Engines of War by Steve Lyons Page A

pressure,’ he suggested.
    ‘I already did, sergeant,’ Corbin grunted, his tone suggesting that he didn’t like being told how to do his job, even injured as he was. He must have done something right, anyway, because the engine wheezed and turned over and almost caught. It was certainly an improvement, thought Arkelius. The downside was that they had undoubtedly just flared red on the auspexes of every enemy tank around them.
    ‘How’s that blockage in the missile tube coming along?’ he asked.
    ‘Cleared, sergeant,’ said Iunus. ‘I think.’
    ‘You think?’
    ‘I’m getting some odd readings. Damage reports. I think the fault is probably in the cogitators themselves. I think the launcher is cleared and ready for loading. But there’s a chance, a small chance that, when I squeeze that trigger…’
    ‘What?’ Arkelius barked, impatiently. ‘A chance of what?’
    It was Corbin who answered him; doubtless, he had been in similar situations before. ‘There’s a chance of the missile detonating in the chamber,’ he said, ‘and blowing the Scourge – and all three of us – sky-high.’
    Arkelius took a breath. ‘Iunus, pick a target. Your choice – I can’t see a damn thing out there. Be ready to fire on my mark, which I’ll give as soon as Corbin can get–’
    ‘I’m trying, sergeant,’ Corbin interrupted.
    ‘–this Emperor-forsaken, son-of-a-warp-spawn scrapheap–’
    ‘Can’t see to read the status display, but it sounds to me like–’
    ‘– moving again!’ Hours’ worth of pent-up frustration bubbled up from Arkelius’s chest, and he punched the unyielding bulkhead between himself and his driver.
    At exactly the moment that he did so, the engine caught with a belligerent roar. The Machine-God had finally answered his prayers.
    Iunus loosed off a Skyspear missile on cue. A moment later, he boasted of a palpable hit to the port flank of an unsuspecting Vindicator.
    ‘Corbin, reverse us out of here, one-ninety degree bearing,’ barked Arkelius. ‘Iunus, reload and fire again. Same target, if you can. Don’t give them a chance to–’
    He had almost forgotten about the Scourge ’s damaged steering.
    As they picked up speed, Iunus yelled a warning that they were about to back into a friendly Predator Destructor. Corbin managed to regain control in time, and Arkelius guided him with an eye on his monitors, ‘Adjust course, fifteen… no, eighteen degrees counter-clockwise. Steady on the accelerator pedal, and bring her to rest in three, two, one… now.’
    Corbin stepped on the brake. As he did so, Arkelius saw two lights like glaring eyes bearing down on the Scourge through the smoke. The same searchlights as before? Almost certainly, they belonged to the Vindicator they had just hit, seeking deadly retribution.
    The Chaos tank had them firmly in its sights. Arkelius, however, had guided Corbin into a narrow gap between two Predator Destructors. They ground forward at that moment, to protect the Hunter, its crew and, most importantly, its powerful weapon.
    The Vindicator tried to manoeuvre around the Imperial tanks. When that failed, it tried to blast its way through them instead. ‘They’ve bought us some time,’ said Arkelius. ‘Let’s make it count.’ He told Corbin to lower the stabilisers, and, the instant he had completed that task, Iunus fired again.
    He aimed his next missile into the air, safely over the friendly Predator Destructors’ heads. It soared over the Chaos Vindicator too, before it reached the apex of its arc. But then, the mummified brain inside it took over and brought the missile around for a second pass.
    It swooped in low and struck its target from behind.
    Arkelius had to avert his eyes from the fierce explosion. His auto-senses detected a small, brief increase in temperature, even inside his armoured compartment. Iunus confirmed that the Vindicator had been obliterated. Its icon on his targeting auspex had blinked out.
    ‘Looks like that made a