Thursday, October 19, 2006

My 40K story...

Here's my First complete Warhammer 40k story. I owe my little Bro Andy for kicking me in the shins to finish it. You'll also notice I used one of his characters as well...

The Drop
Interrogator-Chaplain Belarius paced outside the holding cell in the small hallway. Every few seconds he would glance at the steel doors, with the Ravenwing symbol etched upon their surface in black, and shake his head. He felt his choler grow at the slightest sound made by the occupant in cell number twelve.
‘Blood for Chaos! Blood for the Blood God! Blood for Khorne!’ the traitor marine screamed. Belarius depressed the intercom button and stopped pacing.
The entryway doors slid open to reveal two Dark Angels in their plate armour. Belarius turned and saw that Brother-Captain Erasmus and Brother Sergeant Domitian had entered the cell bay.
‘To what do I owe this encounter?’ said Belarius. He genuflected before the Ravenwing captain.
‘Rise Brother Belarius. We came to seek news of the traitor. Has he spoken at all of the drop site the World Eaters will attack?’ Erasmus said. He clenched his fists at his sides.
‘No my lord, nothing at all.’
‘Has the traitor repented?’ asked Domitian. He looked at Belarius, his face a roadmap of scars and his forehead a trophy deck for service studs.
‘No. He has somehow fought against the synth-chems and every form of truth serum we utilize,’ said Belarius.
‘Perhaps the time has come to show him why you have your black pearl upon your rosarius,’ Brother-Captain Erasmus said. ‘By any means necessary Belarius.’
The Interrogator-Chaplain bowed to the two Astartes warriors and walked back down the hallway to cell twelve. He placed his hand firmly on the obsidian plate and waited for the rectangle to turn red. He picked up his Crozius Arcanum and walked through the piston-controlled doors of the cell. Thirty-seven hours later Belarius emerged, his obsidian power armour covered in the blood of the World Eater. Brother-Captain Erasmus and Sergeant Domitian awaited him in the hallway.
‘Purgatory Thirteen,’ Belarius said. He wiped his face with his exposed right hand. The gauntlet attached to his hip.
‘Sergeant Domitian, ready your troops, we must make planet side before the Khornate war party arrives,’ said Captain Erasmus. He smiled.
‘Yes my lord,’ said Domitian. He turned and switched to vox communication and ordered his troops to ready for a planet drop.
‘Sir, I do not trust this World Eater’s confession. We may save the lives of those in Hive Furioso, but I can sense that this is subterfuge for something larger that we are not seeing,’ said Belarius.
Dirt was baked black beneath the force and heat of the drop pods landing in the open space several hundred meters from Hive Furioso. The landing ramps opened like flower petals with Dark Angels charging the barren hillside chosen as the landing site. Ravenwing Land Speeders had been circling the drop site for some time. The Thunderhawk gunships that had deposited the Land Speeders headed toward the hive city. The captain of one of the gunships voxed Captain Erasmus and told him that the Khornate war party had entered the planet’s gravitational sphere.
‘All units make for the command center. The Khorne Berzerkers will be landing at any moment,’ Erasmus said. He turned to Belarius and Domitian and looked at his brother Astartes.
‘We will not let this hive city fall. Nor will we allow Gath and his Berzerkers to overrun this place. Get me Librarian Gramael. I want him here in case the traitors decide to bring forth a daemon,’ said Erasmus.
The two Astartes nodded and went down to the troops. Erasmus looked up to see the blaze trails of the Chaos Dreadclaw Assault Pods. The drop pods rained down from the World Eater battleship, Woebringer, the personal battleship of Blayag the Hated. Erasmus clenched his fists for he knew that within one of the Dreadclaws was murderer of their former captain of Squad Absolution. The captain’s vox crackled on.
‘Interference from...area...Berzerkers are.... full speed after the Dreadclaws landed...wing Land Speeder Purity was shot down...’ said Sergeant Domitian over static breaks.
‘Sergeant, hold the position and utilize Librarian Gramael. Do whatever it takes,’ Erasmus said.
‘I’ve found something in the ground just over the ridge captain, I’m going to check it out,’ said Interrogator-Chaplain Belarius.
‘Belarius, you are stay put and hold the flank for us, where are you going?’ said Erasmus. He could see the chaplain’s black armour moving toward an outcropping of rocks behind the Astartes’ position.
‘Domitian, I’m going after Belarius, he’s found something behind the ridge. Keep the Berzerkers at bay,’ said Erasmus. He ran up the ridge and over it in several well placed lunges.
‘Captain...rising from the ground...Eldar symbols all over the surface...appears...door...prying it open now,’ came Belarius’ voice.
‘Chaplain, do not enter, repeat, do not enter. Wait for me to enter with you,’ Erasmus said. He was running full force toward the outcropping.
‘Blood for Khorne!’ screamed a traitor marine. He was massive and had his hand merged to a chain fist.
Erasmus pulled his bolt pistol, turned behind him, aimed and obliterated the Khorne Berzerker with one shot between the eyes. The Berzerker’s head exploded in clumps of brain and bits of bone. Erasmus entered the maze that Belarius had run to.
‘Death to the False Emperor,’ screamed another Berzerker. Ten more marines that had been dropped behind the ridge followed him.
Erasmus holstered his bolt pistol and flicked off the safety of his stormbolter. He took cover behind one of the giant standing stones and then let off a few shots into the mass of Khorne Berzerkers. Several were hit squarely in the chest and kept coming. They howled for blood and foamed at the mouth. Erasmus unhooked a grenade from his belt and lobbed it towards them. Blasted earth flew everywhere, as did five of the traitors. The rest had been stunned and were shaking themselves off.
Erasmus ran deeper into the outcropping and followed the path Belarius had made. He heard a chain-axe activated and ran with all his might towards the closing door Belarius had found. He threw himself at the closing aperture and slid through onto a slippery marble floor. The buzzing of the chain-axe grew louder and Erasmus leapt out of the way as he saw a Khorne Berzerker sliding through the doorway, chain-axe buzzing in one hand.
‘Gath,’ said Erasmus. He activated his power fist and struck the World Eater in the shoulder guard, smashing it to bits of ceramite.
The World Eater was stunned and lost his balance. Erasmus used the opening to run towards Belarius’ position. The Interrogator-Chaplain was locked in mortal combat with one of the Black Legion’s marines. Erasmus walked up behind the traitor marine and aimed the stormbolter at the back of his ancient helm. A spray of flesh and blood covered Belarius. He had wiped his eyepieces on the helm clean when he spotted Gath bringing his chain-axe Snaga down onto the captain’s left shoulder guard. The armour buckled but did not break.
Belarius shoved the captain out of the way and brought his Crozius up to bear. He blocked the chop of Snaga and swung the head of the arcane weapon across Gath’s right arm. The Crozius connected with the ceramite and smashed it. Gath let his right arm swing down, useless, but still held on to Snaga with his left. He stuck at Belarius and wrenched the Crozius out of the chaplain’s hand. As Belarius dove for his fallen weapon Gath swung the chain-axe at Captain Erasmus, striking him square in the face. The captain slumped to the floor, his face a shattered piece of meat and spilt blood. The Snaga feasted on the blood of the captain and whined high as Gath pulled it free of the remains of the marine’s face.
Belarius screamed in anger and launched himself at the World Eater. Gath squeezed his right hand with all his might and willed it to move. Khorne had granted his servant Gath power to defeat his enemy.
‘Blood for you Khorne,’ yelled Gath. His eyes rolled back in their sockets and he laughed.
Belarius struck first, leaving a gaping diagonal slash down Gath’s chest plate, the Berzerker laughed harder and let saliva drip down his chin. Belarius raised his Crozius high over his head and brought it down on Gath’s shattered shoulder guard but missed as the traitor sidestepped the blow and kicked the chaplain to the ground. The Crozius Arcanum skidded across the dimly lit chamber and Gath moved in. He struck at Belarius with Snaga and connected on the chaplain’s shoulder guard. The chain-axe bit into the chaplain’s arm, severing nerves and tendons. Belarius arm hung lifeless at his side. Gath raised his ancient chain-axe high once more and let it fall towards the downed chaplain. Belarius kicked the World Eater’s feet out from under him; sending the traitor marine crashing, face first, into the marble floor of the chamber.
Belarius landed a punch to Gath’s face and managed to cut a gash across the bridge of his nose. Blood poured out from his nostrils and Gath laughed at the sight of his own blood. Belarius moved to a crouching position and threw a punch at him but it was caught by Gath and he broke the arm at the elbow and the wrist. The chaplain howled in pain but as quickly as the break was made it was already healing itself. He shoved the traitor away and sent him skidding across the floor near Snaga. Belarius put his shoulder into Gath’s chest and tackled him across the chamber. Gath gripped the handle of Snaga as he skidded back wards. Both marines slid down the hallway and fell five meters off a landing and onto the hardpan floor inside the immense Eldar structure.
‘Blood for the Blood God!’ Gath said. He threw a punch at Belarius who turned and let his dead arm take the brunt of the punch.
The Ceramite covering the chaplain’s arm cracked where Gath’s fist connected with a solid punch. Belarius could not feel the pain and head butted the World Eater, further damaging his nose. Gath coughed up blood and spat thick black mucous onto the hardpan floor.
Weaponless and growing weary, Belarius reached for his bolt pistol. He aimed at the traitor but had the weapon slapped away open handed. Gath punched the chaplain in the face, leaving the chaplain stunned. He reached for the Chaplain’s dead arm, twisted it back and then pulled it from its socket. The chaplain howled in pain as Gath drank the blood pouring from the severed appendage. With a last surge of effort Belarius brought out the Blades of reason and slashed Gath’s throat, watching the corrupted World Eater stumble backward holding his throat. Belarius slumped to the ground. He pulled a grenade from his belt and lobbed it toward Gath. The Berzerker watched as the Interrogator-Chaplain vanished in a cloud of eldritch light. Gath saw the grenade fly towards him then stop and was flung into the warp gate that had opened the moment that Belarius had died.
For a brief instant Gath saw the powers of Chaos gathered to take him but Khorne stepped in and demanded he stay behind. Blood for the Blood God was needed and Gath was the one who would provide. Khorne healed Gath’s wound and transported him back to the battlefield for more slaughter and carnage.
Captain Erasmus’ vox crackled to life inside the empty Eldar structure.
‘Captain, there’s too many of them, the entire Khornate host has landed. We’re being overrun, we need back up, repeat, we need backup,’ said Sergeant Domitian. The staccato of bolter fire filled the grotto like chamber and then the gurgling sounds of death filled the vox followed by the incessant chanting of the World Eaters.
‘Blood for the Blood God!’

2 Comments:

Blogger introhvert said...

dang u write alot. y don't u try just working on a book? but listen i havent read this post yet as long as the other new ones so i am gone all day but tonight or tomorrow i will read them all. you write so much i can't keep up!!!!

7:16 AM  
Blogger KRUG said...

OOOOOH YEAH! FINALLY YOU POSTED IT...DON'T WORRY MORE TO COME ABOUT GATH!

12:24 PM  

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