The next hour was spent in silent meditation. Both men reflected on the paths that had been chosen by their beloved Primarch and the Immortal Emperor. As accomplished warriors of the Adaptus Astartes, they had first fought together against the krell on Ve'goth IV. Later they had fought as friends during the purging of the O'mane heresy; as survivors of the ill-fated Terminator boarding party on the space hulk, Peccavi; and countless other campaigns. Each had seen other fellow marines fall before the heretic, the alien and the traitor. Each had been chosen to lead their fellow Dark Angels into battle. The two more-than-men were well aware of the hard decision that command entitles. One had risen due to his grasp of tactics and calmness under pressure; the other followed his mentor on the skill of his blade. "Take unto thine self the full armor of thine Emperor," intoned Hezekiah's former sergeant, breaking the deep silence. "So that thou mayest stand in the evil day," replied his former neophyte and now trusted subordinate. "having done all." finished Master Michael. "Blessed be the Lion," they both said in unison as the stood together. Hezekiah relayed the status of the cruiser's detachment. All of the tech-adepts were busy reading the strike forces depot of vehicles. Servitors and chapter serfs bustled about loading crates of equipment aboard Thunderhawk transports. The two dreadnoughts, Enoch and Elijah, which had accompanied them, remained in stasis. The tactical and devastator squads were finishing the appropriate weapons and equipment maintenance rituals. The entire force would be ready for deployment within the hour. Michael acknowledged the reports and dismissed Hezekiah so he could coordinate with Governor Culhart's PDF. Part Two: The trio of dark-green Thunderhawks faded from sight. Their engines flared brightly as they rocketed back to the Divinitus Duci. Brother-Captain Hezekiah watched with great satisfaction as the marines moved quickly into positions to protect the landing zone. The marine-custodians of the force's Whirlwinds completed their loading rituals. They skillfully armed the mobile batteries' missile tubes with their deadly payloads. The force's command Damocles fed the force constant stream of data from the cruiser orbiting overhead. Sleek black landspeeders emblazed with the Ravenwing symbol roared past. The speeders took up flanking positions to the southwest as a triad of Ravenwing bikes speed off north to scout the road ahead. With speed born of decades of training, each transport crew quickly had their vehicles fully functional. Within scant minutes of touching down, they were ready to move their lethal cargo out of the area. On Hezekiah's command, each squad fell back in sequence to its designated transport. The convoy roared to life and quickly followed the departing Ravenwing bike squad. Dawn approached as the convoy continued north towards the ruined PDF outpost near of the provincial farming town of Bellitoris. Interrogator-Chaplain Gabriel and Assault Squad Kaelen had dropped into the outpost an hour before. Master Michael had deployed them directly in response to a panicked transmission from the newly commissioned PDF garrison commander. What they had found was a slaughterhouse; most of the PDF conscripts had been killed in their beds. The gate sentries' throats had been slit as they stood at their posts. A few mangled, half-dressed bodies had been found torn apart by the armory's entrance. Other corpses were found riddled with small crystal shards coated with a virulent poison. Their wounds, all though still fresh, had already begun to fester and rot. The ruined command center was a charnel house of slaughtered bodies. The unfortunate ones had been captured alive, sadistically mutilated, and left to die. One, a young communications trooper, was still breathing when the team found him. Despite the guardsman's broken mind and lunatic ravings, Gabriel had set to work with his skills. The experienced Interrogator-Chaplain had managed to 'extract' the following before the trooper's tortured soul found rest with the Emperor. At close to midnight the outpost's defense systems began to experience some "abnormalities." The perimeters optical grid's machine spirit had been corrupted and the long-range scanners were giving false images. Long-range vox-communications had become erratic and the late-shift security patrols had failed to report. The duty officer had left the bunker and gone to wake up the garrison commander. While he was gone, three blips appeared on the short-range scanner before it too ceased to function. The commander and duty officer had just returned to the command bunker when a bloodcurdling scream came from inside of the barracks. Several troopers raced out of the barracks in a mad dash towards the armory. Misshapen forms poured out of the barracks following the terror-stricken conscripts. The creatures seemed to be a nightmarish mix of disfigured animals and warp-spawned corruption with horrible blood-covered talons. Each seemed to be possessed by a bestial mentality and loped after the fleeing troopers. Three black and purple alien skimmers dropped out of the pitch-black sky. Two landed in the courtyard between the barracks. The craft disgorged about a score of lithe aliens as it hovered off the ground. The aliens' strange black and purple armor was covered in hooks and barbs. Although armed with strange rifle-like weapons, these raiders ran down the conscripts. They seemed to relish the palatable terror of the un-armed men and slaughtered them mercilessly. The third skimmer landed next to the command bunker. Even before the strange vehicle came to a gracefully stop, it passengers rushed the bunker's defenders. These aliens were encased in sturdier black armor and wearing skull-like helmets. They carried wicked two-handed weapons and their arcane helmets spit forth a stream of deadly splinters. A 'shadowy' creature, wielding a wickedly curved blade inscribed with strangely glowing runes, led thm. The garrison commander ran to coms-link and desperately tried to put out a distress signal. The aliens laughed as they systematically slaughtered the guardsmen inside the bunker. In a few seconds it was over and then the real terror began. The skull-masked aliens tortured the few troopers left alive inside of the bunker. They delighted in cutting of limbs and watching the troopers scream as they bled to death. The garrison commander was disemboweled alive and forced to eat his own entrails for the leader's amusement. The rest of the alien raiders gathered the remaining troopers together in the compound outside. Using flailing whips, the xenos herded the humans onto strange floating craft similar to the other skimmers. They departed as quickly as they came. In less than five minutes it was over. Interrogator-Chaplain Gabriel had reported his findings back to the Divinitus Duci. Master Michael had immediately dispatched the elements of the strike force's armor to rendezvous with Gabriel at the outpost. The armored column slipped quickly around the outskirts of the farming hamlet. The deep roar of the green vehicles surprised local farmers plowing their fields with teams of grox. About two kilometers south of the outpost, the convoy came across the burned-out hulk of one of the garrison's patrol vehicles. An eldritch dark matter weapon had devastated the front engine compartment of the primitive combustion vehicle. Two PDF troopers were dead. Their lifeless bodies were charred inside of the crew compartment. The remaining trooper was found dead several yards away. His body was riddled with multiple splinter projectiles. Although only dead for a few hours, the wounds had already begun to fester and rot from the virulent poison coating the crystal shards. Typical of the dark eldar mused Hezekiah to himself. It is the Emperor's will that I face these foul xenos once again. Praise the Lion. "Brother-Captain?" interrupted Brother-Sergeant Mishael's voice over the internal vox-receiver. With a thought, Hezekiah responded, "Yes, Brother-Sergeant?" "Should we take precautionary measures from an ambush? The Ravenwing squads have reported several blind areas ahead before we reach the outpost." "Agreed. Take the necessary precautions. Re-deploy Ravenwing forces to both flanks. Set up security parameter Omicron Four. Establish contact with Interrogator Chaplain Gabriel. Advise him that we will be arriving shortly. "For the Lion," acknowledged Mishael as the column continued steadily northward. |
PURGE THE XENOS By Trent Hoffman |
EPICS OF REDEMPTION |
