'Are you trying to blow up the reactor?' Oriel bellows down the corridor.
There's a pause in the firing and the inquisitor looks at us and smiles.
'Well, they don't know that's what we're trying to do anyway/ he chuckles. They'll be wary of any heavy weapons fire from now on/
In the next half hour, they tried five more attacks. The bodies of more man a hundred men are piled up in the corridor now, each successive wave being slowed by the tangles of corpses to clamber across. A muffled explosion from above, just before the last attack, indicated someone trying to come in through the maintenance duct and running into the inquisitor's booby trap.
It's been quiet for the past fifteen minutes or so. Gudmanz is still plugged into the plasma reactor, face waxy and almost deathlike. He's sat there in a trance; I did wonder if he had died, but Lorii checked him and he's still breathing. Who knows what sort of private battle he's fighting with the other tech-priests inside the terminal network. We're running low on ammo, I've had to ditch the assault laser, which stopped
working during the fourth assault. I must have used up my thousand shots. I've got one of the spare bolters now, a big lump of metal that weighs heavily in my hands, a complete contrast to the lightweight lasgun that I'm used to.
'I can't see what they can try next/ says Loron.
'Oh frag,' I mutter when I realise one of the options open to them.
'What now?' the Colonel demands, casting a venomous glance at me.
'Gas/ I say shortly. 'No damage to die reactor, but we'll be dead, or asleep and defenceless/
They can't use normal gas weapons/ Oriel informs us. The ventilation of each circle is sealed to prevent an agent being introduced from the outside, but it also means that any gas will be dispersed into the surrounding corridors. It's another of the defence features working against mem/
'I've heard of short-life viruses/ Striden points out. We had a few warheads on the Emperor's Benevolence. They're only deadly for a few seconds. A base the size of Coritanorum might have something like that/
'Yes they did/ Inquisitor Oriel confirms with a grin. 'Unfortunately their stockpile seems to have been used up by someone/
The watchtower and the security room...' Lorii makes the conclusion. Very neat/
'I thought so/ the inquisitor replies, scratching an ear.
Just then, someone shouts to us along the corridor.
'Surrender your weapons and you'll be dealt with fairly!' the anonymous voice calls out. 'Plead for the Emperor's forgiveness and your deaths will be swift and painless!'
'I bet...' mutters Loron in reply.
You're the damned rebels!' Lorii shouts back. 'Ask for
That'll stir them up a bit/ Oriel comments. 'Only the command staff are the real rebels/
'So why's everyone fighting us?' I ask. 'If they're still loyal, friey could overpower the commanders easily/
'Why should they?' he retorts, shrugging lighdy.
'Because it's what someone loyal to the Emperor would do/ I reply. It seems obvious to me.
'I don't get it/ Striden adds. 'I can see Kage's point of view/
4Vhy do you think they are rebels?' asks Oriel, gazing around at us.
Well, you, the Colonel, everyone says they are/ answers Loron, nodding towards the inquisitor and Schaeffer.
'My point, exactly/ agrees Oriel with a wry smile. 'You know they are rebels because you have been told they are rebels/
'And the Typhons have been told that we are the traitors/ I add, realising what Oriel is saying. 'For all we know, they could be right, but we trust the Colonel. We don't decide who the enemy is; we just follow orders and kill who we've been told to kill-'
'And so do they/ finishes Oriel, glancing back down the access tunnel.
'So that's the reason why this rebellion at the sector command is so dangerous and must be dealt with/ Loron follows on. 'If they wanted to, the command staff could convince admirals and colonels across the sector that anyone they say is the enemy. The command staff could say that any force that moved against diem was rebelling against the Emperor/
'It is one of the reasons, yes/ confirms the Colonel.
Our thoughts on the perils of the chain of command are interrupted by more las-bolts flashing through the door.
'Some of them have sneaked up through the bodies/ the Colonel tells us after a look outside. 'More are moving forward/
'Cunning bastards/ curses Lorii, kneeling beside me, bolter ready.
'Return fire!' orders the Colonel, levelling his bolt pistol through the door and firing off a couple of shots.
The firefight continued sporadically for the best part of another hour. There's no telling how many Typhons worked their way along the tunnel, skulking among the mounds of dead, almost perfectly camouflaged by the piles of uniformed corpses. I haven't fired a shot in quite a while. We're beginning to get seriously concerned about the ammunition supplies, and every bolt or las-shot has to count. The Typhons, on the other hand, are quite happy to blaze away at the first sign of one of us poking a head or gun into view.
