The footman yanked his helmet off, scattering beads of sweat to the stained ground. The Orks hadn't stopped coming for hours. Finally, the beasts had gotten a clue and given up taking the south hill. But it had taken an infusion of Space Marines from a neighboring world. The lad was young, vigor for defending his Emperor still glowing in his eyes. His first assignment and he had been greeted by an Ork yelling in his face. Shuddering, the lad passed his elbow over his face, smearing the dirt, Ork spit and blood.
"You did pretty damn well for a green recruit." One of the veteran guardsmen slapped the boy on his back. The boy almost face planted in the ground: only saved by the vet hauling him back up by the collar of his armor.
"Yeah. Is that the worst of it?" Deciding that helmets had been designed to be worn on his head, the boy slapped his back on.
The vet let out a rolling laugh. Other guardsmen perked up a little at the sound. "Hell no! These were the grunts of the Orks! We lowly foot soldiers don't often get to see the worst that they can throw at us. You got damn lucky, boyo. If the Marines hadn't come, you'd be dead."
The lad gave the older man a shaky grin. "I don't know about that. Any closer and those bolts would have hit me!"
The vet slapped him on the back again, gentler than before. "Have faith in the Emperor's finest, laddie! The Fighting Hydra might not be as well known as the Blood Ravens or the Black Templar, but they still know how to fight."
"Fighting Hydra? Is that what they're called?" One thing that the footman had noticed was the tri-headed snake on each of the Marine's left arm. He'd been too busy firing into the Orks' face to really see a lot of detail of the patch. But the background had been different for each Marine.
"Yup. Favor Alpha Legion fights, for reasons that escape me. I'll take on the bloody Eldar, Tau and Orks before Chaos. Those things are evil, no other word for it."
"What do the Chaos look like? I've never seen one."
"You wouldn't be alive if you'd seen one, lad. You're good, staying the line like few men I've seen. But you're still green yet. In time, you'll make a damn good guardsman. Might even get into the Hydra yourself." The vet led the soldier into the mess hall and sat him down. "I've never seen Chaos, myself. I've heard rumors that we've finally banished them, but I doubt it."
"So, what are the stories? I mean, someone had to have seen them and lived." The lad tore into his MRE, having long ago lost his repulsion to them.
"Stories claim that they're men, just like you and me." The old vet watched the younger soldiers face freeze in shock. "Yep, damn truth. They're Space Marines that have lost faith in the Emperor and the Imperium. Or were drawn away." The vet shrugged off the thought that people could be led away from the one and only God-Emperor. "No matter how they were separated from the Emperor, Chaos soldiers escaped the inquisition and now work for the warp. They use deamons to do their bidding. Or the other way around, the stories get pretty vague at that point."
"And you're telling me that the men who saved our asses live to fight this… evil?" The food no longer interested him. To think that men could fight just a power. It stuck him as a pinnacle of service.
"We do as well, boyo. Just in much, much different ways." The vet looked down at his food, for once wishing that he had gotten into the Space Marines. "The honor of serving the great Emperor by fighting what threats us. I can't think of a better way to go down, can you?"
"Nope. Any idea what the Fighting Hydras have been able to do?" The foot soldier ate slowly, wanting to hear all the stories the old vet knew.
"They're a recent faction. Assisting the Blood Ravens in fighting the smaller puddles of Chaos. Perhaps not the most glamorous calling, but someone has to fight them."
"But why do they carry a Chaos symbol? Isn't that insulting the Emperor?"
"Just the opposite! That shoulder guard is decorated by the first Alpha Legion soldier the man kills by himself!" The old vet leaned forward, tapping on the young man's knee to emphasis his point. "You noticed that they all had different backgrounds. That shoulder guard is a badge of honor for the Space Marine and the Emperor. One less Chaos soldier in the world. And the inquisition is working to make sure that those warp-driven bastards don't get anymore of our men!"
"Damn. But can't the other Chaos recognize the shoulder patch of a friend?" The lad choked on his food as the older vet clapped him on the back.
"That's the point, boyo! You're hitting everything that makes the Fighting Hydra the hard asses that they are!" The vet leaned down, as if to share a secret. "One of the best ways to fuck with anything's head is to claim you killed a bud. Sure, they're in a fury, but they don't think. Deep down, the Chaos started as men and still are men. They forgot all the mental training that we still know. They're driven by anger, hatred and other emotions. Emotions are powerful but blinding things. If the one soldier focuses on the Marine that killed his bud, he ignores the others." The foot soldier sucked in MRE when the vet smacked him on the chest. He coughed holding his throat. The glare didn't carry much heat. The old vet laughed, ignoring the pain the younger man was in.
"In time, boyo, you might be in the Fighting Hydra. I'll cheer for you, but I'll be sorry to see you leave. The Guardsmen need men like you at the front lines."
Ten years later:
"Sergeant Caine, Commander wants us to move out." The Sergeant was shocked out of the memory. The old vet had been right. About a year after that talk, he had been killed by Chaos troops on this very planet. Now a part of the Fighting Hydra, Sergeant Caine was eager to find what had killed his friend and assist it into Hell.
"Right." Turning to the scout, the Sergeant nodded to him. "Thank you for the information. Now comes the time of reckoning for these Chaos monsters."
"One more thing, sir. Commander wanted me to warn you that they might try to summon a Blood Thirster. I saw the pit: I think they might have already started the ceremony."
"The Commander is wise beyond his years. Now is the best time to strike." The Sergeant waved off the scout. He still had recon to do. Walking down the hill, the Sergeant ran his hand over the Whirlwind. Proud that his Commander had trusted him with it, the Sergeant vowed to follow him to the end. Caine gathered the men, explaining the attack on the Chaos ceremony. The two squads were ready to leave when the Hydra's Chaplin walked over.
"Sir!" The Sergeant knelt before the Chaplin. He had been with the Hydra's long before Caine was a part of them. "Would you be so kind as to bless our mission?"
The Chaplin nodded. "Go in the name of the Emperor, Marines. Strike down the foes and traitors who dare go against the will of our great Emperor! Honor and glory will be yours and the Emperor's when you come back successfully!" The Chaplin blessed the men before walking off. Sergeant Caine grinned before ordering the men to march. The Chaplin's short but powerful prayer was one of the many reasons that he had lasted as long as he had. And his skills with the power mace he carried didn't hurt his life span.
The march took about an hour to the south. The scouts with him were thirty feet ahead, watching to the ambush that might be coming. But the arrogance of the Chaos was such that they did not believe anyone would dare attack during the ceremony. No traps had been laid for them. Once Caine's troops made a dent, the Commander would drop in terminators as needed. Caine glanced behind him to see one of the Marines glancing around. In was the newest recruit. Caine knew the man had what it took, but he had never faced Chaos before.
"Marine?"
The recruit looked up before staring straight ahead for a second. He looked at his Sergeant again. "Sir yes sir?"
"First time and facing a Chaos ceremony? It's tough to swallow, for any of us." Caine didn't go into the details. His first time seeing Chaos had his gut roiling so badly he had thrown up. The taint hadn't left his nostrils for a month after that. A miracle-working apothecary had managed to cleanse him after calling on the aid of the Emperor's divine will.
"Sir, I'll be fine, sir!" The marine never lost step with his comrades. The only thing that worried the Sergeant was the attitude.
"No, you won't be, Marine. Not with that attitude. Chaos might have started as men, but don't be fooled. They aren't anymore." The old vet was wrong about that. Once a Marine has fallen, only a bolter can redeem him. "They don't give a damn about any life, even their own. The warp has twisted their thoughts. Only way to live is to kill."
"Sir." The recruit looked up. The Sergeant's scarred face was set into a scowl. "I will do as the Emperor wishes and kill these traitors."
The Sergeant nodded. He expected no less from himself or any of his men. "Good, Marine. Just see to it that you don't die in this battle as well." Caine nodded to each man. He knew they would follow him until the end. He would do no less for his men. They were going to face hell itself once again.