Diary of a Chaos Marine
By: Danny Pic
Hello there! Welcome to Chapter 11! Wow…already up to day 60…that means that, in the story, it's been almost two months since we started this!
Well, here it is, folks. This is the chapter that I was telling you that I wanted to do something special in. Now, keep in mind that this is my first time trying this particular style in this story. So I would really appreciate some reviews in this particular chapter. If you don't like reviewing the story, that's ok; however, this chapter I would really appreciate some reviews on. I worked really hard on this chapter, and I want to know if you thought I pulled this off or not. Your opinions of this chapter may influence future chapters I write, so please review! I want to know if my hard work paid off!
Again, I must stress, I OWN NUTHIN! (Well, aside from the characters I create, and the places that I make up.)
Now…enjoy the madness! 8D
"Day 60:
KFC woke me up this morning. He needed me to hand over breakfast to gopher-boy while he was piloting the battlesuit, since he couldn't do it on his own. I just handed him some leftover mushroom to eat. I ate some, too, while KFC cooked some of the fishling meat for himself. He seems to have taken a liking to that stuff; that's good, since now he's not living off of those rations anymore. He pulled the old eat-while-driving trick, while I quickly finished off my breakfast and then got out of…"
The mechanic's thought was interrupted as he heard Fio'Chen's voice come from the front, saying, "HEY! Your apprentice is calling you!"
At once, he closed the book, and frowned at the hot-pink cover before tucking it away in his armor. After it was tucked away, he climbed up the ladder, and opened the circular top hatch-door, leading to the outside. He climbed up so that he was halfway out, and turned to his apprentice, the long, curly-haired young man in the running battle mech. He shouted, "What Is It, Gopher?"
"Sir!" the young man replied, "We're here!"
The mechanic turned, and saw the tall buildings that he had seen several days ago. It was true; they had finally arrived. "Ok, Chen! We've arrived!" he shouted below to the Tau who was piloting the gunship. The alien responded by slowing down the vehicle, and finding a place to land the hover-tank.
The city looked very much like a normal Imperial city. The tallest structures were glass-covered skyscrapers, resembling giant castle towers. The morning glow from the twin suns reflected off of the glass, adding a shine to the city. At the center of the city, the great Imperial Church stood tall and regal, and a statue of the God-Emperor watched over the people.
But the big thing that made this city so strange and different from others wasn't something that was there. It was something that wasn't.
There were no people. The entire city was deserted, it seemed.
Fio'Chen got out after he had "parked" the Hammerhead, and looked around. "Is this how all human cities are like?" he asked innocently.
"No, Fio'Chen," the apprentice stated, "It's very different…"
"Well, I know you mean the people, but I meant the city itself."
"What happened here?" the young marine asked, focused on the emptiness of the place.
"There doesn't seem to be any signs of a battle," the mechanic answered, hopping off of the Tau tank, "so the only other plausible answers are that they either fled, or are hiding from us."
The apprentice – whose name was Krevash Larvoté – turned to his master. "Why would they hide, sir," he asked, "and how can you tell they're hiding from us?"
His mentor replied, "Did you hear those sirens last night? It's possible that they saw us coming, and – as I said before – ran or hid. As for why, well, look at us: an Iron Warrior, a renegade Salamander with a battlesuit, and an alien with a tank. We do seem fairly threatening, if I do say so myself."
The Earth-Caste Tau nodded understandingly. "So," he inquired, "what do we do from here?"
The Iron Warrior turned to his companions. "Our priorities at the moment are to a) find where we are, b) find a way back home, and c) make it there in one piece. Considering that we've seen no sign of any military forces here, I believe that we can safely split up and try to find some information, without having to worry about being picked off one by one. Then, at the end of the day, we'll regroup and share our discoveries. Let's meet up, saaay…"
He looked around, and pointed at a tall building that looked like a castle turret. The building had gargoyles "guarding" the steps to the doors, and bore a logo of a hand sticking out its thumb. "…there!" he concluded. "At the end of the day, we'll all head to that building, and meet up there. Agreed?"
"Very well," Krevash agreed. "So, sir, would you like one of us to give you a ride?"
His master took a step away, eying the two machines warily, and asked, "Wh-why?"
"Well, sir, it'd be pretty difficult to navigate this maze of a city on foot," Larvoté pointed out, "and since there are only two vehicles, I figure it'd be more reasonable if you hitched a ride with one of us. Would you prefer that, master?"
The Chaos marine looked to the Tau's Hammerhead mortar tank. He swore that he saw the tank moving one of its front cannons, as if beckoning him closer. Immediately, he heard a seductive voice in his head. "Come here, sweet thing," the voice said, "I'll let you ride on top..."
The mechanic then turned to the Phalanx custom battlesuit, which Larvoté had made as a present for him. Larvoté was now gone, and the mech was motioning with its arms for him to come to it. "No!", another voice said, "Come to me! I was made for you…"
"I'll take my chances, thanks," the mechanic said, and began walking away from the others. He was glad that his helmet was on, because it would've been difficult attempting to explain his blushing to his apprentice and his xeno friend.
Larvoté looked confused and worried as his master walked off. Then he shrugged, and parted ways with Fio'Chen.
– – – – 2 HOURS AFTER SEPARATING – – – –
– – – Larvoté – – –
The younger marine, Larvoté, made his way up the large marble stairs. He was seeking human contact to find the information they required; as such, he figured it would be best to start by looking in places where people usually gathered. So, naturally, he was beginning his search in the largest, most popular public meeting place ever conceived…
…the public mall.
He had "parked" the Phalanx suit out front (it was sitting on a large block, presumably a decoration.) while he ventured inside the shopping center. As he drew near the doors, they automatically opened, which Larvoté took as a sign that the power grid was still online. The only strange thing he had noticed was that, as it opened, the door seemed to sigh contently. As it closed behind him, it sighed again. After he was inside, Larvoté stared at the door, wondering what exactly he had seen, or if it had even really happened at all. In the end, he made himself focus back on the mission, and concluded that the sigh was just his imagination. He then shrugged to himself, and entered the grandiose halls of the public mall.
– – – Krolt Fio'Chen – – –
Meanwhile, the Tau engineer Krolt Fio'Chen was driving towards the center of town. The alien was searching for the basic information place; he knew that most settlements, human or not, often had an information center which served as an introduction to the city, providing valuable information to newcomers.
(In the case of humans, this place was often called a "Visitor's Center".)
So, since they were technically newcomers, Fio'Chen thought that this building would be a good place to search.
Now, an important fact to remember is that, although his race was familiar – and in this case, allied – with humans, his people weren't overly experienced with human customs and ways. His understanding of human language was basic, so he could make out the sign that read "Visitor's Center" above the structure he came to. However, he wasn't familiar with how humans often acted, or how they regarded their rules. So, without his two human counterparts to assist him, he had only his instincts and intuition to guide him.
Fio'Chen stopped the tank, and shut down the propulsion systems, making the ship land. He crawled out of the hatchway on top, locked the doors of the tank, and activated a lone security drone to act as a "car alarm" of sorts. He then turned to the doors, and pulled them.
He then pushed them, as he didn't notice the "push" sign before, and made his way inside.
A small bell chimed as Fio'Chen opened the doors. He assumed that this was a way of informing the staff when a client entered. He smiled, and entered the building, closing the door behind him, which made the bell chime a second time. He scanned the room; before him was a series of velvet ropes connected to metal poles. The ropes were aligned in such a way to form a pathway, presumably to organize long lines of customers. The alien navigated his way through the winding labyrinthine path, despite there being no line, and stopped at the end.
Fio'Chen saw several booths lined up, with a black light-up sign above each booth. Most of the booths had blank signs, but one booth's sign read in large red letters "NOW SERVING". So he walked over to that booth, and stood before it. On the booth's desk, there was a silver bell with a button on top; a small sign above the bell said "Ring Bell for Service".
So Fio'Chen, wanting to follow the rules and show proper etiquette, did so. He then patiently waited for a person to come.
– – – The Mechanic – – –
The doors of a movie theater closed as the Iron Warrior entered the spacious, brightly-colored entrance room. He was still slightly embarrassed from his first moments in the city. He had convinced himself that it was the design of the Tau machinery that was to blame – since the Phalanx had Tau influence on its design, it made sense to him.
"Just forget about it," the chaos marine growled to himself. "You're remaining faithful. That's what counts." He then shook his head, and returned to a more orderly and friendly demeanor.
The mechanic began to scan some of the posters on the walls. This was partly out of boredom, but mostly because he hoped that one of these movies would have some reference to a familiar-sounding place. He turned, and saw the giant preview screen above the snack bars, and immediately recognized one movie as being a remake of one of his favorite old plays. He strode over, chuckling to himself, posed dramatically in the middle of the room, and spoke in a dramatic voice, "Beware the Ides of March!" He laughed out loud at his quote, and calmed down a few minutes later. "The greatest tales are the ones which last forever," he said aloud, after a contented sigh.
After scanning around for any more information, he casually strode out and continued on his search, ignoring the shadow that was hiding in the alley across the street…
– – – – 6 HOURS AFTER SEPARATING – – – –
– – – Larvoté – – –
"Oh, my stars! I had no idea that these things were still around!"
Such were the enthusiastic calls emanating from the science store in the mall, where a very happy Krevash Larvoté was admiring the various knick-knacks and gizmos which lined the shelves. When he first saw the store, memories flooded back from his childhood, when he always enjoyed exploring those amazing books, TV shows, and awesome toys and kits.
"Amazing!" he exclaimed again, as he discovered a holographic solar system. It wasn't the system where they were located, however; it was a map of the Sol system, the birthplace of mankind. He looked longingly at the detail the designers had incorporated – even the space stations were there, orbiting as they did in real life!
Larvoté tore himself away from the model; no matter how awesome the hologram was, he had a job to do. He was just about to exit, when one item caught his eye. He picked up the box, which contained a "Star Map Ultima: See all of the Imperial star systems, at the voice of your command!"
Interested, he opened the box and gently pulled the gadget out. Normally, he would've paid for it before opening it; however, this was a different situation. Still though, he was hoping to keep the item in pristine condition, so he took great care when handling the device, so it could still be sold. He set the device down on the counter, and turned it on. As it activated, the Milky Way Galaxy materialized over the base, slowly rotating. Larvoté stared, thinking about how this would work.
(He would've read the instructions, but they were carefully wrapped up, so he was forced to learn by practice.)
He thought a moment, and then clearly spoke, "Display the Homeworld." The galaxy began to zoom in to one particular point, and soon Sol came into view. In about 10 seconds, the device had zoomed in directly to Terra – the human homeworld. Larvoté smiled; this was interesting.
He said, "Display the Epsilon Eridani." The display zoomed away from Terra and Sol, and zoomed into another one. Almost instantly, the elliptical gas giant orbiting the star came into view. As he experimented, he learned that this was a set galactic map showing each of the Imperial star systems from that set time.
After a few more tests, Larvoté spoke one last time. "Display the planet we are located on," he said. The map zoomed into a small binary system, with planets orbiting twin stars. Then it zoomed in closer, to the second planet of the system. Orange skies…pale-blue land…and forests of mushrooms. The planet was labeled "Naron II".
They now had a location. Larvoté took a picture, and then put the device back into the box. He then resealed the box, placed it on the shelf, and walked out.
– – – Krolt Fio'Chen – – –
Back at the visitor's center, the Earth-Caste engineer was now leaning on the desk. He was still in the center, still at the booth…and still waiting. Beneath his helmet, Fio'Chen was feeling greatly conflicted. His gut instinct told him that, after two hours of waiting, it was unlikely anybody would come, and so it was better to leave and explore elsewhere. But another part hesitated, considering the possibility that somebody was here, and may arrive and find nothing if they leave.
Wanting to be polite, the Tau rang the bell again, the exact same as before. He straightened up, as to appear orderly, and waited. He shuffled his feet, wondering when someone would come to help him…
– – – The Mechanic – – –
The mechanic gazed in marvel at the beauty before him. There, right in front of him, was one of the oldest and most important machines known to mankind… the original remote operated aircraft – the "Predator"-class scout fighter drone. It was one of the first remote-operated aircraft ever made that served in actual combat situations. To the Iron Warrior, this was equivalent to looking at the very first airplane made from almost forty thousand years ago. This small, lightweight plane was the start of modern robotic aerial fighters. Nowadays, robotic fighters and aircraft were much more intelligent and advanced. Certain Chaos chapters even utilized fighter craft that were operated solely by a droid brain – almost no human interference, aside from commands! Of course, other races had more advanced robotic aircraft than these – the Tau had drones, and the Necrons had Scarabs. But nevertheless, human technology was powerful in its own right.
The Chaos marine smiled at the artifact, and continued walking through the museum. Presently, he was in the Air & Space wing, and was searching for information in there. See, this museum dealt with history, like most museums do. And as such, there would probably be a section with information concerning this particular system – namely, when it was colonized, where it's located, and what military forces occupy the planet. Scanning around could reveal this information, as well as enlighten him to any alien species which may/may not have been – and still may be – nearby.
He entered one room, which contained a hologram of the planet and its moon, as seen from space, hovering above everything. "Looks like this is the place," the mechanic said, smiling inside of his helmet. He spent at least an hour taking pictures of much of the room – the hologram, models of ships and drop pods and such, pictured of several alien races, and – primarily – the information cards which accompanied everything.
In his info-gathering mission, he uncovered a goldmine of information. He had discovered that this was a backwater system of the Imperium, so not many forces came by there. However, he did find that one small militant force was stationed there, and that their base wasn't too far from the city they were in.
But when he saw what the occupant forces were, the poor marine's face fell, replaced by one of despair. "No…," he whined, "…not theeem…"
– – – – 10 HOURS AFTER SEPARATING – – – –
– – – Larvoté – – –
Back at the mall, Larvoté walked through the halls, taking in the sights and looking for a place to find some more information. He passed by the food court, which was unsettlingly empty. After thinking over the evidence, he decided that there was nothing else to find in the mall – just empty rooms, clothing, and nick-knacks. He turned towards the exit, and headed back the way he came in.
As he exited, he looked to the sky. The twin suns were on the other side of the sky, signaling that it was near the day's end. He figured that there was no time to continue looking, and powered up the suit. He started on the way to the meeting site, hoping that the others wouldn't have much trouble.
– – – The Mechanic – – –
The mechanic stared at the building, a serious look on his face. He was standing on a granite base, and before him stood a large cathedral-like structure. The building was adorned with large stained-glass windows, the designs of which he couldn't make out from the outside. Turrets were on either side of the building, and a statue of an angel adorned the entryway. At the top, a stone cross identified the building from far away.
The Iron Warrior stood there, contemplating his next action. He was no longer bound by the forces of Chaos, so now…he could enter.
Boldly, he climbed the stone steps, and entered the Imperial church.
The first thing he saw upon opening the doors was a corridor lined with tapestries and chairs. As he entered the church, he saw that the tapestries were scarlet with golden lining, and that the ornate chairs were reddish-brown in color. He stopped in front of one of the tapestries, and gently traced the pattern with one finger. He then continued into the main hall.
The grand hall was a beautiful room. Inside, one felt like he/she was entering the home of a giant. The stonework of the walls and the ceiling was old, but still strong. The curved archways which held the roof above were elegant in design, similar to how the castles on Janilum VII looked. Under his feet, a red carpet cut through the marble floor, leading up to the altar. The wood and metal altar held the Imperial Bible on it, golden and closed. Behind the altar, an elegant painting showed a portrait of the God-Emperor, noble and strong, painted directly on the wall. The altar and the wall-portrait overlooked rows of metal seats, with leather cushioning on the seats themselves and the backs. Overall, the technological and medieval feel of the place melded in a state of awe-inspiring wonder.
But what spoke out most to the former Chaos marine as he slowly walked through the hall wasn't the sights. What most fascinated him were the echoes he heard.
As he paused, he heard what sounded like echoes from the past. He could hear the sounds of chanting priests and praying believers in the room. It formed a sort of ambience around him, which made him feel even more like he was in another place…a holy place. He stepped up several paces from the altar, and the portrait. Then, he did something which would have flabbergasted anyone in there at the time.
He knelt on his knees, and prayed.
After one minute or so, he stood back up, and walked around to see the bible. The covering was golden, and the writing seemed to shimmer in the fading light. The Iron Warrior frowned. I will never follow the lies that the Imperial church will spread, the mechanic thought. I may worship the Holy Emperor, but that doesn't mean that I will ever bow down to such a ruthless and greedy body of liars who manipulate His holy words for their own purposes.
As he was about to exit, he paused, and looked around. Then he spoke out loud.
"I've never gotten the chance to see this place," he said, seemingly to nobody. "Back when I was with the Iron Warriors, the churches were always destroyed before I could go inside. They told me that these places were abominations to nature, and that they mustn't exist. They said that if anyone entered the church, then they were blasphemer, and should be executed."
He paused for a moment, as if expecting a response. Then, he continued.
"What an amazing lie that was! How could anyone destroy this? This place…it's beautiful. It's almost magical. I don't understand how they could even think that such a beautiful place would be anything like an abomination. They kept believing that the Emperor's words were just fabrications, and that their deities were somehow better. But how? They never even stopped to see how peaceful this place is."
He then turned to one particular seat, and said finally, "and I don't understand how someone like you could believe that a Chaos marine could never repent himself."
He then turned back, and exited the building, touching the walls one last time before leaving.
And inside the church, the Imperial spy sat in their hiding spot, trying to comprehend what they had just heard…
– – – – 12 HOURS AFTER SEPARATING – – – –
– – – Krolt Fio'Chen – – –
The Tau had remained at the visitor's center, still at the booth…but now was asleep. Needless to say, he had struggled long and hard to stay awake and polite. But after twelve full hours of waiting, he had lost the battle. The alien was slumped on the counter, resting his head on his arm, and dead-to-the-world asleep.
And it's likely he would have remained that way, had he not been shaken awake.
"Huh? Wha? WOAH! Wait, what happened?", cried Fio'Chen, jumping to his senses. He relaxed when he saw the face of Krevash Larvoté, smiling at him knowingly. The Tau engineer put his hand behind his head, and asked, "Oh…was – was I asleep?"
The former Salamander marine shook his head disappointedly. "Chen…," he asked, "…did you forget the part about the people being gone?"
"No, but it said to ring the – oooohh….right…" Fio'Chen's face showed his understanding about what had happened…and how he had messed up. He hung his head and said, "I'm sorry, Larvoté. I didn't know…"
The Young space marine put his hand on the Tau's shoulder. "It's ok Chen," he said. "You just need to work more on your people skills, that's all."
The alien nodded, and the pair walked out together, bypassing the maze of velvet ropes. Once they reached the door, Fio'Chen began to laugh. "I can be such a gas cap, huh?"
"I think," said Larvoté, "the term you mean is 'Airhead'." The two of them laughed all the way back to the vehicles.
– – – – 14 HOURS AFTER SEPARATING – – – –
The group finally made it to the meeting site. Fio'Chen had set down the Hammerhead, and opened the doors. They set up camp outside the skyscraper, and sat around a small heating source.
"So, how'd your trips go?" Fio'Chen asked, hoping that his small mishap hadn't hindered the mission.
"Actually," answered Larvoté, "I learned a good bit of information. The Planet we are on is called "Naron II", and it's on the outskirts of the Imperium. Unfortunately, I have no idea how far it is from our protectorate."
"I actually know a bit more information," the mechanic chimed in. The younger marine turned towards his master, eager to hear what he had found. The mechanic opened the pictures of the info cards from the museum, and spoke.
"Naron II," began the Iron Warrior, "is a backwater system of the Imperium. The planet was colonized almost a century ago, because of the then-strategic location it was at. The system used to be a Eldar base, but the Imperium took the system, and used it as a base to launch their assault on the nearby systems which the Eldar had occupied. After the war was over, the Naron system lost importance, since the threat was no longer there. Over time, the Imperium began sending fewer and fewer forces to the system, until they stopped sending troops entirely."
"This system used to be a Eldar base," the young apprentice said, "…so that must mean – was there a Webway gate here?"
The mechanic shrugged. "There was no mention of any in my search, but it's worth a look. The Eldar base was, coincidentally enough, on the moon of this planet."
The others looked at the bluish moon in the sky. "So all this time, there's been a Eldar base on the moon above us?" Larvoté almost yelled.
"It's abandoned, so it's not an active base. But if you're looking at it by previous ownership, yes, there is an abandoned Eldar base on the moon."
"Aw, man... how do we get there?"
"So you're saying that there aren't any military forces here at all?" Fio'Chen asked, changing the subject. "I would've thought they would've kept at least some troops here for defense."
The Chaos marine changed to a more concerned tone. "Actually," he said uneasily, "there is a small militia here. And they do have a base close by, but…"
Larvoté's mood immediately perked up. "Awesome! So we hijack – I mean, "borrow" a dropship, and take it to the Eldar base! Problem solved!"
"Not exactly," his master replied. "There's, um… a slight problem of ownership…"
"Well, what are the forces here?" the young marine asked.
There was a pause for a while. Finally, the answer came: "…Adeptas Sororitas."
Instantly, the two space marines' faces fell. "Oh…crap…" was all that Larvoté managed to say in response.
Fio'Chen didn't understand why they had become so glum. "It's ok, friends!" he said, attempting to bring the team's spirits up. "It doesn't seem so bad! I'm sure we can handle them!"
The Iron Warrior glanced at the Tau as if he had said the dumbest thing in the galaxy. "Chen," the mechanic said, "do you really think that the three of us can stand up against the most ruthless, zealous, religious, and downright bad-*** warriors the Imperium could create?"
The alien looked confused, but Larvoté leaned over and whispered in his ear. At his words, Fio'Chen's face dropped. "Oh…we're all doomed…," he said sadly.
After they had all eaten, they went inside of the Hammerhead to sleep. The Phalanx was set to stand on its own, to appear like it was operational; in truth, all its controls were locked, so if an intruder tried to pilot it, they were stuck there. The two security drones activated, to alarm the men of any danger. While Fio'Chen and Larvoté slept, however, the Iron Warrior stayed up late. He pulled out the hot-pink book, and began to write.
– – – – – – – –
"…This is incredible, and not in the good way. On the bright side, we have a potential way back home; we've discovered that the Eldar used to have a base on the moon here, and there might be a Webway gate there. Unfortunately, all the good news we discovered was counter-acted by one bit of bad news. Unfortunately, to get to the Webway gate, we have to steal a ride from some of the most religious, fanatical, and dangerous warriors known. We have to go up against the Sisters of Battle…and
…terrific. Just freakin' terrific…"
…
End of Chapter 11
A/N: So how'd I do? Now, I know some of you might take issue with the statement towards the end. But…come on, folks. Let's face it – the battle sisters are pretty dang bad***, and I don't think anybody wants to get on their bad side. Plus, it fits perfectly because, in case you haven't guessed yet, the new character I'm introducing is a girl. So yeah…
Oh, and I hope you enjoyed my surprise: 3rd-person writing! At first, I thought to do this the same way as before, with the mechanic telling the story via his pink book. But as I thought about it, I realized that this was a good opportunity to explore and introduce the characters to you, the viewers. It's hard to introduce people from another character's point of view without personal opinions getting in the way.
I figured if I did a chapter in 3rd-person view, then I could more accurately describe the characters to you, and also have a lot more opportunities to make ya laugh.
Reviews will help me live! As I said before, this is just a test. I might decide to do some more 3rd-person chatpers like this later on in the series, but only if you want me to. So please, if anything, review THIS chapter.
Oh, and just so you know, the mechanic does not have a name.
(Partly because I want to experiment with identifying a character without a name…but mostly cuz I can't think of any good names! T^T)
Next time, how will our heroes stand up against the Sisters of Battle?
Will the Imperial spy sympathize with the mechanic, or will they remain against them?
And what about the Eldar base? Is it really abandoned, or is it…A TRAP!
That and more, in Chapter 12 of Diary of a Chaos Marine! Stay tuned!