Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward

Author:Victoria Hayward
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FLS
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Khan had found no supplies on her search of the garrison. The green and gold columns Lieutenant Anditz had described were splintered and smashed, and the interior had been picked clean. A few civilians had clearly been living in the bare building and fled at the sight of the soldiers. After the local regiment had turned traitor, the population had learned it was simply safer to avoid anyone with a gun during times of starvation.

‘Anything at your end?’ she asked Haruto as he re-emerged into the exposed atrium.

‘Just dust and bones,’ he said.

Khan nodded and scratched her arm. The spores were beginning to irritate her, getting into wounds and scratches. Bruises were taking longer to heal too, she noticed. ‘Let’s hope the lieutenant has better luck.’

‘I have discovered something,’ the tech-adept said, stepping into the atrium, robe hanging limply around her ankles in the damp heat.

‘Supplies?’ Haruto asked.

‘Communications,’ she replied. ‘Hidden behind a wall. I am able to feel the vox-waves.’

‘Where?’ Khan asked.

They found the vox walled up in what looked to have been an officer’s room, although the shelves were bare and the room had been stripped like the rest of the building. Khan detected a palimpsest of an orderly spirit. Perhaps a Cadian had once been stationed here.

Ghost and Haruto had pulled apart the wall to reveal a recess with the vox-caster hidden inside. Nothing else. Just a small cache of hope that a soldier had left, and never returned to.

Khan brushed mortar dust from the top of the device.

‘May I?’ the tech-adept asked.

Khan nodded. ‘Please.’ Anxiety clustered in her throat. She knew logically that her squad was likely all that remained of the Astra Militarum forces on this world. But she had not had to confront that reality until now, had been able to continue in wilful ignorance with a small grain of hope. ‘Look for any Astra Militarum signals. As far as you can reach.’

‘I believe I will be able to extend the range,’ Wrathe said. ‘One moment.’

There was a crackle as the vox-caster started to scan through frequencies. As Wrathe slowly turned the dial, there was only the sound of dead static.

Stupid, Khan thought to herself. Weak, to have hoped for anything else.

‘Was that something?’ Haruto said suddenly.

‘No,’ Wrathe said.

Khan exhaled. ‘It was worth a try.’

Then there was a blare of sound.

‘What was that?’ Khan asked. Her speech came out more rapidly than she’d intended.

‘Wait,’ Wrathe said, adjusting the wavelength.

The crackle resolved into a voice. ‘This is Jasper Fortress. Broad­casting on all Astra Militarum frequencies. Rally to our coordinates. We are holding Jasper Fortress. I repeat, rally to Jasper Fortress.’

‘The crusade force?’ Ghost looked up, disbelieving.

Khan shook her head. ‘We can’t assume anything,’ she said. ‘Patch me through. Now,’ she told Wrathe.

The seconds felt like agonising eternities as Wrathe adjusted the transceiver. Light slanted into the ruined office, filtering through the fleshy xenos vines that scrambled overhead and tinted the room pink.

Wrathe turned to Khan. ‘The line to Jasper Fortress is open.’ She gestured at the vox-unit.

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