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Chapters (59)
  1. Cover
  2. Backlist
  3. Warhammer 40,000
  4. Prologue
  5. Part One
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Part Two
  25. One
  26. Two
  27. Three
  28. Four
  29. Five
  30. Six
  31. Seven
  32. Eight
  33. Nine
  34. Ten
  35. Eleven
  36. Twelve
  37. Part Three
  38. One
  39. Two
  40. Three
  41. Four
  42. Five
  43. Six
  44. Seven
  45. Eight
  46. Nine
  47. Ten
  48. Eleven
  49. Part Four
  50. One
  51. Two
  52. Three
  53. Four
  54. Five
  55. Six
  56. Epilogue
  57. About the Author
  58. An Extract from ‘Dark Imperium: Godblight’
  59. A Black Library Publication

‘Sergeant Lesk. Found an unguarded sally port. Apparently the defenders were sheltering from the naval bombardment. She forced entry and ploughed straight into the guts of the foe. True Cadian style! We found them barricaded in a storeroom five levels down.’

Sparker whistled to show his appreciation. He’d always thought well of Lesk, but this was something new.

He turned to Evrind. ‘Find Lesk and bring her here.’

His orderly nodded.

It didn’t take long for Evrind to find Minka. She was sitting on the walls of the Lone Redoubt, recounting her story to each offi­cer that came up.

‘Sparker wants you,’ Evrind said.

Minka pushed herself down. They retraced the way that Evrind had taken.

‘Ah!’ Sparker said as he turned full on towards her. ‘You’ve done something quite remarkable, Sergeant Lesk.’

She saluted. ‘Thank you, sir.’

‘I hear you’re responsible for the fall of the Lone Redoubt.’

She laughed. ‘Not really, sir.’

‘Take the compliment,’ Sparker said. ‘And not only did you take the Lone Redoubt, you did it right under the nose of Colonel Baytov!’

‘It was a group effort. We had two of the Whiteshields with us. They did well, sir. I take back everything I’ve said about them. I was impressed.’

Sparker considered this for a moment. ‘Good. I’m pleased. I’ll let Colonel Baytov know.’

There was a pause before Minka said, ‘Colonel Sparker. Any news of Lieutenant Dido?’

Sparker’s face darkened. He shook his head and spoke in a low voice. ‘No, sorry. I’ve heard nothing.’

Part Three

PART THREE

One

ONE

Official regimental histories recorded that, due to the courage and fortitude of a Cadian sergeant and a band of new Whiteshields, Tor Kharybdis had fallen by lunchtime on the first day. While the troops on the ground knew the fortress was taken by Sergeant Minka Lesk of Seventh Company, it suited the politics of the time to exaggerate the contribution of the new White­shields. The histories focused long on the struggles of Creed Beach and how the Cadians were pinned down, until the Whiteshields cleared the trenches on the ridge – how those troops earned their place within the regiment.

There was no mention of the stubborn last stands by the traitors. Nor that some of those units were from planets that had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Cadians. Those were the bitterest battles as local rivalries were inflamed by the different choices that each unit had made. Each blamed the other for the loss of their home worlds. No quarter was given or expected.

The rabble of Jackals who did surrender were turned straight over to the Commissariat. In a matter of days they had been screened by confessors, ring-leaders turned over to the Inquisition, officers executed, and the rest pumped full of frenzon and sent into battle against their former allies.