An uneasy silence settled over the inside of the ceramite bunker as the sounds of battle from outside slowly faded away, the roar of weapons fire and screams of the dying being replaced by the gentle pattering of the rain and the occasional deep rumble of far off thunder.

---

The attackers had seemed to come out of nowhere, massive warriors in dark blue power armour with skull like helms melting out of the wind and rain swept forest to open fire on the unprepared defenders. The first volley had taken out the guard towers that flanked the gates, blasts of flame blossoming up into the sky as heavy weapon fire tore apart the flimsy structures. Splinters of wood and shards of metal scythed across the courtyard, puncturing eyeballs, slicing throats, and lacerating bare skin as men ran for cover from the flying debris.

A moment later the crude gates collapsed inwards, the sound of shattering wood accompanied by a terrible metallic roar as the massive shape of a Dreadnought, its armoured shell adorned with crackling sigils and blashpemous icons, stomped into the courtyard, hurling the remains of the gate from its crackling power claw as it fired the twin heavy bolters mounted on its other arm. High explosive shells screamed across the courtyard blowing men apart in sprays of crimson gore and torn flesh.

As the dreadnought advanced into the courtyard chaos marines armed with pistols and swords surged past it, roaring curses and battlecries as they charged towards the waiting guardsmen, who formed up in front of their barracks and opened fire. Lasbolts screamed through the air towards the charging chaos marines, a bright web of energy lighting up the dim forest as energy blasts slammed into baroquely patterned power armour with a noise like hail on a tin roof.

Only a handful of blue armoured marines fell before they struck the Imperial Guard line like a blow from a thunder hammer. Guardsmen fell left and right, chests blown open by bolt pistols, heads and limbs lopped off by shrieking chainswords, and skulls crushed by mighty fists. An officer ordered the retreat, his command squad and a handful of guardsmen breaking from the melee and sprinting to the nearest bunker, once there they closed and sealed the Armaplas doors, leaving their comrades trapped outside to their fate.

---

Now they waited in the dimly lit bunker as outside the remaining guardsmen were butchered to a man. With baited breath they wondered whether the Chaos Marines would come after them, or leave, having achieved their objective, whatever it may have been.

Without warning the inch thick doors were blasted inwards, sparks crackling round the edges as the failing sunlight outlined the power armoured shape of a Chaos Marine standing in the doorway. Unlike the others he wore a long robe over his armour, adorned with arcane signs that seemed to crawl and writhe of their own will. Arcs of purple and blue fire crawled across the fingers of one of his armoured gauntlets, and a heavy sword, its blade glowing and pulsing with barely contained energy was clasped in the other.

Before the guardsmen could recover, the Chaos Sorcerer raised his empty hand, fingers outstretched, and the crimson lenses of his skull-helm pulsed brightly for a moment. Black and purple lightning leapt from his fingertips, the air filling with screams and the stench of burnt flesh as guardsmen writhed and spasmed in the midst of the storm of leaping, crackling warp energy. Seconds later the Sorcerer was the only living thing in a bunker full of charred, smoking meat.

With a crackle, the vox-link built into his helm came alive as his forces reported that the destruction of the bases defenders was complete and the artefact had been located. Under his helm his lips curled into a smile as he activated his own communications device.

‘’Have the Thunderhawks return to pick us up and contact Lord Memnoch, inform him that the tome is ours and it will be in his hands shortly’’

Turning on his heel the sorcerer strode from the bunker as he and his forces headed for the rendevous site, they found had what they wanted, and in their wake they left nothing but shattered, broken corpses and the burning remains of the Imperial outpost.

- End -