Colonel Vinn and the storm troopers, minus the recon platoons lost at Pharos, were waiting in deep system space for Thaddeus's next communication. Septiam Torus, meanwhile, belonged to the Sisters.
Sister Aescarion slipped the restraints of the grav-couch and reached up to grab the handrail mounted onto the ceiling of the Valkyrie's passenger compartment. Aescarion had bullied the three Valkyrie aerial transports plus crews out of the rear echelon Jouryan forces, knowing that fifty battle-ready Sisters and the mention of Inquisitorial authority was more than enough to secure anything she might need.
By the time she had made it to the surface of Sep-tiam Torus the battle for Septiam City was almost a full day old and she needed to get into the thick of it quick. They said there were Space Marines spearheading the Jouryan assault, and even if they did not turn out to be the Soul Drinkers, it seemed the Imperial forces could do with a force of heavily-armed battle-sisters fighting alongside them.
The Valkyrie lurched as it switched to defensive manoeuvres. Aescarion couldn't see out of the passenger compartment but she could hear the anti-aircraft fire punching up past the Valkyrie from enemy-held sections of the city, and knew the ruins of Septiam City would be streaking by below. One good hit now and the twenty Sisters with her would die in an instant, regardless of training, armour, or even faith. But that was the way war went. Aescarion had taken a vow long ago to wait for death and welcome it, when the time came.
Her battle-sisters felt the same. She had her own Seraphim squad and two more squads, Retribu-tors carrying three heavy flamers led by Sister Aspasia and a ten-strong unit under Sister Superior Rufilla. Two more Valkyries carried similar complements - whether it would be enough to face the Soul Drinkers would be in the hands of the Emperor.
'Black Three's lost an engine, ma'am.’ came the tinny voice of the pilot through the ship's vox. 'Says he's going down.'
'Can they land?' replied Aescarion, the image of a score of valiant dead Sisters flitting through her mind. Black Three was the lead Valkyrie in the formation, heading for the plaza near the senate-house which the Jouryans had just liberated from the enemy.
'They can bring her down but they're well short. They're going to hit the slums.’
'We can't be spread out. Follow them in and prepare for deployment. From the Enemy will the Golden Throne deliver us, citizen.’
Whatever you say, ma'am.’ replied the pilot. 'Hold on.’
Bad news. The designated landing zone would have put the Sisters behind the last reported location of the Marines, in a position to assault them if they were the Soul Drinkers or reinforce them if they were loyalist Marines. The situation in the city was fluid and confused, but from what Aescarion understood the slums were seething with close-quarters battles between the benighted Septiams and the Stratix XXIII. Aescarion wasn't sure which would be more dangerous to her Sisters.
'Coming down, ma'am. Doors away.’ said the pilot, his voice strained as he fought to pull the Valkyrie's nose up after a steep descent.
'Sisters!' yelled Aescarion. 'Prepare to deploy! Aspasia, I want fire before we hit the ground! Rufilla, secure our zone and cover us!'
The Sisters Superior saluted in acknowledgement, and then the rear ramp juddered open.
The Valkyrie was swooping down an avenue of shattered slum buildings, little more than shacks piled on top of one another until they spilled into the road and crushed the lower layers into strata of rubble. More solid buildings were pocked and scorched by small arms and artillery. Greying tangles of bodies lay clustered around intersections and barricades. Smoke plumed up from below, filling the compartment with the stink of fuel and las-burned air. Tracer fire streaked from every other window and explosions crumped beneath the sudden roar of the Valkyrie's engines.
Black Three was already down, one engine billowing black smoke, the bulk of the ship laid crossways across the road where it had crash-landed and skidded to a halt. The black-armoured forms of Sisters were deploying rapidly from the stricken transport, using the hull itself for cover or sprinting through a shower of enemy fire into the ruins at the side of the road.
Aescarion saw they were coming down almost on top of Black Three. The Valkyrie dipped lower, downward thrust driving up thick clouds of dust and debris. Without waiting for the pilot's signal, she ran onto the ramp and jumped.
She flicked a switch and her Seraphim jump pack kicked in. Useless on Eumenix, she and her squad had equipped with the jump packs knowing how useful they could be deploying from the air. Her squad followed, Sister Mixu right behind her, all with bolt pistols drawn and cocked.
Aescarion hit the ground and managed to keep her feet. She was about thirty metres from Black Three, a smouldering dark shape through the swirl of dust. The engine roar was suddenly replaced with gunfire, crackling from all directions. The distinctive report of bolt weapons told her that the Sisters were leav-ing Black Three and returning fire from the ruined buildings that lined the road. Smaller-calibre weapons blazed down from the buildings all around and Aescarion knew that while they didn't have the discipline of the Sisters, they had far greater numbers. She glimpsed muzzle flashes and oddly twisted, loping humanoid forms through the chaos.
A single report sounded and a las-flash, white-hot, speared through the air next to her. Aescarion glanced behind her in time to see one of her Seraphim fall, shot through the throat by a long-las shot.
Snipers.
Aescarion loosed off a few shots at the closest attackers and ran for the nearest cover. She couldn't get pinned down here. She had to get clear, then gather the Sisters and break out. If she paused for a moment they could be surrounded and bogged down, and not get out of here until the whole city was won. That was not an option.
The collapsed building offered scraps of cover, half-toppled walls and piles of rubble. Aescarion dived for cover as a volley of shots tore down from the other side of the street. Autogun and las-fire kicked up sprays of broken stone and wood around her as she hit the ground.
More fire followed, this time from directly above. Sister Mixu skidded in beside her, twin bolt pistols drawn, and both Sisters returned fire into the remains of the ceiling overhead.
They had taken cover directly beneath an enemy fire point. Through the ragged hole twisted faces leered down, rotten jawbones hanging, skeletal hands aiming their rusted guns down at the Sisters.
Shots rang off Aescarion's armour. She and Mixu returned fire, pumping bolt shells through the ceiling into the attackers, sending showers of debris falling. Aescarion felt a shot crease her cheek. The fire fight drew more attackers in, sharpshooters picking shots through the swirling dust and more Septiams crawled through the ruined buildings to face this new threat. Mixu fired upwards with one hand and sideways with the other. Aescarion drew her power axe but even her power armour could be overwhelmed by the sheer weight of fire coming at her if she were to stand up and charge.
A sheet of pure white flame tore through the building at head-height, then swung upwards to fill the building above with billowing flame. Burning skeletons fell down from above, and the gunfire was replaced with the strangled screams of burning men.
Aescarion looked up to see Sister Aspasia directing her Retributor squad's heavy flamers as they hosed the building around Aescarion's Seraphim with fire.
Aescarion saluted Sister Aspasia as the Retributors and Sister Rufilla's squad moved in to secure the ruins.
'Seraphim.’ she yelled, 'with me! Forward!' Aescarion charged through the rubble, towards where the Sisters from Black Three were holed up. She and her Seraphim blasted the Septiams who rounded a ruined doorway in front of them at close range, shattering half-a-dozen diseased bodies before Aescarion lunged through the door and laid into the Septiams beyond. A sharpshooter, long-las still clutched in his gnarled hands, fell headless to the rubble. Aescarion's axe cut the arm off another Sep-tiam and her boot shattered his spine as he fell. One of her Seraphim vaulted over the wall beside her, grabbed the closest Septiam and hauled him off his feet, shooting two of his comrades through the man's stomach.