The 501st Cadian Regiment, Verando V

[Hubernator]

This story is told by the commander of the 501st Cadian Regiment. He tells of a gruesome fight alongside the Phantoms, against a foul xeno race. Enjoy ;)

 

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"It was a cold bleak day on Verando V. We weren't expecting such fog. Or such poor reception. Since landing we lost communications with the vessels above our heads waiting to ship us out when we need it. However it didn't come as much of a surprise. We weren't expecting an easy mission. We never do. We always get it hard.

 

At 0600 Terran hours we landed upon the planet's bare surface expecting a fight to get our reflexes working again. That was not the case. What we found was empty land, sapped of life. Nothing moved. Nothing stirred. We set up basecamp at where we landed and tried to get the comms working, to which they failed. The tech-priests we had with us tried everything to get them working again, but no use.

 

Just after landing the vessels we had arrived in had stationed themselves in orbit in case we needed out. After this war the Captain told me of what happened while we were on the planet. When the comms failed the Captain got slightly concerned. However that was the least of their worries. Within minutes of losing comms the vessels came under attack from a band of Eldar Pirates. This had caught our vessels off-guard, yet they managed to gain control and counter-attack. This battle went on for a while, damage being sustained on either side. Eventually our ships began to give way from the pressure. This spelled doom for them, but it wasn't their time.

 

Things looked hopeless, however fate intervened. Just before those scum Eldar struck their final blow a great Battlebarge emerged from the Warp, flanked by a few Escorts and Cruisers. Each ship bore the emblem of a lightning bolt through and eye. The Phantoms had arrived. We had never met them before, only hearing rumours of such achievements and losses, yet their determination to fight on even when the issue at hand looked bad was amazing. The great ships batteries opened fire as soon as it left the Warp, catching the foul Pirates by surprise and causing them to flee. I was told the battle between the two forces was short and swift, with the Eldar making a hasty retreat.

 

Back on the planet's surface I'd sent out a few squads to scout the area and give us a layout of what we had around us. When they returned the same message kept appearing: 'It's empty sir. There's nothing for miles'. This proved frustrating until the last squad returned. Only one man of that squad returned; cut bruised and limping badly. But he was a member of the 501st. We never give in. He stumbled and crawled his way to the outskirts of the camp, where he was found and carried directly to the medical tent we had set up. Inside we found severe lacerations to 30% of his body, bruising to 50% of his body, and a few broken bones. His ribs had almost caved in and his right foot was missing, yet there he was still alive. Upon receiving the news of his return I rushed to him and asked what had happened. The man looked at me and muttered: 'we found a canyon and investigated. Suddenly we were attacked from nowhere. We tried to fight but we were outnumbered from the start. I was lucky to get out alive'. Soon he fell into a deep sleep and we left him be.

 

I decided that we needed help for this one, one thing I never usually ask for. The fog was beginning to grow from seemingly nowhere and had obscured our vision to a point where we could hardly see anything from a few metres away. Also one squad had not returned our radioed back, so we assumed the worst and put the matter aside. You had to be tough at a time like this. Mourning came last. After some discussion I decided to lead a few squads to find this canyon and mark it out so that we could make calculations. While that was decided I also called for my second in command, Sergeant Griff, and told him that as soon as comms were up we called for help, preferably that of the great Space Marines, if they were around.

 

I prepped a squad of around 30 men out of the 491 of us still left alive and set out for the canyon. The trek took much longer than previously thought, due to the fog obscuring our vision. With such a grand Regiment you would expect our gear to be up to standards too, however those were scrambled by the fog. Nothing was working to our favour so far. We pushed onwards, until we found the ridge of the canyon, just. If it had not been for the fog we would have found it ages ago, however if it wasn't for Bron we would have found it alright, but at the cost of our lives. Bron had found the lip and unknowingly stepped over it, sending him tumbling. Luckily we were all bunched together so we managed to pull him back up to safety. After finding said ridge we radioed base-camp to inform them on the find, however the radios were down too. So we devised a plan. We placed a large marker on the edge and tied a rope to it. Then we made our trek back to base-camp while trailing the rope to give use easy access. Upon reaching base-camp we tightened the rope and secured it down. Now that we had a route to the canyon, we knew our heading.

 

My next move was to investigate this canyon. I chose a few squads and they were about to leave when our requests were answered: the Astartes arrived"

 

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"After the battle I was told that the Phantoms Captain Geriko Fray of the mighty 6th Company ran a check of our vessels, then demanded where we were. After a hasty explanation from the Captain that they had no idea apart from that we on the planet below, he rounded up 200 of his finest men and landed on the planet, less than 6 kliks from our landing position.

 

Now I don't have knowledge of how the Phantoms acquired such technology, but I rarely ask. Once they landed they immediately tried comms of their own, but alas theirs failed too. However astoundingly they worked on the planet's surface, much to the tech-priests surprise when the comms link burst into life. We intercepted their transmission and tried to relay our own to the Astartes, which was a fluke success. Within minutes I spied the great Astartes ride over the horizon on their great bikes. Upon arrival I greeted the great Captain, who had chosen to lead the what was slowly becoming a rescue mission. He had other ideas. Too wrapped up in his thoughts, he brushed me aside and immediately set about preparing his own equipment at our base-camp. I tried to protest but the giant of a man removed his helm, stared me in the face and told me to 'stay out of his way, or trouble will ensue'.

 

While the Phantoms were organising themselves I received a very weak and patchy transmission from my squads in the canyon, which surprised me and at the same time made me nervous. And for good reason. From the transmission all I heard was: 'Help!!.....under.......need......repeat, need....attack......aliens...........nowhere.....AAAAAAAAAA' before the line went silent once more. Immediately I knew they were in trouble and needed help fast. I ran to the great Captain and shouted for his aid, but he wasn't paying attention. However when I mentioned xenos he immediately froze on the spot and turned to face me. His next words were: 'Arm yourselves men. We've got bugs', to which his 200 men replied 'yes sir' and immediately set about checking armour and weaponry. Such carefulness could only come from a man who knows how to lead. Geriko was no exception.

 

Within minutes the great Astartes stood ready, armed with their great weapons and perched on the bikes. It was a true sight to behold, to witness the Sons of the Emperor ride into battle. It was a pity, though, to not actually have a clear view of the great men because of the cursed fog. But that didn't stop them. They left camp under Captain Geriko, hell-bent on wiping out whatever was in the canyon. Such determination I hadn't seen in a long time, not since the swarming fields of Vosh where the Tyranids wreaked havoc upon the great Ultramarines. Although that's another story...

 

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More to come :)

[13skullz]

nice story hubernator. very nice indeed. i like this style of writing. i find it very... "COOL!!!!!"

[Hubernator]

heh heh Cheers Skullz :)

[Custodian Athiair]

nice although

i don't think just the word 'Xenos' would send a marine in a determined set of imeadate attack

he would find out all the info of

first of where the heck the canyon was

 

but still good story :D

 

Athiair :D

[Hubernator]

Well the idea for this was the Geriko is a stubborn man and always gets his way. Also it doesn't take much to annoy him. SO in this case the word "Xenos" set him off cos he hates them to the core.

 

Thanks for the compliment ;) really I should be writing more of this lol I'll see what else I can conjure up :)