Seventy-Two Hours

Chapter 2

The team rushed from the Thunderhawk's troop hold as it touched down, taking up defensive positions around the exit ramp until the Thunderhawk lifted off again. Trees whipped wildly in the ships exhaust, leaves and limbs swirled across the clearing. In a matter of heartbeats, the members of Kill Team Death's Head disappeared into the jungle; the thick fronds of a towering fern snapping back into place with the team's passing, swallowing up all evidence that anyone had ever been there.

The team was utterly silent as they moved through the jungle. The only sound which seemed to accompany them was the whisper of leaves and branches along powered ceramite. They neither walked nor sprinted, but something in between which seemed to eat up distances quickly and tirelessly. Death's Head observed strict vox silence despite having an encrypted squad frequency. They communicated only by hand signals until ten kilometers in, near where the jungle gave way to the mountain range which they were to cross.

The team halted and dropped to a knee as the signal to halt, a raised fist, was passed down the line. Yngvar was on point, the Wolf's senses were keener than the rest of the team's and so Lucian had given him this primary position in the team's line of march. The team brought their weapons to bear as one, each scanning his own field of fire as they waited for news of the Wolf's discovery.

"Blood, Brother Sergeant," Yngvar sub vocalized over the squad's vox channel. "I can smell it on the wind. Ork blood. A lot of it."

"Any sign of bodies or assailants?" Lucian asked.

"Negative. No sign of any potential ambush...yet." Yngvar rumbled in reply. "I expect that we will find the source of the smell once we break out of this Emperor forsaken jungle."

Lucian gave his field of fire another quick scan, senses alert to anything out of the ordinary. "Anyone else see anything, Brothers?" He asked over the vox.

"Our six is clear, Brother Sergeant." Came Desimus' reply from the squad's rear. The giant Imperial Fist scanned his surroundings, suppressed bolter at the ready.

Dante and Jubal replied at nearly the exact same time; their "Negatives", overlapping one another. Each marine scanned his side through the high powered scope of his Stalker Pattern bolter.

Isaac's reply, though he was second in line, came last his hesitancy to agree with Yngvar evident in his voice. "The Wolf is right, Brother Sergeant. Even through the heavy filters in my helm, I can smell the Ork blood now too."

Lucian ignored Yngvar's chuckle over the vox and the following sound which could only be the Dark Angel grinding his teeth in annoyance. "Alright then, Brothers," the Ultramarine said after checking their heading on the HUD (heads up display) of his helmet. He noticed a "blip" just on the edge of his auspex's range, there and gone. He watched for it to reappear for several more heartbeats and when it did not, he continued speaking. "We will continue slightly East of South. Keep your eyes open and remember, we stay as quiet as we can for as long as we can. And, Brothers," He said, glancing around at his men. "Keep an eye on your auspexes. I spotted a blip in the general direction of our travel, but it could be a malfunction."

Lucian knew that he didn't need to remind his men of how important stealth was on this mission, but it had been his experience that repetition never hurt. He keyed his mike and said, "Let's move, for the Emperor."

"For the Emperor." His team voxed as one as they rose and moved out, each man still watching his area closely. It was another ten minutes before Yngvar called another halt. Just as the Space Wolf had predicted, numerous shredded bodies were strewn about their planned path of travel.

Blood coated the path and was even splashed up the rock walls where the pass opened up before them. The team spread out, checking for any survivors. It was a wasted effort. Jubal, the White Scar, knelt in the path. He ran his gauntleted hand across the ground, his eyes scanning the terrain ahead.

"Anything, Brother?" Lucian asked, seeing Jubal studying the terrain.

"Nothing for certain, Brother Sergeant." The White Scar replied thoughtfully. He stood and pointed down the mountain pass which they were to take. "Whatever killed these Orks went that way."

Yngvar walked over to where the White Scar stood. "Aye," He said and let out a long, low whistle. "There were a lot of them too, so many that they trampled their own tracks." The Space Wolf shook his head in frustration. "Impossible to tell what made them."

"Doesn't matter." Dante stepped forward, Stalker Pattern bolter held across his chest. "It's an Ork held world. The greenskins are always fighting amongst themselves. Obviously, someone decided that he was a better leader than the last sod."

"Makes sense." Isaac stated as he scanned the mountaintops ahead. "We could be walking into a trap."

"Well," Yngvar gasped, his eyes wide in mock shock. "Brother Isaac is perhaps smarter than he would appear." He smiled, fangs gleaming through his unkept beard.

"If only we could say the same for you, Wolf." Isaac retorted, his words dripping with scorn. A fiery rage gleamed in the Space Wolf's eyes for a moment before Lucian stepped in, deftly smothering the flame before it could grow.

"Brother Desimus," Lucian asked the towering Imperial Fist. "What say you?"

The big Imperial Fist took his time before rumbling a slow response. "We must press on, Brother Sergeant, we have three days to complete the mission and extract. We haven't the time to find another way across these mountains. If there is an ambush," he growled, his gauntlet groaning as he tightened his grip on his suppressed bolter. "Then our foes will not live to regret it."

This brought smiles from the entire team. "Well spoken, Brother Desimus," Lucian smiled, looking around at his men. "You heard him, Brothers, carry on."

"Aye, BrotherSergeant." Yngvar smiled, his fangs turning the look into something more akinto a snarl before turning and jogging up the trail. The entire team was on themove in a matter of seconds, each man evenly spaced to avoid multiplecasualties should they come under automatic fire or grenade attack.