(Author's Note: It's been a while since anyone has put forward suggestions for improvements or critiqued the story, if you wish to put forward either I would appreciate it, such comments help me improve the story. Thank you)
Chapter Seventeen: The Horror Discovered
The Fate Breakers were pushing towards the tower with a strong offensive. At over a hundred battle brothers in total, more than half of the Daedalus Fleet Company brought the Emperor's vengeance upon the vile minions of the Reapers. Like fire the Drop Pods rained down upon the city, crashing into anti-air guns like meteors to allow the deployment of reinforcements. Within minutes of the Space Marines making landfall, foreboding storm clouds blocked out the daylight and unleashed a foreboding rainstorm as the battle progressed. The severity of the downpour hindered visibility and interfered with all communications, but the Space Marines would not let these things halt their campaign. With the combined knowledge on the Reapers given by Legion, and the daring tactics of Captain Kagetono, the ominous ebony tower was soon within their grasp.
Kagetono had long since ordered his mighty Land Raider to aid in another conflict, and now led a heroic charge down a main street that was in clear line of sight to the central tower and its corrupted blackened spires. The rain persisted at the same unrelenting pace, saturating every warrior down to their very core. Shepard, Miranda, Legion, and every Space Marine toiled in the streets, knowing no warmth but the fire in their hearts. This was a fire that burned with such vigor and zeal that it pierced the dread in this dark storm.
"Miranda?" Shepard asked as he and his comrade moved fluidly back and forth, combating the husks and other creatures.
"Yes?" There was a soft tone in each other's voice, a tone that could be heard over the raging storm and chorus of horrific moans and shrieks of the Reapers' minions.
"You said you didn't have the fire in you to do what I do. You said I would always lead, and you would always follow… Well, look where we are. We are at the center of a galaxy slowly burning in the uncaring void, here there is no respite, no compromise, here there is only war and death. We do not belong here, and yet you came with me, sacrificed blood for me, Miranda you are stronger than you have ever realized, and I am proud to call you a comrade."
"Thank you, Commander Shepard… But there will be a time for being sentimental, and it isn't now!"
"She's right Shepard, now if you'd be so kind as to be my rear guard!" Kagetono charged past them with his titanic Assault Terminators and sprinted down the street. At the street's end, two Praetorians flew in and crashed into the asphalt, their four talons churning up chunks of road upon landing and flying in every direction. "Ideaus, Creon, Sergeant Adeon, with me!" Kagetono yelled to the three men in his squad thunder hammers and storm shields.
"Wait! Watch for the Praetorians' Death Choir!" Shepard screamed, hoping to get the Captain and his men to turn back from the signature killing blow of the constructs. He was too late, the two creatures let out a bellowing screech, sending a wave of energy in all directions. However, the Captain and the three Terminators were safeguarded by the invincible technologies of the mighty Iron Halo and the group's storm shields. The energy given off by the attack was forced aside as they inched forward, and when their attack ceased they floated back into the air. Kagetono could see the skulls that the creatures displayed as teeth it never actually used. This vile desecration would be punished by his mighty Relic Axe, but this one would not die by his hand.
A projectile from somewhere above the group crashed through the Praetorian with enough force on impact to sear a hole in it. The creature crumbled into dust, and the Captain paid the cause of the impact no mind, he turned from where the first Praetorian stood and cleaved his axe through the second villainous creature. It was not so much fazed by the blow as it was annoyed with the foreign object stuck in its main body, and in return attempted to free the glowing axe from its head with violent jolts. Kagetono's grip was stable, and he himself was unaffected by the creature's attempt at dislodging the melee weapon. The Captain disoriented it with repeated bashings across its face with his Storm Shield, distracting it so his Terminators could use their Thunder Hammers with impunity. However, the person that had pierced the first monstrosity and sat in the crater now removed himself from it. It was Epistolary Kuzon, donned in his crimson armor and ornamented jump pack.
"Foul creature of malice forged of desecration, burn by the Emperor's holy inferno!" Kuzon screamed as he dipped his senses into the foulness of the warp and found the sacred light of the Emperor's presence. This holy visage granted him the power he needed to annihilate the great evils before him. Pulling his mind out of the warp and back into the material universe, Kuzon thrust his left arm out to the Praetorian and punched the horrid alloy that formed its skin. This punch unleashed the might of the Emperor and out of his fist came a blazing stream of violet fire. The energy pierced clean through the Praetorian and melted it into molten slag.
"Nice of you to join us, Epistolary Kuzon." Kagetono stated as he signaled for his full retinue to regroup behind him. Shepard and his squad followed with the Tactical Squad.
"I am most certainly not alone, Ephraim." Kuzon gestured to the sky, where bright flares could be seen raining down upon the city, "My Vanguard apologizes for the slight delay of our landing, but a delayed arrival is still an arrival… What is our current objective?"
"Secure the tower, once we control its perimeter we will decide who shall assault its interior."
"Aye. We march for the liberation of humanity!"
"And we shall know no fear!"
The Captain and his Terminators advanced towards a well barricaded firing line of Scions, elevated on a platform surrounded by Abominations laying in wait and two more Praetorians. Kuzon used his massive jump pack to hop up to a roof on a building on a street corner, using his radio to maintain a constant connection with his hardened Vanguard Veterans. Shepard followed behind the Captain, and was beginning to see the horde dwindling. The righteous ferocity of Kuzon's Vanguard outclassed the husks, with many veterans utilizing a chainsword in each hand, the vicious power sword or axe, and even a pair of Lightning Claws. These tools when wielded by these heroes brought forth the will of the Emperor, and his will was for the Fate Breakers to advance.
"Captain! There's something coming your way!" A Sergeant yelled across the comm. hoping to get the Captain's attention. Suddenly, the Scions and Praetorians backed away, allowing a new enemy to take center stage. This enemy was technically a familiar one to the Space Marines, but by no logical reason did it deserve to exist in this city.
"Vile Genestealers!" Kagetono raised his axe towards the pack of alien creatures, identical to the creatures Shepard faced so many months ago, when Miranda lost her arm. They leapt dozens of feet into the air and threw themselves at the Captain and his bodyguards. The combat was swift and decisive, the Space Marines found no challenge in these foes.
"First, a pack of these creatures appear on a world that has no signs of falling to the Tyranids, then, the aliens throw these things at us? I remember fighting these creatures on the Hive of Ymgarl for twenty minutes in single combat before slaying it."
"Wait! Look at its wounds!" Shepard ran forward, noticing something odd about the details within the massive cuts cleaved by the Captain's axe. "The Reapers once before warped the Protheans into their slaves, over time mutating them into mindless slaves that look nothing like what they once were. These are no different. I know you have enough experience slaying these beasts to know a Genestealer that is not!" The tyranids' skin was a mix of yellow and brown, all of it rough like the bark of a tree, and within their now mutilated insides was clear evidence of alien technology.
"To have any number of these xeno enthralled and able to do their bidding can only be explained by a connection to the Reapers. I admit I had a sliver of faith in the Commissar's innocence in this whole situation, that faith is now gone."
"Captain, there are sure to be more of the Tyranids as we get closer to the tower. We must be cautious as we advance." Sergeant Adeon added.
"When are we not cautious, Adeon?"
"I may only suggest that rage and fury are our tools, not things that cloud our judgment. It would be a calamity if those roles were to switch."
"Thank you for your guidance, Adeon. However, a moment of laxity spawns a lifetime of heresy."
"Then let us stand here no longer."
The dark tower was only blocks away, and the once brittle perimeter of Space Marines had converged into a hardened unrelenting advance. Half a dozen squads made their way down every city block within view of the tower, vehicles roared along the streets unchallenged, marching lines of battle brothers cut away at the ever dwindling horde by the dozen as their blessed rifles saw to the destruction of each and every cretin. However, as the fleet company closed in on the structure, more and more vile creatures were taking the place of the already grotesque husks and abominations. The wicked and alien malevolence labeled only as the Tyranids were appearing in force. These were nearly identical to the actual menace, and perhaps were once counted among their insidious ranks, but these were no longer the monstrous adversaries of humanity. Corrupted and twisted by the machinery and experimentation of the Reapers, Genestealers, Warriors, and Hormagaunts seemed to leap out of the shadows in the darkest corners of alleyways and sewer drains. Numbering in mere dozens and scattered across the many streets, their failed ambushes were increasingly disorganized and had no effect on the marines.
Once the Space Marines surrounded the tower, an enemy worthy of their skill emerged. The base of the tower was obscured by a veil of perfect shadow, spawned by the much larger diameter of higher floors. The base of the tower itself was at least fifty meters high, easily accommodating to the final wave of horrid creatures the enemy had lying in wait. The absolute shadow hid these final opponents well, but any man with a helmet or an auspex could clearly see the size, shape, and number of beasts lurking in the darkness. They seemed to be waiting patiently for the Fate Breakers to charge into the darkness and meet them head on.
Kagetono pinged his radio and addressed the company, readying his heavy axe and shield in a formidable fighting stance. "We have cleaved through a city of monsters and zombies, all once innocent souls now corrupted by the evil machines! We have brought the will of the Emperor down upon the Tyranid menace, corrupted by the same machines! Now a wall of demons seek to keep us from breaching this vile tower, and by our righteous fury and sacred weapons shall we tear down these abominations. And we shall do so in the Emperor's name!"
"For the Emperor!" The voices of a hundred men bellowed in unison, almost echoing as the chorus of invincible soldiers uttered those three words, each man screaming them with such vigor and zeal that they sparked something in Miranda's mind. Shepard had most certainly yelled these words with the company, almost as if he was one of them. For a brief moment her mind shuddered, marveling at the sudden epiphany that sparked in her mind. She finally understood what drove such a kind and tolerant spirit to wage war with his unique conviction and vigor, the complete reason why he was the only man who could take on the Reapers. Shepard's entire adult life had been shaped by his knowledge of the 41st millennium, and it had forever changed his core ideologies, but not his morals. However, recalling past event led her to a second realization, but now was not the time to address him about it.
The Space Marines charged into the darkness, their righteous battle cry muted by the inescapable storm of bolter fire. Golden rays of light stretched into the black curtain and burned it away with unrelenting waves of explosions. The stone and steel walls of the tower were mostly unaffected, but the demons were provoked into charging in counter attack. With their true forms revealed, the demons were all as ferocious and gruesome as one would expect. They had no commonalities between them save for their imposing size, and like true demons they had no shape that could possibly be described or compared to anything. Their appendages mimicked flails and twisted cudgels rather than arms and legs, limbs and muscles contorted into impossible angles, bones splintered into massive horns that jutted out of several points across their bodies. Wide eyes opened on several points on their bodies, focusing on opponents charging at them from all directions. These demons, fourteen in all, were the true embodiment of evil save for their intent, which was replaced by instinct or irrefutable orders. The Fate Breakers Space Marines, a Chapter that time and again defies the will of an uncaring galaxy, charged at the monsters with their swords raised high, knowing that they fought to banish this evil from this forsaken planet and keep it from returning to any world across the universe so long as one of them lived. The two sides finally clashed in melee combat, and from there the battle was swift, its victor clear…
Shepard was tired. He stood with his head high as he shared in the victory with the battle brothers of the Fate Breakers, but beneath his relieved expression and subtle smile every bone and muscle in his body ached. This unfortunately could not compare to the weight on his mind and soul, which cried out for something Shepard could not give them, for he did not truly understand the concept of that his body was trying to tell him. It was a series of conflicting thoughts and emotions that fought in the back of his mind since his death and resurrection so long ago. Miranda, in her pragmatic convictions, suddenly realized what seemed to weigh on his mind after but a moment's contemplation, she realized she had a major role in causing what he was going through. His charismatic charm and motivating resolve certainly raised no eyebrows among the Space Marines, but she could see it in his expression, she could see it and do nothing about it.
Into the tower we go…