Well, this is the month of December, snow, hot chocolate, more snow, and it all bites. To people that have been waiting, I'm sorry, never been good with keeping schedules, ever since I was a little kid, was always late with homework, or forgot to do it, or just both. >///> Anyways, I thought, you know what, I've been bugged by my good friend Raven to post the rest of his chapters, and me, I'm still working on Ch. 4... Don't judge me, I have a horrible memory and creative drive. >.<" So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Nothing, except we should be celebrating Halloween again, but dressed up all better..ish. And hand out random presents instead of candy, kids would be stoked for that one, I can tell ya that. But, I will give you chapters three and four plus something a little extra, all raw, without me going over that atrocious spelling...I give you... Death of a Guardsmen! Enjoy, and I should come out with the fourth chapter soon...I think.
Chapter III
Death of a Guardsmen
Larnegin wondered
what poor souls were fighting in the next trench section. Looking out he
felt the mud and blood on him drying as he saw the great exchanges of
fire. It was madness out there, even as the imperials were slowly forced
back they took and gave a heavy toll. Looking around the entire 7th
company of the Vernesta Marines waited patiently. In five minutes the
rest of the men had formed up taking the trench. But they couldn't stay
here, when the mutants realized they were breached they will both bomb
the section and send in reinforcements.
Caref yelled for Larnegin, turning on his heels
more smartly then he would have liked himself to do he walked up with
his head lower. “Yes sarge?” He said as he drew close. Jard was nearby
helping a corpsmen patch up a wounded man and then saw them off as they
carried about a dozen men back, hiding in no man's land. Larnegin almost
wished he was injured, but fate was not so kind. Caref now spoke after
checking his map, “Larnegin, listen. You know what were after right?”
Larnegin nodded. He payed attention despite his sleep drained brain
during the short briefing.
Caref nodded, “The AA cannons are
just about five miles past their lines, out of our range of our main
guns. We can't use any orbital fire or even our longer ranged arty
because of the bunkers they hold the guns in.” Larnegin nodded, knowing
why they hadn't just blasted the guns already. They had tube charges and
D9 explosive putty. With those they could blow the guns and get out
alive for the most part.
Jard joined the pair and smiling
said, “Correct. Unfortunately though we will be hard pressed to get this
many men in that far without getting seen.” Larnegin nodded, “Too bad
we don't have some guys like the Tanith or maybe a scout regiment like
the Catachen 945th. Caref nodded, “Too bad indeed. But we make do.
Larnegin, get me at least 10 shotguns, Jard mind getting the scouts
together as a vanguard?” Jard smiled, “My pleasure.” Larnegin stood at
attention and saluted, “Yes sir.” Setting off he called up Janeson and
another Vernestan named Larky, “Hey guys. I'm seconding you to help me
find some shotguns.”
Larky was a Ratling. A halfling. A
midget. He held his standard sniper pattarn lasgun, wearing a smaller
version of the standard Vernestan battle dress, and he was a notorious
crook and gambler. But he always returned what he stole. Usually. He was
also a black market weapon dealer and he had a pack on his back
carrying “Supplies”. Larky looked up and
frowned, “Awww no! No, no, no, no, no, no. Not my shotguns!” Larnegin
crossed his arms and frowned himself, “Unless you can get about ten more
from the troops around and give them a lasgun I'm afraid so.” Larky
grumbled and sighing heavily made up his mind, “Fine, but you better
reimburse me when this is all over. I better get every last one back!”
Larnegin nodded, extending his hand he said to the Ratling smiling,
“Deal.” Taking the handshake they had a deal. With that bit of business
done Janeson began to help find some shotguns as well, while Larky went
through his stash pulling out a pair of cut down shotguns from his bag
of merchandise.
The vanguard, now equipped with shotguns,
began to creep forward from the mutant front. Each wore a camo cloak and
skillfully moved forward unnoticed. Jard had elected to go with the
vanguard, believing it was fitting that he should lead from the front in
case it all went sideways. Larnegin was just happy Jard didn't
“Volunteer” himself into that mess. Shaking his head Larngein began to
move out along with his squad. They couldn't stay out any longer, they
had to move on now.
Larngein and his squad were one of the
teams leading the main advance, they would be one of the first to hit
any resistance and so they had to be on their upper most guard. Everyone
was silent as they crept forward silently and eliminated any mutant
patrols or squads they encountered with their knives. The battle still
raged everywhere, no where was safe, even where they tread right now,
for all they would know they could get incinerated as a artillery
officer accidentally fired at the wrong spot in the line. That would be a
hell of a way to die.
After about a hour of moving forward
the combat stopped, falling back the imperials began to withdraw back to
their own lines. Larnegin once again felt himself wishing to go with
them. But this was how a Guardsmen died. He died in his duty for the
emperor of Mankind, sitting atop the golden throne on holy Terra.
Suddenly they heard fire ahead. Then their micro beads pipped up, it was
Jard. “Sergeant, we have encountered heavy resistance, likely moving to
reinforce the line we punched through. Me and the scouts will lead them
away-” his bead came up with loud ka chunks as shotguns blasted, “Were
going for a secondary position, artillery guns 972. That should lead
them away from you.” Caref nodded and ordered all squads to double time
it and be careful. They were running out of time.
Larnegin
kept in line and prayed a silent prayer to Jard and the men that they
live and succeed. And even more that they live and succeed. Looking back
to his friends smiling face he took heart and moved forward diligently.
The trenches had mutant dead lining the floor, throats slit and heads
smashed. Larky was keeping pace gibbering annoyed. Janeson smiled and
hit the little man over the head softly, “Shhhsss, were hunting.” He
hissed with a wry smile and a happy eye.
After about 20 more
minutes they saw the guns up close and knew they were drawing close to
their target. The guns were massive and searching the sky. Big, heavy,
and oppressive they're were horrible sigils, runes, and body parts
slathered generously all over the guns. They had been hearing renewed
shooting from Jard's forces fighting several miles west, but Larnegin
didn't hear the new whistle in the bullets until he saw the leading
guardsmen buckle forward. “Take cover!” Instinctively they all did as
told, one man dragging the limp form of the point man in cover.
Larnegin
risked look forward and saw a stubber team of mutants. All ready he saw
mutants forming up and getting ready to charge them. “Grenadiers to
front!” Caref said over the clanking and wet impacts of the stubber and
its bullets. The two grenade launchers in the squad went to the front
and readied to fire. Then an explosion at the stubber team sent them all
sprawling even so far away. What was left was a smoking crater of
ruined meat, mud, and steam.
It encompassed the whole bunker
the mutants had been using, blowing out from the inside. It was a
confusing sight, but no time to linger on such thoughts of luck or fate
as mutants were streaming from the other trenches, some even going so
far in blood lust going up about over the trench line. Firing the
grenade launchers together killed a dozen on all sides. Suddenly the vox
links became mounting with attack reports. Caref yelled out, “Move
forward! To the AA guns now! We need to get to them before were
overrun.”
Everyone knew that Caref's words were prophetic as
they began to charge forward narrowly evading the crush of CQC with the
mutants. Their flame trooper Lunie, also known as “Lunatic”, poured fire
forward smiling widely as he put them all to the torch. Wretched
screaming went up and the mutants relented a bit, just enough for them
to move forward even more. They were at the bunker entrance for the AA
guns. Just in sight. So close.
“Larn! Blast the door! Blast
them Larn!” Larnegin snapped out of it. Shaking his head he took out a
pound of D9 putty and placed it on the door's hinges and locks. Stepping
back lasfire filled his ears as well as the screams of mutants and man.
Hitting the detonator the giant metal door had its hinges and locks
blown off. Unfortunately the door was still standing upright, and quite
comically. The doors wide hinges were scrap and blown apart, as well as
the door. Larnegin laughed despite himself, his mind somehow finding it
so Emperor damned hilarious.
Running up to the two ton door he
smiled and pushed heavily, soon Janeson, Larky, and a trooper names
Carrinton joined in. Laughing for no reason Larnegin felt a loose grasp
on his mind like some cent was making him high. The others gave him a
strange look and he just shrugged. With the combined assistance of the
other troopers they pushed the door forward and it clanged down heavily.
Rushing forward with weapons in hands trooper Carrington dropped dead
as round whipped through him and his greatcoat seconds after he rushed
through.
Immediately Larky jumped back while Janeson and
Larnegin went opposite directions and found cover on the wall or some
wooden boxes. The gunfire inside was deafening. The walls were
rockcreate, the floor thankfully devoid of dirt. Larnegin clutched his
lasrifle and got to a sitting crouch. The mutants didn't have anything
heavy but some crude auto guns but they were making a show with. Larky's
long las fired and saw a mutant explode in a fountain of gore and
viscera. Janeson fired his lasrifle over the lip of is little box in a
term affectionately known as blind firing. It did its job in sending the
mutants to cover.
Larnegin took the advantage. Jumping over
the wooden box he was using as cover, he had his bayonet attached to his
rifle. Finding a pair of mutants he smiled wide as he cut them down
with a auto blast of laser fire. A crack, a scrap of dirt, the sound of
air rushing around raising his lasrifle. The fighting turned into a
tunnel visioned series of pictures and far away sounds. Turning his
weapon sharply he turned it on its side blade level with the corrupted
flesh. The mutant saw itself disemboweled by his bayonet's sharp edge.
Another got up to rise but had a new black mark on its malformed
corrupted head for its trouble of rising, the wound instantly
cauterizing with the superhot blast of energy going through its head.
The
firing stopped, both inside and outside. The yells continued and the
sound of whistling arty was loud outside. At least half a dozen squads
began to flood in, firing resumed outside as the rearguard engaged
again. The inner workings door was not sealed and already another breach
squad leveled in and began to ready themselves to breach to the inner
workings of the Bunker, likely the main chamber. Larngein smiled at his
friend once more and together they smiled.
Chapter IV
Death of a Guardsmen
“FOR
VERNESTA!” The whole of the force who pushed in screamed out as they
charged into the ill defended base. The few corrupt tech adepts working
the triple A were cut down, mutated, blasphemous looking mechanical
creatures, tendrils and horns growing from the bodies, the mutants
didn't last long as bayonets speared out and killed and killed. Soon
many were covered in blood, gore, and other unthinkable things they
would rather not think about.
Larnegin kept pace, with his
rifle in hand he fired precision shots and destroyed any opposing force.
Soon in less then half a hour the whole facility was cleared. It was
not to big, the only defenses seeming to be the turrets outside.
Sergeant Caref ordered the turrets occupied and defenses strengthened.
The problem here would be to know how to sabotage the guns effectively.
Larky began to work with Lunie to see how to destroy the ammo carriage.
Janeson went down with his squad to rig the ammo to blow. And Junersan's
squad was to start rigging firing pieces to blow and see what else they
could do.
The combat from Commissar Jard's diversion continue for another hour then they saw they were pushed back and heard confirmation
from him. Caref sighed, “Were on our own now.” He said into the vox for
all. “Lets do this job then get the hell out of here.” They remained
untouched for a further 10 minutes. Then they came, and they came with
everything they had.
“Hold the line men!” Sergeant Huolder
yelled at his lungs top capacity as he fired down into the mutant hordes
coming. “Janeson! How much longer?” Caref spoke in his micro bead,
“Longer, we keep finding new rooms and we have to clear-” Caref snapped,
“Just hurry! We can't hold out for long, were going to run out of ammo.
Rig what you can.” He closed the link. “Larky! Status-” He was cut off
himself as a loud internal explosion sounded, “Done sir. We used some of
the ammo stores to blow the carriage. Its scrap now!” Larky was
coughing out as he and Lunie almost smoked themselves.
Then
the mutants broke in. The door the Marines had to blow to get in had
been boarded up with crates, bodies, metal sheets, anything really. The
mutants breaking through were annihilated, evaporated waist up from the
fire incoming from the guardsmen guarding the door. Larnegin was manning
a heavy stubber on the wall. Then the hordes of mutants gave way to
something terrible. A Lemen Russ MBT. It was made from the local forges,
on it foul symbols and creeds of chaos were painted in filth, shit, and
blood. A 8 pointed star sat on the front armor plate of the tank The
cannon opened up and Larnegin jumped back just in time to see the gun he
just inhabited blown to bits. Several more explosions came from the
main guns as firing pieces were blown apart, joints welded shut, pins
destroyed, and barrels warped best as they could. It was not enough. It
would never be enough. They would die here as fucking sacrificial lambs,
martyrs. “No. Not like this.” He said aloud, drowned out by the din of
battle.
The others around him turned to him as he ran down
the hall way. He was not trying to run from duty, but find a way to
escape for them all before they were killed. The mutants broke in a
second door. They were going to be overrun soon. “Sir, we have all the
chambers ready to blow. It will be one big bang. It will destroy the
whole area!” Janeson's voice piped up. Larnegin knew that they had won,
but this was now a question of escape. “Roger. Get up here and help us.
Calling in air support.” Caref's voice came over the vox.
Larnegin
got to the end of the hall and the tank was now met with two more of
its evil brethren. They all fired and the ferrocreate structure of the
AA guns started to splinter. “Sarge! Were not going to last much
longer!” Larnegin shouted. A tank exploded out wards as several rockets
hit its side. Suddenly hope had arrived. Vendetta gunships. The ships
were a standard constructed template of the valkyries. But these were
sleeker versions, twin turbines, nose like that of a old military
chopper with double cockpits. The nose gun was a heavy bolter. Its wing
tips holding rocket pods, its wings also holding many more weapons,
lascannons, and a hurricane bolter turret on the lead ship.
The wave of ammunition and laser beams annihilated the tanks in
formation. The bolters from the strafing run killed hundreds of the
mutants. But there were still hundreds more mutants then they had ammo
for. A third hole blew in, and even more mutants poured in. This was it.
They were going to die even with the air support. Then the unexpected
happened. A daemon host appeared.
He fell in the middle of the
AA complex, a burning comet from space. The whole complex shook hadn't
he mutant horrors outside seemed quiet and they looked on. Suddenly, on
the entire planet he knew, all fighting had ceased. Looking at the
thing, he clutched his gun tight to his chest in fear, knuckles white in
grip. His breathing stopped as he looked upon its form.
Its
head was the most iconic visage. Looking upon the helmet first he had a
old looking, well kept helmet. It had a spike on the top, like some old
Germanic soldier from a war on old Earth not to different from the kind
they were fighting now. The spiked helmet looked technologically
advanced but corrupt looking almost. Next its face, it had innumerable
scars and wounds, it was a sickly green tinge, with sores and pus
spewing from under his chin strap, but his eyes were crystal blue, a sad
blue of the ocean, a clean place.
On his shoulders he held
two giant Vox speakers, almost grafted into his skin it seemed. They
were rusty and old but they obviously worked well. His clothes were old,
grubby, dirty, and sick with disease. On his chest however was
emblazoned in foreign letters, “DONOVAN”. The thing smiled grimly and
standing from its kneeling stance. He wore a heavy black sickly looking
duster over his armor that had its odd looking letters. His pants were
standard army fatigues, and boots were polished with filth that was
exposed to be boot polish it seemed.
It looked on to the
frozen scene around him and he raise a large caliber pistol and fired at
a mutant sending its form to pink black and green pus filled mist.
Then the speakers started to blare with a song that restarted the war
across the world with a new fervor. The song dirged out with a heavy
beat, beaitn against his mind, then the lyrics,“I like the way
you talk, I love the way its loud.” “No one understand the fuck
I am about!” It kept going out. The host yelled out the lyrics himself
enjoying the words as he fired his pistol at any who approached him,
mutant or guardsman. He walked out of the crater he had formed and
Larnegin knew with certainty he was after him.
The song
flowed out and shook the entire building, dust came down from the
blasphemous walls. Larnegin tried to run truly now. The men kept
fighting, he ran past them all. The mutants scaled the walls, climbing
through a fire port in front of him Larnegin yelled out and cut the
mutant's throat and chopped off a tentacle then a arm. It stalled him
enough for the thing behind him to get up the stairs. The music flowed
out more loudly, he helped the guardsmen almost. The song in low gothic
inspired them in a way to fight harder. But it was not going to be
enough to survive. Already the mutants had thousands dead outside the
walls, and more were coming, but they were going to die in droves, they
maybe weaken the line to get them. He tried to run but then a piece of
masonry in-front of him was blown apart by a tank outside. Caref was
now yelling for arty support, the men then began to sing along with the
song and in a great chant it seemed they took to heart and repeated it
out in resistance.
Donovan as Larnegin was now going to call
the daemon walked up to him, “Larn!” Janeson's voice was heard over the
yells and he fired at the thing infront of him. Donovan didn't even
flinch from the wound form the lasers. Larnegin aimed his rifle at the
thing but he could not pull the trigger, “So, mister important. Time for
you to meet your fate.” Explosions rocked the whole complex. The
vendetta gunships flew away and artillery pounded away at the base..
Masonry rocked, banners fell, and a bright blue milky orb was raised by
Donovan. All of the essence of those who died around was absorbed
willingly into the orb. “So mister Larnegin. You shall join me in a
quest the galaxy has to offer. No excuses.” Larnegin was about to scream
to him to go to hell, but then the explosives from below were
detonated, and the entire 10th company, of the 10th Vernestan Marines
died under the guns of the Basilisks. And all the while Donovan
collected their souls for a greater purpose.
Death of a Guardsmen
Epilogue
Larnegin awakened. His
body sore, his skin felt like it was grown and muscles atrophied from
unused. Just slightly, like his body had been grown from a vat or
something like that. Groaning he felt tired, wondering where he was he
was blinded by white light. Maybe hew as in a medicae temple or even a
forward post in the trenches. Last thing he remembered was, a horror
before him, and then the whole building exploding form beneath. Looking
up he was in a chair. His clothes replaced by white pants, and a white
shirt, hand woven, warm, comfortable, big.
This was strange.
Looking around the room it was all white, the table in front of him
white as well. There were no visible windows or doors. He felt his head
and was clean shaven and his hair cut to his specifications. His PRIVATE
specifications. He also had the feeling of being well fed and taken
care of. And no scars on him at all besides his old combat ones.
Looking
in confusion suddenly a door formed at the other end of the table. It
opened from a unseen crack. Opening a woman, old, but beautiful, with a
plaid skirt, lab coat, and a pair of glasses sat down with a heavy file
at the other end of the table. She began to read. After about ten
minutes Larnegin spoke up, “Um, whe- where am I?” He looked at her
feeling her presence was a strong one, something that had lived long and
hard.
After another minute she wrote something down on a
notepad with a pen and looking up removed her spectacles. “Larnegin
Parenza, Corporal, newly promoted not even two hours before your death
on the planet-” She looked down on her notes, “Sigma Seven Fourteen.
Recovered by Agent Donovan all your company's men. Even agent Jard it
seems. Your greatest achievement was the destruction of triple A
platform charlie on the planet, with the death of your company you saved
thousands of lives and opened the way for Imperial control and survival
in the sector.”
She smiled at Larnegin, “Your a very good
soldier. Smart too.” Larnegin was speechless. Looking at her he found
his voice, “De- death?” He asked. She nodded and smiled grimly,
“Yes..... You see, men and woman, human and Xenos, do not go to their
gods. No. We collect their souls.” Larnegin was speechless. “This can't
be-” Suddenly Jard entered behind from the doorway, in full resplendent
regalia. But he had the face and body of a daemon, like that one before.
Larnegin tried to stand but was to weak, “Larn, glad you awoke.” He
smiled, teeth razor sharp and his tongue forked. The medal of a
Commissar was proudly displayed with no regret. It was untarnished,
unmutated, pure and clean as the soul of any other commissar.
“But.....”
Jard nodded, “I know, surprising. You see I was taken a long time ago,
before even your great, great grandfather was born. I died in the battle
of Epsilon Eridani. But that was long ago, now it is time for you to be
told of the truth. All of it.......”