[Inquisitor Rosenadel]

PAINGLOVES

“Steady, Brothers,” said sergeant Garwayne. “The Sons of Horus may be battle-hardened, Chaos-blessed warriors, but they are traitors! Always remember that they tried to kill our beloved Emperor! Let the fury flow through your veins. Let it guide your weapons, sharpen your senses. Do not let it overcome you, but let it fuel your desire to crush them.” Garwayne looked back to the advancing figures in black power armour, menacing with their new eight-pointed tattoos and mutation-distorted figures. Before the sergeant stretched a wide boulevard in the Reclusiam on Gamalia, down which the corrupted Sons of Horus were coming. They slunk through ruined buildings and smashed barricades. The Ultramarines had arrived too late to save the city, but they would oust the Sons of Horus.

Suddenly, the Sons of Horus roared and ran forward. They seemed to come from every nook and cranny of the city, all seemingly converging on Garwayne’s squad. “Open on my mark, squad,” said the grizzled sergeant. The reticle display feed coming from Garwayne’s bionic left eye showed that the traitors were nearly in range. As the indicator hit 100 meters, Garwayne pointed with his fore and middle finger, just as an Ultramarines squad on both his left and right did the same. Bolt shells whizzed past him from behind, tearing into the corrupted Space Marines. He tuned his audio-receivers on his helmet to block the chattering of his squad’s boltguns and the heavy bolter Brother Gustan carried. The explosive shells slammed home into the ceramite of the Sons of Horus, and though Garwayne knew it was the same model as his, and therefore just as likely to resist a bolt shell, it seemed as if the Chaos Space Marines fell with even the slightest tap.

Even though many fell, the Sons of Horus kept up their advance, and Garwayne knew if would come to a nasty hand-to-hand fight. He signalled his men to prepare themselves, and their runes flashed in his helmet that they were ready. As they closed to 25 meters, the squad put their boltguns on full-auto, spraying the armoured abominations with fire. Garwayne unsheathed his power sword and began to loose shot from his bolt pistol. But, as the sergeant predicted, this was not enough, and the Sons of Horus smashed into the Ultramarine line. The Sons of Horus had been firing as they sprinted the last meters of their charge, and two of Garwayne’s squad were already down. Garwayne slashed at the first black-armoured Marine to come near him. He took the thing’s head off with one clean stroke. As the Marine fell, one behind him fired a shot from a bolt pistol into Garwayne’s chest. It bounced away, and Garwayne lunged forward, impaling the Marine on his sword, the blood and gore hissing as the energy field surrounding the blade disintegrated them.

A thud on his backpack, made Garwayne trip over the Marine had had just stabbed, and roll forward. Upon catching himself and flipping himself back up, he was caught off-guard as a Sons of Horus Marine pounced on him and hacked at him with his chainsword. “Lupercal!” shouted the Marine, and he swung his sword down at Garwayne. The sergeant swung his own sword up to meet the biting blade, and his power sword cleaved straight through it and slashed the traitor’s arm off at the elbow. The Marine roared in pain and rage, and attempted to bring his bolt pistol to Garwayne’s head, but Garwayne chopped off the arm, and then, swinging his sword up and then violently down, cleaved the Marine from shoulder to waist in a shower of super-heated blood and ichor. Garwayne’s autosensors told him that a tagged enemy was approaching from behind, and he thrust his sword directly behind him, and felt it impale another traitor. He spun around, disembowelling the Marine as he did so. The corpse fell to his feet as he watched the other Sons of Horus fall back.

But they had not been broken. A Sons of Horus Space Marine, his armour burning with evil sigils, and his form marred by hideous mutations, stepped from among the traitor Marines. The tarnished golden trim on his armour and his glowing eyes indicated that this was a great Champion of the Chaos Gods. Where his hands would be were two massive powerfists, on the underside of each one a belt-fed Boltgun. He stepped into the middle of the road and stared at Garwayne, obviously challenging him. Garwayne stepped forward and raised his sword perpendicular to the ground. The Champion roared and stomped forward, his dual bolters blazing, but all the shells bouncing or merely scratching Garwayne’s armour. Garwayne held his sword in place until the Champion was just in reach, and the swung with all his might.

The Champion blocked the sword with one of his massive armoured gauntlets. Garwayne pulled out his bolt pistol and tried to shoot, but eh Champion knocked it away. Garwayne leapt to the side and stabbed, but the Champion lunged away and swung his fist straight at Garwayne’s middle. The ceramite splintered and Garwayne felt shards puncture his side, and into one of his lungs. He wheeled away, and swung again as he saw the Champion close. His sword gouged the traitor’s armour, but did not have the least effect on him. The traitor swung one of his fists backhanded, and crushed Garwayne’s shoulder pad, smashing the sergeant to the ground. But as Champion started to step forward to finish Garwayne off, a shadow fell between the two combatants.

The towering form of Roboute Guilliman stepped in front of Garwayne. The Chaos Champoin snorted and charged, unfazed by the Primarch’s counter-challenge. Guilliman dodged to the side, and slashed the Marine’s backpack from his back, barely missing its head. The Marine turned more quickly than Garwayne’s eye could effectively track and punched Guilliman square in the jaw. The Primarch’s head swung around and he was knocked off balance. But the Primarch was instantly back on his feet and charged the Champion. The Champion fired his bolters but the shells merely pinged off the Primarch’s golden armour. Guilliman swung his sword down in a great arc, but the Champion grabbed the blade, and twisted it out of the Primarch’s grasp. He then put his hands around the Primarch’s throat, and squeezed. Guilliman coughed, but managed to raise his fist. The swing connected square with the Champion’s jaw, but unlike the Primarch, the Champion’s skull imploded. Guilliman breathed deeply and retrieved his sword. He walked to the Champion as the rest of the Sons of Horus well and truly fled. He cut off the powerfists of the Champion, and placed them at Garwayne’s feet. He then knelt down and helped Garwayne fit them to his own armour. They covered it nearly to his elbows.

Garwayne looked up into his Primarch’s eyes. There was something there that Garwayne could not identify. It was a like a hidden fire, and hidden darkness that was smouldering, but could become a great fire in seconds. Garwayne became sore afraid, and his eyes widened in shock as the Primarch sealed the fists around the sergeant’s hands. The sergeant felt as if something foul had overcome him, and he realised that the powers of Chaos were calling to him.

And then he realised that, like the stock from which his genes came, he was too weak to resist…