Brother Herod was in the lead when the three figures appeared in the corridor scant meters ahead. The colossal creatures were more massive than the marines' Tactical Dreadnought Armor. The misshapen beasts were a strange amalgamation of man and metal. The advanced sensors of Sariel's Terminator Armor registered a strange binary incantation between the three in a high-frequency above that of even a Lyamn's enhanced Space Marine ear. The language of the machine-god was Sariel's first thought. The creatures moved forward with precision that would have make Techmarine Vretil proud. The heavy armor covering the creatures flowed like liquid metal. Fingers changed into multi-barrels similar to the marines' own assault cannons. The newly formed weapons spat out hundreds of high-velocity rounds. Brother Herod disintegrated in a shower of blood, viscera and ceramite. Brother Matteus brought his own assault cannon to bear. The cluster of barrels whirled to life and a cascade of rounds struck the lead creature. The armor on the lead Obliterator's left arm flowed together and created a solid shield of metal to deflect the rounds. Unaffected by the marines' accurate fire, the creatures' weapons once again changed. Gouts of lame burst forth as the creatures fired and moved with eerie precision. There were no moves for showing off, no guttural war-cries, or boasting typical of those that have embraced chaos. The deck beneath the marines' feet vibrated as the walking tanks charged. The lead Obliterator swung its arm at Matteus, its hand morphing into a giant mace. The altered limb pulsed with unholy energy as it struck the marine's Terminator suit dead center. Stepping through the smoldering remains of Brother Matteus, the monster was downed by a rapid succession of blasts from Interrogator-Chaplain Sariel's combo/plasma bolter. The man/machine's flesh smoked as the white-hot rounds vaporized much of the Obliterator's left side. Stunned by the sudden loss of a large portion of its body-mass, the Obliterator drunkenly stumbled to the side. Such was its mass that it blocked the firing lanes of its brethren. Brother Hakem seized the initiative and charged forward to finish off the monstrosity. "Preserve me O Emperor, in you do I put my trust!" yelled Brother Hakem as he arced his thunderhammer overhead. The Obliterator managed to block the massive swing with its left arm. Man and machine struggled against one another. Pincers sprouted from its arm and wrapped around the thunderhammer's haft, trapping the weapon. The Obliterator's other arm formed a massive fist and punched at Brother Hakem with surprising speed. The marine barley blocked the strike with his storm shield. Wrenching his weapon free from the warp spawned monstrosity, Hakem swung his hammer again. This time the creature was too slow and Hakem's hammer smashed against its torso. The resulting reaction blossomed in an expanding ball of energy, sending a concussive shock-wave down the corridor. As the energy dissipated, Brother Hakem stood triumphant over the creatures' blasted form. Brother Hakem's victory was short-lived. The victorious Terminator was hit by a lance of pure energy from the Obliterator's retreating companions. Faithful even in death, Hakem died with a prayer of praise on his lips. Brother-Sergeant Walfrid pushed Hakem's collapsing body to the side to avenge his death. "For the Lion! For Brother Hakem! We shall not fail!" yelled the Interrogator-Chaplain. Singing the Ritual of Redemption, the three remaining Terminators advanced down the hallway. Sariel lead the charge as the Obliterators continued their unrelenting fire. PART SIX: Brother-Captain Elijah pressed down the corridor towards the rendezvous point with Brother-Sergeant Michael's marines. Behind him, clambered the battered marines of Squad Chassan. Still at full-strength, they had fought their way through heavy opposition. Every new intersection had been defended by the heretical crew. The traitors had sung praises to their inhuman masters as they charged the marines en-masse. They had built themselves into a fever-pitch and had willingly thrown themselves at the invaders. Despite the fatal fanaticism of the Peccavi's crew, Elijah and the marines with him had been unstoppable in their own faith. Systematically beating back every attack, the highly trained and disciplined marines were been death incarnate in their advance. Their Tactical Dreadnought Armor, with its heavy ceramite plating and bristling with weaponry, was well suited for this type of ship-borne action. Although heavily outnumbered, they easily had the advantage over their opponents in the narrow corridors. Innumerable bodies belonging to the ship's crew were left shattered and eviscerated in the marines' wake. Their once pristine bone-white armor was covered in blood and gore. They were Deathwing and they would not be denied their objective. Brother-Sergeant Chassan fought beside his captain, his stormbolter mowing down the lightly armored chaos pirates. One, hiding in a sheltered alcove, managed to rush the venerable captain. Those that hate the righteous shall be condemned, Elijah recited silently as he stuck out twice with his mirror black blade. The traitor's decapitated head spiraling back into its fellows. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Brother-Sergeant Michael finished off the last of the fleeing pirates with a burst from his combi-bolter. Leading from the front, he pressed home the marines' tactical advantage. As the marines neared the end of the corridor they found their way blocked by a set of heavy blast doors that slammed shut. He motioned for Brother Hezekiah to persuade the doors in front of them to open. The gore-covered marine stepped forward and his humming chain-fist revved up to a waspish whine. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The last of the resistance broken, the Terminators hurried towards Squad Michael and Techmarine Vretil. Fallen 254 was close. PART SEVEN: Another set of security doors were no obstacle to the united squads. Brother-Captain Elijah's, Brother-Sergeants Chassan's, and Michael's unified force swept aside the last remaining crewmen who dared to offer resistance. As the marines thundered through the ruined blast doors, they were surprised by the absence of crew or any initial resistance from with the massive control chamber. Seated calmly in the middle of the command deck, on his ornate throne, was Fallen 254. A snaking tentacle of metal writhed from his left shoulder to a cluster of controls. Alabaster horns blasted their way out of the black Terminator's helmet. His right arm held a sinister greenish blade, glowing with unholy purple runes. The greenish glow matched that of the flames flickering across the Fallen's uni-visor. "Antiochus," bellowed Elijah though his external vox-speakers. The marine captain raised his sword and pointed at the black-armored monster. "Surrender now and seek your repentance. Failure to do so will be met with no mercy." "Ignorant fools. I will not cower from threats from the likes of you," replied the Fallen. "Under a score of you boarded my beloved Peccavi. It took you weaklings this long to reach here against mere cannon fodder. A mere squad in my day could have done the same in half the time" The Fallen stood up from his throne, revealing his massive bulk. He was a whole head taller than the Deathwing Terminators and almost twice as thick. Antiochus kicked Interrogator-Chaplain Sariel's skull-helmet across the floor. As the helmet came to rest at Brother-Captain Elijah's feet, he could see the helmet was still occupied by Sariel's decapitated head. "Against the only formidable resistance I offered, your men crumbled." continued Antiochus as he strode towards the Loyalists. "Your false faith in the carrion Emperor has made you weak. Your muttered catechisms and false rituals will not help you, just as they were of no use to him." Antiochus raised his daemon-cursed blade overhead. The greenish flames surrounding the accursed blade flared brightly. The glow cast a sickly green parlor across everything inside the control room. "Disgusting, I heard you actually pray to your weapons." Antiochus shook his head back and forth condescendingly. "How far have the mighty fallen. You are not worthy of the legacy of the first Legion." |
THE PECCAVI By Trent Hoffman ( OCAC ) |
FABLES OF THE UNFORGIVEN |
