The steel alloy hatch stood silently before him. Vito stood outside it, surveying the spacious training deck. There wasn't a soul in sight. The Mars-class Battlecruiser didn't have a particularly large crew, and like most creations of the Adeptus Mechanicus, most of its chambers were modular and could be repurposed at any time.
Still, this whole area had been set up as a training deck. Not a single person? Vito remembered Cole ordering the ship's armed crewmen to drill a few days ago. After all, their performance when the Orks had boarded the ship recently had left a lot to be desired.
Yet the place was deserted. Every training machine and firing range stood empty. There wasn't even a Servitor around. It was as quiet as a Space Hulk.
But that silence made the sounds from inside the hatch all the clearer. The loud voice carried remarkably well; Vito could make out every curse. The speaker wasn't even swearing in Gothic, but in a distinctive regional dialect from a very cold world.
Vito sighed and pressed the switch. The hatch slid open, and a gale immediately rushed toward him. To his astonishment, a huge hand appeared right in front of him, gripping a battle-axe that had nearly flown over and split his skull.
Vito glanced at the sharp blade, then leaned forward to look inside. He spotted the dangerous culprits: in the center of the training deck, two Adeptus Astartes were fighting inside a circular metal cage.
Their bulging muscles glistened with sweat. The two giants wielded weapons and clashed at blinding speed inside the cage. They had even smashed through its protective bars, which was why Vito had nearly been brained just now.
"Why are those two at it again?" Vito asked. The huge hand in front of him withdrew. Olaf sighed in irritation and slotted the axe back into the weapon rack. "Lancelot and Ragnar are arguing about who won the fight between our Primarchs, Lion El'Jonson and Leman Russ, ten thousand years ago."
"And their solution was to come here and fight it out?" "Yes." "Wow. That's... certainly their style."
"This is insane! Ragnar! I just stitched up that wound! You're going to tear it open!" roared an Adeptus Astartes in white armor, quite unlike Olaf's. He looked furious, bellowing from outside the cage like a lion.
"Give it a rest, Bell! I've had my arm bitten by a Fenrisian wolf and still managed to strangle a great wolf. A little kitty like you is nothing!" Ragnar said. Then a heavy blow from a longsword sent him stumbling backward into the cage. His opponent rushed forward and pinned him against the edge with the blade.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, wolf cub. You haven't beaten the knight of Caliban yet!" The blond Astartes flashed a charming smile, but the pinned Son of Fenris only grinned ferociously before headbutting that perfect face and sending Lancelot staggering backward.
"You two, get down here! I'm ordering you to stop as an Apothecary!" Bell shouted. Watching the two warriors resume their brawl, he smiled and spat out the blood in his mouth. "Oh, come on. You spent over an hour trying to fix me on Lethos, and in the end I had to go into battle with my Bolter."
"By the Emperor! You call that a minor wound? The Devourer hit you with an axe! I told you to get down, and you wouldn't listen!" "In the Emperor's and Terra's name! Get out here, both of you! I received rigorous training on Ultramar! I swear, you're going to keep me busy all day again!"
Vito smiled as he stood to one side with Olaf. "How long have they been fighting?" "They were at it before I got here, Inquisitor. I'd say it's been nearly an hour."
"Good."
Vito drew the Bolter at his waist and fired. His first shot cleanly shattered the blade in Ragnar's hand; the second snapped Lancelot's longsword. The two Astartes were forced to stop.
The giants turned toward the Inquisitor, whose Bolter muzzle was still smoking. Vito lowered his weapon and gave them a helpless look. "If I remember correctly, the Primarchs of both your Chapters swore, in the presence of Lord Rogal Dorn, that brothers would never again be enemies. And here you are, hacking at each other?"
Olaf laughed and shoved Lancelot aside with one hand. "It's a spar, Inquisitor. It's an ancient custom between our two Chapters. When the Space Wolves and Dark Angels meet, each side sends a champion to spar."
"Exactly. If I wanted to kill him, I'd have won already." Lancelot swept his damp blond hair back and laughed. Ragnar gave a scornful chuckle and pulled a second weapon from the rack. "Is that so? Let's see you win, then." "I'd be delighted to show you."
Another shot rang out, reducing the hunting knife in Ragnar's hand to fragments. "Enough. Next time, compete to see who can kill more Xenos. Everyone wins. And you've wrecked the training cage again."
Ragnar climbed out and looked back at the hole in the cage. "Well, it can still be used after a few repairs. You figure out how to fix it, Bell." "By the sun of Ultramar! I'm an Apothecary, not a Tech-Priest!"
Ragnar laughed and draped an arm over Bell's shoulder guard. "It never hurts to learn a few extra skills. Why not give it a try? Everyone knows the best way to heal your allies is to kill the enemy." "Get lost."
Ragnar laughed heartily. Lancelot climbed out too, rubbing his neck as he grabbed a towel and wiped away his sweat. "Is there a problem, Lord Vito?"
"Other than you breaking something again? Yes. We have a new mission."
At that, everyone looked over. Vito stood before them with one hand behind his back, facing the assembled Astartes in his signature pose.
"Grand Inquisitor Hegart sent word. There's a job for us in the Victoria System." "Victoria? Do we know what the threat is?"
Olaf asked. The dependable Old Wolf was as reliable as ever. Vito looked at his old friend and shook his head slightly. "No. If Grand Inquisitor Hegart didn't tell us, that means no one knows."
"Ha! Perfect! I love this kind of fight!" Ragnar roared, visibly excited. "Just like hunting back home, Olaf. Tracking prey across the snowfields and claiming victory in the end!"
"I'd still prefer to be cautious, Inquisitor. Do we have any intelligence?" Bell asked, only for Ragnar to cut him off. He leaned close to Bell with a mocking grin. "Don't be so boring, Bell. Not everything has to follow the Codex."
Lancelot smiled as he pulled on his armor liner. He hoisted his power knight's sword and casually tossed the Chainaxe to Ragnar, who caught it without a fuss.
"All right, we should head to the bridge. What do you say, Old Wolf? I wouldn't want to miss the sight of the jump."
Old Wolf Olaf smiled too. "Indeed. Come on, Inquisitor. Lead the way." Vito exchanged a smile with Olaf and holstered his Bolter. "Of course. Though I expect we'll have to listen to some complaints first."
"Olaf, Lancelot, you've broken my equipment again," Cole grumbled. The towering giant in black armor merely smiled as he walked past Cole and headed straight for the command bridge.
Cole watched Ragnar, then glanced at Lancelot, who was wearing the same smile. They both trotted off without saying a word, but their faces said it all.
Cole sighed helplessly. "Bell, if they start causing trouble again, knock them out with the shock gun," he told the Apothecary. Bell patted the sedatives at his waist in response.
Olaf and Vito walked past him too. Cole sighed again, straightened his collar, and strode onto the bridge. He stood among the four Astartes. The captain looked down at the faces turned toward him from the lower deck, all filled with awe.
It was hard to tell whether they were in awe of the captain, the four Astartes, or the Inquisitor. But my guess was, all of them.
Cole lifted his gaze to the turbulent vortex forming in the starfield ahead. Countless bolts of lightning and waves of energy churned within it.
"Attention, everyone. We're entering the Warp. Prepare to begin the voyage," Cole announced. Vito walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down at the crew. "Let the adventure begin!"
The battleship's enormous vector thrusters blazed blue. The mighty vessel completed its turn and sailed toward the raging seas of the Warp—and a brand-new voyage across the stars.
I am the Emperor's Sword. Now summon the monthly votes and slay the Xenos!
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