Post by Garou24 on Oct 31, 2007 15:51:06 GMT -5
The Sergeant’s raspy death rattle faded and then the Com-net net was quiet again. Romus spoke again over the net, letting the small implant in his throat pick up and transmit his commands to the rest of his squad via the receivers in their ear piece. ‘This is Romus, come in Sergeant.’ Silence was his only reply. ‘Brekar, Misus do you copy?’ Romus spoke again. ‘We read you.’ the voice of Misus spoke in his ear piece. ‘What’s your position Misus?’ replied Romus as he peered around the large pillar he was using as cover. ‘We are making a sweep of the tomb. Still no sign of the Sergeant.’ Misus reported.
The tomb… Romus signed when he thought of it. That was the cause of all this trouble. The reason half his squad was dead or unaccounted for. His unit of Space Marines was enroute to another system of planets in the Orvirus MKS sector. When their pilot picked up an odd transmission and they had veered off their plotted course. The source of the signal was coming from a planet thought to be uninhabited. Sergeant Vamech had requested that his unit investigate the signal. The source of the signal was a strange alien tomb buried deep under the soil. A large arched entry way was the only way down. After making a check of the surrounding area the squad had proceeded to enter the tomb. Their ship was orbiting high above the planet after the marines dropped planet side waiting for the signal from the squad to teleport them back up. Unfortunately some strange energy was blocking there signal back to the ship once in the tomb. That is why they were unable to call for reinforcements once they were ambushed by the strange beings in the depths of the tomb.
‘Alright. Misus and Brekar I want you to stay at your position. I am working my way to you.’ Commanded Romus as he emerged from his cover and made his way down the long corridor. ‘Copy that.’ Replied Misus over the com-net.
The hallway walls gleamed as the light from Romus’ lamp reflected off their metallic surface. The whole tomb was made from the same alien metal. The long ramp that led down to the tomb was carved from blocks of stone and covered in a sandy floor. Once they had entered the actual tomb the rock and sand were replaced by this strange material. In their previous firefight with the unknown alien race their bolter ammo had harmlessly bounced off the walls, not causing so much as a scratch. Even the grenade the sergeant had used seemed to cause no damage to the structure of the tomb. Romus paused for a second to think on what had transpired just an hour or two ago.
Earlier as the squad of Space Marines came down the arched hallway the ground beneath them has started to give way. Then in an eruption of sand and stone up sprang ten to twelve skeletal beings. Their entire body seemed to be made of metal in the shape of a grotesque human skeleton. Their hands ended in long razor sharp slicing blades that they used to attack the squad with. Worst of all was the long torn sections of human skin that hung draped over their twisted bodies. Quickly recovering from their surprise the squad regrouped and opened fire on the attacks as they shambled towards them. Their bullets seemed to bounce harmlessly off the alien material. A few of the aliens were overpowered and fell to the ground in a sparking heap of metal. The rest of the aliens came on quickly and piled into the Space Marine squad. Their sharp blades cutting through the Marine’s hard ceramite armor. The aliens attacked in eerie silence while pushing the squad further into the tomb. Unleashing a counter attack the marines managed to overcome the skeletal aliens, but not before losing a few of their own in the fight. Sergeant Vamech had instructed the squad to collect the bodies of their fallen brethren. As Romus stepped over the corpse of a fallen attacker to collect one of the fallen Marines he felt something brush against his foot. The broken parts of the metal aliens slowly inched across the sand and started to reanimate themselves. Backing up and drawing his bolter Romus called out a warning to his squad. ‘Backup!’ yelled the Sergeant as he moved in between the alien forms and the squad. Reaching into his belt he pulled a micro grenade from his dispenser and lobed it into the midst of the assembling skeletons. The whole squad move out of the hall and into a large room. Ducking on either side of the doorway they avoided the large blast of the grenade. The tomb rocked for a second as the blast from the explosion threw sand and dust into the tomb. Suddenly there was a loud grinding and a massive metal door dropped down and sealed the chamber from the hallway. Trying to pry open the door proved useless, even for the Space Marine’s augmented strength. ‘Form up men.’ Commanded the Sergeant as he took a quick head count. They had lost four Marines in the surprise attack.
While the Sergeant tried to contact the orbiting ship Romus surveyed the chamber they were in. There where massive pillars supporting the roof of the chamber. Spread throughout the room were numerous sarcophagi lying in odd patterns on the floor. ‘What do you make of these?’ asked Romus to his squad mates. The sergeant came over with the rest of the men. ‘Hmm, look like a bunch of coffins. Odd looking burial chamber that’s for sure.’ He said as he turned and spoke to the rest of the squad. ‘There is another doorway on the other wall of this chamber. Romus, I want you to stay here and post guard. I will take Misus and Brekar with me and see if this leads to an exit. Keep trying to raise the ship and see if they can get a lock on us. Alert us if anything tries to come through that door.’ Romus nodded, ‘Yes Sir.’
That was about an hour before. From what he heard over his com-net the Sergeant and Misus and Brekar had gotten separated. Somewhere the Sergeant had run into more of the alien beings deeper in the tomb. Romus had left his position in the chamber and was navigating the hallways trying to track down his squad mates. Suddenly bolter fire echoed through the long hallways ahead of him. Then all was quiet again. ‘Misus! Brekar! Report! What’s your status?’ yelled Romus over the com-net. Just the soft hiss of static was all that came back over the voice channel. ‘Men report in!’ he yelled again hearing his own voice echo and travel down the hall. Still there was nothing from his fellow troops. Romus paused and stopped to collect himself. He was alone now in this tomb, the last of his squad dead most likely. He could continue on and try and find their bodies, or try and contact the ship to send reinforcements. Romus turned and backtracked to the large sealed chamber. There had to be some way to open that door. If he could get up the ramp to the outside, then he could get a signal to the ship over head. His stomach turned over and he was sickened by the thought of leaving his brothers below. But his battle experience told him if they were alive, getting help from the ship was the only way he could save them.
Romus stepped back into the chamber and went to the large thick door. No amount of force had opened it before, but maybe there was a device they had over looked that operated the door. He ran his hands over the slick surface of the walls looking for any panel that might have been hidden. Suddenly a faint green light started to glow from the ceiling of the chamber. Romus stopped and turn to look upwards. Long glowing tubes had been inserted into the ceilings and were now glowing brighter with a ghostly green tint. The lights pulsed and a low humming sound reverberated from the pillars in the room. Then the lid of a nearby sarcophagus slowly moved and slide to one side. Romus backed up against the door and drew his bolter, aiming at the opening coffin. Slowly an alien form reached up and drew itself out of the crypt. The green light shone off its metallic skeletal frame. Instead of long claws, this one had hands, in which it carried some strange sort of assault weapon. Deciding he had looked long enough, Romus opened fire on the emerging creature with his bolter. Sparks flew from the alien as bolter lead tore through it. After a quick spray is sank back down in the sarcophagus.
Then another coffin lid slowly started to open nearby. Romus turned and fired upon another alien rising from the darkness. Out of the corner of his eye he saw more of the ancient tombs sliding open. Turning left and right, he tried to spray more rounds into the emerging beings. But their numbers were too great and more and more crawled out of the crypts with their empty eyes and metallic forms. The first alien started to rise once more from its coffin, its metal body repairing itself as is stood up. Romus turned and squeezed the trigger to his bolter. Two rounds fired out at the creature then stopped, followed by a hollow clicking sound.
Empty magazine!
Romus clicked the release, dropping the hot and smoking clip and quickly grabbed a spare. The alien slowly raised his weapon, an odd rifle which incorporated the eerie glowing rods like in the chamber. The rod glowed green and swirls of energy erupted from it just as Romus slammed in his ammo clip.
Captain Morvis spoke into the microphone on the ship’s bridge. ‘Sergeant Vamech, this is Captain Morvis, do you copy?’ He waited about fifteen seconds and repeated the message. He turned to his pilot sitting at the helm. ‘It’s been four hours already and no response.’
The tomb… Romus signed when he thought of it. That was the cause of all this trouble. The reason half his squad was dead or unaccounted for. His unit of Space Marines was enroute to another system of planets in the Orvirus MKS sector. When their pilot picked up an odd transmission and they had veered off their plotted course. The source of the signal was coming from a planet thought to be uninhabited. Sergeant Vamech had requested that his unit investigate the signal. The source of the signal was a strange alien tomb buried deep under the soil. A large arched entry way was the only way down. After making a check of the surrounding area the squad had proceeded to enter the tomb. Their ship was orbiting high above the planet after the marines dropped planet side waiting for the signal from the squad to teleport them back up. Unfortunately some strange energy was blocking there signal back to the ship once in the tomb. That is why they were unable to call for reinforcements once they were ambushed by the strange beings in the depths of the tomb.
‘Alright. Misus and Brekar I want you to stay at your position. I am working my way to you.’ Commanded Romus as he emerged from his cover and made his way down the long corridor. ‘Copy that.’ Replied Misus over the com-net.
The hallway walls gleamed as the light from Romus’ lamp reflected off their metallic surface. The whole tomb was made from the same alien metal. The long ramp that led down to the tomb was carved from blocks of stone and covered in a sandy floor. Once they had entered the actual tomb the rock and sand were replaced by this strange material. In their previous firefight with the unknown alien race their bolter ammo had harmlessly bounced off the walls, not causing so much as a scratch. Even the grenade the sergeant had used seemed to cause no damage to the structure of the tomb. Romus paused for a second to think on what had transpired just an hour or two ago.
Earlier as the squad of Space Marines came down the arched hallway the ground beneath them has started to give way. Then in an eruption of sand and stone up sprang ten to twelve skeletal beings. Their entire body seemed to be made of metal in the shape of a grotesque human skeleton. Their hands ended in long razor sharp slicing blades that they used to attack the squad with. Worst of all was the long torn sections of human skin that hung draped over their twisted bodies. Quickly recovering from their surprise the squad regrouped and opened fire on the attacks as they shambled towards them. Their bullets seemed to bounce harmlessly off the alien material. A few of the aliens were overpowered and fell to the ground in a sparking heap of metal. The rest of the aliens came on quickly and piled into the Space Marine squad. Their sharp blades cutting through the Marine’s hard ceramite armor. The aliens attacked in eerie silence while pushing the squad further into the tomb. Unleashing a counter attack the marines managed to overcome the skeletal aliens, but not before losing a few of their own in the fight. Sergeant Vamech had instructed the squad to collect the bodies of their fallen brethren. As Romus stepped over the corpse of a fallen attacker to collect one of the fallen Marines he felt something brush against his foot. The broken parts of the metal aliens slowly inched across the sand and started to reanimate themselves. Backing up and drawing his bolter Romus called out a warning to his squad. ‘Backup!’ yelled the Sergeant as he moved in between the alien forms and the squad. Reaching into his belt he pulled a micro grenade from his dispenser and lobed it into the midst of the assembling skeletons. The whole squad move out of the hall and into a large room. Ducking on either side of the doorway they avoided the large blast of the grenade. The tomb rocked for a second as the blast from the explosion threw sand and dust into the tomb. Suddenly there was a loud grinding and a massive metal door dropped down and sealed the chamber from the hallway. Trying to pry open the door proved useless, even for the Space Marine’s augmented strength. ‘Form up men.’ Commanded the Sergeant as he took a quick head count. They had lost four Marines in the surprise attack.
While the Sergeant tried to contact the orbiting ship Romus surveyed the chamber they were in. There where massive pillars supporting the roof of the chamber. Spread throughout the room were numerous sarcophagi lying in odd patterns on the floor. ‘What do you make of these?’ asked Romus to his squad mates. The sergeant came over with the rest of the men. ‘Hmm, look like a bunch of coffins. Odd looking burial chamber that’s for sure.’ He said as he turned and spoke to the rest of the squad. ‘There is another doorway on the other wall of this chamber. Romus, I want you to stay here and post guard. I will take Misus and Brekar with me and see if this leads to an exit. Keep trying to raise the ship and see if they can get a lock on us. Alert us if anything tries to come through that door.’ Romus nodded, ‘Yes Sir.’
That was about an hour before. From what he heard over his com-net the Sergeant and Misus and Brekar had gotten separated. Somewhere the Sergeant had run into more of the alien beings deeper in the tomb. Romus had left his position in the chamber and was navigating the hallways trying to track down his squad mates. Suddenly bolter fire echoed through the long hallways ahead of him. Then all was quiet again. ‘Misus! Brekar! Report! What’s your status?’ yelled Romus over the com-net. Just the soft hiss of static was all that came back over the voice channel. ‘Men report in!’ he yelled again hearing his own voice echo and travel down the hall. Still there was nothing from his fellow troops. Romus paused and stopped to collect himself. He was alone now in this tomb, the last of his squad dead most likely. He could continue on and try and find their bodies, or try and contact the ship to send reinforcements. Romus turned and backtracked to the large sealed chamber. There had to be some way to open that door. If he could get up the ramp to the outside, then he could get a signal to the ship over head. His stomach turned over and he was sickened by the thought of leaving his brothers below. But his battle experience told him if they were alive, getting help from the ship was the only way he could save them.
Romus stepped back into the chamber and went to the large thick door. No amount of force had opened it before, but maybe there was a device they had over looked that operated the door. He ran his hands over the slick surface of the walls looking for any panel that might have been hidden. Suddenly a faint green light started to glow from the ceiling of the chamber. Romus stopped and turn to look upwards. Long glowing tubes had been inserted into the ceilings and were now glowing brighter with a ghostly green tint. The lights pulsed and a low humming sound reverberated from the pillars in the room. Then the lid of a nearby sarcophagus slowly moved and slide to one side. Romus backed up against the door and drew his bolter, aiming at the opening coffin. Slowly an alien form reached up and drew itself out of the crypt. The green light shone off its metallic skeletal frame. Instead of long claws, this one had hands, in which it carried some strange sort of assault weapon. Deciding he had looked long enough, Romus opened fire on the emerging creature with his bolter. Sparks flew from the alien as bolter lead tore through it. After a quick spray is sank back down in the sarcophagus.
Then another coffin lid slowly started to open nearby. Romus turned and fired upon another alien rising from the darkness. Out of the corner of his eye he saw more of the ancient tombs sliding open. Turning left and right, he tried to spray more rounds into the emerging beings. But their numbers were too great and more and more crawled out of the crypts with their empty eyes and metallic forms. The first alien started to rise once more from its coffin, its metal body repairing itself as is stood up. Romus turned and squeezed the trigger to his bolter. Two rounds fired out at the creature then stopped, followed by a hollow clicking sound.
Empty magazine!
Romus clicked the release, dropping the hot and smoking clip and quickly grabbed a spare. The alien slowly raised his weapon, an odd rifle which incorporated the eerie glowing rods like in the chamber. The rod glowed green and swirls of energy erupted from it just as Romus slammed in his ammo clip.
Captain Morvis spoke into the microphone on the ship’s bridge. ‘Sergeant Vamech, this is Captain Morvis, do you copy?’ He waited about fifteen seconds and repeated the message. He turned to his pilot sitting at the helm. ‘It’s been four hours already and no response.’