The lights hastily strung up along the cavern passageway rocked from side to side with the constant rumble of fighting above. Gartor made his way with his two remaining squad mates down the narrow passageway.
Their armour was covered with dust and grime from the weeks of constant fighting.
As they made it into the main chamber of the underground complex, Gartor slumped against a wall and slid down it, his power pack scraping against the sandstone.
Slowly stragglers came in, survivors rather, those that had not been destroyed in the above ground fight only an hour or so before. After 30 minutes it was clear no one else had made it.
Only the distant rumble of combat could be heard this deep down and the Astartes took a well deserved break.
It was not to last. They were not quiet, the footfalls they heard echoing down the corridor.
"Those are World Eaters," Gartor said, "back on your feet."
The troops rushed towards the sound, the dim lighting barely illuminating their way, the helmets sensors picking out far more detail in the dim light than even the enhanced senses of the warriors would have.
He had told the terminators off to move around to try to reach the relay pipe from the south. They encountered the enemy first and Gartor helmet sensors took a moment to compensate for the intense light that streamed down the tunnel from the burst of promethium flames that engulfed the first of the traitors to reach the relay pipe.
Screams could be heard and then bolter fire and then angry yelling.
Gartor saw Red Butchers for the second time that day, they were renewing their struggle with the loyalist terminators they had defeated above.
Still leaking blood from wounds inflicted by the frothing berzerkers earlier. The loyalist warriors stood to the fighting manfully and fared better.
The close quarter fighting in these tunnels was the stock in trade of the screaming lightning claw armed warriors though and they struck with even greater fury in the confined narrow spaced.
Gartor saw a double handed strike pin a loyalist terminator to the wall even as his chainfist smashed into the helmet of the warrior killing him before both sunk into a pile of heavy ceramite, genehanced flesh and pouring blood.
The fight was over quickly and Gartor told his men to fire on the three remaining traitor warriors. Their bolter rounds exploded harmlessly against the thick Terminator plate, merely alerting the warriors to the presence of the loyalist veteran squad.
Just then the processor box in the relay pipe exploded and Gartor could barely see the glow of the melta barrel down the hall behind the shadows cast by the hulking terminators.
Just as the bulky warriors were making their way towards the loyalists a glow appeared behind them, the movement of the chaplain was masked by the explosions of bolter fire.
His crozius arcanum struck down the first Red Butcher before the traitors were aware they were being attacked.
Using his momentum the chaplain aimed a savage kick into the hip of the second terminator and with the charging loyalists full weight behind it it caused the armoured behemoth to stagger.
The third surged forward in savage reprisal, bellowing his rage as he did. The Chaplain was able to parry the attacks and strike back, bringing down that terminator with a quick strike to the face.
The second one was on his feet again though and the first blow of his lightning claw struck home tearing off the left shoulder pad of the chaplain's armour, along with some meat.
The Chaplain brought his crozius around to parry the second strike and then smashed it right into the back of the warrior whose momentum carried him past the loyalist.
The warrior continued to scream but with no power to his armour he would not be able to raise himself in the heavy plate despite his enhanced strength even further boosted with rage.
The traitor tactical squad now brought their bolters to bear against the wounded loyalist champion and where close combat had failed a storm of bolter rounds succeeded, Gartor saw the chaplain blasted apart, armour flying in fragments as he staggered under each round striking him.
Over the vox he heard that reinforcements were coming up and he moved east to prevent more of the power systems from being destroyed by the enemy.
A group of ravagers were attempting to tear apart a power coupling as his squad charged through a hail of heavy bolter fire coming from a dreadnought down the passageway to engage them. The fighting between the veterans and the rampagers was fierce but desultory.
Even through the haze of combat Gartor could hear the dreadnought approaching. His veterans were gaining over the Rampagers by sheer numbers as the dreadnought struck.
Gartor stuck his powered talons through the chest of the last of the rampagers and turned to face the monstrosity. Flight was not an option, the power coupling was right behind him and if he fled the dreadnought would destroy it in an instant.
The echo of bolter rounds told him that the fight was still continuing further down the corridor.
The dreadnought's power fist smashed another of his squad to the ground and then grabbed one by the head crushing the helmet and splattering blood and brains over the remaining men.
A massive explosion rocked the entire cavern, causing a partial collapse.
As Gartor dug himself and his last comrade out of the rubble they could see the dreadnought moving away down the tunnel, the lights were still on, the power coupling intact.
They had staved off this attack.
uses bits from Stan Johansen Miniatures to upgrade a toy car for post-apocalyptic battle arenas.
