Tyson flung his towards the hook, and obviously some Saint looked upon him as it wrapped itself around the hook and was wedged in place. He put one nervous shaking foot on the railing, and pushed off with it. He went sailing off the platform and through the air above workshop below. Scipo was not far behind, flying through the air with ease.
“Go lower!” shouted Scipo from across the air.
Tyson let the line slip through his hands, getting closer to the ground. He was careful no to go to fast, being wary of burns from scraping along the rope to fast. Scipo was going much faster, his armoured hands removing any thoughts of it. Tyson finally made it down, his hands burning from the prolonged slide.
He now saw why Scipo had made them wait before jumping down. Most of the orks were blocked on the stairs, pushing scrambling and biting to get some violence. Some on the top level were fighting each other to get in line for the stairs. He watched as one turned his huge blade against the one next to him, slicing through his head with one blow.
“Get on!” Tyson turned to see Scipo sitting on one of the bikes.
We weaved through them to get at the ones near the front which Scipo had chosen for easy escape. Tyson jumped on the back and sat, holding onto the marines back. The marine punched the ignition and began to move. They turned sharply, almost skidding to get to get in line with the door. But Scipo seemed much at home on the bike, and they sped through the door into the corridor. It was much larger than the ones above, probably so the vehicles could be moved through there.
“We are on a steady slope. We might be heading for the surface.” Scipo roared over the din.
When he listened, he could hear more than one bike engine powering up the hall. He turned behind him to see orks, on the bikes as well, chasing them, slowly gaining on their personally souped up bikes. But they are also proved to be quite unpredictable, and one near the back blew up in a spectacular explosion. Now there were just the ones in front of it to defeat, the others stopped by the presence of a flaming wreckage. They sped ahead, getting closer. With one hand he drew a hellpistol, the other still firmly grasping the marine. He fired a few shots at the closest bike, none of them finding a target. He took a more careful aim, aiming towards the ork driver. He pulled the trigger once again, and this time it hit. The ork’s head snapped back in recoil, as the bullet hit him smack in the face. With its driver dead, the bike swerved and hit the wall, crunching and smashing the metal from the high speed impact. He turned his pistol on another. But the ork saw this, and opened fire with its own weapons. The imperial bikes had been fitted with autoguns in their fronts. The ork took advantage of this and opened fire, its clumsy fingers somehow finding the triggers. But the bullets simply missed, bouncing and ricocheting of the metal, clanging of the floor.
One was getting dangerously close, so Tyson drew his power sword. He pressed the activation button, and it began to cackle with energy. As the bike approached, he took a swipe. He was to far away to hit it, and it swung through the air between them, humming with death. The ork roared at him, eager to take the challenge. He suddenly swerved, slamming into the side of Tyson’s bike. It shook from impact, but Scipo managed to keep it under control.
“What was that?” he roared at Tyson.
Tyson didn’t answer keeping his eyes on the bike behind them. It went for another swerve, turning the cross bar in a wide arc to slam their bike. But this time Tyson was ready. He swung at the bikes tyre, tearing it to shreds, the powerful blade ripping through the rubber. The front tyre now was completely torn away, and the bike skidded until it flipped over and rolled a bit.
But more bikes were still coming, and the end of this tunnel was nowhere to be seen. The orks opened fire once again. This time, some shots managed to hit a target.
“We’re hit!” Tyson screamed at Scipo.
He managed to keep the bike under control, and swing it to the side, as now bare metal served as a wheel for them. They span around a few times, but eventually came to a skidding stop. Scipo leaped off the bike, Tyson following. The bikes were still coming trying to stop. As one passed, Tyson leapt at it and sliced of part of the bike. It went skidding and hit the wall, bursting into flames. The others past, and went to turn around.
“Get in here!”
Tyson turned around to see the marine standing inside a door. It had obviously been out there for tunnel matinence. He ran inside and Scipo slammed the door behind him.
They were in a small corridor. Scipo quickly used some wire and a grenade to rig the door so that the pin would be pulled out if it opened. Then they began to run to the right, hopefully to the outside.
Eventually they heard a boom from behind them. The orks would now be coming. But they found some stairs. They led downwards, but anything to throw the orks off track.
They quickly jogged down them, trying to make minimal amounts of noise. Despite the fact he was a huge heavy warrior, Scipo seemed to be making absolutely no noise, compared to Tyson whose military boots thudded with every step.
Eventually they came to the bottom. Scipo led them to a random door, and then through the other side of that, then through another random door. They were constantly running, Tyson not trying to remember where they had gone, just following Scipo as he smoothly ran from door to door, opening and shutting to his will, running through to make the orks task of finding them even harder.
They ran to another door, and Scipo swung it open. Now they were in a huge room. Tyson gazed. It was huge. He had never seen it before. It was lined with computers that were connected to huge screens. Runes of all kinds were placed on the boards.
Tyson also noticed the dead bodies. There were only about five, and they didd’nt seem like warriors. The orks must have got them, so no they lay there without the honour of a burial.
Scipo was now at what looked like the main computer, carefully selecting the right runes to take him deeper into the computer. He kept going through information, touching rune after rune. Tyson had no idea what he was doing or how he was doing it.
Eventually Scipo left the computer and walked back over to Tyson.
“From what I have read I have some idea of what this is. This bunker was built to store information of great security, including the bikes that you have seen before. It tells of tactics, plans and the next assaults. It is of great security, and should it fall into the wrong hands, it could give them a great advantage over the imperium. I am guessing these bodies were the people who were to destroy this data, when you were beaten back. Now we must destroy it for the sake of the imperium.”
Tyson understood. He started unloading grenades from his belts. There were many of them, both krak and frag.
“Hand them here and go relax. This will be a tricky task, with which I must concentrate. Reload your weapons. We still must get out.”
And with that Scipo began to wire the grenades together so they would go off and destroy the computers and the rest of the area.
+ + + + + + +
About an hour later the marine was finished his work. He walked over to Tyson, who was sitting with his back against the wall, polishing a hellpistol.
“It is all done. I have looked at the maps of the complex, and discovered the rout to the exit near my brothers’ base. We will go there as fast as possible.
Tyson gazed up at him, like the first time, when they were in the mouth of the bunker. He was still an awe inspiring figure, clad in a suit of green, with yellow eyes that pierced the face like none Tyson had seen before.
“What are you staring at? Get up and let’s go!”
Tyson dropped his rag, and stood up, holstering his pistol. All his weapons were fully loaded, and once again he gripped the shotgun that had previously been on his back.
They began moving towards the door. When they got in the threshold, Scipo turned back around with his bolter. He aimed carefully and fired a single shot at the first grenade. As soon as he had pulled the trigger, Scipo turned around and slammed the door.
“Run!” he shouted at Tyson, who immediately began bolting up the hall.
Scipo came up from behind him, and overtook.
“Follow me,” he shouted, “It’s time to get out of here!”
Again they ran through the corridors, but this time Scipo did not lead them through various doors to lose pursuers. They ran along a straight corridor, Scipo glancing left and right, looking for somewhere to turn. He had obviously memorised the path they were required to take.
After about an hour of running. They suddenly took a right. This path seemed to be at angle, and Tyson was sure this would be the end. He heard a shout from behind him.
“Look. A humie and a marine boy. Get ‘em!”
“WAAAGH!”
Tyson looked behind him. Orks were pouring from doors, hundreds of them, chasing after them. Once again, the competition was fierce to get to the front and pulp the enemy. He could pick out no leader, just a green wave, pulsing with a lust for fighting and bloodshed.
“Scipo, behind us!”
But the marine just looked ahead. And Tyson realised why. Ahead was the sealed door. And a glowing pattern of a square was appearing. He was once again amazed at the technology of the Imperium. They had obviously detected their coming previously and began going through.
They reached the door. Tyson turned back, and saw the orks approaching. Scipo too watched the greenskins coming. Then he took up his bolter and opened fire, a war cry exploding from his lips. Tyson almost fell over, the sound blowing him away. Then he unslung his autogun and began firing. The two of them stood there, guns ablaze, the metal behind them slowly melting away.
The orks fired back. One managed to hit Scipo’s chest, blasting right through the body and incinerating most of he centre. It had obviously been customised to be more powerful. Scipo fell to the ground, horrifically wounded, but still alive. His bolter crashed to the floor with a clang. It was now up to him to defend them until the others got in. He looked at the ring off metal. It would still be a minute or two before they got in, and he knew there was only one way to save one of them.
Tyson solemnly drew his power sword and activated it. He braced his autogun against his arm with one hand, his finger ready on the trigger. He looked back at Scipo.
“Goodbye Brother Scipo of the Salamanders. May the Emperor watch over you.”
“Goodbye to you too, Private Tyson of the 29th Groundhog regiment. May the Emperor protect.”
But Tyson didn’t hear him. He was charging towards the orks, his finger pushing as hard as it could against the trigger of the autogun. His lose grip caused it to buckle wildly, but he somehow held it firm. The orks at the front were falling, Tyson charging right at them.
He hit the orks lines, swinging the power sword wildly, cutting orks left and right, showers of blood coating him. He still held the trigger of the firearm, as it swung around with his movement. But he did not care. He kept fighting, regardless of what happened around. He was determined to make up for the many times that Scipo had saved his life.
He turned to see the progress that the marines burning through metal had made. They were now through. The plate of metal had fallen, and marines like Scipo were pouring through. He stared at Scipo. Two of them were starting to drag him back through the hole. Scipo looked back at him.
And then Tyson felt a blade protrude his back, and blood rushing from the wound. Then he fell to the ground and felt no more.
+ + + + + + +
Brother-Sergeant Scipo looked at the ground beneath his feet on the planet of Vicorna IV. The stared at the grave in front of him. It was made from a precious marble only found on the planet, the seemed to give of its own light, dappled in the suns light.
The sky was a beautiful mixture of reds, yellows and browns, yet the death lingering in his mind seemed to turn it to a dark grey, even though his head was not covered by a helmet, no flashing runes or statistics.
Just his eyes. And ears. Feeling the area around him, and the sorrow that surrounded it, but only for him.
He sensed another marine approaching.
“Brother, it is time to leave. We must return to the Thunderhawk and go back to the ship.”
“He would have made a marine brother-captain.” Scipo’s voice was solemn and dead.
“He may well have, but instead he valued a friend’s life more than his own. There was no way that you both would have made it out alive. What if he didn’t survive the trials and become one. He made the right choice, even though he now lies dead. He will go and sit by Emperor. His name will be forever recorded in our records, as will yours. He will also be added to the guardsmen records. There is nothing more that one could ask for, than honour through death in the service of The Emperor.”
“You are right brother-captain. But his memory will never leave my mind. I will never forget the guardsman who saved my life.”
They both turned around and started back towards the Thunderhawk.