# The Rebels of Phendrana Chapter 1: The Long Night



## DasOmen (Mar 10, 2011)

It is one of the longest, darkest, and coldest nights on Phendrana. The Snow that normally falls from the heavens now blankets the sky in mass, murdering one's visibility. The light which would normally turn the snow white, has been snuffed out by a total solar eclipse that will last for an entire month. The temperature of the planet takes a nosedive into dangerous levels, so low in fact that even in power armor, one is not safe from the biting cold. It is a time the natives of the planet refer to as The Long Night. It is a sacred time for them, a time for prayer, a time for closeness, and a time where everyone helps one another regardless of reason. It is a holy and sacred time that lasts an entire month. 


But all is not well on Phendrana. The once scattered formations of armored knights that make up the local police force are now a tightly packed clump that moves down the street to keep the peace. The Knights seeking to salvage whatever warmth they can as they make their rounds, ever on guard now for the traitors and the rebels that have driven their planet to war. The Rebellion is sparse, erratic, and disorganized. Several different Cells manage to try and fight but the order of operations has been lost as it's more a fight for survival on many parts rather than a fight to right the wrong which the magistrate has committed. Every day the planetary Governor frames people, setting up good and innocent civilians as the Rebels, blowing the entire thing out of proportion. Every week a attack occurs on one of the many construction sites around the planet that would be the foundation for the forge world the feudal world would become. Every week entire platoons are sacrificed to this lie... And every week the space marines get closer.


Now the Space marines of the Raptor Chapter are three days away, and they have been lied to. 


The planet now faces certain doom at the hands of the Planetary Governor who seeks to use the space marines as mere pawns in his goal to sell the planet to the gods of chaos, and the space marines would be a prime sacrifice. 


The planet must be saved, and the marines must be warned. And by the eyes of the emperor, four men would do it.


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Serpion5: you and twenty of your closest friends make your way to a walled off construction site. Beyond the walls is a area that would become the production bay for the primary weapons for Titans. The construction yard is mostly operable, and a proof of concept plasma cannon has been constructed inside the construction site using the still incomplete forges. You and your boys make it into the facility, sneaking over the north wall as quietly as possible. But just as you think you're home free all hell breaks loose. In the blistering cold night, four separate stubbers open fire on your men, each making a kill as they start to pepper the area with automatic weapons fire. You are here because you found out that the Planetary Governor is framing the rebellion with attacks on these facilities, unfortunately you were too late and they got there before you did. As your men die around you, and all things start to go to hell in a hand basket, you manage to catch the ungodly angry roar of two chainswords and the grunts of the persons holding them. By the sheer luck and the grace of the emperor, you manage to kill the two assailants who would have cut you into a bloody set of ribbons, seven other of your men are not so lucky.




Santaire: you and five of your closest friends sit outside a vast Forrest on the boarder of the great construction site that would produce the primary weapons for Titans once the conversion from a feudal world to a forge world was complete. Nineteen knights make their way through the trees as they search for you and your five friends, unfortunately the twenty others you brought with you have already been cut down by said knights and their false vallor. As the PDF arrives to bolster the knights you are forced to retreat to the west towards the facility under heavy weapons fire. You seem surprised that the PDF broke out a Heavy Melta to deal with you and your men. As you turn to cover your men, your friend is vaporized by a blast of the melta, though at the same moment, your single shot rings true by the grace of the emperor and hits the melta canisters the weapon uses for fuel. The blackest night in the planet's history suddenly knows light for a moment as the explosion engulfs part of the Forrest. Taking this time you and your men make it up and over the walls, but your bodies are cold, and cant stand the brutal environment for much longer, you have to find your way inside to a covered location quickly...


Yru0: you are one of three survivors of a fourty man party that had made their way to the Titan weapons production forge's construction area, the other thirty seven members of your party had been entirely obliterated by a bombing run. The magistrate ordered a purification bombing on his own troops to keep you from reaching this point. He killed eighty of his own men just to kill your thirty nine. But as you think you have to climb over the wall to enter the facility, one of your comrades discovers a opening. Carved into the wall and running straight through is a chaos star, complete with all the inner markings. What would normally fall to the ground stays aloft by unearthly chains and bleeds a green and white goop that you dare not touch. Entering through the “door” you watch as a glob smacks your friend in the face, only to see him contort, fall to the ground and mutate violently before your very eyes. His left arm explodes in a mass of flesh, tendrils, and bone to reform into a large crab arm complete with claw and biological chainsword. Your former friend is enraged as chaos takes over his body. You duck past him and seem to miss the goo only by the grace of the emperor even as your former ally gives chase and forces you to duck deeper into the facility, your only remaining trooper, a white cap, manages to keep up, if only by a hair. 


William Siegfried: you have traveled to the south entrance of the Construction site (yes the same one) under the sciuse of a “loyal” Commissar. You use a false name, though then again, so do the four other Commissar's you bring with you as well as the platoon of guardsmen. As you reach the main entrance to the site, a local knight stops you to check your ID. He flags you through without much hassle, but something seems odd. There is a strange stink in the air that gets past your air filters. The origion escapes you for a moment right up until it's too late. Up ahead you can hear chains rattling in the center of the facility, as a massive object is moved by overbearing cranes. Continuing on without much hassle as if on a simple inspection, you and your party make it through the narrow tunnel. Though without warning the blast doors behind you slam shut, trapping not only you but your entire party inside. A loud roar sounds and catches your attention, it's the roar of a plasma cannon charging and getting ready to fire. The massive titan plasma cannon that was produced as a proof of concept has turned and now bares down on you. It fires a half baked shot that travels down the tunnel, melting most of the sides of the tunnel. As you and your men move to retreat, part of the ground under you gives way as you step on a grate. You, the four commissars, and twenty guardsmen all plummet downwards just as the massive plasma ball washes overhead, obliterating the rest of your party. Five of the guardsmen who fell are cut in half by the massive ball of plasma, their bodies falling without life. As you fall, ten of you survive by catching yourselves on railings, the rest fall into a molten goo of unspeakable waist. Despite the cries of death and agony, you and your surviving party press on, a single goal in mind, search for a Vox array and warn the space marines... this planet must be saved. Unfortunately you don’t find one in the sewers of the facility. Not yet anyway


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

*Declen Mykyas*

Mykyas looked cautiously around the corner, finding nothing amiss. Ordinarily that would be a good sign, but there was too much at stake for him to start taking stupid chances now. There was treachery afoot, and he was not about to fail in his duty to the Emperor. He signalled to the group behind him to stay put. Creeping closer with his lasrifle at the ready, he performed a cursory sweep of the street leading to their target. All clear. 

He signalled to his men. Not really _his_ men, but they had all turned to him, recognising in him the qualities of a leader. There was no sergeant among them in fact, Mykyas included, there were only a handful of corporals. Why they had turned to him was anyone`s guess, but Mykyas had always bragged that he was sergeant material and this was as good a time as any to prove it. 

Hell, if they got through this, he`d deserve lieutenant at least! It was an amusing thought, but one best saved for later when he was still alive. 

He didn`t need to glance backwards to know that the men were behind him. They were all friends from his platoon, what had survived of it at least. He could just make out the sounds of footsteps on the concrete behind him. He led the way with a strong pose and confidence, knowing that leadership was an image as much as a title. He could not show fear, he could not show doubt. 

'Status?' He whispered into the vox. 

_'We`re clear this side.'_ A response came from a small fire team that had taken to the other side of the streets. 

_'Nothing following us.'_ The rearguard team reported. 

'Still strong up front.' Mykyas reported. 'Alright fellas, hold position until I give the all clear. We`ll wrap this up and find proof that heretics have snuck in. Wait for my mark.' 

He led his own fire team to the large fence, resting his ear up against it and listening intently. 

'Maybe you should have a look?' One of his men sniggered. 'What do you expect to hear?'

'We didn`t come this far not to.' Mykyas nodded, ignoring the smart arsed trooper. He unslung his grappling hook and took a few steps back. Swinging the rope widely he released, the hook catching the top of the wall and holding tight. He slung his rifle and started to climb. 'Wait here.' 

He scaled the wall as quickly as he could, peering over the top and scanning the complex. There was nothing inside but the building itself, where massive plasma weapons were being forged to turn against the Emperor`s Holy Light. Mykyas signalled to the others and pulled himself over. Moments later, the sound of more grappling hooks landing could be heard. The rest of his men would begin closing in now, scaling the walls five at a time. He landed as lightly as he could and unslung his rifle. As the first group dropped in, he led them towards an old hauler, taking shelter behind it for the time being. 

The second and third groups dropped without incident. As the last five men crested the walls, Mykyas saw them. But by then it was too late. 

Gunfire erupted, and four of the last arivals died instantly. 

'COVER!' Mykyas shouted. It was heavy stubber fire, likely crewed by the traitors themselves. As Mykyas made for the facility wall to get a better view, two whirring chainswords swung for his head. By luck or divine intervention, one was wide and the other too high, allowing the young corporal to get a look at his attackers. 

It could not be... One of them men was a sergeant from his own platoon! The other man looked older, likely the treacherous son of a grox who recruited him. He snapped off a shot at the older assailant, but the thick carapace armour he wore kept him alive. They advanced on him, the two of them keeping him cornered against the wall as his men were pinned down outside. He blocked a swing with his lasgun, the teeth digging into the frame of the weapon and rendering both useless. He threw them aside and punched to old man in the face as hard as he could. 

The traitor sergeant swept in to aid his superior. Whether he recognised the young corporal Mykyas could not tell, for now his objective was survival. He ducked the swing, intended to decapitate him, which instead tore through the chest armour of the older man. Recoiling in shock, both of them met each other`s gazes with surprise and fear. 

Mykyas capitalised on this, barging into the sergeant and wrenching the weapon from the man`s grip. He swung it into the older`s neck, swiftly removing his head. Turning back to the sergeant, he was caught off guard by a backhanded swing which impacted his temple hard. The young trooper fell to the ground, dropping the chainsword but drawing his pistol in the process. Taking aim through blurred vision, he fired. 

The man fell backwards, the life gone from his cratered eye socket. Mykyas struggled to his feet, turning his attention back to his men. He was sure he had heard more die, but couldn`t ascertain any numbers just yet...


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## William Siegfried (Jun 25, 2011)

It was cold. Cold like every other day, although there with the bitter cold weather came a rather dark and odd chill that ran up the spin of Commissar William Siegfried, otherwise known as the gentle Commissar due to his looks and actions of the battlefield. He was a strong man; often known for getting the job done no matter what, while still keeping the lives of his men his top priority. After all it’d often help prevent the thoughts of Chaos getting into the heads of his men. An example of his fine work in keeping order and maintaining loyalty and brotherhood amongst his Knights were the some 50 men behind him, not including the squad of Cadet Commissars just ahead of the Platoon of loyal knights William himself had chosen for the job or task given to him. William had planned out a whole operation to undermine the current Planetary Governor who was showing signs of Chaos’ corruption. William could see it in the man’s eyes as clear as day, after all he’d been trained to see and prevent Chaos thoughts in the Imperial Regiments. So it wasn’t hard for him to spot the Governor’s growing corruption, more so with the past orders to kill innocent Imperial civilians whom William and the Knights who were given the execution orders were sworn to protect no matter what. So he’d planned an ‘inspection’ of one of the factories where rumours were pointing towards the Governor creating a Titan or some sort of weapon to use against the Space Marine Chapter heading here to purge Chaos from the ranks and planet. Plan was simple take his best and most loyal Knights who he KNEW were still loyal to the God Emperor, along with the new Cadet Commissars who had just arrived on the planet and were still blind to what was going on, and quickly confirm the weapons existence and destroy it.

After some time he, his 50 some Knights, and the four Cadets came up to the south entrance of the factory. Once there he’d look around for a bit his wondering eyes hidden by his googols which protected his eyes from the bitter cold. So far there was nothing that caught his eye, yet he kept his guard up and walked confidently towards the entrance where he met the Knights guarding the way in. He couldn’t see their eyes as they couldn’t his but he could feel their cold and dark stares stab him like a power sword. He could also feel and see the taint of Chaos from them just by how they acted. Everyone with him could. One of the Cadets came up beside him tugging on William’s great coat sleeve. “Sir... uh... those men don’t seem right, they... they seem different from how the other Imperial forces act, is that normal here?” The young cadet named Connor Clarke asked in a rather questioning tone whist looking at the Guards. William looked down at him, his smile hidden. He could already see this Cadet would do well in as a Commissar, now he just had to make sure Connor made it out of this alive to become a full one. William then turned away to face the guards shrugging Connors fingers from his coat gently, before replying with,“You have good eyes Cadet. Indeed those men are NOT acting like soldiers of the Imperium of Man... rather men without a cause or care.. like heretics.” One could hear in William’s voice the annoyance and disappointment towards the fact there were traitors among the truly loyal and brave men whom he was leading. Connor was about to reply after straightening himself back up before William started to walk towards the guards. 

Once at the massive steel doors in front of the men guarding it, William took out the papers which gave him permission to perform an inspection of the area. The Knights looked at them for a moment before looking up at William who was still looking around as if he truly was here for an inspection when in truth he was actually spotting the number of hostiles whom were positioned all around the construction zone of the factory. As William was looking around the Knight gave William back the papers before nodding his head and moving to the side letting him and his men pass. “Thanks.” Was all William said in a cold tone before entering the site. Once inside and the guards were gone William paused for a moment to look around before waving up his trusted Sergeant and friend Michael Vandred. Once William’s gloved hand returned to his side Michael was beside him looking around after pulling up his googols. “Van, what do you make of this all? No guards inside but a good number outside. I’m thinking they’re planning something.. What are your thoughts?” William asked Michael, his voice muffled by the filter over his nose and mouth. Michael looked at William his eyes showing his experience. “Sar, I think the smell alone indicates their planning something... I believe we should continue on through just as we have, with the safety off, and weapons ready.” He replied his voice sounding metallic due to the filters. William sighed before he pulled up his eyewear exposing his eyes to the cold air. “Alright then.. everyone on me, we’re mobile.” William announced to his troops before continuing down a rather narrow tunnel. 

As he and his men ventured through the tunnel William suddenly turned ‘round to see the blast doors behind he and his party close and lock behind them, before the eerie, and frightening sound of Titan’s head turning towards them forcing William to turn his head back around slowly to see the barrel of the massive beast barring down at him and his troops. His men were all looking at the massive gun in fear, and terror before William yelled, “Don’t just stand there back! get back!” He ordered his men despite it being pointless. They were trapped like rats in a maze. Then the massive canon fired, shooting fourth a ball of plasma towards him and his men. William came up beside Michael running towards the exit before the sound of metal giving way forced he and 20 others to stop in their tracks before the grate underneath gave way sending them barrelling down towards the molten metal. William along with 10 others and the four Cadets grabbed hold of one of the walk ways just in the nick of time while the others fell into the firers below. William watched as the screaming men slowly burnt alive. He quickly shut his eyes tightly closing them before turning away. _“Dammit...”_ William cursed under his breath before climbing up onto the walk way. “Sar! We have to get out of here! Your fears have turned out to be correct, the Governor is a Traitor!” yelled Michael who had managed to survive by the skin of his teeth. William looked at him nodding slightly hunched over, before straightening his back. “Alright... We have to get out of here, and fast, before that Chapter of Space Marines get here. All you on me, weapons up, and at fire ready.” William ordered after pulling both his laspistol, and power sword from his belt. Shortly after he ran ahead of his remaining men with the four Cadet Commissars close behind him with weapons drawn. 

William hoped he would make it in time to save the Space Marines.


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## Yru0 (May 9, 2011)

Hoarse strained to lift himself off the ground and survey the destruction that surrounded him. The infernal ringing in his ears left him with a ruined sense of direction, and defenseless against any hostile survivors, but he doubted that there would be any; nothing survives a purification run. The fact that he himself was alive was testament however to the cruelty and corruption in the ranks, the governor had been more concerned with eliminating his own troops as potential witnesses than the utter destruction of the rebels, and that had been his saving grace. Hoarse put his weight on the burning hulk of a nearby trunk, the scorched earth where the mighty bombers and delivered their lethal cargo was nothing but glass, fire and bodies with looks of agony still etched upon their faces, many of them belonging to men whom had taken up arms with Hoarse against the corruption and betrayal, all of them dead. Hoarse shook his head, no, if he survived then by all rights some of the others must've as well. This spawned new energy and strength within Hoarse, there was no way he was letting the governor win this early on.

The three men darted across the tundra, sticking to the shadows cast by the seemingly impenetrable wall that they had been circling, scanning for an entrance, for the past hour. All of them were tired, and Hoarse knew that if they kept this up they would begin making mistakes, and mistakes in their line of work was death. _There must be a way inside,_ thought Hoarse, no fortress was impregnable, no bastion completely secure. And then they stumbled upon the tunnel, and then the horrors truly began.

At first it was a gift from the emperor himself, a sign that He indeed was watching over their small band, a breach in the defensive wall of the encampment, a way in. Hoarse felt victory nearing his grasp, but scolded himself for becoming cocky, the emperor rewarded the loyal, not the confident, all thoughts were forgotten though, and replaced by the cold grip of fear as they entered the dark entrance. From shadows that gaurded the righteous and defended the loyal, they found themselves engulfed by those which salivated over their flesh, and cackled with their misfortune, something was amiss, but Hoarse would continue forward no matter his irrational fears, for the emperor demands it, but the heresy that befell him froze his body in its tracks as his mind was assailed with horror and despair. The pointed star glared in his face, and the ungodly scenes of mutilated carnage surrounded the foul altair. The foul scent made Hoarse retch in disguts as singed flesh hung from other-worldly shackles, the empty faces experiencing unthinkable horrors even in the embrace of death, but the group had to push forward, if Hoarse appeared shaken, the others would loose their courage that had carried them thus far. The three edged their way along the thin passage way, cautiously avoiding the deamonic fluids and horrors that permeated around them, the going was slow, but they were approaching the end of the nightmare, but it was not to be. The scream shattered the still scilence, it spoke of fear and agony, _Oh No,_ Hoarse whipped his head around to see his comrade writhing in pain as his flesh mutated into horrific forms, shaped by inhuman powers, he could only watch in despair as the chains, seemingly given the spark of life by the demise of his compatriot, lurch into a frenzy, reaching out in an attempt to tear at the fresh meat and damned man, but the fate that occurred was far worse. Run! yelled what was left of the man's fleeting consicence as he was overpowered by an insatiable mind. Hoarse spared only a moment to nod in thanks to the warrior, before turning on his tail and complying with his dying wish, it was their only hope. Hoarse turned to the surviving rebel, a mere boy whose face was as pale as the tundra, Run you cursed fool!

The duo burst forth from the tunnel entrance into the sewer system, all thoughts of the titan factory forgotten, their arms pumping as they made a desperate dash from the monstrous manifestation that pursued them, they knew they could not out run it forever, but they could not turn and fight such a beast. But defeat was pushed from Hoarse's mind, he had been in worse he told himself, whether this was true or not he never stopped to consider. That was when Hoarse saw the dim light from not far ahead of him, To Arms! To Arms! he yelled at the party of armed men, foe or not, no man would stand by as the berserking beast rampaged towards them, Hoarse shut his eyes and prayed to the emperor that the soldiers had good aim as he barrelled towards them.


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## Santaire (Feb 13, 2011)

Ardaric sat, tired and drained. 5 of his friends were with him. Normally he would have been glad but when they were all that was left of the 25 men he had originally led he began to think dark thoughts of defeat. His head snapped up as he heard shouting and the sound of men crashing through the snow. “Lets go,” he said, standing. His friends stood up with him and they began to move through the forest. Ardaric used every skill learnt in 5 years of war to keep his men concealed but it wasn’t enough.

As Ardaric turned to cover his unit he watched with a sense of horror as one of his friends was vaporised. The man didn’t even have time to scream. Ardaric turned to see a pair of PDF soldiers manning a multi melta. He raised his rifle and fired off a short. By the grace of the God Emperor his shot slashed through the air, passing right through the melta canisters. The explosion lit up the forest, giving light to the darkest night of the year and leaving nothing left wherever it touched.

“We’ve got to move,” Ardaric said and waved his team forward. They sprinted through the forest towards the Titan construction site and came to the wall surrounding it. Ardaric reached it first and threw a sheet of leather on to the barbed wire to protect his hands before giving his four remaining friends a boost to get them over the fence. Once up their they helped him over and the five rebels dropped to the ground inside the facility.

Even through the thick cloth he wore Ardaric was shivering and he knew that unless they got inside soon then he and his friends would freeze to death, becoming little more than frozen corpses by day break. Ardaric kicked in the first door he came to and his unit eliminated the men inside. Ardaric shut the door and slumped against it. He and his team sat in chairs and tried to regain some of their lost warmth as they waited for something to happen…


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## DasOmen (Mar 10, 2011)

while most of the planet is blind, an all out war soon breaks out in the forge's construction area. the Governor had planted a intricate trap, and it had gone off without a hitch. Everything was going according to plan.

as fighting broke out in the north portian of the factory, the massive proof of concept plasma cannon fired off it's leathal payload, obliterating much of the would be inspection platoon. with the trap sprung, there was no reason to hide anymore, and those seeking refuge inside the facility warming up would find themselves set upon by armed assalants dressed as both factory workers and rebels alike. the mark of chaos burned into the rebel imposter's flesh, while the workers bore no mark visible with human eyes. 

lower in the facility however, Evil was brewing, and a horror was running. the Commissars and their survivors would soon be beset by the dread of a marauding infected guardsmen, all the while, moans and cries from the once silenced pit, began crying out again. 

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Serpion5: the massive blast from the plasma cannon pounds the air and the excessive heat from it turns the snowfall in the air to steam, the monstrous flash from it in the background goes off like a nuclear bomb inside the tunnel giving clear light to what you now face. strange contorted heretical rebels, who's skin doesn't seem all that right. what most would think at a distance to be a person, at close range you see it like it's some sort of strange person suit. the mostly misshapen guardsmen are being easily cut down by your comrades in arms that you brought with you despite loosing seven of them in the process. as the snowfall and the darkness resumes, you can hear the facilities raid sirens start to cry out in the night. without warning, gunfire lights up the sky despite the darkness and the snow, as the facilities defenses target something come in from a unknown direction. it's too early for the marines, they're three days out yet, what it could be is at this time unknown. you know your position will be over run if you stay there for long as the defenses come online, this is evidence by heavy bolter turrets starting to rise from the ground and begin their "awakening" sequence. you and your men find themselves forced underground into the facilities sewer system... what you find though isn't good. nerglings... swarms of them. they arent in your path directly, but you can see them beyond the bars and grates within the sewers. 

Santaire: you and your companions are immediately assaulted by a seemingly never ending swarm of traitor guardsmen, false rebels, and forge workers. you and your men dispatch the lightly armored men easily enough, it's when they start getting up again despite being dead that things become a problem. your body still slightly numb from being outside for so long you're forced with a decision to make that could decide the fate of you and your men. do you fight the ever reinforcing waves of undead and living? or do you retreat back out into the snow and darkness as the sirens go off?

Yru0: as you and your white cap make your way to the commissars and their contingent,you see several flaming figures pull themselves up from the pit behind them. what look to be mostly burned and consumed by toxic waist and molten metal figures pull themselves from the pit and start running after the commissar. to make matters worse, your old friend with the crab claw is right on your ass. if you or the white cap move just a hair slower, it's rending claw will take your head clean off. how do you keep your white cap alive? and how do you deal with the undead?

William Siegfried: you and your men are hailed by a frantic rebel, much like yourselves in a sense in that you're a rebel. he is being chased by a horrendous chaos mutant with a terrorizing crab claw for a arm. you and your men are forced to deal with this devastating monstrosity or run the risk of loosing a possibly useful ally. rallying your men you deal with the forsaken beast. in a surprising moment of clarity, the human the beast once was takes control, long enough for it to plea for death by the grace of the emperor. just as the beast regains control, you and your commissars deal a death blow in the name of the emperor. your guardsmen however find themselves dealing with their undead brethren. those that died to the plasma cannon and those that fell down the pit soon marsh down the tunnel you currently reside in. 

Sytheris: you and your troop have stopped for the moment, hiding around one of the hot springs that leads into a complex cave network. what little equipment you have is in poor working order. constantly being on the move means you haven't had much time to repair your equipment, due to this lack of repair, your group is suffering from very unhappy machine spirits. your radio equipment picks up only static, your guns seem to disobey your every command to fire, and even the power cells in the melee weapons you have fail to respond. against your better judgement you and your group bunker down around the hot spring even as the cold gets worse and worse. so thick is the snow that you can barely see one another, and the wind is so harsh you barely hear anything at all, so for the most part the absence of sounds from your companions is nothing new, however all is not well. as you move towards the hot springs to soak your hands to fend off frost bite, you stumble and trip over the body of a companion who was not killed by the cold. a wound in his back suggests he was killed by a close combat weapon. as you move closer to inspect, the person who killed your friend lunges at you, it's a imperial assassin. by the grace of the emperor you dodge the blow that would have slit you open like a pig. as you dodge, you fall back into the water of the hot spring. the glow of your equipment as the hot water thaws the ice from their bindings and loosens the winter's hold on their inner workings lights up the spring as if the emperor's light had pierced it from the heavens. with your equipment finally working once more you engage the assassin as your companions make their way towards your position. the assassin had killed twelve of your friends in the silence gifted by the chaotic winds, but by the grace of the emperor, you fight on in valiant defiance of your would be fate. the first to arrive to aid you is a priest who had chosen to travel with you, his revelation about the water gives you courage, the emperor has blessed this spring and he is watching. with new found strength you cut your assassin down with grace, his lifeless corpse falling into the water but his blood does not defile the now golden waters that shine light into the heavens. over the assassin's headset vox, you hear reports of fighting at one of the forge construction sites, and after checking with your map expert, you discover that the cave system will lead you directly to it. the priest with you suggests that you gather the water from the spring as it has been blessed by the emperor himself.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

*Declen Mykyas*

Mykyas forced himself to move, his feet numb from fear or shock, he couldn`t tell. The treachery of one who had come from his own platoon was an unwelcome shock, and he still felt uneasy as he rejoined the survivors of his group. 

Suddenly there was a deafening noise and a blinding light to match. Stumbling blindly for a few moments, mykyas realized that the plasma cannon inside the complex must have blown, leaving a huge crater in the side of the building and the complex just outside. 

'Shit, good thing we attacked from the north right?' One of his men exclaimed. 

'Yeah, I wouldn`t have wanted to try staring that down.' Mykyas replied. 'Let`s get inside while we can. With any luck the people on the inside will have been blinded as well.' 

He led the group towards the hole in the wall, but in the residual flash, he could see more heretics approaching from the opposite direction. His men had already opened fire on the deformed people, cutting them down remorselessly with las fire. Curiously, they had not returned fire in any way. Only when they had closed the gap did he realize why. These were not guardsmen or mere heretics, they were... something else. 

Their skin hung loosely from their stiff frames and they appeared to have little in the way of cohesion or intelligence. Mykyas snapped his rifle butt to on`s head and was disgusted to hear the sickening wet crunch that sounded, as though the man was already decomposing. Several screams sounded from behind, and with horror Mykyas realized that some of the assailants they thought dead were rising again; the supposedl kill shots he and his men had hit them with had done nothing but superficial damage. 

'Keep going!' Mykyas shouted. They could not afford to be slowed down, and the sound of automated weapons fire reinforced this. Even as he gunned down more of the cursed traitors, he could see Heavy Bolter turrets rising in response to the intrusion. 

'Underground! Underground!' Someone called. 

'Yes!' Mykyas confirmed. 'Go, everyone! Now!' 

He ran to where his trooper had found the entrance to facility aqueduct system. He pumped as many shots as he could into the enemy while edging his way towards a nearby fallen soldier. He reached down and took the two spare lasgun packs from the dead man`s belt and clipped them onto his own. A minute passed as his men filed into the underground one by one. By his count, fourteen of them had fallen since they scaled the walls. 

Damn, this was not goinf to plan. Not in the slightest. He pulled the pins on a couple of grenades, hurling them into the throng of heretics before jumping back into the hole and replacing the manhole cover. A gratifying explosion on the other side sounded a few moments later. 

'What`s that sound?' Someone asked. 

Mykyas listened. It was... giggling? It sounded like children laughing as though they had just played a prank, but something about it was just... unnatural. They advanced a little further, glow lamps lighting the way, but the sound did not stop. Suddenly, one piece of laughter sounded from a few feet away, and Mykyas snapped his light around to focus on it.

'What... the fuck... is that?' A trooper asked, as they all stared with horrified disgust at the thing the light pointed at. 

It was barely half a metre tall, and even wider if that was possible, making its movement almost comically slow. It sidled up to the grating, still giggling in that infuriating childish tone. It was repulsive to look at, appearing as a tumor freshly cut from a man`s brain. Pus oozed from every orifice on its body and glistened in the torchlight. Misshapen teeth grinned back at them, its one good eye looking at all of them in turn. 

'Is that what`s down here?' The same trooper asked. 'Maybe we should`ve stayed on top?' 

'We were dead up there!' Mykyas reminded them. 'Don`t lose faith soldiers! The Emperor and the Astartes are counting on us! Stay strong!' 

He fired a shot into the disgusting thing. It popped with a sickening discharge of air like a pus filled baloon. They watched as it deflated and seemed to melt away into nothing. 

'You see?' Mykyas encouraged. 'They can die just like anything else. We`ll be fine.'


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