(Two chapters combined)
Bang!
The heavy alloy door was forced open from outside and slammed against the wall with a deafening crash, shattering the Detention Cell's long silence.
The sudden glare surged like a tangible tide into the cell, which had only a pale ceiling light, but the more blinding sources came from inside the doorway.
Several high-powered searchlights were roughly set up, their brilliant beams focused precisely on the center of the room.
Biberus was trapped there.
More than a dozen chains forged from Special Alloy, each as thick as an arm, passed at cruel angles through heavy anchoring rings built into the wall, pinning him spread-eagled against the cold metal.
The chains bit deep into the gaps between his Power Armour's joints. Some had even pierced the ceramite and plasteel in noncritical areas, fixing him so firmly that he could barely struggle at all.
His power pack and most of his weapon interfaces had already been removed. Now, he was no different from a statue nailed to the wall.
Some kind of precision brace held his head in place, forcing him to look up with his face directed at the searchlights by the door.
Tiny mechanical arms held his eyelids open. Unable to close them, he could only let the light, bright enough to burn his retinas, shine directly into his pupils.
Agonizing pain, dizziness, and involuntary tears overwhelmed him, only for the tears to evaporate rapidly in the heat.
Nothing remained in his vision but an endless, burning pallor.
Even so, a Space Marine's superhuman senses still allowed him to catch the footsteps of someone entering the room.
They were steady and measured, carrying the distinctive, deliberately restrained weight of Power Armour.
Biberus's vision blurred and warped beneath the searing light, but from the silhouette and his