Failure.
Failure was all that consumed the mind of Brother-Sergeant Kurten as he led the Guardsmen and PDF in a fighting retreat. The traitors he and his brothers had been hunting refused to face them directly and kept fleeing, time and time again. Now his failure had resulted in this facility being breached by traitor hands, and one of his brothers was slain—the first of many deaths that would have to be paid to keep the traitors from breaching further.
The other half of his squad also suffered losses when they failed to prevent the destruction of the vox tower. One perished in the fighting. Two more were wounded and could not be of direct aid—one had suffered crippling damage when their breastplate was breached and a bolter round had shattered his ribs. If medical attention was not given, the chances of survival were slim. Another suffered a leg wound during the collapse of the vox tower that simply needed time for his physiology to mend enough to allow him to fight again. The remaining two suffered minor damage, but the collapse of the vox tower had made the retrieval of their slain brothers' gene-seed impossible at this time.
Kurten ordered them to his position. The division of the squad had been a mistake—one that he was not going to repeat.
Kurten was drawn from his thoughts as he and his brothers were the last to enter a large hall and close the central doors. The cultists and beast-men on the other side banged on the doors—a useless effort without explosives, but Kurten knew that they would get in eventually. For now, they had time.
It was here that pilgrims would have been received in the hundreds and divided up in groups to be sent to whatever location of worship the facility once had, be it a shrine or church.
Kurten sought out the commanders of the Guard and PDF in the room. He found them near the center, arguing about what to do next—whether to fall back deeper into the facility or make a stand. They quickly noticed Kurten's approach and stood at attention.
"My lord."
The man who spoke was from the Guard and, as no one of higher rank was present, also the commander of the Guard in this part of the defenses. The PDF, however, was represented by a group of five men. They were advocating for retreat. Fear was evident in their eyes, but Kurten did not blame them for it. He also could not have any disagreement, and so in the short few seconds it took Kurten to survey the group, he came to a decision.
"There will be no retreat. Should the enemy take this hall, the rest of our brothers and sisters defending this facility will be unable to reorganize in time to respond and stem the tide. So we must hold here and buy time until we can be reinforced. Have your men begin setting up whatever defenses they can, and be prepared to hold here for a prolonged battle. I will oversee the fortification of the hall. First, use whatever you can find to build additional cover and dispose of any debris that can't serve this function. After that, see me again and we will continue. Now go. Time is short."
Kurten watched the various commanders leave, then looked toward the doors as if his eyes could pierce the metal and see the traitors on the other side. He only looked away when his brothers approached. He would not fail again. This, he promised.
"I must contact the Canoness Commander. I suspect I know the infiltrators' next target." He paused. "Those cowards will not remain separated if my assumption is correct."
His brothers nodded, and one told Kurten the frequency the Canoness and her Commandery were using.
Kurten then told the Canoness Commander about the infiltrators and that they would likely target the void shield. She swore to personally ensure its safety and that so long as she lived, it would not fail.
With that done, Kurten saw to the growing defenses. He had work to do.
Canoness Commander Salem ended the call with the Astartes Sergeant and took in the news.
She looked around the command center—people rushing here and there, carrying orders and reports, doing all they could to coordinate the desperate defense against the horde outside the walls. That wasn't helped by one key fact: Night Lords were in the facility. They had desecrated the holy sites and killed many faithful.
From what the reports said, they had avoided direct combat with the Astartes and always fled before proper forces could be brought to bear. They picked off isolated squads of Guardsmen and some of her own Sisters. Salem's Sisters were spread thin across the defenses, preventing the rest of the heretical filth from getting in, leaving only her and the Sisters with her to support the defenses at the void shield—plus the Tech-Priest and their servitors.
Emperor willing, she would personally render judgment on the abominations that dared deny the Emperor His due.
"Sisters, ready yourselves. We move to defend the void shield from traitors. In the name of the Emperor, we will make each and every one of them pay for their sins in holy fire. Ave Imperator!"
Making the sign of the Aquila, the Canoness Commander took her weapon and led her Sisters to battle. Her departure went unimpeded, as those who would have stopped her were pulled to and fro, trying to coordinate the remaining defenders to buy just one more hour—to wait for help to arrive, or at least kill a few more of the foe.
Just like the Canoness.
Malom Kore, Sergeant of the Red Corsairs, watched as the mortals under his command banged on the doors that prevented their entry. He pondered letting the fools continue trying to break down the doors—the futility amused him.
However, if the Night Lords succeeded, his brothers on the other fronts would call in air support and breach the facility. Kore planned to take the lion's share of the glory, and with it, the rewards such glory would allow him to claim.
So Kore looked to one of his brothers and told him to bring it down.
The only warning the mortals who weren't paying attention got was the sound of a charging Chaos Spawn tearing through those still in its way. As it began smashing against the door, metal bent and tore.
Kore had one thing to say to one of his brothers who had been responsible for bringing the beast.
"It's good to see the old Sergeant in action. He was so close to being champion, too. Oh well, at least he can continue to serve his brothers." He gestured toward the buckling doors. "Once the doors are breached, let the mortals go in first. They were so eager to get in, after all."
With a nod, the message was passed to the rest of the Astartes present as they prepared for the bloodshed to come.