Within These Walls by C Z Dunn

Author:C Z Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2015-10-30T10:40:25+00:00

IV

The passenger seat of the Land Speeder provided more room for Agentha than the half-track but her journey away from the remote dark structure was no more comfortable than the one that had brought her there. The vehicle was built to accommodate the bulk of a fully armoured Space Marine and came with no restraining strap to hold the riders in place. For Cth, this wasn’t a problem, his frame fitting snugly in the pilot’s seat as he gripped the controls, but Agentha was tossed about like flotsam on the tide every time he banked or swerved to avoid a choking sand cloud that could clog the thrusters and drop them out of the sky. In the end, Agentha gripped the handles of the heavy bolter in front of her to anchor herself in the oversized seat.

‘Do you know how to use that?’ Cth called over to her, shouting to be heard over the cacophony of screaming engines and howling wind.

‘It’s been a while since I fired one but I’m sure it’ll come back to me.’ The Order of the Fractured Cipher was not under arms but all of its sisters were trained to operate a variety of weapons and fight in a number of different but effective close combat styles. Primarily, a Sister Dialogus’ role was one of support, normally away from the battlefield, but if Agentha was called upon to fight and to kill she would do so without hesitation, as she had already proved several times before.

Cth simply nodded in response, swinging the control stick hard left to avoid a swirling funnel of sand that sprang out of nowhere on their right flank. Agentha slammed hard into the bulkhead, her grip on the heavy weapon the only thing keeping her in the craft. ‘It’s getting worse,’ she said, grimacing through the pain of the two ribs she was certain she had just broken.

‘We’re caught between two fronts. We’ve outrun one storm only to fly straight into another,’ Cth said, righting the Land Speeder and gaining altitude to rise above smaller sand funnels spinning upwards from the desert floor. He flicked a switch to open up the Land Speeder’s vox link, more powerful and with a greater range than the system hardwired into his power armour. ‘This is Sergeant Cth to Captain Lath. Acknowledge. Over.’ There was no response, just like on every other occasion he had tried to raise the rest of his company since they had taken off from MA616. Then, seemingly unprompted, he jerked the controls hard left again and increased the throttle.

‘What is it?’ Agentha asked, gasping from the impact of this latest turn.

‘Look dead ahead,’ he said, wrestling hard with the flight stick as they ploughed directly through strong headwinds.

Lifting herself up by the handles of the heavy bolter, she rose to her feet and peered out over the front of the red liveried skimmer. ‘Sweet Emperor…’ she gasped, barely suppressing a shudder. Through the raging sandstorm obscuring her view, she could just make out the silhouette of… something.

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