Keeler watched calmly as Maggard's gunfire blew chunks from Qruze's armour, but before he could fire any more, Qruze was upon him.

Qruze smashed his fist into Maggard's midriff, but the silent killer rode the punch and swung his sword for the Astartes's head. Qruze ducked back from the great slash of Maggard's sword, the blade

slicing though the armour at the Astartes warrior's stomach.

Blood sprayed briefly from the wound and Qruze dropped to his knees in sudden pain before drawing his combat knife, the blade as long as a mortal warrior's sword.

Maggard leapt towards him and his sword hacked a deep gouge in Qruze's side. Yet more blood spilled from the venerable Astartes's body. Another killing strike slashed towards Qruze, but this time combat knife and Kirlian blade met in a shower of fiery sparks. Qruze recovered first and stabbed his blade through the gap between Maggard's greaves. The assassin stumbled backwards and Qruze rose unsteadily to his feet.

The assassin stepped in close and lunged with his sword. Maggard was almost the equal of Qruze in physique and had youth on his side, but even Sin-dermann could see he was slower, as if his new form was unfamiliar, not yet worn in.

Qruze sidestepped a huge arcing strike of Maggard's sword and swung inside his opponent's defence, reaching around to lock his head in the crook of his elbow.

His other arm snapped round to plunge the knife into Maggard's throat, but a fist seized Qruze's hand in an iron grip, halting the blade inches from the man's pulsing jugular.

Qruze fought to force the blade upwards, but Maggard's newly enhanced strength was the greater and he began to force the blade to one side. Beads

of sweat popped on Qruze's face, and Sindermann knew that this was a struggle he could not win alone.

He pushed himself to his feet and ran towards Maggard's fallen pistol, its matt black finish cold and lethal-looking. Though designed for a mortal grip, the pistol still felt absurdly huge in his hands. Sindermann held the heavy pistol outstretched and marched towards the struggling warriors. He couldn't risk a shot from any kind of distance, he was no marksman and was as likely to hit their deliverer as their killer.

He walked up to the fight and placed the muzzle of the pistol directly on the bleeding wound where Qruze had stabbed Maggard. He pulled the trigger and the recoil of the shot almost shattered his wrist, but the effect of his intervention more than made up for the trauma.

Maggard opened his mouth in a silent scream and his entire body flinched in sudden agony. Maggard's grip on the knife weakened and, with a roar of anger, Qruze punched it into the base of his opponent's jaw and through the roof of his mouth. Maggard buckled and fell to the side with the force of a falling tree. The golden armoured assassin and the Astartes rolled and Qruze was on top of his enemy, still gripping the knife.

Face to face for a moment, Maggard spat a mouthful of blood into Qruze's face. Qruze pushed the knife deeper into Maggard's jaw, plunging it into his opponent's brain.

Maggard spasmed, his huge bulk thrashing briefly, and when he stopped Qruze was looking into a pair of blank, dead eyes. Qruze pushed himself from Maggard's body. 'Face to face,’ said Qruze, breathing heavily with the exertion of killing Maggard. 'Not with treachery, from a thousand miles up. Face to face.'

He looked at Sindermann and nodded his thanks. The warrior was wounded and exhausted, but there was a calm serenity to him.

'I remember how it used to be,' he said. 'We were brothers on Cthonia. Not just among ourselves, but with our enemies, too. That was what the Emperor saw in us when he came to the hives. We were gangs of killers as existed on a thousand other worlds, but we believed in a code that was more precious than life. That was what he wrought into the Luna Wolves. I thought that even if none of the rest of us remembered, the Warmaster would, because he was the one the Emperor chose to lead us.' 'No,’ said Keeler, 'you are the last one,’ 'And when I realised that I just... told them what they wanted to hear. I tried to be one of them, and I succeeded. I almost forgot everything, until... until now,’

The music of the spheres,’ said Sindermann quietly.

Qruze's eyes focused again on Keeler and his face

hardened.

'I did nothing, Half-heard,’ said Keeler, answering his unasked question. 'You said so yourself. The

ways of Cthonia were the reason the Emperor chose you and your brothers for the Luna Wolves. Perhaps it was the Emperor who reminded you,’

'I saw this coming for so long, but I let it, because I thought that was my code now, but nothing changed, not really. The enemy just moved from out there to amongst us,’

'Look, as profound as this all is, can we get the hell out of here?' asked Mersadie.

Qruze nodded and beckoned them towards the Thunderhawk gunship. 'You're right, Miss Oliton, let's get off this ship. It is dead to me now,’

We're with you, captain,’ said Sindermann as he gingerly picked his way over Maggard's body after Qruze. The years seemed to have dropped from him, as if the energy lost in the fight was returning with interest. Sindermann saw a light in his eyes he hadn't seen before.

Watching the light of understanding rekindled in Iacton Qruze reminded Sindermann that there was still hope.

And there was nothing so dangerous in the galaxy as a litde hope.

TURNET'S SHOT WENT high, and Cassar's went wide. Jonah Aruken ducked for cover as the rounds ricocheted on the curved ceiling of the bridge. Turnet rolled down behind the command chair as Cassar pulled himself from his own chair, set deep into the cockpit floor and level with the Titan's eye. Cassar fired again and sparks showered as the autopistol

round hit the electronics arrayed around Turner's chair.

Turnet fired back and Cassar dropped into the cover of the depression formed by his own seat. The connectors had torn free from his scalp as he moved and tears of blood streaked his face, metallic monofilament wires clinging wetly to the back of his neck.

His mind throbbed with the suddenness of being ripped away from the god-machine. Titus!' yelled Aruken. "What are you doing?' 'Moderati, surrender or you will die here!' shouted Turnet. 'Throw down your weapon and surrender.'

This is treachery!' shouted Cassar. 'Jonah, you know I am right. The Warmaster did this. He brought death to this city to kill the believers!'

Turnet fired blindly from behind the elaborate machinery of the command seat. 'Believe? You would betray your Warmaster because of this religion? You're diseased, do you know that? Religion is a sickness, and I should have put you down a long time ago.'

Cassar thought rapidly. There was only one way out of the cockpit - the doorway that led into the Titan's dorsal cavity where the plasma generator was located along with the detail of engineer crewmen who operated it. He couldn't run, for fear of Turnet shooting him dead as he broke from cover. But the same was true of Turnet. They were both trapped.

You knew,’ said Cassar, 'about the bombardment.'

'Of course I knew. How can you be so ignorant? Don't you even know what's happening on this planet?' The Emperor is being betrayed,’ said Cassar. There is no Emperor,’ shouted Turnet. 'He abandoned us. He left the Imperium that men died to conquer for him. He doesn't care. But the Warmaster cares. He conquered this galaxy and it is his to rule, but there are fools who don't understand that. They are the ones who have forced the Warmaster into this so that he can do what must be done,’

Cassar's mind reeled. Turnet had betrayed everything the Emperor had built, and the combat within the command bridge struck Cassar as representative of what was happening in the wider conflict.