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The next morning one of the techs came over and spoke to the Understudy. ‘Some of our units are going to Central Command. If you wish you may accompany them in our vehicles.’ The Understudy nodded. ‘Get ready to move out,’ he said to us. He turned to the adept and said, ‘We’re ready to go whenever you are.’ ‘Our units will be in ready state for departure in five minutes and thirty-one seconds,’ the adept said. ‘You may ride in vehicle number two. Be warned – tamper with nothing on pain of extinction.’ The Understudy looked at the tech. ‘You do not have the authority to execute me or my men.’ ‘You misunderstand me – tampering with our equipment without the requisite ritual may cause extinction without intervention on the part of any.’ The Understudy nodded. It was as clear to him as it was to me what the tech meant. He looked at Corporal Hesse. ‘You heard that! Make sure every man in the unit knows the same.’ Hesse nodded and turned to me and said, ‘You heard the second lieutenan...

We squatted beside the burned-out shell of the Baneblade, listening to the Understudy mumble to himself and keeping our weapons close at hand just in case. It was quiet where we were but the thunder of battle muttered on in the distance. Sometimes the earth shook and I wondered what had happened. The New Boy rummaged about inside the tank for a while, then I heard his voice. ‘Hey, Leo?’ He peeked out from beneath the belly of the Bane-blade. He gestured for me to come follow him. I considered shouting at him but the fun was fast fading from that so I crawled underneath the corpse of the old monster and saw what he wanted me to see. 우리들은 베인블레이드의 불타버린 껍데기 옆에 쪼그려앉았다. 후보 사관이 혼잣말로 중얼거리는 것을 들으며 혹시 모를 일에 대비해 무기를 손 가까이에 둔 채로. 우리들이 있던 곳은 조용했지만 멀리서는 전투의 번개소리가 들려왔다. 때때로 대지가 진동했고 나는 무슨 일이 일어난건지 의아했다. 한동안 신병이 전차 내부를 샅샅이 뒤지더니 그가 나에게 말을 걸었다. '헤이, 레오?' 그는 베인블레이드의 하부 아래에서 살펴보고 있었다. 그가 나에게 이리 와보라고 손짓했다. 나는 그에게 소리칠까 생각도 해봤지만 별로 재미는 없을것 같았고 그래서 늙은 괴물의 시체의 아래를 기어가서 그가 나에게 보여주고 싶어했던 것을 보았다. Co...

The battle stalked away from us. The Titans, our reinforcements and the Death Spectres tore through the heretics like a sandstorm stripping an unprotected man to the bone. We watched them killing as they went. They took no prisoners. They did not have the time. That was left to the Imperial Guard regiments who followed up. It’s not glamorous but it beats getting your head shot off. We were left alone on top of the tank, looking at the piles of broken bodies and heaps of destroyed armour around us. Anton produced a flask of coolant fluid and we shared swigs. 전투가 우리들로부터 멀어져갔다. 타이탄들, 증원병력들, 그리고 데스 스펙터들은 모래폭풍이 그것에 노출된 사람을 뼈만 남을 때까지 살을 벗겨버리듯이 이단자들을 산산조각냈다. 우리는 그들이 지나가면서 죽이는 광경을 지켜보았다. 그들은 포로를 잡지 않았다. 그들은 시간이 없었다. 포로 처리는 뒤따라오는 임페리얼 가드 연대들에게 떠넘겨졌다.  그것은 화려한 임무는 아니었지만 머리통에 총을 맞는 것보다는 훨씬 나았다. 우리들은 우리 주위의 파괴된 기갑차량들 더미와 박살난 시체들의 산을 쳐다보면서, 전차 위에 홀로 남겨졌다. 안톤이 한 포켓위스키 병 분량의 '냉각수'를 만들었고 우리는 그걸 나눠 홀짝거렸다. ‘Bloody hell, Space Marines,’ Anton said. ‘We saw Space Marines. They saved us.’ Fr...

The enemy horde raced on, the tanks leaving the infantry behind now except where the footsloggers had scrambled up onto the hulls of the armoured vehicles. They had about them that certainty of victory that keeps men coming even in the face of near inevitable destruction. 적의 무리가 계속 달려들었고, 땅개 보병들이 기어올라탄 것들을 제외하고 나머지 전차들은 이제 보병을 뒤에 남겨놓고 오고 있었다. 그들은 심지어 임박한 피할수없는 죽음을 앞두고도 사람들을 전진하도록 만드는 승리에 대한 확신으로 가득 차 있었다. Every one of those soldiers over there was convinced that somehow death would pass him by. It might tap the shoulder of his comrades but it would leave him alone. That and rotgut alcohol are the only two things I know that can be relied on to keep men walking forwards in the face of the sort of fire we laid down – those and maybe a stern-faced commissar standing behind them with a bolt pistol and a chainsword in his hand. I could tell from the panicked chatter over the comm-net that our own forces did not possess such conviction. All of us knew that we were doomed. There simply ...