Week 2 Epilogue - Chaos vs Imperials - The Inquisitor Part 1

The Night Lords waited for the right time.  The Imperials have been pushed back into a corner while the city plunged into chaos.  The rumours were what they were. Just rumours. There was nothing of value to find here.  The city ransacked, sectors pillaged, but there was no sign of the rumoured artifact.  Has Dreagher yet sent them on a merry chase, away from the glory of chaos?

It mattered not. Garrowbraid's Night Lords were hunting. They were hunting the Corpse Gods sons.  The Shadow Lords stunk of the black raven's scent.  Revenge is such a sweet dish served cold.

Yet another rumour persisted.  It claimed that there was an incoming Valkyrie.  And it was carrying the artifact.  Someone in the Imperial side had gotten to it before them.  Garrowbraid was not one to let hubris get him. Corner the Imperials. Make them feel fear, and take down the flyer, all at once. It would be a good night to kill.

'Incoming from the south,' hissed Garrowbraid's comms. His men had spotted a flyer coming in. 'Imperial Guard Valkyrie. Heavily damaged. Taking fire from our men outside.  Should I get our men to prepare our Hydras, Lord?'

'Take it down.  But don't damage it... Too much. We wouldn't want Lord Dreagher to get upset with us...'

His men didn't need to answer him.  They knew what he meant.

From his position he could see the Shadow Lords, or what they wanted them to see.  Despite utilising more vehicles than the traditional Raven Guard, these successor marines were no less skilled at hiding their numbers.  Even their vehicles betrayed little of their numbers.  Perhaps a worthy opponent after all.

'Kill.'

That was all the command he needed as his men surged from the shadows.  His men were few but deadly.  Alone they would have trouble against the combined might of the Astra Militarum, Sororitas and Astartes. But the Chaos gods smiled on them.  At least half the men in the city was his to command.  At least half were free of the shackles of the Corpse God.  Such a number included the very forces protecting the city and their armour with them. The Hydras tracking the Valkyrie was proof of that.  His men could concentrate on their prey.

Beams of coherent light cut through the night, landing on a raven-black Predator Tank. A poorly placed shot took out a pintle-mounted Storm Bolter, but the rest hit home and did damage but could not destroy it. 

A tactical squad taking cover behind the defense lines was the first to die.  Precisionly place Bolt Pistol shots hit through soft armour, tearing through the weak points in otherwise impenetrable armour.  Only skills honed over a lifetime of war could do that, and these Shadow Lords were but young-lings to them.

The roar of jump packs took them by surprise as the commander of the Shadow Lords counter-attacked together with his veterans.  Gallowbraid and his men braced themselves to receive the charge.  Both sides stuck at the same time.  Gallowbraid has the strength of numbers and experience, but the Shadow Lords were surprisingly well equipped. Power weapons and Lightning Claws clashed and many of Gallowbraid's men lost their lives, but not without taking out most of the Shadow Lords.  Gallowbraid shouted out a challenge but the challenged was received not by the commander but by a lowly sergeant, probably trying to prove himself.  Gallowbraid dispatched him quickly and felt the touch of the Chaos Gods flow through him.  They were pleased with him.

Not one to wallow in his glory, Gallowbraid ordered his men to fall back, lest they take even more casualties. They fired their meltaguns, covering escape.  They would counter-attack later when it was more favourable to them.

Instead of pursuing, the Shadow Lords fell back as well. 'Are the Astartes of today so cowardly?!' shouted Gallowbraid, toying with the Shadow Lords, hoping to rouse the commanders ire, making them make a mistake the Night Lords could exploit.

While the desired effect didn't occur, Gallowbraid could feel the tension in the air.  The commander had taken the bait.

“I am Captain Aerius Gaius of the Shadow Lords! Identify yourself traitorous scum, so I know who I am facing when I sever your head from your shoulders!’

‘Gallowbraid, of the Stygian Claws, and you will do so such thing.’  A scream of pure psychic power filled the air.  A wave of sorcerous energy hit the Gaius and his retinue.  They fell to their knees, their armour ineffective against the sorcerous powers.  They writhed in pain, clutching at their helmets, in a futile attempt to stop the pain.  As the scream died down,  the bodies of Shadow Lords Captain and his retinue lay in a crumpled heap.

Gallowbraid approached, noting the tenacity of the Captain.  It was a tenacity that he had not seen in a while.  I have to watch myself from under estimating them, cautioned Gallowbraid to himself, as he witnessed his traitor guard facing off the disciplined volleys of fire from the Astartes and Sororitas.  It was not going well, but what could he expect from mere mortals?

In was only a sudden reflex, honed by centuries of warfare that kept him from sudden death as the Valkyrie crashed just mere paces from where he stood.  His Jump pack blazed as it tried to arrest his landing.  It was close, and he would find the ones responsible for nearly killing him and make them suffer later.  As Gallowbraid and his remaining men regrouped to approach the downed Valkyrie, the raking the Heavy Bolter shells and Lascannon shots made them move back into cover.  The Shadow Lords were attempting to rescue the bodies of their fallen Captain.

Traitor Sentinels returned fire, trading shots against the superior firepower of the Shadow Lords.  In the cover of fire, Gallowbraid could just make out the survivors of the crash, a golden figure, surrounded by black clad armour, clutching an object..  The =][= symbol emblazoned o their uniforms were a giveaway.  It was an Inquisitor, and he had the artifact.

Gallowbraid snarled as his prey made his way to the safety of the fortified landing pad.  It would lead into the secured underground tunnels that would just make his retrieval job harder.  The Shadow Lords and Sororitas as one, started falling back, taking turns providing covering fire as their brethren fell back.  The battle was lost… but the artifact would be his.