Author's note: Thank you all so much for the brainstorming! Here's to everyone who contributed.

Jim fired a volley into yet another wave of Chaos Marines. The monstrous U-238 Guass rounds pirced several soldiers deep at such close range, especially among the weakly armored heretics. Several large brutes broke through the wall of bullets and rushed the line. One particularly big Chaos Marine lunged at Raynor, swinging a furiously whirring chainsword. Jim used his bayonet to fend off the first few attacks. The chainsword ripped chunks off the C-14 with ease, and Jim was forced to discard the weapon. The Chaos Marine aimed an overhead arch with the chainsword at him. Raynor caught hold of the warrior's forearm and drew his revolver. The Chaos Marine grabbed Jim's arm in turn and struggled to point the gun away from himself. In the exertion, Jim squeezed the trigger when he thought it pointed close to the warrior. The round missed, however, and struck a heretic coming to the aid of his master.

The Chaos Marine bore down hard, he was clearly many times stronger than Jim even without power armor. Warning lights on Raynor's heads-up-display indicated the pnumatics in his own armor were beginning to fail. Realizing his opponent was weakening, the Chaos Marine cackled and revved his chainsword near Raynor's faceplate.

The evil warrior leaned close. His helmet bore semblance to an angry scream. Skulls, spikes, blades, and numerous eerie runes completely covered his combat shell. "Foolish weakling!" He hissed, "You thought you could survive against the unhallowed might of Chaos? No man can withstand the Dark Gods!"

Behind Jim, an armored hulk bounded over a nearby bunker. "WAAAGH!" Broozgiva bellowed as he sprayed bullets from the rifles bolted to his arms. The Chaos Marine staggered back as the storm of rounds struck him. Desperately, he swung the chainsword in the Ork's direction. Broozgiva knocked the weapon away with the thickly armored Fire-Bat side of his armor and fired point blank with a Punisher grenade from the Marauder side. "No man," he growled, "But 'ow 'bout an ORK?"

Jim stared at the Ork. "You saved my life."

Broozgiva looked at him, puzzled. "Did I? Oh, I guess so. More tryin' to pop dis 'ere Chaos git."

Raynor flicked open the cylinder of his revolver and replaced the wasted round. "Well, you have my thanks nevertheless."

The Ork blinked. "Wot? Wot's dat?"

"I said thank you." Jim looked down at his butchered C-14. His revolver was powerful, but it wouldn't suffice in a hold-out like this. "I need a new rifle."

"On it, Boss!" Broozgiva turned, revealing a dozen assault rifles strapped to his back. "I packs extries. Neva goes noplace wiffout dakka no more. You taught me dat, Boss."

Raynor pulled off the nearest gun and scavenged his destroyed rifle for ammunition. They truned their attention back to the battlefield. A Predator tank was rolling towards them, its cannon blasting indiscriminately into the Raiders' lines. The huge black tank fired non-stop from its sponson Heavy Bolter, pinning down even Marauders from taking it out. From the open top hatch, a Chaos Marine howled dark threats and insults from the safety of his perch.

Broozgiva noticed that, given the tank's current course, he would be either blown up or crushed. That Predator had to go. "Oi, Boss! Wez need to 'splode dat wagon sharpish!" The Ork jumped up and ran, strafing the tank with grenade fire.

Jim cursed. "What does that crazy Ork think he's doing?" Then he saw it. The Predator latched onto Broozgiva and swung all guns to target him. He was a distraction.

Raynor took the initiative and charged the tank. He fired and took out the Chaos Marine standing up out of the hatch. He dove and rolled to evade the sponson Heavy Bolter and grabbed the top rim of the armor plating. Hauling himself up, he snatched a grenade from his munition belt. Jim tore out the pin and put the live explosive in the stiffening hand of the dead Chaos Marine. He gave the deceased warrior a pat and push and slammed the hatch shut.

A nearby heretic saw him and clambered onto the doomed Predator, lashing out with a needle-like sword. Jim pushed the madman away and jumped off the tank. The heretic followed him and grabbed his battle-suit. With inhuman strength the zealot clawed and pulled at him, all the while screaming pledges to Chaos. Raynor threw a pneumatic-fueled punch that tossed the heretic like a rag doll into the path of the Predator's treads. He turned and ran before he could see the man be crushed. He had mere seconds before-

An explosion rocked the earth and flung Jim forward. He fell in the snow and quickly pushed himself back up. He readied his C-14 and took in the battle around him. Siege Tank rounds continued to gut the ranks of the Chaos forces, and a nearby Thor was mopping up a remnants of a Noise Marine squad. The soldiers of darkness began a reluctant retreat, many refusing outright to flee. They finally coaxed their troops into a fighting withdrawal and backed out of artillery range.

Jim knew they hadn't been beaten yet. They wouldn't be until the Raiders struck back. He switched on his comlink. "Tychus, meet me at the Command Center. We gotta finish this."

.

Tychus was already waiting for them beneath the shadow of the colossal Ibiks cannon. He drew on his cigar and tossed it into the snow as Raynor and Broozgiva approached him. "Somethin' ain't right 'bout them Chaos Marines, Jimmy." he said. "They're worse than that nut Tosh. Loads worse."

"There is something off about them." Jim agreed. "Regardless, we have to put an end to this thing now. Kyrus can't be far away. We have to be ready to fight him, and we can't do that with these psychos knocking on our door."

"Sure enough. But these guys are even more 'diplomatic' than I am. And you know all about my sense of diplomacy."

Broozgiva offered his opinion. "We'z too bogged down 'ere, Boss. We gots ta get on da move and give 'em a real Waaagh!"

"We can't move our whole force." said Jim. "That'd be suicide. However, we do need to go on the offensive. A surgical strike in just the right spot might do the trick." He moved to a portable communication console and hailed the Hyperion. "Matt, we need a scan sweep of the enemy's position. Can you spot any weaknesses or critical assets?"

Matt's reply was riddled with static. "Scanning. There's a lot of interference."

"Can you pinpoint the source of the interference? If they're jamming us then they obviously want to hide something."

More static, and worsening. "...seems to be concentrated...orth-east about twenty kilom...From what I can see...lightly defended...Maybe-"

The signal cut out entirely. Thunder rumbled above them and a dark cloud passed over the base. Jim glared at the sudden storm. These clouds did not seem natural, but rolled and boiled like a sickly smog. Off-color bolts of lightning sparked and slashed, followed by unusually loud thunder. "Is it just me," Raynor muttered, "Or is that storm coming out of the north?"

Tychus glanced at him. "What? You think those batty cultists can affect the weather?"

"We've seen stranger things."

Tychus sighed. "Well, rain or shine; if our strike team's gonna get anything done by the time Mr. Librarian arrives, we best be on our way."

Raynor selected some of the best of his Raiders for the squad. Broozgiva welded onto his armor as many extra weapons as he had surface space for and packed dozens more for the rest of the team to use. Jim thought the weight must be enormous, but the Ork wasn't strained in the least. Indeed, he was disappointed when he simply couldn't hold on to any more weapons.

They were ready in just under an hour. The Chaos Marines hadn't attacked any more since their last assault. The bunkers and combat vehicles were being repaired during the lull, and Jim was confident the line would hold while they were gone. The strike team departed under cover of the darkening sky. The thick snow did wonders to muffle even Broozgiva's tramping steps, so they moved with respectable stealth.

They traversed a range of steep hills that looked oddly like iced-over buildings. As they slipped down the final slope, a vast, open valley lay before them. Normally such a valey would be hazardous to a group trying to move unseen. However, fortune favored the Raiders. The valley was densely populated with the husks of ruined tanks and scavenged power armor. They darted from cover to cover, staying low and fast.

Past the valley lay an ice cave. Switching on the lights mounted on their armor and weapons, the Raiders cautiously entered. Broozgiva activated his own armor lights, one the headlight ripped off a personnel carrier, the other an industrial strength pincer lamp. The Ork lit the cave chamber like sunlight. They discovered the cave was not natural, but a victim structure of the flash-freeze. Pillars, chairs, desks, security cameras, and weapons all bore a hard sheet of ice. In a place like this an ambush could happen at any time. They moved slowly, but the building was empty.

The doors leading out were frozen shut, but Tychus kicked them open with ease. Outside, a ledge stretched out about 4 yards and then plunged into a city-sized crater. Jim could see off in the distance a foggy pillar pluming up into the storm from what must be the crater's center.

"We're close." he said, "Come on. Stay sharp."

Getting down the slope was not a problem. Getting past the now-frequent patrols was. While heavily armed, the guards seemed distracted. They appeared to be overwhelmingly interested in the billowing storm and its epicenter. But even an unfocused Chaos Marine is always on the alert for enemies to slay. The floor of the crater was bare rock and sand. The muffling snow had disappeared.

It was time consuming and difficult, but the Raiders got by. More than once Jim was sure they'd been spotted. But fate seemed to have other plans for James Raynor than to die by Chaos hands. At last they reached the source of the storm, the cloud pillar towering dreadful and imposing above them. It welled up from a huge pit ridged with sharp rocks. A fell chanting hovered over the moaning, dust-choked wind.

The Raiders looked at each other nervously. Whatever lay beyond the veil of sand, it couldn't be good. The dark chanting peaked, and with the last word the smog column pulled itself into the tainted sky. The thunder quieted and the wind died completely. A hot, red glow filled the pit, casting everything in a stark, bloody light.

Jim shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the sudden illumination. Deep in the hollow stood a fiery globe cradled in a black ring above the ground. Eight sickly-looking figures surrounded a lone person. All knelt and faced inward save the one, who stood with arms outstretched to the angry sphere.

A woman's voice cried out, the one in the midst of the others was female. "The gate is now open! Hear now your servant, Dark Ones! Behold and see! I have opened you domain to unleash your malevolent splendor upon this realm of squirming mortals! I dedicate this portal to you, Great Fiends, and all your dark devices! Bestow upon your faithful her reward as promised!"

The light of the gateway grew until it was unbearable. When Jim could see again he stared in horror at the scene below him. The eight cultists lay dead, their flesh rotting away with unbelievable speed. The woman in the center convulsed and shook. Her body was changing, transforming into a horrid, malignant thing. Suddenly she vanished in an explosion of twisting, scaly coils and crackling energy. A creature rose out of the pit so horrid, Raynor had only seen a few more frightening Zerg.

The thing breathed terror and exuded an aura of wretchedness. It could best be described as a giant cobra, several stories tall, with a woman's torso and eight muscled and clawed arms. The beast was heavily armored, and each pair of arms held a set from top to bottom of swords, orbs, skulls, and gems. The unblinking, slit-pupil eye gushed violet fire, and when the creature exhaled, it snorted lightning bolts.

She twisted to face the Raiders, her forked, black tongue flicking out and savoring their dread. She spoke, her voice high and dominating like the crash of a waterfall. "James Raynor. Gaze now upon the mother of your doom. I am Fasraath, Queen of Sin, and Demon Princess. Do you fear me, James, as you fear your foes of old? Or is your terror spent? Please let me fill you with sweet anguish."