Nykona Sharrowkyn - To Kill a Primarch: Since the betrayal on Isstvan V, the hearts of the Shattered Legions had burned with the need for vengeance, but when it came to the Emperor's Children, the heart of the Iron Tenth blazed high, for it had been Fulgrim, the primarch of the IIIrd Legion, who had been responsible for Ferrus Manus' defeat and ultimate death.On several occasions, the surviving sons of Ferrus Manus would put all caution aside and mount inherently dangerous and often unorthodox plans in the sole hope of inflicting damage or casualties on the Emperor's Children, thereby expunging a small measure of hate for their former brothers.So it came to be that when the Sysipheum got word of the conclave between Perturabo -- the primarch of the Iron Warriors Legion -- and Fulgrim, the survivors aboard the strike cruiser could not sit idle. Bound to meet on the world of Hydra Cordatus, Sabik Wayland and Nykona Sharrowkyn would infiltrate the planet and spy on both primarchs, and if possible, kill them.With typical arrogance, Fulgrim requested from his brother the construction of a theater especially for their meeting. The imposing building -- named the "Thaliakron" in deference to Olympia's myths -- had been completed in no less than two solar days.It was a magnificent edifice, a thing of beauty which offered many places to hide, an opportunity which the Iron Hands gladly took. Sharrowkyn and Wayland were hidden in the shadow cast by the Thaliakron's imposing lighting, two towering statues of nymphs bearing bowls of burning fire. The Thaliakron's acoustics were phenomenal, and even from their place of hiding, the Primarchs' words reached them easily.Sharrowkyn eyed the two Primarchs through the targeting reticule of his Needler Sniper Rifle: both Primarchs were at the extreme range of his weapon. Wayland on the other hand was restless with rage, the mere sight of the killer of his genetic father infuriating him.Sharrowkyn tried to calm down his ally and friend, urging him to activate the device given to them by Frater Thamatica: a vox-thief, a small device capable of capturing and transcribing spoken words and sounds into highly compressed binary cant.Balancing his humours to keep his Medusan anger in check, Wayland installed the device with barely enough time to capture the tale Fulgrim told, the myth of the Angel Exterminatus.With consummate skill, Fulgrim told this tale of ages never witnessed by man, for the Angel Exterminatus belonged to the legends of a far older race than Mankind: that of the Aeldari. Essentially, it was a xenos weapon of terrifying power, allegedly so potent that the greatest of the Aeldari gods, Asuryan, imprisoned it in a great rift outside reality, the Eye of Terror.Realising at once that Fulgrim wanted to gain Pertuarbo's support in this venture, Sharrowkyn and Wayland decided to take actions to thwart the Phoenician's plans. Sharrowkyn took aim with his Needler Sniper Rifle, while Sabik Wayland readied himself for a hasty and tumultuous extraction, disengaging and securing the Vox-thief.Sharrowkyn eyed his target through his rifle's reticule and took the shot -- hitting Fulgrim exactly where he had planned: in the primarch's eye. Without looking back, Sharrowkyn quickly picked up his rifle and made for the rappelling lines fixed at the Thaliakron's outer walls. There was no time to check if he had killed his target, but his aim had been true.The high velocity dart had penetrated Fulgrim's left eye, with just a little puff of blood. Unfortunately for the loyal sons of the Emperor, the Traitor primarch would survive.Sharrowkyn and Wayland had no time to care about their lack of fortune, for as soon as they had seized their rappelling lines, warriors of the IVth Legion were already in pursuit of the two would-be assassins, wading through the panicked crowd of the Thaliakron. Concerned for their Primarch's safety, most of the Emperor's Children stayed within the theater.Despite having started his descent first, Wayland was unfamiliar with the Raven Guard's equipment and Sharrowkyn quickly caught up with the Iron Father. Sharrowkyn reached the ground first, having dropped the last twenty metres when a trio of Iron Warriors spotted them and began peppering the Thaliakron's outside walls with shots from their bolters.Readying his weapon while still in the air, the Raven Guard returned fire, high precision tox-shots making short work of neck seals, visors and speaker grilles and the soft flesh beneath them. Prompted by the gunfire to drop the last few metres, Wayland landed heavily and with a total lack of elegance.By then, the panicked crowd was fleeing the Thaliakron, the resulting commotion a most welcome distraction for the two Loyalists who fled south through the debris field, construction engine parks and abandoned worker camps left in the wake of the Thaliakron's completion.The Iron Warriors, who had not been as changed by their betrayal as other Legions, quickly mounted an organised pursuit, bringing in reinforcements and committing them to a city-wide hunt. But however diligent and methodical, the Iron Warriors were ill-prepared for what came next.Operating as a single ship and in small numbers had taught the Sysipheum's crew some valuable lessons -- for instance, to leave nothing to chance and always have a contingency-plan to rely upon. This contigency had taken the form of several cases worth of explosives, buried in strategic locations as to better secure Wayland's and Sharrowkyn's extraction corridor.The first charge caught a band of mortal followers, shattering their cooked and ripped bodies over a wide area, but still the enemy came on. Wayland and Sharrowkyn covered each other, one running, the other gunning down the closest enemies. Against this mortal enemy, the roar of Wayland's own bolter proved more effective than Sharrowkyn's silent projectiles, but still they were hunted.The sound of approaching engines warned them of incoming Land Raiders, the two war machines quickly appearing on the edge of a nearby pile of debris, bearing the purple and gold livery of the Emperor's Children, proof if needed that the IIIrd Legion had also committed its warriors to the capture of their father's would-be assassins.The Land Raiders' colour scheme were a marked contrast to the utilitarian bluntness of the Iron Warriors, both Emperor's Children tanks bearing confusing swirls of purple and pink which had taken an almost organic aspect, as if the two heavy assault vehicles were scaled like the skin of a serpent. Even more confusing were the glistening banners carried on their topside and the hull-mounted incense burners or smoke dispensers that enveloped the tanks' hulls in a swirl of brightly-coloured fog.Their appearance was in fact so peculiar that Sharrowkyn stopped in his tracks, a hesitation that ultimately saved his life, as the pile of rubble he had selected as his next cover was vaporised by one of the leading Land Raider's twin-linked Lascannons. Thrown back by the might of the detonation, Sharrowkyn landed hard, but was quickly back on his feet. He had lost sight of Wayland, but the still-approaching battle tanks left him no time to think about it.Sharrowkyn jumped inside an excavation trench and followed it, using the trench's depth as cover. More and more shots were zeroing in on him, but fortunately, his armour's inbuilt stealth systems were throwing off the aim of his pursuers. The trench ended in a circular material depot, dominated by sections of wide-mouthed pipe works that were more than a match for the barrels of a Titan's weaponry.Just as he reached the circular area, Wayland's voice manifested itself on Sharrowkyn's voice-link, urging him to take cover. Wasting no time, Sharrowkyn dived for the nearest section of pipe as the earth shook under the might of multiple coordinated detonations.Wayland had just triggered the main and secondary charges. A heavy pall of smoke, dust and sand began to obscure the landscape, leaving Sharrowkyn a small moment of respite after he had despatched a lone Emperor's Children Astartes who had also sought refuge from the blast in the same section of pipe.Using the confusion around him to assess his position, Sharrowkyn got a clear look at his pursuers: the khaki uniforms of the soldiers of the Selucid Thorakites, oath-bonded mortal warriors of the IVth Legion, led and directed by Iron Warriors Astartes. The enemy was clever, trying to box him in, but they were not privy to the Raven Guard stealth and infiltration techniques, and so Sharrowkyn gradually made for his rendezvous point.Attempts to raise Wayland on the vox all failed, leading the lone Raven Guard to wonder if his ally might have been caught, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Distracted by his own worries, Sharrowkyn realised too late that he was not alone in the ravine he had just ventured into: someone had followed him. On instinct, Sharrowkyn dived, narrowly escaping the blast of sonic waves that devastated the ravine's wall instead.Rolling on his back he quickly emptied his needler's magazine on the lone enemy, transforming his breastplate into a bloody mess, but still the enemy warrior did not fall. Laughing hysterically the Emperor's Children Astartes raised his exotic cannon -- which was some kind of Sonic Weapon -- but before he could fire again, Sharrowkyn had drawn his twin gladii and silenced the weapon for good.Even with Sharrowkyn's second blade firmly embedded in his neck, the enemy Noise Marine still lived, letting out an ear piercing shriek before the Raven Guard could punch his first blade into his enemy's brain. Now his pursuers had a fix on his position.Sheathing his weapons and shouldering his rifle, Sharrowkyn ran from the construction site. Enemy troops were inbound and he knew full well that his chances of escaping were dwindling by the solar minute.In utter desperation, Sharrowkyn violated his Legion doctrines, climbing an earthly ridge to get a better view of his surroundings and possibly make out a path ahead, but this meant sky-lining himself and thus becoming an easily recognisable target.The vision he gained was a grim one: he was surrounded. Nearly a thousand soldiers were converging on his position, some of them carrying heavy weapons such as small-calibre howitzers, quad-lasers or tunnelling mortars. Further out, but rapidly closing, he could see four Land Raiders and at least a dozen Rhinos throwing up dust, all wearing the dull-metal hulls of the Iron Warriors.Swearing, Sharrowkyn made his way back down as the first shots began to pepper around him. Some hit him, mostly laser-shots, but still enough to make his armour's integrated damage indicators turn an angry red. The Raven Guard was down to his last magazine, mowing down a squad of Selucid Thorakrites.And then salvation arrived.Descending on the wash of its powerful jet engines, a multi-spectrally camouflaged Storm Eagle descended on the battlefield, Sabik Wayland at its controls. Wasting no time, Sharrowkyn dropped flat as the Storm Eagle's nose-mounted Heavy Bolters spat devastation.Strafing the ridge several times from left to right, the enemy infantry -- both mortals and Astartes -- perished under the deluge of fire. Thanks to their thick plating and front armour, the Land Raiders had weathered the storm, but Wayland was not finished.Locking onto his targets, the Storm Eagle's missile launchers came to bear, four slender missiles detaching from its avian silhouette which caused the Land Raiders to explode or crash into their own troops. Using the short time they had won, Wayland opened the flyer's assault bay and Sharrowkyn quickly jumped inside.Wayland did not wait for his friend and ally to join him in the cockpit to engage the Storm Eagle's engines and flee the battlefield. Making their way back to the Sisypheum would be a bumpy ride, but they were not flying in a conventional Astartes spacecraft but the only existing Nighthawk Pattern Storm Eagle, personally designed and built by Wayland himself. Despite their best efforts, the Iron Warriors and Emperor's Children would not be able to catch it.