The Undertaking was under commencement. Already chapter heralds had requested the Lords of the Tingle Arm to send aide to the plighted Summerus five, and they along with choice squads bore the message that they hoped against all hope that the Lords would respect: lay down your swords against one another join the Rising Sons in fighting the greenskin hordes that fell amongst the dominion. But already word had reached Edo that several of the more prominent Lords, with serious troop and fleet strengths, would not rally under the banner of the Space Marines who had terrorized them for so long. It seemed that the Rising Sons stood alone against unnumerable waves of Orks. Soshiro had seen it, Ichigara had barely gotten out alive. The asteroids had slammed into the planet and the plea had gone out to the Rising Sons, whom they responded quickly wby sending Tiger Squad. Ten versus an estimated two billion Orks. Impossible odds even for those used to accomplishing the impossible. So the entire chapter had been mobilized. A hundred proud squads, three fourths tactical, one fourth assault, with supporting tank, fighter and several squads of inductee scout assassins honored enough to join the undertaking. All these were to rendezvous above the Fortress Moon Edo, home of the Chapter House where they would rally around the Flagship Shogun, a mighty aging Battlecruiser to rain death and destruction on the greenskins. Most of the engagement would be done in space, Force Commander Isei decided, he would use the mighty batteries of the fleet to soften up the ground before his forces landed to engage the swine in open combat. The Orks were many but slow, if they continued at the rate of advance that Soshiro and Ichigara had noted three months before, they would swallow the planet in two years, barely enough time for the Chapter fleet to mobilize and arrive.
So Tiger Squad and the seventy that had remained on planet took up their temporary home amongst the strike cruisers of the House escorted by nearly a hundred destroyers, frigates and light cruisers from the Home world of Edo, the world in which the chapter indoctrinated potential inductees. One week later the last of the herald squads had returned, some with small fleets in tow, the weaker smaller Lords that lacked the backbone and honor to challenge the might of the House responded, but they lacked ships in great number and tonnage, the biggest amongst them, a medium cruiser converted to a carrier, the interceptor and bomber pilots inexperienced although well trained. So once the force had been accounted for the chapter fleet and the motley flotilla in tow slipped into the violent warp for the four week journey.
Some squads deanimated for the trip, so they would be sharp and rested. Soshiro kept his squads tense and anxious to accomplish the same thing. Games of regicide, throwing contests, drinking contests, any contest they could think of in fact was done to pass the time. And above all stories. Each member of Tiger had a story behind him. Haru drank them all. But he somehow saved the most independent member, Brother Kamida, for last. He only asked once he remarked that Kamida's left glove was shaped like the head of the peaceful dragons of Edo, who soared amongst the heavens on waves of heat and doused their prey in the cleansing flame of the Emperor.
"It breaths like a dragon too." Kamida laughed and delicately applied paint to the red and blue eyes. A small kindling of flame puffed from the mouth of the dragon, from the palm of his hands.
"How?" Haru stood amazed. Kamida laughed again and slipped off the glove, the suit hissed as its seals were broken.
"It is not your hand!" Haru exclaimed, and studied the prosthetic closely, inside, there was a small flask filled with promethium, the nozzle was hidden as a small indent on his palm.
Kamida's face grew slightly darker though the twinkle in his eyes remained. The smile was gone. "It is not my hand. It was my brother's…"
A year ago, Force Commander Beltatsu lead a proud undertaking of ten squads supported by two regiments of Lord Pitsumada's Guard heavy infantry to cleanse Pitsumada's homeworld of greenskins. They desolated the volcanic world, where the dragons that ruled the skies of Edo swam in the rivers of molten rock, where the greenskins found that the environment could be every bit as inhospitable as those they tried to take it from.
Three battles took place, one on the southern Hemisphere, one Southwest and the final to the farthest west, where the Orks had fortified their Nob huts amongst the volcanoes of Waokin island. The sand was black, Brother Kamida of Assault Squad Kamodo noted duly, volcanic ash mixed with the sand, or the heat had scorched every miniscule grain. His Brother Sergeant Tatsuke had been ordered quickly to the right flank to help support squads Kraken and Tiger on their hook which had been stalled by a heavy bolter nest. They rode quickly on landspeeders, blasting through a mob of Gretchins and Orks as they passed, and got into position behind Tiger and Kraken, he could see the twenty brother's armor deflecting bolter shells in the molten, smoky orange light of the volcano.
The roar of the Orks was almost louder than the roar of the volcano. Kamida would fight all the harder, his twin brother whom he had grown up with and trained side by side until their paths split like a fork in the road was a vaunted member of Tiger squad who's technical ingenuity was matched by his twins skill in blade and explosives. Twin Brother Damika would give the signal, an honor given to him by Brother Sergeant Ichigara. A thrown salvo of grenades followed by a gout of flame that jetted into the sky, courtesy of Damika's prosthetic implanted flamer signaled the attack.
"For the Emperor!" the cry rose from Kamodo's squad and lifted as their jump packs sent them skyward, and they came crashing down from the heavens like a thunderbolt amidst the heavy bolter nests of the green skins. Kamida's powersword tasted Ork flesh again, blue fire trickling across skin as it bit in and cleaved through flesh and bone. Kamida laughed as a battle hymn struck up on Brother Sergeant Tatsuke's lips and he quickly joined in as he lay into enemy with his powersword in his right and bolt pistol in his left. They were quickly joined by the roaring Kraken and Tiger as they competed each other for the highest amount of havoc they could wreak amongst the Orks. Kamida soon found himself back to back with his twin, both had painted themselves in the dull green scales of a dragon, twin dragons that slew swine. By unspoken consent, Damika slashed his katana sideways, cleaving through the shaft of an Ork hatchet and disemboweling the owner simultaneously and ducked as if sensing the Ork that swung at head level to his right. Impossibly, for neither twin had spoken a word to each other, Kamida came to his brothers aide, boosting his jump pack forward so that he slammed into the much taller Ork Nob and ran him through. From his crouched position as he tried to wrestle the powersword from the Nob's gut Kamida shot six more Orks but screamed in surprise and rage as another bellowed and bit onto both bolt pistol and hand. The thing exploded, maybe overstress had cracked the clip housing and the heat had cooked off the shells inside, but the result was that Kamida now had no left hand, but at the very least the Ork had no head. Kamida slew one handed now, sowing a trail of carnage to the right of Brother Damika as all the squads pushed on to wipe out the remaining Ork fortifications. The three squads reached the lip of the hill then turned down left, charging the last of the Ork positions below that had harried the rest of the force for the past three hours. Brother Damika lead the charge and personally cooked the leading Nob with his prosthetic flamer, the dragon glove belched purifying flame. They raised a victory cheer, Kamida laughed and lowered his battle mask so that Damika could know how much he had honored him just by being his brother.
Disaster.
The volcano erupted violently, the work of some Ork below with melta bombs cooked off the deadly gasses in the chambers below, the ground exploded from under them, Orks, by some foul magic or witchery burst from the ground that spilled lava bellowing their war cry. They were not green at all, a bright eye hurting orange yellow as if they were molten metal. Surprise was total.
Kamida had landed on his back, the jump pack cracking against his back and leaving him a bruise that lasted for months but when he got up, he found the squads fighting for their lives. More Orks poured out of the hole in the ground a cave to the underworlds themselves. Kamida parried a blow awkwardly, for his blade was never meant to be used one handed, but his sword was out of his defensive line, and the Ork's other hand carried an equally large cleaver. Damika's katana sprouted through the center of his gut as the greenskin howled along with the others. Their black magic faltered, and the molten magma set into their skin burning through their flesh and bone, but they were still a hazard in their burning frenzy, their swings became wilder, less controlled and although reduced their chance of getting a hit, would most certainly cleave through the plates of adamantium that the Sons wore. Damika clove through three Orks, then sheathed his sword as it became chipped and warped from the extreme heat and began laying in with his bolter in one hand, firing from the hip and his flamer augmentic. A molten orange Ork snatched at Damika's dragon gauntlet at the wrist yanking and wailing. The flamer abruptly cut off as the gauntlet was yanked off its pressure seals and depressurized. Outraged, Damika clouted it over the side of the head and shot it on the ground. The ground itself shook and an explosion from the volcano tossed fragments of terra high into the air to come crashing down on the molten Orks that surrounded the Space Marines as they desperately attempted to fight there way out. Kamida saw three of his squad brothers fall, felled by bolter, flamer or hatchet and blade. One had his jump pack explode behind him, a lucky missile hit kicked off the promethium fuel and exploded his torso leaving only his armored limbs and head remaining. Then the ground gave way under them yet again, this time spilling a river of magma. It cut Kamida and Damika off from the rest of the squads as they fought back to back, once an island in a sea of Orks, now standing on an island barely two meters wide surrounded by a sea of lava as the volcano spurt anew. Kamida saw it clearly and cried out. The rest of Kamodo squad rallied behind Brother Tatsuke and slowly were drowned in the tied as the sheer weight of numbers of foes piled themselves up into a heap eight cadavers thick before the last man of the assault squad fell. Force Commander Beltatsu bellowed a retreat so he could consolidate and reorganize his forces and Kamida hastened to follow. He told Damika to grab his hand, he had sheathed his powerblade leaving his good arm to bear his twin's weight. He was unsure whether he could actually hold onto his twin brother or if his jumppack could support the combined weight of two…
No he shut the possibility out of his mind. He had to carry them absolutely had t-
The ground gave way beneath Damika's feat, melted away by the swirling river. Damika cried out, Kamida immediately grabbed hold of the dragon gauntlet and activated his jump pack. But the adamantium was too heavy and Kamida failed to lift up. Damika sank below the surface, there was a small chance Damika might survive if not for one thing. The suit seals had been breached along the dragon glove and the molten terra burned through it, separating the glove and prosthetic hand from its owner. Damika cooked alive in his armor. The glove and hand gave way with a sudden yank and Kamida with an uncontrolled high jump jetted away from his brother.
Ichigara sorry for his brother and his own loss, came to comfort Kamida, Tiger with them, they remembered Damika's great deeds and burned sweet incense and said prayers in his name so that he may feast forever in the Golden halls of the Emperor. Kamida too said prayers for every last one of his fallen squad brothers, they would have a place in heaven and would wait for him with outstretched arms. One of the dragons had been slain, in and his twin brother cried for blood. Over the next year, as one of Tiger, Kamida personally slew a thousand Orks with the hand and glove of his twin. And would continue to wreak vengeance on the swine for as long as he lived. There was one small adjustment made for his brother, a touch Kamida knew Damika would appriciate. All the fangs of the old dragon had been chipped off or burned away. Kamida went back to the field of battle and looted the dead swine, fishing for their abnormally hard teeth and tusks. As Kamida joined the ranks of Tactical squad Tiger, his armor had been repainted and rebuffed. He decided to keep his jump pack to remind him that he was not fully a Tiger but loved his new squad even more than the old, his left hand had been replaced with Damika's very own prosthetic refurbished and tinkered for Kamida, the Dragon gauntlet sported white fangs, carved from the Orks its original owner had slain.