Catechism Of Hate by Gav Thorpe Read Free Book Online Page B

something about the way the princeps used the name of his Titan, a familiar inflection, that made it sound to Cassius as if Jasyn were referring to himself.
    'On the southern flank, overlooking the refuelling depot and highway would be appropriate, princeps. Your sensor arrays are more powerful than anything we possess and will provide warning of the enemy's approach.'
    'We will be your eyes and ears, Chaplain,' said Perthion. A series of thunderous rattles preceded a drawn out, deafening hiss as the lock-bolts were released from Dominatus Rex's volcano cannons. The immense weapons lowered into position with a creak and a clank. 'And your fists.'
    'Blessed is the fist that strikes down the foes of mankind,' said Cassius. 'You will earn the gratitude of the Ultramarines for your actions.'
    'Blessed indeed is the artifice of the Machine-God, that a humble man might lay low so many foes in the name of the Omnissiah,' came Perthion's reply.
    Cassius watched as the Warlords split, swinging away to their appointed stations. He had no doubts that the open highway and fields would be a killing ground for the war machines. There was no intelligence to suggest that the tyranids had managed to land their largest constructs, bio-titans that would be the match of the Adeptus Mechanicus machines, and the Chaplain was confident the men of Legio Fortitudis would destroy many hundreds, if not thousands, of the enemy as they approached Cordus Via.
    The streets of the main settlement were a different matter entirely, too tight for the Titans to operate. Despite horrendous casualties, the tyranids would come on and on, driven against their foes by their instinct to devour. No approach was one hundred per cent secure, and the Chaplain knew that despite his immense allies, it was likely the tyranids would eventually reach the buildings and the fighting would become close and deadly.
    That would be when his Ultramarines would prove their worth.
    'SENSOR SWEEP DETECTS multiple biological signals, four kilometres distant,' Princeps Perthion's warning was devoid of urgency, delivered in the same relaxed tone as his previously negative reports. 'Estimate two to three hundred life forms.'
    Dawn was still three hours away, the darkness broken only by a faint glimmer of stars through the cloudy haze and the beams of the Titans' searchlights. The Ultramarines moved quickly into position, their autosenses allowing them to navigate the dark streets and alleys without hesitation. The thrum of powered armour, clump of boots, whine of power cells charging and click of magazines being checked sounded loud in the still night, echoing from empty buildings.
    'Moving to engage,' announced Princeps Jasyn. Victorix shuddered into life, its weapons drawing up to the firing position. The ground trembled as the Warlord took two strides up the highway access ramp, the dazzling glare of the Titan's lamps lighting up the ferrocrete surface.
    Cassius had been in the makeshift shrine room when he had heard the news. Walking swiftly - the distance to the enemy and the intervention of Victorix made it unnecessary to run - the Chaplain crossed the street to the main worker tenement and ascended the narrow stairwells, monitoring the reports of his warriors over the comm. The devastator squads had been in position since their arrival, while the tactical squads fell back to the settlement from their patrol routes, taking up guard stations in the outlying buildings to the west and north.
    Cassius emerged onto the flat roof of the dormitory block as Sergeant Capilla and his devastators set themselves along the raised parapet at the roof's edge, overlooking the highway where it crossed the river confluence. Beyond them, Victorix was already several hundred metres along the carriageway, advancing at full speed.
    'First enemy wave, three and a half kilometres,' reported the Titan's princeps. 'Enemy is dispersed along the highway and beneath, approaching at speed.'
    To the south, on