Mankind Protects: Straken
My name? You know it already, don't you? Fine. I'm Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken of the Catachan II "Green Vipers". There, you have my name. What else do you want? Of course you want the truth of what happened. The Incident as they're calling it. If you're going to ask me whether or not I regret my part in it, I do not. What we did, we had to. We had to take a stand. We had to take a stand against the Dark Angel's 3rd Company.
What do I think of the Warmaster? Which one? Cain or the Lion? Cain? I did not like him when I first met him. I only knew him by reputation and as far as I was concerned, no man could be as amazing as he was hyped up to be. On top of that, he was a Commissar. Please understand, the Green Vipers do not work well with Commissars most of the time. They have an unfortunate habit of dying in the line of duty while working with my regiment. A shame that. So when I heard that my regiment was going to be serving under the famed Commissar Ciaphas Cain, I was skeptical. Far as I was concerned, he was just a symbol of Imperial Propaganda. A tool that the Commissariat could use to make the troops believe they were more than a bunch of trigger happy puffed up fools who dispense pointless punishments while wasting the lives of good soldiers. I was actually quite wrong.
Don't get me wrong, I still think his reputation is overblown or downright fabricated, but he is definitely not like normal Commissars. I have seen the way he interacts with his old regiment, the 597th. They respect him. They do not fear him nor do they hate him. That is rare to see in any Commissar. I had a talk with him after we were officially introduced and had a good look in his eyes. He was a fighter at his core. He would run to preserve his life, but he would fight when it came down to it.
I remember the Agri-World of Korudai, we were facing against a World Eaters Warband. I had one in my sights, a strange bugger who had white armor instead of the normal red, and had my knife to his throat. Unfortunately, it had my right arm pinned to my side and was in the process of crushing my chest. I was about to black out when a lasbolt struck it on the back of the head. It turned and there was Cain, his pistol in hand. That gave me the chance I needed and I plunged my knife into its throat. I actually managed to decapitate the bastard, though it wasn't easy. I swear that Astartes bones are made of adamantium. Cain helped me up and we got back into the fight. I owe Cain for that so when the time came, there was no doubt that I was going to join him.
The Lion on the other hand? He was just as good as his reputation suggested. He is a Primarch for Throne's sake. No amount of propaganda is going to fabricate those deeds. If you are a Primarch, you are more than the legends suggest. Greater. When I met him, the Primarch knew me by name. By name. I didn't have to introduce myself. He just looked down at me and said "Colonel Straken, it is an honor. Your regiment's reputation proceeds itself. I look forward to fighting alongside you."
He then shook my hand. My bionic hand. I have seen many squirm at the sight of it, but he just took it in his massive hand and shook it. I will never forget that. If I were to die tomorrow, I would die knowing I met the first born son of the Emperor himself.
The rest of his sons though? I have met Astartes. Fought alongside them in the Second Damocles Crusade. White Scars, Raven Guard, and others. Good warriors. Strong fighters. Dark Angels, though? When I met Company Master Gabrael, I didn't like him. I didn't see a noble warrior of the Imperium. I saw a pompous ass who saw all who were not Space Marines as beneath him, no different than other blue blooded Imperial Regiment that looks down on those that don't come from rich families. I'm glad he's dead now. Good riddance I say. The Galaxy is better off without bastards like him. Him and his officers.
What? I know what I said and I regret nothing! I lost men on Korudai and not just to the World Eaters. Me and the other Officers of the other Regiments knew there was something wrong. We kept finding more and more of our officers with holes in their backs. None of the Catachan II would allow themselves to die with a coward's wound! To suggest such a thing is an insult to Catachan itself!
As I said, we knew there was a problem. And Cain knew there was something wrong. Eventually, when the body count was becoming too much for simple battlefield losses, we confronted Cain. Debt or not, I was ready to crush his skull if he didn't tell the truth. I told him so myself. I think that's what did it. He spilled the truth quickly enough and told us what his aid, Jurgen, had seen on Centigrade. He then told us about the Fallen, Traitor Astartes from the Dark Angels who had turned on the Imperium during the Heresy. The Dark Angels were covering their asses and using us as expendable losses to find their lost brothers. And if any of our soldiers saw the truth, they would be eliminated. They did not care about us in the slightest. We were nothing but cannon fodder to them.
Then the other shoe dropped. The Chaplain named Raguel entered the room and we learned just how divided the Dark Angels were. He claimed to have fallen out with a group of Dark Angels known as "The Circle" over their treatment of the Primaris Marines. It seemed that the Dark Angels weren't as welcoming of the Primaris Marines as other Chapters apparently were. The Chaplain had worked with the Primaris Marines in the past and had lost a Brother to the Circle's machinations. Apparently they mind wiped one of their own when he became too close to their secrets and had Raguel kill him.
According to Raguel, Gabrael was one of the more fanatical members of the Circle and had a few Primaris Marines killed in the line of duty. If he was right, we could count on the Primaris Marines in a fight. Raguel warned us though that many of the Primaris Marines had worked hard to integrate themselves in the Chapter so they may not be open to turning on their brothers. He did tell us that the squad under the command of Sergeant Raum was loyal to him and would fight with us. Other than that, we would be on our own. But I have fought worse odds.
You ever heard of the term "The Wall of Guns"? I've heard it plenty of times from Astartes who like to put the Guard down as expendable losses. But we are more than that. We are the front line. We have done things no Astartes has been able to dream of. I would like to see a Dark Angel survive Catachan!
We conferred with one another and decided that if the Lion was going to betray us then we would show them what we could do. We would wait until we arrived at the next planet before making our move against the Dark Angels. We knew it was tantamount to suicide, but we would be damned if we would roll over and die for their pathetic pride! Of course, we know now that the Lion and his top officers were not involved with the doings of 3rd Company, but we had to take a stand. We are not cowards. We are servants of the Imperium and we would die for it as readily as any Space Marine would. It is our duty.
Once we made planetfall, we waited until the fighting was done with the Heretic Astartes before we made our move. No use fighting a war on two fronts. Then, for some reason, The Lion and his top officers left, leaving the 3rd Company Commanders in charge. We had our chance and we coordinated with Raguel and his squad. Then Cain made the speech. I will give him this: He is good at making speeches.
What did he say? Off the top of my head? Difficult to remember, but I think I can recall it. "The Emperor is not here. I know that is blasphemy to say, but it is true. But we are here. We are the front line. We are just as important to the defense of humanity as the Astartes and it is time we understood that! They say the Emperor Protects I do not believe that. I believe he is too busy for us. But we are here. We protect. Mankind protects!" Around those words. He is good at speechifying I will give him that. It got everyone ready for the fight that we believed would get us all killed.
We mined the campsite of course to counteract the Astartes and their movements. I don't know if you've seen it, but Space Marines can be quick bastards. It definitely gave us a small advantage in what came next. Cain and the other officers of the various regiments confronted Gabrael and his men. Cain, using his authority as a representative of the Emperor himself ordered Gabrael to surrender for judgment. Gabrael was insulted and demanded to know who Cain thought he was to do such a thing. Cain, the cocky bastard, said "I am Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium!" Gabrael actually laughed at that and began to open fire. We fell back and fired back. I want that on record. We did not fire the first shot. They started the fight.
Raguel's squad held back while we made the first move. The Valhallans formed the front line and the main bait. The Catachans performed hit and run tactics on them from all sides while the Vitrian Armoured Brigade performed long range shelling. We lost good soldiers that day. But we fought on and hurt them.
Eventually we had to go hand to hand when Gabrael ordered blades to be used. It got worse for us casualty wise, but we took a few of them with us. Catachan steel is one of the strongest materials for blades and we stuck it to them good. Apparently they never really fixed the neck problem with the armor.
Then Raguel's squad got involved. I heard words like "Traitor" or "Bastard' and "Heretic" being thrown around. Raguel and Zaeroph, Chaplain against Chaplain, and let me tell you... It was amazing. Crozius against Crozius, the two tore each other apart until their armor was near to scrap. Raguel was wounded, but managed to overpower Zaeroph and knock him out. Personally, I would have killed the bastard, but I think he wanted him alive.
Cain fought alongside his aide Jurgen and I have to say that little man can certainly put up a fight. Also, I think the Emperor's Grace actually protects Cain because Librarian Dothrael actually went after the Commissar himself. Every time he tried using his witch magic, it didn't seem to touch the Commissar and it definitely made the Librarian angry. Cain and him actually fought hand to hand and I have to say this also about the Commissar: He is a damn good fencer and actually managed to stand on equal footing with the Librarian. Eventually, he managed to hobble the Librarian with a strike to the leg with his chainsword. Then something odd happened. Jurgen walked up and pointed his Meltagun at the Librarian's head. Dothrael just looked at him with utter loathing. He said one word before he died when Jurgen melted his head off. "Nothing." Don't know what that means.
Then the tide began to turn in the enemy's favor. More and more Dark Angels dropped down from orbit and surrounded us. We lost more troops than we could take down and it looked as if we were going to die. Then the Lion returned in a burst of ozone. The fighting ceased and all the Dark Angels bowed to their genesire. He confronted Gabrael himself and appeared to be berating him. Then he did something I shall never forget. He executed him. Right then and there. Whatever went down, I can assume the Lion was not happy with the goings on of 3rd Company's actions.
After that, the rest of the Primaris Marines under Lieutenant Xedro revealed their part in the conspiracy and offered their lives. The Lion actually refused. "Let Former Company Master Gabrael's life be the last one taken. No more of this, my sons. No more." The rest of the top officers of 3rd Company that were alive were arrested. Don't know what happened to them and quite frankly I don't give a frak.
What happened after? Can't say. Forbidden. But I will say this, Inquisitor Thrax: We did what we had to. The guilty party was punished and the Traitors were found. Yes, there may be more Fallen Dark Angels, but there can't be that many left. I don't regret what I have done and if you think you need to punish the Lion for the actions of his sons, I invite you to try. And if you want to kill me, go ahead. You have that authority. I am a soldier. I learned how to die a long time ago.
You won't? Really. I did not expect that. I can go? Really? Fine.
Interview with Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken concluded. Inquisitor Thrax presiding. I conclude from Straken's testimony that the guilty party has been dealt with and no further actions are needed. All records are to be labeled Vermilion Level Clearance. End of recording.
Author's Note: I assure you that this is not the end of the Dark Angel storyline. After all, we did not hear what the Lion was up to and I assure you that is coming.
Ever since I watched the Brotrip episodes from TTS, I have been interested in Catachan and Straken. I loved Pandorax, the book, partially because of the use of the Catachans. I am also reading the novel Straken and that is pretty good so far. I hope I got Straken down well and my only regret is that I didn't get to use his catchphrase in this chapter in an organic way. I'd rather not shove it in for the sake of fanservice.
As for the format of this chapter, I got the idea from my first part with the use of the first person perspective and then I thought "What if this could all be an interview the parties involved are having with an Inquisitor?" Of course that could open them up to being screwed so I decided to have it be a more reasonable sort like Thrax is. Of course I do plan an Inquisition storyline in the Knights-Errant of Inquisitors vs Astartes so that is coming up in the future.
Overall, this concludes the Astra Militarum's side. Next time will be another part of the Universe. I'm thinking a return to a story I started a while back, but ran into writer's block. The Ghosts of Istvaan V are going to return, Dear Readers. It is time to finish what I promised.