I recently decided to shell out £95 on the Dark Imperium Boxset and I've gotta say, I'm genuinely having fun with the game, though, I feel I should warn anyone who plays the Tabletop that the Death Guard are a PAIN to kill, I mostly bought it so I could get the Primaris Marines which look amazing, so I gave the Death Guard to my brother as a gift, and get this, I invited down my two friends who play Dark Angels AND Eldar, and we lost, mind you, I've still not built all my models, but still, and we didn't do Moral to save time, but yeah, anyone got some tips on how to beat something with lots of Saves?
Anyways, enjoy the Chapter - GreenDo
The Iron Sarcophagus awoke to a concerning sensation, he could not move any of the limbs of his Dreadnought, he still felt the steady humming of its ancient engines ensuring him he was still upon the plane of the living, and yet, when he opened his eyes, his helmets blood red lenses came to life showing him an ugly bleach white room, he could tell by the gravity pushing down all over him that he was lying down, he couldn't turn much, if at all, such efforts were beyond the capabilities of his neck, instead the Dreadnought would have to be contempt facing the roof, and a single bright light which shone down on him, otherwise this, there was nothing else to see, though, the ancient warrior was concerned over his wound as it now felt different, not in the sense that it had worsened, rather in the sense that he could physically feel somethings were inside it, a deeply disturbing thought which the Dreadnought was stuck to ponder on.
However, what he could hear was a whole different story, many sounds seeped into his ears, his enhanced biology allowing him to pick up on most distant noises, and what he heard left the Dreadnought mystified, other engines hummed other than his, four groups of two, there was no doubt about it, having spent most his existence around machinery, he knew exactly what parts would be inside any machine with but a glance, but for all that, he now lacked the small hands needed to craft the machines he revered, a worthy trade off however, being given the honour of being entered into one of the Iron Hands most revered machines of war, a failure like him did not deserve such an honour, an Astartes who allowed his Primarch to fall, Space Marines such as him did not deserve a second chance, and no matter how many Crusades of Penitence he undertook, the guilt never, ever, would wash away.
He felt the all too familiar tug of gravity, trying to scrape his armoured form across the floor in a downward arc, though his heavy bulk hugged he surface to tightly for this to be achieved, leaving the Dreadnought with a rocking sensation.
He was moving, the sensation was instantaneous, he was being lifted into the air, by who he did not know, surely Summer's Daughters had not the influence to requisition a vehicle heavy enough to airlift the Dreadnought, maybe a Governor of the city had heard of him and wished to see up close the might of a Space Marine, then again, these people did not seem in the least knowledgeable on the Adeptus Astartes, could it be simply that what stood for a Government had petitioned for his retrieval? The Marine had not the answers, the more aching question was how he had managed to live, he had dishonourably bled out during battle, a stain upon his eternal penitence, he was as good as dead, these people could not fix him, only The Iron Sarcophagus had long since lost the means to fix himself, and he adamantly refused to acknowledge that his hands possessed a greater power to that of the cold, solid embrace of the machine.
And yet here he lay, defying the inevitable, to be able to breath with lungs that weren't there, it was a strange and pained experience. But these pains must be endured, as a Space Marine, as a defender of Humanity in an ever-shifting game hosted by maddening gods. After all ours is not a destiny of peace and prosperity. Ours will be a destiny forged among burning stars and screaming ashes until we are reunited with Him.
Wake up
The Iron Sarcophagus could feel the inner workings of the Dreadnought slowly come to life, much like standard Power Armour it was linking with his Black Carapace, making his Tomb feel more like a second skin, but he was still restrained, and he'd be dammed if he let mere humans cage a Space Marine.
Working the inner systems of his Dreadnought, The Iron Sarcophagus sent his own helmet spiralling to the ground with a strong pressurised burst, he felt naked, but he did what he must, this would only be temporary and soon his disgusting flesh would be covered once more.
*PFT*
With pinpoint accuracy, he launched his spittle onto his chest, and not a second later violent hissing indicated to the erosion of the many suspensions which held his righteous form in place, next, the Iron Sarcophagus revved his Assault Cannon, the mere force of the weapon was enough to break his arm free, this gave the Dreadnought enough room to slip out from the bindings which held him, metal chains, they were reminiscent of those that the Black Templars warriors wore, indeed, he had fought with those most honourable Battle Brothers before, memories of a Warp Jump gone wrong and bringing a whole Strike Fleet of Iron Hands to a world designated Armageddon filled the ancient warriors mind, he even made the acquaintance of a Chaplain from said Chapter who had unmatched zeal and ferocity towards the Xenos menace, Chaplain Grimaldus his Brothers called him, many glories had been won on that planet.
Standing to his full height the Dreadnought looked around the room and noticed numerous wires along the wall connecting him to what appeared to be a primitive form of computing, on the screen they showed various mappings of the Dreadnoughts body, Helmet, Legs, Arms, through his now reattached helmet raspy and angry breaths echoed along the walls, the bastards had been blueprinting his Dreadnought!
With a roar, the Dreadnought ripped out a tube which had been inside his chest, he cared not for the gushing blood, he was too consumed by his own rage, with a blow which sounded like lightning the Power Fist caved in the side of the wall which had the computer, Omnissiah be damned!
The Blistering cold met his armour has snow poured into the room, red alarms blared from the lights which had engulfed the once bleach white room with a haze of red, looking outward he saw two weird aircraft flying with a heavier looking chain attaching them to the cursed place the Dreadnought was inside, they had tried to move him.
the Assault Cannon shredded into the two aircraft, pinpoint accuracy completely taking of the thrusters which let them be airborne, and without a second thought, the Space Marine jumped, a thick dark fog obscuring the land below.
*CRASH*
The Iron Sarcophagus landed in what appeared to be a snow-covered mountain, making a large crater upon his decent, climbing out was not a problem, he had clawed out of deeper during his initiation on Medusa, squinting his eyes through his helmet could spot the burning wreckage coming down at a much further location to him, he would make sure the bastards paid dearly for stealing from not just him, but by extension, Him on Terra.
Grunting the Dreadnought trudged through the ankle high snow into the shrouded distance, with nothing but the howls of feral beats to accompany him on his quest for justice.
"Stop"
And there it was again, that ghostly voice which always spoke to the Iron Sarcophagus the barest of words ever since he first arrived on this planet, and then there was the Aura which he had seen manifest during the battle against the Genestealers, some of the humans in White had used it and yelled about its depletion, before being violently torn limb from limb by the Broodlord.
Nevertheless, the Iron Sarcophagus had seen something like this before on a world called Motemis, it was a small world on the edge of the Calixis Sector, and as such, saw frequent Warp Storms blow in from the Eye of Terror, it was a tale that was close to the Dreadnought, for many reasons, one such, was how it took place after his initial interring into the Dreadnought.
[+ I know your there, Witch +]
Turning around the Iron Sarcophagus saw the pale face of Summer Rose staring back at him with a confused tilt to her head.
"How did you know?"
In truth, the Iron Sarcophagus had almost developed a sixth sense for the Arcane, fighting the Pawns of Chaos for so long gifts you with an unnaturally strong sense of hatred just by being near anything which emits Warp energy.
[+ I am Millenia Old and have slayed countless monstrosities Summer, I could sense you before you were even conceived +]
Summer made a weird sound after the Iron Sarcophagus stated that, hearing it filled him with an alien feeling, a feeling he didn't like.
"I never got the chance to thank you for what you did"
He was no stranger to that phrase, many a time did a grateful Parent or Sibling graciously thank the Iron Hands, and they replied nought, life was nothing but cold fury, and he is no different. And so, he simply ignored her, turning around and beginning to walk towards the crash site.
"So, what's your story?"
The question caught the Dreadnought off guard, no one ever asked that, not even his own Battle Brothers, with every world he conquered the people would have one of two reactions, they either cower away inside what remained of their homes, or they would be crowding the Emperors Finest, bellowing praises and hoping to so much as touch the armour of the Adeptus Astartes.
[+ I fight, I kill, I live and then I fight again +]
"Tsk, not like that Dummy, I mean, tell me what led to well…this"
To emphasise he point Summer gestured to the Dreadnought itself rather then who was inside it.
Taking a moment, the Iron Sarcophagus sat down in the thick snow, the howling wind passing around them, he was gathering his thoughts, usually a Yes or No would suffice, but this was an honest question, something which had threw him off.
[+ Very well, I shall share my Tale Summer Rose, but it shall be but one of my many deeds, for the full Tale requires many an hour of listening +]
Summer nodded vigorously at this, obviously interested at the prospect of learning more about the Iron Giant.
DESIGNATION: Mortemis
M31.014
It had been eight years since the Dropsite Massacre and our Legion had still not come over the death of our Primarch, Ferrus who had been slain by Fulgrim shortly after I lost conscious, I was missing one arm and two legs, they were all blown off because of the sheer force of the Bolters, my Legion had only two options with me, Euthanize me, or Inter me, and to this day I do not understand why they chose the latter, but I awoke to the sight of hundreds of Servo-Skulls, weaving in and out of our Strike Cruiser's Observation Deck, I had no need to worry for the size of my Dreadnought, the large halls of a Adeptus Astartes Spacecraft were made to support the many large Battle Brothers and by extension the Legions Dreadnoughts up to the Leviathan Class, all could transverse the main halls and decks with relative ease.
I was looking over the world of Mortemis, the planet had a blazing a red aura around swerving with violent Warp Energies, as decreed by the Emperor of Mankind we were to hound the Traitors to the Eye of Terror following the defeat of Horus Lupercal, and as such, that's what we were doing, not a single Traitor had survived our vengeful wrath, it was like the Great Crusade all over again, we were conquering the same planets which the Traitors had tried to fortify against us, we cared not what happened to the populace, they had condemned themselves to damnation.
Suddenly the deck shook and I looked on with a grim smile as our Cruiser bombed the surface it was like the Omnissiah itself was thundering down through the heavens, I wasn't particularly big on the faith of the Mechanicus, but after the Heresy, after the Daemons, I wasn't so sure. The cities of Mortemis were glassed in minutes such was the power of a Virus Bombs, simultaneously Battle Brothers dropped down from Orbit, not at all worried about the residue chemicals, our helmets could filter even the harshest of airs, and in extreme cases, our Power Armour could store its own Oxygen supply, but that would not be needed. I heard the internal Vox intercom of the ship come to life.
"First Clan has made impact, let them burn"
I time passed, and soon enough, I was on the planet's surface, as much as I had wished I could be there to make first contact, no vehicles outside a Drop Pod could survive the extreme heat, and so I had to wait about an hour until a Thunderhawk could tow me to the surface.
It was a glorious site, dead Traitors littered the floor, anything without Power Armour had been simply turned to ash, Terminators were setting up a perimeter for when the planet cooled enough for the bulk of the Iron Hands force to arrive, bringing retribution, many of the Battle Brothers stopped to look at me, I was no longer their Brother, I was simply an Astartes, a failure.
Eyesight broke when our enhanced senses warned of a sharp whistling in the air, I saw how a Leman Russ Battle Tank could not even penetrate my shields, out of it crawled Dark Mechanicus Skitarii, eyes glowing an unnatural red, they screamed in feral rage as they began hitting the Terminators with primitive weapons, it didn't go well, Powerfists and Thunderhammers penetrated the rage induced Dark Priests practically turning them into mush.
But to our surprise, another wave of the Dark Priests appeared this time, they had a strange aura accompanying them, the Assault Terminators simply reengaged but this time the same weapons did little to nothing, simply flinging the Dark Mechanicus Priests away.
"What on Medusa?"
The Terminator struggled to parry the blows of the glowing Traitors, now I was under attack also by the them, and they were strong, not enough so that it threw me off, but the combination of my new body and the unexpected resistance had given them an initial advantage.
Eventually I ripped the filthy creatures away using my Powerfist and crushed them with it, strangely I had a hard time crushing the glowing ones, I and the Terminator Captain seemed to be having the same thoughts as we came to a realization.
"THE TRAITORS WEAR A ENHACEMENT FIELD, KILL THE GLOWING ONES"
[+ Destroy the ones which glow, they have been cursed with unnatural vigour +]
More and more glowing metal Priests filtered through the blazing heat, even if my brothers no longer saw as theirs's, they would at least appreciate the value of added firepower, as my Assault Cannon did what it did best and shredded through the ensuing hordes, anything without that damned Aura quickly fell, it seemed to act as a shield for the Techpriests sponging many of my bullets, and engaging with the Terminators who were holding their ground.
The battle lasted two whole hours as glowing World Eaters emerged from ruins, I slew many of Angron's bastard sons, many of them issuing a challenge to me, I slew them quickly, cold rage powering my Fist. Not even the Terminator Captain dared interrupt me as I duelled in the Iron Hands name, gaining much honour in our Genefathers glory, nameless warriors empowered by Dark Gods and a damned Aura.
I looked to my left and saw one of the Terminators fall, to a World Eater who had just brutally decapitated, a Terminator, switching targets I shot the Berserker in vengeance, none would survive, this was the height of the battle, surrounded by Traitors and beset on all sides, our unit became one as we fought in perfect unison.
It was a long day.
Designation:?
Location:?
"So, what happened next?"
Summer's question did not pass though the Dreadnought, he looked up at her, inside his helmets his eyes had a distant gaze, how times changed.
[+ We won the battle, it was hard, many Brothers died, eventually located the source of the Aura, and we destroyed it +]
"That's not a very dramatic ending"
[+ It wasn't supposed to be, that tale serves more than speaking of past glories +]
"The Aura?"
[+ Correct, I believe this planet to utilize a similar technology, but to what degree I'm unsure, but I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep your daughters safe, a grave danger approaches, and I must make haste to avert the Great Devourer +]
Getting up the Dreadnought turned and began to continue his trek before his company asked a simple question which only made him smile.
"Care for some company?"