A Monster in Paradise.

A Warhammer 40,000/Lion King Fanfic.

By 'Camrath' with help from 'Mux'.

PART ONE: DESCENT

PROLOGUE

Darkness. Blackness both physical and spiritual moved through the ether. Where it had come from, it is best not to consider, for there are things that we should leave well alone. The darkness moved silently through the warp. The clouds of scintillating blackness that make up warp space parted briefly, allowing the onlooker a brief glimpse of the source of this black aura. A spacecraft, millennia old and scarred with the light of thousands of battles. Along its pitted and twisted hull, fully two miles long, weird gargoyles and vicious weapon turrets were scattered, giving a horrific combination of gothic superstition and modern death dealing. The ship ploughed on, its destination known only to the debased souls who lived in its dubious haven. Wherever it was going, only one thing was certain: the result would be bloodletting on a huge scale.

CHAPTER ONE

A burst of wild music spilled out of the door. From the dark portal a man followed soon after, hurled by the bar's ogryn bouncer. He skidded along the ground and came to rest halfway up the concourse. As he drunkenly began to get up, a stranger appeared over him. This stranger was quite an unusual sight. He was dressed in a mix of styles; some that said "bounty hunter," others that said "space scum." Most of his clothes were concealed beneath a long, shabby leather coat, but when it parted brief glimpses of tattered and worn flight overalls were visible beneath. He was at least six and a half feet tall, and his face was drawn and pensive, as if he had a well of deep sadness holed up inside. He knelt down to the drunk, who was touching his arm to see if it was broken.

"Are you all right there friend?" The strangely dressed man asked, in a voice that was like a loud whisper. "You've taken a bit of a tumble."

The drunk slurred a reply and got unsteadily to his feet. He swayed for a moment, then staggered off towards the living area of the station. The tall man watched him go, then turned and entered the bar.

On the bridge of the station, the captain was mentally bemoaning his bad luck. Once a Colonel in the Imperial Guard, he had taken command of this refuelling station thinking it would be a good way to eke out his retirement years. After twenty- five years of fighting the worst the galaxy could throw at him, he had thought that simply tanking up ships and looking after their crews would be a relaxing change. He had not reckoned on the problems of the drunks, the renegades and the bounty hunters that flooded through his station, and he was growing sick of having to order new fixings to replace those damaged by gun fire in the various bars and concourses. He was just compiling the latest report on a gun battle that left two dead when the astropath's assistant came sprinting up to him.

The man snapped to attention. "Sir, My lord Ahrain begs leave to inform you that he has detected a large disturbance in warp space not far from here."

This snapped the captain from his reverie. "We're too near to the Cadian Gate to let this slide. Does he have any more information?"

"No Sir!"

"Well then go back to him and tell him to find out as much as he can. And send a message to Cadia. This could be a Chaos incursion."

The aide's face froze. "Sir, do you think so?"

"It pays to be cautious. Now go." The aide snapped off a salute, and then scurried back to his master.

"Brilliant, just when I thought things couldn't get worse we get an unidentified trace," the captain thought to himself before ordering the bridge sergeant at arms to put the station on blue alert.

In the bar the tall man stalked past the huge ogryn, who's eight-foot frame dwarfed even him, and walked silently up to the bar. The barkeep, recognising him, instinctively reached for the bottle of Wildsnake as he greeted his old friend. "Hey, Dex, I didn't know you were back here! How have things been?" As he spoke he poured out a shot of the milky white liquid and slid it along the bar to Dex. The tall man glanced up, a brief smile flickering on his lips, and tossed back the liquor with a sigh.

"Oh, you know how things are for me, Jez. Seems like I just have a cloud of trouble over my shoulders."

The barkeep looked at his friend with a caring smile. "You had more trouble with the Arbitrators then?"

"Arbitrators, guardsmen, orks, eldar and Emperor knows what else besides. Half the galaxy has a grudge against me." Dex smiled and slid the glass back for another shot. Most men would pass out after two or three shots of 'snake, but Jez had never even seen Dex drunk despite the fact that he drank it like water. As he filled the glass, the klaxon for blue alert rang out, cutting through even the noise of the bar. The barkeep paused in his motion.

"Wonder what that was for," he remarked absently to Dex.

"Probably just another warp storm or something. It shouldn't matter."

The barkeep nodded in agreement, and went to serve another customer who was clamouring for his attention further down the bar.

CHAPTER TWO

"Sir!" The aide bellowed to the captain, "We have an ID on the disturbance- it's a Chaos Styx class cruiser, and it's on its way here!" The young man's face was white with of terror.

The captain leapt from his chair. "Emperor's Blood! Send a signal to Battlefleet Gothic and issue general red alert! Send the crews to the defences!" He turned to the bridge. "Full battle stations, everyone! A chaos cruiser is inbound, and we must hold them as long as possible. Have small arms issued to all able- bodied men on the station- they'll try to take us alive and capture the station intact. Tech adept!"

The bridge tech priest came to the captain's side, his skull encrusted with wires connecting him to the station's diagnostic systems.

"My Captain?" He hissed.

"Raise the shields and prepare for combat. We will need to keep them at arm's length for as long as possible. Have your brothers prepare to detonate the warp core on my mark as well- if they board, they cannot capture this station- it's much too important." The priest bowed, and his eyes flicked back as he interfaced with the computer net.

Outside the station a strange nimbus of light began to flicker. It played wildly for a few seconds before beginning to coalesce into a single great patch. From this the cruiser jetted out like a snake from its hole, ablaze with points of light as its weapons came online. It sliced through the darkness towards the station glimmering with light ahead.

The bar was suddenly thrown into havoc as the captain's voice rang out over the speaker, imploring those who were trained in combat to take up arms and help defend the station. Some of the patrons turned and dashed to the flight decks, hoping against hope to find a ship to take them to safety, while others ran around grabbing weapons from arms lockers and bags. The ogryn at the door reached behind him and grasped his enormous ripper gun, while Jez bought out his "pacifier", an old shotgun taken off the corpse of an arbitrator during the Squornshellus uprisings. Only Dex remained calm in the face of doom.

"Hey Dex, you've got a ship- I'd suggest that you get out while you still can."

Dex looked at the barkeep with an inkling of perverse happiness on his face. "Oh no, Jez, this could be the chance I've been waiting for. I'm going to stay and help the fight." With that he let his coat fall open, revealing the hilt of a power sword and a shoulder holster containing an exquisitely crafted bolt pistol. He drew the gun, checked the magazine and murmured the words of the litany against jamming over it's breech block. Just as he replaced it in the holster, the bar rocked with the force of a mighty explosion.

The cruiser had reached firing range. Its first volley, delivered by the two-hundred-foot long plasma lances on its prow, had slammed into the station's shields, weakening them severely. As the ship closed its weapon batteries opened fire as well. Thousands of points of light flickered as laser beams and shells flicked out across the void, slamming into the helpless station. The bubble of energy protecting it began to flicker and die under the withering bombardment. As the shield finally faded into nothingness the station's defence laser fired a single ruby coloured blast, but the force of the enemy bombardment was such that the aim was wild, and the flash of searing light jetted past, not even skimming the shield array of the raider. A concerted volley from the weapons decks answered the laser, which was surrounded by a shower of fire. Its focussing crystal shattered into a myriad of melted pieces, it could offer no reply, and as the cruiser's sensors reported the station to be defenceless, the firing slackened, to be replaced by a more sinister form of attack.

From the tubes below the prow of the ship a series of points of light shot out from the torpedo tubes, each one a boarding torpedo containing two squads of crack assault troops. They rocketed towards the station, while inside the berzerkers of Khorne hyped themselves up into frenzy at the thought of the slaughter to come.

By now the whole of the station concourse was filled with armed men and women, all prepared to die for the emperor. The station's confessor was extolling them to fight their hardest for the Emperor, while the bombardment slackened. He had just reached the climatic point in his speech when the first boarding torpedo hit. It slammed through the huge plastisteel cupola over the concourse and thudded to a halt in a fountain.

There was silence for a moment, then the sides blew open and with a chilling scream of, "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" The first berzerker emerged, a chainsword whining in each hand. Some of the civilians were dumbstruck with terror at the sight of this massive figure in blood red power armour, but the majority wasted no time in firing off a ragged volley at him. The warrior laughed as over twenty beams of lasfire plashed off him like water, then bounded down to the throng ahead of him, crying for blood. Behind him more of his battle brothers emerged, and soon the concourse was filled with the sounds of chainswords biting flesh and the shrieks of the dying, maimed and scared.

Further down, another torpedo had just smashed through the cupola near the bar. The berzerkers swarmed out, and were met by a massive storm of fire from the ogryn. His ripper gun glowed as he emptied the entire magazine into the chaos marines, but the low velocity shot had little effect on their thick ceramite armour, old as it was.

Dex ducked behind the bar for a minute instance while he juggled his power sword and bolt pistol. The heathen Chaos were tearing through the throng of cheaply armed drunks and patrons with sickly ease, moving in his general direction. He jumped when Jez yelped as a stray shot caught him in his shoulder. Dex rushed to the side of the old man, his only true friend and confidante, the one man Dex had revealed the truth to. Jez had lost most of the top of his arm to the shell, and the flash from its detonation had blinded him as well. Dex looked down on him as he cradled him in his arms, the old man gasping in agony.

"Jez, do you want me to do it?"

The old man looked up unseeingly and nodded in reply. Dex gently placed the muzzle of his pistol to the stricken man's neck and fired, sending the barkeep to the Emperor's side.

Dex sat totally still for a second, completely oblivious.

In an abrupt movement, one berzerker was successfully pushed down- uninjured, of course, but he smashed the bar into millions of splinters. Dex stumbled backwards, letting his sparking power sword heave upward in his hand, through the berzerker's skull. He regained his balance and stood up on the thing's corpse- he refused to consider them in any way human -and launched himself at another Khornate disciple, doing away with it quickly.

His heart jumped. Had he forgotten the word? No, there it was... Deep in the most secluded and evil corners of his mind was the word. The very word that would transform him into what he was destined to be. Dex didn't bother thinking about it any more than he had to. He muttered it, and felt all of the unfamiliar chemicals being shoved into his bloodstream like poison into fine wine.

Pulling a myriad of acrobatic stunts, Dex gave a dozen or more of the Chaos a taste of their own poison before suffering a minor leg injury from a stray chainsword. It was more of a wonder he didn't get hacked apart and thrown about in the middle of a stunt, and soon, he was battling through a haze of pain- most of the other combatants had fled (unsuccessfully, of course) while they still could. The berzerkers were left to fight only him and scant other brave souls.

"Warp core detonation has been activated," spoke a disappointingly bored-sounding voice from the speakers in the wall, "and will commence in ten minutes."

As he began to dash over the heads of the followers of the Blood God, he grunted and gave a worthy attempt at shrugging off the pain that assaulted his body. Failing dismally, Dex jumped into the nearest corridor and fled back to the launching bay. The Chaos disciples were everywhere. It was getting difficult to dodge them. He ran along, and as he passed he noticed with a shudder of horror the piles of civilian dead that littered the passageways. He felt the gorge rising in his throat as memories of the things he had done flooded back- of how he had once carried out such deeds in the name of his Emperor. A shudder flowed through him, and he pounded down the corridor even harder, moving at a speed quite unlike any normal human.

He was approaching the hangar area now, and hung a left to take him to the bay containing his ship. A single berzerker looked up from an unfortunate victim's dismembered body as Dex charged onwards, and barely had time to register the extended power sword before it pinned him to the wall, punching through both ceramite and reinforced bone. Dex almost absently withdrew his blade from the corrupted one as he opened the airlock and saw with a glimmer of hope the familiar silhouette of his ship. The craft had served him well, and he had been through many scrapes in it. He sprinted up into the cockpit of the small transport, and began the ignition litany that would bring its quad plasma ramjets into flaming life. As the whine of the reactor built into a crescendo, he checked the auguries and sensors, and recoiled in horror. The warp around the station was disrupted by the chaos vessel- he would not be able to escape from the area!

Grimly, he sat still for a moment, considering his options. Then, as he investigated the situation more closely, he could see there were none- only one path stood ahead of him, and to follow it might be to win redemption for himself. With a brief nod, he stabbed a small rune concealed on the side of the control housing. The rune glowed green for a second, and his craft vibrated gently as the secret modifications he had installed were activated.

The engine housings on the sides of the ship swept back slightly, and from the holes thus exposed, the muzzles of a quad lascannon battery extended, as if hungering towards the light. An armoured screen swept up over the cockpit canopy, and inside all was dark for a moment before the targeting screens blazed into vibrant life. Dex's face glowed in the sickly light of the console, and with a quick prayer to the Emperor, and any other deities that might be listening, he activated the engines.

The ship screamed out of the hangar, trailing white fire. It rocketed out across the void, and within ten seconds had closed with the cruiser. Dex grinned malevolently as he soared alongside, and watched as the turrets slowly swung to track him. A few pulses of light rocketed past, but as the ship jinked along, the targeting systems with their arcane equipment could not lock onto this small target; a gnat attacking a bear.

Dex skillfully maneuvered up the cruiser, closing on its bridge. As he did so his spare hand flickered over the firing controls of the lascannons, fine tuning his aim on the command center. Closer and closer he soared, the ship rolling past underneath him. At last, he reached the point, and stabbed down on the firing rune. Four jets of ruby colored death slashed through space and cut deeply into the distorted bridge of the monstrous warship. Flames leapt out from the newly blasted hole, and the craft listed slightly as the command computer overloaded, frying the minds of the corrupted servitors that operated it. Dex allowed himself a small yell of triumph as he cannoned past, turning inwards towards the station for another attack run on the ship, when suddenly the station seemed to tear apart with a brilliant flare of black light. The warp core had detonated.

Sparking bolts of midnight black lightning arced out towards the chaos cruiser from the torn asunder ruins of the station, and lashed its hull, tearing great rents through it. The space around the wreckage began to swirl as the warp/real space crossover took hold, and with a silent flare a new warp gate appeared, tearing apart reality. It was toward this that Dex rocketed; his ship caught in the irresistible attraction of the anti-void. He strained at the controls, but no change in his course was forthcoming. As he approached the threshold of the rift, he looked back to see the cruiser tearing in half under the great stress inflicted on it. He smiled grimly- he would not be cast into nothingness alone. He looked back through his front screen again, and saw the rift rush towards him, swallowing his ship whole. There was a moment of coldness as the warp storm tore through him, followed by a shower of sparks as his instruments overloaded simultaneously. Then he knew nothing more as he passed beyond the material universe, spinning alone and helpless through the ether.

CHAPTER THREE

Dex awoke, he knew not where. He checked his view screens, but they were black, and as silent as ghosts. Taking a deep breath, he dropped the armor screen around his cockpit and stared out into the warp. The sights in front of him would flay a normal man's brain to pieces in a nanosecond, but then Dex was no normal man...

He looked about, trying not to take in most of what he saw, searching for the bright flare of a gate back into real space. He had no idea how long he had been out, and did not have the slightest idea where, or when he was. For the warp is different from normal space, and both time and distance have different meanings there. He was starting to lose hope when, far off his starboard prow he saw the distinctive glimmer of an overlap, and his heart soaring, he turned towards it.

Above the surface of a small world in an uncharted area of the galaxy, space began to distort. A flare of light briefly appeared, and cast its glow across the sky. A solitary mandrill baboon, sitting alone in his tree, saw this, and wondered what this strange event could mean. A few minutes later he was shaken again from his reverie, as he saw a small star appear that seemed to be rocketing down towards the planet, trailing smoke and fire. He grabbed a staff and swung down from the branch- the King would have to hear about this...

In his craft, Dex swore and pounded the flight console with his fist. He had dropped out of warp far too close to the atmosphere of some planet, and had found himself caught in its gravity well. As his ship screamed through the upper atmosphere, he realized his controls were almost totally worthless, and his retrorockets would not deploy. A new readout flashed up, telling him that the planet's atmosphere had high oxygen levels and a large stock of wildlife.

"Great, oxygen so the ship burns, and wildlife that will try to eat me." He thought bitterly as he plummeted downwards. He began to get some control back, but then his engines malfunctioned under the friction from the dense atmosphere. The craft leapt forwards, then slowed considerably. Dex grunted at this.

"At least I'll be able to belly land," he thought as he saw a large area of grassland ahead.

His height dropped down to a hundred meters, and his speed was down to four hundred kilometers per hour- it wasn't good, but he should survive. He took a deep breath and murmured a prayer as he felt the base of the hull hit the ground with a sickening thud. He saw a water hole ahead, then he was slammed forward with bone breaking force. He lost consciousness.

The craft shot along the ground, scattering herds in its flaming wake, slowing down all the time. Eventually a waterhole loomed up ahead, and the craft slammed into this. Its speed dropped dramatically, and it slowed to a halt, steam pouring from it's superheated hull. All was still for a second, then a figure clambered out of an emergency hatch and plopped into the water. The man floundered to the surface, and drifted over to the bank of the hole, where he lay unmoving. His arm was bent at an odd angle, a few of his ribs were broken and he was bruised all over, but his motion showed that he still breathed. As he lay senseless on the bank, a group of quadpedal creatures that looked like big cats- lions? -led by a large male and followed by the mandrill surrounded him, and looked in wonder at this visitor from the stars.

PART TWO: ACCEPTANCE

CHAPTER FOUR

Dex groaned painfully as he rolled into consciousness. His entire figure was sodden with fresh water, and thoroughly uncomfortable. He concentrated for any amount of minutes, or what felt like years, letting his wounds mend themselves. Wondering where he was, Dex's memory kicked in, sending a few urgent messages to his brain to spin around and face the creatures he'd seen before.

Regretting his quick actions, Dex waited for the assaulting of thousands of aches upon his muscles to ebb before shaking his head vigorously and raising his field of vision to the alien onlookers.

Lions, most definitely. He'd never actually seen them- they weren't exactly vital to members of his profession -though he had heard quite nice descriptions of how effectively they tore guts out. He fumbled for his bolt pistol when the lead male spoke, uneasily.

"Greets..." its- his, his voice, trailed off.

Sputtering uncontrollably, Dex was prepared to knock himself out rather than the lion until he remembered a useful little device, psychic translator by name, which had been installed in his brain during his ex-career.

"Hello," he said, wondering how the translator calculated fast enough to make the foreign syllables roll off of his tongue so genuinely.

The lion blinked, as though he weren't expecting a comprehensible response. Dex wasn't.

"Ah..."

Seeking to break the abominable uneasiness that had overtaken the place, Dex spoke, "Greets, I am Dex Ayan, from Earth."

"Dex," spoke the lion, dipping its head. He couldn't tell whether it was out of respect, disdain or some purely leonine emotion.

"I'm guessing you want an explanation."

The lion nodded again. Dex sighed, wishing he wouldn't act so damned intimidating. If he was trying to be that way, it was working.

"Err, I was fleeing from a- a force of Chaos- Chaos being evil, and I ended up losing control of my ship," he gestured to his mangled craft, "and crashed here. Ah... I wouldn't mind if I could stay somewhere about this place until I can repair it and be off."

"I think you should let him stay, Simba..." Spoke a lioness.

"Yes... yes..." the mandrill baboon began, "as long as the hyenas are acting up, he'll be a valuable friend."

"All right, all right! Let me think a minute! Please," spoke the male, "Dex, a moment to contemplate?"

Dex nodded. It was his turn to look intimidating, now.

After a few minutes of apparent deep thought, the lion looked up and deemed, "I don't see any harm it could do." He craned his neck and whispered something to a lioness. She nodded resolutely, dashing off back towards a trio of huge boulders that loomed in the distance, each one appearing to lean against the other, totally dependent.

"I promise I'll help with the- hyenas," Dex noted.

Moments following a soft buzz that ran through the pride of lions, Dex was escorted to what he had looked at before, the boulders- Pride Rock. The huge figure seemed to stab up into the sky like a giant dagger, its hilt curved into knuckle-covers, the knife itself blunted. Clouds above hung lazily, almost floating onto it, though a bit too high. Dex didn't find it particularly breathtaking, but to be found on a place like this- apparently feral -was a surprise. He wondered if it had been naturally formed.

"You may sleep wherever you see fit," said the male lion, "but not in the main cave. And by the way, I'm Simba. Sleep easy." Before Dex could respond, Simba was gone, sped up the rock and into the main cave.

CHAPTRE FIVE

The sun shone heavy and hot in the bright blue sky, singeing the ground of the valley. Dex was surprised that it didn't burst into flames altogether.

Two days after his arrival, Dex had been asked to aid the lionesses on their next hunt. He was convinced that he'd never be able to keep up with them, but his strength surprised him yet again. He was careening through the valley north of Pride Rock, in pursuit of a pack of wildebeests.

When he had reached suitable distance, Dex cocked his master-crafted bolt pistol, fluidly removing it from its shoulder holster, and made sure that it was pointed well above the lionesses and would hit its targets, the wildebeests, instead.

He let off a controlled blast of four shells. At that very second, the wildebeests scattered in a matter of perhaps half a minute, the lionesses yowling and backing away. Two wildebeests were lying dead on the ground.

"Dex! What did you do?" He couldn't tell whether Nala was enraged or elated.

"Well, I, ah," Dex had no idea that firing off a shot would have such an effect- it never occurred to him. "I fired my gun."

"Your what? It looks like a deformed rock."

"It's a gun. It shoots bullets- err, bullets are like rocks that move very fast, and they really hurt when you get hit by one."

"Hmm..." A familiar buzz ran through the collection of lionesses.

"What?"

"We'd like you to not use it unless our prey is indefinitely going to get away."

"Err, y-yeah, sure. Sorry."

The more recent hunt having depleted rather quickly, Dex was called for another. He wondered if it would become routine. He wandered out with the rest of the lionesses, admiring the way that their tawny bodies slid through the grass, nearly invisible in the early evening sunlight.

The group moved out slowly, and hunkered down about a mile from Pride Rock, where the hunt leader, Uzuri, informed them of their targets for the evening.

"Ok ladies," she whispered, and with a nod to the human added, "and others, tonight we have a good chance of getting us some buffalo." Here a murmur ran through the group- buffalo were one of the most dangerous animals to hunt that lived in the Pridelands. "Now then, calm down! We've all hunted them in the past, and if we make a kill we'll have food for a week! Split into pairs. Nala, you go with Ajenti. Isha, take Sarafina. Sarabi, you come with me. Dex, you watch the escape route- and don't use that gun thing, please- you'll scare them all off!"

"Sure, Uzuri," he whispered back.

With that said, the group slunk off to the attack positions, and Dex slid into a crouch at his appointed place. He had no weapons other than a monomolecular knife, but he was still confident of felling any prey that came his way.

The night grew darker, and Dex still sat. A normal man would have dozed off many hours before, but still he crouched, poised and ready. Suddenly, he heard a roar from Uzuri, and looked up to see a ton and a half of steaming buffalo bearing down on him. The lionesses were close behind, but the beast was going too fast for them to catch. Dex waited as the beast approached, and then, with a sudden flurry of movement, he burst from cover and attacked.

The buffalo was taken aback by the sight of this strange beast that appeared from nowhere. It looked like a monkey, but it was big, and it moved with the speed of a running cheetah. It tried to turn, but the strange creature leapt high, and somehow landed on its back.

Dex landed neatly on the buffalo's back, and without further hesitation, he swung down his knife. The blade, subatomically sharpened, disappeared into its broad neck, drawing out a thick jet of blood, but still the beast thundered on. It suddenly dawned on Dex that his blade was too short to inflict a lethal injury, and with a cry of fury he released the pommel. Then, grabbing the horns of the massive beat, he twisted them viciously. The buffalo only had time to mutter a surprised grunt before its vertebrae twisted and ripped apart, helpless to resist the strength of the superhuman on it's back.

The beast slammed to the ground, and slid for several meters, with Dex hanging onto its back like some rider in an African rodeo. It finally came to a halt, and Dex sprang off its carcass, turning about as Uzuri and Sarabi came to his side, panting with exertion.

"Leo! Did you kill that with your bare hands?" Uzuri exploded.

"Well, I tried the knife, but it didn't really work." Dex answered, absently.

"My word, I've never seen a lion take down a buffalo single handed- much less anything else! Sarabi- can I just have a quick word?" Dex watched, mystified, as the two lionesses huddled together and whispered to each other. They seemed to reach an agreement, then turned back to him.

"Dex, you have just made your first real kill." Dex couldn't help but smirk. The lionesses didn't seem to understand, and Uzuri continued. "Now I know that you aren't a lion, but there is a certain ceremony that we carry out when this happens for a member of the pride. Would you like to perform it?"

"It would be a true honor!" The human replied.

"Excellent! Now, could you kneel down so that I can reach your face?" With that, Uzuri turned to the carcass and raked it with her claws. A thick stream of blood poured out, and she gathered this on the pads of her right paw. This she raised and pressed to the man's face, leaving a scarlet imprint on his cheek. "Now you are one of the pride's hunters. May you always make good prey."

Dex was quite moved by this gesture of acceptance from a member of a totally different species, and just sat for a minute, staring at the lions, an odd expression on his face. For the first time in his life a tear rolled slowly down one of his cheeks.

He was broken from his meditation by an odd sound- somewhere between a roar and a scream. He did not take much notice, but the two lionesses both perked up their ears. "Someone's been hurt!" Sarabi gasped.

A second roar followed, from a different throat. "It's Nala!" Shouted Uzuri, and then both lionesses turned and pounded off towards the source of the sounds. Dex shot to his feet and followed them, easily keeping pace with their long lopes.

Nala was in a bad way. She had pounced on a buffalo, intending to go for its neck, when it had swung its head and pierced her flank with one of its cruel horns. The queen had been hurled back through the air, and slammed to the ground hard. Rafiki, who had been in the area by chance, had rushed to help, but seeing the extent of the damage had only turned away, tears streaming down his cheeks.

It was to this sad scene that Dex was treated when he arrived. He dashed up to Rafiki and asked of him how bad the injury was.

"It is too bad... Sh- she is pierced through the side and her ribs are broken. There is nothing I can do- Simba will be here soon so that she may die by his side..."

Dex was speechless for a moment, and he stood still, staring at the lioness, her sides heaving with agony. He absently ran his hands over the whorls of the paw print on his face. He stood like this for several seconds, then suddenly snapped round and addressed the sobbing ape. "Listen, I might be able to help her! But I need someone to go to my ship and collect something. I need a metal box from the cockpit, with this symbol-" here he drew a cross in the earth "-emblazoned on it in blood red." Rafiki nodded, then scurried off towards the waterhole. Dex then moved over to Nala's side, pushing past the other lionesses and searching through his backpack.

"Nala," he murmured to her as he crouched next to her head, "I'm going to try and help you. Now I'm going to give you something to put you to sleep for a bit, so I can heal you without causing pain. OK?"

Nala nodded weakly in reply, unable to speak from the agony that welled through her. Dex withdrew a syringe from his emergency med-pack, and placed it to her neck. With a gentle hiss the tranquilizer fired into her system, and she slumped into sleep. Dex looked at the marker on the syringe, and tried to remember his long ago training on drugs. Unfortunately, his training on drugs had mainly dealt with lethal doses, so he just tried to scale down the effects of what he administered.

A couple of minutes later Rafiki returned, with Simba following soon after. Rafiki handed Dex the box, and as he unsealed it he filled Simba in on the situation.

"Simba, this is bad. She has been pierced, and also has several broken bones. I can heal those, but if she has internal injuries there isn't much I can do for her. If so, she will die on her own within hours... But I can help her soul depart in such a case. Do you wish this to be so?"

The mighty lion started to cry gently. "Yes, but please do what you can! She is everything to me!" Dex simply nodded, then turned to his patient.

"I will need some help here from you, Rafiki. The rest of you, please give me some space." He unpacked the equipment from the case, and spread it on the ground. Taking a monitoring unit, he wired up Nala, and watched as the lines of her heart and brain activity rose and fell weakly. He then took s small phial with a crossbones marking on it, and handed it to Rafiki. "If this yellow line stops moving, it means her brain has died. If that happens, then pour this into her mouth for me. It will make her body follow quietly." The old ape nodded, and took up a position at Nala's head. Dex then drew out a surgical laser and activated it. "Don't look straight at the light- it'll damage your eyes." He instructed as he passed the light ray over Nala's abdomen.

The golden fur blackened, and the flesh parted under the onslaught of the searing light. The lions all gasped and turned away, but Dex just stared down into Nala. On a scale of one to ten of the unpleasant things he'd seen this would not even make a one. He saw the deep hole from the horn, and took out a patch of stinger mould. This he applied to the inside of the wound, and it started to close up almost at once. Dex was just turning his attention to the three fractured ribs when a sudden blipping sounded from the monitor unit. A glance confirmed his worst fear- Nala's heart had stopped.

Quickly, not even taking time to explain, he darted to the case and grabbed an electro-shock unit. Charging it, he placed it to Nala's side and fired. Her whole body jerked as the power flowed into her, but no response was forthcoming. Simba, seeing this, asked with a note of panic in his voice what was happening

"Her heart has stopped Simba. I am doing my best..." There, he hit Nala with another jolt of power. "To revive her. This should set it going again." He looked at the line, but it was still flat. "Come on…" he growled under his breath, as he fired a third time. The line stayed flat, and just as he began to lose hope, it flickered, then rose again gently. Dex released a huge sigh of relief. "She lives again. Now I'd best get finished before anything else happens." He turned back to Nala, and started to treat her bones. He gently pushed the broken ends together, then sealed them with a cauterizing burst of light. Soon her ribs were placed back together, and the wound healed. Dex then took out a small machine, which he ran along the edge of the smooth cut from his laser. With a sharp rattle the two sides of the wound were joined with a line of perfect stitches. Dex stood up, and then turned to Simba.

"Simba, Nala is alive and healed. She will wake up in a few minute, and although there will be some pain, it will pass. It's critical that she doesn't move around for a week- if she does, she might burst the stitching on her side open. I'll look after her for now. But after a short time, she'll be fine."

Soon after, Nala rose shakily from the effects of the drugs. She slowly staggered back to Pride Rock, supported by her mother and Sarabi.

Later that evening Dex sought out Simba to check he was all right. He found him lying on the promontory, staring at the stars and sobbing gently.

"Simba, are you alright? If you like, I can give you something to help you sleep..."

Simba was speechless. He stared at Dex with a look of deep wonder and reverence as he tried to put into words how he felt. Tears dripped down his shaggy cheeks and dampened his mane. "Dex, I... I just don't know what to say. You have come here from the stars and saved my beloved Nala. You are surely a Nisei- an angel -in disguise!"

On hearing these words, Dex's face darkened as he recalled some of the things he had done in a life long ago. "Simba, majesty, I swore to myself to protect the innocent long ago, and what is this but the fulfillment of my oath?"

"Do not put down this wonder you have worked." The mighty lion replied. "I must do something now to repay you."

Simba raised his head, and roared loudly. Most of the lionesses, apart from the ones attending to Nala, filed out of the cave, accompanied by Rafiki.

"Today," The mighty king bellowed, "today we have seen a great miracle bestowed upon us. For Dex, our visitor from beyond the stars, has managed to bring my beloved back from amongst them. For this feat of healing and love, I hereby declare him to be a full member of the pride. Are there any objections?" The group of lionesses was silent. "Therefore, from this day forth let it be known that Dex is one of us- one of our family. He is our brother, our son and our savior, and I hope that he may stay with us always."

Dex was struck wordless, and at a loss for a moment what to do, he decided to copy the manners he had seen rogue lions use to the king in his short stay so far.

Dropping to one knee, he reached out and stroked Simba's mane, while intoning, "Incosi Simba, I touch your mane." This gesture drew gasps of admiration from amongst the lionesses, and Simba's response silenced them totally.

"Incosi ack incosi, I feel it." This greeting, only used to other kings, demonstrated the depth of Simba's respect for the new member of the pride.

PART THREE: REVELATIONS

CHAPTER SIX

Tanabi yawned, stretching lazily. He wasn't tired, he really wasn't. He didn't need to go to sleep. He-

He spotted something near the bottom of Pride Rock.

"This'll make a perfect excuse to stay up late," he thought to himself, hoping it was something dangerous that he was about to intercept.

Loosening his joints and bending down so the very tips of his ears could just barely be seen above the tall grass, the hopeful lion started padding silently towards the rock at which his target lied dormant.

The pounce commenced and ended in a millisecond as he landed forepaws-first on his prey's chest, claws only slightly extended.

Dex yelled and spun around, whipping one hand out to grasp his unholstered bolt pistol. In a few seconds, three or four wild shots went off, shattering the placid silence of the evening into a billion chaotic fragments. The mini-missiles went off without effect, thunking into the ground far off, explosives gone unactivated. Stirring sounded from somewhere...

Awakening, Dex became aware of the firearm in his right hand. He dropped it hastily, wiping sweat off of his brow.

There was a yelling lion next to him, eyes wide in fear.

"Hey! Hey! Shut up! Stop that!" Dex whispered in a loud, curt manner.

The lion ceased, shutting up and uneasily settling onto its haunches, leaning backwards. His eyes were still wide, fearful of the deadly weapon that he thought was still in his would-be assailant's hand.

"What are you doing here?" Dex glared.

"I was- um, I saw you and- and I thought you were someone- something else, and I pounced, and you- and you-" The lion was fighting hard to keep back tears.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

"And you shot at me with your- your gun, is it? A gun? You shot it at me, and missed..."

"Oh, Emperor's Blood! I'm sorry!"

"I shouldn't have pounced at you..."

"No, you were just doing what was right. I suppose I should've picked a more suitable sleeping pla-"

"I say, what's this?" A high-pitched, overly formal and strung-out voice broke in from above. Dex raised his eyes to see a hornbill descending.

"A little misunderstanding. Don't worry Za- "Tanabi was cut off by another interruption, Simba, padding down from Pride Rock

"What's going on, Tanabi?"

"Well, Dex just-" he gave up as the lionesses frothed down Pride Rock, very noisily at that.

"Um, Simba," Dex stood up and spoke, "I think I must explain a bit more about myself. If you all would care to take a seat- my story is quite long."

"I was born over a hundred and fifty terran- earthly, that's -years ago, on a small, semi-feral planet. My parents were both tribesmen in one of the hunter groups there, a lot like your own. We worshipped the Emperor of mankind as some distant god, and lived generally peacefully. My life was sheer happiness until my tenth summer."

Here Dex shuddered as the memory came back to him. "That year a massive black ship came and hung in the sky above us. No one knew what it was, or why it was there. Then, two days after it arrived, three men came from it and delivered a proclamation to our people- that the five strongest of the children who were aged ten that summer were to be bought to them the next day. Now I had won a wrestling competition amongst the children a mere two days before, so I was chosen to meet them. We were all excited- my best friend was with me as well. Well, we went to the men the following day, and they told us that we were being chosen to aspire to one of the greatest honors that the Emperor can bestow; that we were to become his sacred tools of death. They said no more, but took us all up onto the ship, before we had time to say any good-byes, and then took us away from home forever.

"Once we were on the ship, we were immediately forced into a grueling regime of exercises, the likes of which we had never before endured. We were also instructed in combat skills, and made to train with each other. As the journey went on, this intensified greatly- on some days we would be made to fight with no gravity, on others with low air, or even in crushing heavy gravity. Two of our number perished during this training, but their deaths were not mourned. Soon we were approaching Earth, and we were made to fight yet harder and harder. The other surviving candidate, apart from my friend and I, broke down one day, exhausted. The staff of the ship did not even let him get up, but just shot him before our eyes and ejected his body into space. So it was just my friend and I left, out of the many candidates from our tribe, and many others.

"Finally, the planet of Earth drew into sight, and the final test was given. We were instructed to fight between ourselves bare handed- and to the death. We knew that to refuse would mean instant liquidation for both of us, and so we, who had been like brothers, were forced to tear into each other. We struggled for two days, but we were too evenly matched. In the end, my friend whispered to me as I held him in a killing grip that he was unable to go on. I nodded, and whispered back that we had to fight, or we would both die. He replied that he was finished, and that I should win, as I was the better. With a tear in my eye, for I knew that he was right, I turned and snapped his neck under my arm." Dex sighed deeply as he recalled the feeling of his best friend's passing.

"Well, I was then taken down to the palace on Earth- a building that spans two continents. There I was told that I had been chosen to serve the Emperor as an assassin, and that the Eversor temple was interested in my skills. I was handed over to the commander of the temple, who gave me further physical tests, then led me to the chambers of the Apothecaries. For the assassins of my temple are not like normal men and women. I was put to sleep. I had a second heart implanted in my chest, and a machine that puts combat drugs straight into my blood stream. My muscles were strengthened greatly, and my brain capacity increased. I also had the device implanted that lets me speak to you. My healing system was greatly enhanced, and I was given so many different types of drugs that, like all Eversors, my blood changed and became acidic. It can burn through rock if I need to. That completed my physical conversion, but then the time came for my mental conditioning."

Dex looked around, wondering whether he should reveal this part, then continued. "Us Eversors have to be prepared to kill instantly and brutally. So we have our minds altered so all our emotions are enhanced- a dislike becomes a killing hate, a desire to serve becomes a total devotion. And we are changed so that every time we make a kill we get a positive reward. But the treatment turns our minds, and we become totally insane. We kill anything that gets in our way, and so when we are not on assignment we are frozen in time, to keep us under control.

"My first few missions were successful. I killed personally over eight thousand men, women and children during that time, but I cared not. It was on my twelfth combat mission that I failed.

"I had been ordered to destroy the whole upper echelon of a liberal movement that was developing on Lyndon XII, a rogue planet. The leaders had ceased paying tariffs and were condemning the harshness of Imperial rule, and I was sent to destroy them, and their master, a man with great psychic powers. My drop pod deposited me in the capital city, and I tore my way towards my target. I entered the throne room, slaying all the guards, and was about to finish the psyker himself when I felt something strange in my mind. I passed out.

"When I awoke I was bound hand and foot to a pillar. The psyker was in front of me, but I could not rip free to reach him. As I lay there, he began to explain to me how he felt I was a good man in truth, and how he wanted to help me. I screamed at the sound of such heresy, but then I felt his presence in my mind again. He tore down all the mental walls and conditioning that the temple had set up. He let me see myself clearly for the first time, and I realized with horror what I had done.

"My screams and curses turned to weeping, and I hung there, totally unable to go on living with myself. The man came over to me, and said to me, "Brother, do not be so distraught, for you have a chance now. I am going to send a message to the Imperial high council informing them of your failure and death. They will presume you are lost, and thus you will be able to go free. The Emperor will guide you to your redemption somewhere amongst the stars, and you will live again." With those words, the chains binding me melted away, and he left me alone with my wargear. I could not slay my savior, and my hearts had had their fill of bloodletting. I left the hall, and went to the docks. There I found a small ship waiting for me, which I took and flew off into the heavens. Since then I have been wandering the galaxy, helping the innocent, be they human, Eldar or animal. I was just refueling at a station after helping fight against a corrupt planetary government when the debased followers of Chaos attacked us. I fled the battle and through a freak accident found myself here. That is why I am so fast, strong and cautious. I apologize for what I am, and for what I almost did today. If you wish Simba, banish me and I will not complain. But judge me not for my past actions- I am trying every day to atone for them."

The lions all stared at Dex in awe. Although they had not understood some of what he had said, the tragedy of his plight had moved some of the group near to tears.

"You're... You're not going to let me stay, are you?" Dex was almost on the verge of tears himself.

Simba stood up and began to speak. "Dex, I forgive you for this incident today. You are, and forever will be, one of our pride. If we can help you to find peace, then we will do whatever is in our power to do so."

Two days later, Dex was praising the Emperor and everyone that was listening for letting him stay. He didn't really like what the rest of the planet really looked like- rather barren, dangerous, unwelcoming. The lions had all conferred and it was so deemed that he could stay until he was able to depart.

Soon, he got to know the lions and lionesses, hornbills and inhabitants, much better. Every other night, perhaps three in a row sometimes, he would amuse the cubs with stories about bumbling drunks, or scare their wits out of their furs with descriptions of marauding Chaos or brain racking Eldar. Even Simba and Nala or some of the other lionesses stayed to listen every few nights.

He successfully kept himself from becoming attracted to any of the lionesses, or vice-versa. They were absurdly human beneath their fur and extra two legs and tail, both in personality and in pathways of the mind.

Dex scavenged each day for materials that would be suitable for replenishing his ship's vital organs, but came up with mostly nothing. And so it was forthcoming that he'd stay a while longer.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Simba! Oh, goodness gracious, Simbaaa!" Zazu zigzagged through the air until he reached Simba.

Laughing, Simba looked to the rather comical bird, "What, Zazu, what's troubling you?"

"Err-um, the morning report will have to wait- hyenas! Three of them, they're just waltzing up to Pride Rock! What could they want?"

Simba's smile changed hastily to a frown. "I don't know... Only one way to find out... Don't tell anyone, tell them I'm just out... Doing something." Simba never was much for excuses, he contemplated, bounding off to the trio of hyenas.

Dex looked up from his resting place near the waterhole he'd crashed at, elbows crooked and arms providing a resting place for his head, to see Simba blitzing past without a nod, towards three figures in the distance, dog-like and sort of plump in appearance. He sighed, very comfortable against the moss-covered rock he was on, and began to get up.

He decided it only prudent to furtively keep after the lion. No one else was with him, and if trouble was about, he guessed that someone should be there to help.

Soon enough, all five of them met, Dex crouching invisibly and inaudibly behind a larger boulder.

"Heya, heh, Simba!" Came a rather gruff voice that he could only place the word "punk" on.

Another voice, probably the next hyena, spoke softly, a feminine voice. "Hello, Simba."

The next, the third hyena, contributed to the conversation solely by means of laughing hysterically.

"What do you three want?" Simba asked in a bored manner.

"Well, a, y'see,"

"Let me do the talking, Banzai."

"Hee- y- no, you always do th'talking! Lemme!"

"All right, all right."

"I was sayin', eh, we're outta food, an' we need more, but all th'food's on ya precious Pridelands."

"Couldn't a' said it better myself, Shenzi."

The third hyena snorted and broke into more gigantic peals of laughter.

"It's not funny, Ed!" Spoke Shenzi.

Dex smirked.

"We don't control where the food goes to and comes from," Simba said pointedly.

"Yeah, well neither do we, but we're hungry, and you en't." Replied Banzai.

"I can't help you there."

"Ah, well, we'll take care of it some day, en't that right, Shenzi?"

"Yeh, Banzai, that's right."

"Ed?" Chorused the two, and gained a response of more insane laughter.

Dex certainly didn't like these three. They were implying that they would get rid of Simba, and the rest of the lions. He wondered how long they'd been around, and if the threat was long-term or newly arisen.

"You've been talking like that for years, you know..." Simba began.

"My next prudent decision will be to return to Pride Rock," Dex thought as the hyena he guessed was Ed began sniffing around. He returned as silently and as invisibly as he had come, looking perfectly regular as he laid back down near the waterhole where a few wild cats snoozed. He successfully gained a "casual" look and didn't glance upwards as Simba padded back.

INTERLUDE...

The small, black ship crept towards the wreckage.. it was scattered everywhere- twisted and melted metal; freeze dried bodies; smashed bulkheads and equipment, from both the gutted and torn station, and the destroyed chaos cruiser, now locked half way through it by the phenomenal force of the warp storm.

The small ship, totally unmarked, nosed towards the hulk, eventually settling on to it's torn hull. The main hatch opened, and four heavily suited men got out.. Three of them wore standard suits of sealed exo-armour, coloured a soft gold, but the forth wore a slimmer suit of armour, pure jet black, as dark as a raven's wing, except for a single icon in blood red and gun metal emblazoned upon his chest.. the mark of the Inquisition..

"My Lord.. we are ready to penetrate." A voice hissed in the Inquisitor's ear.

"Then in the Emperor's name, do so." He intoned, his voice powerful and noble.

"As you wish.." A blue flare lit up the side of the ship as they began to carve their way in through the twisted superstructure of the station. Soon a negotiable breach had been cut, through which they moved, magnetic boots clamping them to the side of the station.

Within the station, all was darkness and gloom. The gantryways were twisted to insane angles by the unbelievable stresses put upon them during the warpcore detonation, and marked with pockholes all over from the battle that had raged there recently. Most of the bodies had been vapourised or dragged into the warp after the detonation- but then the men were'nt there to count the dead, rather to seek out the recorder.. And ensure there were no survivors, infected by Chaos..

Silently they headed towards the bridge, following twisted passageways, cutting through walls and bulkheads forced into an obscene pattern, where floors became walls and ceilings, and flesh dried by the vacuam of space and the energy of the warp melded with metal. Eventually they arrived at their destination.

The bridge was still /just/ recognisable, although every thing was smashed and burned.. However, the memory crystal was still intact.. Swiftly it was removed and borne back into the ship.

"The crystal is secure.. Commence cleansing of the wreckage." A mechanical voice intoned on the ship. As it pulled away a single bright point of light detatched itself from the hull of the craft and sped towards the station. A massive blossom of white light engulfed the wreckage as it impacted, removing the hulk from the ether.

A few minutes later, the memory crystal was playing back the events of the battle before the startled eyes of the Inquisitor. "So.. A rogue assasin.." He mumbled softly, knowing with the power of one with access to the darkest secrets of the Imperium that this was the case. "And one who seems to be blessed oddly.. We will find you, my friend.. Oh yes, I will find you.." He turned to his aides. "Plot a course on these coordinates." He ordered, letting his mind detach from the physical universe, tracking Dex's psychic spoor.

PART FOUR: UNWELCOMED GUESTS

CHAPTER EIGHT

The circle of life rolled on. It was a few weeks later. Nala had healed totally, and was now hunting normally. The prey was plentiful, and Dex had not heard of any more problems with the three miscreants he had seen Simba dealing with. Life was good for all, and the only cloud on Dex's blissful future was the fact that he would have to eventually fix his ship and leave. He did not know the whereabouts of the planet, but if an Imperial ship detected his craft, then they ran the risk of an investigative party being sent down. Even if they did no damage, they would still report back that the planet was ripe for colonization, which would be a death knoll for the Lions and all the other non-human species. Dex could not possibly risk the rape of this beautiful world, and realized he would have to flee soon. But in the hot sun, amidst the tall elephant grass, with a group of feline friends next to him, he felt deeply reluctant to return to the harshness and violence of space and the Imperium.

He was lying in the grass one evening after a successful hunt, spinning a yarn about the evils of the Horus heresy and the love of the Emperor to his audience of enraptured cubs when he first noticed the new point of light in the heavens. He had just told the story of the final battle for Earth and the sacrifice of Sanguinius at the traitor's feet, when he saw a blink of bright light flare for a second to the east.

"And so, the Emperor fought his way past the daemonic minions onto the bridge of the Battle Barge, where he saw his beloved Sanguinius lying broken at the feet of Horus, his wings closed over his body. The Emperor charged his once favored son and... And..." He trailed off, watching the glare like a hawk, much to the dismay of the cubs curled around him.

"Aww, Dex, what is it? Please keep going! I wanna find out what happened to the Emperor!" Tanabi moaned.

"One moment child." Dex responded absently, not taking his eyes off the blip of light that was steadily growing larger. To himself, he started to mutter quietly as he tried to pick up the growing silhouette. "Light… Moving… On a feral planet…" Then it struck him.

Dex whipped round his head to the cubs and yelled, "Quick, back home as fast as possible! There're dangerous creatures coming, and we need to get away from them!" Dex paused for a moment, then ran to the wreckage of his ship. As he rummaged through the hold, looking for a special case, the glow of light grew brighter. Finding the case, a steel box with a deaths head insignia on it, he then glanced up and ran after the cubs.

On Pride Rock, the pride was gathered on the promontory, staring in wonder at this new arrival from the east, as Dex ran up, carrying the case. "It's some kind of camping party! I don't know what they are, but they could be hostile… Eldar, orks, tyranids… I'm not sure… But we need to find out their intent. If it's hostile, we must strike quickly and eliminate them."

Simba stood up and moved to Dex. "I will come."

"Thank you Simba. We leave at an hour before sunrise."

Uzuri joined the pair. "Dex, I am with you too. I don't want to risk losing my best hunter to anything out there!" The joke broke the tension, and everyone laughed.

"Excellent. Now I suggest we sleep and rest.

CHAPTER NINE

Dex slunk through the predawn mist, bolt pistol in hand. His enhanced ears picked up the soft breaths of his two companions as they headed towards the camp site. The sun was yet to rise, and the visibility was very poor, but Dex's eyes could read the heat of any creature if he so willed, and he clearly made out the forms of Simba and Uzuri. They approached the ridge at the boundary of an elephant graveyard, littered with giant skulls and bones, and Dex saw a shiver run through Simba as they drew closer. He wondered what the king had experienced here that made him so fearful.

When they reached the very end of the ridge, Dex whispered to the others to lie down. He then belly-crawled forward to the rise, using the dead ground to shield himself from view. He drew out a pair of binoculars and scanned the wreckage.

The camping party was very dark, and figures rustled behind the cover of quickly constructed tents and hangtos. He could pick out no sign of movement or life at first, but then, scanning the most southern side of the camp, he saw something that made his blood run cold. A small figure, about the size of a ten-year old child, appeared. It was wearing a loose and ill fitting suit of flak armor, and clutching some sort of rifle that was far too big for it. Dex zoomed in, to confirm his fear, and saw the green skin, the large ears and the idiotic expression. No doubt about it- a gretchin. And where you found gretchin, you found...

A harsh voice echoed around the camp. The words were inaudible, but then they were unimportant. From the tents another figure appeared. This one however, was a little different. It stood about six feet tall, and was very heavily built. It was stooped heavily, and its small head nestled amongst a pair of broad, powerful shoulders. It stretched out a huge, brawny arm and dealt the smaller beast a hearty thump to the head, sending it spinning back into the tent from which it had emerged.

Dex felt Simba sidestep nearer. "What is it?" The great lion whispered.

Dex turned his head, and in a voice dripping with menace, anger and fear, replied simply…

"Orks."

CHAPTER TEN

The campsite soon seemed to teem with activity. The orks and gretchin swarmed out, and began to scurry around, putting up more tents and trying to construct a sort of base structure. The guttural jabbering of their voices drifted up towards where Dex and the lions lay in silence, watching. Soon some semblance of order was restored down in the graveyard, as a huge ork stepped out of the biggest tent, surrounded by an entourage of other large orks in brightly colored armor. The massive beast shouted out some alien crudity, and the area reverberated with cackling laughter. Then it strode down and stood before the group, giving some sort of speech.

Warboss Gortrok looked down on the pitiful remnants of his ladz, and snarled. Only two days before he had been in command of a mighty Waaaaagh, travelling across the galaxy to bring havoc to the worlds of the eastern fringe. But then they had chanced upon the small humie ship, and he had led a group of boyz in a boarding action. The weak little humies had hardly put up a fight, but as he had cut down the ship's navigator with his mighty power claw, the craft had spun off unexpectedly into warp space. They had drifted at the mercy of Gork and Mork for two days then dropped onto this planet with nothing to fight. He grunted, as he ran the possibilities of the future through his mind, grunting at the unaccustomed thinking, then bellowed out for silence.

The bellow had no immediate effect, so he strode down and beat a few boyz and grotz aside with the side of his power claw until they had some semblance of order. With this achieved, he began to yell out the situation.

"Lissen up ya maggots! We'z got a problem here. Da 'ulk back dere iz knackered, and loadsa da ladz is splatted. Dis rock we'z ditched on iz useless- no 'umies ta take scrap from and no other ladz either. Now, ya can either be wit' me or against me, and those of ya who'z against me, give Gork and Mork my regards! Any of youse wanna try for against?"

The mob fell silent, knowing to an ork just what would happen if they resisted.

"Good. Now, da mek sez that dis place has loadsa food on it, so I'm going 'unting. Da rest of ya stay here and work on da 'ulk." With that the massive greenskin strode off with four of his entourage behind him, heading for the edge of the ridge.

Dex saw the group heading up towards his position, and quickly whispered to Simba and Uzuri "Go now- but keep it quiet. I will try and hold them back. Wait for me at Pride Rock - I'll fill you in on what must be done when I return."

The massive greenskin stalked up towards the small group, snarling to his entourage and clipping the odd member around the ear with his bolter. The two lions slowly began to peel back from Dex, when suddenly one of the nobz in the group saw them, and let out a sharp bellow to its master.

Gortrok whooped to them, "'Ere we go ladz! Lets git killin," as he squeezed the trigger on his bolter. A stream of shells screamed towards the leonines, trailing smoke. They detonated all around Uzuri, sending up clouds of dirt and smoke. Dex cursed and burst out of the cover of the ridge, bolt-pistol blazing. The orks spun, not expecting to be attacked by a human, and the brief pause in the firing gave Uzuri the chance to leap at the warlord.

"NO! GET BACK!" Dex yelled at her, knowing she would have no chance against the massive greenskin. He pulled the trigger on his pistol twice more, the shots ploughing into one of the other orks, then he dashed towards the pair that were locked in combat.

Gortrok laughed cruelly as the snarling cat leapt at him. "Hurrh! 'Ere kitty," he howled as he swept his power claw around, deftly fielding her out of the air. The lioness slammed to the ground with a sharp thud that drove the air from her. She lay dazed, but otherwise unharmed for a moment, then got to her feet and attacked again.

Simba, seeing this, prepared to jump, but Dex yelled out to him.

"Run, Simba! You can't help her! I'll do what I can, but get home and warn the others. I'll see you there!" He fired again, and one of the orks fell with a howl, the back of its unprotected head exploding in a shower of green blood and brain tissue. Dex then leaped at the warboss, wishing as he did that he had his sword with him.

Gortrok snapped the power claw shut as the lioness attacked. It slashed her side deeply as she passed, and drew a cry of pain, echoed by one of horror from Dex as he saw it. Then the assassin closed and sprung. His fist, strengthened by his enhanced muscles, slammed into the ork's face, and he felt its jutting jaw break. It growled, blood and drool pouring down its jowly cheeks, and swung the claw at Dex's head. The assassin ducked, his superhumanly sharp reflexes saving him from any harm. The ork blinked at this, then turned back to the lioness. His claw snapped shut on Uzuri again, its blades crackling with energy. It closed about her ribs, and Dex lunged for his arm, trying to open it. But it was too late- the claws snapped together, slicing through the hunt mistress's side and ribs, the bone parting instantly under the assault. Her roar of death echoed around the graveyard, and her eyes grew blank as her sides heaved for the last few times. Dex screamed a curse, and slammed a fist into the ork's ribs. Despite the inch thick armour covering it, he felt a slight give and a loud crunch echoed out. The ork grunted, and rolled backwards. Its unconscious body thumped and rolled down the slope towards the crashed ship.

Dex watched it fall, then turned to Uzuri. But it was too late- her side lay split open with the bright white of her ribs glistening in the evening sunlight. Her blood was forming into a huge pool, and her eyes gazed unseeingly out. Dex knelt by her side, and with a soft sigh closed her eyes. Then, his face distorted with fury, he rose. Seeing one of the orks running off down the hill after its master, he screamed a curse at it, and squeezed the trigger again and again. The explosive shells slammed into the ork and the surrounding ground. Transfixed by the multiple impacts, the ork jolted about as blood was spattered out around it. Finally it fell with a grunt, half of its body torn apart. Looking upon the bloody mess with a dispassionate glare, Dex gave a soft grunt of satisfaction, then as he gave Uzuri one final sad look, he turned and sprinted off after Simba, knowing that the ork followers would be drawn to the sound of battle like moths to a flame.

The orks down in the camp had indeed heard the noise, but merely presumed that it was the boss getting a little over excited during the hunt, as he was somewhat prone to do. The first of the group to follow him did not arrive until a few minutes later, after Dex and Simba were long gone. The gretchin's frantic squeals brought a party of the bigger greenskins running to find out what was causing the hullabaloo, and then, as they saw the warboss slowly getting up, dazed and with his broken jaw jutting at an odd angle, their laughter began to echo around the area. This continued until Gortrok, peeved at their lack of loyalty, emptied his bolter into one of them. The sudden flurry of shots stunned the others into silence and the warlord snarled raggedly at them through his shattered jaw.

"If enny of yoose EVER sez dis 'appened, den it's da boot levva for yez all. Der was an 'umie 'ere, an' he was ded killy. Get da ladz ready fer a scrap, coz we gotz ta gettim quick. An'," he pointed to Uzuri's body "git da cookboy ta rustle dat kitty up."

The orks picked up the fallen lioness, and bearing their bleeding trophy high above their shoulders, stomped back down to camp for the night's feast. Raucous shouts and laughter rang out amongst them- they had food, water and a foe to fight- life looked well.

DECISIONS

Dex pounded back to Pride Rock to be met by expectant gazes from all the pride, their eyes searching him for news of Uzuri. He took a deep breath, and raised his hands in a gesture asking for silence.

"My friends," he began "we are all in grave danger. That camping party was a bunch of orks rampaging about the planet. They must have landed elsewhere earlier. These creatures are brutish, primitive and violent. If we cannot stop them then they will wipe us all out for good. Even I could not hold off the entire army for long. They have..." He sighed deeply. "They have taken Uzuri. There was nothing that I could do for her. I'm sorry. But let us not waste her life. We have but two options. Simba- you can either choose to abandon the Pridelands and run forever, never knowing whether the orks will advance further, or we can strike. We will need to gather support from other prides, and any other animals capable of fighting, but if there are enough of us, we WILL triumph. It's your call."

The mighty lion nodded as he took this in. "I won't- no, can't abandon my home to these things. I stay, and," he turned to the lionesses, "any of you who want to stay can as well. Those of you who chose to leave, please take the cubs with you- we may not all survive here, but we must protect our future."

There was silence for a moment, then the lionesses roared as one "Long live the King! We stay!" Dex grinned as he heard this.

"I wish that the Imperium had men as courageous as you, my friends. It may mean our deaths, but for the sake of everything on this world we must cleanse these alien scum from existence. But we cannot fight against them alone. Simba, do you know of any other prides that could help us. Or indeed any animals- leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo or hyenas even- anything that can kill can help us in the fight."

"The hyenas, I think… I could persuade to help us, but I don't know about the others. As for other prides, there are a few to the east and south, but they are only neutral towards us. I don't know if they will help fight," Simba replied grimly.

"Well, they must know that if this threat is not removed, it will mean their deaths as surely as ours; if the orks kill all of us they will only look for further things to fight- that is their one aim in life."

Simba nodded. "Zazu," he said, turning to the hornbill, "go to the leaders of the three nearest prides and deliver this news. Tell them to make for here as fast as possible if they want to help."

Zazu nodded, "Yes, sire," and then took off, his ungainly wings flapping wildly.

Meticulous planning…

Meanwhile, in the ork camp the feast was well underway. Gretchin slaves scurried back and forth with lumps of lion meat for their masters, or dragging massive kegs of ork ale behind them. Most of the orks were by now drunkenly singing or brawling and in the middle of the camp, by the light of a large fire, two orks, both stripped to the waist, tore into each other in a pit fight. The others surrounded them, laying bets and yelling raucously. Only the warlord and the two survivors of his entourage were remaining sober- an unusual past time for an ork. But Gortrok was that unusual thing, an ork who actually planned his battles instead of just charging towards the enemy.

"Ladz, dis iz de intellig… de intilllu… de factz we got. Dere's sum humie 'ere, a ded killy one, an' it likes dem kitties."

There was a general grunt of agreement from the others. The warboss continued. "Dem kitties 'ave an 'ole to da south, an' dats where we go. We givvum a taste of de boot levva, den we'z can take da rest of dis rock. Da attack starts at sun up. Git da ladz ready fer a scrap!"

The others cheered then ran down into the camp, kicking over the tables and bellowing the news of the impending battle to the mob. A few furious snarls were followed by sharp thuds as they clubbed the more determined revellers to the ground. Soon however the camp was quiet except for the click and clunk of weapons being cocked, checked and primed, and the occasional blast of fire as some ork forgot his weapon was loaded. The mekboy's hut had a strange glow around it as he put the finishing touches to his newest pride and joy- some massive new improbable combination of weapons.

It was the next morning. Zazu had departed the night before to spread the word to the other prides, and there had been no further signs of movement since Dex's return the previous evening. The hyenas were nowhere to be seen, and Simba suggested that the crash might have scared them off. The lionesses were taking it in turns to watch the border, while others searched out leopards, cheetahs and any other animals capable of fighting the orks. By the hour before dawn, there was a sizeable army gathered- the twelve lionesses of Simba's pride, some twenty cheetahs, both male and female, and a similar number of leopards. The lionesses had also managed to persuade a massive bull elephant to back them up. Now the different groups were camped around Pride Rock, most of them less than comfortable in each other's presence. All was quiet save for the snores of many different types of savannah wildlife- there was very little conversation.

CONVERSION

Dex stalked along the promontory, looking out upon his army. "Not good. Not bad, but not good." He thought to himself as he stared down at them. "If the orks have heavy weapons then we will just be cut down." He sighed deeply, as he realised that they would need all the help that they could get. He saw what he would have to do- he would have to let himself go totally- let himself become what so revolted him. With a lump in his throat and dread in his heart, he turned back to the main cave, where he had stored the case from his ship.

In the cave only Simba sat, talking with Nala about the battle plan for the next day. They both looked up as Dex entered, but seeing the expression on his face, they said nothing, waiting for him to break the silence. He walked quietly over to his case, and dragged it out. Then he turned to face the lions, and spoke.

"I have decided. To win today I will need to become that which I so despise. I am going to become a totally different man from what I am now- both greater and lesser. Please do not judge my actions once I am in battle as my normal character- you know why." With a deep breath he then reached down to the case, feeling the death's head insignia on its clasp. His fingers brushed its sockets, and the clasp opened with a soft hiss.

Dex opened the lid and then stood up. He shrugged off his shirt and trousers, and stood before the lions naked save for his undershorts. His body was covered with a mass of scars of all descriptions- some the round pockmarks of bullet strikes, some the seared marks of lasfire or plasma, and others long ragged slashes from blades or claws. He reached down into the case, his muscles rippling smoothly, and drew out a small spray can. Raising this to himself he pressed the switch on the top, and a black spray settled onto his skin, solidifying and thickening as it landed, tracing over his whole body like a second skin. As he coated himself with the stuff the lions gasped- his scent totally vanished. Noticing the surprise of the lions, Dex grinned despite the distaste he felt for the equipment he was putting on.

"It's called synskin. It makes my flesh even harder and protects me from poison and fire." He explained. Soon his whole body, save for the head, was coated. He replaced the can into the case, and drew out a form of battle harness. It had many round globes hanging off it, and fitted onto him tightly. Touching the globes, Dex added, "Melta bombs- these burn hotter than anything you have ever seen."

With the harness attached he then drew out a large backpack, studded with probes and wires. He slid this onto his shoulders, and then took one of the wires and plugged it into a minute slot at the back of his neck. Instantly, for the first time in decades, he felt the vague feeling of nausea and disorientation as his vision switched to 360 degrees, the pack integrating directly with his brain. He could hear the movement of the animals below the Rock, could see through the night as clearly as day and could sense the minute electrical activity of the brains and bodies of those around him. He shook his head briefly to clear it, then drew out a new device. This was the one he gazed at with the most horror and loathing.

It looked a lot like a glove made of metal. Long stiletto- like spikes extended from the ends of the fingers, and the "tendons" of its structure had large phials mounted on the back. The whole weapon glistened gently in the pre- dawn moonlight, the blades shining with oil and other liquids. For this was the neurogauntlet, the terror weapon of the Eversor temple. This device would pump toxins into its unfortunate victims, toxins that would leave a survivor begging for death as they tore through his body, mutating and crippling it. The screams of one of its victims were enough to make the stoutest of warriors turn and run, fearing such a fate for themselves. Dex had used this so many times on his targets, and merely ignored their cries, seeing them as the anthem of his service to the Emperor. With a grunt he slid the gauntlet onto his left hand, feeling the harsh metal lock into place with the battle harness he wore. Flexing his wrist, he tested the mechanism, sending a small drop of venom dripping from the claws to fall to the ground, where it smoked gently on the rock floor.

Finally he took hold of the grip of the mighty double-barrelled executioner pistol. One barrel delivered standard bolter shells while the other barrel fired minute darts of toxin, capable of felling a man with the most minute scratch. He drew out the long barrel for this section, and screwed it on gently. He then snapped the pistol onto the side of his battle harness and, taking up the last item in the bag, a death's head mask made from hard ceramite, he turned to the two lions and muttered. "This is what I once was. You will see me do things that will turn your blood, but I want you to know it is only in extremes that I allow myself to do this."

Nala got to her feet, and walked over to give him a gentle nuzzle. "Dex, whatever you do, I know you are only doing it for us. You saved me, and nothing you ever do will change that."

Dex stroked her head gently. "Thank you Nala. That means a lot to me.." suddenly he paused. His sentinel array had detected some new source of movement. "Emperor's blood! They're on the move! To the promontory!"

IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR

The lions and the human dashed out onto the rock, and sure enough on the horizon a cloud of dust was visible as the orks stomped across the plains towards them. Dex checked the range with his sensors, then grunted with relief. "We have about an hour before they reach us. I would suggest that the first thing we do is pray for victory and survival." Simba nodded, and roared for silence.

Standing over his ragtag army, Simba shouted out the situation, ending with a brief prayer to Aiheu, god of all leonines. As he stood down, Dex turned to him.

"Simba, may I please do something? I feel that we need all the help we can get, and so I wish to conduct the litany of battle in the Emperor's name. It is a duty all men of the Imperium perform before going into action, and I would feel happy knowing we have His eyes upon us as we fight."

Simba merely nodded, and stood aside. As Dex took the promontory, a soft murmur ran through those of the crowd who had not heard of this strange visitor. Dex let it continue for a moment, then raised his unarmed hand for silence.

"In the name of the great Emperor, saviour of mankind," he began to intone, "Slayer of the vile Horus and ruler of Earth, let us slay the foe." He then bellowed, "WITH THE BOLTER WE WILL SLAY!" Speaking more normally, he added, "In the name of the Emperor, let us cleanse the alien. WITH THE SWORD WE WILL CLEANSE! In the name of the Emperor, protect us from the warp. WITH THE SHIELD WE WILL PROTECT! In the name of the Emperor, let us burn the heretic. WITH THE FLAMER WE WILL BURN! O Emperor, protect us from the darkness of heresy, from the evil of the void, from the blasphemy of the alien. Lead us to victory.."

Dex drew his power sword and held it high above his head, its length crackling lightly in the eerie light, "OR TO DEATH!" His final words seemed to echo surreally, reverberating throughout the gathered animals.

The crowd below had been watching him in quiet wonder at first, wondering what he was talking about, but then the words of the litany started to take hold, their power resting somewhere deeper than merely in their syllables. As they echoed about, a series of images drifted into the minds of all those animals' present, images they could not recognise or comprehend, but which still filled them with their power. The sight of ships hanging in the blue sky on the last day of the siege of Earth ten thousand years before, the feel of shock at the sight of a noble, angel- winged warrior lying broken at the feet of a warped, armoured giant, the joy of the sight of the black and evil ships peeling away from the planet, to flee into space. The sight of battle on thousands of worlds in the name of the Emperor, the glory of victory and the joy of redemption.

These images and the feelings they aroused took hold of the minds of all those present, and the bestial voices echoed as one powerful sound, "VICTORY OR DEATH!"

"Now... To your positions! We have a fight ahead of us unlike any you will ever have to experience. Get in close, and strike hard! Good luck all of you!" He swept the sword down in a glittering arc, and spun on his heel, heading back to the lions to prepare for battle.

The wildlife army spread out around the rock, taking cover in the long grasses that grew nearby. The lions took up position around the rock itself, while Dex, locking his helmet onto his shoulders, hunkered down nearer the front, preparing to lead and coordinate the defence. Within a few moments it was as if the whole area was deserted- no movement betrayed the location of the beasts or the assassin, and total silence lay over the area as they lay ready for battle.

The First Attack.

The orks rampaged towards Pride Rock, all of them filled with joy at the prospect of a good fight. The gretchin marched in front, chattering eagerly amongst themselves and clutching their blunderbusses and autoguns tightly, hoping to show themselves to be big and strong in front of their masters. As they stomped forward, their piping voices chanted out "We are the grotz an' dats ok, we serve all night an' we kill all day! We'z gonna bag us a kitty, and den eat up each little bitty!" As they chanted this banal rhyme, the orks laughed and jeered at the little creatures, themselves in high spirits, as it seemed that the lions would give a fairly stiff fight. Bets were being taken on who would be the one to bag the "'umie", and the mekboy was surrounded by a group of orks eagerly waiting to see the effect his new gun would have on the animals. They drew nearer and nearer to Pride Rock, the savannah empty in front of them.

Dex lay totally still, his sentinel array filling his mind with information from all around him. He felt and heard the orks as they approached, and he tightened his grip on the pistol. He had to wait until they were close enough for the animals to attack quickly, or else it would be a slaughter, as they would just pour fire into them as they advanced. Closer… closer… closer still…

Gotrok sniffed the air. He could smell those big cats all around, he KNEW they were nearby, but he could see no sign. "Nah, don't matter." He thought to himself. "We'z da killiest waagh fer light years. We'z gonna gittem even if dey run." Pride Rock was now less than 2 miles away.

Dex heard the tramp of feet draw even closer, and then heard from his left a crunch, the noise amplified to deafening levels by his equipment. Turning his head he saw a leopard preparing to pounce on a nearby gretchin. It had knocked over a small stone in its positioning, and that was the source of the noise. Dex tried to cry out to the leopard to stop, but it was too late. The cat lunged through the air, and took down the small greenskin with a thump and a shriek. The others spun and opened fire, and wild as their aim was, the sheer volume of fire tore the leopard into a dozen separate meaty chunks. Dex cursed, then realising the situation was about to become worse, bellowed out, "ATTACK! FOR AIHEU AND THE EMPEROR!" He then burst from cover, his pistol streaming death in his hands. Simba's mighty roar echoed across the field, and the other beasts rushed to battle.

Dex's pistol glowed red in his hand as he hosed the ork battle line with shells and toxins. He saw eight fall from his first burst, and yelled with triumph. Tracer fire whipped back at him from the greenskins, but he flicked his body daintily out of its way, moving with the poetic grace of a ballet dancer. His pistol kicked again, and a large ork fell in the process of swinging its axe at a cheetah nearby.

The lions tore into the orks with a mighty roar. The greenskins fired back, but their aim was mostly wild, and the few shots that hit were not mortal. The sound of bones cracking rang out as the first of the lions, Simba flanked by Nala and Sarabi, smashed their targets to the ground and sunk their teeth in deep, gagging at the strange taste of the green blood but still holding till the orks were still.

Cheetahs sprinted around the sidelines, pouncing on the smaller gretchin, or mobbing the orks in groups. Meanwhile the leopards pounced on those already engaged, bringing them down from behind. The elephant, trumpeting furiously, stomped and swung its way into the line, bludgeoning aside orks with its massive trunk, and crushing others beneath its feet.

The orks, staggered by the ferocity of the assault, began to fall back, but then Gortrok bellowed out his battle cry. "WAAAAAAAAAGH! I'LL KILL ANY MAGGOT WHO RUNS!" Motivated by his inspired leadership, they turned and began to fight back.

The mekboy swung his massive, ungainly weapon onto his shoulder, drawing a bead on the elephant rampaging through the boyz. Cranking the cocking handle, he made ready, then pulled the big red firing lever. The cannon screamed out a stream of shells and fire, which pummelled into the massive pachyderm. At first it stood steady in the face of the storm, but then it began to waver as more and more shot lacerated its hide. The mekboy crowed with victory, and turned the crank harder. The weapon suddenly spasmed as another part of it came on line, and spat a massive ball of plasma, burning like a miniature sun, straight at the elephant. It struck with a thunderous explosion, and the mighty beast was torn to pieces, flaming sections of hide and bone arcing through the air and spattering down to the ground.

The fiery demise of the elephant gave the orks the morale boost that they needed. They stopped, turned and began to open fire. Boltas, autoguns and shotguns rang loud as the ragged volley tore into the Pridelanders. The cheetahs, who had been chasing after the orks and were thus the closest, took the brunt of the firepower. Seven of them were hurled back or slammed to the ground by the wave of projectiles, their blood spraying out in crimson torrents. The survivors of that group, seeing the demise of their fellow cheetahs, turned and ran from the field of battle, their lightning speed carrying them far away to safety. Simba's roar bellowed out after them, but they did not even slow in their bid for survival.

Dex, seeing the cowardice of the smaller cats, realised that drastic action was needed. Yelling to the others to fall back to the Rock, he then murmured the hated incantation to himself as he prepared for close assault. He clipped the pistol to his side, and with his power sword drawn, activated the drug dispenser in his heart.

Formula Fury. Inject 10cc.+++

With a soft hiss that only he heard the drugs eased into him, and he felt once more the heat of hatred rising in him. Screaming out a battle cry, he hurled himself forward, his body going into overdrive. Two six foot tall orks turned as he charged, and seeing the skull face of his mask tried to run. But they did not get far. First his power sword flashed out, neatly severing the first ork's head from its shoulders. The second had a much worse fate- Dex's neurogauntlet swept down, scoring deep lines into its back. The ork fell to the ground, writhing in total agony unlike anything else as the toxin started its work on his system. Its raucous howls and moans made more heads turn to see the psychotic assassin bounding towards them. Bolters barked a staccato song at him, and the shells whined loudly around his body as he arced and dodged between them. Another ork fell as he flicked out the sword, and its ropy intestines spattered onto Dex's helmet.

Laughing, he tossed his head, sending the innards flying to one side. A bolter shell clipped his arm, but the pain did not mean anything to him except that he had yet another weapon to use- his own blood. Turning so the spray spattered onto the face of his next target, he giggled wildly as the beast's face melted and ran. The foul stench of melting flesh was enough to make a normal man puke up his guts, but to Dex, in his drug induced psychosis, it smelt like the sweetest of perfumes. It was the scent of death dealt in the name of the holy Emperor, the smell of success and victory and the reek of death for his foes. Leaving the ork to his own death agonies, Dex slashed at yet another target with the gauntlet, feeling the thrill of his neural implants as they delivered a dose of endorphins as a reward for the kill.

The orks once more wavered before the furious attack, and backed away from this human mincing machine. The mekboy swung his massive weapon to bear on him, and with a grunt pulled the firing lever. Dex picked this up through his sentinel array, and leapt back just as the spot where he had been standing was pulped into a sea of flaming mud by the impact of multiple shells. Realising that another blast could finish him despite his lightning reactions, and sensing that the others were nearing Pride Rock, Dex decided that it was time to stop holding the orks up. Spinning on his heel he bounded out of the group, eviscerating an ork foolish enough to block his way. A few wild shots followed him as he dashed back to the cover of Pride Rock, but none found their mark.

AT BAY

Arriving back at the rock, Dex murmured the litany of cleansing. A brief surge of pain hit him as his blood was purged of the drugs that had pushed him to such extremes, but he sighed deeply as his mind began to clear. Looking around he saw the situation looked grim. Many of the smaller cats had fallen in combat with the orks- the cheetahs had routed totally, and the leopards lacked the stamina and body mass to fight with the orks on equal terms. The lions were mostly undamaged, with only the odd mark from an axe blow, or a light peppering of autogun fire. Dex quickly took advantage of the lull in the fighting to move amongst them with the limited medical equipment he had with him, patching wounds and stanching blood flow. This strange angel with the skull face worked fast and well, and many of the injured were back up on their feet within minutes. Once that was completed, Dex went to Simba to make his tactical report and find out how the lions stood.

"Simba, this is our situation tactically. The orks have us outnumbered now, after the cheetahs betrayed us, and what is worse, they have heavy weapons. They will probably hold back for a short while now; after the casualties we inflicted the next attack will be more determined but weaker. The chances are that they will surround us here and attack from all sides. If they do so then we are in trouble. If you could use weapons then this would be a most defensible spot, but unfortunately you must get in close." He glanced quickly around the rock. "I would suggest that we use the strongest fighters to block the ramps, and that we send forth sally parties to wear down the offensive power of the orks. We must keep under cover as much as possible, or else we will just be shot where we stand. When the final attack comes I will take a party of volunteers to try and kill the warboss. If that is successful then the will of the group will be lost, and they will be easier to mop up. That is my suggestion."

Simba nodded his head in agreement. "That seems to be our best option. The word from Zazu is that of the other prides, only the Foresworn going to help and are heading here at their fastest pace and that the leader of the Haven is sending some of his subjects to help- a group of leopards and panthers led by his second in command from what I could gather. But they are quite a distance, and will not arrive until tomorrow at least. What is worse is that the Ubaya Kimene pride has said that they will not help. They have some of the fiercest fighters in the area, and are the nearest, but Mazwimi'fu, their leader, well she is a little strange, and there is no justifying quite a lot of her actions. We must hold the orks here until the others can arrive. We should have water enough from the cistern, but food is something of a problem. Could we eat the bodies of the orks, perhaps?"

Dex shook his head. "Their body structure is very different from yours or mine. They have a special type of algae in their blood- that's why it's green. If you ate it you would sicken after a few hours, and possibly die. But there might be food on the bodies. I will sally out tonight after dark to see what I can find. It won't be much, but it should keep our strength up for combat. Or, if I could get to my ship, I have concentrated survival rations there, enough to keep all of us ready for action for a week. But it is right through the ork lines, and I cannot risk leaving Pride Rock without my protection for that long. If the orks attacked when I was gone, you could do little to stop them I'm afraid."

"You're right of course- only you know these things well enough to win. So now we will just have to wait until night falls." Simba looked up at the sun, still riding high in the sky. "And hope that everyone ate recently."

THE DARKEST HOUR

Gortrok gathered his ladz about a mile away from the edge of the rock. The bodies from the combat littered the area, both orkish and feline, and some of the bolder orks were busily lopping off "souvenirs" from the fallen animals and rooting in their fallen comrades' pouches for any valuables. The orks were in high spirits despite the heavy casualties that they had suffered, and their ribald laughter swirled around the warlord as he looked on with pride. Eventually he slammed down his iron-shod boot to get silence, and began to speak.

"Lissen in ladz. We'z gottem holed up in tha' big rock. Dey ain't gotz much grub, an' sum of 'em are 'urt. Da 'umie iz still breeving, an' I wanem DED! Yoose all 'ear me? DED! Da boy dat gitz me 'is hed gits ta join me nobz. Now wez gotta surround da rock, an' we go again tomorrer, at sun up. Summon git me sum grub. Dese kitties'll do."

Gortrok lurched off with the cookboy to select the prime victims for the evening meal, while the orks moved around Pride Rock in a clumsy encircling movement.

It was a little later in the day. The sun was starting to slide down the sky and on Pride Rock things were looking bad. There had been no more real fighting, just a few minor skirmishes with foolhardy parties of orks out for the glory of being the first to take the rock. These had been seen off, but they had left still more wounded amongst the beasts. There were also some others whose wounds were more severe than had first seemed, and they were beginning to suffer from the heat and the fact that Dex had nearly used up his ready supply of painkillers. The bulk of his medical equipment was kept in his ship, and he only had drugs and a laser scalpel to cauterise wounds with. The water cistern as well was running low, as it had never been needed by so many at once. The hot sun beat down on the gathered survivors, weakening them still further. The mewls of the wounded leopards pierced Dex to the very core of his soul, but there was nothing more he could do for them. Morale sunk with the sun, and was not helped by the smell of roasting meat from the ork lines; the stench of the survivors' friends as they were roasted to feed the ork horde.

Night slowly fell, and the ork lines were near silent. For, having gorged themselves massively on the spoils of war, most of the orks had fallen asleep, leaving only a few gretchin as sentries. On the rock, morale had sunk even further, and several leopards had been caught trying to sneak away from the combat zone. Simba had found out about this, and furious at the betrayal had ordered the deserters to be put to death. Dex had done this, felling each with a shot from the executioner pistol. For while he hated unnecessary violence, he knew that such a heinous crime could not go unpunished.

Now at last all was dark. Dex took his leave of the pride, and snuck out into the night, moving as smoothly and silently as a shadow. He weaved past each and every sentry until he found himself through the ork camp and battle line, at the edge of the previous day's battlefield. The stench of rotting flesh, already putrefying under the hot sun of the day assailed his nostrils even through the scent screens in his helmet and as he made his way towards the main collection of ork bodies his stomach nearly twisted. The ground was stained with red and green blood, the flies were everywhere. For while Dex had of course seen a great many battles and s huge amount of death, it had very rarely been when he was so emotionally involved as he was now. Steeling himself, he began to quickly and quietly rummage amongst the bodies, seizing any scraps of food that he could. Soon he had gathered enough scraps for the wounded to have some sort of meal, but the others would just have to wait it out.

Stealing back into Pride Rock, he distributed the pathetic meal to those he felt needed it most. That done, he went to check on the cubs, who were all gathered together at the back of the sleeping cave, with Rafiki standing guard to stop them wandering off. When he first entered he wondered why the little ones yelped and tried to hide from him, then remembering his helmet, he unclipped it and knelt down next to them, trying to calm their fear.

"Hey there, calm down! It's just me, Dex. I just came to tell you that things should be alright soon, and to give you some food." He reached into a pouch on his battle harness and drew out a hunk of ork bread and some scraps of meat. Putting it in front of the cubs he murmured "It's not much, but it's the best I could scavenge. Soon though the siege will be over, and we will all be able to eat normally." Or go where we need no food, he added mentally.

"Now all of you just rest and try to get some sleep. Nothing will come near you all, I promise. The orks will have to come through me personally first." As he walked out, the cubs slowly slid to sleep, their bellies filled for the first time in several days.

DISCUSSIONS

Dex stalked over to where Simba lay, keeping watch from the top of the promontory. "Simba, when I went through the lines I was able to count the number of the ork survivors. I counted about eighty all together, and about forty gretchin. Now can you tell me any more about how many reinforcements we are getting? I mean, are they good fighters?"

Simba nodded. "The Foresworn are coming here at full strength- that is two lions, five or six lionesses and perhaps a few adolescents. Two brothers, Camrath and Kimru lead them. They used to live around here, and Camrath in particular is a fearsome fighter. When he was a child he was possessed, and that seems to have made him stronger as an adult. His pride is in a constant state of war with the Ubaya Kimene, and so they are all very strong fighters. The two brothers are incredibly loyal to each other and their friends, which we are lucky to be classed as. They might well help swing the tide of battle. The Haven contingent is led by Savarihm, a leopard. It consists of about ten to fifteen panthers, leopards and cheetahs. When they arrive we should find the going easier."

Dex however balked with horror at the news of the Foresworn. "Possessed?! Daemons are not to be trusted!" Even so, he had never imagined how militant some species could be- Simba spoke of contingents and war with the familiarity of a seasoned Imperial Commissar. There was much to learn about the lions…

Simba laughed softly. "Oh no, Camrath was once possessed, but he managed to fight the daemon from his body. It took one of his eyes in the fight, but he has been untroubled since then. He formed the Foresworn with his brother to create a new home where the legend of it would no longer blight him. He left with his guardian, brother and a few of his closest friends and set up the pride past the northern borders. As I said he holds a great grudge against the Ubaya Kimene pride, because of some incident when he was a cub. I think the leader threatened to kill his guardian who was originally from that pride. He is one of those types who is a good friend and a fearsome enemy. With Kimru, he will help save us."

"I just hope that you're right." Dex grunted, still suspicious of anything tainted by chaos. "Now I suggest we try to let as many of our people sleep as possible. The attack will come again at dawn." With his last piece of advice given Dex sat down and started to clean his equipment. Looking at the ammunition stocks of his weapon he sighed deeply. Less than fifty rounds of bolter ammunition and the current supply of needler serum was almost exhausted. He had another barrel in his backpack, but he could not change the barrel until the current one was exhausted. Shaking his head, he replaced the pistol in its clip at his side, and tried to get some sleep.

The sun rose. Dex, who had awoken half an hour before, stood the survivors to. The numbers had dropped even more- during the night two more leopards had fled, and one of the wounded had died quietly. Now the defenders of Pride Rock numbered twelve lions, three of which were wounded somehow and ten leopards, of which fully half were injured, two of them badly. As the tired force mustered at the various entry points, Dex went in to speak to Rafiki, who was watching over the sleeping cubs. Taking one of the melta bombs from his harness, and activating the priming mechanism, he instructed the old mandrill to do thus: "If we cannot hold them and the reinforcements are too late, then we must not let the orks take the cubs alive. This device will burn everything in this cave to ashes in less than a second. There will be no pain for any of them, and it is preferable that they die than be taken alive. Orks are renowned for their cruelty towards prisoners, both human and animal."

Rafiki nodded softly, and took the round globe from the human's hand with shaking fingers. As he did so, a braying roar from the ork lines summoned Dex back to the front of Pride Rock- the attack had begun anew.

THE LAST STAND

The tide of greenskins flowed forwards across the plains towards the rock, bellowing out deafening battle cries. Dex sprinted to the top of the promontory, and taking careful aim with his pistol, opened fire. Making each shot count he carefully gunned down the advancing horde, not switching targets until the one he had chosen fell. Twelve orks had dropped to the fire from his bolter barrel before a piercing click informed him of what he already new- the chamber was empty, his supply of shells exhausted. With a curse he thrust it down to his side and drew his sword. He dashed down again, and prepared to meet the orks face to face, blade to blade.

As the orks closed in the opposing fire slackened off. Howling with triumph, they raised their own firearms, and rattled off a long deafening volley at the rock. Bullets whined and ricocheted all around, and bolt shells detonated in small clouds of flame, but no injuries were inflicted apart from one ork who, carried away with enthusiasm, blew off the back of the head of the ork in front of him. They closed further, the fire slowing as they realised that they were merely wasting ammunition. Still no counter attack was forthcoming though.

Dex and Simba lay doggo next to each other in the shelter of a rock outcrop. Dex turned to glance behind at the rest of the group, waiting and ready. Nala was lying next to Simba, with Sarabi just a little further back. Dex whispered to the king and his mate "Remember, stay with me. We are going into the jaws of death against the warlord. If you get overrun they will kill you with ease."

The lions both nodded then cowered as another stream of fire splashed along the front of the outcrop. They were now close enough to hear the orks' harsh gasping as they ran forwards. Dex slowly raised his sword above his head, then swept it down without a word. This was the prearranged signal to counter attack, and with a bellow the Pridelanders burst from cover to the assault.

Charging forwards, the orks hardly had time to react as the wildlife force burst out of cover. A few panic-fired shots rang out, but found no mark. The range was so close that the battle almost instantly became a whirling, vicious melee. Axes were drawn and swung at the roaring felines, and teeth flashed in the dawn's rays. Blood, both green and red, began to flow again and the screams and roars of the dying echoed from the rocky edifice of Pride Rock.

Dex charged forward, Simba and Nala at his side. His sword glittered like a sliver of fire in the sunlight, and it arced back and forth, hewing and cutting its way through the orks like a man mowing hay. His neurogauntlet dripped with blood and venom as it raked any of those unfortunate enough to get in range. To his side Simba pounced on two big orks, and as he pinned them down, Nala leapt in to sink her fangs into each hairless green skull. The two lions lay on top of their victims for a moment, then span apart as another ork bought his axe slicing down between them. He raised it for another swing at Nala's head, but then slumped like a broken puppet as Dex's sword spitted him through.

The mekboy meanwhile was standing back from the fight a little, looking out for a suitable target for his "kustom kannon". Seeing the human with the two lions, he grinned toothily and took aim, starting to slowly crank the handle of the weapon as he tightened his grip on the firing lever. Just as the weapon was reaching full power, however, he saw a tawny form hurtling towards him. It was Sarabi, and in a desperate bid to protect her son she had pounced straight into the firing line of the mekboy. Her powerful frame barrelled into him just as he pulled the lever. The stream of shells jetted up into the sky, crossing the lioness' flight path. Blood was sprayed out as the rounds slammed into her midsection, but she still carried on with the attack, sinking her teeth into the ork's neck. The mekboy howled as his blood poured out over himself and his weapon, a mixture of fear and horror on his face as he saw the mechanism overheat as the blood leaked into it. Sarabi hung on tightly, wounded though she was, and tore in deeper. The ork jerked spasmodically as its soul departed, but its evil was not yet done. The massive gun shorted out in a shower of bright sparks, then exploded, the blast tearing apart the dead mekboy, and hurling the injured lioness to the ground at the base of Pride Rock, her fur singed and her body covered with mortal wounds.

Dex heard the thunderous explosion, and spun. Seeing the demise of the mekboy he sighed with relief, though not realising that Sarabi had been in the blast too. But glancing back to the front again, his hearts sank. For between him and the warboss stood almost the entire ork army. Turning to Simba and Nala, he realised with a gasp that the three of them were surrounded by a ring of grinning orks, their axes dripping with blood. Snarling eagerly they began to close in. The two lions backed inwards until they stood back to back with the human. Dex knew that if necessary he could fight off all of the orks, but that Simba and Nala would surely die. The situation seemed hopeless, when suddenly two strange roars sounded out over the savannah. Simba looked towards them and cried out.

"Camrath! Kimru! It's the Foresworn! We're saved!" He then sent out an answering roar.

SALVATION

At the rear of the battle, the orks were suddenly shaken by the appearance of the Foresworn. Camrath, a massive dark coloured lion covered in scars led the attack, his roar deafening at close quarters. Beside him charged Kimru, his brother, lighter in coloration and temperament, but still a fearsome fighter. They were at the head of a group of seven lionesses, all screaming out the fearful battle cry of the pride. They slammed into the orks from behind, and tore into them like some leonine dynamo, frothing at their mouths from blood fury. The orks shrieked and began to run away, straight into the jaws of the beleaguered Pridelanders. At that same time the smaller felines from the Haven arrived, bounding over the hill to the attack. The orks were totally surrounded, and began to falter. Dex, seeing this, was filled with new hope, and with a loud cry of "FOR AIHEU AND THE EMPEROR!" hurled himself at the orks surrounding himself and Simba. The two lions beside him roared and lunged forwards as well, teeth bared. Axes swung up towards them, but missed their mark. Each lion slammed into their target, pinning them down, while Dex hewed about himself with renewed vigour. Soon the circle around them was no more than a soup of green blood and body parts. Seeing the path clear, Dex screamed out and sprinted towards Gortrok, who he saw with his entourage a little further on.

Gortrok was starting to worry. His glorious waaagh had been shredding the cats, but then some more had attacked from behind. Many of his boyz were dead and the survivors were starting to mutter things about "discretion" and how it was the "better part of valour". (Or at least, the orky equivalent: "Wen yez gittin kicked in, yez should leggit an' kill 'em later.") With a growl, he saw the cursed 'umie fight his way out of a group of his strongest boyz, and now he was heading towards him! With a snarl he flexed the power claw, snapping it at the air in anticipation of the attack.

Dex bounded forwards to the warboss, and as he did so he flicked out his sword twice. The last two nobz of the entourage fell to the ground before him, slain in the act of raising their weapons. The massive ork snarled, and snapped at Dex with the cruel blades of his claw, still stained with Uzuri's blood.

The assassin ducked the snap, and lashed back with his sword. The blade cut deep into the armour at the ork's side, but then glanced off something deep in its body. "Emperor's blood! It's got bionic enhancements!" Dex though to himself in a panic, realising this would be a harder fight than he had thought.

Gotrok howled with laughter at the look on the humie's face as its blade bounced off his armoured and reinforced ribs. Sure, the cut hurt, but he did not get to be a warlord by whimpering each time he got a cut. Grinning toothily, he snapped again at the fast humie, enjoying the chance to fight against such a powerful foe.

Dex struck again, but the blow was wild and merely smashed a chunk out of the ork's shoulder pad. Despairing of ever killing it he parried the snapping claw deftly then swung at the join of the orks armour with the top of its power claw. Perhaps if he could injure it first, slow it down…

Gotrok smiled as he saw Dex's plan, and lifted the claw a little. The power sword slammed into the jaws of the claw, instead of the arm it was aimed at, and he quickly slammed it shut. The sword blade of steel, forged on the distant planet of Mars over a century before, snapped in half with a blaze of light and a massive shower of sparks. Laughing at the look of horror on the assassin's face, Gotrok then brought his other arm around and grabbed Dex by the throat, lifting him up above the ground.

The ork's grip was massively strong, and Dex writhed as he felt the life get slowly choked out of him. Even a master of combat such as himself could not withstand such brute strength. The world swam before his eyes as he realised he had failed at everything- he had failed as an assassin, as a freedom fighter and now, as he hung from the ork's arm nearing death, he had even failed his greatest friends ever. For even with his drug enhanced body he could not break the choke hold. His mind repeated to him slowly, drug enhanced.. drug enhanced… drug enhanced….

Consciousness started to leave the assassin, when suddenly he remembered another one of his combat drugs. He struggled to maintain his grip on life as he carried out the invocation.

Formula Terminus. Inject 50cc.+++

His body jolted as his system released all the energy it had stored. His lungs went into overdrive, forcing air down past the choking grip. His eyes blazed with new life and he raised his left arm, which had been dangling uselessly by his side. Slowly at first it raised up, but then faster and faster. The neurogauntlet flashed as it was raised higher, then hissed as it was bought down. The blades slashed deep into the ork's arm, releasing its hideous cocktail of death. The ork shrieked, and dropped Dex to the ground heavily as the flesh on its arm started to blacken and slough off under the effect of the poison. Taking advantage of the distraction, Dex leapt upwards. Grabbing the ork's throat in the neurogauntlet, he took hold of its head with the other hand and with a sharp grunt, tore it clean off its shoulders. Green blood fountained out over him as the ork's body slumped to the ground like a felled tree. The head in his hand glared at him for a few seconds, its lips stirring as the ork's remarkable constitution kept it conscious even after the body had been removed. After about ten seconds though, the eyes rolled up and the lips stilled. Gortrok was dead.

At the death of the Warlord, the other orks seemed to lose co-ordination simultaneously. The few who were not already engaged in combat tried to run, but were quickly pulled down by the Havenners. The few survivors were caught like an apple in a vice, with much the same result. Those who fled the vengeful Pridelanders found themselves facing the berserk fighters of the Foresworn. The last of the orks fell just before noon, surrounded by the Pridelanders and screaming its defiance as Simba tore into it fiercely. The battle was over and the planet safe.

THE ORACLE

As Simba spat out the last body, Dex and the two leaders of the Foresworn came over to him.

"What ho, Simba old boy! Bit of a jolly jape that, eh what?" Camrath said, his voice deep and plummy. "Those green chaps give fantastic sport! We should have let them establish a breeding colony!"

Kimru grinned at Camrath. "Bro, not everyone is so keen to fight all the time as you!" Turning back to Simba he added "Glad we could help you Simba. We just couldn't stand back and watch our old home get devastated."

Simba smiled at the two. "You have saved us. We were nearly lost when you arrived you know- you really do have a good sense of timing!"

Camrath laughed again. "Think nothing of it old chap. It's always a pleasure to help out an old friend, and especially if you have such exciting game as these things." Camrath then noticed the human, and turned his head to face him. His good eye stared hard at him, but the blank, torn socket somehow seemed to be gazing too. Dex shuddered gently as he felt his soul closely scrutinised by the blind eye. Camrath stared for a moment, then grunted with satisfaction. "Ah, so you must be Dex. I always knew that one day a man favoured by the Emperor would come to us."

Dex was taken aback. "But how do you know of the Emperor? You're a lion, for heaven's sake!"

Camrath laughed. "Why, when I was knee high to a meerkat I had a little problem with a daemon. I destroyed it, but it told me great secrets when it lived in my mind. It told me of how the Emperor was an evil persecutor of the followers of its master. I used to believe it, before I realised it was the evil one. When I destroyed it I found it had left me with the gift of second sight, and I have known in dreams for years now that some day one of his most favoured warriors would come to save our planet. I know that you are running from your past, in fear that the Emperor has forsaken you."

Dex shivered... Was he hearing this? "Well, let me tell you that he has forgiven you. It is only you now who must forgive yourself."

The scarred lion shook his head. "I'm sorry, I might have said too much. Forgive a foolish and unwilling oracle."

Dex shook as he realised the words of the lion must be true. Making an excuse, he hurried off, unable to contain the thoughts running through his head. Camrath shook his head as he watched him go, then turned to Simba.

"You know, you are particularly lucky to know him old boy. He will become one of the greatest heroes of the age."

Simba laughed, remembering when Camrath had first started talking of the life outside of their home planet. "And to think the other cubs thought that you were mad! Well, thank you again both of you. You know you are always welcome on my lands."

Kimru nodded. "Yep, and you on ours. Now if you will excuse us we must go back home. We left Cam's daughter in charge of the cubs, and she can be a little absent minded."

Camrath jumped as he remembered this. "Oh, Gods, yes! We had best go. Give my regards to all of your family, and say farewell to your human friend for me. We will probably be back again sometime."

The two brothers turned and started to bound away, calling their lionesses to them as they did so. The Havenners had left as quickly as they had arrived, not wanting to leave the borders of their home unguarded for any longer than necessary. The solitary leopards did not have the same social soul of their leader, Savarihm, and their worry would not be quelled until they had returned home. Savarihm spared no time for talk, and gave only an odd look at the human before leaving. Soon Simba was left alone with Nala on the field of battle. Turning to her, Simba sighed. "Well beloved, I suppose we had better go look for any wounded, and see who we have lost."

Dex sighed. He was so tired...

The battle had finally ended, the Orks were repelled. He could use scrap from the crashed scout ship the orks must have arrived in to repair his own.

Night had fallen, throwing a peaceful veil over the lands. Crickets chirped serenely as whisps of clouds hung placidly in the cool, peaceful air. Dex didn't care how long it took to repair his ship- he would be content to stay here for the rest of his life. But he knew he had to depart some time.

As he was settling down near the waterhole, "his spot," as it had become, a leonine voice totally shattered the peace.

"DEX!"

He leapt from his moss-softened seat and dashed towards Pride Rock, from which his name was being constantly echoed in a distressingly fervent manner.

Arriving, he saw what he would never forget. Sarabi was on the harsh, cold rock, her gaping wounds- two or three dozen of them -exposed to the breezy air. Her face was riddled with horrific gashes that mangled her complexion. He knelt beside her- Simba and the lionesses gave him a wide berth, hoping that he could heal her.

He knew he couldn't. Trying to would just torture her. Dex just stared at the blood oozing so sickeningly from her body, steaming a bit from touching the cold ground and then seeping away. She was caked in it- blood.

His assassinhood swept back and buffeted him in his stomach. He felt dazed.

"I..." Dex sputtered, and shook his head.

"I can't help her." His mouth went dry, and he had trouble sputtering out his words. He raised his head, limply, to look at Simba. "Do you want me to- to put her to sleep? To rest her soul, so she doesn't have to undergo this...?" He gestured to the moaning creature on the ground.

An eternity passed, and another, and more eternities until Dex was sure they were talking over a cup of coffee in the heavens, and then Simba spoke. "Yes." That was all he said. The word did its work, efficiently. Like he had done... He did his work, efficiently. He slew thousands in the name of the Emperor, in a bloodlusted adrenaline rush.

Shuffling through his backpack blankly, he fell upon the slick, slender form of his executioner combi-pistol. He attached the muzzle to the needle gun, kept in a separate pouch, and screwed it on absent-mindedly. He didn't need to look at it, he knew just what to do from years of practice.

Sliding it out of his backpack the rest of the way, Dex stared at the needle pistol. A deliverer of death. A "cleanser," a "remover." A disciple of the Grim Reaper, like what he was.

He gently cradled one side of Sarabi's head in his left hand, clutching the handle to his needle pistol in the other. He could feel her soft fur, and even blood-caked, it was still silken in texture. Dex couldn't bare to look her in her mangled eyes- one of them burst, with blood dribbling down her cheek, its remnants hanging off of the socket.

This was horrible. He sat for many minutes, trying to search for a word he could utter that would be able to describe the pain and horror that he and Sarabi were undergoing, but failed. Not by a mile, a thousand miles or a light year, could any word in any language show what he felt. It went past the worst he had ever seen, physically, mentally. Another agonized moan brought him painfully back to reality.

With a disgusting thot, the pistol jammed its deadly inhabitant into the tortured lioness's neck, and he could feel her drain out from within him in a last, pathetic mewl that pierced through his chest quicker than could any monomolecular blade or armor piercing shell, and shattered his heart. And he cried.

In all of his life, he had cried very few times, at birth, at the death of his friend, at his discovery of his sins, at his acceptance into the pride. He was the "unshakable one." The proud soldier of the Emperor who delivered death indiscriminately, and now lying in a collecting pool of mournful tears and a lioness' lifeblood.

His eyes fell upon Sarabi's disfigured body again. But she looked so peaceful... She was peaceful in life. And in death.

Would he kill in death? Would he, from his grave or deathbed, reach out and slay even more souls, in the Emperor's name? What if he couldn't live with himself, and couldn't die with himself either? There, that night, he was brought to tears for killing, what had been so routine. But he never thought of his victims as humans. Just things.

Realizing what he had just thought, more tears were brought to his eyes. He hadn't just killed a human- he'd killed a lion! Thousands of humans dead, slain by his hand, and they received a single weeping. For the uncountable thousands of them. But this old lioness, Sarabi, had tugged him the rest of the way out of his shell. He wept that night, on his knees, face buried in his palms, the tears soaking his hands and rolling off of Pride Rock as they fell from his pupils.

Finally, drained of every last pained tear, he groaned as he forced himself to stand on two shaky legs, his head hung dismally low. Dex couldn't face the lions, the lionesses, or Rafiki, or Sarabi. He didn't know if he could even face himself, ever again, as he dragged himself back to his resting spot.

Before lying down, he lifted his backpack and sifted through it.

Lethal injection syringes, needle pistol muzzles and vials containing deadly poisons. He stared at his hand- inside it were acidic fluids that used to be his blood- real blood, of a human. He wasn't a human, he thought. He was a weapon. A living, breathing weapon that had only seconds ago acquired a mind.

Dex grabbed one strap to his knapsack and screamed in agony, hurling the forsaken thing into the shallow part of the water hole and pounding on it with his feet, even more tears flying from his eyes- these didn't come from his body. They came from his soul, which wept now for himself, Sarabi, his friend, and those who he killed. With a savage kick, his knapsack was flung into the deepest parts of the waterhole.

He was suddenly scared that the fluids inside it would poison the water, but he remembered from his classes that they were very dense and that the vials were made of the type of glass that couldn't even be broken by him. His backpack, weighed down by the poisons' density, fell to the bottom of the waterhole.

Dex turned to his bolt pistol. He'd keep that, to remind himself of his past. He'd keep it. He'd keep it... He'd keep it, his pain and sorrow, and everything that laid within him- for that evening he was told that they were all precious. Sarabi had it all taken away. He had to keep what he had... He had to...

The assassin fell to his knees, face cradled in his palms, his tears dripping slowly down his chin, tickling his neck and soaking into his clothes. He stayed there with his elbows on his knees, torrents of tears, renewed with each thought, dampening the dried dirt beneath him.

He dozed off soon, lying on the comfortable moss-covered rocks near the waterhole. His sleep was dreamless, and thankfully peaceful.

Departure.

It was a few days later. The Pride Lands had been cleared of the ork corpses, and Dex had supervised the mass cremation of all the remains. The ashes had then been left to scatter to the four winds. The remnants of the army had dispersed back to their homes, and the wounded were healing slowly. Sarabi had been taken to the traditional resting-place of the Pride, and left there to return to the circle of life through the jackals and vultures. Life was slowly returning to normal, and the hyenas had even been seen nosing around the wrecked ship in the graveyard.

Dex stood back from his craft and sighed. The components he had scavenged had enabled him to jury rig the repairs to his craft, and although he was no tech adept, it should see him fit to the nearest habitated planet. He had just finished packing his goods into the hull, save for the wargear that he had thrown into the waterhole. As he stood there in the evening sunshine he thought back on the words that Camrath had said. The lion, though touched by chaos, had indeed seemed to know what he was talking about. If the Emperor had forgiven him, then Dex felt that he had a duty to work for him again, to show his thanks. Dex intended to go freelance, acting as a general trouble-shooter, helping the underdog but through spiritual means as opposed to open revolution. His plan was to travel the uncharted regions of space, spreading the word of the Emperor's love to those humans who had forgotten it, or those aliens who would be prepared to listen. Now he was ready to leave, but first he had to make his goodbyes.

For the last time, Dex strode up to Pride Rock. The lionesses were lying in the afternoon sun, relaxing after the events of recent days. The cubs gambolled around playfully, their little growls and laughs cutting through the oppressive heat like a knife. Dex walked quietly past them, nodding his head in greeting as he sought out Simba.

He found Simba lying at the tip of the Promontory, with Nala at his side. They were both looking out over the Kingdom that had so nearly been destroyed, and ruminating on the loss of life. For Simba missed his mother deeply, and all the lionesses had been struck but the loss of the popular hunt mistress. Dex approached them quietly and respectfully.

"Simba, Nala. I'm afraid the time has come for me to make my farewells. I have stayed here too long as it is, and if my ship is found then there will only be more 'visitors.' I must depart tonight, and I just want to thank you both for allowing me into your pride."

Simba looked at Dex with great sadness. "But Dex, can't you just destroy your ship and remain here with us? You are part of my family now, and I don't want to lose you."

Dex shook his head gently, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I wish it was different, but I must go. And I must go now- for every day I stay with you all it gets harder for me to leave. I love you all like the family I once had, and I swear by the name of the Emperor that I will return someday. No parting is forever, and we WILL meet again."

Nala stood up, went over to him and gently nuzzled his leg. "I will miss you so much. You have done so much for us all. You saved me, you defeated the orks- I just wish that you could stay to enjoy our gratitude."

Dex knelt down and gently rubbed the side of Nala's face. "I know it exists, and that is all I need. You and your pride have saved me from myself. I am now a changed man, and that will last until the day I die." He then went to Simba, and wrapped his arms around the King's mane. "Incosi Simba, I touch your mane."

Simba swallowed back a lump in his throat. "I feel it. Godspeed my friend, and please return to us."

Dex started to cry once more, his voice cracking gently. "I will my friend, my King, my brother. I could not keep myself away from all of you."

Dex then released Simba, and stood up straight. "May Aiheu watch over you and keep you." He snapped his fist to his chest in an Imperial salute.

Simba raised his right forepaw to his chest, mimicking the motion. "May the Emperor watch over both you and I my friend." With that Dex spun on his heel and marched down off the promontory, trying to hide the tears pouring down his cheeks. He marched swiftly past the other lionesses and cubs and towards his ship by the waterhole. Turning back to look at Pride Rock, burning like copper in the sunlight he took a deep hitching breath and sighed. The happiest and saddest period in his life was at an end. For living with these lions, these animals, had taught him more about himself and mankind than anything he had ever experienced. As he swung up into the cockpit, still scarred and scratched from the fiery landing, he felt for a moment impotent to leave. The desire to stay filled him, and he considered clambering out of the cockpit, setting a melta bomb in the fuel tank and heading back to Pride rock. Soon the hunting party would leave, and there would always be a place for him in that and at the kill afterwards. But shaking his head he knew that it could never be. Quickly he sat down and strapped himself in. The litany of ignition flowed out of his lips and he heard the soft thrumming as the reactor came on line. The atmospheric jets whined as they dragged in the air from the savannah, and the ship gently left the ground.

The noise drew the attention of all the pride, and as the ship nosed past Pride rock the lionesses joined Simba in letting out a mighty roar of farewell. Dex banked the craft slightly, and flew past again at a height of about one hundred metres, looking down with love upon his leonine family. Raising his right fist in salute to them, he turned once more and opened up the throttle, flicking his wings over in a victory roll as he gained altitude.

As the ship screamed out over the savannah, rising all the time, it passed over the lands ruled by the Foresworn. Camrath looked up from where he lay next to his mate and watched the silver dart with its trail of white vapour.

"Farewell son of Earth. Go to your destiny- you will someday return from amongst the stars to us, and then the Emperor will release you to where you truly belong. Go in peace." The scarred lion turned his mind inwards, looking with his blinded eye at the paths of the future and smiled. "You are to become truly great- great adventure lies in store…"

Camrath tailed off as his vision faded, and he snuggled in close to his mate, ready to begin the wait for the return of the star wanderer. For he had a secret- it was prophesied that he would die when this hero from above returned to the planet. How long it seemed that his life stretched ahead.

Interlude Two.

The black ship dropped out of the warp with a blaze of light. "Position?" The Inquisitor demanded.

"Geostationary orbit over the last planet the Assasin visited, my Lord."

"And the planet is?"

"Feral, Lord.. Large life readings, but no technology or human life detectable. It's a savannah world.. Wait one second.."

"What is it?"

"A large wreck sir.. Southern hemisphere.. Looks like the remains of an ork hulk.. It's been there at least ten years, as the augurries claim"

"No life signs?"

"No sir."

"Good. Prepare to land- I want to investigate this closer."

As the ship began to pull in closer to land, however, the comms officer lifted his head. "My Lord.. Urgent transmission from Earth.."

The Inquisitor lifted his head. "Deliver it."

The officer's eyes flicked back as his mind interfaced with the warp, connecting with the mind of the transmitter, light years away.

"Inquisitor Vert.. You are to travel at full speed to the planet of Trist. There is a war between our loyal forces and a race of sentient lions. Possibility of daemonic infestation. Abandon all current pursuits and comply immediately."

The Inquisitor sighed and nodded. "Plot a course for this world.." He said softly, feeling perhaps that he would meet with his quarry still... Someday.

Epilogue.

The sun rose over the Pridelands. It glinted off the side of Pride Rock and shone dully from the massive heap of metal in the midst of the elephant graveyard. King Mtanga the Third rose, and stretched luxuriously. It was going to be a lovely day. He was just taking a walk onto the Promontory, when a strange new sight in the skies caught his eye.

A small silver glint seemed to be descending through the heavens, and he also became aware of a nearly deafening boise that seemed to accompany this apparition. He thought for one moment of a legend he had heard in his cubhood, that of some strange saviour who had descended from the stars to protect the lions of the Pridelands, but then laughed at himself for even considering such a thing.

The silver fleck came closer, and the noise likewise grew. Small birds and animals began to scatter before it, and the lionesses from the pride dashed out to see what was going on. The glint grew larger, until it could be seen as an enormous edifice of metal, half as long again as the promontory itself. It lowered down further, and then, in a cloud of steam and flame, it touched down less than a mile from Pride Rock. Mtanga turned and dashed down, calling to the pride to follow him as he ran to investigate this strange sight.

The ship lay still for a moment, its hull making soft clinks as it cooled from the descent. Then a hatch opened with a blast of gases. Out stepped a figure wrapped in a long black coat, its legs wobbling unsteadily. The man stood up tall, and gazed around the Pridelands with a look of deep contentment on his face.

"I'm home." He stated simply, in a voice that was cracked with age and barely more than a whisper. He stood still for a few moments, then turned as he sensed the approaching lions.

As Mtanga advanced towards the strange, tall figure, he wondered what to say. Would this being understand him? He was just about to ask him where he had come from, when the man spoke first.

"Incosi, I touch your mane."

Taken aback at the gesture, and at the way he had understood the words, Mtanga was dumbstruck for a minute, then he remembered his manners and replied "I feel it. Tell me, who are you, and where do you come from?"

"My name is Dex Ayan. I come from a planet far away. I came here once over two hundred years ago, in the reign of King Simba, and now I return to die. I humbly request that your majesty lets me go to my Lord in your territory."

As Dex spoke, a murmur ran through the lions. They had all heard the story of Dex, and of how he had saved the world from the green ones who came in the wreck, but none of them had really believed it. This continued for a second before Mtanga gestured for silence.

"If you are indeed Dex, then I give you the full freedom of the lands. Go in peace."

"I thank you, sire." Dex replied, and then seemed to remember something. "If you see a fire over by the waterhole, that is my passing- it will be contained, so do not be afraid." With that Dex took his leave of the pride, and wandered towards his old sleeping place.

As he pounded across the savannah, the pain came again. It had been troubling him for some time now, and he new the truth. His body, unnaturally strengthened as it was, was wearing out. He was pretty sure one of his hearts had failed in the warp during the journey, and it was a matter of hours until his other followed.

The waterhole appeared ahead. He smiled ruefully as he remembered the very first time he saw it, rushing up to him through his cockpit canopy. Oh, how long ago that seemed...

Dex found the mossy area where he had once slept, and noticed how little it had changed in the two and a half centuries since he had left. Sighing with the thought, he lay down and slowly drifted off to sleep.

He dreamed busily. His whole life seemed to pass before him- his glorious childhood that ended so abruptly, the sound of his friend's dying gasps, the feel of his weapons as he slew man after man as the most feared killer in the galaxy, the joy when he was accepted into Simba's pride after healing Nala, the shock of Sarabi's death and the adventures he had had since leaving the planet. All whirled around in his head as he slept his last night.

Soon howevere all these images were gone. He saw himself on some great, dark plain, all alone. He was cold, and started to shiver, when he heard movement behind him. He span, and behind him saw Simba at the head of his pride. Nala was on his left, and Sarabi at his right. Behind Simba, with a loving expression on his face, was a lion that Dex did not recognise. He had an enormously powerful body, and looked a little like Simba. It was this lion that spoke first.

"Dex, you have returned to our home. We always knew you would." The voice was unusually deep and melodious, and seemed to echo with some bizarre resonance. "You saved both my son, my grandson and all my descendants. I am Mufasa, Simba's father, and I salute you. For thanks to your actions, our line has continued for over twenty generations."

Simba then spoke. "Greetings old friend. I am so glad that you are now back home with us again. You were always one of us in spirit, before you even met us, and now come with us, to the other side. Your Emperor has released your soul- he told me so himself. Now you can at last find peace- He has forgiven you for turning from the path planned for you. Come, our time is short. Let us go home."

The mighty lion turned, and began to walk away from Dex. The rest of the pride and Mufasa joined him, and the assasin fell in with the group as they marched on, wondering where they were leading him. Suddenly a huge gateway of light appeared before the group, and the lions bounded across into it. Dex stood still for a moment, then looked back for one last time. He then turned back and saw in the gateway not just the pride, but also Jez, the old barman, along with his oldest friend. Dex smiled widely, and stepped into the light's warm embrace.

Back in the Pridelands, a smile flickered on the old mans face as his second heart slowed, then stopped. The look of joy remained fixed as the body relaxed gently. All was still for a moment, then the chemicals in Dex's bloodstream, kept under control for so long by his own metabolism, reacted. The body suddenly disappeared in a bright white glare of plasma that lit up the night over the Pridelands.

Countless millions of miles away, on the ancient and polluted planet of Earth, the Emperor sat in his gigantic palace, rooted into the golden throne. His galaxy spanning consciousness reached out and detected the passing of Dex's soul. A single golden tear rolled down the side of his unbelievably wizened cheek as he felt it fly over the last boundary, into the warp and beyond. The guards of the Adeptus Custodes, who stood over him constantly, saw this, and reverently caught it in a golden chalice, while wondering what great soul the tear was shed for.