998.M41
Landfall. Planet eldritch.
Location: two energy sources near research point MC462.73
Gravel and dust crunched beneath ceramite boots. There was a soft whisper of static as vox chatter confirmed locations and commands. An oiled click as bolts were drawn back, great mass reactive ammunition cocked at the ready. The soft susurrations that preluded a battle; these and more were well known to him.
Librarian Morden of the Sable Swords Space Marines Chapter took in a deep breath and let the echoes of the Warp seep slowly into his mind. He could control it, yield to it and let it flow through and become its instrument, but for now, he merely let it whisper to him, using it to gently scan his surroundings.
There was an energy source here, old and strong and powerful. He could feel it thrumming through the ground, but it came sporadically, as if it was unstable, not yet at full control. He’d never felt anything like it before, and knew that it was definitely not of the Warp, although each time it pulsed he could feel the trembling ripples through the Æther. Brother Septimus’ auspex beeped in time with each pulse.
“Alpha, this is Gamma. Xenos artefact found. Confirmation Alpha” Brother Sergeant Glavus signalled through the vox. They had scouted around to a broken building to the right of the DZ and located the first signature reading.
“Gamma, Alpha. Secure and stay put. Pattern Eagle.” Captian Valthus’ voice came hard and steely in response. Morden looked over at his captain and watched him as he surveyed the broken ruins around him, his iron halo flickering the air. Behind him, the black and white sheen of Guarlen Delta,
a standard pattern Rhino, reflected the harsh grey sky. Brother Andronicus, recently interred within the sarcophagus of a dreadnought stood proudly, multi-melta at the ready.
Valthus caught the librarian’s eye and smiled grimly. “If there are Xenos here, then we’re in for a good fight brother.”
Morden held his gaze “This is not of any Xenos signature that I know of, Captain. Perhaps we should be weary in our investigations.”
Valthus nodded sagely ”You speak truth, brother. But then as our great Chapter Master always says, tread softly, and carry a big gun.” He hefted his boltgun to emphasise, and locked in a rack of hellfire rounds.
“Indeed.” Morden replied, but something was nagging him. The Warp tugged at him speaking of things to come, comforting him. But still he couldn’t shake the feeling that death awaited them all on this barren rock…
+ + +
Within a chamber far beneath the obsidian coloured space marines something awoke. Bursts of signal and emerald green light seemed to flicker across the vast hall. A soft metal sound, like the treading of steel feet echoed through its arches and cornices, cut in odd geometry and stylized frescoes. A figure appeared, gold reflecting off its shoulder plates and green light glowing from a crystal at the end of a long stave. It walked hunched, and yet had a haughty demeanour about it. The green light flickered across its skull visage and bone like rib cage.
It reached the end of the chamber and knelt before a large vertical sarcophagus carved into the likeness of an ancient warrior with a vast golden crest, a mighty double bladed pole arm clutched over its breast. Steam hissed from its joints and small metallic beetle like creatures exited through the cracks as the lid of the sarcophagus cracked open in six portions, withdrawing into the wall behind.
Another figure stepped out, gleaming in gold and blues, its blue sheened cape made of metal scales that slid over one another. Its visage was a mirror of the engraved on its tomb, but whereas the carving had given the impression of flesh and bone, this crest framed a face pale and skeletal. Its eyes glowed a dull green and it glared down at the figure kneeling before it.
Cryptek Argheara, report. How goes the resurrection?
Slow my lord. The cores have been damaged during our slumber. Our armies have yet to awaken.
The Overlord’s eyes flashed green with anger.
Hasten repairs immediately, cryptek. I wish to bring my glory to this universe soon. An opening appeared within the ground and a staff mirroring the one upon his sarcophagus rose out. The overlord grasped it with cold metal hands and gazed lovingly upon its blades.
There is another problem my lord. The cryptek seemed to shrink in the Overlord’s gaze, but he hurried on before his master could enforce his wrath. An enemy force has taken one of
our targeting systems above ground. They are currently moving towards on of the inactive tesseract traps. If they secure it… he left the statement hanging in the air.
Cold logic seeped into what remained of the Overlords mind. The promise of battle and glory calmed him and he turned from the cryptek, allowing his circuits to interact with the vast complex around him.
Go then. Take what forces there are with you, I will follow.
The cryptek stood and nodded assent. A black mist swirled around him and he disappeared, leaving the Overlord to ready himself for battle. And what a battle it was to be…
+ + +
“Contact!”
Glavus’ team had spotted shapes shimmering into focus in a distant ruin which seemed to be the same location the next energy signature was coming from. Captain Valthus could see blue skeletal forms lumbering around the broken shell of the building and gave the command to open fire. A missile contrail swooped out of the ruins behind him from the marines covering the xenos artefact. It impacted against one of the blue shapes, blowing it to bits, the flames illuminating other similar forms hiding in the ruins.
Valthus stormed forward, joined by Brother Librarian Morden and following close behind the rhino upon which Septimus’s squad had embarked. Brother Andronicus stomped forward in his lumbering armour and achieved target lock with his Multi-Melta, scorching another of the blue figures into oblivion.
“I sense six more within the ruins, Captain. And a further six to the left, behind the next building. They’re trying to flank us.” Morden voxed him.
“Excellent, let them face the wrath of the Emperor’s finest.”
Green lightning flickered from the ruins ahead, coruscating across the hull of the Rhino. Pieces of metal seemed to disintegrate off of it, but no major damage was done. The pintle mounted storm bolter, manned by Brother Calsus spat mass reactive bolts in return, obliterating another blue form.
“That leaves five in the ruins, Brother Librarian.” Calsus’s boast was interrupted by Morden’s terse response.
“No brother, now there are seven”
As they watched the blue forms started knitting together, arms and legs and torsos reforming from the melted bits left by, Andronicus’s weapon, and green lightning started licking out towards them again.
Captain Valthus roared in anger “Open fire! Take them apart with your bare hands if you have to. I want them destroyed!”
They rounded the corner of the building, making ready to open up on the squad that Morden had detected at their flank. About twenty metres away the librarian could just make out tall hooded forms, with one green cyclopean eye. And then a black mist enveloped the shapes and they disappeared.
“Something is not right here Captain, we need to be careful”
Within seconds Brother Glavus’s group covering the building behind them with their missile launcher noted contact. The Cyclops things had somehow teleported themselves to within range of the Sable Swords securing the artefact. The hooded creatures took aim and fired with their long barrelled weapons, and fired but no rounds were seen.
One of the marines holding overwatch over the ruins head suddenly exploded and the squad returned fire, cutting two of the creatures down, including the one hunched skeleton clutching an emerald green staff.
“Enemy craft inbound!”
Captain Valthus turned in time to see two crescent like shapes appear over the horizon, and then come strafing down towards them. One flew over to the building where Glavus and his squad were engaging the hooded creatures. The other seemed to be aiming straight at him. The high pitched whining of the craft’s engines seemed to core him through his bones and he felt slightly dazed as he watched the crescent craft with its underslung crystal aim at him.
There was a flash of green light, so bright the afterimage stayed burnt on the retina for minutes. Librarian Morden saw a beam of energy pierce through Brother Andronicus’s sacred hull, and then into the Iron Halo-ed shape of Captain Valthus. Andronicus seemed to escape damge, slowly, moving as if to shake of a daze, but not so for the Captain. As Morden watched, the captain was torn apart, atom by atom, until the only thing that remained was a burning purity seal fluttering in the wind. The craft swooped overhead and turned in for another run.
Morden turned to see the other craft send a beam of light to the field before the ruins holding Brother Glavus’s squad. More skeletal blue soldiers materialized onto the field, these with heavy double barrelled guns that arced and sprayed heavy bolts of lightning at the besieged marines. With them stood a tall golden crested warrior, his blue armour and cloak billowing around him. Morden narrowed his gaze and focused on the Overlord.
“With me Andronicus! Let us avenge our captain!” together the librarian and the dreadnought charged the blue metal skeletons, the power of the Warp flowing into Morden’s body with the wrath of his entire chapter.
Green lightning arced out of the double barrelled weapons, and the librarian barely registered as Andronicus was crippled, falling to the ground. He lept through the air and landed in the midst of the creatures. He was a blur, his force sword like a scythe of the Emperor. With one sweep he decapitated one creature and disembowelled another, machine parts flying in every direction. His back sweep block a clumsy thrust from a blade connected to the thing’s gun, and he split the creature from groin to neck, green light arcing between the shattered ribs. The fourth fell shattered
as his psychically enveloped fist smashed through its chest. The fifth died beneath his stomping boot.
He turned to face the tall golden creature and watched as one of the Immortals reassembled itself, the others simply pashing away. The Overlord backed away taunting the librarian to come closer. His HUD showed that Calsus had died, leaving the Rhino weaponless, and Sergeant Septimus had engaged the Xenos holding the other artefact. Glavus was under heavy fire from the enemy craft and was slowly taking wounds. His gaze fixed on the gleaming warrior before him Morden felt his rage build as his body was suffused with psychic strength. With a roar he leapt to engage.
His first strike was blocked by the haft of the long bladed staff, the second dodged by the being, who moved faster than his mechanical gait had implied. His third crashed against the armour but was rolled off as he swung around to deliver a deathblow to the warrior’s head. And then he stopped. The warp ebbed out of him and he dropped, the golden blades of the warrior’s Staff embedded through his side, piercing his rib cage and heart. The last thing he saw before darkness crept over him was the golden and blue warrior wrenching its blade free and turning to embark upon the crescent craft flying above them.
+ + +
Overlord Akhrat followed the logistical patterns streaming through his receptors. The Doom Scythe was sweeping across the field, over the help the Necron Warriors holding the Tesseract Trap. They had stood defiantly against the marines that had engaged them, yet they would soon fall into stasis for repair. The only logical position would be to acquire the targeting node and then annihilate the remainder of the human forces.
He materialized out of the night scythe’s invasion beams, the sole surviving immortal limping after him. He heard a rumble as the damaged tank that had been carrying the marines moved towards him. He left the Immortal to hold the node, and with an almost casual flick of his Warscythe, embedded the blade into the Rhino’s armoured hide, shearing through plate until it combusted with the fuel cells within. The blast flowed over the Overlord, and he climbed astride the ruin of the primitive vehicle.
He gazed over the battlefield. The humans had resisted well, but had been utterly annihilated by his forces. Soon more glorious battle would come, but by then his armies would have fully awakened, and the galaxy would pay for their insult.
My lord Akhrat. We have intercepted and interpreted a communication sent by the flesh things. The cryptek Argheara had been damaged in the battle, but his consciousness had returned to the tombs below.
What is it? The Overlord’s impatience infused his reply
Exterminatus, my lord…
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