The Multiverse Project: Warhammer 40,000

"You know, somethings been bugging me since we got to this universe."

"Oh?"

Tangmo and Lita were huddled together in the far corner of Tyra's Valkyrie as it descended through the planet's atmosphere. The fire of reentry has just subsided and was replaced by thick rumbling clouds that battered furiously at the hull. After so many engagements, he barely noticed it. Behind Tangmo, Leilatha and Dalthorn leaned slowly across their seats, peering down the aisle to watch him and Lita with unhidden suspicion.

"You noticed how the Black Library characters are quite young?" Tangmo continued.

"It's not actually hard to miss," Lita said.

"Don't you think that's kinda weird?" Tangmo pressed on.

"How so?" Lita asked.

"All of them should be old as shit by now," Tangmo said and Lita's eyes lit up in understanding. "I mean, Guilliman, Celestine and Yvraine are practically immortal, but in this time period Cain and Amberley should be pushing a hundred years old by now, but they look early thirties. The same goes with Coreth and Eurydice and Marlonah. And don't get me started on Miriya and her crew. Her books happened a good three hundred years ago, she shouldn't even be alive. As for Raine, shit, I don't even know where in the timeline she pops up."

"Master actually explained that to me," Lita stroked her chin thoughtfully. "He said he condensed the timeline."

"Condensed the timeline?" Tangmo repeated.

"Yeah," Lita nodded. "I don't know how he did it, but apparently everything in those books happens only a year or months apart from each other. Good for us, I'm all for meeting established characters."

"Does that mean we'll get to meet Gaunt too?" Tangmo said hopefully.

"He's pretty tightlipped on that," Lita frowned slightly. "But if the Master has been screwing around with the canon, wouldn't that make our jobs harder?"

"With the skaven and Chaos Sororitas showing up, I think we're already fucked," Tangmo flashed Lita a reassuring smile. "Don't worry dude, we'll be fine. We're the Eight, remember? We always pull through."

"Yeah, you're right," Lita nodded and brushed silky strands of black hair from her face, and goddamn it was super fucking cute.

"Tangmo and Lita sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Henry led the rest of the Eight in an obnoxious, sing along, rhyme. The main characters turned to look at them with incredulity, unbelieving of the immaturity they were witnessing, and coming from the high command of all places. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then come babies in the baby carriage! Argh! Gak!"

Lita made a bored face and raised one hand, palm up, and the singing idiots started choking, faces turning purple as they clawed at their necks, feet kicking a few centimeters off the ground. The main characters were getting a little concern now, not sure whether to tackle the Warseer or remain seated.

"So was there anything else?" Lita asked pleasantly.

"Nah, that's all I want to talk about," they strolled leisurely back to their seat and Tangmo waved at the others. "You might want to cut the Darth Vader shit out, they're turning purple."

"Maybe another minute," Lita seated herself primly beside Dalthorn and dusted her skirt girlishly.

"That's a little dark," Tangmo sat down and gave Leilatha a knowing smirk. "Everybody knows you're an Elsa, not a Jadis."

"You know what I'm capable of when I'm angry," Lita glared at him, her tone icy and piercing.

"Fine, but we all know how this will end," Tangmo made sure his shit eating grin was extra obnoxious for Lita. Then, with a very dignified, ladylike huff, Lita flicked her hand daintily and released the rest of the Eight, all of whom collapsed to the floor in broken gasps and coughs.

"I wasn't even singing," Tangmo heard Erik croaked as Lita straightened her back and folded her arms crossly across her chest; chin held high with queenly disapproval. Tangmo stared at Lita, his grin broadening as her icy façade slowly, but surely, cracks. Finally, after many squirming and fidgeting, Lita leapt off her seat and darted down the Valkyrie, her visage now one of guilt and worry.

"You almost lasted a full minute this time!" Tangmo chortled triumphantly.

"Shut up!" Lita shrieked and went to help Laura. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to let it go that far! I'm sorry!"

Tangmo slouched smugly into his seat and nudged Leilatha in the ribs, "can you give me a run down on the planet please?"

"Done playing with your friends, I see?" Leilatha said snidely and tapped her data-pad. "The planet is called Leenisium, the capital of the Keltior system."

"Oh yeah, the place we were supposed to go before our Frystasvard detour," Tangmo said, trying to recall what he remembered about the place. Nothing came up. "You got a good recap for me?"

"The Planetary Defense Force has requested our help in fighting a Chaos incursion," Raine, seated down the aisle from him, answered for Leilatha. "Had we arrived as per our original timetable, we would have been able to join the Imperial Navy in defending the planet from the Chaos fleet."

"What is the situation on the planet now?" Ciaphas Cain asked from across Raine, the two commissars trading hard looks.

"Because we were not able to honor our previous arrangement, the Chaos warband was able to gain major footholds on the planet and carved out a significant territory to act as a launching point for a ground invasion," Raine said tightly. "Although the armada was repulsed and eventually destroyed, the traitor legion managed to allocate most of their armament and manpower to Leenisium, where they continue to spread like malign cancer."

"Well shit, our bad," Tangmo attempt at a chuckle died in a croak when Raine shot him an extremely pissed look. "So…are the good people of Leenisium mad at us?"

"Our reason for the delay was…satisfactory to them," Raine blistered at Cain placidly smug face. "But they are expecting us to provide every available resource to aid them in eradicating the Chaos forces."

"A help we will be happy to provide," Leilatha said. "What of our eldar allies? How are the people of Leenisium taking the news?"

"With the usual grumble and distrust," Raine said. "But lord Guilliman's edict and the recording taken on Tera-Antebella silenced them quickly enough."

"Oh yeah, we made sure that the clip went viral across the galaxy," Tangmo smirked. "So, besides being the great Samaritans that we are, what are we getting out of this?"

"New STCs, for one thing," Leilatha said. "And quite possibly another undocumented Sororitas order. Unlike the Frost Bringers, they are not so secretive."

"What do you mean?" Tangmo asked and Leilatha handed him her data-pad, swiping away the charts and reports, replacing them with blurry pictures and newspaper clipping. Intrigued, Tangmo skimmed through the files. "Damn, those are some shitty ass pics, their cameras suck pretty hard."

"Forget the quality," Leilatha rolled her eyes and stabbed her finger at one of the badly pixelated picture, shot vertically too. "Look at what was captured on the pic-slate."

Tangmo looked closer, tapping the picture a few times to increase the resolution until the contour and shape of the centerpiece became more defined. He looked at it, taking in the finer details, blinked, took another look, double check two more times, then spun urgently in his seat, "Guys! Get over here now!"

The rest of the Eight gathered around Tangmo, a tight squeeze considering how big Damien was, drawing hisses and grunts from the main characters who were pushed aside. Leilatha was particularly miffed when Nikki squeezed in between her and Tangmo.

"What's happening?" Henry asked.

"Yo, look at this!" Tangmo held Leilatha's data-pad up to them.

"…And?" Nikki made a face.

"That's some crappy shot dude," Damien commented.

"Screw the quality," Tangmo enlarged the picture. "Look closer. What does this remind you of?"

The Eight stared at the data-pad for almost a minute before, as if the gears in their heads started turning at the same time, letting out a loud, disbelieving shout that rocked the cabin, causing the main characters to look at them in alarm. And as always, Hildebrandt doesn't seem to notice the commotion.

"That is one freaky coincidence mate!" Laura blurted.

"Coincidence or not, this is awesome," Henry was smiling like an idiot.

"Oh shit, is this for real?! Is this for fucking real dude?! Oh shit!" Damien was pacing the cabin in long, powerful strides, causing the Valkyrie to seesaw left and right.

"Oi! Who's screwing around back there?!" Tyra's voice boomed from the loudspeakers.

"The Space Marine," Lita deadpanned.

"Well stop it! You want me to crash this bird or something?!" Tyra shot back testily.

"Sorry," Damien offered meekly and sat back down beside Gallus and Antalok, both were watching him with a mixture of parental weariness and amusement. Damien managed to sit still for a whooping five seconds before he started fidgeting again, rocking back and forth like a sugar crazed child. "Oh my God, oh my God!"

"I'm sorry but, what have gotten you all so excited?" Evangeline spoke up, she and the colonels had formed another huddle beside the Eight.

"Detective Comics No. 27, May 1939," Erik spoke up excitedly.

"…What?" Xiphos was as lost as his colleagues.

"It's the first appearance of Batman," Henry was practically swooning.

"I'm sorry, but we still haven't a clue of what you're talking about," Krillen deadpanned and traded suffering looks with his colonel buddies, resigned to the fact that they wouldn't be able to understand half of what the Eight were talking about.

"Let's just say that we're very excited, in a good way," Tangmo's bright smile was making the main characters very nervous. "Because we totally know what we're dealing with, if eighty years of DC comic lore is anything to go by." He glanced at the porthole, gasped, handed the data-pad back to Leilatha, and scrambled toward it, pressing his face flat against the window. "Holy shit guys, look at this!"

The Eight quickly crammed up next to Tangmo, while Damien, not wanting to get another scolding from Tyra, slowly and politely stepped over to the porthole. They all gave an ecstatic awe as the dawning landscape came into view, the bleeding sun painting the world in glittering ruby. Good thing they were flying in from the east, or the sun would've totally ruin the vista. A city, sprawled out horizon to horizon, a single massive organism with no beginning or end, was all they could see. No green of the grass, no blue of the water, no brown of the earth, only somber black and grey of buildings rising into infinity. The shapes and heights varied, from towering spires guarded by demonic gargoyles to opulent skyscrapers in gleaming glass and neon, but all of them shared a unified gothic décor entwined with the intricate style of art deco and art nouveau.

"This is Gotham City on a Warhammer 40k scale," Yuki was breathless. The lower the altitude, the more they were able to discern the breathtaking detail of each individual building, not one of them looked the same.

"It's beautiful," Lita added, her voice enraptured and dreamy.

"How big is this place?" Laura asked.

"If our intel is anything to go by, the city of Gothicipolis took up the entirety of the planet surface," Leilatha told her.

"Gothicipolis? Seriously?" Damien was more than irked by the derivative nature of the name.

"That's what it says," Leilatha shrugged, and was about to continued when Henry started humming out of the blues. His smooth, rich, velvety voice rippled across the cabin, drawing surprised look from the main characters because it was normally Tangmo who does the singing. When Henry started enunciating the notes, the boys joined in to form an impromptu a cappella troupe, harmonizing the familiar melody with ease.

"Tyra, be a dear and transmit this to the other Valkyries please," Laura tapped a speaker near the ceiling.

"With pleasure, lady inquisitor," Tyra said brightly as Henry started singing.

"There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea, you became the light on the dark side of me. Love remained a drug that's the high, not the pill. But did you know, that when it snows, my eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen."

The descend was slowing down now, and Tangmo spared the buildings outside, the iron frizzes vividly fashioned into elegant, flamboyant bodily expression of graceful humanity, a quick appreciative look before the chorus kicks in.

"Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah. Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey."

The Valkyrie made a soft, smooth landing. With some reluctance, the main characters pried their eyes away from the singing quartet. It'll be a couple of minutes before the ramp lowered, which means there's enough time for another verse!

"There is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say. You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain. To me, you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny. Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby? But did you know, that when it snows, my eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen."

The exit started to open and the boys quickly arranged themselves at the front like, Tangmo admits with some embarrassment, a boy band. When the metal slab hit the black tarmac of the space port, Henry lead them down at a synchronized pace and began the chorus anew, the general's incomparable voice was backup by the sweet harmonizing of the commissar, the Ranger and the Space Marine.

"Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah. Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey."

The main characters, from Tyra's Valkyrie and the other transports, were now converging on them as Henry struck a dramatic pose and ended the song on an angelic note.

"Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey…"

Claps and whistles answered the singing quartets as the female main characters closed in on them like a bunch of hooting fangirls, smiling and giggling. Even the eldars and Sororitas joined in, looking strangely amiable.

"A stirring performance sir," major Emily of the Praetorian Guards clapped daintily as opposed to the others more raucous cheering.

"I agree, that was a very pleasing tune," colonel Evangeline nodded in agreement.

"Aye, who would've thought you lads could be so sentimental!" Major Aileen added chirpily, bouncing on the tip of her toe.

"Henry and his friends can be very sentimental," engineer commander Ladaee, Henry's girlfriend, strode proudly up to the general and took his arm companionably. "Isn't that right, commissar Leilatha?"

"Indeed," Leilatha inclined her head in the affirmative.

"Didn't they sing something like this back on Zyrien?" Krix spoke up.

"They did, I believe that piece was called You Raise Me Up," Luva said.

"You guys sang You Raise Me Up without me?!" Erik blurted, his angst face was met with the boys' sheepish, guilty look, "how could you?!"

"It was a spurt of a moment dude," Damien shrugged. "Besides, I think we handled ourselves pretty well."

"The performance must have been subpar," Firnera the Banshee spoke up snobbishly. "Ranger Erik's voice has no compare."

"Although I am skeptical of that statement, it is good to hear someone else sing beside the commissar," Galatea said in an infuriatingly flat tone, totally aloof of the wide eyed Tangmo glaring at her.

"Hey! My singing saved your ass back on Tera-Antebella!" Tangmo pointed at the bored looking canoness, totally unaffected by his rising anger.

"Perhaps," Miriya shrugged. "But there are times when one must realize that their talent has been eclipse. There is no shame in admitting such defeat, lord commissar."

Tangmo mouth dropped to the ground at Miriya's declaration, the Celestians, minus Verity, and the canonesses were snickering with poisonous satisfaction. The other main characters were equally slack-jawed, some had hands over mouths, trading shocked whispers and gasps, while the Eight let out a very unhelpful 'OOHHHHHH!'.

"…You know what?! I don't give a fuck if you got metal plates on your asses, I'm gonna Thai Kick it!" Tangmo tried to leap at the grinning Miriya but Henry and Erik intercepted him. "Let me go! I need to smack a bitch with my leg!"

"Calm down bro! Calm down!" Henry caught Tangmo by the shoulders, holding the squirming commissar at bay.

"Chill Tangmo! Miriya's just joking, right Miriya?!" Arms wrapped around Tangmo's waist, Erik craned his head back at the Celestian, his plea met with a dismissive shrug.

"Umm…guys? There are a dozen scary looking cops heading over here," Lita glanced hurriedly down the tarmac then back at the scuffle. "So can you maybe please stop?!"

Following Lita's urgent pointing finger, Tangmo saw that indeed a bunch of police looking individuals were approaching them. The one leading the troupe was not a normal cop either, but a freaking Adeptus Arbites, the CIA/FBI/Judge Dredd of Warhammer 40k. Accompanying him were a mixture of local law enforcement officers and the PDF. Calming his ass down, Tangmo disengaged from Henry and Erik, adjusted his awesome commissar coat and cap until it was presentable, then pointed menacingly at Miriya and her squad, "I'm gonna get you for this!"

Miriya snorted the moment the Arbites came to a stop in front of the Immortal Spirit high command, clicked his heels and saluted smartly, his retinue copying with varying degrees of success.

"Welcome to Gothicipolis," the Arbites, a man in his early fifties with a snowy white handlebar moustache and a bulky bionic right eye fashioned to look like an old timey monocle, spoke crisply and clearly. "I am Arbites Jerimiah Gonde, commander of the Gothicipolis police force. It is an honor to finally meet the Immortal Spirit battlegroup."

"The pleasure is ours, Arbites Jerimiah," Henry saluted then extended his hand, which the Arbites took amiably. "General Henry, at your service."

"Thank you sir," Jerimiah released the grip and Henry gave the Eight a knowing look, because this dude screamed Commissioner James Gordon.

"We apologize for the delay, Arbites Jerimiah," Henry said. "I hope that our absent haven't been too damaging."

"It was a hard fight sir, but we managed well enough," Jerimiah said sternly before allowing himself a hopeful smile. "But now that we got the Immortal Spirit and Ciaphas Cain himself to bolster our forces, I do believe victory is now possible."

"I hope that we will live up to your expectation, master Arbites," Ciaphas said smoothly and Tangmo can feel Raine rolling her eyes.

"And it would appear that the rumors are true," Jerimiah cast his gaze at the eldars, the look was strangely welcoming. "There are indeed Aeldari in your battlegroup."

"You have a problem with that?" Tangmo spoke up, arms folded across his chest.

"None at all, lord commissar," Jerimiah bowed politely but Tangmo caught a few tight looks from the men behind him. "Now, I would love for us to be more acquainted, but time is of the essence. I have set up a command tent not far from here so that the battlegroup can be briefed on Gothicipolis current situation. If you would follow me?"

"Certainly, master Arbites," Henry said and the battlegroup took off after Jerimiah.

"As of this moment, the Chaos warband has taken over the northwestern hemisphere of Gothicipolis, comprising of about two thousand square kilometers," Jerimiah waved his hand at the black and green map projection hovering above the command table. "The invasion force headquarter is here." The Arbites pointed at a large island complex that was connected to the mainland by, appropriately, eight really large highways that looked like the spokes of the star of Chaos. "The Samael Institute of the Condemn. It was our largest, most heavily fortified prison on the planet, housing more than two million of Leenisium most dangerous and insane criminals."

"It's freaking Arkham Asylum," Nikki pointed out to the nodding Eights.

"…I'm sorry, lady exarch?" Jerimiah, like the main characters, didn't get the reference.

"Nothing, please continue master Arbites," Damien said.

"The Chaos incursion force brought about ten million fighters planet side before their fleet was destroyed," Jerimiah continued and Tangmo whistled. "Their number is now bolstered by not only the inmates from the Samael Institute and the surrounding satellite prisons, but also the many criminal organizations, heretical cults and, I must shamefully admit, turncoat police and PDF forces."

"Holy goddamn, so how many mofos are we dealing with here?" Tangmo asked.

"We're looking at around forty million enemy soldiers, give or take," Jerimiah said and holy shit, that was a big number.

"That's a lot of people to kill," Yuki piped up and leaned closer to the map. "But artillery bombardments and surgical air strikes should be more than enough to thin the herd. We have control of the sky and the areas surrounding the occupied zone, right?"

"That we do," Jerimiah nodded then frowned. "But we are not dealing with mere human soldiers."

"I don't like the sound of that," Erik grimaced.

"Neither do I," Jerimiah sighed. "After several clashes with the Chaos's foot soldiers, combined with reconnaissance missions behind enemy's line, we are able to surmise that a significant number of Traitor Astartes are operating on Gothicipolis."

Animated murmurs rippled around the table, the main characters trading quick words with each other, guarded but with a very clear hint of excitement. This will be the first time the battlegroup is going up against Chaos Marines, after all.

"Do you know which Traitor Legion is operating planet side, master Arbites?" Lita spoke up when the hubbub died down.

"From what we managed to discern," Jerimiah swiped his finger over his data-slate. "We've counted twelve legionnaires from the Black Legion, eight berserkers from the World Eater, four saboteurs from the Night Lord and twenty-two Astartes from the Death Guard."

"A commendable number," brother Gallus commented neutrally, but Henry was sure he detected eagerness in the distorted tone.

"That's not the half of it," Jerimiah wiped his sweaty brow. "Legions upon legions of lesser daemons fight at their command. Although conventional weapons kill them easily enough, the sight of such abominations are enough to break the hearts of even the stoutest of men. Furthermore, the traitor Astartes have captured many riverside manufactorums and are churning out twisted war machines that are wreaking havoc across the city. Lastly, it would appear that the Ruinous power had allied themselves with…rat-men. They're scarily competent in a firefight and ambushes, and can appear anywhere with ease."

"A gigantic city with probably thousands of pipework and underground warrens, this place is the rat's wet dream," Laura said. "We'll share all the intel we have on the skaven with you, master Arbites."

"Thank you, lady inquisitor," Jerimiah bowed gratefully.

"Looks like we got ourselves a handful," Henry chuckled disarmingly. "But so far the fronts are stable, am I correct?"

"Yes general, the engagement has reached a stalemate," Jerimiah tapped the hologram map, zooming in on the city's disputed areas. "The traitors are heavily dug in and have fortified every building and ruins in the vicinity. The price of taking them have been costly, to say the least."

"No problem master Arbites, our tanks will make short work of them," Henry grinned, already imagining the King Ghidorah crushing the puny Chaos dugouts.

"Dude, are you not seeing this?" Nikki pointed at the map.

"Say what now?" Henry blinked quickly.

"The roadway cannot accommodate the Stormhammer and the Macharius," Ladaee answered with a displeased frown. "It's barely large enough for a Leman Russ to operate effectively, most of our armor units will be sitting Grox if they head into the city. And I don't think the people of Gothicipolis will be too please if we demolish their homes trying to force our way through."

It took a moment for Henry to see, and when he did, he wasn't terribly pleased, "what?!"

"Yeah, the only things getting through are the Myrmidons and Chimeras," Tangmo commented. "The infantries are gonna have all the fun."

"There have to be a place where our big guns can be deployed," Yuki stared intently at the hologram.

"We have designated artillery sites around the immediate combat zone," Jerimiah tapped a few clearings scattered a good twenty kilometers behind the frontline. "But given the less than stellar effectiveness of firing into a densely packed urban area, I doubt they would be of much help."

"I want this place, this place and this place cleared as soon as possible," Nikki pointed at the neon green spots on the map.

"And why would we do that?" A PDF colonel, a pompous looking youth gilded in medals with his hair greased back in a dainty gentleman style, scoffed at Nikki.

"Because we say so," Tangmo said coldly, causing the colonel to flinch. "Our new artillery pieces have better range, firepower, payload and guidance system that will be a nightmare for the traitor forces."

"I believe colonel Tovin can accommodate that," Jerimiah cast a sideway glance at the young man, "right colonel?"

"Of course sir," colonel Tovin bowed with a diplomatic smile. "It will be my pleasure."

"I'm thinking about placing the Destoroyah and the Charons here, what do you think?" Tangmo ignored the colonel completely and asked Nikki.

"Add the Garuda missile system to the mix, and we're set," Nikki said.

"That's quite a formidable set of armaments," Jerimiah looked pretty pleased.

"What's the morale of the PDF and the police force?" Damien asked.

"My men and that of Arbites Jerimiah will hold the line, Brother Sergeant," Tovin puffed up his chest.

"We'll see," Tangmo said ominously. "What about the Sororitas that have been helping you fight the Chaos warband? Anything we should know about them?"

"They're nothing but vigilantes that likes to interfere with our business," Tovin announced harshly with aristocratic haughtiness. "Meddling deplorable, that's what they are."

"Do not forget, colonel, that it was them that plugged the breach along the Jukol district when your PDF surrendered the place after barely half an hour of firefight," Jerimiah hissed and Tovin blistered, but the colonel kept his mouth shut.

"Care to tell us more about them, master Arbites?" Henry tried not to look smug when Jerimiah shot him a guarded, almost hostile look. If he's the commissioner Gordon of this place, then he's definitely in league with the Batwoman Sororitas.

"They call themselves the Avenging Knights," Jerimiah said. "And they are indeed of the Adepta Sororitas, of the more unconventional sort."

"They're not the only one," Eldul, standing with the canonesses, grinned wolfishly.

"Uh…yes," Jerimiah, having just noticed the elskerinne, coughed nervously. "Now, as I was saying, they are on our side in this conflict but the Avenging Knights operate autonomously from our chain command. They attack when and where they want, and contacting them is difficult, even at the best of time."

"Yet your little light signal managed to summon them every time," Tovin mumbled, drawing a glare from Jerimiah, his bionic eye twitching irritably.

"Nice, like the Bat-Signal," Tangmo whispered to Henry before asking Jerimiah. "Just out of curiosity, what symbol did you used to call them?"

Jerimiah stared suspiciously at the innocently grinning Thai then said, "a six-pointed angelic star."

"Hey, as long as it's not eight pointed, I'm cool," Henry shrugged.

"Are they outworlders, or are they native to the planet?" Canoness Crestienne asked.

"They have been a permanent fixture on Leenisium for a couple of millennia now," Jerimiah said. "Their ranks are no doubt replenished from the local populace, but the most enduring legacy of the Avenging Knight is the message of justice, and how one must stand stalwart against darkness and avenge the innocence."

"You could say that they're the Dark Knight?" Henry fisted bumped Tangmo.

"Really? That's the best you got?" Lita shot him a disappointed look.

"Oh, I got a lot more where that came from!"

"Sir! Excuse me master Arbites, sir!" A young, impressionable police office burst into the tent and struck a stiff salute. "Madame Lithia of the Xyla Consortium just arrive sir, she said she wanted to see you."

"Please covey my regret to Madam Lithia because I cannot entertain her at the moment."

"But sir, she's…"

"Oh, I'm sure you can spare some time for little me, master Arbites!"

A rich, youthful voice herald a strikingly beautiful young woman who strut into the war council like she was a supermodel on a catwalk. She was wearing…shit, Henry didn't know what in the hell she was wearing, but if any words would suffice, he would have to say that it was flamboyantly dark. Her ensemble included a high necked, lacey black blouse that covered her entire arms and torso, the delicate pattern etched upon the velvety surface was a continuous sharp angled lines that reminded Henry of gnarled trees in winter, the cuff at the wrists and neck blossoming in a cloud of silvery silk. It was very hard not to notice how tight the fabric was fastened upon her impressive form. An elegant dark leather jacket topped off her upper body, while a tight-fitting trouser studded with chains, spikes and belted straps adorned her lower half. And finally, her high heel boots would put the most badass metalhead to shame.

"Madam Lithia, always a pleasure," Jerimiah sighed with a fatherly resignation, one spared for a favorite child.

"Forgive the interruption master Arbites, but after hearing of the Immortal Spirit arrival, I simply cannot stop myself," Madam Lithia strode confidently through the corridor parted by the main characters, the very obvious sway of her hips grasping the men's attention but drawing consternation from the women as she came to stand between the seated Tangmo and Henry. Closer now, Henry found that her dark eyeliners and carmine lipstick didn't really fit her cheery, animated voice. "Oh, where are my manners? Madam Lithia, CEO of the Xyla Consortium, at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Madam Lithia," Henry responded politely. "Would you care to join us?"

"Oh, by the Throne, no! I'm afraid I find military affair to be extremely dour," Lithia said. "But what I can do, honorable ladies and gentlemen, is provide whatever help the consortium can offer to the Immortal Spirit battlegroup."

"In what function does the Xyla Consortium serve Gothicipolis at large?" Tangmo asked the Madam.

"We specialize in construction, technology, and the manufacturing and processing of raw material into workable building block for the city," Lithia told him. "Many of the buildings you see are built by the consortium, all the way back to the time of my grandfather."

"Safe to say that you got your finger on the pulse of the city," Tangmo leaned back in his seat with an air of nonchalant.

"And you would be correct," Lithia nodded.

"Would it be possible for us to have the blueprints and schematics of buildings, tunnels, pipework and roads around the conflict zone and the Chaos occupied area?" Tangmo continued. "It will help greatly with the war effort."

"Hmm, a lot of that is very sensitive information, lord commissar. If my competitors caught wind of this, it will mean trouble for the consortium," Lithia said thoughtfully. "But these are extraordinary time, and the needs of the many must prevail over mine. So be it then, I shall have those data transferred to the battlegroup as soon as possible."

"We asked for the same thing last week and you spurn us!" Tovin cried indignantly.

"I am truly sorry about that, colonel Tovin," Lithia's smile totally said otherwise. "But you must understand our concern, considering how your family is a major patronage of the Fulian Trader League, who has been aggressively expanding into consortium's businesses and properties. I simply want to avoid conflict of interest, and it doesn't look like these outworlders will be purchasing any stock soon."

"The western front was breached because your consortium refused to cooperate!" Tovin fumed. "I should have you arrested for undermining our war effort!"

"But the Chaos traitors wasn't able to advance further, thanks to the Avenging Knight's timely intervention," Lithia's innocent utterance made Tovin fumed, flaming red rising up his cheeks. "And if I was to be arrested, who would then dutifully supply the Planetary Defense Force with foods, uniforms, weapons, ammunitions and medicines? That will not bode well for the defenders, I imagine."

"Lithia, Tovin, enough!" Jerimiah cut in before the PDF colonel can throw a fit, while the Madam flinched like a scolded child. "This is a war council, not a children playground. Now stop embarrassing yourself in front of our guests!"

"Sorry," Tovin moped petulantly.

"I apologize Arbites Jerimiah, it was not my intention to cause offense," Lithia bowed deeply, incidentally giving the main characters a full view of her very impressive posterior. Henry failed completely at not looking.

"What is your intention here then?" Amberley asked politely, with a very subtle hint of sharpness.

"Oh! Inquisitor Amberley Vail! It is truly an honor to meet you!" Lithia skipped up to the blonde inquisitor and took her hand, shaking with the boundless enthusiasm of youthful wonderment. The Madam repeated the vigorous greeting with Cain. "And who could forget the Hero of the Imperium himself! By the Throne, I am so blessed!"

"The pleasure is all mine, Madam Lithia," Cain bent down and kiss her hand, Lithia giggled at the gentlemanly gesture. "But I must reiterate inquisitor Vail's question, why are you here?"

"Oh forgive me, I sometime get distracted," Lithia backed away and smoothened her coat. "I would like to invite the Immortal Spirit high command to a grand party at the Xyla Manor, where we will be raising funds for the people affected by this terrible war."

"Are you bloody serious?!" Laura piped up, not sounding too please.

"Well, yes, I am absolutely serious," Lithia stammered, looking like a child who had just been chastised for suggesting an innocent idea.

"What my friend is saying," Lita shot Laura a warning glance. "Is that given the situation inside Gothicipolis, throwing a party seems a little counterproductive to the war."

"I beg the differ lady Warseer," Lithia puffed her chest up defiantly, standing a little straighter. "By keeping the morale of the upper echelon high, we guarantee their continual support of the war, maintaining the illusion of normality do wonders for the restless mind, after all."

"Okay, you got me there," Lita conceded with a nod. "But I'm afraid I must decline. I think it will be better for me and my friends to be at the frontline."

The main characters murmured their assent and Lithia's face dropped in disappointment, the way she deflated was so stark in misery that it made Henry's heart flinched. A glimmer of hope shone on the Madam's face when Amberley and Cain started a heated whispering discussion, which grew more animated as the minute passed by. Then, after Amberley let out a surrendering sigh, Cain turned to Lithia and flashed a pearly white smile.

"After careful consideration," Cain adjusted his awesome commissar coat. "Inquisitor Amberley and myself have decided that it would be in the best interest of both the battlegroup and the good people of Gothicipolis for us to attend your party."

"A good excuse as any to get out of a fight," Raine muttered loud enough for everyone in the tent to hear, drawing an irate look from Amberley and a narrowing glare from colonel Kasteen. Cain, being the good sport that he was, simply chuckled.

"Hey man, why don't you go with them?" Tangmo turned toward the startled Henry. "You're not gonna be using the King Ghidorah away, so why not take Ladaee out for a night?"

"I'm sorry, what?!" Henry blurted. "Dude! I can't abandon my post!"

"Chill bro, we got everything under control," Damien added. "If anything dicey happens, we'll give you a call, don't worry."

"I'm a general, bro!" Henry protested.

"Come on man, take a load off for once," Tangmo scooted his chair closer to Henry then leaned lowly forward, dropping his voice to whisper. "Yo, we need someone to spy on them."

"Cain and Amberley's there, why the fuck do you need me?!" Henry hissed.

"Because four heads are better than two," Tangmo shot back. "Besides, Cain and Amberley will be looking for the standard 40k stuff, but you'll know what to really look for. This planet is obviously an amalgamation of comic books coated over with a 40k aesthetic, and with your encyclopedic knowledge of both DC and Marvel, we'll know everything about the Avenging Knights in no time. You dig?"

"Okay, you got a point there," Henry nodded.

"Damn right I do," Tangmo smirked.

"Umm…is everything alright? Lord general? Lord commissar?" Lithia tried to butt in politely.

"Everything's cool, just give us a few more seconds to scheme and shit," Tangmo told Lithia before returning his attention to Henry. "So are you gonna do this or what?"

"Fine," Henry sighed, broke away from Tangmo, and bowed at Lithia. "Me and commander engineer Ladaee will be joining your party."

"Oh splendid!" Lithia was very happy with the news. "And would you be joining us, commissar Tangmo? Kalina is dying to perform a duet with you."

"I'll pass, I'm more needed at the frontline," Tangmo stabbed his thumb at Miriya then. "And besides, some obnoxious critic just pointed out that the general sang better than me."

"I'll have to see for myself then," Lithia smiled brightly at the assembled main characters. "I hope that I haven't inconvenience all of you, I'll take my leave now so that you men and women of war can continue to strategize."

"That's okay Madam Lithia, you weren't a bother at all, right guys?" Erik's question was received by affirmative nods from around the table.

"Until tonight then, commissar Cain, inquisitor Amberley, general Henry, commander engineer Ladaee," Madam Lithia made a theatric bow before sauntering out of the tent, the exit mesmerizing the men and infuriate the women.

"What's the diagnosis doc?" Yuki looked at Henry. "What character is Madam Lithia?"

"She's definitely a Bruce Wayne," Henry pointed out clinically like a university professor giving a lecture.

"Are you sure she's not a Lex Luthor?" Laura asked.

"I don't think so," Henry shook his head. "If Lithia's a Lex then she'll be more mature and flowery in her attempt to befriend us, not excited and innocent."

"Is this good news for us?" Damien said.

"Shit, I don't know," Henry shrugged.

"What are you people talking about?" Krillen, and the main characters by the looks of it, didn't like being kept out of the loop.

"Trade secret dude," Tangmo winked devilishly. "Anyway, which one of you knows urban warfare?"

"Aww, shit dude this place is so fancy!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, glad you're having fun," Tangmo grinded his teeth as Henry continued to describe, in exuberant detail, the Xyla Manor where he and Ladaee were attending Madam Lithia's party. "And to think your stupid ass didn't want to go at first."

"Hey, we all make mistake – yo! Check this out!" There was a sipping sound followed by a contented sigh. "Dude, they're serving Dom Perignon at the entrance!"

"Hey! You're supposed to be spying on Batwoman, not drinking her booze!" Nikki, crouching beside the Chimera's bolter turret Tangmo now occupied, hissed into her earbud.

"Hey, I can do both!" Henry's happiness was truly annoying.

"Just don't get too wasted," Tangmo said. "I gotta go now dude, talk to you later. Have fun."

"I will, thanks!" And with that, Henry hanged up, much to the relief of Tangmo and Nikki.

"I'm glad he's happy, but damn!" Tangmo shook his head and checked the twin heavy bolters in front of him, pulling on the barrel-locking lever, the belt and feedway chimed cleanly in respond.

"You should've taken the Madam invitation," Lita, who was at the head of the column, chuckled. "If you had, it'll be you and Leilatha dancing in the ballroom right now."

"I am not much of a party person. And when I do go out with Leilatha, it would be some place classy and quiet," Tangmo said. "Like the Heaven Gate restaurant at Terminal Sigma."

"Aye, that's a right nice place that," colonel Bruce of the Grey Watch piped up from somewhere on the right flank. "Aileen and Galloway are still waiting for the confirmation on their reservation."

"Those bonnie bastards are taking way too long!" Major Aileen added vehemently.

"Me and Dalthorn just got our confirmation last week," Lita said, "got a seat right next to the window on the third terrace."

"When did you make your reservation?" Aileen asked.

"A month before we reached Frystasvard," Lita told her.

"Bloody hell!" Aileen cried in anger.

"Be sure to order the pan sear scallops with the acid reduction berries sauce, lady Warseer," Leilatha told Lita. "The taste was divine."

"Thank you lady commissar, I'll keep that in mind," Lita chirped happily.

"Alright guys, enough with the fine dining, we're entering gang territory now, stay frosty," Tangmo said then tightened his grip on the heavy bolters. They were heading northward, passing the PDF's twenty miles long battle line and into what Arbites Jerimiah called the disputed area, which was essentially an urbanized no man's land about the size of Bangkok with, from what Tangmo could discerned, the same chaotic and haphazard city planning like the Thai capital. Although the place was technically under Imperial control, with civilians actually going about their normal lives despite the column of APCs and jeeps rolling through the neighborhood, the lord governor control over the place was tenuous at best. And since this place was basically Gotham in space, Gothicipolis had readily adopted the corrupt and decay motif from its DC progenitor. In his infinite wisdom the lord governor, who Tangmo suspect was a fucking retard, decreed that, due to the lack of police force and the size of Gothicipolis itself, each major districts will be under the control of exemplar individuals. These exemplar individuals turned out to be crime families and gang leaders. Yeah, that worked out splendidly as one would imagine. And now with Chaos raising hell across the planet, these districts had transformed into autonomous crime fiefdoms, supporting neither the Imperial forces nor the traitor's legion, content with waiting to see who wins. Well, now that Tangmo was here, he's gonna make the choice for them.

"Anything fishy?" Tangmo swept the barrels over the buildings flanking the eight-lane road. Quite wide all things considered, but if you tried driving a Leman Russ up here, shits gonna be uncomfortably tight.

"Not yet," Krillen said and although the traffic has been emptied, the shops and pedestrians still went on with their lives, many stopping to gawk at the Imperial Guards and eldars before moving along. "Although I found the presence of civilians to be…distracting."

"Keep a sharp eye out," Min Jae piped up. "Watch for any sign of tenseness and aggravation in their posture. If they look at you, look away, and look at you several more times, then something's up. And for the love of the God Emperor, if they dropped something near the convoy, I don't care if it's a cardboard box or a plastic bag, take cover immediately."

"You fought in hostile territory like this before?" Krillen asked.

"No," there was a grin in Min Jae's voice. "It's what my people did when the Kuronese and Buxiunese occupied one of our cities. Their stay was depressingly brief."

Lingxin and Kenshin groaned irritably but Krillen pressed on before they could start complaining, "so are we dealing with guerrilla fighters or organized defenders?"

"We wouldn't know until the first bang goes off, but I'll hazard a guess and say that it will be a mixture of both," Min Jae went on. "Just be careful of the windows and roofs, they're perfect nest for sharpshooters and armed platoons. Stay close to the Myrmidons and Chimeras."

Affirmatives echoed off each other in response to Min Jae, and Tangmo returned his attention to the flamboyant architectures around him, the brass and stone frizzes of angels, demons, gargoyles and skeletons all seems to leer down at him, angry at the battlegroup intrusion on their unmoving scenes of damnation and suffering.

"Hey Orhul, I'm getting bored standing here and doing nothing, can you take over?" Tangmo gazed down his gun hatch.

"No problem sir," with that, Tangmo pushed himself out of the chute and knelt down beside Nikki as Orhul poked up between the twin bolters and took his place.

"You coming?" Tangmo asked Nikki as he scaled down the side of the slow moving Chimera.

"Nah, I like it up here," Nikki sat cross legged on the roof and waved at him.

"Catch you later dude," Tangmo jumped on to the gravely tarmac and made his way down the column. Their battle formation was a simple one; the MKV Chimeras making up the center, the new and improved model were more robust, faster and armed with ordnances heavy enough to withstand a tank charge, while the Myrmidons Humvee jeeps comprised of the flanks, with guardsmen and eldars occupying the space between the vehicles. The Immortal Spirit battlegroup had split into three columns, each traveling northward into the disputed area. The western attack force was led by Laura, Yuki and Erik, their objective was the wharf and docking areas beside the Banisius river. The inquisitor's troops were comprised of Adepta Sororitas, Howling Banshee, Rangers, Dark Reapers, the Fire Guards, the Iron Guards, the Death Korps, the Tallarn, the Praetorian, the Wind Walker and the Valhallan. Tangmo, Lita and Nikki had the honor of leading the central column, with an occupied administrative building as the target. Accompanying them were the Cadian, the Grey Watch, the Dragon Blood, the Dawn Blade, the Homeland Rifle, the Antebellan Cobalt Star, the elite Black Guardian eldar infantries along with anti-grav gun platforms, a cadre of Warlocks and a few companies worth of Fire Dragon and Striking Scorpion. Lastly, on the eastern front Damien, along with the Ultramarines and Salamanders and a bunch of PDF and Arbites fodders, was tasked with taking back a manufactorum from a clan of low lives. After about five minutes of jogging, Tangmo reached the head of the column where Lita and captain commander Gabriella of the Arbites were strolling leisurely. Judging by her black hair and no nonsense complexion, the Arbites captain was obviously detective Montoya of this universe.

"Sir!" Gabriella saluted Tangmo crisply as he joined them.

"At ease captain," Tangmo waved away the formality. "We ran into anything yet?"

"No sir, but it shouldn't be long now," Gabriella eyed their surrounding warily. "This part of town belongs to the Children of Chain, the Frowning Jesters and the Tunnel Rough, the worst cocktail of violence and cunning. Since the war began, the three gangs had formed a loose alliance and have taken over this part of the city. I think they already know we're here."

"We're not exactly subtle," Lita chuckled. "But you're right, they've been trailing us for about half an hour now."

"You can sense them, lady Warseer?" Gabriella asked, alarmed.

"That, and the drones have been shadowing them for a while," Lita grinned and showed the captain her data-pad, the enhanced HD livestream catching amorphous clumps of people sneaking down the alleyways to either side of the column, like foxes sniffing at a farm they're about to attack. "There are quite a lot of them, but I wouldn't worry too much."

"They are very capable in a fight, lady Warseer," Gabriella said sharply. "Many have underestimated them and paid a heavy price for it."

"Don't worry captain, I'm counting on them being stupid enough to attack an Imperial Guards column," Tangmo grinned, "how long until we reach the objective?"

"Two hours, if we don't run into any opposition along the way," Gabriella looked at her watch, "three or more if things get violent."

"Are you serious right now? There's like forty minute of daylight left," Tangmo gazed at the darkening sky, the lingering deep orange on the western horizon was ominous as fuck.

"I share his concern," Lita added meekly, hold the Singing Spear tighter to herself.

"Trust me, the night is the safest time to be," the beginning of a smile faded from Gabriella's lips when she drew her laspistol and pointed it forward, "trouble."

"Everyone stop," Tangmo tapped his earbud and the column rolled to a halt, the sound of priming weapons echoed down the line. "Lock and load ladies and gentlemen, things are about to get hot."

"Deploy all support batteries and take aim at those buildings," Lita tapped her eldar helm, now redesigned to look like a lucha libre mask, as she strode after Gabriella with Tangmo at her side. "All warlocks stand by with shields up."

"Tangmo, we're detecting heavy activities inside the buildings around us," Leilatha spoke up.

"Not surprising," Tangmo approached a post-apocalyptic barricade comprised of cars and vans, lit up by fire blazing in oil barrels. "Stay behind the Myrmidons and keep your head low, I'll deal with is."

"Affirmative," Leilatha said the same moment he, Lita and Gabriella came to a stop before a rowdy group of morons manning the impromptu checkpoint.

"Well, would you look at that boys! It's none other than captain Gabriella herself," one of the ganger, who looked kinda like Steven Yeun, his hair slicked back and glistering with oil, hooted loudly, his fellows taking up the call raucously. All of them were clad in looted PDF and police uniform, draped over with jingling chains hanging from the sleeves and collars. "I told you she would miss us!"

"Get out of the way, Gatrick," Gabriella growled lowly. "This doesn't have to end in bloodshed."

"Oh! We don't what that either!" Gatrick laughed. "So why don't you play nice and pay the toll like every good little coppers and soldiers that came gallivanting? It's usually two hundred thousand credit, but since you got company, I'm afraid the rate is gonna go up to four hundred thousand."

"I'm warning you Gatrick," Gabriella snarled, canines flashing and laspistol trembling.

"Look at that boys, she's gonna bite me!" The grin creeping up Gatrick's face could only be described as sadistic. "Don't act like you're tough shit Gabriella, every one of us remember how you mewl like a dirty quim when I smashed that pretty little face of yours to a pulp after you tried to worm your way into one of our safe houses. We would've had a lot more fun fucking, but those bitches had to interrupt us." He took an arrogant step toward the blistering Gabriella. "So how about it babe? Show me what I've missed those many months ago and I might give your new friends a discount."

"How about I just run you jackasses over with my tanks?" Tangmo spoke up before Gabriella lost her shit.

"Don't you know who we are?!" Gatrick said smugly. "We are the Children of Chain, the most feared gang in all of Gothicipolis! And you're on our turf now! Do you think we're scared of a bunch of dandy boys in tight uniforms?! Don't make me laugh!"

"I don't need you to be afraid, I only need you to die," Gatrick's bravado visibly faltered when Tangmo eyed him menacingly. "We've fought everything in this galaxy beside the fucking Necrons. You braindead, dystopia looking motherfuckers are nothing but a bunch cockroaches waiting to be squash. The question now, is whether you want this to be quick, or real fucking slow."

"Ha! Do you think we're afraid of death?!" Gatrick unslung his shitty AK47 looking stubber gun, his dozen or so homies doing the same. Gabriella's stance tightened, but Tangmo and Lita just traded each other bored looks. "Even if you kill me, the boss's gonna chew your little army up and spit what's left into the toilet. You'll never get pass our Hall of Pain!"

"Hall of Pain?" Lita's eyebrow shot up inquisitively.

"You'll never be able to take it!" Gatrick pointed down the road, now widened to ten lanes, stabbing his digit hurriedly at a large, squat building looming just a few blocks away. "No one can take our stronghold! Not the PDF, not the Arbites, not those armored bitches, and most certainly not you!"

"Just to be clear, the Hall of Pain is that building over there?" Lita asked Gatrick, her finger honed easily at the dirty grey block.

"Yes!" Gatrick declared proudly.

"The hobo looking mall that's about three kilometers away from where we're standing?" Lita pressed.

"…Yes! That's us!"

"That's wonderful, thank you," the data-pad materialized in Lita's hand and she held it close to her face. "Vakon, did you get the coordinate I sent you?"

"Yes, lady Farseer," the artillery commander's replied. "What's your fancy tonight?"

"A missile strike please," Lita's voice was horrifyingly pleasant and polite. "There's an ugly building standing in front of us, can you put it out of its misery please?"

"ETA to impact ten seconds lady Farseer, brace yourself," Vakon said, and in the distant the air rumbled.

"When the missiles drop, torch the flanking building dudes," Tangmo tapped his earbuds as a thunderous boom shattered the air. Bright white light consumed everything down the road, heralding a plume of dust that careened toward them like an avalanche. Tapping her Singing Spear on the ground, Lita erected a circular barrier around her, Tangmo and Gabriella as the roiling torrent washed over them and the column. Streaks and flashes of red, orange and white pulsed maddeningly in the hazy gloom like lightning in a storm cloud. With another tap, Lita send the heavy dust rolling away, revealing the gangers from before sprawled on the ground.

"Wha…what just…wha?!" Gatrick was the first to regain his footing.

"Should we call down a Destoroyah barrage too?" Tangmo turned to Lita. "Just to make sure everything's dead."

"Let's just wait till the dust clear, so we can see the damage," Lita said as the cloud begins to settle, and goddamn, the new missiles were fucking beast! Where the squat building once stood, only flattened rubbles remained.

"By the Throne!" Gabriella exclaimed, unbelieving of the easy and precise destruction the battlegroup just unleashed.

"Damn, that's fucking beautiful," Tangmo snickered then tapped his earbuds. "You guys okay back there? Any casualties?"

"None sir," Krillen said, the firefight down the column was already dispersing, "a few scrapes and glancing wounds, nothing that a little bandage and gel wouldn't fix."

"Awesome," Tangmo returned his attention to Gatrick and his men, all of them staring slacked jaw at what was the Hall of Pain. "You were saying?"

"K-Kill them! Kill them all!" Gatrick bellowed. The gangers were raising their weapons when Lita snapped her fingers. They spasm horribly, blood poured from eyes, ears, noses and mouths, guns fell from twitching fingers as they folded to the ground in contorted heaps. All were dead besides the paling Gatrick. The man was about to run when Tangmo melted both his kneecaps with well-aimed las shots. He squealed like a bitch.

"You want to kill him?" Tangmo asked Gabriella, gesturing leisurely at the screaming man clutching his ruined legs.

"As an officer of the law, I should be bringing him into custody," Gabriella stated dispassionately.

"But this is a military operation," Tangmo tilted his head to the side, one brow quirked.

"Yes, indeed it is," Gabriella holstered her laspistol and drew a spiked shock maul from her belt, the skull head crackling with electric bolts.

"W-wait!" Gatrick held up his hand and tried to crawl away from the approaching Arbites captain, the attempt was feeble and pitiful to watch. "Look, it was the boss's order, alright? I didn't want to hurt you! I didn't even hit you that hard! Wait! Please! No!"

The shock maul fall and Gatrick cries for mercy ended in a wet, choking gurgle as his jaw detached from his skull. Gabriella swung again, and again, and again, until the moans and whimpers ceased. When nothing but mangled flesh and bones remained of the ganger's face, Gabriella stepped back from the corpse, heaving great lungful of air, her Arbites armor splattered in dripping red. Pure cathartic bliss adorned her visage.

"Get the bulldozer blades down, we're moving out," Tangmo waved for the column to advance while Lita went to comfort Gabriella. "Are you alright, captain?"

"Yes, lord commissar," Gabriella inhale deeply and politely pulled away from Lita. "…It was good to exorcise my nightmare."

"If you need to talk, I'm right here," Lita offered, smiling warmly.

"I'll keep that in mind, lady Warseer, thank you," Gabriella nodded and the three made way for the bulldozer Chimeras, blades lowered as they scooped away the gravely debris, creating an easily navigable corridor for the infantries to advance, it took them about twenty minutes to get clear of the rubble. The Garuda missile was absolute in its devastation, the payloads pretty much disintegrated the Children of Chain's headquarter, flattening it into a depression similar to a meteorite crater, sewage from broken pipes were already puddling the place. Clues of to what the ganger's base might have looked like laid scattered amongst the ruin, the odds coils of chain, the skulls studded with railway spikes, graffiti-ish coat of arms, weapons entwined with more chains, and the few bodies poking through the wreckage. Some were alive, the lucky ones Tangmo supposed, because they got las and bayonet to the heart as opposed to a slow suffocating death of being buried alive.

"Shit," Tangmo cursed the coming night, the pitch blackness creeping across the battlegroup like some demonic tide. "Get the spotlight up, give me some light…"

Before Tangmo could finish his sentence the many street lights of Gothicipolis flared to life, bright vivid white, blue, red and violet spectrum banishing the encroaching shadow and bathed him and his soldiers in a strangely soothing kaleidoscopic hue. The atmosphere reminded Tangmo, in a nice way, of the Chinatown night market at Yaowarat Road, a lot better than the gloomy gothic ambience from before, that's for sure.

"Kinda make you forget there's a war going on," Lita was as taken in by the light as Tangmo. "It's beautiful."

"Most outworlders had the same reaction," Gabriella chuckled, the radiant aura of soft, but bright, illumination rippled and danced like a caressing wave. "I remember my first time too."

"So how long until we reach our target, captain?" Tangmo asked enthusiastically.

"Just up ahead sir," Gabriella pointed down the widening road toward an opulently decorate roundabout, the ten-lane tarmac flanked by angelic statues bearing glowing lanterns, painting the black pathway in gleaming gold. At the epicenter of the roundabout stood a circular building of grey and brass, layered up four stories high like a wedding cake, dotted at interval with tall stained glass windows. The place looked so nice that Tangmo actually missed the shitload of dirty barricades and makeshift towers ringing the perimeter.

"Right, let's make this quick," Tangmo took out his data-pad. "Just like we planned; deployed in a crescent around the southern flank, set up the heavy guns inside the surrounding buildings and have the mortar teams take position behind the vanguard Chimeras. We need to take this place in one piece, so be a little careful. Let see if we can clock this in under two hours, I want to take Leilatha sightseeing after this."

"Good idea, I'm taking Dalthorn too," Lita tapped her lucha eldar mask. "Get into position people, double time."

"You have any recommendation captain?" Tangmo asked Gabriella.

"Several place actually, if you're looking for something romantic…"

"Movement! The enemies are moving into an attack formation!"

"What the fuck?!" Tangmo stashed away his data-pad and drew his bolt pistol, growling when he saw that indeed the forces occupying the administrative building were forming up into vague battle squares. Shit, are these assholes for real?

"Hey, at least you two will get to go on your date sooner," Nikki materialized beside Tangmo. "The Black Guardian should be done with the gun-platforms in a minute, the Cadian and Homeland in about five, and everybody else is hunkering down inside the buildings. Judging by how slow the heretics are moving, we should be done before the first wave comes."

"Nice," Tangmo nodded and tapped his earbud. "Have the Chimeras and Myrmidons move up here, bulldozer blades down, we'll make this quick."

"A bit of an overkill for a bunch of street gang, if you ask me," Nikki said.

"Umm, guys," Lita lowered the binocular from her face, smile and sunshine gone as she handed it to Tangmo. "I don't think those are gang members."

Tangmo looked thorough the binocular and managed a low, hissing, "fuck."

The banner of the Eight Pointed Stars rose above the heretic's formation, the blasphemous iconography of Chaos fluttering in the gentle breeze that carried with it a gagging stench of rots and putrid waste. As the traitor soldiers started singing some low, languidly depressing hymn a thick greenish miasma emerged from the back of the crowd, churning as if alive, the buzzing symphony of carrion feeding flies wailed in hungry delight as the foul haze moved to the front of the battle line. Inside the smog were armored giants, seven of them, the once mighty raiments now cloaked in filth and bulbous cancerous protrusions. Tangmo knew immediately from the greenish grey war gear that he was facing the Death Guard, papa Nurgle's own Astartes. Without announcement or war cry, the Death Guard marine marched forward, the human cultist warriors following with the same solemn silence.

"Holy sweet Jesus Christ!" Tangmo sure as hell wasn't gonna keep quiet. "All batteries, open fire!"