Cult of the Blood Moon

Salamander Captain Leonardo Jenskins and his marines strode across the high mesa mounted on beasts of steel. They thundered across the plains, kicking up high dirt and chewing up the ground between them and their target. The thunder of the warp storm roiled and lightning flashed ahead of them. His Sergeant Inigh Kohmozi voxed him over the roar of the motorcycle horde, "Looks like we're heading into the thick of it."

He voxed back, "The ritual must be stopped at all costs. We can not lose another planet to the Eye of the Maelstrum!"

They heard the pounding of cannons and the angry rapport of gunfire. He pulled his bike to the side of the high mesa that overlooked the valley below. "What is this?"

Everywhere beneath them was chaos. Red colored space marine armour lay scattered in disarray, casualties lye everywhere as they fought the battles center piece, a bloodthirster of khorne, a thirty foot high demon with great wings and a massive axe that bellowed at all challengers. All around it, bolter fire peirced its flesh, healing in a flash inferno that caused the wounds to flare then regenerate in a matter of micro seconds.

"Who are they? What are they doing here?"

Captain Leo examined his image magnification feed. "Blood Ravens, I think. I know not why they are here." The last of the serious resistance seemed to fade as the Bloodthirster jumped over a massive artillary blast by the only remaining vindicator and landed, slamming its axe into the twisted wreckage that was once a functioning vehicle. Leo noticed as he did so many smaller demons seemed to materialize around it, crawling out from tiny rips and tears in reality to do battle with those on the ground. Thunder from the warp storm boomed overhead. Inigh looked up while the captain continued surveying the battle unabated. "We must do something, they will not last much longer against such a threat."

"Should we commence firing, sir?"

"No. I will make my way to the canyon below and assume command on the ground. You must continue onward and stop the ritual at the culvern with the rest of the troops."

"Understood." The rest of the squad took off towards the warp storm, while the Captain backtracked and made his way down the winding rocky path off the steep hill and into the valley below. The sounds of battle faded, then came roaring back to life as punched into high gear. He let his bikes mounted bolter roar to life, cutting down a smaller demon as it loomed over a sergeant who lay stunned and waylaid on the ground. He twisted his brake and screeched across the dust in a full three quarters circle, tearing towards the sergeant and lifting him up off his feet. His rear tire never seemed to stop spinning as revved his engine and swayed his the rear bike in a slow arc, dispatching another demon with his pistol and addressing the sergeant.

The sergeant hunkered down on one knee and grabbed his bolter, firing towards what little remained of the demon horde. The remaining marines seemed to rally behind their presence. They engaged the few charging demon spawn that rushed towards them with their bolters. When he saw that the remaining marines had the battle well in hand, the Captain bellowed, "Report!"

The sergeant took the brief lull in the battle to address the captain over his vox. "Our APC lost a tread and we were stuck back here while the battle continued moving forward. We tried moving towards the front but were repelled by a horde of demonkin. They are mostly taken care of, but we lost three squads to the rampage and have nothing left with which to fight the bloodthirster."

"Who's in command here?

"Captain Lysander and his vanguard continue to fight the demon in the valley ahead. I'm Sergeant Cromwell."

The others?"

He shook his head. "The rest are gone."

The captain hung his head low before addressing him again. "The demon, where is it?"

"There!" The sergeant pointed towards the massive creature, afield of them further down the canyon. He zoomed in on it and saw one of the two remaining vanguard jump infantry get backhanded into the canyon wall and fall limp on the ground. The other continued his heroic last stand as the bloodthirster demon was momentarily distracted by the lone vanguard veteran detonating a krak grenade near its eye.

"Your melta charges, do you have them? Give them to me!"

"We brought our charges, but the others remain on the bodies of the fallen squad leaders,"

He unstrapped his from his belt and threw it towards the captain. The Captain caught it with a deft gesture and revved his engine once more. "Gather up the remaining charges, take up positions on the paths heading up the cliffs to either side, and when I come back have them ready for me."

The Captain sped off towards the demon without so much as another word. The sergeant followed his example and said, "Gather up the remaining explosives! Set up a bastion behind the Rhino! Head towards the sides of the cliffs and take cover behind the rocks!"

"Should I replace the tread?"

"No time! Get behind the wheel while you three push it into position! MOVE!"

Captain Leo's narrow minded focus set dead center towards the demon in the distance and what little remained of his small hoard. The lone vanguard steered his jump pack from side to side, zigzagging across the canyon, causing the demon to give chase in the opposite direction of the few remaining soldiers. The half blinded demon roared in frustration as he slammed his massive axe into the side of the cliff causing the earth to tremble and rocks to fall from the sky.

Leonardo slowed and dipped his bike to the side, pausing behind the vanguard who had been badly beaten and knocked aside. The captain pulled quietly up towards the vanguard, dismounting his bike and kneeling beside the fallen marine.

The vanguard captain spoke, "The others, where are my men?"

"They are setting up a defensive perimeter."

"No! They must flee! We must warn others about the blood pact!"

Leonard shook his head. "They have no transport."

"Damn! If they are forced to flee on foot they will be slaughtered to man!"

"Better to make a stand, then." He looked off to the side, and it appeared as though the remaining vanguard veteran's luck had run out. One of the few demons had hid behind a rock and grabbed hold of his ankle before he rocketed towards the side of the canyon. It skewed his trajectory just enough to place him directly in the path of the bloodthirster's massive axe. He came apart at the waist, skewered and cut in two as both halves fell to the ground."

Captain Lysander grabbed his arm. "Look! The demon has signed the blood pact! For each of us he kills, a handful of demons appears!" Leonard mind reeled as reality shimmered, rippled with flames, and finally tore as more demons poured forth. "Tell me we have others headed to the culvern!"

Captain Leonardo said, "My men are headed there as we speak."

"Good! Then we have not died in vain! I will make my final stand here!"

"You're vanguard, were they carrying explosives?"

"Yes. Here, take mine!"

Captain Leonardo risked another glance towards the demon and saw it was headed straight towards them. "I would suggest you play dead. I will distract them as I gather up the remaining charges."

His cycle burnt through the rocky gravel as he took off in a dusty haze, stooping to the side and grabbing a melta charge off a dead vanguard without stopping or even slowing down. He roared towards the enemy, cutting down the smaller demonkin with his twin linked bike mounted bolters and clearing a path to the side of the bloodthirster.

Up close the demons countenance was even more terrifying, with two great horns and a jutting maw filled with jagged teeth, with heavy leather wings beating dust towards him in a great gale, raising up its jagged razored axe as it bellowed and lightning stuck behind him. He almost faltered, but instead said a silent prayer to the emperor and twisted his throttle to the max. The axe came crashing down behind him, causing him to lose his center of gravity as he twisted about the last fallen vanguard in a great arc, pacing his foot across the dirt to maintain his balance.

He tore the melta charge off the fallen soldiers and headed towards its other side while it struggled to rip the axe out of the side of the canyon. Confronted by one of the smaller horned demons as its tongue hung in the air, hissing a challenge and calling his brother, blocking the way to the narrow side of the canyon. He was going to fast and had no time to steady his aim and instead twisted his handlebars while raising up his front tire, vaulting over the demon and leaving tire marks on its face. He batted the other demon to the side with his pistol and speed off, the bloodthirster stomping its feet on the ground as it raced after him.

He had a small lead and decided to risk picking up another charge off yet another fallen vanguard, but he would have to slow down in order to do so. The demon pushed its feet up off the ground and spread its wings into the air as it followed him, swooping down low as his bike stalled and he caught a grip of the melta charge. It breathed in a heavy gust of wind and let loose with a wicked torrent of hellfire from its mouth, engulfing the wide eyed captain in flames. He twisted the throttle and raised his forward wheelbase up in the air as the heat surrounded him, pulling from the fire and firing his pistol behind him at the beast. He pulled a grenade from his belt and tossed it behind him like a dram of salt used to ward off fairies, and the concussion flew over the demons head knocked its jaw into the earth, causing it to crack its teeth, eat dirt, and tumble head over feet in a cacophony of noise and fury.

The beast would soon recover, but on flat, open terrain its speed was no match for the Salamanders motorcycle engine's fury. He soon made headway with the beast trailing far behind him as he turned up towards the rhino APC. "Its coming! Quickly, the charges!"

He handed him the satchel filled with four melta charges and threw in the three he had gathered from the vangaurd. "Seven. It will have to do." He secured the charges to his bike and then headed off once more as the beast bellowed behind him. "Hold him here as long as you can!"

He once again sped off. The storm became eerily quiet. The acid rain puddles rippled as the heavy footsteps of the beast approached. The marines locked their weapons, readied their bolters and manned their stations as the slashing rain covered their visors.

The lightning flashed once more, the demons arms spread wide as it howled a dirge of rage and hatred to the sky. Illuminated against the backdrop of the sky, the marines knew their death had come for them. "Fire! Give it all you've got!"

The demon first strode to the the opposite side of the cannon, slamming its axe into the hardened ferrocrete fortifications they has put into place. Men screamed and men died, the scattered like ants from an ant hill, more demons appeared and some were cut down trying to withdraw in the oppisite direction from the canyon, while others were caught in a frenzied melee at the demons feet. A few made their way towards the last bastion behind the APC, and as the demon marched inextricably towards them, one of the men said, "Where is the captain?"

"He will be here."

"Where has he gone?"

"He has not abandoned us!"

"What shall we do?"

The sergeant swallowed, not having an answer for him, when another marine pointed towards the high mesa above the canyon and said, "Look!"

Lightning flashed once more as the echo of the motorcycles engine reverberated throughout the canyon. The demon turned, and the sergeant swore the beast had smiled, when it lifted its head back and inhaled a great torrent of air, preparing to unleash a blast of hellfire from its mouth once more.

Captain Leonardo Jenskin's bike tires screeched a high pitch squeal against the rocky granite as he lifted his tire up once more and drove his bike straight off the cliff towards the beasts face. He tilted off his bike as he hung in the air slow motion, steering the bike into the beasts great maw. Fire burst forth from the beasts mouth in great gouts of flame, burning him alive inside his armored suit, when the bike hit the back of the creatures throat and the timer on the melta charges went off.

Leonard slammed into the ground as the beast choked and the charges began to fuse. The demons head did not explode all at once, instead, a great flame seemed to burst from within, blue-white light pouring out of its mouth and the hole burnt into its neck. Its eyeballs melted and its face slough off until its bleached white skull shone with starfire, and only then did the pressure give way and its skull were shattered into a million pieces and the crowd gave cheer.

The rest of the squad charged towards him, shouting victory as the cut down the fleeing demons in glorious melee. Having routed the foe, they gathered round him and the sergeant addressed him on the ground. "Captain! Are you alright?"

"A few broken bones, but none the worse for wear!"

He winced as they cheered and put him up on their shoulders, chanting war hymns and shouting racourously into the night.