Sons of Sanguinius: A Blood Angels Omnibus by Various Authors

Author:Various Authors
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2021-02-02T09:22:09+00:00

CHAPTER 17

BLOOD IS LIFE, LIFE IS DUTY

Voldo had his squad arrayed in a staggered line, enabling as many weapons to come to bear as possible. They had gained an intersection forming the shape of a ‘Y’ before stopping, judging it a good place to fight. The corridor broadened slightly where the corridors met. Lockers for equipment that had rusted to nothing were set into its wall, but the intersection was cramped with enough room only for two Space Marines to fire down each of the corridors. Twin lines of red dots were converging on their position.

‘We cannot destroy them all, brother-sergeant,’ said Alanius.

‘We cannot escape them,’ said Voldo. ‘We make our stand here.’

‘While we fight, the main body of xenos is free to attack our brothers!’ said Azmael. Emotion was thick in his voice.

‘What choice do we have?’ said Voldo calmly. ‘We will do what we were born to do, fight the Emperor’s enemies. He will know whether we are to be successful or not already, and those of us who fall have already been judged.’

‘Brother-sergeant!’ shouted Eskerio. ‘They are coming.’

‘And now from three directions,’ said Voldo. ‘Militor, cover Sergeant Alanius.’

Alanius nodded. ‘Tarael, join our brother Novamarines.’

The Space Marines shuffled around one another into the prescribed position.

‘Brother Astomar, let fly at twenty metres range. If necessary, down both corridors to our front,’ said Voldo. ‘Then retire and let Tarael through.’

Azmael and Alanius stood shoulder to shoulder, both twisted slightly to the side so that Militor could fire down the narrow corridor forming the stick of the ‘Y’. A minute passed. The Space Marines watched the red dots move around out of range; their motion detected by Eskerio’s advanced auspex and fed into their sensoriums.

‘They seek to delay us further, by delaying their own attack,’ said Azmael frustratedly. ‘Come to us, come to us now!’

‘That cousin, or they marshal their forces to destroy us more efficiently,’ said Voldo.

‘Be glad, Blood Drinker, they come now,’ said Eskerio.

‘Brothers! Prepare!’

Bolters were brought up. Prayers of good function and true ranging were voiced. Silence.

In a rush the genestealers came, a huddle of them down both of the corridors in the sticks of the ‘Y’ at once. Bolters fired, the distinctive double crack of weapon discharge and the propellant ignition of the bolts as they left the barrel followed by their delayed explosion as they penetrated flesh or metal, all doubled again by the storm bolters. Storm bolters were boltguns with two barrels and sophisticated fire control, capable of a withering rate of fire, and the Novamarines used them well.

Genestealers fell, dropping under the feet of those that followed. The gravity here functioned, but the genestealers used every surface, scuttling along the ceiling and walls as well as the floor. In the short-ranged illumination of the suit lights, the corridors were full of aliens. The boltguns spat their peculiar explosive song, every round finding a target. The xenos were tough, some requiring several shots to bring them down. Every dead gene­stealer was one less set of

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