CAPTURE

As the flames died down and the view ahead cleared the sergeant could see the charred bodies of
the Genestealers heaped on the floor. The heavy flamer had done its work well. He ordered the
squad to continue its advance, giving thanks that although the squad had been hastily assembled
from the few Space Marines that had reached the regrouping area they seemed to have melded into a
team very quickly. As the terminators waded through the blackened remains one of the Stealers
slowly raised its head and let loose a terrible cry. At point blank range the sergeant's storm
bolter blasted it and the thing dropped back down onto the pile of its dead brothers.

Commander Borgia had ordered all the Space Marines to pull back to the boarding craft. The
sergeant guessed things were going badly. The boarding force had obciously suffered severe
casualties, and almost all the suviving Space Marines were wounded. Commander Borgia was a
proud man, not fond of admitting defeat, so the circumstances must be dire indeed for him to
have ordered a retreat.

His comm-link burst into life with a jabber of fresh instructions. He and his new squad were
ordered to turn back, and rendezvous with the Space Marines from Bravo squad. Together they
were to proceed to a room at location Beta Kappa 7, and retrieve a C.A.T. Scanner. If the company
could save the scanner its value might in some small way compensate for their failure to
capture the hulk.

It was an honour to have to have been chosen to lead such an important mission, but the sergeants
armour felt very heavy indeed as he led his men back down into bowels of the alien ship.
.
