It was a calm day, but they decided to go hunting.
To bid farewell to his Warhound brothers who were about to leave, Manning called for a hunting party. Just like last time, not many responded to his call. A few White Scars did, but Hades suspected they were more interested in speeding on their bikes than hunting.
Hades initially didn't want to go, but Jin refused to mention finding food this time. Considering his good relationship with Warhound Perez, one of the first tech-marines to welcome him, Hades decided to bring some food and have a chat.
There were other reasons, of course.
Hades glanced at Jin, who was busy getting an all-terrain bike ready for him. In the distance, the White Scars' bikes roared to life. Scratching his head, he asked, "Are you done yet, Jin?"
"Sir, you can't rush the first-time deployment process!"
Finally, Jin completed the information verification and activation sequence. A bike suitable for an Astartes slowly rolled out of the warehouse. It was a basic vehicle Hades had picked, equipped with dual-linked grenade launchers.
Hades casually mounted the bike, his servo-arms on his power armor twitching. He had brought a close-combat dagger, a grenade launcher, a meltagun, and hidden behind him, an incendiary shotgun.
He had also hidden something in his gloves.
The timed message was encoded and sent. Just in case, Hades had informed a few battle-brothers. They were skeptical but chose to trust him.
"Hey, let's go, Hades!"
Manning was already on his bike, which was so heavily modified it was unrecognizable. It was armed with bombs and meltaguns, but Manning had dialed down their power; he wanted to hunt game, not obliterate it.
In the distance, the White Scars were chatting. They rode modified scout bikes, devoid of external weapons to reduce weight. Their engines were modified, and red lightning streaked across their white frames.
As Hades suspected, they were just there to race.
"Go!"
Manning shouted gleefully and zoomed ahead, taking the lead.
Hearing the signal, the White Scars revved their engines and sped off.
Wait, was that speed even safe? Hades knew the White Scars had their own acceleration techniques, but this was a bit much!
By the time Hades got his bike moving, the White Scars had already overtaken Manning, leaving only dust and distant specks on the horizon.
Hades thought he could faintly hear the joyous roars of the White Scars' bike machine spirits.
He wasn't in a hurry. Hades followed closely behind Manning, keeping an eye on the map that Manning was sending him through the comm channel.
The tech-marine base was on the edge of the city, close to the wilderness. To reach the wastelands quickly, they had to cross a large area filled with industrial waste.
Here, waste from countless factories was dumped, and the water was polluted. Occasionally, the Mechanicum would discard servitors they considered obsolete.
But who knew if these servitors were still operational? During his years of training at the tech-base, Hades realized that most of the mechanical creatures he had seen on his small ship were discarded servitors.
Some servitors, after being discarded, would awaken self-awareness. They survived like stray dogs, scavenging in the waste area or stealing electricity from factories on the city's edge to sustain themselves.
They usually avoided humans.
The ride through the waste area was surprisingly smooth. Despite the trash, the roads used by large waste-transport vehicles were clear. They followed one such road.
Mountains of trash loomed on either side of the road. Occasionally, something would dart past.
In the distance, large waste-transport vehicles were at work.
As they rode, Hades kept marking locations on his map.
When they reached a more secluded area, Hades' bike malfunctioned.
A wisp of black smoke emerged from the engine. Prepared for this, Hades didn't hesitate and jumped off the bike—
"Boom!"
The next moment, the engine exploded, scattering debris.
The heavy bike skidded into a mountain of trash beside the road. The impact caused steel bars and other waste to fall.
"Bang!"
Dust flew everywhere.
Hades held his scythe, and through his helmet's visor, he saw that the bike was completely wrecked.
Hmm, the extent of the explosion suggested that they at least wanted to spare his life.
Manning, hearing the commotion, quickly turned back and looked at Hades through the steel bars that now blocked the road.
"Are you alright, brother?"
"I'm fine."
Hades waved his hand, signaling that he was unharmed.
"Why don't you go ahead? I'll walk back and get another bike."
"Alright, cool!"
"Then I'll go ahead, brother!"
Manning gestured excitedly at Hades, who knew exactly what he meant. He smiled and gestured for Manning to go ahead and catch up with the White Scars, who were now out of sight.
After Manning left, Hades looked at the wreckage of his bike. He had already sent a message to Jin, who would come to pick him up.
He then looked around, his eyes scanning the mountains of trash.
He had a feeling that someone was watching him.
The game was afoot.