Regret then overcame Hezekiah as he wondered how many would die in service to the Emperor. Many would die on alien planets without knowing their chapter's secret shame. He then considered the ones who would die pursuing its redemption. His thoughts drifted to the memories of those who had died by his side brave Brother Baradi'el, who died under an ocean of orcish choppers as he held back a horde of brutes on Orion IV; Brother-Sergeant Chassan and his squad crushed beneath a tidal wave of enemies aboard that chaos damned hulk, Peccavi. As Hezekiah looked over the years stretching back to his own first squad command, he could remembered the names of the marines had suffered and died under his leadership. It was the Emperor's will that some died and some lived; but he felt the pangs of regret for those that died due to some mistake on his part. It was a bitter pill to be swallowed silently; the only consolation was that they died in battle. Falling while defending mankind was every Dark Angel's ultimate and final accolade. He banished such blasphemous thoughts away from his mind. Such thoughts were the wellspring of chaos. They could only lead to weakness and corruption. These marines assembling before him deserved more; they trusted his judgment and looked to him for leadership. O Emperor, I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments, prayed Hezekiah. It is not good to dwell on impure thoughts, as it is not good for men to seek their own glory. Hezekiah looked down and performed a quick check of his stormbolter. He knew every nick and scratch on the ancient weapon's red enameled surface. It had first come to him when he was bequeathed his Tactical Dreadnought Armor. That day had been one of the most profound days in his unwavering service to the emperor of mankind. He had been rightfully proud when he was first inducted into the chapter's illustrious first company. On that day a tremendous amount of trust and responsibility had been placed upon his shoulders by his chapter. However, at the same time he had been saddened by the awful truth of his beloved chapters past sins. Till the sword is reforged, mused Hezekiah as he clambered into the waiting rhino with squad Nathanel. Brother Valaris stepped to the side as he made way for Hezekiah to sit next to Brother-Sergeant Nathanel. Hezekiah spoke to the veteran sergeant over a private command frequency. "They are righteous sons of the Lion," he said as he gestured to the marines around them. "They have unwavering faith in the Emperor," responded Nathanel, they would all be worthy members of the Deathwing. As you were and are." "You honor me. I am but a humble servant of the chapter. Signal the custodians that we are ready to leave." "By the Lion," acknowledged Brother-Sergeant Nathanel. There was a beep as he keyed out to the general vox frequency. The column moved rapidly across the flat terrain along a dirt road. A single Ravenwing landspeeder was scouting on the east flank. However, the dense vegetation and contours of the western ridges held many hiding places for the enemy to strike from. Mid-morning, the column approached an area where Culhart's PDF forces and chaos rebels had clashed a season ago. The ruined husks of buildings and farms littered the both sides of the road. A few kilometers off to the right, a column of smoke rose thick and black from a cluster of trees. The Ravenwing pilot requested permission to investigate. Hezekiah immediately approved and the landspeeder flew off. Hezekiah needed to know if more farms had been raided during the dark hours of the night pervious. A few minutes later, the speeder's pilot reported he was engaged in a high-speed firefight. He had encountered a trio of dark eldar mounted on Reaver jetbikes. Immediately, Hezekiah ordered the vehicles to wheel right and advance in a line to support the Ravenwing scouts. Minutes later, Squad Mishael's Razorback crossed a streambed and came under attack. A dark eldar squad of warriors was on the opposite bank and began pouring out splinter fire. They were on foot and seemed to be caught off guard. Two of the warriors hastily tried to bring a dark matter lance weapon to bear. Squad Mishael dis-embarked in an orderly fashion and began to pepper the aliens with bolter fire. The aliens' own fire lessened as they threw themselves down in a desperate attempt to find cover. Brother Sergeant Mishael jumped forward and killed a disrupter-carrying eldar before the alien could fire. Brother-Captain Hezekiah ordered Squad Nathanel to disembark. The marines smoothly exited the Rhino and formed into a staggered firing line. The Rhino roared forward, but was immediately hit by a mid-stream. Another group of eldar had managed to remain hidden and began shooting at the Nathaniel's Rhino. The right tracks of the APC were blown away by an alien energy blast immobilizing the Rhino in the shallow stream. As Nathaniel's marines advanced towards the eldar warriors, a hidden Raider rose up from behind a clump of trees. The black and purple skimmer fired its own lance weapon at Squad Mishael's Razorback. The dark energy beam passed over the head of the Razorback's gunner. The marine gunner swung his turret around. He locked on the skimmer and the returned fire with the Razorback's twin-linked plasma-guns. The concentrated fire vaporized the top half of the skimmer's gunner, his weapon, and most of the skimmer's front armor. The skimmer's pilot panicked and zoomed for cover behind a rise to the south. Squad Nathaniel focused its fire on the fleeing transport. Brother Israfel took careful aim with his missile launcher. The krak missile flew true and the resulting detonation incinerated the rear fin-like structure. The transport smashed into the ground, sending out a massive shockwave. The blast unnerved the xenos warrior in front of squad Nathaniel and they attempted to flee up the riverbed. A static filled transmission from the Ravenwing pilot told Hezekiah that the enemy jet-bikes were attempting to escape as well. Hezekiah ordered the speeder's pilot to return at once. The pilot wheeled the speeder about. The speeder's afterburners flared as it raced to support the marines on foot. The speeder's heavy bolter began to chew into the rear of the fleeing eldar squad. Hezekiah left Squad Nathaniel and hurried to support the marines under Brother-Sergeant Mishael. He drew his power sword out of its sheath from behind his back.The weapon hummed to life as he flicked the activation rune. His stormbolter spewed out rounds into the massed ranks of the enemy. The mass-reactive shells disintegrated armor and flesh with equal ease. The first of the aliens charged out to meet him. The creature tried to drive its wickedly curved bayonet deep into Hezekiah's abdomen. I will call upon the name of the Emperor, thought Hezekiah as he easily sidestepped past the weapon. So shall I be saved from my enemies, he finished as he brought his humming power weapon down on the creature's head. The glowing blade easily cut through its unprotected head. The blade sizzled as it sheared the alien's body and exited above its left hip. Hezekiah stepped across the two cauterized halves. He stuck his stormbolter's twin-barrels into another charging alien's face. A fountain of blood drenched Hezekiah's gold trimmed armor as he pulled the trigger. The headless body twitched and began to fall to the ground. Hezekiah kicked the falling corpse into another approaching warrior. The weight of its dead companion drove the alien warrior back and on the ground. As the xeno struggled to push the body off, Hezekiah casually crushed its helmeted head with his power-armored foot. The seed of the Lion makes me what I am, my Primarch has blessed me with strength and maketh my way perfect. His stormbolter blazed again. Another alien's body exploded in billowing mist of blood and bone as its chest disappeared. I shall not fail nor be discouraged, for the Emperor is by my side, Hezekiah prayed as he moved amongst the aliens, his blade slicing and burning. The marines of Mishael's squad rallied to his side as he cut a swath through the dark eldar warriors. One young brother, Helez, was locked into combat with two of the aliens. Helez's combat knife was embedded in the skull of another alien corpse at his feet. One of the aliens, a sybarite, had driven its twisted agonizer deep into Helez's side. Blood ran out of the wound and the injured marine would not survive another attack. |
PURGE THE XENOS By Trent Hoffman |
EPICS OF REDEMPTION |
