Lucius's jump pack blazed with blue flame, the superheated air behind him shimmering.
He led the Nasicae Cohort in a swift advance towards Mondus Occulam's external refineries.
Kane's automata were ill-suited to the rapidly changing situation, the constant enemy raids. Lucius had answered the Fabricator Locum's call.
He hadn't ordered all the Emperor's Children of the 13th Company to deploy. He always remembered the Black Emperor's command: to be wary of an Alpha attack.
Thorason, the Nasicae Cohort's second, led thirty squads of warriors in guarding the data-temple.
For the past six hours, Lucius had ranged across the forge-city, repelling attack after attack on Mondus Occulam, his blade reaping a harvest of twisted combat servitors.
"My lord, one kilometer to target." Vespasian reported.
The Emperor's Children had formed elite units for each of their specialties. The Phoenix's Wings were the best at jump pack assaults, and their leader was known as the Eagle-King.
After leaving Isstvan, Vespasian, who admired Lucius's flawless swordsmanship, had chosen to become a member of the Nasicae Cohort, personally loyal to Lucius.
Vespasian's claws gripped his golden lance, his blue-flame wings tracing elegant arcs through the air.
Lucius was about to reply when a roar of gunfire erupted.
A storm of fire rose, aimed at the Emperor's Children.
Lucius's jump pack output surged, and he shot upward.
"Raptors, assault!"
"As you command!" Vespasian replied, his body diving like a bird of prey.
Behind him, the thirty finest jump pack assault warriors of the Emperor's Children, lowered their profiles, charging headlong.
The precise bolt rounds from their Nemesis pattern bolters focused their fire on thirty-one suits of purple-gold armor.
Vespasian, charging into the storm, had barely registered the barrage when the new power armor's auto-sensors identified the threat and plotted an evasive path.
He twisted his body with a dancer's grace. The armor was unusually light, allowing drastic changes of direction with minimal effort.
He weaved left and right, like a circling eagle, evading the bolt rounds while testing the new armor.
It was lighter and more agile than the Mark IV Maximus.
The barrage screamed past, striking none of the Raptora Cult members.
Vespasian let out a cry over the squad channel, then swooped.
The beak of his new power armor's conical faceplate was reflected in the Alphas' eyes, shining alongside the Palatine Aquila on his chest.
His golden lance, glowing with light, pierced an indigo helmet.
His jump pack propelled him forward, the lance point driving almost horizontally into the mouth of the Alpha behind.
He flicked his wrist. The head exploded.
He landed, then shot upward again. The weapons of the dozen Alphas surrounding him swung through empty air.
He scanned the battlefield. Thirty Raptors had struck different points in the Alpha line, scattering their tight formation.
The Nasicae Cohort followed, their blades aimed at the Alphas.
Palatine Blade Andros, alone at the front, swung his Charnabal broadsword.
Its serrated edge spun, tearing through a traitor's neck. As blood sprayed, Andros was already on the next Alpha.
He parried the crude power sword, turned his wrist, and drove the elegant Charnabal into the Alpha's throat.
Every Nasicae member was a follower of Lucius's flawless dueling technique. But even a Palatine Blade could not match him.
Vespasian saw Lucius descend alone into the Alpha formation. As he rose, his twin blades spun.
In two turns, his spinning blades, like falling axes, claimed the lives of four Alphas.
An Alpha in Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor thrust his spear at Lucius.
Lucius retreated. As the spear thrust empty air, he lunged, charging the enemy's left flank.
An Honour Guard in Mark IV power armor met him.
Lucius raised his right arm, blocking the attack, sliding his foot, and thrusting his left blade.
The blade swept past the Honour Guard's head, plunging into the Terminator's abdomen.
Vespasian's eyes gleamed as he dove, following the flawless swordsman.
Bang!
A sharp crack. A Nasicae warrior, swinging his blade to sever an Alpha's arm, collapsed.
Lucius raised his blade, deflecting a bullet. The "Weapons Master" traced a lethal trajectory.
"Sniper!"
He looked to four o'clock, through the layered industrial structures, and located two Alpha snipers in separate buildings.
Lucius and Vespasian shot upward, racing towards them.
Bang, bang, bang!
The two snipers retreated through the buildings, firing as they went.
Vespasian's jump pack traced a perfect arc as he dove.
The Alpha stopped, raised his rifle, and fired.
Vespasian rolled elegantly, avoiding the shot, and lunged into the building.
"Ambush!"
Lucius's shout rang out. Vespasian wrenched his body, pulling up.
Boom, boom, boom!
Artillery fire erupted, a cloud of smoke and debris. Black fire licked past his new armor.
An urgent alarm. A warning rune flashed on his tactical display:
'Chest plate damaged.'
The ambushers, concealed by the industrial heat, had evaded the auto-sensors and all other augurs.
But Lucius, the "Weapons Master," had seen the strange, dark lights of their spirituality through his psychic vision and warned Vespasian.
Their lights were dim, an eerie grey-black.
He looked down at the bizarre creatures below, flesh and body fused together.
Some were withered to near-skeletons, carrying radiation weapons on their backs.
Others had eight arms, manipulating the black cannons on their swollen abdomens.
"Flanking maneuver!"
Lucius ordered over the Nasicae channel, landing on a water tower.
An eerie, grey-green light followed, striking the tower.
Boom!
The tower exploded, green fire consuming it, burning it to ash in seconds.
Lucius dropped, charging into a factory.
A swollen, flesh-and-metal hybrid creature slowly turned its cannon.
As it aimed, Lucius was upon it, his blade falling.
Bang!
The swollen form collapsed. Lucius didn't stop, charging from the factory.
Black fire washed over the building. In the smoke, Lucius was already on his next target.
An eerie, grey-green beam lanced past him, striking a Nasicae warrior.
The light corroded his purple-gold armor instantly. The new power armor was torn apart by the radiation. His transhuman body crackled.
The Emperor's Child grunted in pain, his body collapsing.
"Scatter!" Lucius shouted.
The Nasicae dispersed, attacking the Dark Mechanicum Skitarii from both flanks, in the dueling style they knew best.
The sluggish enemy was eliminated one by one. The line advanced.
The roaring cannon's black fire razed workshops, and when it found its mark, it killed an Emperor's Child without mercy.
The powerful radiation beams, when they struck, corroded armor and flesh to pus.
Lucius and the Nasicae Cohort had just cleared the industrial zone when they were again attacked by Alpha snipers.
After the thirteenth pursuit, they had circled Mondus Occulam twice.
Vespasian frowned. "Lord Lucius, the Alphas keep attacking us with snipers, luring us into ambushes by the corrupted Skitarii."
"Each ambush point is far from the last. They are clearly wearing us down."
"We have killed over five hundred Alphas and thousands of Skitarii, but we have lost one hundred and six warriors."
As he spoke, the ground shook.
They turned. Massive black shapes appeared in the distance.
A deafening roar. Shadows shot overhead, crashing against Mondus Occulam's walls.
Boom, boom, boom!
Smoke billowed. Cracks appeared in the walls.
The Castellum-class automata had not fired a single shot. Their longest-range weapons could not reach the Titans.
Boom!
A rain of debris and ash fell.
"You were right. The Alphas are putting their plan into action." Lucius said.
"Withdraw!" He switched his comm channel to the noosphere.
"Fabricator Locum, the Legio Mortis and the 'Alpha Legion' have launched their attack. Have you decided?"
"Mondus Occulam is my forge. I will never abandon it."
"I will live and die with it."
Lucius closed the channel and spat.
"Kane's head is as dull as iron."
He activated his jump pack, leading the Nasicae Cohort back towards the city.
Blue flames traced through the air as the forward Warhound Titans' screens bloomed with pale red runes.
A cannon was aimed at the Emperor's Children. Vulcan mega-bolter shells screamed towards them.
Drip, drip, drip!
Urgent alarms shrieked in the new armor's auto-sensors.
The Nasicae Cohort's jump packs roared, their high-frequency thrust overheating the purple-gold armor.
Lucius's tactical display showed two of his warriors had fallen.
He didn't stop. His gaze, like a sword blade, pierced through the walls, fixed on the enemy in dark green armor.
Feeling the blade-like gaze, the Alpha turned.
He looked at Lucius, raising his power spear with a sneer.
"I am Alpharius. You have failed."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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