What is happening on the Imperial Ship

Five days later, aboard the Imperial warship.

" How does it look Brothers?" asked the Ultramarine as he reloaded his bolter and looked at the holes in the wall. The explosive bullets of the bolter had brought in a terrible harvest in the passage. Disgusted, he looked at the remains of the reddish demons he had just scythed down. They were clearly creatures from Khorne. They hadn't found any more powerful demons yet, but a part of the ship had been contaminated with Khorne's followers.

"This is Janus. Confirm 12 kills in Sector 21. So far, they haven't found me. I'm moving to position 9. Next contact in 12."

Satisfied, Kolar nodded to his brother Ignar, who nodded back briefly and then brought the heavy plasma cannon into play. A slight vibration in the air and hissing noises indicated that the energy weapon was charging. Calmly and routinely Kolar shouldered his bolter and released the fuse holder of the heavy bolter from his back pack. With a barely audible hiss, the ammunition feed activated, and a final check indicated that the sacred weapon was functional.

"Steal yourselves, my brothers! The enemy is coming closer, I can feel him. He is all around us. And he is in our hearts. Only the Emperor can protect us now. It is time. Attack maneuver Aramis Omega! The Emperor Protects!" he said and went forward.

Slowly he walked through the passage, pointing the heavy weapon at the passage in front of him. It was only about 200 meters long but was the only access to the Cult sector. He was still amazed that Janus had managed to get through here unseen, though he had served directly under Shadow Captain Shrike. No one knew better than him to plan an ambush or surprise attack than the Raven Guard. He was far too old to have fallen into the mistaken belief of the Chapter that the Ultramarines were the best warriors in all matters. However, Kolar was convinced that only he was worthy enough to lead this . They had their Skills but only a true Son of Macragge could lead this Team.

The HUD in his helmet showed him the exact position of the other team members. Janus himself had hidden his signal from his comrades, but that was necessary in his situation. No one could tell exactly what abilities the Demons had. Even if they had only been Khorne Demons so far, it didn't mean that there wouldn't be warp raiders somewhere else.

Another signal was outside the ship. Angelus had approached from outside and would provide the necessary surprise at the decisive moment. At least if Janus managed to open the gates.

"Move!" he finally said and pulled the trigger on his weapon. Within seconds the passage in front of him was bathed in a hail of heavy bolt cartridges. The accuracy of the weapon was poor compared to other bolters, but in such a narrow passage the hail of fire was completely devastating. The moment the bullets hit their targets, they immediately exploded, tearing the cultists to pieces. The wall behind the cultists was stained red by their blood and remains.

"Enemy neutralized. Forward. Formation Hades!" he said, stepping aside to make room for the plasma cannon. The air began to boil as the plasma sphere formed and left the barrel with a loud hiss. The sensors in Kolar's armor reported a massive rise in the temperature right next to him. The bluish projectile passed him and hit the wall in front of them. Immediately, the bullet exploded and flooded the intersection in sacred flames. One could still hear short screams from the men and women who had hidden behind the corners. At the same moment the plasma projectile had passed him, the two had already changed their positions again. No words were necessary between them and so they went on.

It wasn't long before Kolar was taken under fire in another passageway. But the laser guns of the cultists were no serious threat for the two Space Marines. However, the Codex required that the more important weapon must be protected. So, Kolar went on inexorably and offered cover to his brother in battle. Again, and again he let short bursts of his bolter sound to the cultists into cover. Dozens of them ran blind into his hail of fire, hoping to attack him with their bayonets or rusty pipes. Without pity he mowed down these traitors only to see that these soldiers had not completely lost their minds.

But not all of them were as stupid as these idiots. Some still understood tactics and ambushes and even if Kolar had taken this into account, there was no real chance to avoid all traps in this bottleneck. He had to rely on the skills of him and his brothers.

A few had prepared themselves in a protected position and were just aiming a laser cannon at him. His armor would hardly be able to withstand a bombardment of a laser cannon and so he quickly went through all the possibilities he had.

"Neutralized!" he heard the voice of Janus through the Vox speakers of his helmet.

Almost at the same moment a huge black shadow with a combat knife appeared behind the 4 soldiers. Even his heightened senses and the support of the helmet's sensors he had not noticed the presence of the Raven Guard. The scout killed the men so quickly that they did not even have time to warn their other comrades.

"The emperor protects!" Kolar nodded and once waved his heavy bolter over the positions of the cultists. As expected, the cultists pulled his head in only to be torn to pieces by two explosive grenades.

"Sometimes a good scout is enough," Ignar grinned and went to a new position. Kolar nodded briefly and smiled. It was rare for a Dark Angel to make a joke and that joke hadn't been so bad. Strictly speaking it was heresy but what could he expect from a Chapter like the Dark Angels. The mysterious Dark Angels usually never made a lot of words and so Ignar was clearly out of character. But maybe that was because they weren't just brothers in battle, but a small order of their own. Within the Deathwatch there were no rivalries between the other Chapters. He watched Janus move backwards and merge with the darkness again. Immediately his signal on the HUD went out again and nothing indicated his presence.

"Advance to position Alpha. Status report!" he said as he shouldered the heavy bolter again. From now on, Ignar would take over the role of heavy support. For this he had scouted out a perfect spot from Janus. The timer on his HUD indicated that he had just under 40 seconds to reach his goal. This meant that he had to run the rest of the distance. It was now ridiculous to assume that they had not been noticed. The servos of the armor supported the movements of the Super Soldier many times over and so the giant ran through the corridors as if he did not carry the slightest weight. In front of him he could see the position of the cultists preparing for their last battle. Most of them still wore the armor of the Imperial Army, which only made Kolar even angrier.

"Show no mercy to these traitors," he shouted and ran straight for the traitors. While Ignar took the positions under fire from his elevated position, he made sure that none of the enemies could reach for more dangerous weapons.

Then the timer flashed red and Kolar stopped immediately. The servos were turned up to the load to slow him down as fast as possible and as soon as he stood still, his boots magnetized. Now he stood as if on display and since Ignar had also stopped firing, the traitors dared to come out from behind their positions to aim at Kolar. But before they could shoot, yellow warning lights began to glow when the heavy protective gate of the hangar opened. Immediately the air escaped from the room and took everything and everyone with it. While the Space Marines were prepared for this, the traitors had no chance. Most of them were simply sucked into space and screamed in panic as they tried to hold on to something.

With flaming engines, the red figure of the Blood Angel Angelus shot past them and headed straight for the strongest position. His impact hurled the soldiers around who had been taken completely by surprise. The two chain swords in his arms began to roar as they cut mercilessly through flesh and bone. The few soldiers who were tough enough to attack him were immediately put down. The few who managed to become dangerous to the Space Marine were struck down by Kolar with the Bolter. Again, and again one could hear the heavy sniper rifle of Janos who was looking for special targets from his safe position to take them out.

The entire battle lasted nearly 30 minutes but resulted in the sector being cleared.

"Do you think that was all of them?" Kolar finally asked his comrades and then nodded. "Good. Then let's go back to the bridge and rearm ourselves."

"Will our dog come along this time?" Ignar asked and Janus took off his helmet and grinned. "Which one do you mean? The living one or the big one?"

"Both!" said Ignar calmly but could not suppress the age-old rivalry between the two venerable orders.

"If the stories about the Cybot are true, we should be glad he's not active. And what about the nameless one... he said he was a Lone Wolf, whatever that is." Janus shrugged.

"A lone wolf is a grey wolf who has lost his entire pack. They are considered mavericks and masters of war! However, they do not join other packs. The Space Wolves are special in that sense." Said Ignar and crossed his arms. "But this one is strange even for a space wolf. He talks even less than me!"

"True. That means something, though," Kolar nodded and gave the signal to move away. "He told me his name, but I had to swear on my honor and Macragge swore not to mention him. It's just in case he dies on this mission. So, let's go. I'm curious to see if the admiral still has control of the ship!"

Earth, Hydra Island

"Baron Strucker! We have new information from our spies inside the government. The unidentified spacecraft has activated its engines and is on course to Mars." A Hydra soldier reported to the leader of Hydra standing before him.

"Very well. Is there any more information?" Strucker asked and rubbed his chin. This ship was neither Kree nor Skrull. Apparently, it was a previously unknown race. So far, the intentions of the ship were still a mystery but Strucker had seen pictures of the ship. No matter what race it was, Strucker knew a warship when he saw it. And this ship was as certainly a warship as could be. With that firepower he could easily conquer the world.

"Yes, Baron Strucker. At present speed, the ship will reach Mars in 32 days and Earth in a little under 5 days."

"5 days for this distance. Impressive." Nodded Strucker and became only more curious. "Assign A.I.M. to upgrade our shuttles and prepare a company of your best men to board the ship!"

"Yes, Baron Strucker." the man nodded and then moved away from them.

"What do you think Strucker?" asked the woman at his side.

"I think it will be a race. One that I do not intend to lose! We have 30 days to put together a team that can take over the ship."

"Didn't you just request a company?" she smiled amused.

"As if those idiots could do it! We'll have to fight not only the aliens, but the Avengers and so on! Probably A.I.M. too. So, take care of them." he nodded thoughtfully.

"Sabotage, or do you want to get rid of her completely?"

"Sabotage is enough for now. We may need it again."