Diary of a Chaos Marine
By: Danny Pic

Hello there! Welcome to Chapter 10!

Alright, two things here. First, I know some of you will wonder why the main character's acting so strangely around vehicles now. Well, the truth is, he's always been that way. But the thing is, he wasn't stranded out in who-knows-where before. So things're tough on the poor guy, and he's just trying to keep himself organized.

Secondly, I apologize if the ending is a bit confusing; I'll go ahead and give a little spoiler about where the next chapters will be, so you understand my problem. See, I'm planning to do something special with Chapter 11. But the thing is, I'm hoping to begin that chapter with their arrival in the city. But to do that, the misfits will have to still be traveling to the city. But, well…

…hopefully you'll understand my issue once you read this chapter. '^-^

Again, I must stress, I OWN NUFFIN!
Now…enjoy the madness! 8D

Day 56

No alarms went off this morning; it's possible that whoever was spying on us realized that he/she had been seen, and so decided to wait until we're not expecting it. In any case, I'm trying to decide my next course of action.

The big problem is that, unfortunately, we have no idea who this person is – or rather, what faction or race they're with. See, their affiliation decides how we'd react. If it's an Imperial citizen or the Imperial Guard, then the military would've known we're here, and they'd be trying to exterminate us. However, it's already been almost a week, and we've seen no sign of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, or any militia forces at all.

If it's an ordinary human, then it becomes more complicated. It could be a Tau-allied human helper (or "Gue'la", as they call them), or a native human, which is the most unpredictable.

Or even worse…it could be a Chaos Worshipper.

If there's one thing worse than a tattle-tale Imperial civilian, it's a fanatical religious nut seeing us as gods again. I hate those guys – you try saying one thing, and they'll either a) kill themselves, b) follow you around all day chanting who-knows-what, or c) go insane and throw their belongings or themselves at you.
(I do not want to be in another "Dalecos Prime" incident, ok?)

So we dunno who they are, who they're with, or if they're friendly. So what to do? Hm…

…anyway, on to the day's work.

After our mushroom-&-cap breakfasts, we set out on our duties. Gopher-boy took the Phalanx out to cover more ground. Lucky…he gets to play with something he made for me…
…I wish I could go and drive tha – WHAT AM I SAYING?

Why am I so hyped up over a battle suit? My love is only for my Rhino. Right! I don't need the Phalanx.

…I don't, ya hear?

…I'm being serious! I'm going up to the watchtower; I don't need it to do that.

…

…STOP IT! I'M NOT A CHEATER!

…

….fine, then I'll write later, since you won't leave me alone…

– – – – – – –

Alright folks, good news! I made it to the top of the tower, and there, in the distance, is a small city! I can tell for sure that we'll find some help there! It doesn't look too far always – probably take just a few days to get there! It looks like there's a canyon in-between the forest of mushrooms and the city, so that should be a cool place to camp up. Excellent! We'll pack up tonight, and then set off in the morning. ROAD TRIP!

– – – – – – –

It's dusk now. Today was a good day. Gopher found a native fishling that can be cooked up and eaten!
(We just call it "fishling"; in truth, it looks more like a tadpole with a head plate.)
We've collected our stuff, and now all we need to do is leave. But first, we'll stay and get a good night's sleep; we'll need it on the trip.

…

Day 57

No problems tonight, either. I have a feeling that the spy overheard our plans, and is packing up as well to follow us. Still not sure what plan of action we should take about this…

Anyway, we've loaded up our food and water for the road. The good part is that, since the battle suit's now fully functional, we don't have to carry it on the gunship anymore. That means we can load up more supplies in the tank than before! We've also modified the Phalanx to carry bags on its waist and near the cockpit, since it can move now. Since KFC's the only one who knows how to operate the Hammerhead, either me or gopher-boy will have to take the Phalanx.

…

…I'm on the Hammerhead. I don't want that machine to tempt me any further…even if it does have built-in jump jets…and a customized combi-flamethrower…

…NO! I'm on the Hammerheah, and staying away from that…that mech! My heart only belongs to my precious back home!

Gopher-boy and KFC are looking at me like I'm crazy…but I'm not. I'm not crazy; I'm not going to be unfaithful to my precious…

…we've left for the city. Right…focus on the task at hand…forget that – DON'T…even say that word…

…

Day 58

We're on the road now. It's taking a while to get there, because a certain machine is too slow to keep pace with the awesome Hammerhead's speed, so we have to slow down to keep pace with it. We should be arriving at the city in a couple of days.

And I've finally come up with an interesting plan of how to deal with the spy. The most appealing option to me is to do…
…nothing.

Of course I'm concerned about who they are (who wouldn't be?). But even more, I'm curious as to whom they are, and that it might be interesting to see what they'll do if we just let them spy on us. It probably comes across as arrogant and selfish, but that's not the feeling I'm getting. It's more like…
…it's more like if you're a mouse in a maze, being studied by scientists. And while they're observing you and making notes on you, you're actually watching them amd doing the same thing for them. But they don't know that you're experimenting with them, just like they think you don't know they're experimenting on you.

I hope that makes sense to somebody out there. Basically, it's like I'm spying on the spy.
So it's decided. I'll carry on like normal, and won't raise too much fuss about the human spy. If the others get curious, I'll try to keep us focused on the task at hand.

Now, back to the present.

We've been travelling along a natural road we found. We should be exiting the fungal forest by next morning. After that, then through the canyon to the town!

At the moment, I'm getting me a mushroom chunk to eat. Hooray for spongey pumpkin pie!

…

Day 59

We've just exited the forest; we're almost there! Now just another day of travel and we'll be in the city. If this is an Imperial city, I'm half-expecting a platoon of the Imperial guard to be waiting for us. If they are…well, we'll just have to wing it.

Y'know, I have to admire the Tau on their vehicle design. The Devilfish is a truly impressive and adaptable vehicle. The chassis is modifiable to become a mortar tank (Hammerhead) or a missile gunship (Sky Ray). And they also come with two helper Drones that can be modified to attack, defend, scout, or even have an alarm! Plus, the vehicle hovers, which makes it more maneuverable than most tanks. I bet KFC had a boatload of fun working on this beauty…

…oh no. No, no, no, NO! We are NOT going through this with this tank, no sir! It's an extraterrestrial vehicle, for crying out loud! It's just not right!

Oh…if I were in any other position, I'd be on foot now.

– – – – – – –

We're a short ways away from the city. We passed a gate with towers earlier; it's likely the city's entry gate. If the Imperium's here, then they definitely know we're here, too. Great…
…well, we've got the rest of the night to get there, so KFC's putting the tank on autopilot, so that he and I can sleep. Gopher-boy said that missing one night's sleep wouldn't hurt him, so he's staying up to drive that...machine. Tomorrow, we'll arrive in the city. Right now, I think I hear sirens going off in the distance…

…

End of Chapter 10

So you see why it's a hard decision? They've got to sleep, but they have to keep moving. So I wanted to get a clean division that could smoothly follow into the next chapter. But it's difficult, because I want them to have a sleep-moment, too, to end the entry. Hope I did ok with this part, and I hope you're not totally confused by some of the stuff.

Oh, and one final note before I close off this chapter. Don't freak out, but it might be a while before I add another chapter again. See, I'm out of school for Winter Break after this week, so it might be hard for me to get online and upload another chapter. (The ice storms and freezing weather don't improve things either.)
I might be able to add Chapter 11 before then, but I'm still in the middle of writing it, so it's going to be close. Either way, you might have to wait until next year to see any future chapters from me. I'm sorry, guys. I hope you're not too disappointed with me. T^T

Reviews are appreciated, so don't hesitate to tell me what you think!

Next time, our heroes arrive in the city! But whose city is it? And will this person decide to help the adventurers…or to hurt them?
That and more, in Chapter 11 of Diary of a Chaos Marine! Stay tuned!