Lets get this over with, I claim no ownership of any 40k stuff or GM material. This might be the last chapter in the Hunt for the Traitors. I don't know what I'll write about when I'm done with it. Enjoy. N. Kage
"Captains, we have found the traitors here,' said Scout-Sergeant Oroka, gesturing at a circled area on the map, 'They have built in-depth defenses, which include two-hundred meters of razor-wire, inter mixed with mine fields. The main defenses appear to be stacks of corpses, three bodies thick. We could smell the place from three kilometers off, it hit us like a brick."
Mepesto nodded, already thinking of assault plans. They would encircle the traitors, the Third Company would be on the east and south, and the 1st would take the north and west. The attack would begin with a lengthy bombardment by Whirlwinds for twenty minutes, aiming to breach the razor-wire and mine fields. Then, a general attack would be lead by Dreadnoughts and Tactical Squads; he would be at the front. Rhinos from the Third Company will attack from the flanks and encircle the Traitors and then, the taint would be permanently removed. He was also going to relay instructions to the Battle Barge in orbit, that if they did not receive a coded transmission from him, they should virus bomb the planet and quarantine the system. Mepesto gritted his teeth; he would personally kill Bjorn Death-Hand and bring his severed head to the Council. Quickly, Mepesto told Loras his battle plan, and for a change, the Captain agreed with him.
The Whirlwinds were in firing position within hours. A dozen of the missile tanks were training their deadly cargo towards the traitor camp, but did not fire until the infantry and other tanks were in place. The camp was hidden behind a fair sized hill, but, there were no observation posts up there. Sighing, Mepesto merely thought the traitors were preparing a trap, but there was no other way to do this. Casualties did not matter now, only the death of every one of the traitor's mattered. His squads were deployed just behind the top of the hill, lying down in tall grass, the Dreadnoughts and Predators supporting them were further down the slope, ready to go. The Third Company Rhinos and Predators were hidden behind a large scrub of trees, their engines silent, but their anxious drivers had hands hovering over the engine starts.
At the prearranged time, the Whirlwinds firing, the missiles launching with a loud shriek, the Vengeance missiles streaking towards the enemy camp, not three hundred meters away. Dull explosions shook the ground, throwing up clouds of dust and smoke. Mepesto could not see if the Whirlwinds barrage had severed the razor-wire or set off the minefields, but secondary explosions told him that the minefields were gone, or at least a hole had been cut through them. The second wave of missiles launched, the missile exhaust blowing away mound of dust. This wave was aimed about thirty feet behind the previous one. The next wave would be aimed directly at the Traitor camp, hopefully killing some of the traitorous bastards. Within one minute, the barrage had ended, the Vengeance missiles spent.
Standing to his feet, Brother Reiata at his side, Mepesto shouted, "Brothers, follow me and fight the good fight!" With that, he began his charge over the hill, his brothers shouting, "Death Comes for You" and following his lead. Behind them, the Dreadnoughts and Predators revved their engines and power-plants and followed the Marines. On the flank, the armored thrust began, but would take several minutes to reach the traitors, even with the drivers flooring the gas and never touching the brakes. There would be blood and death, and some vengeance, oh yes.
Mepesto was over the top of the hill now, and he could see the missile barrage had cut a clear, one hundred meter wide path through the defenses, shell craters everywhere. The Traitors main barricade was severed also, the bodies comprising the wall scattered everywhere. But, the Traitor Marines had regained their senses and were manning hard points and dug-outs and sending swift, disciplined fire into the advancing Warhawks forces. One Predator, armed completely with las-cannons stopped and put the Emperors fire into the traitors, destroying one dug-out outright, and blasting apart one of the Traitor Predators that was hull-down, but facing the wrong way. A Dreadnought, Honored-Brother Gregoras, if Mepesto was not mistaken, stopped and slumped over, his right leg jammed from repeated auto-cannon impacts. This did not stop his plasma-cannon from firing, though, and he immolated a dozen of the foul traitors with boiling plasma. Brother Lioa died with his torso and legs shredded by heavy bolter impacts.
On the flank, the Third Company attack had been noticed, several Rhinos had been knocked out quickly by las-cannons, but the survivors of those tanks pressed on, on foot. Huge clouds of dust were being thrown up, which helped camouflage their movements. A Predator Destructor slowed, firing its turret mounted auto-cannon into a mass of the Traitors, blowing two apart in a shower of blood.
Mepesto was the first in the breach, storming forward with his command squad, spraying his storm bolter as he ran. Two Marines were killing, shredded in the massive cross-fire that the Traitors were spraying into the breach in their lines. A figure stood on the other end of the breach, and he made Mepesto's blood run cold with hate. The figure was clad in baroque black power armor, heads hooked to chains swung around his waist. Grafted to his right hand, a massive Thunder Hammer crackled with energy. His left was empty, but a plasma-pistol was holstered on that side. His helmet was coated in spikes, which looked more like part of his head then the helmet. His name, Bjorn Death-Hand, traitor and heretic.
"Bjorn Death-Hand,' Mepesto shouted over the din of the battle, 'You shall pay for your sins today, with your death!"
"Ha! You are a pathetic follower of the False Emperor and cannot hope to slay me!' his voice was deep and hateful, and made Mepesto feel unclean, 'I shall cut off your skull and drink your blood!" Bjorn cackled, and charged at Mepesto, two score of his followers running at his heel, trading shots with the onrushing Warhawks.
Mepesto stood his ground, waiting for the rest of the 1st Company to form up around him. Bjorn was close now; Mepesto could see dozens of skulls set into his once proud armor. Screaming, "For the Emperor," Mepesto counter-charged, pumping out a dozen or more shells at Bjorn, but all detonated prematurely. The traitorous bastard had some sort of custom field or something.
The two forces slammed into each other in the depths of a shell crater, shouting curses and oaths of vengeance. Mepesto meet Bjorn head on, the Imperiums finest, against one of the worst traitors alive. Mepesto stepped aside when Bjorn swung a massive, double-handed, downward blow at him. He racked his lighting claws across the traitor's chest, cutting four parallel gashes. Bjorn laughed again, and punched Mepesto in the face, shattering the left lens and blinded him in that eye. Snarling, Mepesto tore off his helmet and blocked the next blow, a right arc that left his arm numb. He stepped forward and thrust his claws straight at Bjorn's stomach, but Bjorn swatted away the blow, taking the opportunity to sweep Mepesto's legs out from under him. Mepesto landed heavily, and then frantically grabbed Bjorn's foot as he tried to crush his head. Then, Bjorn stepped back. Champion Mikal was there, slicing at Bjorn with great figure-eight strokes, forcing Bjorn on to the back foot. Another Chaos Marine charged at Mikal, swinging a morningstar. Mikal blocked the blows with his combat shield, but Bjorn counter-attacked, pulping the veteran Marines head. Mepesto flipped onto his feet, blasting away with his storm bolter, dropping the Chaos Marine with the morningstar and putting numerous dents into Bjorn's armor. Chaplain Kylan jumped into the fray, swinging his Crozius at the Traitor, cutting through Bjorn's shoulder pad and severing the arm holding his Thunder Hammer. Mepesto stepped forward, pushed Kylan aside and took the traitors head off with one stroke.
Captain Loras knew nothing of this. Three minutes after the assault began, his Company crashed into the traitor barricade. He personally killed at least a score of the traitorous filth, gutting them on his ancient power-sword, and blasting them into oblivion with his plasma-pistol. Two of his command squad died, a traitor in terminator armor had cut them into pieces with a screaming chain-axe. A familiar figure jogged up to him. It was a bare-headed, bloodied Mepesto.
"Brother-Captain Loras! Bjorn has fallen! We have won the day!" Mepesto clasped Loras on the shoulder and held up the severed head of Bjorn Death-Hand. The Chapters honor had been restored and Mepesto was to be remembered as one of the Chapters greatest heroes. Almost two hundred Warhawks Marines had died, but their names would be put on the Pillars of the Martyrs in the Main Monastery, where generations of Warhawks would remember them for all time.