They advanced through the narrow walls of the corridor, moving with practiced caution. Every junction was checked, every shadow watched. Once or twice an ork stumbled into their path—isolated, lost. Each was dealt with quickly and quietly, bodies left cooling against the steel walls.
After a time, the corridor ended.
A lift shaft stood before them, its cage large enough for heavy machinery. The doors were scarred but intact, emergency runes still glowing faintly.
Daniel stepped forward and pressed the recall button.
The mechanism groaned to life.
As the doors slid open, a choppa swung out of the darkness inside.
Daniel reacted instantly—twisting aside as the blade passed where his head had been. At the same moment, Cătălin fired. The ork's head vanished in a burst of impact, its body collapsing backward into the lift.
Four more orks opened fire from inside.
Cătălin charged.
The chainsword roared to life, filling the shaft with its scream. He cut the first ork clean in half, then drove his shoulder into the second, smashing its head against the lift wall with a dull crack. Daniel stepped in beside him, blade and bolter working together, dropping the remaining two in seconds.
Silence returned.
They stepped into the lift.
The doors closed.
Neither spoke as the lift began its ascent. The cables groaned under the weight, the cage shuddering slightly as it climbed. Emergency lights flickered overhead, casting long shadows across their armor. The only sound was the steady rise of the platform—and the distant, barely perceptible hum of something vast and dormant above them.
Then the lift slowed.
It stopped.
The doors opened.
Before them stood the Titan.
Grey Hound.
Even dormant, it was overwhelming. Its colossal legs were locked into the deck, cables and maintenance lines running like veins into its armored form. The vast torso rose into darkness, weapon mounts silent, void shields inactive. The head loomed high above, lenses dark, expression unreadable.
A god of war, asleep.
Cătălin stood still, chainsword lowered.
Daniel exhaled slowly. "By the Throne…"