Keeper

Part #4

With labored breathing, Relai again attempted to fall into a Sus-an membrane induced hibernation. He knew his Larraman's organ wasn't functioning, for even now his blood flowed freely. He sucked in cold air and willed himself into the deep sleep, but still he remained conscious. The pain continued as a throbbing he could not ignore. He pressed his good hand again the gaping wound and rocked gently. The skeletal remains of his other hand hung limp in front of his face. He looked upon the bloodied bone, wondering what would replace it should he survive.

A blinding flash of pain wracked his brain, followed by a thought not his own.

The other psychomancers within my conclave will no longer belittle me, for here within this planet lies the tomb world I have long since sought. Relai felt the joy in Cryptek Nazsorn's thoughts as they continued. I shall be the one to raise it. I shall be the one to bend its overlord to my will. They will never doubt me again.

What is this?

Relai felt more than joy now, he felt amusement. So much so that he laughed quietly to himself in the dark passageway.

The sight he saw then, however, stole his hijacked mirth. Through a strange oval vision, hazy at first, before clearing, the pain filled image showed Relai three of his Brothers locked in mortal combat.

The Deathwatch Keeper attempted to move. The action cost him greatly. He cried out, although he had tried not to. The stone walls of the passage filled his view again, but he could hear his Battle-Brothers fighting as if they were in front of him.

'What is happening to me?' Relai said as he looked around, trying to make sense of it.

A resounding thud echoed down the passageway a moment after the loud bang had thumped in Relai's mind. He moved to cradle his ears. The movement left his wound open on one side and crunched bone on the other as his skeletal hand stubbed against his face. He screamed once more, in anger and frustration more than anything.

Following the scream, Relai's eyes flashed into another hazy scene. He felt curiosity, edged with more amusement. The loud bang had come from a frag grenade, which had detonated and peppered the three marines surrounding it. Relai looked on in horror and hilarity both as the three astartes slowly pushed themselves to their feet.

His vision shifted to two guardian servitors, both of which moved out from behind Relai's vision to cross the hall.

A familiar emerald light filled the area before Relai. He felt himself willing the servitors to attack the curiosities before him. They did.

The augmented servitor to Relai's right turned its heavy bolter on the Deathwatch marines. The large weapon, grafted to the grotesque sentry's side, roared into life. The tracer fire streaked across the hall from right to left, rapidly approaching the three – now brawling – astartes. As the explosive shells reached the trio, all three jumped or rolled for cover.

'Fight, Brothers!' Relai heard himself shout.

And fight they did. With one another.

Despite the incoming rounds from the heavy bolter and the slowly approaching combat servitor, the three Battle-Brothers fought on. Rook ducked a thrown fist by Vorrabuse, before kicking out towards Tublai's trailing leg. The kick connected and the Sergeant fell hard, but not before releasing a bass thud from his assault shotgun. The weapon's discharge took the nearing combat servitor from its feet, shredding its upper torso and head in the process, rendering it inoperative. Its electro-flails flashed and sparked for a moment as it hit the ground, before all light and twitching movements faded from the cybernetic drone.