Between the lieutenant's guidance and Cyrus' scouts we reached the rebel's main encampment without further contact. The rebels had not seemed interested in further fortifying their position this deep into their territory. Despite the apparent lack of resistance the team grew even more cautious as they advanced further through the woods. Silent communication became the norm as the more experienced warriors exchanged hand signals in place of speech.

The lieutenant led us through the mountains on a natural footpath that they had nearly missed. The path was treacherous and slick, but no one fell as they maneuvered around the obstacles in their path.

Once on the other side they found themselves perched in the rocky crags with an unimpeded view of the rebel camp. The rebels had more or less retained the base format of laying camp, with heavy fortifications at the mouth of the valley and regularly spaced tents. The general setup of the camp looked perfectly normal. The activity within, however, had little coordination or sense of purpose. By the time I finished scouting their position with my binoculars I had gathered a distinct sense of unease about the whole place.

"Coordinates locked" Adin announced, setting his targeter down. "We just need to call it in and watch the show."

"Not that easy," I grunted. Glancing back over our shoulders, I tried to pick out the rest of the team. They had remained higher up the peak, safely out of detection range. I showed him my recorder, indicating a flashing red circle on the upper corner. "Signal's cut off. They've got a jammer up."

"Shite. Can you spot it?"

I played the video taken from the binoculars several times, zooming in the image to scour the camp. Few antenna stood out, and I recognized them easily enough. No electronic jamming equipment could be seen. The signal block had to be coming from the large shelter on the other side of the valley. The rebels had a heavy guard around it. The jammer had to be in there.

"No," I said, putting the recorder away in disgust. "My money's on that shelter though. It looks big enough to house a ship."

"The alien ship?" Adin picked up his sniper rifle and examined the shelter. He nodded silently in confirmation of his thought. "Their whole camp is centered on that spot. Notice the concentric rings?"

"Whiteshields, regulars, stormtroopers," I said. "These guys seem more focused on protecting that shelter than defending their camp."

"Definitely Chaos then. What do you think is down there?"

"Light transport, perhaps? Ordo Malleus's records on the Thousand Sons indicate they don't go around in large numbers. Something about the need for a sorcerer to control them. What do you figure, three squads?"

"Maybe." Adin crouched a little lower behind cover. "Either way, this is not something we should mess with. Let's finish this up and get back to the team."

I scanned the base one more time, focusing on each point of interest to ensure we got solid footage. Once Adin and I had finished pinpointing locations of interest and mapping them to the recorder we gathered our gear and started climbing back up to the team. They waited patiently as we made our report.

"And you saw no sign of the Traitors themselves" Cyrus asked when we finished.

"Just a giant shelter large enough to hide a transport. That's where they would be though. The concentration of firepower guarding that shelter is a pretty clear indicator."

"Did you see what is jamming communications?"

"Must be the ship. They did not have any heavy duty comm gear in sight."

"The 1st and 3rd were line companies" Montross said. "They had no supportive communications gear."

"Any special units?"

"We have no mutants on Uthreme" the commissar snapped, eyes glinting dangerously. "Our bloodline is pure."

"I meant sniper teams, kill squads, recon elements. Do they have anything that could have been watching us?"

"No. They had simple infantry. The 3rd had a company of armored attached, but you saw what happened to them."

Cyrus raised his rifle to steal our attention. "You are going to ask for an orbital bombardment," he said, correctly guessing my thoughts.

"They are well defended. The only good route into the valley is guarded by dozens of bunkers and fortified emplacements. Armored columns would be torn to ribbons and infantry would get slaughtered. The Uthreme Guard does not have enough men to attempt such an assault."

"They are fortified," Cyrus agreed. "But their camp will soon have fewer troops in it. My commander and the loyalist forces have launched an offensive against the rebels. At the rate they are being driven back it is safe to assume they will call for reinforcements if they have not already."

"That camp did look a little sparse" Adin muttered, speaking only to me.

I opened the recorder and started shifting through the footage again, paying closer attention to the number of troops in camp. It was nearing noon. The troops would be out of their tents at this point, eating, training, or lounging about. There was still a good amount of soldiers about, but not enough to make more than two companies worth of troops. The bulk of the battalion must have already moved out.

"You're probably right" I said. Cyrus took the recorder and examined it, his face expressionless. After a minute he handed it back.

"So what's the plan?"

"If the camp is this lightly defended, we have a golden opportunity here. If we land a contingent of my comrades in the camp we can cut the traitors off and annihilate them between our forces."

Commissar Montross glanced over to the Lieutenant. She had remained mostly silent over the past day, and the strain of being so near the camp showed on her face. The tattered uniform jacket she had worn had fallen apart over the march, leaving her in a stained undershirt and trousers. At one point on the march we had found a small fresh water spring and she had cleaned herself up a bit, so the majority of the dirt and grime was gone from her skin. She truly had a beautiful face, the kind that left many of the simpler Guardsmen staring when they thought no one was watching. She knew, of course. Over the course of the march I kept up small talk to distract her from the horrors she had suffered. The lieutenant had grown up in a small noble family that lived on an estate north of the capitol. When the Valkyrie's Fist unit had been formed her father purchased her commission for her. Three months ago she had been a civilian.

"You know the layout of the camp, lieutenant?"

Jara nodded curtly. She stood by my side, wrapping one arm around mine, and watched the recording.

"We cannot call in an orbital bombardment or reinforcements until we take out the jammer. Do you know where it is?"

"The ship."

No one appeared surprised. Looking to Cyrus for advice, I jerked my thumb in the direction we came from.

"My vote is we retreat out of jamming range and call it in from there."

"By the time we do that the traitors might return to their camp."

I shrugged carelessly, not seeing a problem. "So we blow them to hell from orbit. Problem solved."

"If there are Thousand Sons down there, we will need confirmation that they are destroyed," Cyrus said. "And any chance we have to scour the traitor's ship for information could give us some advantage in the future."

"The plan, then?"

Cyrus indicated the lieutenant with his rifle.

"You will draw us a map of the traitor camp. Mark all locations of interest, command headquarters, and supply caches. Come nightfall, we will advance into the camp and make our way to the ship. Once the jammer is down I will call in the coordinates for reinforcements."

Montross shot a sidelong glance at the Guardsmen squad. Looking back to Cyrus, he cleared his throat and addressed the Space Marine.

"That is doable."

"This will be a multi-pronged infiltration. My scout squad will take the task of destroying the jammer. Your Guardsmen will split up into teams and place demo charges at key locations provided by the lieutenant. A successive chain of explosions will disorient those still in camp and make an all-out assault much more likely to succeed."

More likely to succeed. The casual reference to the suicidal plan made me smile darkly. I had heard that far too many times in the past. Of course Cyrus did not expect the regular humans to make it. One squad of Space Marines could pull it off. One squad of Guardsmen… if three survived they would be lucky. There would be so many rounds flying through the air once the shooting started.

Not that arguing would get anything done. Sighing under my breath, I bobbed my head respectfully and steered Jara away from the group.

"We'll get you a map then."

"Meet us at the fall-back point in two hours," Montross ordered. "We have plenty of time to prepare this one. Don't mess it up."

Adin went to follow us, but something caused him to stop. He nodded subtly and walked off, leaving Jara and me alone. His hardwired radio channel cut off in my ear. I stared back after him, confused, but Jara tugged on my arm and led me off to a secluded spot to work on the map.

"And that's the battalion headquarters."

I marked the location on the recorder. Using my recorder footage I had created a rough sketch of the layout of the camp. Jara filled in the details, pointing out the important locations. She had a remarkable memory for one who had been through so much. Every company headquarters was marked, the larger bunkers and ammunition depots located, and even the position of the guard posts. With the information she had, we could plot out routes through the camp.

"That's everything I know. We did not see much of the camp."

She shrank back as if she had disappointed me, but I offered an encouraging smile.

"You did good, Lieutenant. That's a lot more than we knew to start out with. I know it's got to be hard thinking about that place."

Jara shivered and leaned against my shoulder. Her eyes were red.

"I don't want to go back down there" she said, her voice little more than a whisper. Jara took the recorder from my hand and set it off to the side. I did not pull back as she shifted over to sit on my lap and curl up against my armor. Purring softly, Jara rested her head against my neck and closed her eyes.

"You don't have to go back if you don't want to. When the time comes, you can wait at the fall-back point."

"You've been good to me, Leon. You chose to bring me along despite everything. I won't leave you to go into that camp alone."

"It will be dangerous."

She looked up at me, a faint smile on her lips. Leaning forward, she placed a soft kiss on my lips and shook her head.

"Not if I stay with you. You're going to go down there and kill those bastards, but you'll need a guide to help you know where to look. I know where they go, what horrible things they do in the dark places of their camp. And I want to be there when you tear their hearts out."

Her eyes flashed darkly all of the sudden, adopting an angry gaze I had not seen before. Something foreign and dangerous swirled in the midst of her raging eyes, and my gut turned to ice. The sudden wave of anger in her voice did not come from Jara. It came from the unholy light gleaming behind her eyes. She was tainted.

Stunned, I pulled her head down to my shoulder and stared into the sky. Unaware of my sudden discovery, and of the taint herself, Jara heaved a sigh.

"Get some sleep then. We move as the night falls."

Jara nodded off in minutes, too tired to pass up the opportunity. After ensuring she would not wake I shifted her over onto the ground and stood. My hands trembled. I hurried off to join Adin and the Guardsmen, licking my lips nervously as I did. By the God Emperor, we did not need this. Too many thoughts warred in my head. Too many possibilities had just opened up. Was she truly evil, luring us in to a trap? Was she tainted unknowingly? Had her escape been aided by a blind eye?

That last thought stopped me cold. A chill shook my spine, and I felt the first twinge of fear since landing on this cursed planet. A trap. Caught in a trap with a battalion of Guardsmen and Thousand Sons. This was one we would not be walking out of.

I hid my distress as I joined the Guardsmen, but Adin picked it up right away. After exchanging a few polite words with the Guardsmen we walked off a distance for privacy. Adin said nothing for a long moment, but he took off his helmet so I could look him in the eye.

"What's eating you, Leon?"

It took me a moment to find my voice.

"She's tainted."

My comrade stared at me blankly for a moment. "She's… oh. Shit."

He reached around his back and unhooked a canteen from his pack. I took the canteen and took a swig without stopping to say thanks. Mycean whiskey.

"What are you going to do?"

"Hell if I know, Adin." I took one more drink before handing it back. That kind of alcohol did not come cheap. I was not going to waste it all. "But it's not what I'm going to do that worries me."

"How bad is she?"

"I don't know. She might not know about it yet, or she's playing us like a fiddle."

Adin shook his head. "I haven't been getting any negative vibes around her. Tainted, sure. Trying to screw us over, no. Well, maybe trying to screw y-"

I shot him a murderous glare. He shrugged.

"Force of habit."

"What are we going to do? If this is a trap…"

"It's not."

The certainty in his voice calmed some of my worry. Adin gently pried my hand off of my bolter's grip.

"Don't worry about her. We've got more important thanks to think about."

"Have the teams been made?"

"Three-man teams. Commissar is taking two, I've got two, you've got the LT and Collins."

"We can't leave her behind, can we?"

"Nope." My companion cracked a cheerful smile. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen? Death?"

"Team 2, this is Team 1. Beginning infiltration. Check that sentry."

The sentry collapsed in a heap, a knife buried in his chest. I breathed a silent prayer of thanks that the traitors were walking unarmored. The slack-nasty scum provided easy targets. Even as I watched the other two teams slipped into the void and entered camp. My team followed close behind, maintaining enough distance to not draw attention. Few traitors were up and about at this time of night. Those that were reeked of alcohol and fouler smells. As long as we kept quiet, we would not face much trouble.

The lieutenant and sergeant stayed close behind me, adopting suitable stances for our march. The unease radiating from Jara made my skin crawl, but she played her part well. I could not imagine how terrifying this was for her. Terrifying, or exciting. It took a lot of my composure to not flinch at the thought of having her behind me. If she was an enemy, she could kill me before I responded.

Collins did little more than follow my footsteps as we walked. His face was set in an odd grimace, as if he had swallowed something bitter and choked it back up. I shared the feeling, but I did not let it show.

We reached the first point, a small aluminum awning covering a company's worth of heavy weapons. The appeared disused and ill-maintained. That did not surprise me. Once the taint settled in, boring, stationary equipment lost appeal. If this taint truly came from Khorne I would not be surprised to find them fighting bare-handed. I did not bother hiding the charge. No one would find it.

The farther we walked into camp, the worse our surroundings became. Tents fell about raggedly, men stumbled incoherently from worse things than alcohol. Several fights raged around us as crazed men beat each other for the most petty matters. We heard no screaming though. No women's cries.

On a whim, I turned to Jara and pulled her closer. "Take me to your comrades. Let's see if we can get them out."

She nodded and pointed meekly to my left. Collins made a face, but when I started walking he fell into step behind me.

"We don't have time for this" Collins muttered, looking around nervously. "We need to set that other charge."

"Do you remember the layout" I asked. He nodded. Satisfied, I tossed him the last charge. "Then go set it. Meet us at the rally point."

He vented a heavy sigh and hefted the charge. I did not stop to watch if he headed off on his own or kept following. It did not matter. I wanted to find if any women survived. If even one of them was left, uncorrupted, it would be worth it.

"There" Jara said, indicating a fenced-off partition in the camp. The space was not large, but the walls were high and covered in barbed wire. I did not see anyone standing up. Or sitting. There were some bodies lying in the mud. "Emperor save them."

The lieutenant broke past me, rushing to the fence with sob. I followed at a slow pace, my head on a swivel for enemies. No one showed. Jara ran alongside the fence, rattling the chains and hissing names. When she finally made it back around her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Those bastards" she cried, shaking like a leaf. "Emperor, they killed them all. They're all dead."

Remaining silent, I went up to the small gate and ripped the lock off. The gate swung inwards, creaking on rusty hinges. A tangle of dead bodies covered the floor from fence to fence, twisted and scored by laser wounds. Numerous marks on the fence pointed to las fire.

"Used them for target practice" I muttered, disgusted. Jara slipped past me and knelt beside one of the bodies. I could not understand what she said, but I understood the way her body trembled. Through the bloodied mess of mud and blood I caught a glimpse of dirty blonde hair and familiar eyes.

"Your sister? I'm sorry, Jara."

She looked up slowly. Her eyes were red, raging like fire. I took an instinctive step back and tightened my grip on the bolter. For a long moment she just stared at me.

"Kill them" she growled.

"Jara?"

"Them."

Harsh laughter echoed from behind us. I turned and brought my rifle up. A cluster of Guardsmen approached, staggering drunkenly. Four of them. They had spotted us.

"Get behind me lieutenant."

They reached the gate before she stood up. The lead one strutted forward, balancing unevenly on a broken leg. The shin bone jutted out to the side, clearly snapped in half. The man did not appear to notice. Their eyes burned with a similar fire that I had seen in Jara's gaze. They leered at Jara without a hint of subtlety. My finger twitched on the trigger of the bolter.

"There's a live one" the lead man sneered. He stopped a foot away and leaned to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Jara. She pressed close behind me, but her hand reached for the pistol on my hip. "I don't remember her being around."

"Take a walk trooper," I said. He laughed and pushed me. The skin on his hand had cracked and peeled away, replaced by grotesque scales.

"You should share her, shine-job. Sure she can handle us all at once. The other ones did."

Jara snarled.

"Go the hell, bastard."

"Such tongue. I can think of better ways to use that."

He lunged forward, aiming to shove me aside. I caught him by the throat and shoved him away. He sprawled in the mud.

"Hands off, slop-bucket."

I started walking towards the gate. The other three cut in front of me, murder in their eyes.

"Out of our way, you shit. We want the girl."

They shuffled forward. Jara grabbed for my bolter. It fired. The sudden explosion of gunfire startled everyone. One of the men dropped, his chest torn open. I did not hesitate. Switching targets, I hosed down the other two in rapid fire bursts that cut them down. Jara did not let go of my arm until the last body hit the ground. Voices started up in the distance, alerted by the noise.

I shrugged Jara off of my arm and rounded on her.

"The hell, lieutenant? You just blew this op."

The smoldering fire in her eyes told me she did not care. Rushing past me, she delivered a string of brutal kicks to the first one. I had to pull her off.

"Come on, we need to move."

It took her a minute, but she settled down and we ran. People were up, some armed, some not. Shots were fired in all directions, mainly las rounds. Somewhere in the mix I heard bolter fire. So much for the plan.

Six Guardsmen ran into view, looking around and shooting wildly. They caught sight of another group, stopped, and started shooting. The other group returned fire. Before we passed at least four had fallen, and the rest were charging for melee combat. I considered putting a shot or two into the group, but that would draw attention.

Massive explosions rocked the valley. Six gouts of flame erupted in the night sky, bathing the camp in a hellish light.

"Aw shit. We've got to get to the rendezvous point."

The rendezvous point was a battlefield. Montross and Adin had their teams at the edge of the stormtrooper tents. They were engage in a pitched fight with a motley company of traitor Guardsmen. Several were down, but more were arriving from all directions. This was not the plan, not by a long shot.

We rushed to the group, dodging scattered shots on the way. A pair of stormtroopers lurched to intercept us, limping on half-formed legs and slimy tentacles. I took each one down with a single shot to their uncovered faces. Gore splattered on my boots, but I did not slow down.

"About time" Adin said, speaking calmly despite the battle raging around us. I saw his sniper rifle raise on the far side of the group before he dropped a brutish traitor Guardsman. Another took his place, then another. "Where's Collins?"

"I thought he was here" I snapped, diving into cover beside on the prone Guardsmen. He was not shooting. Frustrated, I shook his shoulder. The man's head lolled to the side, eyes wide and dull. His throat was a mass of blood and burns. "The Astartes?"

"Hell if I know. I heard something a minute ago. I think they went off on their own to tackle the ship."

"And we're the bait." I grunted angrily. A round skimmed off my armor, deflecting into the body of the man at my side. "Screw this."

I stood up, not caring that the air was filled with zapping rounds. Two of the storm troopers still had the sanity to set up an autocannon. I gunned them down without a second thought, tearing them to shreds. It felt good, real good.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding better cover. Charge."

Adin followed without hesitation. The Guardsmen chased after us, shouting and shooting like madmen. Jara had disappeared somewhere in the fray. Not that it mattered, she had not been holding a weapon. I signed her off as dead, bit back the bile in my throat, and kept running. Mourning could come later. Right now we had to-

A hulking armored form stood before us as we passed the last tent. It stood several feet over us, clad in bright, unblemished armor of blue and yellow. No one needed to ask what it was. The reflectionless black visor stared down at us. My tongue clung to the roof of my mouth, shock overcoming my adrenaline. Blue and yellow.

The traitor Marine's helmet tilted forward to better regard us. I did not meet its visor, but kept my attention on the gleaming bolter in its hands. The bolter started to turn towards us, moving so slowly it felt like a dream. A hollow, metallic voice rasped out from the Marine's helmet. "All. Is. Dust."

The slow turn snapped into a blinding jerk and fire tore into our team. I dove to the side, wincing as men screamed behind me. The thunderous boom of Adin's sniper rifle rocked the traitor Marine back on its heels. It started to face him, but by that point I was steady on one knee. I unleashed a long, concentrated burst into the Marine's upper body. Several rounds ricocheted and bounced off, repelled by a psychic barrier. Several punched through after prolonged fire, blasting gaping holes in the Marine's armor. No blood spilled. The Marine calmly fired on Adin, ignoring me completely.

My finger left the trigger only when the clip ran dry. The Marine had so many holes in his armor I could nearly see the sky. Yet it did not appear bothered in the least. Its steady fire kept Adin at bay, chasing him through the tents as he desperately tried to stay ahead of the fearsome hail of lead.

I swapped magazines in a heartbeat, but I did not fire. Reaching to a side pouch, I grabbed a melta-bomb and armed it. Montross shouted for my attention, but I had already decided. The bolter hit the ground with a dull thud and I charged.

The Commissar beat me to the Marine, striking with his sword in an ineffectual attempt to do damage. It would not be enough. The Marine broke his spine with a casual backhanded swipe. Montross fell, keeling over in a ragged heap. That brief respite was all Adin needed, and he peeked out from cover to put a round through the Marine's bolter. The weapon exploded in a hail of shards and micro-explosions as the bolt ammunition cooked off. The traitor Marine staggered, but did not panic. It could not. It was a mere shell.

That was fine by me. A standing target was an easy target. Stopping just short of the Marine, I rolled the melta-bomb under its feet and leapt back. The grenade exploded, vaporizing the traitor's lower body in a flash of heat and fire.

The Marine tumbled to the ground, but it was hardly finished. Picking itself up with mechanical precision, the Marine stood awkwardly on a half-gone leg and hip. It drew a bolt pistol from its side. The Marine turned around to take aim at me.

"For the Emperor!"

A body flew out from one of the tents, clad in storm trooper armor. The storm trooper rushed the teetering traitor Marine with a krak grenade in each hand. I watched dumbfounded as the trooper kicked the bolt pistol out of the Marine's hand and shoved both grenades in the gap between the helmet and overlapping shoulder pads.

The trooper leapt back, but not in time to avoid the explosion. The shockwave lifted him off his feet and hurled him at my feet. I did not hesitate, but yanked the helmet off and shoved my sidearm in the man's face.

Collins gazed up at me, eyes wide.

"Don't shoot. It's me."

I stared at him in wonder, eyeing his new armor in suspicion. Traitors' armor. What was he thinking?

"No time to play" Adin shouted. I looked up to see another traitor Marine lumbering towards us. He had a heavy bolter.

"Got anymore grenades?"

Collins shook his head. "That's all I had."

A hail of fire struck the traitor Marine in the side. An armored Marine scout rumbled past us, firing a shotgun as fast as he could. The traitor swayed, fighting to regain its balance. The heavy bolter started firing, spraying all over.

Blood and armor exploded out of the scout's back. The scout staggered, but he did not stop. The traitor Marine steadied his aim. Dozens of rounds punched through the scout. A holistic cry rang out across the battlefield and he hurled himself onto the Marine. I saw a grenade in his hand. The resulting explosion engulfed both scout and traitor. When the smoke cleared only bits and pieces of armor remained.

"Shit. Keep moving. Just a little farther."

One lone Guardsmen remained with us. The towering cover for the ship stood only fifty feet away. A third traitor Marine stood by the entrance, staring impassively from his position. He had a towering force pike. I studied the traitor Marine carefully, out of options. Nothing at hand would take it down.

Shouts and screams came from our left. A brutal fight spilled out of the tents, propelled by a shrieking dervish. All eyes turned for a moment, surprised. Lieutenant Jara fought off five men at once, a chainsword in each hand. She whirled, thrust, leapt and hacked with abandon, cackling madly as she did. Blood and gore splashed across her shirt, drenched in the lifeblood of many men. There was no trace of the scared lieutenant I had known.

All five men fell before her. She looked at us, froth dripping from her lips, and howled. I thought she would charge, but she took off for the traitor Marine. The Marine had yet to twitch since spotting us. In her crazed state I doubted she recognized the danger of the Marine. She would not stand a chance.

Before I realized it I was charging after her. Adin called out after me, cursing me for being a fool. His sniper rifle began firing. Las fire erupted behind us. My bolter joined the cacophony. Collins. I had not weapons but my pistol and the half-sharpened cane-stick. Too late to back down now.

Jara dove for the traitor Marine, spinning both blades in a vicious arc. The Marine flicked his force weapon out, catching her chainswords easily. His pistol came up, planting square against her forehead. I fired.

The first round punched into its arm, jerking the pistol to the side. The second shot exploded harmlessly against its shoulder. One more got through. Another missed. It turned to face me, shoving Jara aside with ease. The force pike whipped towards my chest, aiming to cut me in half. There was no time to dodge. It was going to cut me in half. Firing helplessly, I swung my cane-stick at the weapon.

The purplish glow of the force pike drained away. It struck me head on, lifting me off the ground and hurling me aside. My pistol flew off into the darkness. My cracked rib broke again. But I was alive.

Stunned, I scrambled to my feet and held the cane-stick like a sword. The force pike shimmered again, held defensively before the traitor Marine as he studied me. The fire had returned. It had not killed me, the weapon's power had faded for that brief instant. Was that-

"Fuck me" I said, cursing under my breath. So that was another perk of being a Blank. Jara stirred weakly. I heard a sickening moan. Still alive. The traitor Marine gave me no time to rejoice, because he charged, pike leading. I dodged to the side, pushed back off the ground, and threw myself onto the traitor's arm before he could sweep back with his force pike.

Lightning crackled along the Marine's armor. The traitor jerked away, punching me in the side, but the blow came weakly and barely did any damage. The arm fell away, tumbling empty to the ground. Without bothering to wait I struck the Marine with his fallen glove and jumped at its face. The traitor replied in turn, crushing me to the ground, but his joints fell free. An empty helmet smashed into my face, rolled off, and I was stuck under a hollow shell of Astartes armor.

The battle raged around me. Adin and Collins retreated into view, weapons darting back and forth as they exchanged fire with the traitor Guardsmen. Cyrus and his scouts stood with them, moving towards the ship in an orderly but hurried fashion. One of the scouts broke off and shoved the armor aside, freeing me from its pressing weight.

"We must destroy the jammer" Cyrus said. "Do you have any demolitions charges remaining?"

"One."

"We will need it."

I grabbed the nearest weapon, the traitor Marine's force pike. Abandoning the fight, we rushed into the giant domed tent. The ship bore all of my expectations. Crashed, half-buried in the dirt, adorned in gothic structure and painted in gaudy blue and yellow. Three traitor Marines stood before us. Two wore the plain Astartes armor. The other wore a blood red armor decorated in too many devices and ornaments. He carried a large staff in his hands. A sorcerer.

No one hesitated. A flurry of sniper fire from the scouts tore the first Marine's helmet from his shoulders, leaving the Marine headless. That hardly slowed it down as it and its companion rumbled forward, returning fire with their bolters. A grenade landed at their feet, exploded, knocked them to the ground. They got back up, none the worse for wear.

Another scout fell, his armor shredded and torn. Slipping out from behind him, I launched myself at the closest of the Marine's and struck it in the helm. The force pike sputtered weakly as it fought to fuel the dampened flames on the blade. Extending the pike a little, I pushed the head out of reach and cleaved through the traitor's armor. The armored shell fell to pieces, its soul destroyed.

The other Marine fell, but not before it shoulder-charged Adin. He disappeared under the crumbling bulk, vanishing from sight. There was no time to help him. Turning to the lone traitor, the sorcerer, Cyrus and I charged.

Or, I charged. Cyrus and his remaining scouts opened a torrent of fire on the Warp-twisted madman. He held up his hand, projecting a shield that stop their shots, and pointed with his staff. A wave of cascading lightning leapt out at us. I dove in the way, preparing for pain. The lightning struck me and exploded, washing over and around me like foam. The pain faded. The sorcerer glared at me. His staff came up again. Cyrus put a round through his hand.

The sorcerer howled, whipping his staff around to blast the Astartes scouts. The explosion of energy knocked me off my feet. I heard screams. Then Cyrus's voice crackled in my ear.

"Destroy the jammer, Kasrkin. That is all that matters."

The sorcerer turned back to me, eyeing me with undisguised loathing. Abandoning his staff, he drew a monstrous plasma pistol from a holster. He strode closer, sneering at my pathetic attempt to stand and face him. The force pike swayed in my grasp, too heavy for my hands. I would not be able to stand against him in close combat.

At ten paces I caught sight of something behind him. The ship's communications tower. It was within reach of the ground, unprotected. I just needed to get past the sorcerer.

Not that he seemed to agree. He fired, sending a hissing green shot splashing past my leg. Rolling to the side, I came up on my feet and hefted the pike. Lifting it over my shoulder, I hurled the weapon with all my strength. The pike sliced through the air, spinning perfectly as it cut towards the sorceror's chest. The raging psychic power flared and whipped from the blade. It would pierce the traitor's armor with ease. Nothing stopped a force weapon. Nothing except-

The sorcerer stepped to the side, dodging the attack with contemptuous ease. The pike sailed through the air, carrying my hopes with it as it missed its target. For a horrified moment I found myself staring at the red-hot barrel of his pistol.

A small explosion rocked the ship. The force pike struck home in a different target; it sliced the antennae from the communications tower. Static washed over the vox. Suddenly I could hear Colonel Mars on the line. He was not speaking to me, but addressing some commander or another.

"Drive those traitors back into their own camp. Captain Temin, order the armored column forward. By the Emperor, we have them now."

"Colonel Mars."

The sorcerer fired, and I ducked. He fired again, I could not dodge. The plasma glanced off of my armor, burning through to my forearm. White-hot pain lanced through my body and I fell. A third shot turned the ground at my feet to slag. Specks of plasma sprayed across my face. I screamed.

"Where is your God-Emperor now" the sorcerer mocked, boots crunching to a stop beside my face. I could not see him through the pain and blood. "My, what are you? A Pariah? A Blank? You would be an interesting one to study."

"I… bite… bastard."

"It matters not" the sorcerer huffed. "My time here is finished. The knowledge I sought fled this forsaken world long ago. But before I leave, a reward for your troubles."

The barrel of his pistol pressed against the back of my head. Searing pain filled my skull. I dimly felt the heat of the barrel burning my hair.

"Beg for mercy, pathetic worm."

A gut-wrenching shriek rose in the air. Something crashed through the tent ceiling. A heavy impact rocked the ground, bouncing me in the air and knocking the sorcerer's pistol away. Then a wave of dust billowed over us, and his armored hulk disappeared from view. I started crawling away, inching towards the fallen force pike. A heavy boot stomped on my leg, pinning me down.

"This is not over. I will have your head, you witless-"

A dozen bolters opened fire around us. The boot twitched and slid along my leg, shifting as its owner was riddled. A soft sigh echoed in my ears and the boot fell away. The sorcerer's pistol landed by my face.

The tramp of heavily-armored soldiers sounded all around me. A shadow fell across my face.

"This one is still alive" a voice growled. I recognized the voice from somewhere. One of the Blood Ravens. They had arrived in time.

"Indeed."

Cyrus's voice cut through the swirling noise. An armored knee plate landed on the dirt beside me and the sniper rolled me onto my back. It hurt to open my eyes. Wheezing harshly, I cleared my throat.

"Did we win?"

"The fight is not over, Kasrkin. There is still much to be done."

Surprisingly tender arms scooped me off the ground. Cyrus's eye glittered with admiration as he carried me over to the two other survivors. Collins and Adin sat together, swaying in the soothing night wind. The sound of battle had escalated outside. I could make out the sounds of many bolters, plasma weaponry, and flamers. The Blood Ravens had arrived.

"There's the ballsy sonuvabitch." Adin waved half-heartedly at me, a vicious cut marring his otherwise cheerful smile. I grinned weakly and collapsed beside him.

"Never again," I said. My body hurt all over. "Blast. We're it?"

A small, beaten canteen landed on my lap.

"We were lucky," Collins said. He crawled to my side and gestured to the canteen. "I can't believe we survived that. Did you see those Marines?"

"Traitor Marines" I corrected, noting the way the nearest Marine glanced our way. "They were traitors, Collins."

"Aye."

I took a cautious sip from the canteen. Adin's whiskey. I did not feel so bad for draining the whole thing this time. He did not seem to mind, but produced a similar canteen when I handed his back empty.

"So… they're all dead." Collins flinched, looking back towards the camp. Montross's body could be picked out from the mayhem, his repulsor boots keeping his feet neatly off the ground. Adin chuckled dryly. "Dibs on the boots."

"If you want to go get them."

I looked across the camp, watching the flickering light of muzzle flashes brighten the night sky. The shattered armor of the traitor Marines littered the short field between the tents. Jara had fallen… there. By the Emperor, she was still alive.

Motioning quickly to Adin, I pointed to her. "Get me over there."

Adin sighed and slung my arm over his shoulder. She was shaking, tears streaming down her face. One of the chainswords sputtered weakly in her hands, gears caught on bits of armor. My stomach lurched unsteadily at the gaping wound across her gut. Her organs lay bare to the night, spilling over each other through her protective hand.

"Leon."

Setting me down gently, Adin took his leave and retreated to the safety of the tent. I did my best to sit up.

"Hey lieutenant. You'll be okay. You did good out there."

"It's inside me" she whimpered. A shiver wracked her body and she coughed. Blood splattered on her chin. "Emperor, I can feel it. I don't want to die."

"Don't think about that. You have nothing to worry about."

Jara grabbed at my arm. Desperation choked her voice as she sobbed.

"Please. I don't want to die like this. I don't want to die tainted. Emperor- uhh- protect. Me."

"Shh. It's okay, Jara. He hears you." I slipped my arm behind her neck and held her close. Her chest heaved pathetically, gasping for air even as it fled through her punctured lungs. She would be dead in a few minutes. There was no help for her. "He'll protect you."

"I love the Emperor" she said, her voice little more than a whisper. Seeking fingers found my jaw. Holding on desperately, she shifted her head to look up and gave me a teary smile. "I've always served him. You… you know that, right?"

"Yeah, Jara. I know. I know you love him."

"Then hold me. Just a little longer, please. I don't want to die alone."

The shooting slowed as the traitors were driven out of the camp. Soon after came the thundering boom of ordinance explosions as the armored columns pushed them back in. In an hour the firing ceased. A little while later the rumbling tread of a Chimera could be heard. Colonel Mars's personal transport drove into view, leading a platoon of storm troopers. Cradling Jara's limp body close, I watched the colonel disembark. His cape had fresh holes in it and his power sword still dripped.

"We won, Jara." I offered her sightless eyes a smile. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead and gave her one last hug. "The Emperor won."

I slipped her dog tags around my neck. When we got back to the capitol I would add them to my collection of fallen comrades.

Adin and Collins sat down beside me, looking only slightly better than before. The Commissar's boots knocked together as Adin dropped them off. They looked at the dead lieutenant and grimaced.

"Guess it wasn't a trap then."

Collins shot me a quizzical look. Ignoring the question, I set the lieutenant down. "So, what are you going to do now, sergeant?"

"My unit's gone. I don't know. Get shuffled in somewhere else, I guess."

Adin inspected his stolen storm trooper armor with a critical eye.

"Where'd you pick this up?"

"Found a storage tent. They had a couple sets in unopened crates. I figured it wouldn't hurt to put one on."

"Good thinking." Adin's eyes twinkled knowingly. "Good handling of that traitor Marine too. You handled it like a pro."

The young sergeant blushed meekly. "It was nothing, really."

"You bull-rushed a traitor Marine without a weapon."

He shrugged. "It felt right."

His answer seemed to satisfy Adin. I did not like the smile that spread across his face. Bracing myself for the worst, I waited for Adin to reveal whatever devilry was turning in his head.

"You know, Leon, were we ever told not to recruit?"

I groaned inwardly. "No, we weren't."

Collins's eyes widened a touch. Seeing his confusion, Adin slapped him on the shoulder and offered him a friendly grin. The grin faded a moment later as he winced.

"Well then, sergeant. How would you like to join the Emperor's most holy Inquisition?"

This time I groaned out loud. Not wanting to hear how this played out, I pulled myself to my feet and staggered off towards the Colonel. He would want a report. They always wanted a report.