Finis Fide Chapter 1
The woods may have been dark but they were far from silent, filled with the chirp of insects, the swaying of the pine trees in the midnight gloom and the busy life of small animals. Through that tapestry of noise moved a dozen shadowy figures creeping forwards with innate woodcraft, they were wrapped in blackened cloaks broken only by the protruding barrel of las-locks.
They advanced in a huddle of grey shapes keeping close together for protection and watching the shadows for enemies.
Eventually they came to small clearing and spread out checking every nook and cranny for danger, after a few minutes one of them stood up and shrugged off his cloak. Beneath he wore tanned leathers with webbing filled with rations, kit, tool and ammo, on one arm were stipes of a PDF sergeant whereas the other bore double headed eagle.
He looked around and said in a lyric flowing accent, "That's enough, this is as good a place as any for camp. Break out the tarpaulins and find a comfy spot, make sure to get something to eat, rations packs only, no fire."
This pronouncement was met with a wide chorus of groans but the man chided them, "Don't give me the long faces, it is better than drawing every Kern for leagues down on our heads. You know the drill, team alpha your on first watch tonight, team beta grab a bite then four hours sleep before second watch, team gamma you lucky gits get to sleep tonight."
With that the men broke up, many grumbling under their breath, the sentries heading out with Laslocks clutched tight and the rest settling down. The Sergeant threw himself down on the cold ground and unwrapped a linen packed ration bar, gurning from the first chalky bite. Two more men sat down alongside him and began to eat.
The first turned to him and in the warble of breaking youth said, "Sergeant Kalos, are we ever going to see any action?"
The other newcomer snorted, he was older than the rest of the patrol and wore a necklace of beads and avian bones on his chest. He said, "Don't be daft Zander, the Kerns have not been this deep into the forest in years. Besides if a Kern saw you then the Psybrids wouldn't be too far behind, what would you do then? They would crush you before you could wet yourself."
Zander went pink at the goading and yelled, "Watch your mouth Phelps, I am not afraid! I signed up to rid our world of those foul Xeno and their slaves. I swore on my da's deathbed I would see them driven off Odiosis and the Sky Emperor return!"
The older man shook his head and said, "Spare me the religious doggerel, there is no Sky Emperor amongst the stars. You are too young to remember the Imperium but the truth is those snooty lords never cared about Odiosis. Apart from the clerics and preachers all we ever saw were the annual tithe ships, sucking up all our resources and young blood. Face the truth they abandoned us."
Zander sat up and cried "Don't blaspheme! the Sky Emperor is real my da told me so, just you wait and see. He will send his Astartes to save our world!"
Phelps threw back his head and laughed "Don't be an idiot the Astartes don't exist, they were just made up by the preachers to make us behave like good little boys and girls."
"Right that enough you two" cut in Sergeant Kalos, "Your making enough noise to wake the dead, I don't know if the Imperium will ever return but for now I will settle for a quiet patrol and a warm bunk back home."
"But Sarge..." said Zander in the self-absorbed whine of youth.
He never got to say what he wanted to because in the next moment they all felt the shift in the atmosphere, a sudden chill making every man jerk up. They were on their feet grabbing for weapons before the first retort of a Las-Lock rang out.
A series of bright flashes from the sentries heralded the approach of danger and the patrol levelled their Las-locks at the shadows between trees. There were a series of flashes and bangs from the sentries followed by a sibilant hiss and then nothing but silence.
Eyes fixed on the trees Kalos stepped close to Zander and said, "Hold steady, aim and fire just like we practiced. Watch your friend's backs for they will be watching yours." The boy nodded but his face looked pale like he was about to be sick as he clutched his las-lock.
A rushing noise heralded a line of wasted, emaciated figures running out of the treeline, they were of human stock yet their limbs were stick thin and ribcages protruded. They ran bent over like hunchbacks, long fingernails extending like claws but worst of all were their faces, vacant andslack with no hint of emotion showing from their blanked minds.
Kalos swallowed his revulsion and shouted, "Kerns, Open Fire!". He raised his Las-lock and a blast of energy speared out burning into the Kern's chest killing it instantly. He worked the charging bolt-action mechanism on the archaic weapon and fired again and again. Karlos roaring as he fired, "Ave Imperator! Ave bloody Imperator!"
The first Kern's went down but behind them were crowds of bodies, charging forwards heedless of losses or of injury, only a killing blast could put them down. A fusillade of fire fell upon them, missed shots hitting the tress behind setting fire that cast flickering nightmarish shadows.
All Kalos could think was to aim, fire and recharge over and over stopping only to replace exhausted battery packs, his men did the same and Kerns dropped like flies. Wave after wave of mindless slaves charged out but the patrol's discipline held and the Kerns were cut down relentlessly. Slowly their numbers thinned until the last one fell leaving silence, in relief the men cheered for it looked like they would live to fight another day.
But before they could even move a massive metallic shape pushed out of the treeline, bending gnarled boughs over like rushes. It was twelve feet tall, standing on back jointed legs with splayed duck like metal feet and Heavy Bolters fixed either side of its body. Framed around its cockpit were transparent armourglass windows through which could be seen a green mist, swirling and billowing with eerie purpose and a long equine face barely visible as it peered out at them.
"Warp Hells" Kalos swore then shouted loudly "Psybrid! its a Psybrid Mech!"
The metal machine clomped forwards ponderously swaying from side to side, it raised its arms and the loud sound of autoloaders clicked into place. Kalos and his men dove for the ground but two men were too slow as the heavy bolters ripped them to shreds.
Kalos sat up wiping a mist of blood from his face, raising his Las-lock despite the miniscule chance of inflicting harm. The discharge barely scorched the Psybrid's Mech and it took another ponderous step forward tracking its heavy bolters to finish the fight.
Just as it was about to open fire a small shape flew out of the tree line and impacted on its rear, it was the size of man's fist and it was perfectly judged to impact just as it exploded. An explosion bloomed out and tore off one of the Psybrids heavy bolters, leaving it staggering like a drunk. Kalos realised the object had been a Krak grenade and looked about to see who threw it but was stunned by what he saw next.
Advancing out of the treeline were eight towering monsters, each a giant of reinforced metalwork and buzzing power plants, bearing double barrelled canons so weighty no man could lift them. They stomped forwards in mechanical unison, flashes of firelight glinting off the edges of their polished metalwork and with eyes glowing like flints of coal.
The Psybrid Mech swung about to face them but the monsters raised their canons and opened fire. Streams of fusion energy shot forwards and the Psybrid Mech wilted like a candle left in an oven. Reinforced plates boiled away, revealing pistons that in turn melted and glopped into slag. The Xeno in the cockpit screamed inhumanly as its capsule became its coffin, the molten armourglass dripping onto its gaseous form trapping it forever like a fly in amber. The machine collapsed and lay still, steaming and popping as the metal cooled.
Kalos was lost in wonder, never had he seen a Psybrid Mech taken down so swiftly and surely but what sort of monster did it take to best monsters?
He eyed the towering intruders and wondered who were they were and why were they fighting the Psybrids? Kalos asked himself could Odiosis have been invaded by a second Xeno race?
His men were getting to their feet, clutching their las-locks fearfully as they stared at the new invaders but they were too slow. In the time it had taken them to stand the monsters had brought their canons around to point at them. Gun barrels the size of fists loomed at them and the slightest twitch of a digit could end them all in heartbeat.
Kalos got up and stood to the front of his patrol straightening his jacket, for a distraction if nothing else but as he did so his Imperial eagle was revealed.
One monster was armed differently with a smaller pistol canon and a long serrated blade hanging on its waist; it glanced at his symbol and then lowered its canon. It stepped forwards and the patrol cowered back at the intimidating sight but then the massive monster did something totally unexpected. It crossed its hands over its barrel chest and said in an impossibly deep and sonorous voice, "Ave Imperator".
The patrol was shocked stock still unable to grasp what they were hearing then the monster reached up and twisted at its head. It came free and Kalos realised it was a but a helmet yet gigantic and shaped for an inhuman scale. Kalos looked up and saw the head beneath had eyes, a nose and mouth: it was human but impossibly large.
He took in the grizzled features of what he now realised was a man and saw lifetime's worth of scars. He realised a good portion of the face was not flesh but contorted metal within which sat a red glass eye that still moved like it was alive.
The giant man fixed his helmet to his waist while surveying them and said "Hail friends, I am Sergeant Toran." The patrol lowered their guns and glanced at each other in wonder but his next words shook their world to its core.
"Know No Fear, the Astartes have come."