Hector couldn’t get used to this alien place. Nothing about it reminded him of anything human, it was unsettling. If the other Black Templars felt as he did, he could not tell as they moved with purpose, free of distraction. They had travelled hours on end at full alert through this bone-like mausoleum with no signs of life or even a struggle. His ready shotgun reminded him of who he was and where he was from; he swept it side to side as he covered his brethren. They pressed on through the titanic labyrinth of wraithbone heading in the only direction even remotely worthwhile, the direction given to them by the elusive Eldar. The hulking Terminators of Sword Brethren squad Apollon took point, ready to intercept an ambush while Crusader Squad Baptiste covered the Terminators’ advance.

It all happened so fast that even Hector’s hyper metabolism and genetically increased reactions were pressed to keep up. One moment they were moving in standard formation, carefully advancing and the next the air was filled with deadly shards of razor-sharp metal. They were under fire! Hector immediately sought cover at the side of his mentor Cyrano, whose Corvus power armour withstood the unending hail of diamond-hard splinters. Squad Apollon was under a veritable downpour of splinters that shattered and deflected off their nigh-unstoppable tactical dreadnought armour. Hector quickly scanned the direction from where the attack was coming from and spied the enemy.

Through the constant barrage of deadly splinters and wraithbone debris Hector could see two groups of Eldar that had taken cover in a two level building a short way from their position. These aliens were not like the rangers they had originally encountered but were protected in glossy-black armour adorned with wicked blades and viscous spikes. Their sinister look and the weapons they used betrayed their origins to Hector; these were the heartless and twisted eldar pirates that constantly roamed the lonely corridors of space seeking slaves for their xenos masters.

One group of raiders had taken position on the second level of the alien edifice, firing down on the Black Templars from a protected balcony. The other group were fighting from the main level, shooting their alien weapons through window-like openings. Why these aliens were here and what they wanted was a mystery that would die with them Hector surmised as he levelled his weapon and unloaded round after round of flechette at the inhuman scum. The battle was joined.

Squad Apollon moved with steady direction as they headed through the storm of splinters straight for the building. The Dark Eldar directed all their combined firepower on the Terminators in a futile effort to stop the Black Templar’s advance on their position. This freed Squad Baptiste from the constant pelting and allowed them to return fire with a vengeance. Initiate Erebus opened up with his Heavy Bolter blasting apart alien and structure both as he concentrated his fire on the balcony. The cover of the balcony practically disintegrated under the Heavy Bolter’s explosive bolts. One dark eldar warrior fell from the balcony in a tangle, impacting hard on the ground below. The injured alien scrambled to regain his footing, but was blown off his feet as Hector fired three quick rounds from his shotgun sending the flailing eldar through a window on the main level. Cyrano gave the neophyte a quick nod of approval while reloading his bolter.

Another raider reeled and screamed as Machaon unleashed the intense plasma of his weapon into the remaining eldar on the balcony. The warrior’s armour and flesh were fused and melted as the alien died horribly trying to retreat into the building proper. The entire upper level of the building was being blasted away under the hail of bolts and plasma. Hector watched the Terminators reach the entrance of the building as he too lent his aim to the destruction of the dark eldar on the second floor.

There was moment of resistance as the terminators pushed their way into the building, blades and splinters dashed off their impervious armour. Thunder hammers boomed and lightning claws flashed in a torrent of violence and then Squad Apollon was inside the building. There was no movement from the remains of the top floor, but the Black Templars of Squad Baptiste covered the area as the sounds of terrible close quarters fighting sounded from the alien building. In a few moments it was over. Nothing could stand against the might of Sword Brethren in glorious Terminator armour. The Black Templar veterans emerged from the building whole and victorious, their weapons thick with the gore and blood of the vile xenos.