# Only in Death



## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Private Journal of Brother-Apothecary Altair, Aegis VII, 998.M41

The first thought.

I can't see.

Blackness surrounds my sight. I can hear. Gunfire..mostly. Explosions. A low rumbling noise. A tank, I think.

My left arm refuses to move. I can feel dirt beneath my fingers. An arm hauls me upright. My vision clears. A blackened form swins into view. Arbalan's plasma gun is smoking gently as he lends his strength to me. My armor squeals in protest as I move.

"Brother Apothecary, we are needed elsewhere." says Arbalan.

"But...Melenius." I say weakly, still trying to regain my senses.

"Dead. You were almost lost as well. That blast was of some magnitude."

I turn, taking in the sight of the war-torn fields of Aegis VII, the newest war in a long tide of wars. Fought in the Emepror's name, of course. 

Melenius' body makes itself known as a black form against the dull brown of the soil. his armor is cracked open where I had breached it, trying to save him. A shard of metal is lodged in his neck seal, blood drying into a reddish stain on his armor and the ground.

I check my own suit of armor. There are some spots where the black paint has been chipped off, and my left arm hangs limply from my side. Dislocation. I grasp it and pull, popping the joint into place. My narthicium hums as it connects back to my neural interfaces. My left shoulderpad, the one with an Apothercarium symbol on it, has Melenius' blood staining it. I sadly wipe it away, only succeeding in smearing it.

Arbalan nudges me. 

"We have to go, now, Apothecary. Brother-Captain Dacius is making a stand on the far side of the ridge."

I nod. "Then we go."

Arbalan shoulders his plasma gun. "You might need this, brother."

He offers my Bolter. I take it one-handed, and check the ammo levels. Fourteen shells left, plus eight clips on my bandoliers. My Reductor is secured against my belt, and three frag grenades are clipped to my belt loops. A melta bomb is hung from my backpack. 

"Of course, Brother Arbalan. Thank you. Now, we go to Captain Dacius?"

Arbalan nods. "Follow me, Brother-Apothecary."


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## craigus (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice stuff :victory:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Arbalan leads me west, for about two klicks, pausing occasionally to shoot down howling Orks. I lend my fire where I can, and we eventually reach Dacius' position.

The Captain leads three Tactical squads down the slope, straight into the Ork lines. Orks are cut down like wheat before the scythe as the Black Watch are thrust amongst them by the force of the charge. Orkish blood sprays from wounds, and a severed head flies past Arbalan's shoulder, it's eyes still tracking the marines. 

I quickly draw my combat knife, letting the Orks come to me, eventually gunning the entire mob down with Arbalan's help. The last survivor makes it to me unharmed, and I quickly stab the Ork through the neck. It lets out an obcene gurgle and I crush it with my boot. More Orks, a sea of seething green faces, all red eyes and yellow fangs, close on our line, a fragile thread of dirty black armor and metal. The squad sergeant I was assigned to, Vercian, beckons me closer.

"Speak laddie! Did you get Melenius?"

"No, Brother-Sergeant, I was thwarted by an artillery barrage. I have Arbalan with me."

Vercian sighs. "Ah, well. We will recover his gene-seed after we see off these creatures, eh?"

He cocks his bolter with relish. I can see he is saddened by the young Marine's death.

"Melenius was a good Marine, sergeant, however, he is not the first, nor will he be the last."

"By Corax, laddie. Soon you'll be quoting the Codex. Stay close. These Orks may be savage but they fight as well as any."

"Aye, Sergeant."

I wait a step behind the line, firing careful shots past the helmets of my brothers. Octavian takes a shot in his shoulder and I quickly pry open his armor, knitting the flesh back together, and removing the slug. Octavian sits up and continues firing.

"Brother Apothecary, if you're through rummaging around my guts, might I continue my crusade against the foul Xenos?"

"Spite, brother. Your wounds are healed."

Octavian nods his thanks and takes his place in the line.

My vox squeals like a stabbed pig, and then a crackling message emerges.

[All Black Watch! Re..rt to Broth.r Re.adi...postion. Under..eay fir..Orks.]

[Brother-Captain Dacius of the Fifth Company Black Watch, order confirmed. All functional Fifth Company, retreat to Strongpoint Reladis. Fourth Company, covering fire!]

[Brother-Captain Fulcan of the Fourth Company Black Watch, order confirmed.]

I grab Arbalan and Octavian's shoulders and we follow Vercian away from the battle. A salvo of Whirlwind rockets shriek down and blast great tides of Orks into oblivion.


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

very nice work, i like the first person perspective


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thank you. I only knew of one other book (Ciaphas Cain) that was a first person. 

I'll have another part or two up by tonight.

-Dirge


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## cerrakoth (Nov 7, 2007)

Yeah nice stuff going good so far 1st person is unusual but you pull it off well=]


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

"Well, laddie. Seems you pulled off the impossible. Old Dragian will be pleased."

I turned at his words. "What?"

Vercian smiled. "Turns out we broke the hordes, they've been falling back all day."

"So how does that affect me, sergeant?"

"Well, laddie, the Chief Apothecary, Medicus, got himself killed fighting with the Master. So, we're sending all avalible Apothecarian to the Master's chambers to pick a new one."

My look of curiousity becomes disbelief. Me? _Chief_ Apothecary!? A coveted title amongst the healers of the Chapter, to be sure...

"Get going, laddie! The Master's not going to wait!"

*****************************************************
Battle-Barge _Aay'han_ (Translation: Remembrace), High Orbit, Sustenance. 220.M42

"What happened then!?" asked Magni loudly. 

I shook myself from my reverie. I looked around, finding a small crowd of mismatched Space Marines had gathered around myself and young Magni. I pushed past them to look at the chrono. I had been talking for the better part of an hour. Memories of comrades long since dead filled my thoughts. 

"Well, young one, that is a story for another day."

I pulled Magni from his sitting position and looked around at the crowd I had drawn. Space Wolf, Dark Angel, Black Watch, White Consuls, Raven Guard, Imperial Fist, Even two reclusive Iron Hands, nearly all bionics.

Their armor was dirty, and in disrepair. Some sported different colors on their armor, hasty repairs to cover weakened flanks. My best friend, Arbalan, strode up to me, his footfalls shaking the loose bolts from the deck.. Almost two and a half centuries before, Arbalan had been wounded terribly fighting the Orks on Aegis VII. His broken form had been kept in stasis until the Dreadnought shell had been cobbled together from other destroyed brethren. Arbalan had grown old and wise in the years, while I had grown rather reckless and attached to the warband.

"And that is why you are not a Dreadnought, Brother Altair." said Arbalan, and I realized I had spoken aloud.

"Indeed, my old friend. But were I a Dreadnought, you would not be."

As the last Apothecary able to perform Implantation surgery, I had overseen Arbalan's implantation into the Dreadnought.

"True, Altair. But also, you could not bear to go to war without me."

"That may be, my friend."

[All hands to stations, dock in five minutes.]

As one of _Aay'han_'s senior officers, I was patched into the ship's commlink to listen in on the chatter.

[Ryza ground control, Armed Freighter _Aay'han_ requesting landing coordinates.]

[_Aay'han_, this is ground control Ryza. Landing position eight-eight-zero-four, pad sixteen.]

[Ryza control, scan our holds.]

There was a pause.

[[Aay'han[/i], we show zero water and little cargo. Our city services are avalible at this time, for a fee. Would you like a resupply?]

[Most appreciated, Ryza control.]

[Ryza control to _Aay'han_, divert to pad eighteen, there's a resupply dump there.]

[Recieved and confirmed, Ryza control]

I felt a shudder run through the ship a moment later. We were down. 

Another happy landing.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

As we refuel at the Ryza ports, a call comes in over the long-range vox. Some deserted place called Threshold..but it was on the Adeptus Astartes priority channel. 

[Oh, God-Emperor help us! We fought Orks..and then, they were under the ice the whole time! Please! Help us, oh Emperor help us all!]

Jaing, _Aay'han_'s captain (and another Black Watch), nudged me. "So, what do you think?"

"We don't even know who they're fighting."

"That's why we are Space Marines, Brother-Apothecary, even though we don't follow any of the Codex's restraints."

"Very well. Ask Fredric and Demetrius before you break orbit."

[Ryza control to _Aay'han_, your cargo bays are filled. Credit transfer cleared.]

[_Aay'han_ to Ryza control, pleasure doing buisness.]

Jaing turned to Tenn at the helm.

"High orbit, laddie, if you please."

Tenn nodded his affirmation and pulled the throttle back, sending a lurch through the ship as we left Ryza behind. 

"So, what do you think it is?"

"Hm?"

"The things under the ice."

"Well, I don't particularly care, Brother-Apothecary, just as long as they fall over when we shoot them."


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Threshold was an undescript little planet. Very small in terms of material goods and exports, but it was right on the trade routes between the Core and Cadia. 

I check and recheck my weapons. Standing in the troop bay of a converted gunship made me uneasy. 

Arbalan's vox-caster booms. "I know that twitch, lad. Don't be nervous."

"I'm not."

"Brother, you not only lie to yourself....."

"Arbalan.."

"Yes?"

"You owe me a good keg of ale when this is over."

A Marine next to me, a greyish tint suggesting a former Space Wolf, chuckles merrily. 

"Aye, laddie. A good keg of Ale. That'd do us good." 

I nod my agreement.

"Very well, young Apothecary." says Arbalan. "A keg of Fredric's finest when we return from the surface!"

The light in the troop bay turns red, and the door clanks shut. A sudden booming clank echos around the tight bay, then the sickening sensation of falling.

[Gunship Bravo wing, close to intercept.]

[Alpha reporting Ground-to-air.]

[Missile site two klicks west, birds in the air!]

[Thunderhawk's got a lock.]

[_Aay'han_, fire..one, fire...two! Missiles away!]

[Confirm kill, missile site. Closing on target drop.]

[ETA three seconds to weapons range, command.]

[Weapons live! Chaff! Chaff! Break! Rocket zero-two-eight, closing on...wait. Never mind. Nice save.]

A new voice breaks in on the comm.

[Unidentified Aircraft, confirm ID Imperial Encryption.]

[Encrytion zero-zero-three-six, priority seven-two-niner-delta, Marine frigate _Aay'han_ Omega wing.]

[Processing....Ident confirmed, you're late to the party, boys.]

Sergeant Larken coughed quietly.

"Indeed we are. However, we're not here just to toast glasses and exchange gifts."

[I would expect nothing less from Space Marines.]

"We are not Space Marines, my lord."

[....What? Then how are you on the Astartes priority channel? Why does your vessel ring up as Ultramarines?!]

"We are a warband, my lord. A group of mercenaries."

[You're heretics!]

"And you will die without our intervention. Would you like to retract your earlier statement?"

[Vile traitors! I'm cutting this channel!]

"You don't want to do that. I have enough firepower aboard my battlecruiser to level that entire wretched place you call a fortress. "

[.....Very well. Landing coordinates zero-two-two-niner-gamma.]

[Gunship wing Hawken reporting triple A, north of fortress drop zone, confirm.]

[Alpha toutching down on LZ.]

[Beta closing, ETA three minutes.]

I open the comm channel.

[Omega wing, ETA two minutes.]


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

The little man was a study in shock as our rag-tag band steps from the Thunderhawk. I stop at the top for dramatic effect, then follow them down, my thunder hammer letting out a small fizzing noise. The Imperial Guardsman dropped to his knees as the other five Thunderhawk Gunships (and four Longsword-class gunships) settled down on the pad, each disgorging fifteen to thirty Space Marines.

"You're...not what we expected." said the man.

"We are not what anyone would." said Larken slowly.

"Why is your armor different colors than the others?"

"Others?"

"Yes, the blue-armored giants. They have an upside-down U on their armor."

"The Ultramarines?"

"Aye, that's what Montavious called them. They arrived this morning."

Larken turns to me slowly. "We might have a problem, Apothecary."

Our squad follows the man across the cratered ground of the landing pad. A loud explosion comes from the left, and an Earthshaker emplacement coughs out a fat shell. The bullet streaks over the sky and a second explosion follows.

A line of trenches slowly becomes visable against a howling tide of greenskins.

"Damn it man! You didn't tell us this was an attack! Bradon! Get the gunships airborne! Marines! Combat spread! Seek and Destroy! For our Ancestors!"

The lines of Space Marines breaks, and then grows into a loping run, and then turns into a screaming charge. Bolt shells flash past my helmet, plasma bolts and even a few las rounds scream into the orks, killing dozens at a time.

The Marines reach the trench, and immediately take up positions. The few, bloodied and battered Imperial Guard haul themselves up to the firing step. Finally, the Orks are on the back foot. The horde thins, little by little, until one Ork breaks, screaming.

"We'ze all gonna die!"

The other Orks stop for a second. Their eyes follow the fleeing Ork. Then two break. Three. Ten. A hundred. The entire horde screams off into the rapidly darkening sky. 

My squad nods in approval. Sirius and Larken exchange a high-five, metal clanging.

A boltgun clicks.

I turn, followed by the rest of my marines.

A Tactical Squad of Ultramarines has all of their weapons trained on us.

"Traitors."


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## Firewolf (Jan 22, 2007)

Dirge Eterna said:


> Thank you. I only knew of one other book (Ciaphas Cain) that was a first person.
> 
> 
> 
> -Dirge


>> Dude, this is some quality stuff. The 1st person makes it a little more personal imho. By the by, the Eisenhorn Trilogy is 1st person. Damned good books.:victory:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thank you. And yes, now that I'm thinking, I do remember old Eisenhorn and his exploits.

Update pretty soon.

-Dirge


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

wow :shok::shok: totally awesome


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## Andros (Dec 10, 2007)

good stuff, very good........ when i heard Warband i immdiately thought Chaos, but never mind, it me 

where the next bit? no keep us hanging like that :biggrin:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

I won't torture those who actially read this any longer. Gave me a good laugh though. I finished this two days ago. Muhahahaha!

____________________________________________________________________________

My marines level their own weapons. I notice the field has gone utterly silent. 

I flash a quick hand signal. Larken, five paces behind me, nods in my peripheral vision.

I hear a small _clink_. 

Unnoticed by the Ultramarines until the last second, the flash-bang explodes, sending most of the Space Marines into disarray. The few brave enough fire a few bolter rounds, but they're uncoordinated. No threat. More shots ring out, and someone screams. An Ultramarine drops, bolter wounds up his chest. 

"Damned heretics! Die" screams the Marine sergeant, waving a chainsword. He charges me wildly, and I sidestep his attack, tripping him. I draw my ancient Thunder Hammer, _Rek'varnal_ (which means "One that shatters mountains, coincidently)

The Ultramarine swings a wide arc around him, wild. I simply step back, then step inside his third attack and smash his leg with the hammer. I feel bone break. 

The sergeant curses and doesn't go down so I promptly punch him in his convieniently exposed face. His nose breaks and blood flows down his face. I yell for my warbad to retreat to the shuttles. The sergeant picks himself up, so I step on his broken leg and he finally stays down. 

I pass Larken on the way to the Thunderhawk, his armor stained with blood, and I'm not sure it's his. He has an Ultramarines helmet attached to his belt. 

"Souvenir?"

"Shame to waste it..."

I reach the Thunderhawk first, and hold onto the hatch. _One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. And Larken. Ten_. I slam the hatch. Gunfire pings off the hull.

"Punch it."

The pilot is only too willing to comply as we lift off of the bastion, heading quickly west.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

The entirety of _Aay'han_'s marines speed west in a flock of shuttles and gunships. Three Ultramarines Thunderhawks had followed us, but after losing two, the third broke off. 

I step smartly into the cockpit, and hand a data-slate to the pilot. 

"These coordinates."

He give me a slow blink. "That's registered as wastelands."

"No, it's not. I have some allies here."

"On Threshold? Why?"

"Backup plans. They landed here a week before we did."

"Alright, boss."

We landed ten minutes later, outside the remains of the Kuimeriat Bastion in the western provinces. Ages ago, the bastion had stood as a bulwark against the hordes of Orks and cultists that had smashed themselves to bloody ruin against it's walls. Now, it was used as a temporary lair for whoever decided to inhabit it.

A single Space Marine stood on the makeshift landing pad, black cloak snapping quietly from the downdraft of the Thunderhawk. A sudden gust revealed the grey-blue shoulder pad of the figure's power armor. 

A soft _thud_ sounded as the gunship touched down on the pad. A second figure walked out of a craftily concealed bunker a few meters from the edge of the landing strip. The new arrival was clad in grey-on-darker-grey armor, blending well with the ruined keep around them. It's armor was thinner than the Marine's, and it's ankle joints were reversed. Oddly, the helmet was enlongated, and a whip of armor extended from the stranger's lower back.

The drop light flashed green, and the ramp dropped with a clang. My squad stomped down the ramp, Larken practically dragging me behind him.

"Altair, tell me you've not gone soft...letting a sergeant push you around."

Veteran sergeant Lorian (Formerly of the Mountain Angels) held out a gloved hand. I shook it.

"Pleasure, Sarah."

Larken cocked his head in question. "Sarah?"

"Pity. You wouldn't know of the Mountain Angels'..._manipulations_ to their gene-seed. I'll be happy to tell you the entire tale later. Now, we've got to plan the rest of the campaign. This is my second, Ketquelzak. You've worked with Kytharin before?"

The Marines shook their heads in wide-eyed fascination.

"Well, everything you've heard is true."

The Kytharin held out his own gauntleted hand. Once more, I shook it.

"You can call me Kale."

"Alright. You can call me Altair."

"Pleasure."

The alien spoke surprisingly fluent High Gothic. 

Lorien beckoned me closer.

"The arrival of the Ultramarines is unexpected, but not crippling. We're going to hit the Orks hard in the rear lines. Right now, I have three squads of Marines, and sixty Kytharin shock troopers. Plus your support, and I can scrape up some armor from the keep's forges. All around, maybe 410 personnel, six to twenty tanks."

I nod. "Very well."

Lorien whispers something to Kale, who lets out a series of buzzing clicks. A sqaud of Kytharin storm up to the battlements to man Heavy Bolters and Lascannon. A panel of the landing pad is punched upwards and a Hydra flak tank is raised on an elevator to drive to the edge of the strip, gun tracking.

"We're all ready to roll."

"Fine. Give us a day's rest, then we'll move to take back Teklet from the Orks. We'll be within six miles of the distress signal from there."

Lorien nods. She pulls a massive power sword from a scabbard and places it between us. I put my hand on top of hers, both resting on the sword's pommel.

"For the Marines Repentant, life is a prison, death a release!"


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Teklet Outskirts, 5 klicks south of Administratum complex, Threshold.

The Longsword CC-07 gunship stopped ten feet from the ground, and opened it's side hatches. The mulitcolored riot of my Marines tumbled out onto the ground, bolters drawn. Larken (Space Wolves), Lorien (Mountain Angels), Sirius (Black Templars), Dvorn (Howling Griffons), Mikaelus (Blood Ravens), and Jaekos (Salamanders) follow me down the side streets of Teklet, followed by twelve of Lorien's Kytharin. Two Thunderhawks tear across the sky, followed by a booming crash in the direction of their travel. A pall of smoke marks the death of dozens of Orks. 

We cover five klicks in as many minutes, fighting our way closer to the Administratum building. Orks seem to simply scream out of cover at us, massive axes raised. Outside the Administratum, a Looted Leman Russ belched out a massive shell, and rained bolter shells on us. Jaeknos shouldered his flamer and pulled a blocky meltagun. 

Sirius and Dvorn punched each others' fists. 

"A'right lads, by Russ, and the Emperor!" shouted Larken.

Each of the Marines jumped up and howled their own battlecry, charging the Leman Russ. Dvorn caught a bolter round in the shoulder, deflected by his armor. Jaeknos pulled the melta trigger and the tank lurched as a superheated bolt blew a perfect hole through it. Orks shrieked as the flesh was burnt from their bones.

"Tidy."

Jaeknos chuckled. "No thanks needed, gents, I'm sure master Larken would've been most willing to stuff his mostly useless head into the gun barrels."

"You should've been a bloody jester, laddie." Larken shot back.

I led the Marines and Kytharin across the square into the Administratum building. A huge atrium opened up in front of us.

_Clink_.

"Stikkbomb!" screamed Sirius, kicking the club-like grenade away and into a mob of Orks, still unaware of our presence. The mob simply exploded into a shower of gore and reddish blood, giving our armor a red tint. Mikaelus' armor remained the same shade of scabbed red, drawing a chuckle from Sirius and Dvron.

"Came prepared, eh?"

"Might as well..."

[Excellent work, team. Proceed to the rear of the complex, the Ork warboss over this area is stationed there. I'll continue to moniter the area and tell you if anything changes.]

[Roger that.]

Sirius nodded in approval. "Hear that, Dvorn? Someone thinks I'm excellent."

"Well, that makes two of you."

I had always known the Raven Guard to be silent, and rather morbid. The smattering of chapters in the warband was a different breed all together. They were silent and passive, and then they killed total strangers and blew up installations and cracked bad jokes. Not what I'd expected, of course with so many years between Aegis VII and now, I was surprised that I even remembered the Raven Guard.

"Altair? Having a moment, or can we go?" said Larken.

I shook myself out of my daydreaming. "I'm fine, let's hoof it."

Kale nudged the Kytharin brood leader. "Claw it."

The sergeant cackled. The rest of my team spread out and followed myself and LArken down the hallways to the rear of the Administratum, closer to the heart of the Xenos.

__________________________________________________________________________

Hey all, hope you're enjoying the story. Just wanted to let you know...POST FEEDBACK! I want to know how to write my next story!

-Dirge


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

"Hear that, Dvorn? Someone thinks I'm excellent." isnt that a quote from star wars republic commando?


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## Andros (Dec 10, 2007)

it is, i know cos i was playing it this morning  that game is classic, humour, action and drama, where number 2? anywho, keep this thing going! it is good


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Yes, it is. If you really research these stories I take a lot of my stuff out of video games and books.

-Dirge


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## Andros (Dec 10, 2007)

hey, its me, i'm a little slow on the uptake of things, and i don't really notice things like that until someone mentions it...... nightmare in school i was :so_happy:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

I won't hold it against ya. On to the WH40K!
________________________________________________________________________

My Marines advanced quickly through the bombed-out ruins in the rear of the Administratum complex, heading for the Governor's offices. Jaeknos flanked an armored door, while Dvorn kicked it down. Mikaelus bowled in a grenade and Orks screamed. A pall of smoke eruped from the doorway. 

Kale hefted (of all things) a Nemesis hammer. I drew my own Thunder hammer, and battered through a few bloodied survivors. Lorien placed a bolter shot through the eye of a Nob. 

A domed room appeared before us. The ground had been dug up, revealing muddy earth. Smoking corpses were piled around the arena, and a few buggies had blown apart. A huge Ork Boss was sitting patiently on a pile of scrap and skulls, cradling a massive Kustom Shoota. 

"You gladiataz now, umiez!" screamed the Boss in extremely bad Low Gothic. "You die now!"

Sirius pulled his bolter and fired a shot into the Ork's torso, blasting a great crater in it's Mega Armor. 

The Ork pulled it's own weapon and blew Mikaelus backwards, his armor shredding great pieces as the Blasta ripped him apart. Blood and armor fragments spattered the rest of the squad.

"Damnation!" yelled Larken, more in surprise than anger. 

"Yea, umie! Dere's more fer yoof too!"

It hefted the Blasta in one hand, and the Kustom Shoota in the other.

The Kytharin scattered, followed by my squad. I threw a combat knife torn from the floor into it's side, but it merely angered the Ork.

A Kytharin in full armor, black with grey trim, leapt high over the Boss, knives thunking into the Ork's torso and back. He then drew a Neural Shredder and fired point-blank into the Ork. The Boss shrieked and slashed a Power Klaw across the warrior's face. The Kytharin screamed a beastial cry and toppled over, clutching his face.

The Boss shot wildly into the tight clutches of Kytharin, killing two and wounding a further trooper. He tossed the Shoota away and screamed.

"WAAAAAGH!!!!"

A huge mass of Orks exploded from the outer rooms, filling the space in moments.

"Now, Kale! Warriors! Repent! For Tomorrow you die!"

Lorien jumped to the top of a destroyed buggy, and whipped a grenade into the Orks, blasting a great hole in their ranks.

The Orks hit our line, and my world shrunk to a tiny piece of land, green skin and painted ceremite coupled with scaly bluish skin and grey-on-black armor. I saw Dvorn slice an Ork in half. Kale smashed a second to pulp with his hammer. Lorien stabbed an Ork Nob through the eye. I saw the Kytharin wounded by the Boss rise, a terrible wound across his face, cutting through one eye, and down his face diagonally.

A severed head flew by me, teeth still gritted. I smashed an Ork with the Thuder hammer, and fired my bolter into the tightly packed Mob. The Orks began to thin, and left Lorien, Kale, Sirius and myself against the Ork Warboss. The boss yelled incomprehensibly and charged. 

He battered past Sirius, cutting off the young marine's arm at the elbow. Kale smashed the Blasta to ruins, and the Warboss smacked the Kytharin back into the melee. Lorien stabbed the Ork through the torso, into the wound Sirius caused earlier. I threw a second knife at the Ork, which embedded itself in it's bionic eye. The Ork shrieked and smacked me aside. Lorien pulled her sword out and swung into the Ork's neck, slicing the head clean off it's shoulders. The head had a shocked look on it's face even as it fell off the body.

The rest of the Orks had either died or ran. Jaeknos, Dvorn, Larken, Kale, and ten Kytharin stormtroopers stood among the blood, stooping over wounded, checking ammo, and generally looking rather calm for having survived an attack.

Sirius was lying in a pool of rapidly reddining mud, his breathing rapid. I wrenched off his helmet, noting the white Templar cross on it was stained with blood. 

His face was white with shock, short blond hair matted against his head. I injected a vial of painkiller and blood-loss agents into his neck, and scrawled P and Z onto the white part of his helmet, replacing it on his head.

Dvorn and Larken picked up Sirius and hauled him into the courtyard.

[Command, this is team Atair, reporting from zero-zero-nine west of drop zone, mission completed. Requesting lift for wounded and operational personnel.]

[Team Altair, this is the _Hawk of Asahiem_, ETA thirty seconds. Medicae on board.]

"What's the PZ for?" asked Dvorn, staring at Sirius' helmet.

"P for painkiller and Z for Blood-loss control, because B looks too much like P when you're in a hurry."

"Got it....just make sure he lives, alright?", Dvorn had his helmet off, and had an armored hand on Sirius' chestplate.

"Roger that."

_Hawk of Asahiem_ floated overhead twenty seconds later, and dropped winches. The living members of my team clambered on board, as the medic dropped to the deck to minister to Sirius.

In my hand I held a red fragment of ceramite. A piece of Mikaelus' armor, to pay my respects on board _Aay'han_. On a lighter note, the Warlord was dead, opening the door for the rest of the strike force to smash the Orks' aside into Teklet.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Since the first offensive, Teklet had become our new base of operations in the western barrens. Our Intel had reported that the Ultramarines had moved into the southwest, and had faced off against a second Warboss. The main Ork army was now to the northeast, and the distress signal we recieved from the north. I threw every extra minute into getting Sirius and Jinart (The Kytharin wounded during the battle, and Kale's consort, I later learned) prepped for surgery. Sirius demanded Jinart go first, and we simply stitched the wound on her face closed. She wore a black bandana over the wound later. Sirius recieved a bionic arm built by Krae and Thumiel, our two Techmarines. He simply refused painkillers, and cursed fluently through the implantation surgery.

I seemed to walk much more now. I had less to occupy my time among the bastion, which had become a viable fortress since we had fixed it up and cleared the Hrud from the lower warrens. I knew my way around from many sleepless nights, eventually culminating in practicing Bolter drills with Dvorn every night. He had a few dozen scraps of vaguely human-shaped plasteel set up, and one by one we would blow holes in them. Kale and Jaeknos quickly developed a rivalry, Jaeknos' meltagun versus Kale's custom Storm Bolter. 

We had refitted the shuttles with extra fuel tanks and weapons, ready to drop on Imbranii, the source of the distress call. Three nights after Sirius' surgery, he was declared fit for duty by the lesser Apothecarium. I checked him myself, then shook his hand (The new one. Seemed fitting.) He immediately beat Dvorn and Larken in bolter drills, which earned him a small keg of Fenrisian ale. The warband had taken a liking to it after fighting on Fortuna, a planet protected by the Space Wolves. We had picked up Fredric, a self-proclaimed brewmaster, on the condition he made it for us.

The next day the call came in from orbit.

[Ground control, this is _Aay'han_, we have uncovered large numbers of Ultramarines fighter-aircraft on inbound flight to your position tracking zero-two-two-west. Prepare to engage Thunderhawk class and ground support.]


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

So it would happen, that sixteen days into the Threshold campaign, that the Ultramarines of Captain Saphentis (the successor to Captain Sicarius) found our keep in the western barrens. They advanced slowly, killing hundreds of Orks and burning Teklet to the ground. The main thrust of the attack focused on Ork camps and townships, while nearly one and a half companies, comprising the 2nd and half of the 3rd, attacked our stronghold (Now dubbed Kasr Redoubtus by Kale's stormtroopers). 

We had little time to prepare the defense, but we managed to put up a wall of rockcrete and plasteel, hoping the Ultramarines would smash themselves to bloody ruin against the walls.

On the seventeenth day, Captain Saphentis attacked.

[Ultramarines units entering fire envelope, all batteries, fire at will!]

I stood next to Kale on the parapet of the walls. The Kytharin was standing next to Jinart, who was wearing a black bandana over the terrible wound on her face.

"So it begins."

The gate splintered under mass fire, and a Land Raider Crusader smashed through. A team of Ultramarines charged our line.

Two Space Marines near me opened up with a twin-linked heavy bolter, shredding a few Ultramarines. Another was blasted backwards by a Kytharin with an Exitus lasrifle. A White Consul near me was shot through the slit in his helmet. The Land Raider erupted in flames, and I saw a marine in Space Sharks livery give me a salute near his smoking Lascannon.

I nodded my thanks and drew my thunder hammer as more Ultramarines vaulted into the trench. The first marine rose with a snarl and whipped a crackling power fist. I ducked, and he smashed the Marine behind me to bloody pulp.

I smashed the thunder hammer into his left leg, and broke it. He growled and swung at me again, smoldering the purity seals on my armor.

"Vile heretic!" screamed the sergeant.

"We are not heretics, my brother...we are the most faithful of all." I responded, locking our weapons together.

"We are not brothers, traitor!"

"Of course not...my mistake." I stomped down hard on his broken leg, and smashed the hammer into his chest, crushing him.

Kale diposed of the body stuck to his halberd. Even more Ultramarines poured over the wall, killing my marines. I saw Larken stab a screaming Chaplain though the back, then behead a member of his retinue. The Company champion stuck a glowing sword through Larken's helmet. Larken fell without a sound, blood gushing from his visor and rebreather.

I threw my combat knife at the man, pinning his hand to his chest. He growled, and Jinart whipped a second knife at him, passing straight through his helmet, and impaling a second Marine. Sirius smashed an armored gauntlet with his bionic arm, drawing a grunt from the marine. He shot the man point-blank, blasting his chest into fragments.

Captain Saphentis reared up from a group of mismatched marines, roaring. He blasted Dvorn aside, a bolt glancing off his chest plate.

I quickly worked my way towards him, killing every Ultramarine I could see. Saphentis snarled and charged me. I smashed my thunder hammer into his chest plate, stunning him. He toppled over.

"You have lost, traitor. Endex."

_Endex._ It was used by marines to mean "end of exercise".

"No." I said simply. "No, I've not lost yet, and I don't plan on dying by your hand."

Saphentis heard crashing footfalls behind him. And by then it was far too late.

Arbalan the Unchallenged drew up a massive piston-driven war hammer, and smashed the Captain of the Second to a gory crater, exploding his armor and spattering me with fragments of armor and gore.

An Ultramarines lieutenant stepped back in shock.

"The Brother-captain is lost! We have lost! Brothers! The demons have killed the Lord-Captain! Fall back! Retreat!"

The Ultramarines retreat turned to a rout as we shot them through the back, then they broke and began to run, throwing aside empty gear bags and ammo.

A day later, we pushed the last few bloodied survivors out of the west. 

I strode across the battlefield, noting the sheer number of Ultramarines bodies in comparison to our warbands. We had lost many, but the Ultramarines had taken crippling losses on the planet. Larken's body was recovered, and we took his cloven helmet back to _Aay'han_ for a ceremony. Sixty-five new helmets sat on small stone pedestals in the Hall of Remembrance. The bodies were unceremoniously thrown down the well of Karak-barj (a supposedly never-ending hole in the planet, and the reason behind the bastion's construstion). 

Kale stood next to me, Jinart beside him.

"So, is it over?"

I sighed.

"No, Brother-Xenos, it is only beginning."


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Folks. I have to be frank. I love the fact I have 250+ hits on this, and maybe..six replies?

POST FEEDBACK, FLUNKIES, OR IT'LL END IN A CLIFFHANGER!! 

lolz.
__________________________________________________________________________

Static.

[_Aay'han_, this is _Ven'couyt_, requesting landing vector for ODST and armored support.]

[_Aay'han_ to _Ven'couyt_, welcome to the system. Landing vector zero-zero-two-six-nine. Be advised, mixed allied and enemies around drop zone. Drop area is hot, mixed AA and Triple-A.]

[_Aay'han_, Coordinates recieved. Be advised, Fleet base Nox Ultima fleet in-system in one standard week.]

As I remembered it, _Ven'couyt_ had been built at Nox Ultima around fifty years ago, and had fought during our "agressive negotiations" around the Democles Gulf Crusade. _Aay'han_ had been built around the Gothic War, to help with the tide of heresy rising from the Eye of Terror. 

I had a feed on my HUD of _Ven'couyt_ off the port side of _Aay'han_, firing drop-pods and Thunderhawks. Many people didn't know it, but the motley chapter of Marines known as the Reclaimed had twelve ships, including _Prosecutor_ (Stolen from the Dark Angels), _Aay'han_ Built at Kiel Shipyards) , _Ven'couyt_ (Also from Kiel) , _Dirge Eterna_ (Salvaged from high orbit over Shenlong) , _Kel'dabe_ (Kiel) , and the massive War-Barge _Cult of Deliverance_ (Stolen from the Salamanders and rebuilt at Kiel).

We stood in the bay of _Hawk of Asaheim_ (Stolen from the Space Wolves on Fortuna. I remembered Fredric telling me that Wolf Lord Ragnar himself had flown in it. 

[Team Altair, this is Castra Redemptor, proceed to point two-two-niner-delta, three-six-six-gamma. Distress signal located. Aerial pic-captures downloading to your HUD now.]

[Castra Redemptor, Team Altair proceeding to coordinates.]

_Hawk of Asaheim_ banked hard left, flying towards the distress call.

[_Hawk of Asaheim_, this is Brother-Captain Damien of _Ven'couyt_, reporting sucessful touch-down, two klicks south of target area, engaging Ork resistance.]

I hit the comm-link.

[_Captain Damien, this is Team Altair. Reporting to Drop Zone in six minutes._]


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

even better that u are continueing the story but I wanna know the history of these guys such as how they were formed and the reasons why also whos side are they on chaos?imperium?or under somother influence .......maybe eldar or even tau


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

wait a second could they maybe be with cypher his intentions kind of match theres yay cypher:biggrin:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

This should answer some of your questions.
_______________________________________________________________________

I remembered the ramp dropping. I remember a grenade. 

Blackness.

I see myself, a young initiate of the Black Watch, fighting the Necrons on Thermopylae. 

I see myself years later, as a Lesser Apothecary, fighting to save a faceless marine's life.

I see myself, forming the warband out of the fires of Aegis VII, when the Black Watch had been almost completely destroyed. Cut off and surrounded. Left for dead by the Imperium we sought to protect.

[Attention all Imperial Forces deployed on Aegis VII, this is Segmentum command. We have to withdraw, pending an Exterminatus. To those who cannot reach the drop zones, the Emperor be with you. You are on your own.]

The drop zone came into view as we crested a ridge, watching Thunderhawks and Valkyries take off. The last ship is gone. But the Exterminatus never came.

We fought for seven long years, and finally secured off-planet movement. We built a powerful pirate fleet around _Cult of Deliverance_ and continued to fight against heretics, xenos, and demons. But never, never again would we fight for those who left us to die.

From Aegis we secured a base of Black Watch marines. We found three Tactical units of Imperial Fists on Erebus, left as well.

From Fortuna came a unit of Grey Hunters, and a few Thunderhawks.

And from everywhere, dozens of marines flocked to us. Distraught with the Imperium or harboring secret doubts, they came with the promise of absolution.

You are on your own.

Dvorn shook me hard.

"Brother Apothecary, rise!"

I blink, and wipe my visor clean. Sirius and Dvorn are beside me, while Lorien, Fredric, Jaeknos, Krae, Jinart, Kale, and Marchel are firing into a squad of Slugga Boyz. Kale is firing his Storm Bolter while Jinart has a Pulse rifle from somewhere.

Sirius pulls me upright. "Justinian and Luther didn't make it."

He indicates the pile of broken armor and gore that used to be Marines. I nod.

"They aren't the first, and won't be the last."

Fredric lets Dvorn take his place in the gun line. "Altair," he says, gesturing with an Auspex. "The distress call you received is only a klick north of here. We've intercepted multiple Ork units fleeing the area. I'm not getting anything on the Auspex."

"Is that contraption working?" Sirius said.

"I mean there's nothing on it." Fredric replies.

I take the Auspex from him. Sure enough, there's a black spot around a klick wide over the area. I give Fredric back the machine and draw my bolter.

"Well, then. We'll do this the old-fashioned way." I say calmly. 

Fredric nods. Lorien pulls her power sword from the last Ork. My Marines begin the trek north. If I had known what we would find, and the consequences of it, we would've destroyed the whole city from orbit.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

To those who like the idea of the Reclaimed, or want to know about them, here.

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4108

(Note: The Reclaimed are the motley warband Altair commands)
-Dirge


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## Ordo Xeno Commander (Jan 17, 2007)

yet more great work here Dirge. i should probably re-incarnate my old story from awhile back.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thanks OXC, I like the feedback everybody's been giving me.

-Dirge


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## Taomax1 (Dec 20, 2007)

Nice work. I like stories in the first person.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Thank you. I think I like FP better.

-Dirge


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

UPDATE: In order to facilitate the moving in of idiot friends who cannot move in on their own, I will be unable to post the ending, which is kind of tragic because the ending was so kick-ass it literally exploded my computer while I was writing it. 

First there was this awesome scene where the Space Marines kick Ork ass, then the attacked a temple and had a huge fight sequence with the guards. Then there was one scene where two of the Marines kill a huge floaty gun thing, and finally they confront the final boss, and use the helm of +20 Disintigration to blow it up.

Seriously, though. It was really cool.

-Dirge

P.S. I'm posting the ending Sunday.


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

Yay I love a good finale:biggrin:


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

The Ork was dead.

That much was certain. It's eyes were glazed over and brown blood dripped into rusting patches on the deck. The entire body was speared on a pike, which swayed in the wind, giving an impression of life. 

I shuddered. We were at the doors of a vast chapel, the center of the disturbances. A massive icon was painted in blood on the doors, running down to pool at our feet. Lorien shouldered past me, and threw open the doors. 

The chapel was empty, except for the bodies. Thousands and thousands of bodies, piled up in heaps. Men, women, and children all piled into the corners and spaces of the cathedral. I heard Jinart swallow over the comm. 

At the very back of the chapel, a Heavy Bolter sat on an Imperial-issue tripod, with two Guardsmen dead behind it. I turned away.

The loader coughed.

I whipped around, and grabbed the man, dragging him away from the sight of the bodies. 

"Can you hear me?" I said quietly.

"Maria....Maria..." he said softly. He opened his eyes, and choked as he saw my blackened power armor.

He screamed. 

"Be quiet!"

"Wha..wha...wha"

"Space Marines, Guardsman. Not Chaos."

He relaxed a fraction. 

"They're down below...the dead things that came up from beneath....with the fangs and claws and eyes like volcanos...they're demons! Like the demons from the stories with their eyes on fire and their guns.."

His eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted dead away. I dropped him gently to the flagstones. 

"Lorien. Call Hakon. Tell him I need to borrow the Demonhunter."

The Demonhunter was the nickname for the only Grey Knight to live on after his service to the Emperor. We had contacted him discreetly, over decades, and finally he was pronounced KIA after fighting Ghargatuloth. We picked him up a mile from the demon's dead corpse, and he was effectively the first and only Grey Knight to leave the chapter. After Abbadon The Despoiler's 16th Black Crusade, the Grey Knights had been expanded into almost 4000 Marines strong, holding down the many hotspots across the Imperium.

The Demonhunter's armor was gunmetal grey, with golden inlaid designs. A cape of brown feathers hung from his armor, and Purity Seals draped his frame. His name was Sven, and he was among the only few who could combat demons effectively in our warband.

Sven nodded, hand on the grip of a Nemesis Halberd. "I can sense the demons."

As soon as we stepped out of the stairwell, and into the catacombs, the room turned to hell.

Massive piles of bodies were stacked around, filling pits the size of Land Raiders. Fire erupted from chasms in the earth, as a sickly reddish sky was torn by lightning. Spears and spikes exploded into the sky, dozens of feet tall. Torture racks were strewn about, each with a screaming figure wound into the metalwork, beside putrifying corpses bound with thorn-rope and hung from twisted trees. Even from our vantage point, the place was vast, stretching to a distant horizon. 

Sven simply bowed his head.

"I am the point of His spear, I am the tip of His sword, I am the edge of his Blade, he is my armor as I am His Zeal.."

Mocking laughter echoed around us. 

"Foolish sons of the corpse-god, you think you can prevail over the Thrice-Blessed of Chaos itself?"

A huge figure reared out of the smog, appearing behind an altar. It's armor was ancient, blackened with gunfire and dirt. 

"I require six more sacrifices to claim this world for Chaos. Tell me, false brothers, where might I find such persons?"

The Chaos sorceror cackled again, and charged.

Sven was first to react, swinging the Halberd around to face the Chaos marine. The weapon glanced off the sorceror's armor, and the traitor stabbed Sven with a writhing black blade. Blood erupted from Sven's mouth, and he fell backwards. A second stroke cleaved Jaeknos' legs out from under him, sending him to the ground. Fredric managed to parry two strokes before a third left a gaping wound in his side. A fourth sliced his chest open and he tumbled to the ground. Sirius' power sword stabbed through the sorceror's thigh. The Chaos Marine punched the young marine, cracking his helmet visor and sending his to his knees. The traitor brought his knee up, cracking Sirius' armor and crushing his throat. Lorien parried a massive stoke, and shot the sorceror point-blank with her plasma pistol. The sorceror screeched. A second shot burned through his chest. The Chaos marine drew back his sword, and stabbed Lorien through her stomach. She screamed in pain as the Demon Weapon leeched her blood out. 

Finally he strode up to me, his weapon still smoking. Kale and Jinart rushed down the stairs, followed by Thumiel's and Hakon's marines. 

"Good...more deadmorsels for His furnace."

The sorceror took and lunging step, and I threw up my Thunder Hammer. Screaming warp-forged steel met ancient metals forgotten by man in a shower of sparks. I smashed the traitor's helmet with a single stroke, stunning him. We fought for minutes, it felt like. Parry, thrust, block, swing. I realized I would never beat him. We were equally matched in nearly every regard. With a last effort, I stepped inside his attack, taking a hellblade straight through my chest. I felt warm blood stream down my face and into my armor. With my last reflex, I smashed the heretic's helmet into a thousand fragments, exploding his head into gory fragments and black ooze. 

His titanic body hit the floor with a dull clang, and the room shifted, becoming the stone-and-wood basement of the cathedral. Darkness began to seep into my vision. Hakon caught my body as I tumbled to the floor.

"Altair!"

I opened my eyes, Hakon had taken off my helmet. 

"Hakon...command falls to Gregory. Give Kale and his soldiers a full Marineship, and induct them into the company. The Reclaimed will report back to Kytharia......You are on yoru own."

"You are on your own..." he echoed. I felt my life slip away as I fell into oblivion.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

EPILOGUE

Kytharia, Ultima Segmentum, Aprox. Six months after Threshold

I stepped lightly into Lorien's room, my armor shining from a cleaning in Kytharia's forges. My chest still felt tight around the scar where I had been wounded. The medicae had told me that it would take time to heal from a Hellblade.

Lorien was propped up on a hospital bed, reading a data-slate. Her wound had been much worse than mine, and she still wore a length of bandages under a simple cloth shirt. Her armor shone like a beacon next to her bed. 

Kale and Jinart sat on a small couch, Jinart cradling a small bundle. I saw Kale smile, and he nudged Jinart, who tilted the bundle so I could see. 

"Venku." said Kale simply, stroking the young Kytharin's head. 

"A good name." I replied. _Venku_ was a word in Kytharin that meant "Future", I recalled. Sirius was in the other chair with Dvorn, a large scar running down his face. Sven was dead, we had sent him to Titan with an Inquisitor we had contacts with to be buried with his brothers. Fredric was still in the ICU of the medicae, and we were unable to see him. The Hospitaller told us he would be fine.

_Aay'han_ was still in orbit, and the last of the Reclaimed had been evacuated from Threshold just as the Imperials entered the Cathedral and discovered the Sorceror. I had taken what was left of his helmet and placed it next to Larken's other trophies in the Hall of Remembrance. Arbalan had come and seen me during my stay, his footfalls angering the Hospitallers so much we were forced to meet outside the grounds. 

Lorien stood up, placing her hand on Jinart's shoulder when she winced at the pain.

"So, where next, boss?"

I realized all the marines, and Kale and Jinart, where looking at me.

I cleared my throat. "Well..."


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

That was one of the best fluff storys Ive read in ages better than a lot of the GW stuff....:biggrin::biggrin: Is there a chance of any more? So this is set in the future mmmm I wonder whats happened to the other races...


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## carmichael666 (Jan 22, 2008)

Exellent truly exellent


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## Culler (Dec 27, 2007)

k: Great stuff. Less confusing than the emperor protects, but they're both good. Glad carmichael bumped it.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Well, the Emperor protects is also dealing with all sorts of characters.

-Dirge


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## Vitaeus (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm guessing that you've played Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, because of the Blood Raven, Mikaelus. Only an A's difference with the Ecclesiarch from the game's campaign.
Over all, a _very_ good read. Nice to see apothecaries taking lead every once and a while. ^^


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## angels of fire (Dec 4, 2007)

Just re-read this because I forgot how brilliant it was. The start of an epic saga.


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