Belly of the Beast
Space; the void between planets, the nothing. This was the playground of beings that had no right to be there. Beings that, in their infancy and arrogance, looked up and said 'that is where we need to be, that is our destiny.' The first pioneers strapped themselves into machines similar to missiles powered by more flammable liquid then was reasonably safe and punched their way towards the heavens. As time past they made bigger and better machines, ships that speared out into the darkness and carried them beyond the small world they called home.
But they were not satisfied.
Instead of exploration being the be all and end all they desired to conquer.
The emperor of all mankind created his children, genetic copies of all the best parts of man, the primarchs, and sent them ahead to claim planets and peoples in his name. Each of them given men to command, each of them a man made better through science and surgery until they had become more than men; as close to a god as was possible.
And all went his way for a time.
Until.
One of his sons, Horus...his most trusted son, consumed by power, struck a killing blow confining the great emperor to a half-life. Now, nothing more than the mummified remains of what he once was, he sits in his great throne on that parent world; Terra.
His sons are all gone but his people and subject live on, billions upon billions on countless worlds in countless systems.
And what of the soldiers. Those supermen clad in armour who fought for him and him alone...they still endure. They fight on with the same zealous pride and enduring belief in the emperor.
Now...
The inside of the long metallic tube screamed sparse. It was designed to be functional not aesthetically pleasing. The only concession to comfort lay in the installation of the two rows of identical seats that had been added. The lighting was muted to such a degree that it seemed almost unnecessary. This bothered the occupants not in the slightest. Enhanced senses such as eyesight and hearing were further heightened by the helmets they wore.
Giants sat in the chairs, each taller and broader than a man.
Clad in an almost impenetrable suit of ceramite and integrated machinery each of them was the equal of a squad of normal soldiers.
They packed enough personal fire power to level a building (some carrying more) and could move with the grace of an athelete. Considering they each weighed a couple of tonnes apiece and had the ability to charge through a wall without much trouble, this tended to shock a lot of races that met them face to face. That shock was usually the first and last thing that went through their minds. That and a mass reactive shell of course.
The tube vibrated violently causing the men to lurch against their restraints. Not a single occupant voiced anger or concern for the motion; what would happen was to happen...it was His will. It carried on with its pre-determined course following the commands it had been given before it had been launched. Large thrusters on the outside adjusted its trajectory and it corrected once more.
A green light lit up a small corner of the interior and the giants each reached an arm across their chests, the sound of muttered prayers evident in the silence though muffled through twenty helmets.
One of the giants lifted its harness and stood, the heavy, magnetic boots planting him solidly on the metallic inner floor surface. He reached into the racks above where he had been seated and retrieved a pistol that fit snugly in his fist. The barrel was large, the explosive rounds it carried able to blow holes clean through the heaviest of armour. He checked the action of the weapon giving a quiet prayer to the machine spirit that resided within. He pulled a magazine from a pouch on his belt and slammed it into the housing just ahead of the trigger making sure it was firmly locked into place. The weapon cycled through a pre-determined drill and loaded the first round of many. Trusting the gun was ready he mag-locked it to his thigh. He reached back into the space and pulled a device that had inspired fear in countless enemies. The thing fitted in his gloved hand and locked into place. With a flick of his fingers the claws that stuck out from his fist exploded into blue electric light, pure kinetic energy coursing over and around them. He flexed his fingers once more and they went out, the light still lingering in his vision.
He looked up and slowly gazed around the compartment. The dark blue armour of the men under his command seeming almost black in the confines of the tube.
"We hit in five...the emperor protects!"
Nine heads turned his way and in one voice said...
"FOR THE EMPEROR!"
The giant braced his arms in holds on the side of the tube and locked his knees. This was the part of every deployment he knew would spell success or failure.
The minutes ticked by slowly but surely. He lowered his head at the last second, his voice barely a whisper..."The emperor protects all."
The engines fired and slowed the tube they were in considerably but they still hit with the force of a train. All was motion and chaos for a minute after the initial impact, then...stillness.
Restraints were removed and weapons grabbed and checked; the sound of racks being pulled and rounds chambered in the suddenly silent confines. There came the sound of explosive bolts being blown from the outside and the doors started to open.
It had started.
AN. To all of you that play and live warhammer, I apologise deeply. This is my first 40K fan-fic (and it probably shows all too well.) So please flame away if you want to, I would love to know how I did.