Smoke filled the sky, Kegen's Killers always fought in thick black smog. An ominous orange glow, tinted purple at its edges, could be seen spreading over the horizon north to east.
Bellow the hellish sky, two nearly identical armies slaughtered one another, one brandishing two headed eagles any opportunities it got, the other setting these idols on fire and nailing body parts at the first chance.
The Imperial Guards, the eagle warriors, were deeply entrenched, crawling around muddy trenches and inside thick concrete bunkers, some of the trenches even had latrines, though refuses from lesser equipped sections usually traveled downhill, flooding bunkers and trenches alike no matter what.
On the other side, Kegen's Killers used light assault vehicles, most repurposed civilian transports with all superfluous parts torn off and guns mounted all over, to attack from perfectly supplied and fortified locations all over the battlefield. Any attempts from the guards to push forward was meant with a crushing assault on whichever weak spot the push had opened.
Sergeant Erina Schofield paddled in the vile sludge, unfazed by zipping stubber and autogun fire that zipped by. Her firebase got devolved into such a weak spot, apparently, and the Colonel had just asked for her by name, meaning he had need for a talented sniper.
She entered the command bunker, saluting the Kriegans in faction through a subtle twist of her fingers. Herself from a desolate world, she held a lot of respect for Krieg's Death Korps.
The Colonel, his gas mask on, welcomed her with a sharp nod. "Well met, Sergeant!" He spoke; his accent thicker now under fire than it had been during calmer times. "I have a delicate task for you…"
"At your service, sir!" She barked, holding the long-las in her hands parade-style.
Pushing a few buttons on a broken servo-skull, the Colonel resumed speaking, his tone calm despite the thickness of his accent, "Cowards and traitors run amok, Sergeant," the skull sparked and the flickering shape of a Cadian officer appeared, an grizzled veteran, slouched under too many years of warfare, "General Argo Vincarius, presiding over the southern front, has been doing surprisingly well thus far… I believe you had dealings with him over the last months, am I right?"
She studied the image a few moments before shaking her head, "No, sir, I do not seem to recall operating under his command…"
The Colonel simply shrugged, "Another misinformation his aides fed me, then…" He pulled a piece of aged parchment from under the desk, seemingly from the floor, and swiftly crossed the inventory report scribbled across its face to pen in a formal assassination order, "Evidence now shows the General and his men are in league with Kegen's Killers, working from the inside to undermine our defences… You will take him out, along with his top lieutenants. Questions?"
Not much ever got through to the hardened Sniper, but this, that a guard general would go and betray the emperor after decades of faithful service, it seemed surreal, but between a Cadian and a Kriegan, the Cadian seemed more likely to be corrupted by Chaos, so she took the Colonel's orders and left the bunker without a word.
Outside, devastation surrounded the trenches, Krieg's warriors somehow holding back the heavily armed and armored Chaos worshipers, though at a heavy cost.
Ten meters ahead, a cluster of guardsmen was reduced to scorched bones either due to the impact or malfunction of plasma-based weaponry, a green glare filling the night for a blinking instant.
She dared not look over the edge of the trench, but the amount of tracer rounds in the sky made it clear the Killers were not going anywhere anytime soon. This firebase would fall, they all did, though Kegen's Killers would purchase their victory with pools of blood.
Of course, the cultists wouldn't have it any other way.
Things cooled down as she made her way south, smoke still hung in the air, but it became much thinner the closer she came to the Cadian command bunker.
Even the dirt seemed cleaner in that part of the trenches, this whole area obviously spared by Chaos forces… Yes, this all fitted nicely with the Colonel's conclusions, though it still churned her stomach to think all these men and women, manning their posts with apparent diligence, would all be traitors to the Emperor… Surely, the General had cheated them as well!
Two Kasrkins stood by the command bunker, clean and shiny in their carapace armors, their hellguns perfectly oiled and apparently little used. How could such warrior stand guard over a slab of concrete when thousands died not a hundred meters away?
"Identify yourself!" One of the men barked, standing straight and tall.
"Sergeant Schofield," Answered the sniper, officially, "I must see the General on behalf of Colonel Nietch!"
One of the men nodded before ducking through the steel door, leaving his colleague alone with the Sergeant.
Something exploded in the distance, near the western firebase, Schofield's post. She looked in that direction and saw bursts of tracer fire illuminating the low smoke ceiling, followed by ruby red lasbolts.
The sound of a las pistol being primed for a shot got the Sergeant's attention back to her immediate surroundings. The guard had drawn his gun and it was now aimed at the back of Schofield's skull, a situation that a prompt spin, followed by a kick to the man purse, easily solved.
"All those plates and no cod-piece?" She teased, her own weapon now aimed squarely at the traitor's face, she searched for a witty one liner, but found none and splattered the man's brains.
Through the door came two more storm troopers, both of whom were promptly dealt with by sniper fire, coming from somewhere out west. Not lasguns, oddly enough, but bullets. The Colonel still looked out for her, but if his men used salvaged gear, he most likely would not hold much longer…
Up over the corpses, to the right, down the stairs and to the left, then, she came face to face with her target.
Rocking back and forth in a slow, almost lazy fashion, his face purple and uniform sparkling clean, General Argo Vincarius did not welcome her to his bunker, nor did he roar in defiance before his executioner… Flies filled the man's mouth, his over-inflated tongue poking out and already crawling with maggots, same as his eyes.
The good General had obviously killed himself long ago, at least a week prior, judging by the smell…
A week ago… Roughly when the Catachan and Arelian lines, to the north and east, had fallen…
There had been two Kasrkins up the stairs, one guard, the other… Most likely just an officer, filling in for the General, pretending the man was still alive… But why? The only reason he would do so, since Vincarius had obviously committed suicide, would be to keep order and morale up within imperial lines…
Two Guardsmen rushed down the stairs and stormed the room like the trained professionals they were, only to stare in horror at the rotten corpse of their commanding officer, the sniper now forgotten.
"He… He died long ago…" One of the pointed out, slowly backing away from the scene, "Who signed the orders?"
Her mind blank, unable to decide on what to do next, the Sergeant pulled the assassination order from her chest pouch.
He took it and, somehow, this crumbled bit of paper seemed to hold all the answers of the universe. The Guardsman proceeded to spread the news up on the surface. Though Erina could not hear it, numb and dazzled as she was in the putrid bunker, that piece of paper, combined with the General's suicide, was all it took for perfectly disciplined Cadians to become mindless savages; Lieutenants were murdered on the spot, along with Commissars and whoever appeared to hold some form of authority, and when the Killers came, seemingly aware of their opponent's weakness, there was no one left to keep the troops together.
Thus, after a month of siege, Kegen's Killers flooded Akara City's outer defences and were getting ready for the final assault.
Sat at the bottom of an abandoned command bunker, knees brought back to her chest, Erina shook in horror and fear at the depth of her betrayal, her long las, a trusted friend over the twelve years of her career, held tightly between her legs, muzzle pointing at her chin.
She knew what Kegen's Killers were going to do when they found her, but more importantly, she knew her life to be over in any event, yet…
"Why can't I do it!" Her echo returned the same question and sobs made their way up her throat.
Even if she somehow made it back to imperial lines, the inquisition would have her shot, just in case, and even if she tried to hold the bunker, Kegen's Killers would eventually overwhelm her and then…
The problem with worshippers of Chaos Undivided is that they are as likely to:
Rape you to death.
Torture you to death.
Turn you into a giant pus bag.
or
All of the above in no particular order.
"Because," a familiar voice laughed, "you are completely fucking nuts and think you may still have a chance," The Kriegan Colonel had lost his accent and, in the time it took for him to reach the bottom of the stairs, also lost his trench coat and gas mask, "because deep inside your brain, something just doesn't want to stop wanting." he wore a simple black tank top with green cargo pants, a thin scar running across his right cheek from the edge of the upper lip.
Robert Kegen kneeled next to Erina, a warm smile playing across his lips.
"Looks to me like you want to live, Hermana…"
In the blink of an eye, the mouth of her gun was on his forehead, but he didn't blink, somehow expecting that reaction.
"Go on, bitch," he scoffed, contained giggles audible in his voice, "fuckin' do it!" He adjusted the muzzle, centered it with a star-shaped scar on his forehead.
Shaking despite years of training, Erina tried to shoot, or, at least, a tiny part of her did, but the rest was transfixed with terror, terror and something else…
"It's fuckin' easy just pull the fuckin' trigger, come on!" He waited a few more seconds, then yanked the gun away from her, setting it down to his side to spread his arms invitingly, "Come on, honey, c'mere…"
His tone was so soft, rolling across her brain like… Well, honey… She actually leaned forward to sob into the Chaos champion's shoulder, hot, salty tears rolling over the eight branched star tattooed there. She'd die soon anyway, might as well get comfort while it was offered…
"There… There…" He patted her back almost tenderly, "Do you know…" he turned away and coughed twice before turning back to her, "Do you know why you didn't do it?"
She choked something about being a coward, herself uncertain of her exact words, and he clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "No, nononono… A coward would have disregarded his instinct and," He clicked his tongue again in a mock gunshot, "but not you, you know why?"
This time, she managed to answer, "Why?"
"Because the dark side of your brain, the animal side, sees me as your savior, because I represent life for you, because your only chance of seeing another day is through me…"
He pushed her away, firmly, planting his dark eyes into hers, "I am your doom and salvation, the cure and the sickness…"
He was apparently about to go on, but another chaos worshiper then burst into the bunker, yelling that "The boss' found a live one!", hunger filling his voice.
Only Kegen didn't see it that way and swiftly shot the man in the face with some ancient auto pistol.
"PISS OFF, YOU FUCKS!" All trace of the soft spoken philosopher vanished, replaced by a brutal, sneering beast. Both warriors swiftly obeyed, leaving Erina and Robert alone again, "I do apologize for my friends," he uttered, performing a flawless eye roll, "They're assholes, I'm really, very, terribly sorry..." It almost seemed sincere…
"What was I saying?" He put the smoking tip of his gun against his chin in a thoughtful gesture, a sombre frown obscuring his face as he muttered something about gutting the two pricks…
Finally, light returned to the clearly psychotic man's face and he resumed talking, "So, yeah, you and me, we're animals, cattle… Nah, Pawns in a massive tabletop game between neckbeards who spent countless hours carefully painting us and making us all lifelike because, fuck, what else is there to do when you're a fuckin' disembodied cosmic force? Sure can't get laid or anything, can they?"
He pondered that question for a second and, judging by the disgusted grimace that became his face, didn't like the imagery one bit.
"Anyway…" He got up, helping her up as well, "See, I'm a big fuckin' pussy for stray animals like you, it's my kryptonite, see? So how about you and me, me and you, moi et toi, we go up there, have lunch with the boys and you can decide what the fuck happens next?"
Erina's brain still couldn't compute what was happening, even being alive seemed abherant somehow at the moment, so why the frak not?
"O… Okay…" He led her up the stairs and outside into a chaos worthy of her worst nightmares.
At their feet, a Guardsman, the skin peeled off his arms and lower body, crawled in the sand, away from his torturers, two snickering cultists. He begged Erina for help, but Kegen shot him in the skull before the pleas could get through the veil of horror.
"Mind your manners, you fuckin' apes!" Roared Robert, arms spread like a discontent mother… A mother with a high caliber pistol and hairs like she'd had a disagreement with the lawn mower… "We've got a lady guest tonight!"
The troops got quiet. A few meters ahead, a female guard, screeching in agony as three cultists had their way with her, was swiftly silenced by a blade in her neck, her rapists quickly jumping back in uniform. Somewhere in the distance, a screaming man suffered the same fate and two cultists, having consensual intercourse right next to the bunker's entrance, reluctantly performed a 'Tactical withdrawal'.
Silence filled the twenty meters of trench they stood in, none of the cultist exactly sure what to make of their insane leader's new toy. One decided to actually ask: "Can we frak her?"
"I'm sorry," Robert began, smoothly, "did you… Did you say something, you fuckin' cunt?" In two seconds, he crossed the short gap between the offending cultist and himself, "DID YOU FUCKIN' SAY SOMETHING TO ME YOU FUCK?" His voice carried far in the eerie silence, the vein sticking out of Kegen's neck disappeared and calm returned to his traits as he stepped back a little, "'tis cool, man, 'tis cool, I'm gonna chill," he holstered his gun and carefully massaged his eyes, "You wanna fuck? It's okay, I get it, I understand your need…" Still calm and composed, Kegen turned to the rest of his horde, "Rape him 'till his eyes bleed."
And he went back to the Sergeant, apparently oblivious to the cries of his newest victim. Erin noted that it had been one of the rapists from earlier and almost felt disgusted at the satisfaction the irony brought to her.
The sky soon turned black as the cultists began burning whatever imperial gear they didn't want. They didn't burn the body, to Erina's horror, instead roasting them like pork over a dozen campfires.
"Cannibals…" She whispered, once against disgusted at herself, this time because of the hunger she felt.
"Hey, don't judge," Kegen pulled her away like an impatient child trying to show his mother the toy of his dreams, "it makes supplying a fuck-a-lot easier, and my boys an' girls never go hungry!"
It seemed unfair, somehow, that these savages would fight with full stomachs and sleep in warm beds when His soldiers starved in skak-filled trenches…
They soon climbed out of the trench and into a stripped down pickup truck.
The doors and windows had all been removed, leaving the engine exposed in a complete lack of interest regarding eventual snipers.
A second later, the reason why was made obvious as the car jumped from zero to a hundred Kph in a mighty roar that sent it soaring over an impact crater.
"So…" The Sergeant spoke over the now dull engine noise, "Who are you?"
"Who the fuck's anyone? We all have a fuckin' story, mine's no different, it just matters to you now 'cause I'm your lifeboat." He glanced at her and scoffed.
"Okay, yeah, okay, here's la vie de Robert Kegen by Robert Fucking Kegen: I was born before Space Marines became the alpha cunts of our galaxy, my papa and my mama were dumb fucks who loved me very much but couldn't see life for what it truly is and I grew up in a Nazi death camp watching as people were slaughtered like fucking cattle over ideas…"
He pulled the handbrake, spinning the car ninety degrees, and sped toward a massive fortified camp, lost in the desert, "So one day, the guys at the camp gave my old man a choice, 'C'mon you jewish shit-stain,' they said, 'You or him? Who takes the shower?' Old fuck picked me, ME! LIKE IT REALLY EVER WAS HIS FUCKING CHOICE! WELL I PICKED HIM!" The outburst almost made Erin jump out of the car, "So I strangled him with my mother's intestine and did everyone in the camp, they were all dead anyway, so I gave them all to the blood god and he gave me power, made me a champion or some shit…"
None of it made any sense to her, but, somehow, she got the general idea; Chaos had embraced him, not the other way around, and he only played with the cards he'd been given.
They reached a garage door and Kegen stuck his head out the cabin to yell at someone on the guard tower, something about testicle necklace…
The camp, on the inside, looked nothing like Erina expected; armed troops patrolled in tight formations around valuable infrastructures, latrines had been set up at the lowest point of the camp while showers stood at the highest one. A chaos warrior and a sorcerer were bickering with a tall black man in a t-shirt, all three turned to the car as it drove by, apparently shocked to see an imperial guard with Kegen and all her extremities intact.
"Wh…" The sorcerer stopped mid-sentence. He had spent enough time with the Killers to just not bother anymore.
"Your leader frays with the enemy, what manner of treachery is…"
The warrior was surprised to see the car stop, a few meters down the main road, and slowly reverse its way next to the Chaos Marine.
"Hey, bug guy," Called Kegen, beckoning the warrior over, "You got something to say? You say it to my face!"
The Marine took a step forward and Erina suddenly felt very queasy. "She's a servant of the corpse-emperor, you should kill her and be done with it!"
"S'cuse me, hermano, I think you misunderstood the situation, let me explain; this is casa de Robert, not casa de fuck-face," He made an all emcompassing gesture of his arms, quite a feat in the cramped space of the cabin, "I rule this castle…" The warrior scoffed and turned away.
Kegen leapt out of the car from the roof, purple in anger, his muscles bulging under his skin. "HEY, YOU FUCK! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" The Marine sneered and spun on the spot.
"But I am done talking to you…"
"You are when I say you are you little bitch." The relatively small man spat, walking up to the Marine's face.
"Pathetic mortal…" He was clearly about to begin the usual Chaos Marine speech on humans being ants compared to them, so Kegen just skipped the boring shit.
"Look me in the eyes and say that!" The Marine still wore his helmet, which shook left and right in annoyance, "HEY! YOU WALKING BAG OF SHIT! Look me in the fucking eyes!"
The challenge was too tempting and the warrior took the helmet off, fixing the puny mortal with eyes so dark and evil they made Kegen cringe… At least until the hole in the Marine's left eye stopped smoking. Then, as the armored meatsack hit the floor, Kegen walked up to the corpse and flicked it on its back.
"You blinked," he teased, "I win."