Uriel awoke with a snarl, startled and disorientated. He had not been aware of falling asleep, an awareness of his surroundings giving him a strange sense of dislocation as he blinked away sleep. He pushed himself upright, repeating a prayer of thanks for a new day and feeling his mind focus and sharpen as the Catalepsean node of his brain reawakened his full cognitive functions.
Allowing a Space Marine to sleep and remain awake at the same time by influencing the circadian rhythms of sleep and his body's response to sleep deprivation, the Catalepsean node ''switched off'' areas of the brain sequentially. Such a process did not replace normal sleep entirely, but allowed a Space Marine to continue to perceive his environment whilst resting.
He ran a hand across his scalp and left the shadowed room, catching the mouth-watering scent of hot food. He entered the blockhouse's main chamber, the same lifeless light spilling in through the firing slits and groups of Space Marines gathered around a cookfire upon which bubbled a large pot of a thick gruel-like porridge. It looked like poor food at best, but right now it was as desirable as the tenderest morsel of roast boar.
Several figures lay sprawled around the chamber, Space Marines resting and Leonid and Ellard asleep beneath the firing slit, using their rifles as pillows.
'I'd say "good morning", but that's not really a term I can use on this world,' said Ardaric Vaanes, spooning some porridge into a crude bowl of beaten metal and handing it to Uriel. 'It's not much, just some stolen ration packs made to go a long way.'
'It's fine. Thank you,' said Uriel, accepting the bowl and sitting next to Pasanius, who nodded a greeting as he scooped the greyish food into his mouth. 'Aren't you worried about the smoke of the fire being seen?'
'On Medrengard? No, rising smoke isn't anything unusual on this planet.'
'No, I suppose it isn't,' said Uriel between mouthfuls. The porridge was thin and he could taste watered down nutrients, the gruel barely enough to stave off starvation, let alone provide any nourishment. But still, it had more taste than the recycled paste his armour provided him.
'Have you thought any more about what I asked before?' said Uriel, finishing the bowl of porridge and setting it down beside him.
'I have,' nodded Vaanes.
'And?'
'You intrigue me, Ventris. There is more to you than meets the eye, but I'm damned if I know what. You say you are here to fulfil a death oath, and I believe you. But there is something else you are not telling me and I fear it will be the death of us all.'
'You're right,' said Uriel, seeing that he had no choice but to tell these renegades the truth. 'There is more and I will tell you all of it. Gather your warriors together outside and I will speak to you all.'
Vaanes narrowed his eyes, wary at letting Uriel speak directly to his men, but realising that he could not refuse. 'Very well. Let's hear what you have to say.'
Uriel nodded and followed Vaanes and his men into the still air and burning glare of the black sun. Space Marines filed out of the blockhouse and descended from their posts in the peaks surrounding the bunker complex as they were called down. Yawning and blinking, Leonid and Ellard stepped into the brightness of the valley, cradling their lasguns over their shoulders.
When the entirety of the renegade warrior band had gathered, some thirty Space Marines of various Chapters, Vaanes said, 'The floor is yours, Ventris.'
Uriel took a deep breath as Pasanius whispered, 'Are you sure this is wise?'
'We don't have a choice, my friend,' replied Uriel. 'It has to be this way.'
Pasanius shrugged as Uriel moved to the centre of the circle of Space Marines and began to speak, his voice strong and clear. 'My name is Uriel Ventris and until recently I was a captain of the Ultramarines. I commanded the Fourth Company and Pasanius was my senior sergeant. We were cast from our Chapter for breaking faith with the Codex Astartes and to our brethren we are no longer Ultramarines.'
Uriel paced around the circumference of the circle and raised his voice. 'We are no longer Ultramarines, but we are still Space Marines, warriors of the Emperor, and we will remain so until the day we die. As are you, and you and you!'
Uriel jabbed his fist at Space Marines around the circle as he spoke. 'I do not know why any of you are here, what circumstances drove you from your Chapters and led you to this place, and nor do I need to know. But I offer you a chance to regain your honour, to prove that you are true warriors of purpose.'
'What is it you are asking of us?' said a huge Space Marine in the livery of the Crimson Fists, his battered skull scarred and shaven.
'What is your name, brother?'
'Kyama Shae,' said the Crimson Fist.
'I am asking you to join us in our quest, Brother Shae,' said Uriel. 'To penetrate the fortress of Honsou and destroy the daemonculaba. Some of you already know that, but there is more. The Omphalos Daemonium, the daemon that brought us here did so for a reason. It spoke to us of the Heart of Blood and told us that it resides within the secret vaults of Honsou's fortress.'
A muttered ripple of horrified surprise travelled the circle as Uriel continued. 'It charged us with retrieving the Heart of Blood for it, and we agreed.'
'Traitors!' hissed a White Consul. 'You consort with daemons!'
Pasanius surged to his feet and shouted, 'Never! Say such a thing again and I will kill you!'
Uriel stepped between the two Space Marines and said, 'We agreed because our homeworlds were threatened with destruction, brother, but fear not, we have no intention of honouring such an agreement. When I find this Heart of Blood in that fortress I will destroy it. You have my word on that.'
'How can we trust you?' asked Vaanes.
'I have only my word to offer you, Vaanes, but think on this. The warlord Honsou has recently returned from campaign and is laden with stolen gene-seed. What do you think he is using it for? How do you think the daemonculaba are producing these newly-birthed abominations? With enough gene-seed, Honsou can create hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of new warriors for his armies. Soon they will come and destroy you. You know this, so why not strike now before they are able to?'
Uriel could see that his words were reaching the assembled Space Marines and pressed on. 'You say that what hurts the Iron Warriors is at the heart of all you do, well what will hurt them more than this, to have their newest warriors destroyed before they can fight? At the very least, we can cause the Iron Warriors such grief that they will not soon forget us. If we are to die in this, then at least it will be with our honour!'
'What use is honour if we are all dead?' asked Vaanes.
'Death and honour,' said Uriel. 'If one brings the other, then it is a good death.'
'Easy for you to say, Ventris.'
Uriel shook his head. 'No, Vaanes, it is not. You think I want to die? I do not. I wish to live for a long time and bring death to my enemies for many years to come, but if I am to die, I can think of no better an end than fighting alongside brother Space Marines for a noble cause.'
'Noble? Who do you think cares?' snapped Vaanes. 'If we die on this suicide mission of yours, what will any of this matter? 'Who will even know of your precious honour?'
'I will,' said Uriel softly. 'And that will be enough.'
Silence fell and Uriel could see that the renegade Space Marines were torn between the status quo of their current existence and this chance for redemption. He could not yet tell which way they would lean.
Just as he was beginning to believe that no one would rise to the challenge he had offered them, Colonel Leonid and Sergeant Ellard stood and crossed the circle towards him.