Shas'Ui Telkure paused as the sounds of gunfire drifted towards him. He checked the tracker, saw that he would have to go through the area of fighting, sighed. This was annoying, but best to deal with it head on.
He heard the woosh of a flamer, followed by the staccato rumble of a bolter. Half a moment of silence, then screams of agony. The young Fire Caste warrior move forward cautiously, pulse carbine held ready. He heard the heavy stomp of armored boots enter the tunnel he was moving along, switched his helmet display to light-enhancment.
One of the big men the gue'la called Space Marines was walking towards him. He recognized the eight-arrowed glyphs marking its armor. They were the markings of the forces dedicated to the 'chaos gods,' and they indicated that this gue'le was dangerous indeed.
The gue'la paused, squinted, and smiled, drawing his gun and leveling it at Telkure. They both fired simultaneously. Telkure ducked as bolt shells tore past his head, and smiled as the impact of his pulse rounds knocked the chaos space marine off his feet. The grin vanished as the marine, cursing, stood up, armor marked but not penetrated. Bloody light gathered in its outstretched left hand, then launched towards him in a blazing crimson bolt. Telkure dodged, barely, and ran like hell.
The Space Marine pursued him, his bolter tearing chunks out of the rockcrete walls. Withought stopping, Telkure armed a handful of the grenades he had taken earlier, lobbed them over his shoulder. The marine laughed as shrapnel ricochet off his armor withought harming it. He paused for a moment, lining up his shot, and put a bolt shell into Telkure's shoulder.
The round tore through muscle and armor, flying a dozen yards down the corridor past the Tau, who fell. Shooting arm limp, he rolled onto his back, scuttling backwards and firing at the marine. Laughing, the marine kicked the pulse carbine out of his hands. "You are entertaining, little Tau. But you are also annoying. Prepare to die." He leveled the combibolter at Telkure's head.
The only warning they had was a whirring sound, then the BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM of a Burst Cannon sounded behind him, the pulse blasts tearing into the marine's armor and sending him sprawling. The fire paused for a moment, then started again on the tunnel's floor. It blew apart, and the marine dropped, spewing profanity. Seconds later, his voice cut off as he landed hard on something.
A shape moved in the darkness, then resolved itself into a Stealth Suit. The other Tau helped Telkure to his feet, and they set off at a quick pace in the direction Telkure had been running. "You're lucky I found you, Shas'Ui. My people have already picked up the Water Caste and the pilots."
"Not that I don't appreciate the rescue, but what are you doing here?"
"Commander Farsight sent us here to set up an enclave. Your Water Caste friend was coming to meet us."
"Farsight? What would the O'Shova want with this planet?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Let's hurry."
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Warsmith Ironfist awoke sometime later with blood in his mouth. He had fallen onto a catwalk almost a hundred feet below where he'd been standing. That Tau had tried his patience. Next time he would not be so merciful.
OOC: Antenor, I hope you don't mind my using your character here...
_________________ I deal with idiots from around the world daily. Darwin is calling to me. 'Kill the unfit!' he tells me. 'KILL THEM!'
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