Feudscape

The Eternal Heresy

Chapter 1

"Keep your head down god damnit!"

Nathan Messmier looked around to try and figure out who had said the words, but was pulled down roughly into the ground with a grunt that knocked the wind out of him just as the tanks a few hundred meters behind them opened fire with their 35cm cannons as they crashed through the undergrowth and trees, charging the city before them headlong. Their attack had caught their enemies by surprise and the rounds impacted within the city with awesome ground-shattering power. Nathan did not know if the rounds had actually hit their targets, but before he got the chance to see, he was pulled up roughly by the collar and pushed forward, causing him to stumble.

"Come on you wetbacks! Grow a pair and GET MOVING!!!" Adrenaline coursed through Nathan's body as he ran across the street, his rifle held firmly in his hands. The sound of gunfire from all around him pushed him to run faster as rounds impacted the ground around his feet, sending chunks of stone and masonry into the air in small plumes. He could feel the small shockwaves which emanated from where the rounds hit as they detonated milliseconds after contact. Nathan was not in the least used to combat like this. The weapons they were using were too powerful, their tactics too brutal and everything was absolute chaos. This was not what he had been trained for.

Adjusting the HUD within his helmet so he could see through the dust and smoke, Nathan dove for the cover of a wall which had been remarkably untouched. The sound of the tanks firing as they moved into the city was deafening even with the SoundDubber built into his helm. How had war gotten this way?

As he sat there trying to recuperate, someone leapt over the wall and sat beside him, breathing heavily. Not even bothering to speak, the person, dressed in the blue and black uniform of the Galactic Guard, turned around and brought his rifle to bear over the wall and opened fire on their enemies. When he took a closer look at the person, he saw he was not a male, but a female. When she crouched behind the wall to reload and recalibrate her rifle, Nathan spoke to her in an excited voice.

"Tariyna, it's me!" Immediately, her head turned to look at him and silence between the two ensued. As she tried to make out who he was, he deactivated the shade on his helm and she perked up. "Nathan! What the hell are you doing here?!" Before he could reply, he heard others climb over the wall, their equipment they carried making clanking noises as they dropped beside the two. One of them spoke in a deep voice which Nathan would recognize anywhere. "They're everywhere! What are we going to do?"

This was unusual. Normally Micaan was cool-headed and knew exactly what to do. All through basic he had been the one to help those who needed it, including Nathan. He had developed a strong bond between them, despite him being a Taeiron.

Taeiron were a very imposing race. Normally standing around six and a half feet tall with incredibly broad and muscular forms with curved horns growing from the sides of their heads, they truly were formidable warriors. It was one of the reasons why the Commonwealth had accepted them as allies.

Nathan looked at him. "We are going to do exactly what we were told!" Placing his rifle down and leaning it against the wall, Nathan looked over the wall to get his bearing but immediately dropped as rounds impacted around his head. He turned back to the group. "The tanks and APCs should be here. Where the hell are they?!"

As if on cue, the buildings around them were raked with hundreds of medium-caliber rounds, ripping through the stone walls as if they were nothing, sending debris flying everywhere. All Nathan could do was drop his head and pray a stray bullet did not hit him or his team. It was over in a matter of seconds and the entire block fell absolutely silent save for the distant sounds of the battle as their forces pushed into the city.

No one moved or even breathed for five minutes and Nathan knew they were all thinking the same thing he was; what had they gotten themselves into? After a long moment of silence, Nathan made a head count to make sure everyone was there and realized with horror there were nine missing. That brought his team down to three total; himself, Tariyna and Micaan. Maybe they had just gotten lost, thought Nathan. Maybe they had been caught in the uproar and simply wandered off with other groups further into the city. He hoped that was the case, because if not, he did not know if he could live with their deaths on his hands.

Picking up his rifle and standing to his feet, Nathan motioned for the two to follow him and heaved himself back over the wall then stopped dead in his tracks. What he saw would be imprinted in his mind forever.

The street and building walls were painted red with gore and blood and guard equipment, shattered and obliterated, layed strewn across the ground. He could not identify anyone, but he knew every single body, or what was left of them, on that street was one of a fellow guardsman, torn apart and shredded into red and orange pulp. He was too horrified to even cry or scream, but both were at the back of his throat, waiting to be released.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Nathan's hands began to shake, causing him to drop his rifle and fall to his knees. All those deaths… because of him…

Tariyna was the first to recuperate from the scene, being a Hydoran of steel will and cunning. She lifted Nathan to his feet effortlessly and spoke softly to him. "I know, I know. War is a terrible thing, but this is how it is nowadays. If you wish to avenge them, you will get up and proceed with the mission. We need to do this, or this entire continent will fall to the Heretics." Slowly Nathan nodded and held himself up, using the wall behind him for support. Tariyna grabbed his rifle from off the ground and handed to him, which he took weakly.

"Alright you guys. We need to get going. Command says we need to be at the rendezvous point at 1800 and no later." Micaan checked his rifle to make sure it was calibrated and loaded, and then cocked it with a sliding click. "Let's roll." Nathan nodded and stood up, holding his rifle against his chest, still shaking, with the image the scene he had seen burnt into his memories. Slowly but surely, the three made their way deeper into the city. They had gotten their first taste of combat, and Nathan didn't like it one bit.

"Alright. As most of you know, we are in quite a bit of a tight situation with the campaign," Lieutenant Bursuger said to the group of guardsmen, both men and women, sitting in front of him. He reached up and turned on the projector and a 3D representation of the Arterus system appeared in front of the congregation inside the makeshift building.

The hologram bathed the darkened room on an eerie blue glow which fell over the faces of everyone in the room, allowing Bursuger to see everyone. The map showed the approximate locations of their fleets within the system as of 1615 that day. It was obvious what Bursuger was talking about. Squadrons of warships, represented by triangles on the hologram, were scattered in pockets around the planets of the system. Those in blue, identifying the Covenant ships, were still engaged with the superior Heretic fleet in orbit above Arterus. If one was to look up into the sky, their engagements could clearly be seen.

There were far more red triangles than blue, however. Due to some freak accident within the Netherway, they had lost two squadrons of warships carrying some of their most powerful weapons and they had not been heard from since. This had happened to other squadrons, however, and now the number of ships they currently had at their disposal was a meager handful of task groups, now made so by the absence of the rest of their battle fleets. There had been a projected three battle fleets which were supposed to partake in the campaign, but due to the superiority of the enemy ships and the sudden disappearance of close to six entire squadrons of warships, that number had plummeted.

"We have, of course, secured a foothold on the planet," said the lieutenant, "but we still have quite a long ways to go." The Hologram zoomed in on Arterus, the largest and only habitable planet by natural means in the solar system, and everyone gasped. Red dots representing positions established by the Heretics dotted the entire surface of the planet. But on the top and bottom of the image were two groups of blue dots, each representing a position established by the covenant. Micaan, who sat on Nathan's right, chuckled and leaned closer to Nathan, whispering, "we can take them on." As the murmurs of the group died down, the lieutenant continued. "The enemy outnumbers us ten to one, ladies and gentleman and I do not like those odds one bit, but if we are to take Arterus back from these damned Heretics we have to continue on."

The map zoomed in again, detailing two installations one hundred twenty clicks from each other; one was highlighted in red, the other blue. "The one you see in red is our next objective. It has been the staging ground for most of the Heretic attacks in this area and if we cripple and take control of it, we just might stand a fighting chance." He looked at the faces of the crowd, then continued. "This establishment is known as 'Sadow's Sun'. It is heavily defended by armour and field guns along with infantry, mechs and even a handful of Siege Engines." At the mention of siege engines, the entire room burst into murmurs.

Tariyna leaned over to Nathan, her bluish grey face just inches away from his. "That's one hell of a defense," she spoke in a soft tone which made Nathan shiver. He had grown up with her, and during that time he had developed feelings for her. Now, he was debating on whether he should reveal those to her. It would have to be at another time. Now, they had other matters to attend to.

Someone from behind Nathan spoke up. "What the hell do we have that can possibly stand up to those damned siege engines?!"

The lieutenant cleared his throat and replied with false confidence, "we have received word that another task force is en route to the system and will be arriving in two days' time. With them, we will be supplied with six Battlenoughts. Until then, we shall sit and wait and pray to Nether that those Heretics do not attack us. A counterstrike would be catastrophic." The murmur of the group grew again which eventually grew to shouting between the people in the room. Of course, none of them knew what a Battlenought was, but Nathan was curious. He leaned over to Micaan. "What is a Battlenought?"

"I am just as clueless as you are, Nathan."

"I might be able to help with that," came a voice from behind them.

The three turned to face a pale-skinned and alarmingly thin and wiry Ouat. His elongated features were eerie in a way, but he emanated an aurora of intelligence and wisdom, as did all Ouat. Their race was not one of war and had little in terms of military power, but their incredible technologies and tactics made them invaluable allies.

"Greetings. I hope I am not interrupting, but I believe I know the answer to your question." He paused for a second, looking for any signs they did not want him to continue. When they did not say anything, he began.

"I believe you three know of the Church of the Commen, correct?"

At the mention of that word, the three cringed. The church was powerful indeed, but they had deceived the entire galaxy for over five hundred years, claiming they had given up on war. But when the heretics had risen up against them and revealed the technology they currently had which the church had had ever since the end of the Last War, everyone's trust in the church had been severely shaken.

"The Battlenoughts were one of those technologies the Church had developed and tested. We are very lucky the Heretics did not discover of them during the uprising or this war would have been over a long time ago." The three looked at him curiously and anxiously, so he continued. "These Battlenoughts are the manifestation of ultimate power, quite literally. Virtually nothing can penetrate them or match their firepower and their immense size allows them to overcome nearly any obstacle.

"But they are incredibly expensive to manufacture and build. We are incredibly lucky we are getting six of them because there are only about ten in the entire galaxy." He looked at them, an incredibly serious look on his face. "I cannot truly describe them to you. In due time, you will see them for yourselves if we are not overrun by then."

A that moment, the lieutenant spoke up again. Nathan had not been paying attention to anything else but their conversation and he had not noticed the group calming down. "For now, we will have to make due with what we have." Bursuger nodded to his left and a man dressed in the uniform of an armoured battalion walked to the front of the group and faced everyone. It was obvious he had seen combat before, judging by his scars and hard appearance. He hadn't shaved for some time and his beard was beginning to grow in.

When he spoke, he spoke with an air of authority not even the lieutenant could match. It sent shivers down Nathan's spine. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am Lieutenant colonel Hamaraan. I am not a man to beat around the bush, so I will get right to the point." He turned towards Bursuger and nodded, whom raised the controller for the projector and the hologram changed to that of a map of the city and surrounding area. "We are currently in the city of Isgarra on the southern continent. For the time being we are safe. But if the Heretics do decide to make a counterattack, in our current state, they would plow right through us and kick us off this planet faster than you can say 'Praise Nether'."

On the hologram appeared multiple blue dots, squares and triangles; the dots representing artillery positions, squares representing armor and triangles were infantry. "Judging by our estimations of enemy concentration and weak points within and outside the city, these are our best estimations for where our defensive positions will be located."

Hamaraan gestured to be handed the remote and the lieutenant obediently handed it to him. He took it in his hand and activated the hologram's draw feature so he could outline things he saw as important. "We expect the enemy to attack from Sadow's Sun directly and from the flanks with at least two siege engines. We will concentrate our artillery batteries in the rear, far from any danger with infantry and armor in the front.

"The infantry will be dug in foxholes and trenches, protected by APCs positioned to protect them. Our tanks will use the forest to the sides to conceal themselves, leaving five or six with the infantry to give off the impression our forces are much smaller than they expected, making them underestimate our power." It was quite a long shot, but it was the only chance they had.

"As they advance, the tanks will move around them to cut them off and attack them from the rear, surrounding them as the artillery hits them with everything they have."

The entire room fell silent. Did he really expect this to work?

Someone decided to speak up. It was the Ouat they had spoken to. "I do not see how you expect that to work, Lieutenant Colonel. The heretics never underestimate their opponents, they only overestimate. You should know that from all your years of combat experience." Hamaraan looked curiously at the Ouat and smiled. "That is correct, Y'salar, but you know not of whom is leading them." This caused the Ouat to raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The one who is leading them goes by the name of Eres Ased."

The Ouat snorted and chuckled. "I take what I said back, Lieutenant Colonel."

Hamaraan chuckled along with him, then cleared his throat and stood up straight. "Now. Are there any questions?"

At that moment, the doors to the room opened and everyone turned to see who it was. Nathan could not see the details, but the figure appeared female and was dressed in elaborate clothing. Could it be…? As the figure stepped into the room, the entire room erupted into murmurs of distaste and hostility. Nathan looked carefully at her and cringed when he realized who it was; a Commen Fullblood and she was adorned in the uniform of recruitment. She was here looking for newbloods.

Slowly but elegantly, she glided to the front of the room between the two sets of chairs everyone sat at and stopped six feet away from Bursuger and Hamaraan, bowing. "Greetings, gentlemen." The two lieutenants looked at each other curiously, then back at the woman. "We did not know you were coming priestess or that you had even arrived on the planet. What in the name of Cotu could you be doing here?"

"The church has sent me for a mission of incredibly grave importance. If you would politely come with me, I wish to discuss things with both of you." Bursuger looked at her suspiciously, then motioned for Hamaraan to follow her. The three made their way down the middle isle and disappeared through a side door to the lieutenant's office. As soon as the door closed, the room erupted with conversation.

Micaan and Tariyna turned to face him, Micaan with a look of pure disgust on his face. "Damned Commen. Those witches are not to be trusted, I tell you." Before Nathan or Tariyna could reply, the Ouat spoke up again. "They have their reasons for what they do, Taeiron." Micaan glared hatefully at the Ouat. "You know, I'm starting to not like you, buddy." The Ouat simply shrugged and crossed his arms, closing his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Nathan spoke up. "Two days, huh? That's an awfully long time. They're more than likely expecting us to attack and are building up their defenses right now."

"I agree. Chances are we will not live to see the rest of this campaign go anywhere, if it even does," replied Tariyna. Nathan closed his eyes, concentrating and trying to think of how this would all work out. No matter of what he thought, the outcome was not good. "Let's just wait and see what happens. We have no say in this, so we must sit back and watch." Micaan growled angrily. "I hate waiting! Damnit, if I have to do anymore waiting, I'm going to tear someone a new asshole!" Y'salar chuckled and Micaan snapped at him with his jaws, clamping them shut a mere inch away from his face. Amazingly he didn't even flinch.

"Micaan, calm down," said Tariyna soothingly.

"No! I will not calm down! I can't, damnit!"

Angrily, he shot up out of his chair and darted out the door, slamming them open and angrily trudging off into the darkness. Nathan was just about to get up to get her, but Tariyna pulled him down, shaking her head no. "Let him cool down by himself. It's the only way." Nathan sighed and slumped in his chair in defeat.

"For now, let's just sit here and wait to see what happens." Nathan had no idea what was going to take place over the next few days, but something in his gut told him it wasn't going to be good.