Infinite Metaverse

Chapter 36: A Sudden First Kill 

Inside the cramped drop pod, the violent shaking and turbulence made the journey anything but smooth. A red indicator light, similar to the one in the boarding torpedo, flashed above Fu Qinghai's head. He was strapped tightly to his seat, his helmet securely in place.

Gurt, seated across from him, turned his head. His crimson visor and faceplate obscured his expression, but his voice came through the vox clearly.

"Qingshan, is this your first time in a drop pod?" he asked, his tone muffled by the helmet.

"Yes," Fu Qinghai replied.

"No one likes these things. We'd rather take a Stormbird than trust our lives to these disposable tin cans," Gurt grumbled.

"I think it's fine. At least it's fast, right?" Fu Qinghai responded with a chuckle.

A few light laughs echoed through the pod, easing the tense atmosphere.

Despite the Astartes' dislike for drop pods, there was no denying their effectiveness as a tactical strike method. Orbital insertion had always been an asymmetrical form of warfare, and without control of the orbital space, the enemy's defenses—no matter how fortified—would crumble under the sudden, direct assault. The drop pods themselves were weapons, not just transport vessels.

The pod shook violently as the retro thrusters fired, slowing their descent. The sudden deceleration would have forced bile out of a normal human's mouth, but the Astartes remained steady.

Everyone knew they were close to landing.

The pod slammed into the ground with a jarring impact. The red light above turned green, but the doors didn't open immediately. The Astartes were still trapped inside.

"Damn it, the door's stuck!" Gurt shouted, slamming a fist against the pod's interior.

He turned to Fu Qinghai. "Good news is, we've got a Techmarine with us."

Fu Qinghai stood up, his servo-arm unfolding from his power pack. The mechanical limb whirred to life, its tools ready for use.

He moved to the door, the servo-arm's welding torch flaring to life. The bright light illuminated the dim interior of the pod as Fu Qinghai quickly cut through the jammed door.

The Ultramarines poured out of the pod, weapons at the ready.

The drop pod had landed in a narrow crevice within a deep canyon. The Astartes had to climb up the cliffside to reach the surface, only to find themselves in a dark, labyrinthine network of caves. They had landed in a smaller canyon within the larger one.

Gurt pulled out his data slate to check their coordinates and couldn't help but curse. "This is what the tech-priests calculated? We're way off."

After a brief search, the squad found another drop pod with its door stuck. Fu Qinghai moved to cut it open.

Before he could start, a burst of plasma fire burned through the door, and a squad of Ultramarines rushed out, their weapons trained on Fu Qinghai.

"Hey, Polasko, using plasma weapons inside a drop pod? You trying to cook yourself?" Gurt called out.

"Better than being trapped in there," the lead Ultramarine replied, lowering his weapon once he recognized Gurt.

Gurt nodded. "We're three kilometers off target. Let's move."

The two squads split up, each heading into a different cave.

The tunnels were dark and winding, with poor vox signals. Communication with the ship and other squads was spotty at best. Fortunately, they encountered no enemies, and the Sting Tactical Squad soon reached their objective. The vanguard squads were already engaged in fierce combat with the traitors.

As Fu Qinghai emerged from the cave, a heavy bolter round whizzed past his head, shattering a stalagmite behind him.

He ducked and dove for cover.

Gurt crawled forward to join the vanguard squad, who were pinned down in a trench. One of the Ultramarines turned and shouted, "Gurt! Their shipboard weapons are too strong. Where's your heavy support?"

Before Gurt could respond, explosions and gunfire erupted behind the enemy lines, disrupting their fire.

"Heavy support is here," a deep, resonant voice came over the vox.

Gurt's face lit up with recognition. "That's Ancient Heller! They dropped behind the enemy."

Fu Qinghai knew immediately who they were talking about.

A Dreadnought.

The Astartes' standard heavy weapons platform.

Fu Qinghai and the Ultramarines seized the opportunity, charging toward the enemy's fortified positions.

As Fu Qinghai slid into a trench, a roaring chainaxe swung at him from the side. He dodged the blow and countered with a precise thrust of his power sword. The blade, crackling with blue energy, pierced the attacker's visor.

The Word Bearer let out a gurgling scream, dropping his weapon and collapsing to his knees.

First kill.

This was Fu Qinghai's first kill as an Astartes, and it had come so suddenly. There was no tense standoff, no careful maneuvering, no back-and-forth exchange of blows. It was over in an instant, driven by muscle memory and instinct.

Fu Qinghai took a deep breath, reminding himself that this wasn't some novel—this was war.

Another Ultramarine jumped into the trench and glanced at the dead Word Bearer. "Nice move. Teach me that later."

Fu Qinghai didn't know this warrior, but he nodded and stepped over the body, moving forward.

Soon, they saw the Dreadnought wreaking havoc ahead.

The massive war machine stood 4.5 meters tall and 3 meters wide, dwarfing everything around it. Fu Qinghai recognized it as a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought, the most common model during the 30k era.

The Dreadnought's thick legs supported a bulky chassis, housing the remains of its pilot—a mortally wounded Astartes, stripped of his limbs and encased in a life-support sarcophagus. The machine's left arm mounted a twin-linked melta gun, while its right arm ended in a power claw with an integrated plasma cannon.

The Dreadnought was a whirlwind of destruction. It incinerated charging Word Bearers with bursts of melta fire, then spun around to crush a traitor who tried to flank it. The power claw impaled the attacker, lifting him off the ground before flinging him away.

Fu Qinghai watched in awe, his mind racing with ideas. If he could get his hands on that Dreadnought, he could make it even more powerful.

"Ancient Heller, well done!" Gurt shouted over the vox.

Although the Sting Squad's landing had been off-target, other squads had dropped behind enemy lines. The combined assault quickly overwhelmed the traitors' defenses.

Captain Flavorus' voice crackled over the vox. "All squads, proceed to the transport ships' critical systems. Do not engage unnecessarily. Repeat, do not engage unnecessarily."

Fu Qinghai knew Flavorus had also led a drop, though he wasn't sure where the captain had landed.

With communications restored, the squads regrouped and advanced.

The Sting Squad moved swiftly, following the Dreadnought's lead. They avoided prolonged fights, focusing on their objective.

After a few skirmishes, they found one of the target transport ships in a dark canyon.

The Dreadnought's floodlights illuminated the ship's massive hull, revealing a quad-barreled heavy bolter turret mounted on its side.

The turret opened fire, forcing the Dreadnought to activate its atomantic shielding. The energy field absorbed most of the incoming fire, but the Dreadnought's power reserves were dwindling.

"Atomantic shield at 30%. Estimated remaining duration: three minutes," Ancient Heller's mechanical voice reported calmly.

The turret showed no signs of stopping.

"Sting Squad, flank and suppress!" Gurt ordered.

The Ultramarines spread out, firing at the turret from the sides. However, the thick hull of the transport ship deflected their shots, and the turret continued to focus on the Dreadnought.

"Two minutes," Ancient Heller reported again.

The Sting Squad's only heavy weapons were the Dreadnought's melta gun and plasma cannon, neither of which could reach the distant turret.

"Fall back to the caves and wait for heavy support," Gurt decided, opting for a cautious approach.

Fu Qinghai zoomed in with his helmet's optics, scanning the ship's hull. Tony Stark's electronic backup analyzed the structure, and Fu Qinghai quickly spotted a hidden access hatch partially buried in the rock.

"I can get inside the ship. Cover me!" Fu Qinghai shouted over the vox.

Without waiting for a response, he moved quickly and quietly toward the hatch, his servo-arm's tools already at work.

Gurt watched as Fu Qinghai cut through the hatch and slipped inside. The Sting Squad halted their retreat, holding their position.

Gurt couldn't help but think that this White Scar was unusually aggressive for a Techmarine. He fought like a veteran, always at the forefront of the battle, his blade skills rivaling those of a company champion.

What Gurt didn't know was that Fu Qinghai had discovered that fighting alongside his squadmates increased his Assimilation Points, but killing enemies himself yielded even more. That was why he always charged ahead.

But Fu Qinghai was also acutely aware of his mortality, balancing his eagerness for points with a healthy dose of caution.

The quad heavy bolter couldn't angle low enough to target Fu Qinghai as he worked on the hatch.

Inside the ship, Fu Qinghai found himself in a dark maintenance tunnel filled with cables and pipes. He followed them to the turret's control room, where a servitor was connected to the weapon's systems.

Fu Qinghai shot the servitor, disabling the turret.

The heavy bolter fell silent, and the Sting Squad advanced.

"Well done, Qinghai. Wait for us to regroup," Gurt praised over the vox.

The squad entered the ship through the hatch Fu Qinghai had cut. Gurt turned to the Dreadnought. "Ancient Heller, hold this position and cover our retreat."

"Acknowledged," the Dreadnought replied.

The hatch was too small for the Dreadnought to follow, so it remained outside.

***

Elsewhere, Captain Flavorus, clad in Terminator armor and wielding a thunder hammer, was locked in brutal combat with the Word Bearers. He received the news that the Sting Squad had breached the 'Writhing Worm' transport ship.

As the commander, he knew that Gurt's squad was the first to penetrate a transport ship's defenses.

Flavorus was familiar with his subordinates. He knew Gurt wasn't one to take unnecessary risks.

The variable was the White Scar Techmarine.

Flavorus smashed a Word Bearer aside with his hammer, pausing to catch his breath.

He thought to himself, 'As expected of the White Scars. Speed is in their blood.'

***

Author's Note: The war scenes in this volume focus on smaller-scale conflicts rather than the grand battles of the Horus Heresy. This is because, on one hand, the official novels already cover those events, and rehashing them would feel redundant. On the other hand, the protagonist is still a relatively minor player at this stage, unable to influence large-scale battles. Rest assured, there will be epic war scenes in the future.

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