Post by thatguyjames on Feb 12, 2008 16:19:39 GMT -5
Chapter 1
The battlefield was enormous.
Standing atop the larger of the hills, Daniel looked down on the terrain as it began to deconstruct. The shelling had begun in earnest, now that the gap was about to close. Spread before him, Daniel's men began the march.
Up ahead the space marine could see the enemy. They were soldiers of the loyalist guard, turned traitor. Their war machines were covered with blasphemous runes and eight sided stars, their badges ripped from their uniforms. At the head of the enemy forces were several chaos marines, their armor black as night with golden trim.
The field they fought on had once been a lush jungle, but the heavy ordnance of the traitor guard had pummeled it to black dirt. Now that the Templar had begun to move, their forces blended in with the landscape, obscuring the vision of their enemies.
Guns opened up. The air was filled with las rifle fire as it traced across the landscape, seeking loyalist flesh to tear into. For their part, the Templars continued to press forward. As Daniel watched, the chaos forces scored their first kill. Daniel squinted to see the battle brother as he fell to a lucky bolter round to the leg. The enemy had made their first mark, but it would be their last mistake.
What had been a steady advance suddenly turned into a frenzied mob.
Screaming the name of their fallen comrade, the crusade squad of brother Adriel surged forward, making first contact with the enemy.
Daniel tapped into the vox net, hearing the speaker in his ear buzz to life.
"Crusader squad Poseidon has made contact with the enemy. Squads Ares and Mars, change direction to provide support. Squad Hades, continue your advance in support of Zeus and Saturn."
As he watched, two new squads of men changed direction slightly, crashing into the chaos forces alongside their already engaged brothers.
Daniel watched with satisfaction. Without a proper target to engage, the basilisks fell silent, not wishing to harm their own.
"Squad Zeus, we have a confirmed renegade hellhound on approach from the East, engage and destroy at once."
From the fray, a group of Templar soared to the skies. Their jump packs carried them free of the chaos fire, which ineffectively lit up the area around them, failing to find their mark. The hellhound had a demon head mounted onto the main cannon, spewing forth fire onto the field.
"Melta bombs have been deployed."
The back of the field lit up momentarily as the chaos vehicle exploded under the heavy charges.
It was then that the chaos backup arrived.
Without warning the field exploded with pale green warp light. Demons of every shape poured out onto the field, surrounding the engaged crusader squads. Daniel felt the pit of his stomach drop. The Black Templar, who had been holding their own, were now outnumbered two to one.
Daniel felt his head swimming as he raced to begin to command his forces to regain the advantage. He tapped back into the vox net, hearing the screams of his men flooding the channels. He tried to speak, but his voice gave out. He opened and shut his mouth, his eyes glazing over with panic.
Suddenly the sky was filled with a deafening scream.
Hurling in at insane speeds, the chaos raptors slammed into the stunned commander. Staggering back under this new attack, Daniel barely had time to draw his power sword in defense. The first three fell in short order, the Marshal cleaving right through them. The other three pounced on the overwhelmed space marine, digging their chainswords into him.
Daniel screamed in pain, throwing his attackers off. Two more fell as he renewed his offense, slicing clean through one and lunging into the other. The remaining raptor attempted to break free and retreat, only to receive a bolter round to the skull.
Gasping in pain, Daniel turned back to his men. Of the hundred men he had sent out there, maybe fifty were still alive. They had killed their share of chaos, but they needed help.
Daniel turned and looked around frantically.
"Attention all crusaders, rally to point zero, alpha, six. Hold your ground and push the enemy back. And someone get me a d**ned Rhino!"
Turning back to where they had originally taken to the field, Daniel could see the vehicle roaring forward.
"Zeus, I need that Rhino intact. Destroy those batteries."
*****
Confirming his commanders orders, brother Germaine fired up his jump pack. His squad had been fortunate to not be involved in the main combat, and his men were all still alive. Rushing over the bloody disaster that was the main combat, the assault squad neared it's target.
Already Germaine could see the gunners on the deck of the Basilisk, loading the next shell to send straight at the incoming Rhino.
"No charges brothers, get those operators!"
The squad pulled up at the last minute, letting their momentum deliver them directly onto the platform of the tank. Germaine landed directly on top of the main gunner, his bodyweight crushing the man underfoot. Aiming his bolt pistol, he fired two rounds into the gut of the other operator. The traitor fell to his knees, attempting to pull his pistol in one last act of defiance. His effort was nullified as one of Germaine's men dug into his collar bone with his chainsword.
Germaine turned to the tank itself. Somewhere inside was the driver, and he wasn't about to let the man get away. He activated his power fist, smashing the cannon where it mounted to the top of the hull. The enormous barrel slowly tilted to the side, the sound of stressed metal filling the air. As the gun slammed into the ground, it tore the entire roof of the vehicle off. The driver received a bolter round to the back of the skull. Germaine callously dropped a melta bomb in the exposed inside as his squad flew away.
*****
Daniel ducked as the resulting explosion rained metal shrapnel down on the field. The wind whipped over his armor as he hung onto the side of the rhino. Not even bothering to let the tank open up, the Marshal had simply hopped on the side, ordering the driver to make haste to the rally point.
Already the men were beginning to gather. As they fought their way to the common point, pockets of chaos enemies began to fall.
The Rhino skidded to a halt, dirt and grit flying through the air. Daniel broke into a full sprint, his power sword glowing bright blue. Just as the line looked like it was about to break, he was there.
"To me brothers!"
Leaping into the air, Daniel landed with his sword sticking out of a chaos marine. The marine tried to struggle but Daniel pulled up sharply, cutting deep into the man's chest.
"Squads Saturn and Zeus, charge the flank!"
Somewhere up ahead, Daniel could hear his men crashing into the chaos forces. They fought with unbreakable determination, slaughtering their way towards their comrades. Daniel screamed a war cry as the demons fell to his blade. To either side, his men answered back.
*****
Standing in silent reverence, Daniel surveyed the results of the battle. It had been a massacre, but at a severe cost. He had lost more than fifty men that day, and such numbers were inexcusable.
As he pulled off the biosuit, Daniel slunk onto a bench. He barely fit on the bench properly. In the ten years since his gene therapy had begun, he had grown immensely. His massive frame dwarfed the bench that had once held him with his feet barely touching the ground. He pressed his hands together as he rested his elbows on his knees and his lips on his fingertips.
Closing his eyes, he ran over the battle again in his mind. There was something he was missing, but he had no idea what.
"Servitor, reset status on trial 45 to incomplete."
The robot attendant of the chamber clicked in recognition of the order. Daniel stood up and crossed the doorway into the main chamber of the underground fortress.
It was strangely silent in the mighty armory. He had almost a hundred men under his command and none of them were present. He was used to hearing the men moving about their daily chores and activities, drilling, or at least talking, but not a sound met his ears save for the low hum of environmental filters and machines.
Daniel looked about, trying to find where his men had gone when he noticed a strange light coming from the far side of the chamber. It flickered and danced as Daniel realized nearly all of his men were gathered in front of it, perfectly still and silent.
Daniel walked up and between his men, not bothering to ask what captured their attention so. He could see it already, though he could not entirely believe it.
Standing before Daniel and his crusade was a figure of authority, power, and faith. Stepping out of cryostasis was a man of absolute devotion and certainty.
A chaplain.
The battlefield was enormous.
Standing atop the larger of the hills, Daniel looked down on the terrain as it began to deconstruct. The shelling had begun in earnest, now that the gap was about to close. Spread before him, Daniel's men began the march.
Up ahead the space marine could see the enemy. They were soldiers of the loyalist guard, turned traitor. Their war machines were covered with blasphemous runes and eight sided stars, their badges ripped from their uniforms. At the head of the enemy forces were several chaos marines, their armor black as night with golden trim.
The field they fought on had once been a lush jungle, but the heavy ordnance of the traitor guard had pummeled it to black dirt. Now that the Templar had begun to move, their forces blended in with the landscape, obscuring the vision of their enemies.
Guns opened up. The air was filled with las rifle fire as it traced across the landscape, seeking loyalist flesh to tear into. For their part, the Templars continued to press forward. As Daniel watched, the chaos forces scored their first kill. Daniel squinted to see the battle brother as he fell to a lucky bolter round to the leg. The enemy had made their first mark, but it would be their last mistake.
What had been a steady advance suddenly turned into a frenzied mob.
Screaming the name of their fallen comrade, the crusade squad of brother Adriel surged forward, making first contact with the enemy.
Daniel tapped into the vox net, hearing the speaker in his ear buzz to life.
"Crusader squad Poseidon has made contact with the enemy. Squads Ares and Mars, change direction to provide support. Squad Hades, continue your advance in support of Zeus and Saturn."
As he watched, two new squads of men changed direction slightly, crashing into the chaos forces alongside their already engaged brothers.
Daniel watched with satisfaction. Without a proper target to engage, the basilisks fell silent, not wishing to harm their own.
"Squad Zeus, we have a confirmed renegade hellhound on approach from the East, engage and destroy at once."
From the fray, a group of Templar soared to the skies. Their jump packs carried them free of the chaos fire, which ineffectively lit up the area around them, failing to find their mark. The hellhound had a demon head mounted onto the main cannon, spewing forth fire onto the field.
"Melta bombs have been deployed."
The back of the field lit up momentarily as the chaos vehicle exploded under the heavy charges.
It was then that the chaos backup arrived.
Without warning the field exploded with pale green warp light. Demons of every shape poured out onto the field, surrounding the engaged crusader squads. Daniel felt the pit of his stomach drop. The Black Templar, who had been holding their own, were now outnumbered two to one.
Daniel felt his head swimming as he raced to begin to command his forces to regain the advantage. He tapped back into the vox net, hearing the screams of his men flooding the channels. He tried to speak, but his voice gave out. He opened and shut his mouth, his eyes glazing over with panic.
Suddenly the sky was filled with a deafening scream.
Hurling in at insane speeds, the chaos raptors slammed into the stunned commander. Staggering back under this new attack, Daniel barely had time to draw his power sword in defense. The first three fell in short order, the Marshal cleaving right through them. The other three pounced on the overwhelmed space marine, digging their chainswords into him.
Daniel screamed in pain, throwing his attackers off. Two more fell as he renewed his offense, slicing clean through one and lunging into the other. The remaining raptor attempted to break free and retreat, only to receive a bolter round to the skull.
Gasping in pain, Daniel turned back to his men. Of the hundred men he had sent out there, maybe fifty were still alive. They had killed their share of chaos, but they needed help.
Daniel turned and looked around frantically.
"Attention all crusaders, rally to point zero, alpha, six. Hold your ground and push the enemy back. And someone get me a d**ned Rhino!"
Turning back to where they had originally taken to the field, Daniel could see the vehicle roaring forward.
"Zeus, I need that Rhino intact. Destroy those batteries."
*****
Confirming his commanders orders, brother Germaine fired up his jump pack. His squad had been fortunate to not be involved in the main combat, and his men were all still alive. Rushing over the bloody disaster that was the main combat, the assault squad neared it's target.
Already Germaine could see the gunners on the deck of the Basilisk, loading the next shell to send straight at the incoming Rhino.
"No charges brothers, get those operators!"
The squad pulled up at the last minute, letting their momentum deliver them directly onto the platform of the tank. Germaine landed directly on top of the main gunner, his bodyweight crushing the man underfoot. Aiming his bolt pistol, he fired two rounds into the gut of the other operator. The traitor fell to his knees, attempting to pull his pistol in one last act of defiance. His effort was nullified as one of Germaine's men dug into his collar bone with his chainsword.
Germaine turned to the tank itself. Somewhere inside was the driver, and he wasn't about to let the man get away. He activated his power fist, smashing the cannon where it mounted to the top of the hull. The enormous barrel slowly tilted to the side, the sound of stressed metal filling the air. As the gun slammed into the ground, it tore the entire roof of the vehicle off. The driver received a bolter round to the back of the skull. Germaine callously dropped a melta bomb in the exposed inside as his squad flew away.
*****
Daniel ducked as the resulting explosion rained metal shrapnel down on the field. The wind whipped over his armor as he hung onto the side of the rhino. Not even bothering to let the tank open up, the Marshal had simply hopped on the side, ordering the driver to make haste to the rally point.
Already the men were beginning to gather. As they fought their way to the common point, pockets of chaos enemies began to fall.
The Rhino skidded to a halt, dirt and grit flying through the air. Daniel broke into a full sprint, his power sword glowing bright blue. Just as the line looked like it was about to break, he was there.
"To me brothers!"
Leaping into the air, Daniel landed with his sword sticking out of a chaos marine. The marine tried to struggle but Daniel pulled up sharply, cutting deep into the man's chest.
"Squads Saturn and Zeus, charge the flank!"
Somewhere up ahead, Daniel could hear his men crashing into the chaos forces. They fought with unbreakable determination, slaughtering their way towards their comrades. Daniel screamed a war cry as the demons fell to his blade. To either side, his men answered back.
*****
Standing in silent reverence, Daniel surveyed the results of the battle. It had been a massacre, but at a severe cost. He had lost more than fifty men that day, and such numbers were inexcusable.
As he pulled off the biosuit, Daniel slunk onto a bench. He barely fit on the bench properly. In the ten years since his gene therapy had begun, he had grown immensely. His massive frame dwarfed the bench that had once held him with his feet barely touching the ground. He pressed his hands together as he rested his elbows on his knees and his lips on his fingertips.
Closing his eyes, he ran over the battle again in his mind. There was something he was missing, but he had no idea what.
"Servitor, reset status on trial 45 to incomplete."
The robot attendant of the chamber clicked in recognition of the order. Daniel stood up and crossed the doorway into the main chamber of the underground fortress.
It was strangely silent in the mighty armory. He had almost a hundred men under his command and none of them were present. He was used to hearing the men moving about their daily chores and activities, drilling, or at least talking, but not a sound met his ears save for the low hum of environmental filters and machines.
Daniel looked about, trying to find where his men had gone when he noticed a strange light coming from the far side of the chamber. It flickered and danced as Daniel realized nearly all of his men were gathered in front of it, perfectly still and silent.
Daniel walked up and between his men, not bothering to ask what captured their attention so. He could see it already, though he could not entirely believe it.
Standing before Daniel and his crusade was a figure of authority, power, and faith. Stepping out of cryostasis was a man of absolute devotion and certainty.
A chaplain.