In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, there is only war.
These words ring true in the hearts of every Astartes, from the humane Salamanders to the savage Black Templars. But few Space Marines have known the isolation and attrition of war as the Mantis Warriors.
For as long as the eldest veterans remembered, the Mantis Warriors have acted as guardians to the Endymion Cluster, a cluster of Feral and Feudal Worlds within the Maelstrom Zone, a sector of space surrounding a massive Warpstorm that plagued nearby worlds with countless Alien and Daemonic threats.
For thousands of years, the Mantis Warriors fought in dessert and jungle and the Void between worlds against endless threats, recruiting new members from the very planets they protected.
Audius was one such recruit. A young Astartes in his fourth decade of service. He would not see the wider Imperium until he was chosen by the Ordo Xenos to serve in the Deathwatch like many of his brothers before him. Until then, the Imperium of Man was little more than the object of his faith. Faith he held in high esteem...though not as much as his home.
And it was his home that he fought for. Over his homeworld of Tranquillity II, vile Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearers Legion had sought to cut through the gaps in their patrols and besiege the planet.
They had fell right into the trap set by the ambush hunters as concealed sentry ships ambushed the traitor vessel, disengaging its shields and launching boarding pods into it exposed body.
Audius exploded from the boarding pod as soon as its doors opened, mowing down disoriented Cultists with a spray of bolter fire.
Audius changed his magazine and switched his weapon to semiautomatic as his treaded over the bodies, ignoring the pops and squishes as he drew his Power Sword and pressed on towards the only way available to him.
The corridors were unnaturally small and it was impossible for one of his size to turn around. He hoped he was heading towards the bridge and not the menial decks.
"Audius. I have infiltrated the enemy ship, and am making my towards targets of opportunity." The Astartes said into his vox.
"We have you on scans brother. It appears the first target you'll reach is their menial decks." His Captain said to him.
Damn Audius thought to himself. "Understood, my squad and I will give their slaves the Emperor's Peace."
" You're squ-...Of course, good hunting." The Captain stated.
It was slow going, Audius had to question what caused the Traitors to build their ship with corridors barely accessible to their kind when they cared so little for their mortal slaves beyond driving them to madness and forcing them to devote their lives to the service of Chaos, but despite the madness of the lost and the damned Audius found a sealed door at last.
A slash from his Power Sword and a slam from his pauldron and the door gave way. Maddened Cultists fired on him with lasguns and stubbers loaded with crude explosive rounds that imitated the bolt rounds and his brothers fired back.
A Khornate cultist charged him with a chainax and was cut in half for efforts while Audius continued to fire his bolter in one hand with his brothers lining up to fire beside him in a stream of bolt rounds that cut the traitors down like wheat.
The Mantis Warriors advanced at a slow pace, keeping their eyes peeled for enemy Astartes as they continued to slaughter the Cultists...until one shielded itself with the Warp.
Audius and his brothers encircled the Witch, keeping up their fire to ensure it couldn't concentrate on attacking them...and yet it did.
Audius found himself frozen in place, unable to fire his weapon. The Witch shimmered and faded, revealing itself not to be a mortal psyker, but a Chaos Sorcerer.
The Heretic Astartes clinched his fist. Audius could only scream as the Warp tore at him. The Sorcerer halted whatever he had been doing when a Librarian came from behind and sought to save Audius and his brothers.
Despite the interruption, Audius felt reality explode around him. He felt something tear at him...and something else try to mend the tears. And then, it was over.
Audius awoke in the jungles of a Feral World within the Endymion Cluster and got to his feet.
He was about to contact his brothers...when he heard a scream.
The screaming...the screaming...it echoed all around him as he made his way through the ruined city, checking every shadow for the enemy he knew was luring the Mantis Warriors into a trap...by using the innocent as bait.
He broke out of an alley into the central plaza. A young girl with red hair tied in a bow was desperately trying to back away from the looming Astartes that bared on her with a gore slicked chainsword.
Audius fired a burst into the monster and watched it fall. He closed the distance and fired a shot into its armored head just to be sure before putting himself between the civilian and the shadows. "Make haste to the nearest bunker. I cannot guarantee your safety."
"Huh-wha-bu-but it's dead!! What're you talkin' about!? An' what are you!?" The child half screamed in a panic.
Before the Mantis Warrior could respond. There was a rustle, and Audius turned to see another Astartes, it's armor all but invisible in the city's shadows, staring at them.
Audius opened fire. "RUUUUN!!!" He shouted as the enemy came from every shadow. He fought desperately, shooting and slashing as more came at him, as silent as death and armored in stormclouds.
His Company fought beside him. They had followed him into the ambush, into their duty to protect the people of Tranquillity II. And they will fight to the last man against the silent killers from the outer dark.
Applejack could feel her heart pounding into her throat. Applebloom was trying to deliver a cart of goods by herself, was lost in the fire swamps, and Applejack knew she had heard the growl of some large critter just as she heard her little sister scream.
Then she heard something she ain't never heard before, it sounded like thunder, or a tank gun in those crazy stories Rainbow Dash had named her tortoise after.
And then she heard a whole LOT of it. A series of loud noises that blended together to sound like an angry hornet coupled together with the sound of falling trees and, as she got closer, the footsteps of something big.
Applejack was about to reach the fire swamps when something came over the hill from the other side and slammed into her, causing the two creatures to tumble end over end down the hill.
After shaking her head to make her eyes stop rolling, Applejack realized that the creature that had crashed into her was her own sister.
"Applebloom!" The farm pony shouted as she hugged her sister tightly, only for the moment to be cut short when the buzzing cut in again. This time, accented by a deep bellowing warcry that sounded like it was being shouted through a fan.
Applejack scrambled to her hooves and helped her sister do the same. "Come on! I don't know what making all that racket, but we ain't stayin' here long enough to find out!"
Despite the day starting with Applebloom believing Applejack was baby her too much, the rebellious filly complied without resistance. "No arguments here sis! That thing is crazy!!"
Author's Note:
So...I'm sure a lot of you want to know what's going on with the Grimdark 6.
It's not canceled by any stretch but between working the holidays, getting fired after the holidays(with one week notice) starting a new job with new Employee Housing, putting up with the roommate from hell(you all know the one) getting him kicked out, and having my phone stolen...I have been so stressed that I don't even remember where I was going with Volume 3.
I know what I have planned for Volume 4, and I was wondering if I couldn't just drop Volume 3 altogether and go straight to it, or if I should distract myself by writing Volume 4.5. (Which is what happens to Chrysalis after she was kidnapped by the Wych Cult)
But the more I thought about it the more I decided...I need a real break. Not a spend months trying to come up with something only to come up with nothing kinda break, but a put it out of your mind and write something else in the meantime kinda break.
So...Scars of War. Why? Well number one, is muuuch more user friendly than so Ponies are a must.
Number two, I have so many scrapped ideas for Element Bearers in the Grimdark 6 that I need to flush out of my brain and writing one off stories that end in one Volume is the best way to do that, and almost did one with Sevatar and his Astropath friend, but...
Number 3, the Mantis Warriors are the best Loyalist faction and no one talks about it.
Let's go over the bullet points:
Descended from Best Legion-check.
Looks after the people of the Imperium-check.
Coolest color scheme-check.
Realistic battle tactics-check.
Sly Marbo's HomeBrew-check. I could keep going.
If I ever buy Space Marines, they will definitely be Mantis Warriors. Also yes, if my subtle as a hippo mauling hints weren't clear enough, Audius is a Dreadnought. More specifically, he is the poor unfortunate soul in everyone's favorite fanart of Tyberos.
You may also have noticed that he has severe Post Tyberos Stress Syndrome...it happens.
So yeah, this isn't gonna be nearly as long as a Grimdark 6 Volume, and there will be no sequel. I just got tired of trying to write something all weekend and ultimately doing fuck all.
Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I'll see you all next time.
