The Emperor's Wolves
Follow me down the path
I will walk beside you
Guiding and showing you the way
I will not leave you
I will be standing on the path watching you
If you ever feel alone
Close your eyes
You will see 6 sets of foot prints
2 belonging to you, 4 to me
Then you will know that I have not left you
I will be there to guide you, whenever you need.
-Wolf Prayer
Prologue
Fenris. Homeworld to the Space Marine legion known as the Space Wolves and the Primarch Lemun Russ. Despite its relative proximity to the Eye of Terror, the indigenous life forms remain untouched by Chaos; however, Fenris's environment is till just as harsh. Fenris orbits around its sun once every two Terran years, causing its winters to be so cold that the entire planet ices over and in the summers, volcanoes erupt on the surface, causing lava flows and great floods. It is in one of Fenris's long winters that one man's life would change forever and due to later events, so would every living thing in the galaxy…
The Kasrkin are the elites forces of the Cadian Shock Troopers, dedicated to the defense of Cadia and a deep devotion to the Emperor that borders fanaticism, make the Kasrkin a force to be reckoned with. A few of the high ranking officers within the Imperial Guard believe that a Black Crusade led by the Daemon Prince Angron, is trying conqueror Fenris and use it as a staging ground for an invasion of Cadia. Usually the Space Wolves would pacify these heretics but at the moment they were spread out across the galaxy. That is why the Cadian Shock Troopers had been called in to hold off the invaders until they return.
Upon the frozen plains, a great battle had ensued between a company of Kasrkin Guardsmen and the fallen Primarch himself. They were wiped out completely or so Angron had been led to believe. One soul had been spared and was barely holding on to life. Some would say that the Emperor was looking after him that day. He would say that someone else was…
Caleb Campbell woke up to the taste of blood in his mouth and a stinging sensation in his left eye. Using what strength remained in him, he pushed himself of the cold ground and looked about the destruction that lay before him. The hulking wrecks of Lemun Russ tanks lay strewn across the battlefield, bellowing black smoke from where the Havoc Missiles had impacted their hulls. That's also when he noticed the remains of his comrades, blood splatters in the snow and pieces of flesh all across the field. His fellow Kasrkin, slaughtered like grox. Pressing his left hand to his eye and dragging himself with his right arm to the wreck of a nearby tank, he propped himself up against the side and decided to check the damage. He looked all about him, other than his eye, he was relatively unharmed, that is if he still had an eye. Tentatively, he brought his left hand lower and had his fingers run down across his eye socket. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felted the bump that is his eye.
With some difficulty, he managed to push himself off the ground and up against the tank. As far as he could see, it was nothing but frozen tundra, not a hint of civilization in sight. He had to move fast, it would be dark soon and without shelter, he wouldn't be able to survive the cold winter night. Using the tank for support, he started to move to the other side. He had to move east, that was the way towards the base; he needed medical attention and had to report this mess to Colonel Shielding. Rounding the corner, he came face to face with a wolf.
This wasn't a Fenrisian Wolf, which can grow to the size of a horse. This one showed more resemblance to Terran wolves, but they went extinct long ago but what was truly strange about this wolf were the eyes. They were a deep shade of blue that seemed familiar but where, he couldn't place. Caleb took a step towards the wolf but it didn't move, he took another step, it remained right where it was. Then when he took a third step, wolf scampered but no too far away.
The wolf turned, stared at Caleb, and gave short howl. Caleb raised an eyebrow and the wolf gave another short howl. "Are you leading me somewhere?" he asked. The wolf bowed his head as if he were nodding. Campbell sighed and resigned himself to what ever happens. After all, his chances of survival were slim at best. "Come what will," he said.
He followed the wolf for miles and as he did, his Carapace armor became a burden. He soon began to discard his armor until he was down to his fatigues. At some point exhaustion over came him and he collapsed in the snow. He looked up, expecting the wolf to be gone but it was still there. The wolf came closer and sat down right in front, staring at him. As Caleb stared into the wolf's eyes, he suddenly realized why they seemed so familiar: they were his son's eyes. It was uncanny how similar their eyes were and that is when Caleb found the strength to stand up. He wanted to go home; he wanted to see his sons, and his daughters, but what he wanted most was to see his beloved wife, Audrey. He would make it back to base and he would see his family again. He stood up and started walking with the wolf leading again.
As he climbed to the top of hill, he saw one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen: Home Base. He breathed a sigh of relief then he made his way down the hill and came to the outskirts of the base, he realized that the wolf was no longer following him. He turned around and saw the wolf a few feet away from him. He was aware that wolves rarely venture on their own; perhaps this one didn't have a pack. He knelt down and held his hand out. He was no stranger to wild animals; his wife would take in strays all the time, one more couldn't hurt.
"You want to come live with me, boy?" he asked. Then out of the haze more wolves came, some without even the same kind of fur as the other one. 'Must be his pack,' Caleb thought. He stood up and said to the wolf, "Go on, boy. Go home." With that the wolf ran and joined the others. Caleb's wolf looked back at him and began to howl. Soon the others joined in and it became a chorus of howls. Caleb couldn't help but smiled; soon the howls stopped and the wolves disappeared into the fog. Caleb turned around and headed towards the Command Post.
Just as he entered the CP, he heard Colonel Shielding say, "We lost contact with the 69th Kasrkin over six hours ago and we haven't been able to reach them. We fear they are lost" "I hope for your career's sake that they aren't. The Lord General Militant would not appreciate that very much. I'd hate to see you lose the command of the 8th, Art," a gruff voice said. "Don't try and scare me, Steve. If Stoppable has something to say, then let him come down here and say it to my face."
Caleb walked into Colonel Shielding's office and saw that the man he was conversing with Major General Steve Barkin, one of Lord Castellan Ursakar Creed's sub-commanders. Caleb announced his presence to both men by knocking on the doorframe, then saluted both of them. "Colonel Shielding, General Barkin; I'm here to report on the fate of the of the 69th Kasrkin Company. The fallen Primarch Angron assaulted us and the company was decimated, as well as our armored escorts. I'm sorry to report that I am the only survivor of this incident."
Shielding stood up, he was a man of medium build who wore wire-framed glasses, despite surgery being available to him, clean shaven, and kept his red hair short and combed to the side. "Lieutenant Campbell, I'm glad to see you made it out alive but are you sure that the entire 69th is gone?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Caleb responded. "I looked for survivors but unfortunately found none." "I see," Shielding said. "Steve," he said, turning to General Barkin. "Could you go find a medic to come here and have a look at Lieutenant Campbell's injuries?"
The General nodded and left the room. "Caleb," Shielding started. "There's something I have to tell you. Please, sit down." Caleb sat down in front of Shielding's desk and asked, "What is it?" "We received a message transmitted from Cadia, it was from your wife."
"What did it say," Caleb asked, becoming very concerned. 'Does she think I'm dead?' he thought. 'Oh Emperor, please don't let her think that.' "It says," Shielding started. "That your eldest son, Sean, has been killed in action.
Grox: The Grox is a large, fast and aggressive reptilian animal originating from the Solomon system. When the system was absorbed into the Imperium, it was discovered the animal possessed many useful traits, such as the ability to survive in almost any environment and to thrive on even the most indigestible food. Grox meat itself is also extremely palatable and nutritious. Because of their value as livestock they have since been introduced to other worlds throughout the entire galaxy, so that the Grox is now the most common type of livestock animal throughout the Imperium.
The only drawback to the Grox is their aggressive and vicious temperament. They will usually charge any creature on sight, including other Grox. They are also large, fast and dangerous beasts; about five meters long and well muscled. They are territorial and like their privacy, so attempting to herd Grox together would easily drive them into a rage. The solution used is to lobotomize most of the stock while keeping the breeding animals suppressed with electro-pulsers wired directly into their small brains. Even with these precautions accidents still happen, and Grox are usually kept on agri worlds and isolated from human settlements.
Fenrisian Wolf: Stated as being among the most cunning and deadly predators in the galaxy. Capable of growing from the size of a small horse to that of an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier). Group hunting strategies. Leman Russ is said to have been raised by a she-wolf, and to have kept two hunting wolves, Freki and Geri.
AN: I own nothing.
And I'm sure a few of you are mad that I started a new fic without updating the ones that are already out there but I feel the need to explain the origins of Wolf Company. So I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to leave a review.