The ground trembled beneath the shifting mass of booted feet, the rumbling of ground vehicles and the detonation of explosives. The smell of blood, loosed bowels, charred flesh, fyceline, ionized oxygen and the exhaust of burnt promethium filled the air with the smell of war and death. Perhaps the most notable element of the bloody battle that was being waged was the cacophony of sound, the chatter of guns both energy and kinetic, the deadly explosions from grenades or shells, the screams of the dying and the battle cries that were being shouted by both sides.
Yet amidst all of this destruction, all of the mayhem and ruin there was a single cry that drowned out all others, "Viva La Revolución! Viva El Guerrero!"
For months now, the people of Yucatas have risen up in revolution against the tyranny of the Imperium and against the reign of Imperial Governor, Archibald Sanchez III. Having long suffered under the harsh regime of the Governor and spurred by the ideals of freedom and equality which had been offered by the neighboring worlds of the than Palladian Stars Alliance and their alien benefactors, the Tau Empire, the revolutionaries now fought to bring a better tomorrow for their world. At first the revolutionaries had been divided into multiple small disorganized groups whose actions proved ineffective against the combined efforts of the PDF and the Adeptus Arbites but all that changed when the charismatic leader known as El Guerrero, united the various factions and soon the revolution came into full swing.
Battle after bloody battle followed as the now organized groups of freedom fighters fought guerilla warfare against the Imperial loyalists who began to take harsher measures which only served to drive more people into joining the revolution. Large amounts of military equipment had been either stolen or smuggled in from off-world sources by unknown means and in time, the revolutionaries could now face the PDF and the Arbites in open battle. After many successes against the Imperial forces, the revolution now came to the planetary capital of Tenoch.
Speaker towers that had once been used to spout Pro-Imperium propaganda had been converted by the revolutionaries to either boost the morale of the freedom fighters or to attempt the already dwindling PDF to surrender. The close quarter fighting within the city was both brutal and bloody with atrocious crimes being committed by both sides as had been since the beginning of the conflict. Yet, within the hearts of all those in the city of Tenoch, the final battle was drawing closer and victory for the revolutionaries seemed imminent.
Down upon the ruined streets where the battle was at its thickest, Hidalgo Panza had his back to the ruined broadside of PDF Chimera and he swiftly went through the motions of reloading an empty Autogun. Like many of the revolutionaries, he wore simple civilian clothes which were well suited for the hot, dry climate of the region with a carapace chestplate taken from previous battles with the PDF and he also wore a wide brimmed hat. Inserting the ammunition clip into his rifle and hearing the satisfied click, he glanced out from the side of the destroyed vehicle to see where the enemy troops were.
From the opposite side of the street, PDF soldiers hiding behind sandbag walls opened fire on the freedom fighters with a barrage of autoguns, lasguns and heavy stubbers. Men and women were cut down by the dozens with those who still survived seeking out what little cover they could find. Hidalgo's heart pounded like a drum as sweat beaded his forehead and he maintained a steel-nerved calm despite the punishing hail of fire.
The war had hardened the young man who less than a year earlier had been a simple corn farmer on a plantation where the crops they grew would often be sent off-world and leaving little for the farmers themselves. He had joined the revolution after an incident when several PDF soldiers came into town along with a captured rebel of whom had been a friendly acquaintance of his before the conflict. The PDF had searched their town rather forcefully, destroying much in the way of property and taking folks away for "questioning".
During the PDF's search, one soldier had attempted to loot a number of his family's belongings and when Hidalgo's elder brother, Diego tried to stop the soldier, he had quickly been shot dead. Everything else that happened afterwards was a confused mess of running and shouting as he tried to escape the PDF and he eventually got himself lost in the jungles near his home town. It was by some miracle really that he had run into a group of freedom fighters who had been under the command of El Guerrero himself and with a heart that burned with the desire for vengeance, he joined the Revolution.
Explosions suddenly blossomed in the entrenched position of the heavy stubber nests and he gave a loud roar of exultation for the Mortar Teams had for once, finally done something right. Bodies in the uniforms of the PDF were thrown about like ragdolls along with broken pieces of equipment and whistles were blown by revolutionary officers from behind, signaling for the freedom fighters to advance.
With one last unified war cry, Hidalgo and his comrades sprinted ahead towards the Governor's Palace. One last push and freedom from the Imperium's tyranny would be theirs for the taking.
Nervously tapping his fingers on the surface of a holo-display table, Imperial Governor Archibald Sanchez III listened to the reports brought in by his generals. The Governor was dressed in an expensive suite of bright blue and gold with many gilded medals which had belong to his grandfather who had been a highly decorated Lord General of the Imperial Guard pinned to his chest. He wore thick white gloves which had grown slick with sweat underneath it and with great mental control; he tried to hide the way which he was shaking.
His own personal army had proven fairly useless against these rebels who were nothing more than a rag-tag band of peasants, miscreants and heretics who dared to defy the divine law of Him on Earth. Although they had the advantage of equipment, numbers, training and support from the Adeptus Arbites, it had confusingly all gone down the sump. The head of the local Arbites had been assassinated sometime after El Guerrero showed up and soon several high ranking members of the PDF had also been slain, all by a single shot from a sniper.
The Governor had silently prayed to the Emperor for deliverance for the situation had proven to be fairly grim. Although he had a shuttle which he could use to escape his palace, his personal ship along with the Starport had already been lost to the rebels and if the propaganda they spewed was to be believed, he and every high ranking member of his staff would be executed for what they called "crimes against humanity".
It was ironic that these rebels who were in league with foul xenos would accuse him! The Imperial Governor, the divinely ordained representative of the Administratum of Terra, a traitor to humanity!? It would have been enough to give the man who had ruled Yucatas for over sixty years a good laugh had he not been on the losing side of this rebellion.
He did not deserve this he thought as he slowly looked around his lavish office which he had spent trillions of good, tax-payer credits in adequately furnishing for his personal tastes such as his desk which was made from genuine Tanith Nalwood. There were worlds yet to conquer and add to the Imperium, deals to make with Rogue Trader Dynasties and rewards to be given for his humble and faithful service to the God Emperor. All of that would be gone, because some trumped up peasant who was nothing more than a puppet to the alien sought to question his righteous rule!
If there was one thing which he especially regretted now, it was his hesitance to sabotage the Generatorums that powered the city. Had he done it, he could at least have taken all of these rebels out in a mighty blast wave of nuclear fire and escape to somewhere where he could think up of a way to reclaim his world. Once more, he began to curse the name of the rebel leader, this El Guerrero and he hoped that the Emperor and his holy navy would Exterminatus the planet after he was dead.
'My lord Governor' came the voice of one of his Generals, a fierce, bear of a man named Reyes who was dressed in flak armour with a chainsword resting in its sheath next to his left hip, he was he most senior member of his staff for the man had experience serving within the Imperial Guard.
'What is it General Reyes' replied the Imperial Governor in an annoyed tone who already had enough of hearing about more bad news. The General took a moment to clear his throat but the Governor noticed that spark in the man's eye and it was one that gave him a small measure of hope.
'Our call for help has been answered and reinforcements has arrived sooner than expected' said the General and silence soon fell upon the Gubernatorial Office.
'Is it the Imperial Guard?' asked the hopeful voice of another General named Jorge de Sanza.
'No' said General Reyes with a grin spreading across his grizzled features 'something much better…'
The Governor's Palace now stood before the very eyes of Hidalgo, its pristine, polished white marble and gold walls which was decorated with grand buttresses and angelic statues, shined so brightly that it almost blinded the eyes of the freedom fighter. When he saw this towering bastion he felt a sense of awe for it was magnificent but at the same time, he also felt a sense of loathing and disgust. He saw the palace for what it truly was, a shining monument to vanity, greed and egoism, a place ruled by a parasite of the worst kind!
All of his life, Hidalgo had been told that the labor of his town along with those from many others across the planets and surely across the galaxy as well, all went to the glory of the Imperium and its undying Emperor. The God Emperor, he thought with disgust, a distant ruler from a planet called Terra (which Hidalgo even questioned if it even existed), saw fit that his subject lived with the ever present threat of famine, disease and death for even before the current conflict, these things had happened at a depressingly common rate.
Well no more, vowed Hidalgo! No more would they toil for some distant tyrant who willingly sacrificed the lives of his subjects to feed the bellies of the Elite! No more would good, honest folk have to be conscripted to fight in some other part of the galaxy and never return home! No more would they live under the shackles of the Imperium!
Anger burned within the freedom fighter as he quickly rejoined the fight. In droves did the PDF soldiers retreat behind the massive gates which protected the palace and many of those too slow or unfortunate to be at the rear, threw down their guns and raised their arms in surrender to the revolutionaries. Hidalgo was half tempted to shoot these soldiers for in many times, during the war, he had seen unarmed civilians gunned down by PDF firing squad.
Hidalgo stayed his hand of course and he shouted to an PDF trooper, man who looked to be slightly older than the freedom fighter, to place his hands behind his head and to get out of the way. The PDF trooper obeyed and so did his comrades with each one looking just about ready to soil him or herself.
'All right now-' said Hidalgo who was suddenly interrupted as several large metallic objects suddenly dropped from the sky and it crash landed before the gates of the palace. Thankfully, there was no one who was even near the object when it made contact into the ground and terror began to grip the heart of Hidalgo for he recognized what it was. A red metal pod barred the way towards the palace's gate and it began to make a hissing sound as metal ramps unfolded to reveal what it carried.
Red armoured giants with green eyed helmets and pauldrons of black strode forth from the pods and in the hands of these mighty beings were massive chainswords and pistols which Hidalgo doubted that any mortal man could carry. For a moment, all were stunned at the sight of these giants, these mythical figures whom every soul within the Imperium learned to either be in awe of or feared. He had thought that they were only legends, stories to entertain folk but now Hidalgo knew the truth and if even a fraction of what the stories said were true, then he knew that they were now in a whole load of trouble.
Before the revolutionaries or even the PDF who had been stranded outside could react, the red and black giants, the beings who could be none other than Space Marines, let loose a loud, roar of bloodlust. Shoving the PDF soldier he had tried to arrest aside, Hidalgo lifted up his Autogun and unleashed a full volley of lead towards the Space Marines while his comrades did the same. Bullets and laser bolts did almost nothing against these massive warriors who were said to be angels of war given flesh and despite their size, they proved to be surprisingly quick.
Screams of pain and agony soon echoed across the street as the roaring blades of the Space Marines easily cut through them like wheat before the scythe. The gate then opened and from it, Hidalgo saw even more Space Marines sprint outwards with chainblades revving. Blood suddenly splattered across the face of Hidalgo as the head of a girl to his left, another freedom fighter, exploded in a shower of gore as a Space Marine bolt round struck the unfortunate woman.
Freedom fighters died by the dozens and with each second, the weapons which had carried them to victory against the PDF had now become like rocks to the armoured hull of a tank. Terror began to spread through the ranks of the revolutionaries and even the PDF who had surrendered, for none been spared the fury of the Space Marines. Continuing to fire his autogun until the clip ran empty, he knew that he was going to die, not a glorious death in battle, rather he would be killed like a helpless grox at a slaughterhouse…
Blood filled the air as Battle Brother Narrix of the Flesh Tearers Chapter swept his chainsword through the neck of a puny mortal whose gore spewed out like a geyser. The Red Thirst was now heavy upon the Astartes who desired nothing more than to remove his helmet and to taste the warm libation that now coated his Mark VII Power Armour. In his mind, he caught glimpses of the Primarch Sanguinius's life during the Siege of Terra.
Focusing his thoughts and reminding himself that the memory was not his, he killed and killed all of the pitiful mortals that stood before him. His chainsword sang as his bolt pistol spat death to those around him and his battle brother acquitted themselves rather well against these traitors of the Imperial Creed. Bullets and lasers struck uselessly against his power armour and in return, he gave his attackers the gift of a bloody death.
On the Vox channel which his Power Armour had been attuned to, he heard the voice of Chaplain Khargos who chanted litanies that somewhat calmed the Black Rage that burned within Narrix. The Space Marine quickly cut the legs off of one mortal who collapsed into the bloody ground and he delivered a quick stomp upon the mortal's head which caused it to explode like a melon. This is what he lived for thought the Space Marine as he drove his chainsword into the spine of another mortal and he sawed down to the groin before kicking the thing forward.
A series of bullets slammed into the front of his body and he felt a round ricochet off of his helmet. Glaring at the impudent mortal who dared to attack him, he saw young male specimen pointing an Autogun at him before trying to reload his weapon. Either this mortal was brave for not running away or stupid for trying to face him head but regardless, he would kill this pathetic creature before moving on to the next.
Lifting his Bolt Pistol towards the mortal who then stood transfixed like prey, he enjoyed the fear in the mortal's eyes as he realized that he was going to die. Pulling the trigger of his pistol, Narrix was blinded by a sudden flash of bright light and he felt the impact as something powerful struck against his chest and his shot was fired wide off. Darkness began to fill the vision of the Flesh Tearer Space Marine as he looked down and to his horror, he saw a large hole where his two hearts used to be.
His eyes rolled up underneath his helmet and he collapsed to the bloody road but not before hearing the surprised voices of his Battle Brothers whose heavy bodies hit the ground hard.
'Caramba!' shouted Hidalgo as the Space Marine who had just been about to shoot him, had in turn been shot by a powerful laser beam.
Blood, meat and pieces of armour flew out from the exit wound of the Space Marine in a shower and the other ones halted for a moment in surprise before another laser beam struck one in the head and a third was struck in the chest. Their large armoured bodies struck the ground with light tremors and he wondered exactly what it was that had killed the mighty warriors. Quickly running to the side of the street where a smaller building stood with its front door left open, he knew that if he wanted to survive, he needed to stay as far away from the Space Marines as possible.
Another lance of energy struck out and in a single shot, it slew Battle Brother Tarron whose power armour stood little chance against the shots. Gritting his teeth underneath his helmet in rage, Chaplain Khargos had followed the contrail of the energy lance and he had quickly followed it to a tall building that was currently straight ahead. The deaths of four Battle Brothers in such quick succession was enough to give pause to the fleeing rebels who likely now began to realize that a Space Marine was not invincible.
Rage coursed through the Flesh Tearer Chaplain at such ignominious deaths for each of the men who had died deserved a far more honourable end. Quickly issuing orders to converge upon the building where the sniper was located, he also gave a word of warning for he was able to identify the nature of the weapon. A Railgun he believed it was called, a powerful anti-material weapon used by the xeno Tau Empire which could come in the form of a rifle or cannon that could be mounted on a tank or a walker.
The rebels opened fire once more upon the Flesh Tearers and their weapons proved ineffective against the holy wargear of their Chapter. The Chaplain knew of course that they should not remain in the open for long as even weapons like an autogun or a lasrifle could pierce through the blessed armoured of a Space Marine when fired by enough foes. Ordering his Brothers to advance, the Flesh Tearers headed for the alleyways and the buildings on the side of the street with the intent of escaping the lethal firing zone.
On the HUD of his helmet, he saw the life signs of Devastator Brother Sacar go red with a loud explosion and he glanced back to see that the detonating backpack that carried the rounds for his Heavy Bolter. Muttering a curse in the Emperor's name, he picked up his pace as he went down the alley which became narrow due to his enhanced size and power armour. As he struggled to get through the narrow passage, he heard the voice of the Planetary Governor demanding to know what had just happened, no doubt that someone among the incompetent PDF saw the demise of his Battle Brothers and reported it in.
Shutting off the channel which directly linked back to the Imperial Governor, he kept his mind focused on the task of vengeance.
'Chaplain!? In the Emperor's name respond dammit!' shouted Governor Sanchez with anger and disbelief for never in his life had anyone the gall to just cut him off like that.
He had watched with great interest, to see just how might the Angels of Death truly were and indeed it seemed that at first that they would live up to their legendary reputation before four of their numbers quickly dropped like flies! It was possible according to General Reyes that the rebels may have been using long-las rifle with hotshot power cells or that they may even acquired some potent xenos weaponry. If the latter was the case, then could it be possible that there could be some aliens fighting alongside the rebels?
The mere idea of aliens upon his planet made the Governor feel a mixture of fear and revulsion for what if there was even an invasion fleet nearby? Uneased by such thoughts he quickly ordered to have an emergency shuttle prepped for launch. If the Space Marines failed in this, then perhaps it may be better if he fled now and try to figure out some other way to get off-world.
Blood now spattered the power amour of Chaplain Khargos for he had pulverized many rebels into bloody pulps with his Crozius. He continued to chant mantras and prayers into the vox unit of his Power Armour for he needed to keep his Battle Brothers focused on eliminating the alien threat and not losing themselves to the Black Rage. The last thing their Chapter needed was more ammunition for the Inquisition to use against them.
'Is anyone nearing the sniper's position?' cautiously asked the Chaplain for he kept his eyes open in case there were more rebels.
'None sir we- CONTACT!' roared Brother Urhan as the sound of bolter fire and the roar of chainswords became mixed with the discharge of alien energy weapons. More reports came in of the Space Marines engaging with enemy targets and as soon as it began, he on the HUD of his visor that their lifesigns began to terminate at an alarming rate.
Eventually all that was left was the Chaplain and a Scout Marine named Leor.
'What in the Emperor's name just happened?' asked the Scout a bit nervously for this had been the first mission of the young Neophyte.
'I-' replied the Chaplain before suddenly halting as he noticed a pair of floating xenos machines hovering above them.
Quickly aiming his plasma pistol up, he fired a shot that destroyed one but the other fired a plasma bolt of its own that struck Leor on his exposed scalp and instantly frying the young Marine's head. The second machine, a Tau Drone began to move left and right in a serpentine pattern to evade his aim and by instinct, he knew that more would come.
Swinging his Crozius to the right, he smashed down the walls of the building closest to him and he felt the impact that caused it to explode, thus leaving a large enough hole for him to fit through. Entering the building to temporarily escape from the Drones, he soon found himself in what looked to be a storage room which had several cardboard boxes stacked about in neat pillars. A feeling of Disbelief came over the Chaplain for the mighty group of Battle Brothers he had accompanied were now all dead with him being the last survivor.
This was no ordinary rebellion he thought for in the century which he had served his Chapter and the Emperor, there were few forces in the known universe that could kill a group of Space Marines so quickly. Could it be that other, darker powers were afoot here? Knowing full well that it would be folly to stay, he tried to contact the Battle Barge so that he could request for extraction. He suddenly then stopped as he heard two sounds, one was the soft humming of a xeno anti-gravity device and the other which was also very soft, sounded like the clopping of hooves.
Using his enhanced senses to try and pinpoint the source of the sound, he heard the first one, a Tau Drone flying towards him. Trusting his instincts, he swung his Crozius in a sweeping motion to his left and he felt the satisfying impact as he struck the machine which suddenly then exploded in a bright flash of energy. The protective field of his Rosarius defended him from the explosion but then he heard several phut-phut sounds to his back.
Unable to quickly react in time, the Chaplain was struck by a series of disc-shaped, explosive grenades which detonated on him and destroying the shield of his Rosarius. The next thing he knew, Chaplain felt a brief moment of vertigo before he realized that he was falling and he crashed to the floor with a heavy thud. He tried to get up or to at least whisper one last prayer but his attacker offered no such mercy and was quick to engulf the Flesh Tearer in a blast of energy that quickly vaporized the Space Marine.
Hours later…
Music filled the streets around the city of Tenoch for the Capital was now in the hands of the Revolution. The war was not yet over for Imperial Governor Sanchez and many of his command staff had managed to escape the palace via air shuttle. Security was being tightened around the Spaceport to make sure no one was getting off-world until the tyrant was found but until then, everyone knew that victory was theirs.
Hidalgo raised his Autogun high and he fired a series of shots in celebration. He now stood past the gate of the palace and upon the courtyard where leading up to palace proper was a grand staircase where El Guerrero himself ascended with an honour guard of his most loyal comrades. Word had begun to spread that the leader of the Revolution had taken part in a battle at one of the main military bases where the PDF had maintained a large motor pool of vehicles.
All eyes were upon the leader of the Revolution who eventually went to a platform from which the former Governor used to give public speeches and he had been handed a megaphone from one of his aides.
'My friends!' said El Guerrero in a proud tone 'today I am honoured to call you my brothers and sisters for we all that we have fought and bled so hard to achieve is finally now ours!' Countless voices and fists were raised high in solidarity and the leader of the Revolution allowed them to have a moment to enjoy the euphoria.
'The coming months, maybe even years will be a hard one as we try to rebuild our world' said El Guerrero 'but know this! we are not alone for already our allies are willing to welcome us!' Again there was a round of cheering and applause as Hidalgo quietly prayed to his family and he hoped that wherever they were now, they could hear them.
'Remember that on this day, we have earned our independence! Our freedom!' roared El Guerrero which drew more cheers from the crowd who thunderously roared "Viva La Revolución! Viva El Guerrero!"
With a smile etched on the lips of El Guerrero, he basked in the applause and the cheers of the crowd and he had no doubt that his image was now being broadcasted across the entire planet. Turning around to face his command staff, they began shaking hands and patting each other on the back, congratulating one another for their victory. Sadly, he would have to have make sure that some of them would meet with "unfortunate accidents" within the coming weeks for no doubt that now, they all expected to be placed in high ranking positions of the new government and he would hardly be surprised if some of them decided that they wanted even greater positions.
That would have to be a problem for another day he decided for he felt like seeing if the Governor really did have an expensive stash of off-world liquor and luxury cars. He then noticed the group of "Elite Specialists" who had arrived from Palladian Stars Alliance and their leader who quietly stood at attention. Giving them a warm, friendly smile and wondering if he could bribe them into becoming his new honour guard.
'And here are the heroes of the Revolution!' said El Guerrero who extended his arms open as if offering to give them a hug and in his mind, he began fancying the idea of having the title, El Presidente.
'Just doing our job' nodded the leader of the Elite team who most definitely was one of the alien Tau while the others were clearly humans in high-tech suits of armour. They all wore the ochre and white coloured armour with the black and white circle insignia of the alien empire but the actual shape and size of their equipment had little in the way of uniformity. Their leader in question wore white cape over the right shoulder and he noticed the rather large knife which the alien carried on the side of its belt.
'Will you all at least stay for the celebration?' asked El Guerrero with a magnanimous smile 'we can use your help in cleaning up the remaining Imperials.'
'On behalf of my team, I must apologize but we are expected to report back to the Ta'Shiro soon' replied the alien leader with a formal bow.
'I see well I wish you all a safe journey' said El Guerrero with a smile while trying to hide his disappointment and he raised one hand towards the alien leader.
The Tau then gave him a firm handshake and spoke 'you may expect the diplomats from the Water Caste and the Palladian Stars to be arriving within the next five cycles.'
'It seems I will be busy then' nodded El Guerrero who continued to smile 'again thank you for your assistance… er Shas'el, was it?'
'No It is Shas'nel' corrected the Tau who straightened up and began to speak with a voice that was filled with pride 'I am Shas'nel'Tau'Sheia, Fireblade of the Tau Empire and the Palladian Myrmidons.'