Hello there folks, and welcome to the Charbringer Stars. Here's your helmet and camera, feel free to take as many pictures as you like. The first couple of paragraphs are basically background information, and you can skip 'em if you like. But it is kind of important. This story takes place in the aftermath of the 13th Black Crusade, which is kind of a major event in the 40k universe, and currently, where the fluff cuts off. As you may have guessed, I own nothing, and all characters are mine, while the universe and stuff in it belongs to Games Workshop. It is all used without permission, and there is literally nothing I wouldn't do to avoid a lawsuit. Please read and review, and hopefully I'll keep on updating. Happy reading, and keep your head down.

The Charbringer Crusade

Year 999.M41+++

Elements of the Traitor Legions have invaded a dense cluster of stars called the Charbringer Stars, located in Segmentum Tempestus. The heretics have been identified as elements of the thrice-cursed Abbadon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade, made up of ships that fled when the Necrontyr destroyed the Blackstone Fortress. The Traitor fleet disgorged itself from the Immaterium to attack the galactic south of the Imperium; striking deep into Imperium held territory that was busy with Hive Fleet Leviathan.

However, the stars themselves are of limited strategic importance, as the only major areas of interest in the sector are the worlds of Caustin's Landing, a forge world of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and Veritusk Sigma, a hive world of importance. So far they have made excellent progress, conquering most of the worlds and threatening the now heavily defended central systems. Considering that the sector is deemed unimportant in light of the massive amount of after shocks generated by the 13th Black Crusade, the Imperium of Man has decreed that the liberation of these worlds is of low importance.

As such, the High Lords of Terra have asked the Space Marines to intervene and protect the afflicted worlds. The Space Marines were chosen because they are quite capable of waging war with limited external support, instead of the massive logistics nightmare that is normally called for when the Guard goes to war. Considering that resources are already stretched to the limit, it was decided that this was the best course of action.

The Silver Sabers Space Marine chapter answered the call and has decided to step in. With their home world located in the Segmentum, they were unable to respond to the Black Crusade, and as such, have most of their chapter already located near enough to the Charbringer Stars to effectively deal with the Ruinous Powers now threatening to overrun the sector. Most of the chapter has been subsequently deployed to liberate the worlds, with four Imperial Guard Infantry regiments and two tank regiments deployed in a standing reserve and support role. Overall command of the operation, tentatively called the Charbringer Crusade, has been turned over to Captain Javian Tarsis, commander of the Silver Sabers Second Company.

However, because the Chapter fleet has been called away to deal with cleanup of the 13th Crusade, only one battlebarge, the Victory at Corinth, and two strike cruisers, the Gladius and the Furious Swordfish, have been allocated to the fleet, along with the transport ships provided for the Imperial Guard reserve regiments. This has created problems for the ground forces, which cannot rely on pinpoint orbital strikes to effectively deal with the enemy forces. The situation now calls for unusual tactics.

The Fortress Monastery of the Silver Sabers is located on the world of Cartha, drawing its resources from Cartha Prime, an Imperium held world that is in the late industrial age of development. This allows the chapter to manufacture its own arms and munitions, allowing them to rule over an expanse of systems with relative autonomy. Cartha itself is a world in its own feudal age, with various factions and empires warring for dominance across the planet. Much of the world is water, so the major powers are seafaring warrior cultures, mimicking the rise of such pre-Imperium human empires such as Rome or Greece. Humans from Cartha make remarkably good candidates for Space Marine Neophytes, with only a 40 percent failure rate with initiation. The reasons why are unknown. The stronghold of the Silver Sabers is a massive polar complex known as the Hilt, a stone edifice located on the north pole of Cartha.

Because of the manufacturing worlds under the dominion of the Chapter, it has an excess of starships, with five battle barges instead of the usual three, and twice as many strike cruisers as normal. All are constantly in use, as they are used to patrol the sectors under Silver Sabers dominion. Currently, only one battle barge and three strike cruisers are patrolling the Chapter's holdings, with the other three battle barges and their contingences deployed near the Eye of Terror.

Recently however, with the invasion of Hive Fleet Leviathan, the collection of systems presided over by the Chapter was heavily effected by the Tyranid incursion. Three worlds were over run before Inquisitor Kryptmann's plan was put into action, with four more worlds being deemed too far gone, and subsequently subjected to Exterminatus. Now, with the threat of the Ruinous Powers so close to the territory held by the Chapter, the Silver Sabers are determined to protect the threatened star cluster at all costs.

The roar of the Thunderhawk's engines cut through the slamming, jarred sounds of atmospheric entry; cutting out almost all the sounds in the drop cabin. The hold was filled with assembled Astartes, all of them hunkered giants in their power armor, bolters slung across their laps. A few were checking their gear and equipment, testing the sharpness of blade and the actions of their weapons. Brother-Sergeant Harvio checked the intake on his chainsword, making sure that it was clear and unclogged. It had been acting up, not revving as high as it used to. He wondered if the power cells were linking correctly. He resolved to ask Brother-Techmarine Parus to look at it for him

A strong, clear voice cut over the whine of the engines, leading the assembled Brother-Marines in prayer. Captain Tarsis, leader of the Silver Sabers 2nd Company, began the Rites of War.

"Blessed is he who aims his bolter!"

"For he is truly vigilant!"

"Strong is he who never falters!"

"For he knows the face of his enemy!"

"Faithful is he who smites his foe!"

"For the deaths of the enemies are his prayers!"

With a final cheer, the cabin fell silent, all of the assembled marines waiting in anticipation for the Captain to speak. Tarsis switched his vox channel to address all of the marines dropping with him, and all the other marines in the other thunderhawks.

"Warriors of Cartha! Sons of The Emperor! For ten thousand years, our Chapter has stood the test of time and faith, and has never been found wanting! For ten thousand years, the Silver Sabers have stood against the enemies of mankind, and we have killed them all. Now, the time has come for us to prove ourselves yet again as servants of our immortal Emperor. The vile consorts of the Ruinous Powers have come to consume these stars, to strike out the light of our most venerated Emperor. Should we let them?"

"No, Captain!" came the reply from all the armored warriors present.

Tarsis adjusted his power sword slung at his side, and continued to speak,

"We are the Silver Sabers! We are Space Marines! And we shall liberate these fallen worlds, and we shall protect the ones that stayed strong! Just as we felled the hideous xenos, so too shall we fell those who turned from the path of the Emperor! Our exiled former brothers of the traitor legions think that they have come to establish a new stronghold for the forces of darkness. Should we let them, my brothers?"

"No, Captain!"

"Then let none survive! Show them how their heresy is rewarded, brothers. Show them how the Silver Sabers treat traitors."

Captain Tarsis donned his helmet, and felt the gentle kiss as his suit made a complete seal. Now he could survive anything, from the hard vacuum of outer space, to the depths of the Ocean of Vaarna on far away Cartha. The armor began to run the internal diagnostic to make sure everything was in working order, and Tarsis began to murmur the Intonement of Maintenance to help the machine spirit finish its task.

The vox-link in his helmet crackled to life, as the pilot of the gunship informed the commander of the situation.

"Hawk 3 to Captain Tarsis."

"Acknowledged, Hawk 3. Go ahead."

"Eta to drop site is five minutes, sir. LZ is very hot, and we're looking at a rapid dust off, Captain."

"Understood, Hawk 3. Continue as planned. Tarsis out."

Tarsis switched channels to the Imperial Navy frequency, and ordered the waiting wing of Marauder heavy bombers to begin their attack run. The short handedness of the crusade necessitated the use of unusual tactics, and this was as about as unusual as you could get. Because they only had one battle barge and a smattering of strike cruisers and transports, pinpoint orbital "softening up" was very difficult. To combat this, Tarsis had relegated that duty to the Marauder squadrons. By bombing the enemy only minutes before the Marines landed, Tarsis believed that the enemy would be very wrong footed and off guard when the Marines landed.

"By the throne, let this work," mumbled Tarsis to himself.

The Marauders screamed low over the horizon, having dropping into the atmosphere forty five seconds ago. Lt. Winters' face was the pilot of the lead Marauder, and his face was set firmly in a scowl. How the marines planned on doing this kind of operation for the rest of the crusade was beyond him. The payloads on his bomber were big, sure, but these were Traitor Marines they were talking about! Just as strong as a full blown Astartes!

"This isn't gonna be easy," Winters said to no one in particular. His gunner grunted in agreement.

The target area was coming into view, a particularly well fortified area of the continent, where the invading traitors had made initial planet fall. The planet was called Dorsin, and it was and Agri-World, supplying the Charbringer Stars with much of the food eaten by the inhabitants. It had been under Chaos dominion for about three standard months, and was picked as the first world to liberate because the food output would be sorely needed. Winters signaled the rest of the bomber wing.

"Viper one to Snake Wing, we're coming low and fast on the target. Eta two and a half minutes. Switch payloads to active detonation and release when ready. Emperor be with us."

The signal lights on the control board lit up as the rest of the squadron sent in their confirmations, and the lieutenant made sure the payload operator was ready. This was going to be quick and bloody, the kind of surgical strike normally called for by the Marines. He and his wing had been relegated to the Victory at Corinth four years ago, as part of a program to improve relations between the Tempestus Battlefleet and the Silver Sabers. He found them to be excellent fleet tacticians, and they were a lot more approachable than he thought that they would be. Apparently, it had something to do with their original home world, and the fact that they spent a lot of time on the seas. They considered space to be another kind of sea, and excelled in ship board actions. He liked them; they were a navy kind of chapter.

Suddenly, the ground defenses started to fire, filling the sky with self propelled rockets and stars of flak. This was to be expected, but for some reason, it was lighter than what had been originally postulated. This was supposed to be one of the best defended areas on the entire planet. Looking out the canopy of the bomber, Winters could see the star field of exploding flak and missiles was still as ferocious as ever, but not as much as it should have been. The auspex was only alerting him intermittently of missile locks, and he barely had to change course to avoid the munitions.

Something was wrong.

Captain Tarsis acknowledged the signal from his thunderhawk. They were almost ready to land, about three minutes from deployment. Tarsis sent a vox signal to the rest of the drop force, confirming that all the other thunderhawks were prepared for the landing. His internal squad notifiers flashed acknowledgements from the rest of the marines. They were as ready as they were going to be.

"Viper One to Captain Tarsis" Tarsis' vox interlink crackled to life.

"This is Tarsis, go ahead," replied the captain with some confusion. The Marauders weren't supposed to check in until the payloads were away, which was at least forty five seconds from now. That would give them about a minute of destruction and firestorms before the marines hit the dirt.

"Captain, the resistance here is a lot lighter than we expected. There's AA fire sure, but not nearly enough of it. I think something's wrong, sir."

Tarsis was silent for a moment, thinking about this new turn of events. At the moment, however, there wasn't much that could be done. They were too close to the drop to call it off, and the soldiers under his command needed a good kickoff to the crusade. If they didn't land when they were supposed to, then a lack of faith in the operation would spring up, stalling the liberation, and there was no telling when it would start again. No, The Sabers would go in now, and deal with the problems as they arose. That was the best they could hope for. And it was what the Sabers were best at.

"Continue on schedule Viper One, Tarsis out."

As the bombs impacted, the Marauders peeled away and started rocketing skyward, back towards the waiting fighter bays of the ships in orbit. Below them, the high yield munitions detonated all around the fortified position, blowing chunks of masonry and traitorous defenders apart and blasting huge craters in the landscape. In some areas, the bombs created small firestorms, incinerating anything even remotely flammable. Dozens of defenders were obliterated in seconds, and dozens more were fatally wounded. The survivors however, far from fleeing, instead turned their heads to the sky, ready for the inevitable assault. Most of the traitors were chaos soldiers, little more than corrupt guardsmen. But at the most important positions were the true masters of these damned troops, whole squads of insane and hate filled Traitor marines, ready to dispense death and malice to their loyalist brethren.

The countdown light blinked red, signaling that the drop was only moments away. "Deployment in thirty seconds! All Brothers! Stand at attention! Prepare for drop!" yelled Tarsis over the roar of the engines. After what seemed like an eternity, the light flashed green, and the broad deployment doors at the front of the gunship clanged open, allowing the harsh sunlight and burning landscape to sweep in.

Tarsis raised his glowing power sword high into the air, and surged out into the blasted soil,

"Foreword Sabers! For Terra! For the Crusade!"

With a roar, the waiting Astartes followed him to battle.