"Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,"
"In all that the Law leaveth open, the word of the Head Wolf is Law."
I didn't even have time to be astonished.
Nor hear the crack of explosives.
The force of whichever shell landed closest smashed me into the back of the Land Raider. Denting my helm with the force of the impact. Down I fell, like a puppet with its strings cut after bouncing off the rear armor plating. Stunned and now waiting the short time for my physiology to recover.
The mortals at my side were not so fortunate.
Shrapnel had slashed the troopers to pieces. Two were dead and the sergeant was now on the ground screaming for his life. Light from burning vehicles casting long flickering shadows up the back of the Land Raider.
Once the ringing in my ears stopped I was able to listen and locate the Stormhammer somewhere, with my current orientation, below me. Hearing the treads grind as it turned still firing its sponson weapons. Lining up for another cannon volley.
One we could ill afford to weather. I scanned to the right, looking at once was more than five hundred Astartes. Rhinos and Chimeras burned, lighting bloody ruins of dead brothers scattered with broken weapons and armor everywhere. There must have been hundreds fallen.
I tried clicking on the vox, rolling to my stomach and shouting on an open channel, "Kenneth! You hit legionnaires! Cease fire! Cease fire!"
My words un-heeded the tank fired again, luckily this time a barrage more in the direction of the Orks. However the other weapons were still in prime position to kill more Imperials. Something I knew as one of the heavy bolters gunned down two of Arminger's men who crossed my twisted peripherals.
Bright blue flashes of more las cannon fire pulsed in the growing smoke cloud. One of our Land Raiders trying to take down the Stormhammer. The super tank pivoted again and returned fire.
"Blast it! Bastard!" I cursed, coming to my feet. Moving back to the inner circle wracking my brain to find some way we could stop that thing. It was certainly doing what it was designed to do, reaping bloody tolls on infantry. I doubted I could muster enough of our heavy weapons to focus on cracking that armor in this insanity.
Another Greenskin rounded a chimera transport, swinging its cleaver in both hands for my head.
Narrowly I dodged beneath the jagged edge which scrapped through my helmet plume and embedded in the vehicle's side armor on my right. I speared my claws forward, catching its muscled forearms and wrenching them wide open. The blades flashed again in a cross, left then right eviscerating the brute.
My right palm landed on its howling face. With ease I slammed the Ork against the APC, pulled back and put a bolt round in its mouth.
An Astartes squad emerged from the smoke, multiple command numerations visible on their armor. Three of the five hailed from the three hundred and first company, another from the seventy ninth and the last from my seventh. They moved easily in the hard worn patterns, scanning for more targets with their bolt guns.
"You there, form up!" I called to the warriors,
The lead marine knifed his left hand at me, "To the Commander! To the standard!"
The sound of the ruffling flag somehow hit my ears through the chaos. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Sergeant Ryder standing tall with our ragged emblem still held high. I ran to meet him and take cover between the two Rhinos the Sergeant stood between.
Yet more corpses of Orks, Astartes and Humans covered the ground behind Ryder, some obviously struck down by his powerfist. The others in various states of death and dismemberment.
Together we ducked into what little shelter the two vehicles offered. I knelt down on one knee, Ryder knelt beside me, the flag braced back against his left shoulder. The others turned and crouched looking for targets.
"Orders Commander?" Our standard bearer asked,
There were none that I could think of this moment that I felt would make any difference. The aliens appeared to have either fled before the Stormhammer rampaging through. Or had turned on their other filthy kinds leaving we Astartes be for the moment. But that could change in a heartbeat. And we had our new orders to consider.
I was beginning to think we should run.
Break up and disappear into the shadows, call who we could to our side and try to make a run for the staging grounds. Which may or may not have been overrun already or try and shoot us on sight. A place which lay on the other side of this forge city devolving into madness and anarchy. It was an impossible task.
Dull thuds of weapons striking flesh and armor drew closer with the battle. The Stormhammer fired again, pulverizing a Land Raider and the heavy weapons teams arrayed in front of it.
At that moment, watching more brothers die pointless deaths. With the weight of certain doom on my shoulders I made a choice.
Focusing my mind on the small tasks. Simply driven by a black need for vengeance.
I turned my head back, "You there, seventy ninth company."
The Marine backed close to me,
"Commander?" He asked,
"Can you drive a Rhino?"
It felt like we were walking a horse out to pasture at the side of the transport. The vehicle moving at an easy walking pace while Sergeant Ryder and I moved alongside it with our left hands braced against its armored hull. Waiting for the signal.
Four others from that squad of orphaned legionnaires had double timed it across the killing ground. If fortune favored us they would be giving their sign any second now.
I heard it.
Two distinct pops preceding the flares fired up over the battlefield. And then one more two heartbeats later, the phosphorus light casting a bright glow over the red tint of Warp light on the battlefield. The others were on the way. It was up to us now.
Ryder knocked his fist on the side of the Rhino. The driver maxed out the accelerator.
Heading straight for the Stormhammer.
We only had one chance. One shot to immobilize the behemoth and get on board with Ryder's powerfist then do some damage.
The shot was perfect.
The superheavy turned to face the oncoming Rhino, I could picture its traitorous crew scrambling to reload. Someone screaming at the sponson gunners to focus. Ryder and I broke into a run.
The Rhino slammed into the front right of the Stormhammer. Wedging beneath those massive treads. Slowly forcing the mass of adamantium and guns up off the ground, the tank making its situation even worse by trying to roll forward and crush this nuisance. Metal squealed in torment as the Rhino was compressed.
Just when the tank seemed set to break free a second Rhino emerged from the smoke and rammed into the hovering tread from the right. Driving in like a wedge, pushing over and immobilizing the Stormhammer.
My lips curled up in a predator's smile. Ryder and I charged for the listing left side. One las cannon fired a hasty shot, luckily only gouging a new mark in the ground on our right.
Together we grabbed onto the edge of the armor plating. Pushing ourselves up onto the broad surface as the tank belched smoke and shifted gears. Rolling back over the two crushed Rhinos as we sprinted to the hatch directly above the Colonel's command seat.
Ryder slid on one knee then slammed his powerfist down like a grasping claw at the edge of the hatch ripping it open like a tin can.
I arrived at his side and we both aimed our wrist bolters down inside.
Kenneth pushed himself back arms wide across the array of controls at his side like he was trying to merge into his command seat. His tactical helmet lit by glowing green screens projecting night vision displays from all of the tank's guns and view ports.
My acute senses detected a distinct odor filling the compartment, a dark spot spread across his trousers.
"For the Emperor?" I snarled, blood roaring into my ears.
The tanker tore his helmet free quickly, not bothering to go for the las pistol at his side or another hidden weapon.
"Commander?" He gasped in shock, blinking his wide blue eyes.
"Any last words, traitor?" I demanded, tensing my arm for the recoil about to come.
The Colonel had no words. None would have saved him.
But as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
We still almost shot him right then and there. Kenneth quickly reached over to one screen linking the demolisher cannon to his perspective. Pulling it over on an extendable arm and holding it up to us.
Such a flimsy device wasn't going to block any sort of projectile let alone a mass reactive shell. Still I paused, zooming in on the image.
The Stormhammer was facing the heart of our broken bastion. The cannons lined up to kill even more. But the gunners were frozen in fear at the sudden breach of their dark abode.
I saw no Astartes in its sights.
Vaguely I recognized the outlines of our transports, buried beneath scrap work effigies spikes and savage totems. And surrounded by only Orks.
Twice I looked back and forth between the static laced camera and the battle. The men of the three hundred and first company ascended the other side of the tank, seeking proper targets for the melta bombs they had acquired.
I looked to them and raised my right hand, "Hold!"
My anger had only risen at this revelation. But still something stayed my wrath, as Kenneth muttered and begged for forgiveness his head down rocking back and forth exposing his neck for the kill I spoke.
"Colonel," I spat, the man looked up to me, his face paler than the surface of Luna, "Train all weapons to the forward arc and turn this tank around. Sergeant Ryder will call your targets."
Quickly I turned around showing Kenneth my tattered cape, looking to Sergeant Ryder who gave me a nod of acknowledgement.
More engines rumbled across the battlefield, two of the remaining Land Raiders pushing side by side through the carnage ramming burning vehicles out of their way. In between them a force of battle brothers bearing melta guns and rocket launchers behind Master Bruis and his shield bearer acolyte marched.
I held up my right hand signaling them to halt. Master Bruis saw this and gave a shout raising his cudgel. The Stormhammer began to turn. I jumped down absorbing my impact with the ground on bent knees.
Despite the damage the tanker had caused we were beginning to rally and drive the aliens back. Most of the Ra'Chaal left in this wave had started to wander off to parts unknown while the rest of the Orks were finally being slain. Most of the marines left were giving the last of the wounded Xenos the mercy stroke, to put them out of ours not their own, where they lay choking out their last breaths on the ground. Under the direction of Sergeant Ryder the Stormhammer fired a volley into their comrades retreating forces to speed them on their way.
I approached and lowered my head in respect to Master Bruis, "The tank is secure Master. They had a… Fault in the targeting system."
"Faulty equipment eh?" He asked me, raising a suspicious eyebrow beneath his black helm, "Do I need to have a word with our Colonel?"
I shook my head, "No Master."
"Good… That was fine work Skius," He looked to the men, "Prepare to move out! Get the wounded in Rhinos. Apothecaries, you have ten minutes for the dead."
Our Diaconus made to walk away, to where I did not know. But he stopped. Seeing my own tense reserved pose.
"What is it Commander?" Our Diaconus asked me.
I took a breath, steeling myself to say what I felt had to be said, "Forgive me sir, I don't know if we can do this."
I gestured out to the city raising one arm ushering him to behold the mad house it had become, "Can we even make it through the city? Forgive me but I must question the feasibility of fulfilling the Praetor's orders …And it worries me. How much of our genetic legacy did we already lose down in those tunnels, and on this bloody field?"
How much more would we lose left unasked,
Bruis did not cuff me on the ears for seditious thoughts or try and shout me into submission as I expected, he spoke to me.
"Things we always have to consider and overcome in any campaign Commander," He said,
I nodded in acknowledgement, "But now more than ever… We aren't prepared for this. Even the laws of nature could be thrown out the window at any second. Should we even try to make it to the staging grounds, or even to the Rays?"
Bruis looked up to the sky, his tone a quiet one, "You know… In another life I might agree with you… But it is not our lot Commander."
He reached out and laid his left hand on my right shoulder, "We have our orders. And you know as well as I do we can't lose that ship. Ours as always is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die. We are Astartes, and there is nothing we cannot do. That is why we are."
So with that Master Bruis lightly struck his knuckles on my chest and turned again, waving his power maul to draw the focus of more Space Marines wandering in from the chaos.
"Forward brothers," He called over the vox, "The shield-burgh walks."
Surprisingly, we were not ambushed as we made our way through the city. Though I expected one at every turn into deeper and deeper shadows.
Kenneth led our convoy in the Stormhammer, eager for redemption. Ryder at the open hatch watching for any signs of hostiles to identify for the crew. Captain Arminger and his men followed on foot, bursting their jump packs to keep pace and skim across the blood stained, rubble strewn ground. They were followed by a brace of Rhinos side by side then a Land Raider. The first of which bore Master Bruis and his little entourage. This formation repeated down the line with Rhinos and the few Chimera's needed to transport the auxiliary survivors.
I was near the middle, standing in one of the Land Raider's observation hatches. Watching the unnatural Warp light play havoc on my night vision. Punctuated by the infrequent blasts of ships exploding and potentially thousands more dying in low orbit. Shadows darted below them, near the tops of the maybe abandoned maybe not hive spires. Some shapes descended low enough to recognize as Ra'Chaal single rotor drones, others as Ork craft. Dodging around each other like crows mobbing hawks. Shooting plasma bolts and slug weapons at everything in the sky.
But I dared not divert my eyes. Tense and waiting for a threat I knew had to be only a few steps into the dark unknown around us.
Not seeing any would have been eerie enough. But there are things I saw in those urban chasms some part of me wishes I could forget.
Great pits of fire with the leering skull faces of Xenos being burned alive. More and more willingly walking in silence from the other side to fall to their fiery doom as if in a trance. Empty eye sockets silently watching us as we drove by.
Remnants of some sort of skirmishes lost brutally. Knights kneeling or sitting defeated with massive pulsing blobs of flesh where their pilots would sit. Tendrils reaching out to idle or broken phalanxes of autonomous infantry. While a soft rain of smoke and sparks drifted over these funeral pyres.
Once a solitary Knight on one knee next to a hole in a spire, reaching into the darkness and pulling out Ra'Chaal. Creatures much livelier than most we had seen in this city of madness. Each screaming as the machine took them, apparently fully aware of what was about to happen. One by one the machine pulled off their arms and legs and throwing each dismembered part onto a separate pile behind it. Its photoreceptor tracking our convoy and even locking onto myself when we passed. Its purple coated hands never pausing in its gruesomely meticulous task.
The scenes of a planet and a species losing their sanity.
Reminders of what we had to face,
Warnings that hinted how quickly the Warp could corrupt.
That nothing was safe from its malevolent touch.
To their credit, the mortal soldiers had done a fairly decent job in fortifying our encampment. Something I truly didn't appreciate until facing it from the outside with the possibility of storming it nibbling at the back of my mind. Staring down auto cannon emplacements in bunkers on five meters of quickly sealing ferrocrete walls below missile turrets strung with humming razor power wire lining the killzone that was the only way into our base.
The Stormhammer halted, Master Bruis's Land Raider and mine moved up to flanking positions on either side. We were well within visual range, but it remained to be seen what that meant.
Seconds ticked by in silence, no challenge was given on either side. The vox remained adamantly silent.
Growing irritated, Captain Arminger began to walk away from our lines into the gunsights alone. I had half a thought to call him back, but I needed to know. No matter how I imagined at any moment my second would be cut down.
He carried on, step after step, meter after meter. Boots crunching as he went.
I saw barrels swivel to track him.
Just when I was set to give the order to open fire a booming vox voice called out from somewhere in this mini-fortress.
"Whatever you are selling we don't want any!"
A form followed those words. Rising from the man made hills was the unmistakable sight of a Contemptor Dreadnought, exhaust smoke rolling up from its back. Ancient Passanius called out again to the Captain below him, "Greetings John… You weren't planning on laying siege to your own base were you?"
Arminger raised his ax and shouted back, "Let us in you walking scrap pile! Or it's back on the table!"
The Dreadnought laughed, then nimbly raised one of his powerfists and waved to our armored column. I let out a little sigh of relief then clicked on my vox, "Sergeant Ryder, the door is open. Don't forget to wipe your shoes."
Our standard bearer gave a rare huff of amusement, "Aye sir."
There were far fewer Stormbirds than I expected idling in the landing zone. Only nine of the immense craft had touched down in front of the main entrance to the structure we had been using as a headquarters. But perhaps they were enough for what Astartes we had left.
While we marched on the Xeno power station the rest of the Vanguard had been deployed across the city while four companies of one hundred each had been left with our allies in this base. Who were all that we found present upon our return. We couldn't afford to waste more time waiting for those that might already be dead. The Vanguard had to make haste to the flagship's aid as soon as possible through the rumbling warp storm.
Men disembarked from the vehicles and made their way to the Stormbirds, once one was packed full we moved onto the next. Master Bruis and I watched this process from the steps of the headquarters glancing over the top of Kenneth's tank.
Meanwhile Passanius and several other ancients, a handful of Contemptors, pairings of squat Castaferrums, a few walking Deredeo gun platforms and even a mighty Leviathan silently lined up at the foot of the wide marble stairs.
The tank commander disembarked his vehicle and made his way through the towering bronze ancients with his head down to us. Wisely keeping silent about previous events.
From the building emerged a set of officers from the imperial army. Some in battle armor, others in dress uniforms and fur cloaks. And one the mirror image of the barbarians who had fought, in the loosest of terms, alongside the Vanguard days ago.
One bore the stars of a general, a man black bearded broad chested and tall in his dark long coat came to speak with the voice of the others, standing at the side of Kenneth who nervously gripped his many eyed helm.
The general spoke, a hint of nervousness in his deep voice. Affirmed by his words, "My lords?... Where are you going?"
Master Bruis replied, "To the Praetor's side. Lord Vaurion has summoned the Vanguard to the defense of the Rays."
"And… What are our orders, Sir?"
They have none, I thought to myself. It wasn't even a consideration once the Praetor had given command. There was nothing the Army could do now that would further our chances to victory.
What exactly such a victory would look like I myself didn't even know.
Our Diaconus looked down on the general, "Your orders stand. Purge the Xenos and secure the planet."
"But my lord…" Colonel Kenneth tried to begin, interrupting the black armored marine. Bruis held up one hand, his voice iron hard. A dangerous tone to hear for a mortal.
"I will indulge you this once in trying to convince me to do anything other than fulfill my oaths and aid our Praetorian. But… It had better be a damn good reason..."
"My lord," The general began, "We will not survive this without your support. It is only a matter of time before the Ra'Chaal or the Greenskins mount a serious offensive on our position and we are severely understrength as it is… Please Master Bruis, Commander Centermerius. Don't abandon us here."
Kenneth chimed in, "Its suicide going up there. M-Might it be wiser to entrench here and wait for the Warp Storm to clear?"
Bruis paused for only a moment, "Perhaps… But if the Battlebarge is destroyed it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the fleet falls. That ship, is our only hope of ever leaving this rock. If the Rays falls we all fall."
He looked across the fearful faces of soldiers who were light years out of their leagues, "So, your orders stand. Dig in and continue fighting. We will return for you if we can soon enough."
"And if you do not?" The general asked,
Bruis answered without hesitation, "Die with honor."
I saw the despair wash over every mortal.
A feeling I had hidden behind my helmet and training splayed as plain as day on men with much less discipline. It wasn't often these men knew without a doubt that they were going to die. I feared that Master Bruis had just broken them.
And possibly that they might turn on us then and there, for if they had nothing left to lose and their betrayers were about to leave their grasp.
Bruis stared them all down, the Dreadnoughts below us rumbled sensing trouble,
"It matters not our chances for survival. You all swore oaths, oaths to follow commands and serve our Emperor," The Diaconus began, "Oaths you knew could mean your death one day. Just as we all did. As we Astartes know we too are probably flying to our deaths, but we do not hesitate. We too have our orders. And we do not whine about following them."
Bruis paused for breath, "But, for whatever it may be worth now you have my word. We will come back for you."
Mentally I added, "If we can."
With nothing left to say Master Bruis turned around and marched to the Stormbirds, ready to depart this cursed world. I took one last look at the men who were looking to their comrades. One by one their heads hanging low as each came to terms with the idea that these would be their final moments in quiet whispers I chose to ignore.
For I had a feeling we would never see any of them again…
So I walked away, heavy steps carrying me to the Stormbirds. Following my men and Master Bruis onto the much harder path. The Legion's path, one always down the harshest roads.
Vaurion had given commands.
I looked up to the Dreadnoughts, Passanius at their head,
"Come brothers," I called,
They did not follow.
Curious I halted in my steps. The Ancients looked to each other, vox clicks crackling between them in silent conversation. Passanius finally looked down to me,
"I do not see my recovery vessel there Commander," The Contemptor stated.
I raised one unseen eyebrow beneath my visor, "We'll make room. Come on."
"By doing what?" Passanius asked, "I would take up twenty spaces alone."
His helmet focuser lowered along with his voice, "I am not worth twenty young ones…"
I sensed his unsaid point, but realized what it could entail, "…Are you sure?"
The Dreadnought chuckled, trying to make light like he always did while so often he hadn't when the Sergeant was still whole, "I'm not taking the chance I'll be blasted out another hull breach. My next death shall be on solid ground… And we shall lend our might to the auxilia for as long as possible."
And all die here.
As if sensing my thoughts the ancient spoke, simple words for a simple fact, "This is our choice Commander… We only ask, you speak well of us when our genefather is returned."
I bowed low and crossed my arms on my chest in the Aquila, "I swear brothers. He will know your names…"
As one the old warriors bowed their machine bodies in return, many voices speaking as one that sent chills down my spine,
"My name is Legion."