the carnage in the valley. He was reliant on his optical sighting system, as the arrival of Unforgiven confirmed the need to power all electronics down to minimal operating level. Hence the majority of his autosenses, as well as the stealth capabilities of the armour, were deactivated. The space marines (Adeptus Astartes was a term that Remiel used exclusively for members of the old loyalist legions) would have emission-detection technology capable of locating them if they were active. He carefully looked across at Turel. The other marine was viewing the battle through a monocular periscope, another of his little toys. The shrouded viewing lens made it almost undetectable, doubly so at long range, allowing Turel’s body to remain completely concealed. Beyond Turel lay Duma, also watching the show. Remiel was conversing with him using gestures – Duma no longer bothered with audible speech, happy to communicate in the silence of the battle signs. Of course, this was also partly practical – the risk of a radio transmission being picked up by enemies was far too high.

Duma signed that the Dark Angels had arrived at speed, on foot, while the guardsmen were distracted by the xenos. The Unforgiven’s transport – almost certainly a strike cruiser – must have picked up the energy output of the necron arrival, and the marine leader chose to prevent them from gaining control of the site. How long they had been monitoring the adepts was a matter of conjecture, but their actions implied that they were as yet unaware of the presence of the Order. Meanwhile, the typical Unforgiven pride was overcoming their tactical sense. The Dark Angels were too arrogant to let the two forces fight it out before dealing with the remnants; they would have to charge in and take the area themselves, although capturing the Fallen did provide them with an additional incentive…

The men were on full battle status, despite believing that the Dark Angels would have tried to deal with the small Order force first if they were aware of it. That most of their armour systems were off-line was an immense danger; if seen they would be responding at greatly decreased operational capacity in the vital first moments of a contact. Because of this most of the men were vigilantly watching both the silt-covered hillock that they were hiding on and the main approaches to it; a single teleporting squad could otherwise surprise them and inflict significant casualties.

Duma gestured suddenly. Even though he was communicating with only his left hand, Remiel could tell that he was amazed. The silent marine signed the presence of the Lion Helm. For it to be deployed in a force less than a half-company was enough to surprise him, and men with millennia of experience are not surprised very often. Was there a more substantial force in reserve, or fighting the rest of adepts, or was it a fake? Both men knew that several of the artefacts supposedly dating back to the founding had been replaced – they had seen the originals after all, and knew what had really happened to at least one of them. Another lie wouldn’t make much difference.

Leaving Turel to monitor the mopping up, Remiel consulted Duma. They both concluded that the next step was to find the remains of the adeptus mechanicus force – they would almost certainly be monitored, and either attacked by a ground force, or, more likely (given the number of Unforgiven casualties) punished by aerial and orbital strike. Within the hour Thunderhawks were picking up the Dark Angels, keeping the men of the Order very much under cover. Then the barrage began, and an area Remiel estimated at 5k to the north was hit from orbit. Two sweeps by Thunderhawks finished the job, and the Unforgiven left the world with a last display of destruction – the partly unearthed, hugely valuable weapon was destroyed by demolition charges activated after the last dropship took off.

It was sixteen hours before they engaged their full suit systems. Despite signs that the Unforgiven’s ship had broken orbit once the Thunderhawks returned, nothing was left to chance. Only when the remaining adepts arrived to find their prize a twisted ruin did Remiel signal a return to operational capacity. As the broken remnants of the tech-guard moved out they were followed by ten shadows, determined to discover what Cypher had sent them to find…