# Phatom Legion



## Alias2003 (Feb 7, 2008)

I will continue this story as long as I get some positive feedback!

Alias


P.S. Proofread and edited this evening for the most part. Should be a lot more enjoyable now! Please leave feedback!



Lt. Gladen clutched his cloak around himself, as he looked out into the night. There was a chill in the air, and the cloak offered little protection.

"Private Lancid! Since you seem unable to keep your eyes open, I think you should rip out a good hundred pushups to get your blood flowing!" yelled Sgt. Rovis.

Smiling to himself, Lt. Gladen continued to make his rounds of the platoon. During a wartime situation, the guard was always doubled and tonight was no exception. The forces of chaos had already wrought terrible havok on the unprepared Imperial armies, and the lieutenant wouldn't be letting that happen to his regiment...

"Sir, the sentries are in position, there's not an inch of that treeline we don't have an eye on," stated Sgt. Rovis as he approached. A dependable NCO, Sgt. Rovis was not one to let laxity seep into his platoon as it had affected so many other guard units.

"Very well, Sgt., keep me updated," replied Gladen.

After a year of bloody stalemates, the imperial armies were finally making some headway into recapturing lost worlds, and Theodius IV was one of these worlds. Gladen's platoon was one of many supporting the imperial armies in the role of scouting and recon.

Sighing to himsel, Lt. Gladen headed for his sleeping unit. A good night of sleep was at a premium these days, and with the war finally on the offensive, an attack was unlikely. Tonight, he would get some rest.

A low buzzing from the men, brought him out of his moment of reverie.

"Sir, I lost contact with Bivens and Tyco, and their post is vacant. I thought the two bastards might be out sneaking fire-grog, but no one else has seen them," said Sgt. Rovis.

"Well go find them, now!," said Gladen. As the words left his mouth, the woods around them erupted in gunfire. The heads of two infantrymen exploded, splattering Gladen with blood and brain matter. They all began to fire blindly into the treeline. 

As the heavy weapons team was attempting to bring the heavy bolter to bear on the woodline, a wave of gunfire tore through them. Two of them were literally torn apart, and the third took one in the gut. As the blood pooled around him, the surviving gunner attempted to reach for his sidearm, another wave of shots effectively removed his head.

Lt. Gladen recognized the sound of the bolters, and by the precision, he summized they weren't facing typical chaos regulars. His battlefield experience up to this point hadn't prepared him for a situation of this caliber, and fear began to take hold.

"Stand your ground! Any man who runs, I will kill myself!" yelled Sgt. Rovis as charged to the front. A sudden roaring crescendo of bolter fire erupted for the woods and shredded him before Gladen's eyes. The heavy rounds detonated inside his body, and Gladen was left staring at a blood stain that had once been the sargeant.

The witnessing of his comrade's brutal death snapped Gladen's mind into focus. "Return Fire! Bravo and Delta teams move to a perimeter position to provide covering fire!" he roared. He immediately saw that his orders were futile, as bolter fire erupted from the opposite side of the woods, and tall figures emerged through the inferno.

"Marines," whispered Gladen. Just not marines though, Chaos Space Marines. The most zealous and devoted followers of the dark gods. He had never seen these marines before, but he had seen the awful wake of devastation they so often left behind them. Stories of their atrocities were infamous.

The marines were quickly among the guardsmen, and the carnage was brutal. The chainswords of Chaos carved through the imperial ranks with ease. The blood began to pool so much that bodies would splash as they hit the ground. Howls of bloodlust rang amidst the gunfire. 

Knowing that he stood no chance against them, Gladen attempted to run, but his path was blocked by a lone warrior. The towering figure stood a good two feet higher than the Lieutenant. His dark blue armor glistened with the blood of Gladen's fallen comrades. The warrior's helm was shaped to resemble a sinisterly smiling face. He grasped a massive chain-axe, which was humming menacingly. 

Once again, Gladen felt the fear take him, and he was frozen in place as the Chaos marine raised his weapon. A young corporal rushed forward out of nowhere, and lunged at the dark warrior. With everything he had left the corporal swung a mighty blow with his combat blade. The blade glanced off the marine's armor, and he countered by swiftly cutting the corporal in half. A cruel laugh resonated from within the smiling helm.

The laugh cut through Gladen's fear, and he raised his own chainsword. "Die chaos filth!" he yelled, and swung at the marine. Blocking the sword with his forearm, the chaos marine backhanded Gladen, breaking his jaw. He hit the ground hard, and felt his right eye swell, and close up. Laying there amidst the gore, he noticed the sound of gunfire had subsided....there was no one left to shoot.

A shadow passed over him, as the Chaos marine stared down at his prey. He slowly raised his axe, Gladen tried to crawl away, knowing he wouldn't get far. The chaos marine was just toying with him and there was no possible way he could escape. It was time to make peace with himself, and accept death.

As the axe began to fall, a single shot rang out, and the Chaos warrior's head disappeared. His massive body slumped to ground. That shot was followed by many more as the Chaos marines were felled one by one. 

"Return Fire! Kill Them! Kill Them!" bellowed a Chaos champion.

"We can't see them! There's no movement! Not a single muzzle flash!" cried another marine.

"Shoot everything! Find them and fucking kill them!" screamed the Champion.

Again the shots rang out. They dark warriors began firing blindly into the woods. Trees were ripped and torn in half by the Chaos fire, yet no targets could be found. Dark figures would appear for barely a second, and the be gone just as fast. 

"Dear emperor," whispered Gladen is awe, as he watched the absolute slaughter of the chaos marines.

Suddenly it was all over, and only one marine remained. It was the Chaos Champion.

"Come out cowards! I will bathe in your blood!" roared the enraged chaos marine. He frantically scanned the woods, looking for any movement, soon resorting to wildly firing in all directions.

Seemingly from nowhere, there was a dark figure standing behind the Chaos Marine Sensing the sudden presence the chaos marine attempted to bring his sword around to the left, but the other individual was astonishingly quick. In an instant, the unknown figure was facing the marine.

"Bad mistake," whispered the other figure in a voice almost inaudible to Gladen, as he drove a knife into the chaos marine's temple. As the marine fell to the ground, the figure gave a glance towards Gladen.

Gladen felt a sense of forboding well up within him, and he quickly glanced at the carnage around him. The mass of imperial and chaos corpses lay around him in a pool of blood and gore. He had looked away for barely a few seconds, but when his gaze turned back, the dark figure had vanished. 

"Shit" mumbled Gladen as he thought how he would ever explain this to his superiors.


----------



## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

Nice one, Alias. Good action, well written, very good


----------



## sea dragons (Jan 14, 2008)

sweet as man can't wait for the next part. well done


----------

