The gatehouse stretched away to either side. Before the war it had been a low, blocky rockcrete construction. Fifty feet of rockcrete roadway stuck out of the broad entrance like a black tongue. The entrance had now been sandbagged up and covered with camo nets.

Lights were visible through the old openings. Minka could hear the traitors at their prayers.

Her eyes were now well accustomed to the darkness. She started picking out the courses of batteries as Orugi dropped quietly to the ground. Blanchez and Yedrin came next.

They used hand signals as her squads followed. In the darkness about her Minka could hear the soft scrape of knives being drawn from their sheaths, the almost imperceptible click of safety catches being flicked off.

Barnabas, Dreno and Elhrot’s squads were all in place when Minka led her command squad into position, and as she did so, more and more Cadians were dropping onto Traitor Rock.

Bendikt led his troops to the end of the assault pipe where lifts brought them up into the bowels of Hatred of Iron. Company by company, they marched down the assault ramp to the very edge of the void shield. He said a prayer as the Cadians massed behind him.

From the restless air, it was clear that the assault was imminent. Prassan looked about. He had never thought he would join General Bendikt in battle, but here he was, in full combat uniform, standing at the back of Bendikt’s command squad. About him were the finest troops of the 101st, Ostanko and First Company on one side, Captain Irinya and Second Company on the other.

The troopers of both companies were turned out in the full cara­pace of kasrkin. Each trooper was armed with hot-shot lasguns, each platoon equipped with a deadly array of plasma, flamers and grenade launchers.

Surely nothing could stand in their way, Prassan thought. Until he looked up at the ruins of Tor Tartarus. And up there, at the top of the cliffs, the batteries of the fortress were as yet untouched. From high above, shots started to hammer against the protective bubble. Prassan had never stood like this, watching shells and las-strikes rendered harmless by a void shield. It was exhilarating as the blue light flared at each impact.

But he had a horrible premonition that this bombardment meant Minka’s mission had failed.

He made the sign of the aquila as he prepared for his own death and looked to Bendikt to give the signal to charge.

The traitor batteries started to fire. All about them were flashes of smoke and flame, and the spreading stink of fyceline smoke.

Minka checked her chronometer. There were just minutes before the ground assault was due to start and it seemed that half of Seventh Company were still strung out along the wire like ­canine teeth on a necklace.

Minka clutched her knife in an underhand grip. ‘We can’t wait!’ she hissed to Orugi.