Free Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter Page A

have to stop it. I can think of no more compelling an argument than that. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to trust me.’
    ‘Why should I?’ asked Aruken. ‘You’ve given me no reason to. I don’t even know why I’m here.’
    ‘Listen to me, Mister Aruken,’ said Sindermann earnestly. ‘When you live as long and complex a life as I have, you learn that it always comes down to a single moment – a moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he really is. This is that moment, Mister Aruken. Will this be a moment you are proud to look back on or will it be one you will regret for the rest of your life?’
    The two Titan crewmen shared a glance and eventually Aruken sighed and said, ‘I need my head looked at for this, but all right, let’s go save the day.’
    A palpable sense of relief flooded through Sindermann and the pain in his chest eased.
    ‘I am proud of you, Mr Aruken,’ he said, ‘and I thank you, your aid is most welcome.’
    ‘Thank me when we save this saint of yours,’ said Aruken, setting off down the stairs.
    They followed the stairs down, passing several decks until the symbol of intertwined serpents around a winged staff indicated they had arrived at the medicae deck. It had been some weeks since the last casualties had been brought aboard the Vengeful Spirit and the sterile, gleaming wilderness of tiled walls and brushed steel cabinets felt empty, a warren of soulless glass rooms and laboratories.
    ‘This way,’ said Sindermann, setting off into the confusing maze of corridors, the way familiar to him after all the times he had visited the comatose imagist. Cassar and Aruken followed him, keeping a watchful eye out for anyone who might challenge their presence. At last they reached a nondescript white door and Sindermann said, ‘This is it.’ Aruken said, ‘Better let us go first, old man.’ Sindermann nodded and backed away from the door, pressing his hands over his ears as the two Titan crewmen unholstered their pistols. Aruken crouched low beside the door and nodded to Cassar, who pressed the release panel.
    The door slid aside and Aruken spun through it with his pistol extended.
    Cassar was a second behind him, his pistol tracking left and right for targets, and Sindermann awaited the deafening flurry of pistol shots.
    When none came he dared to open his eyes and uncover his ears. He didn’t know whether to be glad or deathly afraid that they were too late.
    He turned and looked through the door, seeing the familiar clean and well maintained medicae cell he had visited many times. Euphrati lay like a mannequin on the bed, her skin like alabaster and her face pinched and sunken. A pair of drips fed her fluids and a small, bleeping machine drew spiking lines on a green display unit beside her.
    Aside from her immobility she looked just as she had the last time he had laid eyes on her.
    ‘Just as well we rushed,’ snapped Aruken. ‘Looks like we were just in time.’
    ‘I think you might be right,’ said Sindermann, as he saw the golden-eyed figure of Maggard come into view at the far end of the corridor with his sword unsheathed.
    ‘Y OU ARE KNOWN to us, Warmaster,’ said Sarr’Kell, his voice leaping around the room like a capricious whisper. ‘It is said that you are the one who can deliver us. Is that true?’
    ‘ Perhaps,’ replied Horus, apparently unperturbed by the strangeness of his unseen interlocutor. ‘My brother Lorgar assures me that your masters can give me the power to achieve victory.’
    ‘Victory,’ whispered Sarr’Kell. ‘An almost meaningless word in the scale of the cosmos, but yes, we have much power to offer you. No army will stand before you, no power of mortal man will lay you low and no ambition will be denied you if you swear yourself to us.’
    ‘ Just words,’ said Horus. ‘Show me something tangible.’
    ‘Power,’ hissed Sarr’Kell, the sound rippling around Horus like a slithering snake. ‘The warp brings power.