Imperial Hive world: Victorax Vii, 544, M40
Baarbarus dove into cover, his Power armour creating sparks and shedding paint as it grated across the courtyard. He raised his Boltgun and scanned for targets. His Astartes physiology immediately accommodating for the battlefield smoke. He raised his gun above cover and let fly a thunderous salvo of mass reactive rounds, shredding several Imperial Guardsmen who had exposed themselves too much to gain a better field of fire. The traitor legionnaire ducked back down behind cover as a Plasma Cannon strafed the area. Several Cultists and Beastmen were atomised by the white-hot energy, their melting corpses tumbling to the ground. The rest of Severance squad ducked into cover, the Plasma weapon not harming any of their power-armoured forms.
He looked around, and saw the other nineteen Astartes of Severance squad scanning for targets and snapping of on single fire. He glanced at the Imperial position again. They were bedded down behind plasteel and sandbags, not fifty metres across the great courtyard. He counted at least seventy men, a multi platoon strength position. There was a Plasma Cannon in one of the building windows; intermittently it spat ruin and death down upon the Chaos host, its crew were obviously scared of it overheating.
"Bloodchild, Bloodchild this is Severance; Run into fierce resistance at location Sigma, require support, Bloodchild do you copy?" rasped Baarbarus into his vox. Nothing but static greeted his words. "In the name of the Warp!" cursed Baarbarus; he rose and emptied the rest of his magazine into the Imperial line. He heard a cry for a medic, and smiled. The buildings must be blocking his signal, he mused.
Several cultists rose and fired their Lasrifles at the Imperials on the other side of their little slice of hell. The Lasgun's harsh snaps clashed with the throaty roar of Severtar's Heavy stubber. Baarbarus looked at his Pack leader, spent shell casings flying from his weapon like rain. His Crimson armour looked faded; it was covered in white dust from the burning and shattered Hive. His massive pauldrons had flayed human hides pinned in each corner, and Abominable runes painted on them in the blood of Innocents. Great spikes jutted from his backpack; Impaled human heads stared out in horror, with witch fire burning in their Eye sockets. His helmet was shaped into the face of a snarling daemon, its open fanged maw revealing his vox grille. He looked magnificent, nay, beautiful thought Baarbarus.
With a concussive roar, Heldron vaulted cover and sprinted forward, his chainaxe baying for the Guardsman's blood. Heldron was the squad's resident Bezerker, having given himself over to the Blood God as soon as the Chapter had turned on the False Emperor. The Cannon found its range and let out a billowing tirade of Plasma fire. Somehow, the Khornate Legionnaire avoided any damage. With his helmet, aiding his already impressive senses Baarbarus saw the Imperials running from the Arcane Emplacement. In a blinding Ice-blue explosion, the Plasma Cannon Exploded. Heldron had already made it across the courtyard and vaulted a toppled colonnade a squad of Guardsman were hiding behind. His Adimantium boots collided with one Guardsman and his momentum, and three hundred kilos of armoured bulk, burst the unfortunates ribs out through his back. The Bezerker swung his screaming chain axe, eviscerating a stumbling Guard Sergeant trying to draw his powerblade.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" Shrilled Heldron, His dusty armour coated in bright scarlet ichor. His Chain axe continued to rise and fall in bloody arcs.
"NOW IS OUR TIME!" roared Severtar, slinging his Heavy Stubber. "FORWARD WARRIORS OF CHAOS! SHOW THESE LAPDOGS WHAT IT MEANS TO EARN THE IRE OF THE SURROGATE PALADINS!" As one, the Chaos Space Marines broke cover and bolted toward the Imperial Guard lines. Most slung their weapons and drew their black combat knives. Others unclipped chainswords and chainaxes. Severtar unslung a massive double-handed, two metre long Powermace. Pink sparks danced around the mace's head as its powerfeild was activated.
"Sanguinem falsum Imperator! Submergatur in sanguine filiorum eius!" Roared the Surrogate Paladins, their helmet lenses gleaming like topaz fire. The twenty Chaos Marines burst into the Imperial lines.
The slaughter that followed was monstrous. Braced bayonets broke upon the chest plates of charging Traitor Marines, Cultists stabbed with crude knifes of sharpened stone. Baarbarus punched clean through a Guardsman's head with a hooked fist and blasted with his Bolter, turning once living bodies into pink mist and shredded meat. Men screamed, Beastmen howled, but the Astartes stayed silent. Well except for Heldron, he continued to scream like a lunatic, his dull armour now bright red with the blood of the fallen. Baarbarus looked over at his Pack leader again. Severtar knocked down several guardsmen with a contemptuous sweep of his Mace, the snapping of the Mortals spines louder than the hum of the Power weapon. Severtar grabbed the Imperial leader by the throat, a Lieutenant by his stripes, and crushed the man's neck like over ripe friut.
"Contact right!" Bellowed Graflon, his horned armour bobbing down into cover. Baarbarus turned and saw them. Massive shaved headed brutes. Homo Sapiens Gigantus, Big Bruisers; Ogryns. Seven of the Abhuman brutes charged out of an alleyway, their thick throats giving voice to bestial roars.
Baarbarus let rip with what remained in the magazine then threw his bolter aside and drew his Chainblade. There was a yell; Heldron had seen the Ogryns. With a roar, the Crazed Space Marine leapt forward and sprinted for the Ogryns. With a bestial roar one of the Ogryns counter charged, it's Ripper Gun belching buckshot at a horrendous rate. Heldron was slowed by the rain of pellets and raised his arm in front of his face; attempting to block the hail of lead. The Ogryn was on top of him in a second. It swung its rifle like a club, knocking the Blood Crazed marine to one knee. The Ogryn swung again, from the opposite direction. Its gun's powered bayonet sheared into the Ceramite of Heldron's helmet. The Bezerker collapsed onto his back and went to swing his chainaxe. With a thump, the Ogryn's foot pinned it to the ground. Heldron began to scream in rage, froth bubbling out of his helmets grille. Baarbarus looked away from his squad mate's plight to see a large bull Ogryn sprinting at him, Bolt holes pockmarked its flesh and yellowed teeth turned tusk's jutted from its jaw. Graflon fired his Bolter again and caught it in the chest stumbling it. Baarbarus lobbed a frag grenade at the struggling Ogryn and knocked it over. Before the abhuman could get up, He ran forward and with his great weight behind it, drove his Chainsword into its throat. Then with a spray of the Ogryn's lifeblood the abhuman died. Baarbarus ripped his chainsabre free of the dead Ogryn's throat.
He turned. Baarbarus saw Severtar Grappling with an Ogryn, his Mace lying at his feet and a combat knife jammed into the Ogryns Bicep. The Ogryn had both of Severtar's hands clenched in its meaty paws and was fighting to lever the Space Marine onto his back. Baarbarus looked around the unfolding melee. He saw his squad slowly winning ground, only because of their twenty marines to the six remaining Ogryns. There was a sound like a thunder crash, and Baarbarus turned and saw Heldron leaning over the corpse of the Ogryn that had but a few seconds ago had been about to stomp his head in. The Ogryn's head was completely gone, its neck snapped then brutalized off by Heldron's chainaxe. Baarbarus turned, with his superhuman Astartes hearing he thought he heard a whistle. With a start, all of the remaining Ogryns turned and fled back the way they came. They were chased back down the alleyway by Bolter fire and long bursts from Severtar's Heavy stubber.
"Severance squad! Regroup on me!" Yelled Severtar, picking up his Mace from where it had fallen. Baarbarus ran a quick head count. No Legionnaires of Severance had been killed, only Heldron had been wounded from several lead fragments piecing his neck seal. The cultists were not so lucky. Of the fifty men, women and Beastmen that had accompanied them into the city only three remained, their broken bodies lay where they had fallen. The Chaos Marines paid them no heed.
"Pack leader" One of the traitor Astartes questioned. "Why did they fall back?"
"Probably bit off more than they could chew!" guffawed Graflon, his helmet removed and his long black hair softly stirring in the breeze. Severtar looked at Graflon disdainfully.
"Brother Graflon, removing your helmet on the field of battle is unsafe; we wear full face helms for a reason" Remarked the Aspiring Champion.
As if to punctuate his words, the sound of tank tracks clattered through the air.
"PALADINS! DEFENSIVE SPREAD!" bellowed Severtar.
"Sounds like a Leman Russ, Not too far off" Voxed one of the Marines, Baarbarus could not tell whom by the crackle of the vox. To his left Heldron began to spasm and growl, his head snapping about at every sound. Instead of getting quieter, the tank sounds got louder. Now they could hear the bass throb of its engine.
"Way bigger than a Leman Russ" Remarked Graflon over the vox.
"Graflon! Radio discipline! As I recall, you are not in a blood lust like Heldron, so shut your mouth" Snarled Severtar.
The wall in front of the Chaos Marines exploded. Smoke rolled throughout the courtyard. Baarbarus slapped a magazine of armour piercing rounds into his Boltgun, aimed down range and waited for the smoke to clear. A huge shape loomed before them and Baarbarus froze.
In his past life, as an Imperial Space Marine of the former Emperor's Paladins Space Marine Chapter, Baarbarus had known no fear. He had battled monstrous Tyranids and killed brutal Orks. Nevertheless, the sight of a Hostile Baneblade in an attack position on him made his blood freeze.
"BY THE DARK GODS!" yelled Severtar. "SEVERANCE SQUAD! FALL BACK! RUN YOU FOOLS, TZEENTCH CURSE YOU!"
The Baneblade turned its massive turret and fired.