whoever
had
done
this. Those
people
had
dark reputations.
He
felt
anger
grow
within
him,
driving
out
the
sense
of
bewilderment.
His
life
had
been
rendered
meaningless. His people
had
been
betrayed.
His world had
been
stolen.
Even the
Dark Angels
had
been destroyed.
Ten
thousand
years of tradition
ended
here. There were no more bold huntsmen
of the
plains for the
Sky-Warriors to recruit.
The
Chapter
might
continue,
but
its
heritage
had
been
destroyed
-
it
would
never
be
the
same
again.
Two
Heads
Talking was of the
last generation
of Marines
recruited from the
Plains People. There would be no more.
As
he moved beyond
the
mansions,
toward the
polluted
river, his spirit senses
warned him he was being
followed. Part of him did not
care, he would welcome confrontation
with whatever
watchers shadowed
him.
From
up
ahead.
he
heard a groan
of pain.
* * *
"We
do
not
know
where
they
come
from."
said
Lame
Bear.
"Not
even
the
Curators
of
the
Administratum
know
that. They
appear
without
warning, carried in the
mighty space
hulks which drift on the
tides
of warp space."
A
shiver
passed through
even these
hardened
Terminators.
Cloud
Runner
saw
the
gaze
of
those
who
had
faced
the
Genestealer turn
inward. Their faces
reflected the
grim memories of the encounters.
Unconsciously,
they
sat
up
straighter
and
looked
around
nervously.
For
the
first
time,
it
was brought
home
to
the
Captain that
they
really did face the
Genestealers
once
more. They
faced a threat
that
could
kill them.
"They
are
dreadful
foes:
ferocious,
relentless,
knowing
neither
pity
nor
fear.
They
do
not
use
weapons, perhaps because
they
do not
need
them. Their claws are capable
of tearing adamantium like paper.
"They
do not
use
armour;
their
hides
are
so tough
that
they
can
survive,
for a
time, unsuited
in
vacuum.
They
have the aspect
of a beast,
yet
they
are intelligent and
organised.
They
are
the
most
terrible
enemies
any
Marine
has
faced since
the
time of the
Horus
Heresy.
"How do I know this?
I have
faced than,
as
have others
here."
Cloud
Runner
shivered,
recalling
the
times
he
had
faced
the
Stealers.
He
remembered
their
chitinous
visage,
their gaping
jaws and
four rending
claws. He tried not
to recall their blinding, insect-like speed.
"It is not
their fearsome battle
prowess
that
makes the
Stealers such
dreadful opponents.
It is something
else.
I
will
tell you
of it.
"One
hundred
and
twenty
years
ago,
before
ever
I donned
Terminator
armour.
I
was sent
with
the
fleet
that investigated
the strange
silence of the
hive world 'Thranx.
"The
Imperial
Governor
had
not
paid
tribute for
twenty
years,
and
the
Adeptus
Terra
had
decided
that perhaps
a gentle
reminder of his sworn
duties
was in order.
"The
fleet arrived
bearing
sections
from
the
Dark
Angels,
the
Space
Wolves,
the
Ultramarines
and
an
Imperial
Guard regiment
from
Necromunda.
As
the
fleet
moved
into
drop
position
we
expected
resistance,
rebellion.
But
the
orbital
monitors did not
fire at us,
and
the
Governor spoke
fairly to us
on the