The Crusade of Iron
Green lights flashed over James's head and scorched the altar to the God-Emperor above him. The priest was screaming a prayer trying to raise his screeching voice above the wailing infants and crying civilians. James ducked his head and tried to hide the tears that streaked down his face. Stay strong, thought James, they will be here soon then it will be all over. The lights flashed and the crack of las rounds echoed through the air. The guardsmen were making a desperate last stand against the implacable advance of the Necrons. The silver men had risen from the depths of James's world, Olathron, and reaped a bloody scythe of destruction across the lands.
"Stand strong children of the Emperor," shouted the priest, " those who are faithful shall forever walk in his-"
The priest's cry cut off as his face was disintegrated atom by atom. The Necrons had crushed the meager PFD sent out to hamper them. James watched on as the guardsmen made their stand, they were dying and soon they would be no more. An unworthy end for the Olthronus Vth regiment, thought James., if only Charles and mum were still here. James thought back to how the Necrons had crushed his hopes and his dreams.
"James, come inside at once!" shouted James's Mother.
"But I only need five minutes" whined James from the balcony over looking the verdant fields of Olthron. Olathron was considered one of the most beautiful luxury worlds in the entire galaxy and yet received little traffic owing to their close proximity to the ghoul stars.
"James your father will be home on leave and you had better be clean when you meet him!" said James's Mother.
"I will mum I promise, what time is he going to be here?" James asked.
There was only an empty silence from the house. James walked back in believing his mother had walked away to finish whatever task the servants had not done. The servants on Olathron were used to relative luxury and were lazier then one should be on an imperium world. James father was one of the few guard members who could afford a family and live in luxury at that. James dad was the regimental commander of the Olathron Vth and was respected by his men. James wandered through the living room and headed for the kitchen. James saw the claw marks before he saw the beast before him. It was then that all semblance of innocence was lost and his childhood behind him forever. James stared into the madness contained within the lost flayed one. James froze as the flayed one chittered and pulled his mother fresh skin over its metal body. The blood still dripping from her face, the world seemed to slow down and silence overweighing any noises. Then James did the only thing he could, he screamed.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed James as he backpedaled out of the room. James tore down the hallway out the door and into the street. He made for the nearest shrine he could and saw a sight of terrible destruction, the silver tide of Necrons rolled over his town destroying it in a barrage of gauss weaponry. As James stared in horror an open topped truck rolled by. A hand snatched out and grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt and James blacked out.
As James snapped back into the moment he heard a women wailing and saw the green eyes of a flayed one staring from the darkness. Before it could lunge at James the cathedral collapse as its support gave out under the gauss flayers. James looked up and saw the rockcrete slab falling around him. James curled up in a ball under the altar and thought of how the emperor had forsaken the people of Olathron. The last sight James saw before being entombed in a tomb of rock was of stars falling to Olathron.