Catechism Of Hate (7 page)

A LITTLE BEFORE dawn, Cassius received a communication from the Fidelis, warning of a new sensor reading encroaching from the west. Passing on this news to the princeps of the Titans, the Chaplain started on a tour of Cordus Via, to check the position of his troops and see that all was in preparedness for any attack.

The latter hours of the night had passed without significant incident. The first wave of tyranids had been held back by the combined power of the Dominatus Rex and successive air patrols from the two Thunderhawks supporting Cassius's force. A few small broods of termagants and hormagaunts had made it as far as the stretches of river above the cataract, where they had been met by a counterattack of tactical and assault squads led by Sergeant Dacia and his First Company veterans. The Ultramarines had suffered no casualties, driving the smaller tyranid constructs into the swift-moving waters where they were easy targets for boltguns and missile launchers, or else were swept over the ninety-metre drop of the cataract.

Cassius met with two combat squad patrols on their way back to the garrison in the main dorm block at the bottom of the Minoran Gradient access ramp. They had been north to check for tyranid forces that might have crossed the rivers farther west, but had seen nothing out of the ordinary. The Chaplain was about to wave the Space Marines on their way when his vox crackled into life, an ident-cipher in his helm display notifying him that Princeps Jasyn was hailing. Cassius activated the vox and motioned for the Space Marines to remain where they were.

'Revered Chaplain, I can confirm the sensor readings from your strike cruiser,' said Jasyn. 'We have aerial forces heading our way. Atmospheric distortion is increasing, but I would say four or five large creatures are en route to our position. We are also detecting a surge in land-based signals.'

'A second ground wave, supported by harridans and gargoyles,' replied Cassius.

'Harridans, Chaplain?' said Jasyn. 'I have heard of the gargoyles; winged versions of the creatures we have just been slaughtering. What are these harridans? What threat do they present?'

'Large constructs, princeps, thirty to fifty metres in length,' said Cassius. 'They act as long-range transportation for the gargoyle swarms, and are dangerous in the extreme.'

'Let us hope that they are heading for Plains Fall,' said the princeps. 'General Arka's anti-air batteries can take care of the problem.'

'A valid point, princeps. However, we must be prepared for an assault here.'

'We have some point-defence turrets in case the gargoyles try to swarm us, but other than that, neither Victorix nor Dominatus Rex are suitable for air defence. If the enemy land amongst you, our weapons will be useless.'

'I understand that, princeps. We will deal with the harridans and gargoyles as necessary. See to it that the second attack wave of ground forces does not intrude upon the proceedings.'

Jasyn signalled an acknowledgement. As Cassius made his way back to the main dormitory block to command the coming engagement, he felt the ground shuddering as the two Warlord Titans moved into position to forestall the coming ground attack. The Chaplain had reached the main thoroughfare when he received a signal from Sergeant Capilla.

'Airborne enemy sighted, Brother-Chaplain,' said the sergeant. 'Due west, three kilometres. Three harridans closing on our position.' Cassius turned and looked into the cloudy skies to the west, magnifying his autosenses to full. He scanned the cloud layer and saw three dark spots approaching quickly, moving against the prevailing wind. The long-range visual equipment of the devastators was more accurate than the simple autosenses of the Chaplain's armour and Cassius had no doubt that the report was accurate. He signalled Sergeant Menaton, whose squad was aboard the Thunderhawk currently running air cover for the force.

'Sergeant Menaton, engage incoming targets at range. Keep distance to five hundred metres or more.'

'Understood, Brother-Chaplain,' Menaton replied. 'We will keep our distance. Lascannons and battle-cannon primed for attack.' The Thunderhawk was currently on the northern leg of its perimeter sweep. It banked left and roared over the highway, arrowing directly towards the approaching tyranid flyers, gaining altitude as it did so. Menaton was experienced enough to know that the harridans were weakest from above, and would have to descend several thousand metres before they could release the flocks of gargoyles clinging to their undersides like horrific infants suckling at the breasts of their monstrous mother.

Cassius entered the tenement and took the elevator up to the roof where sergeants Capilla and Therotius had prepared their squads, a battery of lascannons, missile launchers and heavy bolters pointed skywards while the bolter-armed brethren created a defensive circle around the heavy-weapons-armed warriors. Looking to the west, the Chaplain could see Sergeant Xathian's devastators doing the same on the gantries around the storage tanks in the depot.

Quickly reviewing the dispositions of his other force, Cassius made a few adjustments, moving some of the tactical squads south of the highway onto the roofs of the warehouses where they could be covered by the devastators of Therotius. Corilinus and his assault squad moved quickly up to the raised highway, their jump packs flaring in the dim light as they bounded up the slope. From there they would be able to cross easily to the roofs of the lower buildings to the north and south, in response to the tyranid attack.

Satisfied that all was well, Cassius recited a liturgy of battle over the vox, preparing his warriors mentally for the fight to come. As he spoke the words of the second verse, a distinctive crack announced the firing of the Thunderhawk's main cannon. Directing his attention to the harridans, he judged the tyranids to be less than two kilometres away. Lascannon flashes seared across the grey skies as the Ultramarines targeted the lead beast, the pulses of white energy punching through the creature's immense leathery wings. Losing height, the wounded harridan turned sharply, dropping towards the ground. The Thunderhawk circled and fired again, this time striking the harridan in its rear quarters with a battle-cannon shell. Flesh and chitin rained down from the exploding wound, causing the harridan to contort madly, its wings spasming.

A flutter of smaller shapes spread from the beast's belly, scattering in the high altitude winds as the gargoyles detached from the mortally wounded harridan. Some were swept away immediately, disappearing into the clouds; the rest spiralled quickly groundwards, eventually gathering into a coherent mass as they descended into lighter winds.

The other two harridans were stooping into long dives, readying to disgorge their own living cargoes onto Cordus Via. The whine of power cells charging drifted across the rooftop from the devastators as Cassius finished the third verse of the litany and raised his crozius above his head, the gilded tyranid skull at its tip glowing from the power field generator concealed within. The tyranids were less than a kilometre away, swooping swiftly towards the rooftops.

'Let forth your righteous anger in the name of the Emperor!' bellowed Cassius.

Just as the words left his lips, the vox chimed in his ear, signalling a communication from Princeps Perthion.

'Revered Chaplain, sensor reports show excess of three thousand enemy heading our way,' said the Titan commander. 'Distance of two kilometres. We will destroy as many as we can, but we cannot guarantee total extermination.'

'Understood, princeps,' replied Cassius.

Two missiles streaked skywards from the launchers of Squad Xathian. Their contrails cut a converging path towards the closest of the two harridans. The beast's wings had ceased beating as it glided down on its attack course. At this range, Cassius could see the multitude of smaller creatures grappled to its underside: a swathe of quivering pale flesh and dark red chitin plates. As the missiles veered towards the harridan, the gargoyles stirred into life. Spreading bat-like wings, they dropped from the larger beast's underside in a cloud, scattering from the path of the incoming projectiles.

Both missiles struck the armoured head of the harridan, cracking thick chitinous plates and sending organic shrapnel flying but doing little real damage. Divested of its brood, the harridan plunged onwards. Cannon-like growths at the crooks of its wings spat forth a volley of living ammunition. As dark blurs, the projectiles flew towards Xathian's squad; Cassius watched their trajectory as the large slug-like bio-shells dipped across the highway.

Hitting the tops of the storage vats, the bio-cannon volley exploded with a cloud of organic acid, spraying several of the Space Marines with highly corrosive slime and razor-edged chitin shrapnel. Ceramite cracked and melted, the bio-acid searing through the armoured layers of the devastators pauldrons and chestplates.

There was no time to consider potential casualties: the gargoyles from both harridans were now descending in a dark cloud while the grotesque mother-beasts beat their wings to regain height, turning towards the circling Thunderhawk.

More missiles converged on the incoming mass. Their time-activated fragmentation warheads detonated inside the cloud of creatures, scything through the winged creatures with loud cracks. As several gargoyles fluttered bloodily to the ground, the rest came on, heading straight for the highest building where Cassius and the others waited.

Heavy bolter fire greeted the descending swarm, joined a few seconds later by a fusillade from the rest of the squads' boltguns. Bodies exploded, spraying severed limbs and thick ichor into the wind. Undeterred, the gargoyles folded their wings and dived, approaching at incredible speed.

More bolt-rounds detonated through the flock, sending crumpled bodies down onto the highway. Cassius readied his pistol and took aim, fixing on the leering face of an onrushing gargoyle. A spiny crest jutted from the plate of chitin above its brow and its wings were edged with vicious claws. The creature had been created to spend its existence solely in the air. A barbed tail lashed back and forth, between two atrophied legs connected by wing flaps to the uppermost pair of limbs, acting like a rudder. Like the rest of the brood, the gargoyle's middle limbs were fused with a symbiotic weapon; a distinct species of its own integrated into the tyranid's bony hands.

The brood opened their mouths in unison, emitting a screeching wail. Cassius's ears buzzed as his autosenses filtered out the noise, the thunder of bolters and missiles suddenly muted. Beyond the swarm, the Chaplain caught a glance of a large shape following in the wake of the gargoyles; one of the harridans angling towards the tactical squads on top of the warehouses to the south.

Cassius fired when the gargoyle brood was thirty metres away, their shadows flitting across the Minoran Gradient. The shot hit the gargoyle in its right shoulder, tearing through ligaments and muscle. The tyranid's wing folded up immediately and it plunged down, crashing into one of the huge highway supports.

Aiming and firing again, Cassius's next shot passed through the wing of a gargoyle, the bolt-round punching a small hole through leathery skin but nothing more. And then the flock was on top of the Chaplain.

Plasma-like fire spewed from the mouths of the gargoyles, bathing the Ultramarines with green flame. Their bio-weapons spat volleys of beetles that rattled harmlessly against Cassius's armour, the spatter of their impacts obscuring his livery with thick ichor.

He swung his crozius back-handed, the blazing head connecting with the body of a gargoyle as it swept past. With a blast of light, the energy field tore through chitin and flesh, almost ripping the creature in half. A wing flap slapped across Cassius's helm as the dying beast speared into his shoulder, claws raking spasmodically across his shoulder plate in a welter of paint slivers and ceramite dust.

To Cassius's left, Sergeant Therotius was hacking through the gargoyles, the teeth of his chainsword hurling gobbets of eviscerated flesh in all directions. The devastators used their weapons as clubs and struck out with gauntlet-enclosed fists, sticky bio-plasma burning on their armour where they had been struck. One of the battle-brothers collapsed under the attack of four of the creatures, falling to his side as bio-plasma ate away at his armour seals and scrabbling claws punctured the joints beneath his shoulders.

Cassius was at the beleaguered Space Marine's side in five strides, swinging his crozius in a wide arc. The Chaplain's blow swept two of the gargoyles from the fallen Space Marine, chitin and bones shattered by the impact. The other two creatures clawed and bit in a frenzy, still shrieking wildly, driven by instinct to keep slicing and gouging until their prey was dead. The Ultramarine's armour held up against the assault for another couple of seconds, giving Cassius time to fire a shot into the head of one of the attacking creatures. Its skull exploded, sending the brow-horn spear-like into the side of the remaining tyranid.

Something hit Cassius in the back before he could despatch the wounded creature. Warning icons blinked in the Chaplain's helm display, and his ears were filled with the scratch and thud of the gargoyle's claws slashing at his backpack and helm. He turned quickly, trying to throw the creature off his back, but it had sunk its wing-claw into a heat exchange vent and would not be shaken free.

'Brother-Chaplain!' Cassius heard the warning over his external pick-up rather than the vox and swung around to see Sergeant Capilla with his bolter levelled at him. Cassius turned and dropped to one knee as a hooked claw scratched against the right lens of his helm.

The bark of Capilla's bolter sounded over the screeching of the gargoyle; a shriek that ended abruptly with a wet spatter of ichor across Cassius's vision.

'Thank you, brother,' said Cassius, pushing himself back to both feet, looking for foes. Only a few gargoyles were still alive, wheeling up into the air above the devastators, spitting bio-plasma.

Cassius took aim but before he could fire, an immense shadow fell across him. Looking up, he saw the massive head of a harridan, long claws trailing from its lower limbs. The Chaplain hurled himself face first into the rooftop as the metres-long scythe swept overhead, missing Cassius by a metre or less. Their focus on the gargoyles, the devastators did not react so quickly.