Fulminata- A Warhammer 40,000 Story

The Court of Thunder

Kaeso stood at the center of the Court of Thunder. He stood at the datastream, studying it intently. Gladio stood close by, lending what little help he might have. Titus stood away, brooding, as he always did.

The door opened, and two figures entered. It brought relief into Kaeso to see the pair.

"Cicero," he called out, "I was wondering when you would find your way here. I was worried that Bloodthirster had offed you." He chuckled, shaking his head as he turned back to the datasteam. "Foolish of me, I know. I hope you'll forgive me."

"Indeed," Cicero said as he stalked towards the trio. Anius walked behind him, the whirring and heavy footfalls of his Terminator armor echoing across the sparse Court.

Kaeso looked back to Cicero. "Is something wrong?"

Cicero chuckled. "We're trapped in the warp, our Marines are dying, and we've no solutions. There's nothing that isn't wrong, Kaeso."

Kaeso fully turned to his 1st Captain. "That's strangely pessimistic of you, Cicero."

Cicero walked closer. "We've no options. We're trapped here with no way out, and here you sit in isolation. How many of our brothers must die before you realize where we stand?"

Kaeso's eyes narrowed. "Quit with that tone, Soldier. I'd throw you in the brig if you were anyone but my 1st Captain."

"Why, because you fear the truth?" Cicero asked, now almost face to face with the Chapter Master.

The door to the Court of Thunder flew open again. An Astartes could be seen from the hallway. A lieutenant, covered in blood, and crawling on the floor.

Theos.

"Cicero's fallen!" He called, his voice hoarse with effort.

Kaeso's sword was already moving out of its sheath. Cicero's was already in his hand, moving towards Kaeso's throat. He might be able to bring his sword up in time, but not enough to deflect it completely away. Perhaps he could drive it into his pauldron...

Something else caught Cicero's sword. The whirring of a Chainsword filled the air as the teeth grabbed at the Power Sword. Titus stood next to Kaeso, his old, battered Chainsword held in his robotic arms. They shook with the effort, but they held Cicero's sword in place. It bought Kaeso enough time to pull his sword out and slash at Cicero.

The 1st Captain was already disengaging, stepping back from the pair of loyalists. He was too slow, however. Kaeso's sword bit into Cicero's leg, shearing off his Bolt Pistol and cutting into Cicero's leg.

The pair backed off from each other, Power Swords humming. Anius, however, stepped forward, spinning his autocannon. It began to spit its ammunition, intending to shred the Loyalists with his fire. Gladio, however, already has his Boltgun drawn. He had no hopes of breaching the thick Terminator plate, so instead he shot at the autocannon.

The Bolt hit the powerful weapon. The mass-reactive shell exploded, sending his aim off. Instead, the Autocannon beat into the walls and pillars of the Thunder Court, shredding the steel beams. Anius growled as he tried to reorient his weapon, but the Bolts kept driving it back. Gladio was a good shot, good even for an Astartes. Every one was perfectly calculated to keep Anius's aim off, and each one succeeded in its goal.

Kaeso and Cicero stepped back into combat, their swords locking as they growled at each other.

"You're a filthy, honorless traitor." Kaeso snarled.

"You're a weak coward." Cicero retorted.

The pair began to duel, their power swords humming as the sliced through the air, each parry bringing a thick hiss as the power fields intersected. The blades moved almost too fast for any unaugmented eye to catch. There were layers upon layers of feints, ripostes, parries, and flourishes. It was a beautiful sword fight, with the ugliest of intentions.