Fight of Valkar

They were glad that the ground was dry; the city had been wet from a storm the previous day. They passed through the forest uninterrupted for a while but they still had a weapon ready each, Brian with his lasgun and Lilly with her power sword. After about thirty minutes peace they found themselves at the top of a ridge.

"How do we get down?" Lilly asked.

"We could climb but if we fall that’s the end." Brian exchanged a grave glance with her. They started looking for an alternate route down the cliff face. There was one possible path but it was fairly treacherous. They didn’t have much choice because when they were discussing the risks of climbing and taking the path, they were interrupted.

"So we’re taking the path then." Brian confirmed. Lilly nodded. She quickly checked the forest line about three metres behind them. Her eyes locked on one spot.

"There!2 She pointed. Brian saw what she was pointing at and saw about three more as well. There were black wolves stalking them. They immediately raised their weapons. The four wolves advanced on them. Five-foot beasts with two-inch long fangs and long claws, both of which could tear through flesh with ease. The first one charged for Brian and he started firing off his ammo. Every shot hit the wolf, its hide absorbed many of the shots but it was blinded as shots pierced both of its eyes. It continued charging at him as it could hear where he was. Brian was sent flying as the beast collided with him. The animal, being blind, over judged it and though he was knocked to the ground with two cuts across his face, the wolf was sent over the cliff.

A second and third wolf went for Lilly while the final one went for Brian. Lilly handled the first of hers with incredible precision. Right before it clashed she dived to the floor and removed it’s head as it went over her. It’s body slumping on the ground just above where her head was. The second of them circled her and she faced it constantly. She had drawn her las pistol for this one trying to take out its legs but only succeeded in hurting one. The beast howled and charged her. She stood her ground and this one went for her legs trying to side step out of the way at the last moment. Her power sword embedded itself in the wolf’s back but she wasn’t fast enough. When the dust thrown up from the wolf’s slide settled she saw that her lower leg was in its jaws. She didn’t struggle; it would only make things worse. Brian was in the meantime trying to deal with the last one. Lilly was firing her las pistol at the enraged animal.

Brian was near the edge of the cliff, if he mistimed anything he’d be sent over the edge. The wolf charged. Brian miss judged his timing but saved himself while the wolf was sent to the bottom of the cliff. They could hear the loud thump as it impacted with the ground and the devastating ripping noise as bone ripped through flesh. Brian found himself hanging from the side of the cliff. He threw his lasgun up to free up his right hand. He grabbed at the grass trying to pull him up from the edge. He threw a leg up and rolled onto safer ground. He recovered and ran to where Lilly was lying. He knelt down by the Wolf’s jaws and prized them open.

Lilly’s leg had been torn up a bit but it would heal. The only thing that would be left behind would be a scar. Much like the wound on Brian’s face. When her leg was free she scrambled over to him and put her arms round his neck and pulled him to the ground. She smothered him in kisses regardless of the blood leaking from his right cheek. She licked the blood off her lips and sucked the blood from the wound and spitting any grit on the floor. Brian found this slightly creepy but was thankful. He kissed her back and helped her to her feet. They had taken a roll of bandages from the med kit and Brian had dressed Lilly’s wound. They held hands as they took the path down the cliff. It widened as they got to the bottom.

"I think I saw another hive on the way down. I think that it might be Hive Autirius." Brian said. "We should head over there. We can get some more supplies and help out the local chaos forces."

"Good idea. Don’t forget to introduce yourself as Basic." She laughed. "You’re only basic when you act with out thinking." She tapped his head and they laughed. He tickled her sending her to the floor laughing uncontrollably.

"Don’t forget to introduce yourself as angry. You women and your hormones." Brian kissed her cheek and brought Lilly to her feet again. He led the way keeping his eyes open for anything that might want to attack them. They were in no rush to get to Hive Autirius so they could have decent sleeps.

They had covered three miles before sun down. Half of that Brian had carried Lilly on his back. She’d pounced on him when he looked away for a moment. He was almost sent to the ground. They climbed another tree for the night. Tonight they would be able to have a decent rest, a full ten hours sounding heavenly after three to six hour sleeps. They reached a decent and stable area. Not bothering with cards; they instead started playing with each other. It would be too cold to go all the way but playing wouldn’t cause any problems, also, a tree wasn’t very suitable. After about an hours of feeling each other up they settled down to rest. They talked to each other for a few minutes. They fell asleep within half an hour and there were no nightmares for either. This was the best sleep they had had while on this blasted world.

Lilly was first to wake this time. She felt better then she ever had done upon arrival on this planet. It was still dark but from how dark it was she knew they had been asleep for at least ten and a half hours. She looked from the sky to Brian’s face. There was a cheery smile still there. Lilly wriggled out of his arms and moved out towards the edge of one of the thicker branches. She could see the Hive they were heading for. It was still a good ten miles off. What sort of things would they have to face in the next two to three days? That was something that would most likely soon be answered.

She looked over her shoulder to where Brian was now stirring. He looked around and saw her on the branch. He gave her a lazy smile and stretched. "When do you want to go? Wait till light or shall we move now?" He looked at the sky and said. "We have another hour or two."

"Let’s wait till morning. At least then we’ll be able to see where we’re going and what’s following us." She frowned. "I wouldn’t want to be caught by one of those wolves at night." Brian nodded at this and sat up against the trunk of the tree. There wouldn’t be anywhere to wash today unless they found a small stream, otherwise they’d be using their own canteens. Precious water was in there and it shouldn’t be wasted. Plus they were only dusty from the attack from the wolves. Lilly edged her way back to him sat under his right arm with her head on his shoulder again. He started to stroke her ponytail again. "Why do you always stroke my hair?" She looked up at his face.

"I love the feel of it." He kissed her forehead and continued. She loved the touch and she put a hand on his leg. He placed his own free hand on hers. Lilly didn’t want sex at the moment but she wanted more then this. She swung her leg over him so she was in his lap. Put her arms round his neck and kissed him. He, likewise, put his arms round her.

The first rays of sun were starting to come up over the horizon. The sky was a dark shade of blue with an orange tint in the west, though they didn’t notice this. Lilly started to move her hips slightly but Brian pulled them out of the kiss. "We need to move now. We can’t use up time like yesterday." Lilly nodded but kissed him again.

"Alright.’" She reluctantly got off of him and led the way down the tree. She did a quick bit of maths in her head. If they made for the hive at four miles a day then they could get there in two and a half days. That was of course without making distractions. She now knew the direction they were to head in and led the way, occasionally checking she was going correctly with Brian. After about two hours of travel they reached some dense undergrowth. She drew her power sword and started cutting out a path for them. Snakes were apparently a big problem in these areas of the forest. Every now and then Brian would have cause to fire a shot at snakes looming in the branches and on the ground around them.

When they finally reached the other side of the undergrowth the looked at the sky and seen that it had taken them about four hours to cross it. They had two hours to recover the distance that they had lost. They put their weapons away so that they could run properly. They made great time with running and gained the two miles they wanted by the end of the day and an extra one. Tomorrow they could take it even easier. However, they found themselves caught in the dark. There was the fact that running three miles had worn them down so climbing one of the trees again seemed like too much work. They started to look at nearby trees looking for places to sleep at the bottom. After about twenty minutes of searching, they were using flashlights and were forced to dig out a hole between the roots of a tree. It didn’t take long as the earth was soft.

Brian climbed into the hole and helped Lilly down. Using some nearby shrubs, they’d covered up the entrance. Lilly turned to Brian. "We need to steal some blankets, it’s too cold at night. We can’t keep huddling up. You know as well as I do that something will happen between us next to every night." Lilly had a compassionate look on her face. "f we truly love each other, even as the followers of the dark gods, we can’t through it away with just a physical relationship." Brian had taken all of this in. He’d also thought about how he’d frequently had the urge to just stop purely for sex.

"You’re right. We can’t just have sex all the time." Brian looked at his partner. They were currently on opposite sides of the hole. He spread his arms and she crawled over on her hands and knees to be held. Brian was parched and had a quick drink and gave Lilly some too. He held her close.

That night there was no playing or sex. Lilly fell asleep in Brian’s arms and he fell asleep holding her. Their warmth was one of the few comforting things during the cold night.

The nightmares were back tonight. Brian was seeing civilians being massacred by bolter fire, each explosive bullet causing gore to fly. He dreamt of the damage caused by the bombing run they had narrowly escaped from. Blood and the dead covered the entire of his vision.

Lilly was having equally vivid dreams. She was in darkness, an invisible entity with glowing red eyes skulking around her in the black. Telling her that she will cause the death of Brian. Saying that her body will be used as a trophy of Imperial victory.

She jerked in her sleep waking Brian. He looked around startled then down at the flailing mass in his arms that was Lilly. Upon releasing her, she curled up on the floor. He moved to where she was now lay curled up and tried to wake her as gently as possible. Her head jerked to face him, but the face was not hers. Brian scrambled back in horror, looking upon its twisted face, its sharp teeth bared. Lilly’s eyes were dark as the night sky, her nails had become pointed. The possessed body lurched after him and he instinctively picked up the closest weapon. It was Lilly’s own pistol. He pointed it at the thing’s face.

Right before he pulled the trigger her face snapped back to its originally beautiful self. She stared at the barrel facing her and rolled out of the way right before he opened fire shooting into the dirt at the far side of the hole.

Lilly was now lying against the side of the pit with her face in her hands. Brian could see her weeping and looked at his hand still holding the pistol in disgust. He threw it aside and went to his lady but still with a touch of caution. Pulling away one of her hands he relaxed as he saw to original pale blue eyes of his partner. There was no longer the large, evil, toothy grin there of the daemon. Instead, there was a distressed crumpled face with tears running down it. Lilly threw herself at him, startling him at first, but he knew he was safe. She attempted to wipe away some of her tears and tried to hold a look in Brian’s eyes.

"I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. The daemon, it took control." She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. He held her and rubbed her back comfortingly. He didn’t blame her for what had happened. At least it didn’t happen in one of the trees as something could have gone seriously wrong up there. One of them would have fallen.

2It’s all right Lilly. Don’t worry. Neither of us got hurt." He said this as calmly as possible but a quiver in his voice was present. He still felt dirty for turning the gun against her. That gun, in his hands, could have easily killed her immediately. "I shouldn’t have resorted to a gun. I should have tried to help you get out of it."

"You know that wouldn’t have worked. The daemon was trying to make you kill me, I’m certain of it." Her voice was muffled but still audible. She squeezed herself as close as was possible to him and started to calm down again. Brian, however, was still rather tense. He pulled her head away from his chest and looked into her pale blue eyes once more. Relaxing again, he allowed her head to rest on his chest.

Lilly could feel his heart beat and was glad that she hadn’t hurt him. Noticing that he was stroking her hair again, she gave a weak smile and wiped the remaining tears from her face. This comforted her a great deal.

"We should move," Brain whispered in her ear. It was still an hour or so before daybreak but it would help them relax. They could do with some fresh food, as the dried meat of the ration packs he had offered wouldn’t cut it today. They’d need to do some hunting otherwise any tension left between them would stay. Brain took her hands in his and lifted her to her feet, then helped her out of the hole.

Brian’s las gun hung at his side in his right hand. His left hand was round Lilly’s shoulders. She had neither of her weapons in her hands so that she wouldn’t give the daemon any more reason to control her again. Her head was up now and she had a slight smile on her face. They were almost normal now for the first time after the daemon’s appearance. They’d need a sorcerer of some keep to emancipate her of this daemon and there didn’t seem to be many. He knew very little about daemonic rituals so he could offer no service.

They had moved at an abnormally slow pace. Every hour they’d stop for a thirty-minute rest and they were only covering a half-mile at a time. The daemon taking hold of Lilly still had them worried though the mood had definitely lightened. About two hours after they had left the hole they had managed to catch another rabbit. They had cooked it as last time and buried the animal and ashes as they did by the river. They had eaten in silence up until when Lilly sneezed. Although just a sneeze, it had made them laugh. The laughter was what had broken most of the tension.

Now they walked in lighter spirits regardless of their slow pace. As light began to fail, they increased their pace to normal walking speed, allowing them to be within the city boundaries by nightfall. This also meant that they were going to have a longer day when they got there because they’d be fighting in the city.

"We’re almost there. I can see the road and the outer buildings of the hive." Lilly said. She said it without turning to Brian, as there was no one else to address. Brian could see the same. He’d also noticed that for the past fifteen minutes the trees around them had began to thin out a bit. The ground was rumbling, they reached the edge of the trees but didn’t make a rush for the ruins. Looking to the road, they saw that the sources of the rumbles were actually engines. The engines actually belonged to a Leman Russ with a demolisher cannon and three heavy bolter sponsons, one and the front, two at the sides. The second source was Primera. They had to pull into the trees a bit as the Primera passed as the crew and passengers might look and spot them and a demolisher shell was the last thing they wanted to drop on them.

The moment that the tank and transport were out of site, the two-traitor guard dashed from their hiding place and into the ruins. "What do you think that those armours are doing?" Brian asked when they were safe in the ruins.

"I don’t know, but I think the Night Lords are going to need help around here." Came a voice from behind them. Both Brian and Lilly turned round fast with guns raised. The speaker was standing on top of a piece of wall with his hands raised. He was holding two guns that resembled las pistols but with extended barrels. Brain gestured Lilly to go bring him over from the wall. She stepped up and using her power sword, tapped on the wall to show she wanted him down. The man jumped to the floor. What looked like a sword was at his side.

Lilly was standing behind the Guardsman. "He’s alright." She had lowered her weapons. "He’s a traitor." She tapped one of the armour plates on his arm as she walked past and said, "A Slaaneshi. The mark’s there on his pad." Brian lowered his own gun at this and looked over to the newcomer. He had shoulder length wavy blonde hair. His armour was a slightly darker shade of green then Brian’s clothing, the traitor’s clothing a desert yellow.

Brian straightened up and dropped his gun to his side. "Brian Longford. Undivided. I’ve been called ‘Basic’ in the past as a nickname for my lack equipment. You can call me that if you wish." He paused. "I guess." He continued as normal again. "This is Lilly Reynolds. Khorne worshipper. My partner. What’s your name and how did you find us?"

"I am Carnath Seldrin. You’ve guessed I’m a Slaanesh worshipper. Hope that doesn’t create any friction between us." He shot a smile at Lilly. "I spotted you run from the forest; I’m assuming that’s where you got that cut my friend? I’ve been alone during this war too. If you don’t mind my saying so, if you need another member to your party, I’m willing to help." He lowered his pistols from the surrender position. Then he thought of another thing to say about himself. "By the way, just because I’m a Slaaneshi follower doesn’t mean I like to put cuts on myself. I try to look as best I can."

"I’m sure you can join us." Lilly answered looking at Brian with a look that said she didn’t mind. She had holstered her gun and sheathed her sword now. Looking around, she took in some of the surroundings then looked back to Carnath. He had replaced the pistols with a thin sword. She was going to ask how well he knew the area but instead asked, "Why do you carry that sword? Surely it isn’t that strong."

The Slaaneshi smiled and held it out to her. "I’m fascinated in ancient duelling items, that is why I’ve had my pistols fashioned in such a way. What you hold is a power sword reshaped and strengthened to withstand some of the harder attacks with greater speed. In the time of it’s use I believe it was known as a Rapier though, this would definitely be a superior weapon." Lilly admired the sword for a moment before returning it. The build of the sword was extraordinary compared to anything she had seen in the past. She then remembered her original question.

"We’ve just come from Hive Carlamain, we don’t know this area and we’ll need your help I’m sure. Will you guide us if we accept you?"

"Of course." Carnath replied nodding. Lilly stood closer to her lover and clasped his hand in her own. "Well, we shouldn’t just stand here and wait for a patrol to find us." Carnath turned on a heel and led them through a ruined arch to the edge of a road. Looking left and right, he ran out across the road and signalled for them to cross too. Brian was the last to run across the road.

Tarmac flew up as a sniper rifle round embedded itself in the ground just behind Brian. The guardsman dived into cover with the others. They looked up at the tops of any buildings they could see but failed to spot the sniper. Lilly poked her head round the corner and pulled back immediately as another bullet whistled over her head. "I spotted the flash as the round was fired from the barrel. He’s on the right hand side of the arch, second window down in the building straight down the street."

"How good a shot are you Carnath?" Brian asked.

"I don’t mean to brag, but I never miss." The Slaaneshi replied smugly.

Brian chuckled at this. "Neither do I. This could be interesting. You go first, I’ll follow." Carnath sprinted out shortly followed by Brian both firing a shot each. When in the ruins they’d just come from Lilly called across.

"You got him guys. Well done. Shall we find out who fired the winning shot?" Not waiting for an answer, she ran down the road to where the body had fallen from the window. She had knelt down and was inspecting the corpse. There was a surprised look on her face. "You both got him straight through the heart!" To demonstrate her point she put two fingers in the hole and down the different angles of shooting.

"You don’t lie newcomer. My congratulations." Brian said shaking Carnath’s hand. "We should get back on track." Brian led the way back to where they had been before they were so rudely shot at.

Carnath walked by his side with one of his pistols in his hand. He was explaining how it had been modified with an extended barrel for a more accurate shot. "I am a tad of a perfectionist," he was saying. "I’ve practised with these pistols as much as I’m sure you have with that lasgun. I also enjoy combat, if I’m not mistaken; I believe that your Lilly will be a natural specialist in close quarters. Hopefully I can show my own skills next time?" Brian had listened intently enough. Admiring the guns engineering as he focused on where they were heading. Lilly was following behind. She wanted her weapons drawn as little as possible just in case the daemon was planning anything. It was unlikely though as she would have felt something by now.

As they walked, Brian became more and more aware of the fact that there were voices coming from the direction they were going. Carnath was walking with a cheery smile on his admittedly attractive face. Lilly walked in silence but kept looking to Brian as if thinking he was looking around at her. The voices Brian could hear were many and he became more and more on edge. Surely the other two were hearing it too. He turned to the new member of their tiny band.

"Where are we headed exactly?" He asked keeping all accusing tones from his voice.

"I’m taking you to a camp. It’s basically a field HQ that was set up. The main one, in the sewers, is a while from here so I thought it’d be a better idea to take you two to this little place. Welcome to home." Carnath replied with the same, unfaltering smile.

They walked round a bend and both Lilly’s and Brian’s faces displayed shocked expressions. A huge clearing was in front of them but it was far from empty. Chaos space marines and traitor guardsmen bustled around, Sisters of Battle too. There were groups of them talking as if they were long time friends. Khorne berserkers of two different armies were being civilised, not a drop of blood being spilt between them. Surely this place would have been found and bombed by now. White Scars aren’t that stupid.

The three guardsmen continued on through the mass of chaos forces. Brian continued watching in awe while Lilly, over the surprise, had seen the large bunker they were heading towards. Two terminators stood guarding the entrance. They paid no attention as Carnath led them into the shelter.

Carnath pushed open a door and stepped into a room. He proceeded to sit down, and pointed to two of the three empty chairs on their side of the table. Brian took the seat next to Carnath, and Lilly to Brian’s left. Looking around, she realised the room was much larger than she had first anticipated. The question remained though, who did the final seat, the one to Carnath’s right, belong to?

While Lilly wondered about this, Brian was more concerned about the three grander looking chairs across the table from them. It was clear they were about to meet people of importance. Carnath on the other hand, pulled out a knife, laid it out on the table in front of him and started twiddling with his thumbs. He was like a small child waiting to start a test, the knife representing the pen he would soon pick up.

They all looked round as a heavily warp tainted voice could be heard accompanied by two pairs of footsteps behind one door. One was most definitely larger then the other. A figure, literally taller then a dreadnaught, in dark red armour with flesh that seemed to be merged with it strode in. A Daemon Prince with one Black Legion pad and another with a symbol of Khorne. A huge and extremely threatening looking Daemon sword was strapped to his back. This must be the alleged Azar’thcer, the bloodthirster bound within the glaive. The Daemon Prince took the closest chair. This lord was famous in Lilly’s mind: Lord Belarian Cruoris, or Daemon Prince Azathoth Bhaal.

The person accompanying him was a marine in brown and yellow armour with silver trim. He carried a bolt pistol and a daemon sword. It was a Dark Blade. The black light was shining from within the sheath. He had a spiked helmet on and a leather bound book was clipped to his waste. A sorcerer armed for close quarters? This one was known by a few for how he worshipped both Tzeentch and Khorne, torn between the two. Also made obvious by the blue Tzeentch symbol on one pad and the Khorne symbol on the other. He sat down in the centre seat. Brian had heard of this one, Lord Viron Greth.

Two feminine voices could be heard from behind a second door. The door swung open revealing two women who could have been twins. The taller of the women was 5’9, the shorter 5’7. Both were brunettes with long hair, though it was just over shoulder length whereas Lilly’s was almost to her hips. The shorter one had dazzling pink eyes (definitely Slaanesh), like jewels, the other’s were blue (like the colour of Tzeentch Banners). The blue was much deeper then Lilly’s and were extremely vivid. The shorter of the two strode out first and took the final seat on left of Viron. Carnath was the only one who knew her. He slid his knife across the table to the leather clad Sister of Battle. ‘Mistress Quintiscence.’ He whispered as she took it and winked.

The other woman walked past the traitor sister and took the last seat available. Lilly gave a slight gasp, as she felt something run over her feet under the table. Brian almost upset his chair as a small pink daemon dived up onto his lap. This was obviously what had scuttled over Lilly’s feet. It jumped onto the table, past Viron and Quintiscence and into the arms of the Tzeentch female.

"Well done for retrieving these two Carnath, it’s nice to see you can do your job." Said Viron. "I think an introduction is in order. I am Lord Viron, Death Eagles 9th Company."

"I’m Mistress Quintiscence." Came the soft and rather inviting voice of the Sister. "Mistress of Pain people also call me, I lead the Sisters of Battle 3rd."

Finally the Daemon Prince. "To keep this quick, Lord Belarian, Lupus Khorne 1st." At this, Viron signalled for the four to follow suit.

"Brian Longford."

"Lilly Reynolds."

"Carnath Seldrin."

"Jessica De’Laina."

The Lords and Mistress looked at each of them. Brian remembered the Khorne Berserkers. One of the squads must have belonged to Viron, the other to Belarian. Quintiscence spoke this time. "Now that our introductions are over, lets get down to what you four are here for. Carnath, Jessica, you too I’m sure know part of the mission already. Brian, Lilly, I’ll run through for your sakes. We’re sending you behind enemy lines."

"But not just to get you shot. We wouldn’t dream of doing that to you." Viron cut in. "We want you to do something that normal marines couldn’t do, except for Alpha Legion, and that the Sister’s of Battle might struggle to do. You’re going to infiltrate into the Imperial tank base. There has been a steady flow of tanks coming into Hive Autirius and we’ve destroyed many. The problem is that we can’t get them all. Baneblades are a huge concern and we know there are 10 in the tank base."

Belarian then entered the conversation again. "You need to destroy them all. To do so you’d need a very large charge. Unfortunately we don’t have one. We do have separate charges that can destroy one at a time though. This means that you have to place each one separately on each Baneblade. The resulting explosion may also be big enough to destroy a few of the small armours."

There was a brief pause and Brian slowly raised his hand not quite sure of what to do. Quintiscence smiled and nodded. He lowered his hand and spoke. "How did you know we were coming and why do you want to have us go on the mission?"

"Because we’ve been in contact with Hive Autirius. It was the only one we could reach with it being the closest. The Night Lord commanders there have said that your assistance has helped a great deal. We thought that you would help us." The Sister of Battle laughed. "Though, being your superiors, do you have a choice?" Lilly and Brian exchanged glances. Carnath stayed surprisingly cheerful looking and Jessica continued to pet her daemon affectionately, acting as if she’d known all this would happen. Quintiscence got to her feet. "Well, I’m afraid I must bid you ado." She took the long way round the table back to the door that she had entered through. She kissed everyone on cheek as she went round. Upon reaching the door, without looking round she said, "Belarian and Viron will kit you out and send you on your way, I’m sure."

The Lords got to their feet signifying for the group to follow them. They left through the main entrance passed the Terminator guards and through the crowd to another bunker, seemingly similar to the last. Upon entrance, there was no table, instead, there was ammo crates shoved into every corner and weapons hanging from the walls. They passed all of this to the back of the room to where a servitor was scooting around checking this that and the other. Without a word it handed over a sack. Belarian took it and held up a large rectangular charge, before he could get a word out, Viron started to talk.

"These charges must be placed on the back of the Baneblade to have an effect. Don’t waste them." The Daemon Prince nodded as if to say that that was all that needed to be said.