This was a short story that came to me last night and I hope you guys enjoy it.
"For the Emperor as he watches over us." Inquisitor Alyssa whispered as she sat down in the chapel of the Watch Fortress. Her golden power armor whirred audibly as she knelt in reverence to the symbol of her God. "For his servants, who stand by us in our darkest nights. For his Angels of death, as they drive back the darkness." She closed her eyes and tried to drive all other thoughts from her mind. She had a lot on her mind, as it was after every mission. Her armor was torn, chipped, shattered, bashed, dented and all other sorts of harm done to it. The tech adepts and Techmarines always chastised her for the carelessness she done with her armor but it wasn't her fault that the higher up in command sent her with the Kill teams into the most dangerous of suicide missions. If the aliens weren't trying to kill her, the bravery of the Space Marines was. She muffled a bitter laugh at the joke.
She heard a pair of footsteps approach from behind her causing her to open her eyes and look to who it was. It was a fellow inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, Derek Wallace. He took of his black hat and bowed his head to the stained glass image of the Emperor. "Inquisitor Alyssa, I had thought that I would find you here. " He said in his thick Antonio accent. Raised on a Medieval desert world, the Inquisitor, then Desperado was one of the greatest outlaws on the planet, the bounty on his head was perhaps worth more than the planet's richest mineral veins.
He made himself know when the Orks invaded his homeworld and instead of taking advantage of the anarchy he rallied the planetary defenders. Though their most advanced form of technology was a lever action repeater stub rifle, under his knowledge of the world, he managed to beat back the Orks and defend his world before the Imperial guard regiments cam for the liberation. The Inquisition, never passing up on any opportunity to find a good acolyte decided instead of hanging him for his former crimes, they decided to hire him. Alyssa was a fellow acolyte with him and the two became partner Inquisitors in the Order. Some others spoke in whispered breaths that it may have been something more than that.
She nodded her head to him as a sign of respect, they were equals but it was unspoken respect that she bowed her head to him. He sat in the pew next to her and murmured the High Gothic prayers. She whispered the last of her prayers in silence as sat back. The Chaplain, Timrod Stormblade of the Ultramarines stepped forward unto the chapel and began waving his orb of incense, intoning the rights of the fallen. Alyssa knew who it was for; it was a member of her kill team she was assigned to that these rights were said. The words stung her that no mortal wound would do.
Tactical Marine Gordon of the Black Templers, one rumored to be next for the chaplaincy should Timrod fall in battle, died because of her actions. It was on the mission she just came back from, and she felt herself responsible for his death. It was a simple mission: find and kill the Tau on the planetary outpost. She recalled the event as if it was happening right before her eyes.
"Brother Gales, pass me another magazine." Gordon yelled over the din of bolter fire and plasma weaponry fire. The Blood Angel reached into his combat belt and tossed a twenty-eight clip magazine to the veteran Templar. The Black Templar slammed the clip into the bolter and chambered the first bolt and sent the blessed rounds of ammunition right between the eyes of the human ally of the xenos, sending brain and bones in all of different directions. Alyssa cursed and pulled the trigger on her flame pistol, setting fire to several of the Tau Kroot Mercenaries. The reptilian beasts howled in agony as the promethium based flames licked up their skin. Her power armor was bashed and damaged in several places, the power leaking from the injuries it had sustained over a long period of time. The Tau were expert marksman and the five man kill team was getting low on ammunition. Unless that extraction would come soon, they were doomed.
"Hold fast Brothers, the foe will fall." The Devastator Nicholas howled over the com with his heavy bolter chattering the death to the enemies of man. The large mass reactive shells flew past them and took out those damned snipers from their positions. Alyssa swore many times as she constantly blasted flames at those who were getting to close for comfort. Those who escaped her flames were met with the roaring teeth of Assault Sergeant Anderson from the Chapter of the Space Wolves. The Blood Claw laughed as the blood from the Xenos rolling down his face.
"Kill Team Ottoman, we need you to hold on for a few more minutes. We are avoiding the anti-aircraft fire. Remember, the Emperor protects." The com speaker said.
"We will be at the right side of the Emperor if you don't get your arse here!" Alyssa swore into the com channel, catching the operator off guard. "We need it NOW!"
The Techmarine of their kill team, Gavin moved next to her firing his melta pistol into the crowds of charging enemies. "Inquisitor, simply yelling and swearing to the gifts of the Omnissiah will not get them to come to you any faster. Save your breath and cut these Xenos and Traitors down." She pursed her lips as the Scion of the Lion ordered her around. It was her job to do that, but she saw that he had a point. With one swooping blow, the student of the Omnissiah buried his symbol of office into the skull of a Kroot before kicking the shattered corpse back.
There was the sound of a jump pack though it wasn't an Imperial design. Their question was soon slamming into the ground mere feet from then. A Tau commander with modified XV-25 stealth suit with a bump pack landed right amongst them. The kill team had only moments to dive for cvers before the blasts of plasma came from the end of the Tau's gun. Alyssa wasn't so lucky and took a bolt of plasma to her chest. The armor absorbed the brunt of the blast and sent her flying due to the kinetic energy. Slamming down on her back she felt the wind escape her and he looked up into the barrel of the same plasma weapon. "Surrender human. If not for your life, then for the Greater Good."
"The "Greater Good" Is coming to you from the end of my bolter alien!" Brother Gordon yelled and as the Tau commander tuned, he was met with an onslaught of bolter rounds. The bolter clicked empty and Gordon charged the Tau with his combat knife, screaming a prayer of fury all the while. Te tau commander spun and bashed the Mark VII helmet off the space marine but it did little to haze the Templar. The sound of a Thunderhawk filled the air and soon their extraction had arrived. "Inquisitor, the information you have is required for the continued resistance of the sector. Get that back to the Watch Captian."
She felt Anderson pull her to her feat and shield her as they made their way to the Thunderhawk. "And what of you, Gordon.?" She asked over the comm.
She could hear him murmur a prayer to Dorn under his breath as he fought with his blade against the commander. "The honor guard of the Ethereal is here and I am not going to surrender to these scum. This area must be cleansed with orbital fire."
They were on the thunder hawk and Anderson turned to his Brother and revved his chainsword. "I will be sure that the chapter honors you, brother."
Gordon was bashed from his feet and pulled his bolt pistol from his holster. "There is the honor I wish for. I only regret that my gene-seed will not be recovered, but I would rather see it destroyed then fall into the hands of the foul aliens." He then hanged the comm. channel just as they were about to take off. "Brother Gordon to Death's Tune, commence orbital bombardment on this position. Full power." Soon, all what would remain of that area would be a smoldering crater.
Alyssa swore colorfully, but quietly to herself. If she hadn't been so clumsy that she had her life placed in risk, then perhaps Gordon would be amongst the living. When she finished telling Derek about this, the former Desperado nodded his head. "I feel responsible for his death. If I wasn't such a clumsy comabataint, he might still be alive."
Derek rose from the pew and Alyssa followed him. "You couldn't have changed anything even if you didn't fall. Gordon would have charged the Tau weather it was required or not you knew his attitude. He had seen so many of his Neophytes he was training fall and he became obsessed with ying in the most glorious of battles. Perhaps he knew it was his time to die." Derek said plainly, though it was unlike him to say such things in such a carefree tone.
Alyssa nodded. "True, but shouldn't have sold it there. There could have been other opportunities, ones with a much greater cause."
"Inquisitor." A deep baritone hollered for her. She spun around and saw Brother Gales with out his helmet. The blond haired tactical Marine gestured for her to come with him. She turned to Derek, who gestured for her to go. She let go of his hand, unknowingly must have grabbed a hold of it. When she approached the massive Marine, who bared long fangs such was the gene seed of his chapter. "I understand tat we have just arrived back from a mission but while we were gone an astropath message from Lord Commander Dante. He has called for all available Blood Angels and successors to come back to Baal to defend it from the daemon and the Xeno. You are required for the gathering of the high inquisitors, as you are my handler."
She nodded but was reluctant to follow him. The son of Sanguineous noticed this and realized of what was it. "You still blame yourself for his death?" When she nodded, he followed her and thought about it for a moment. " Inquisitor Alyssa, you do not know what prompted his actions and now no one, save the Emperor and the Primarchs, will. Would you have done what he did, lay down your life for information that could save billions from the oppression of the Xeno? He made his decision and the rest of us must live with it. If we dwell on the past too much, it will consume our view of the future. But we must not make his sacrifice be for not."
Alyssa smiled slightly at the words the Blood Angel spoke. "Thank you for your words Gales. May the Emperor guide your hand in battle."
"And may Sanguineous bless the rest of your days." Gales responded with a slight bow and Alyssa returned with a curtsy. She then watched as Gales walked away and she finished her walk to the summoning chambers. He was right, if she couldn't understand why Gordon made his sacrifice but it was to be not for waste. She would honor that.
She turned to the massive bronze door of the chambers and looked at the iconography, which detailed the Emperor slaying a massive serpent while his nine sons defended him from other monsters. How ironic she thought, that those who fall in this day and age are scarcely remembered, much less have such iconography. Would Gordon be remembered, would his sacrifice be honored? She remembered the information she had on her when he preformed the act. While he may not be remembered, his actions would be by the liberation of the sector. "For the Emperor, may he watch over us still." She finished the prayer as she pushed the massive doors open.