Claws of the Emperor

[Gree]

This is my first marine story for my DIY marine chapter. I do not own Warhammer 40k.

 

CLAWS OF THE EMPEROR

 

It was an old smell, a small that Basiclus was very familiar with in his long career of one of the Emperor’s Astartes. It was the smell of war, an old pungent stench of death that was not entirely unpleasant to smell. Of course it was all metaphorical, there was no smell of death out here. Just wind that carried the disgusting body odor of over a thousand massed orks. That was not very pleasant either.

 

The captain sat on a rock. He was a tall powerfully built space marine, clad in ornate purple and cold power armor, and much more heavily ornamented then his brother space marines as befitting his rank as the Captain of the Second Company. He had closely cropped white hair and several gold service studs on his brow. His features, although not handsome was not ugly by any measure. His aristocratic face looked like an eagle, noble but predatory.

 

He carried an equally ornate power sword, it’s hilt forged into a double-headed eagle, the God-Emperor’s symbol, and a bolt pistol, fresh from one of the Eagle Claw’s many armories. On one ornate shoulder guard was a molded winged claw, the chapter badge, Around him was the Eagle Guard, the elite warriors of the First Company that were assigned to every officer in the chapter as a bodyguard unit. They wore similar ornate power armor and carried golden halberds.

 

‘’Lord-Captain’’ he was being addressed by Paulus, his veteran sergeant and commander of his guard, the veteran wore a white robe over his ancient armor, a suit that was handed down through centuries of the chapter’s history.

 

‘’My lord the orks approach, they come in great numbers, we have already appeased the war spirits of our armor and we pledge ourselves to your defense, we pledge ourselves to the protection of your life’’ he quoted from the tradition pre-battle prayer of the Eagle Claws.

 

‘’And I in return swear upon my own sacred geneseed, the cut flesh of the Emperor himself, that I will serve alongside my praetorians.’’ He finished his part beautifully, exactly to tradition.

 

Now that the prayer was ended Paulus’s posture seemed to change he sifted form from dutiful protector to that of a close brother. He then removed his golden helm, the sigh of the chapter’s veterans, to reveal a scarred face with close-cropped dark brown hair.

 

‘’I feels good to finish that Julian’’ Paulus said, addressed Basiclus by his first name.

 

‘’Your just saying that because that irks you, you would prefer it you were not so formal with me’’ said the captain.

 

‘’Of course not Julian, I look out and I see a horde of grunting stinking beasts that must die. This is not a war sir, this will be a dance of death, I would not even give the orks the honor of being enemies, they are xenos that will die like grox on a slaughter block.’’ said Paulus confidently.

 

‘’Do not be overconfident Paulus, pride of not perfection at all, tell me Paulus how many chapters have fallen to Chaos’’ it was a rhetorical question.

 

’’To many to count unfortunately’’ he stated. ‘’They were weak and lacked perfection if we are perfect then we will never all.’’ Again the sergeant stated with full and certain conviction.

 

‘’No that’s not it Gaius.’’ said Basiclus. For the first time using his sergeant’s forename.

 

‘’None of us can even begin to approach the perfection that the Emperor puts forth. Now Gaius, I will educate you on something.’’ With one hand Basiclus gathered his weapons striding towards Paulus as he did so.

 

‘’You have been with me what? A year? Two? Perhaps? Then let me tell you what I told your predecessor. Perfection’s goal is improve ourselves to the very pinnacle of human perfection correct?’’

 

It was an almost insulting question to ask one of the Eagle Claws’s most prominent veterans but Paulus accepted the remark with good humor ‘’Of course, any scout novice could answer that’’

 

‘’Then let me tell you brother that perfection can never be attained, it is merely the gains on the road to perfection that make us better and that is what we must follow, perfection is a wonderful thing to aspire to but one must use it as a cherished gift from the Emperor.’’

 

The captain then accepted his helmet from a nearby chapter serf. ‘’ If we spend all our time on perfect in all aspects then we will never be corrupted because we have added purpose in our beings beyond serving the Emperor’’ mused Basiclus.

 

‘’Now we have may been hypno-indoctrinated but even that armor has a weak spot, an Achilles heel. If we are given a purpose of trying to follow in the Emperor’s light then how can we turn away from that light that we strive so hard for’’

 

‘’That’s an interesting perspective, that’s what makes you the leader I suppose, that and you are a half-century older then me with the greater combat experience’’ Paulus finished cheekily. Basiclus ignored the last bit when his vox-link in his armor crackled to life.

 

‘’Lord Captain, the xenos have entered the forward perimeter, we are now following back as per your orders’’ came the voice of scout sergeant Galbus.

 

‘’Of course sergeant, make for the rear and set up sniper potions’’ replied Basiclus back into his vox-link.

 

‘’Affirmative’’ answered the scout as then the link went dead. Basiclus turned to his rhino parked nearby.

 

‘’Let’s get ready, we have a ‘’slaughter’’ to start’’ ordered the captain.

 

 

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The Eagle Claws had taken up place along on old road; to the right of the ferrocrete highway was a set of low rides to the left was a set of scattered bushes and rocky outcroppings. All around them where the Astartes of the Ninth Company and the devastators of the Second. Missile Launchers and Heavy bolters where blessed and loaded with all due reverence.

 

Long experience had taught that the best way to combat orks from afar was to utilize heavy bolters and missiles, the average ork vehicle, which was too lightly armored to warrant the use of the revered lascannon relics. So the missile launcher, with it’s multiple roles and the reliable heavy bolter were chosen, both weapon guaranteed to bring swift death to the ork hordes as well as destroying the ramshackle constructs that they dared call ‘’vehicles’’.

 

Captain Earidus was the young leader of the 9th company, almost sixty years younger than Basiclus himself had a deferred to the greater authority and experience of the veteran captain. He had short blonde hair and the strong aristocratic features that were common to the Eagle Claws. The captain was clad in a suit of ornate power armor. He carried a storm bolter, molded with an Eagle’s head; the weapon was an ancient relic of the captain of the 9th company and had passed on to Eardius on his ascension to captaincy.

 

He finished applying the blessed oils to the weapon and muttered a prayer of due reverence to he weapon’s machine spirit. It always paid to be caring to your weapon, lest it jammed in battle at that went double for the warriors for the 9th. ‘’Karius!’’ he spoke as the command squad sergeant appeared at his aide. The sergeant’s left leg and right eye ad been replaced with bionic parts, a legacy of the decades of faithful service he had provided to the Emperor on the field of battle.

 

‘’Are we ready’’ the captain questioned.

 

‘’Of course my lord, I’ve just got word from Komnenos and Lakaris that they had prepared the battle prayers on their squads and the others are not far behind.

 

‘’Excellent’’ Eardius activated his suit’s vox-caster.

 

‘’Brothers! This is your captain speaking! As soon as the xenos come within range target the light troop-carrying vehicles first, the greenskins come in great numbers to do not try to scatter your fire among the troops and buggies’’

 

‘’Missile launchers focus on the fast troop-transports and after those are dealt with missiles I want you to go after the buggies and purge them with your missiles, may the xenos die perfectly’’.

 

‘’Heavy bolters concentrate on the infantry, ignored the mega-armored xenos and concentrate on removing the one mob at a time. When the horde comes within ten meters to your are to switch to your sidearm and blade and prepare for close-quarter fighting.’’

 

‘’At that point Brother-Captain Basiclus’s plan will come into effect’’ Eardius finished. A chorus of affirmatives answered him back from his various squad leaders, who he knew would in turn carry out his orders in perfection to the line brothers.

 

‘’Well said Lord-Captain, After all the only way we can fail the Emperor is through imperfection-‘’ Karius began.

 

‘’And we will not fail him’’ Eardius finished his sergeant’s sentence. ‘‘Yes of course brother’’

 

 

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Razdukk hawked a huge gobbet of spit to the side of his warbike as he careened over the landscape. The ball of spit splattered off the front fairing of a nearby warbiker who growled at Razdukk. The ork rider merely laughed and gunned his bike faster, trying to outrace his fellows. He looked to he side to see the warbuggies of the warband trying to race up to them but failing miserably.

 

Razdukk was felling the full adrenaline thrill of the bike. He was a speed freek and they lived for that thrill, going faster was the greatest thing they could experience, it was better than bashing in someone’s head, but just barely.

 

‘’Last un’s dere is a grot!’’ he yelled to the other orks, it was unlikely that they would have heard him over the ear-deafening roar of the bike engines as they screamed throatily over shrubs and rocks.

 

Then slowly the warbuggies and trucks began to move faster, gaining a lead on Razdukk until they surpassed his lead. The warbiker nob bristled at the insult. He would not be outraced.

 

‘’Squit!’’ he screamed. ‘’Get yet lazy carcass over here ya miserable grot and make us go fasta or I’ll grind ya inta fungus beer!’’ he roared.

 

His grot rigger, a clever-looking grot in a bandanna skillfully climbed to the side of the bike.

 

Using his spindly fingers to gain a hold in the rusted red armor plates was no easy task but the redoubtable grot managed it, after pulling our a wrench from the side compartment from some the grot began to tinker with the bike. Suddenly the bike jerked forward. Razdukk saw he was gaining a led once more. He laughed heartily again and pressed his hobnail boot to the metal, propelling the bike forward.

 

This caused Squit to lose his hold in the bike, cashing him to careen off the vehicle and be lost in the thick dust clouds that the ork warbikers generated. Razdukk merely laughed harder. ‘’I’ll see ya grots behind me!’’ he roared to the nearest drier who shook his fist at him. Suddenly dust began to kick up around his vehicle as ork drivers began to take potshots at him.

 

He began to jink his bike around. He avoided most of the shots due to a combination of skillful drawing, poor ork marksmanship, and sheer luck. The few shots that miraculously connected bounced off his armor. He was still laughed when he was a missile streaked out of nowhere and destroyed the lead buggy. Bolter shells and missiles crossed with las-beams to rip apart ork trucks and buggies.

 

He gave a war whoop and turned around, signaling to his squad to follow him to the clusters of purple-armored marine-boys that where gathered around a low hill firing at him. He threw his head back and with a deep rumble he screamed.

 

‘WAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!’’

 

 

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At the top of the low ride Eardius raised his hand and dropped it, unleashing a firestorm that plowed into the advance line of vehicles and orks that where rapidly moving across the earth like a horde of green locusts. Missiles flipped buggies of their tracks and demolished ork transport, heavy bolters scythed down dozens of ork warriors, still they came, even when the greenskins charged thought Whirlwind rocket fire and fields of mines they still came.

 

Eardius fired his storm bolter, felling five orks as he saw the remnants of the from line approach with thirty yards of the Eagle Claws positions, most of the greenskins where still stumbling into shrubs when the next volley hit them. There was heaps of viridian as the few surviving tracks crashed into the base of the hill and disgorged their crew of howling, stinking orks that gathered in crude mobs at the base of the hill before the Eagle Claws lines.

 

‘’Bolters!’’ The astartes captain shouted as the battle brothers of the 9th company smoothly switched to their bolters and unleashed a hail of bolter rounds that tore into the xeno hordes. If they where bothered by their casualties the greenskins did not show it, in fact even as a massive battlewagon crushing into the ridge and disgorged a band of mega-armor orks that where led by a hulking figure that could only be Warboss Skargit himself.

 

With a massive Waaggghhhh! The orks charged over the kill, through an unrelenting storm of fire from the Eagle Claws astartes they fired their crude weapons and waved their choppas and axes. They hit the line just as the Eagle Claws drew their combat knives and chainsword. The line of astartes buckled at the charge and bent, but they did not break even as several marines fell to the orks blades.

 

An enormous ork armed with a chainaxe beheaded a marine and buried the axe into a chest of another as Eardius fired his storm bottle point blank, blowing it apart as he drew his power sword. The blade hacked down several of the nearest ork warriors as they swung their crude weapons as his armor, he fired off the last of his ammunition at the orks, slaying several before his holstered his weapon and charged in.

 

A marine flew into the air as Eardius looked out seeing the massive armored figure of the Warboss approach; the warboss was clad in a great clanking suit of plates made from the armor of defeated foes. Eardius though he saw bits of eldar armor mixed in with tank armor and bits of astartes plate. His anger roused as such a flagrant mistreatment of such holy artifacts that the xeno had defiled.

 

He cut down a pair of orks and kicked another one away, his kick snapping it’s spine with all the gene-enhanced strength that the astartes captain could muster he decapitated another ork and disemboweled yet another as he charged towards the ork warboss. Moving ahead of his bodyguard the massive beast roared its battle cry. ‘’Come ere’ humie so I kin crush ya!’’ it screamed and ran at Eardius who screamed the battle-chant of the Eagle Claws as he hurled himself into combat.

 

Is power sword met the ork warlord’s power claw in a great clash of sparks and electrical discharge as Eardius ducked a return blow by the ork warlord and brought his blade cleaving through the ork’s chest from hip to shoulder. Black blood spurted from the wound as the ork roared and backhanded the captain, the blow was powerful enough to hurl Eadrius back into the melee. The captain felt something crutch and his vision go blur.

 

He then saw a great shape lurk above him raising a claw.

 

Then he saw the shape recoil from something, out of the cone of his blurry vision eh saw Karius charging Skabgit with his chansword. He tried to rise and tell Karius to stay back but it was too late. The veteran’s chainsword buried itself in the ork’s wound as the warlord snarled and brought his power klaw down, snipping the veteran in half, the warlord roared in victory as he crushed Kraus’s body under his feet.

 

Then four lascannon beams tore into him, ripping open great wounds. Out in the distance Eardius saw the rhinos of the Second Company charge out of the foliage, supported by command razorbacks and land raiders. Bleeding fiercely from multiple black wounds the ork warboss reached out and slew another marine in its rage. Grunting from pain Eardius brought himself up to his feet painfully.

 

Every limb protesting movement, it was no surprise that the astartes captain had survived a wound that would have killed a normal human, dragging his power sword he walked painfully behind the back of the ork warboss. ‘’Monster!’’ he roared, alerting the warboss to his presence, but it was too late for the ork as with one mighty swing Eardius’s power sword clove through the ork’s skull and out the back.

 

Eardius brought his blade around again he brought the crackling blade point down in the chest of the ork warboss and slammed it down, driving the blade point home through the xeno leader’s heart and cutting his spine. As wretched the blade out. It paid to be sure with orks as Eardius beheaded what was left of the ork’s head and crushed it. ‘’’Claws of the Emperor Death to his foes!’’ he roared as he charged into the melee again.

 

 

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Razdukk, pressed the triggers on his warbikes shootas, blasting a streak of destruction through the enemy lines. He brought out his massive, axe-like cleaver and charged into combat. He launched the axe at a marine, watching the heavy metal blade collide into the astartes hurling him back. At the end of the choppa was attached a long chain that was wrapped around the warbiker nob’s arm, so that he could hit again.

 

He roared and slammed the bike into a marine, running him over his he fired his shoota into the marine, blowing his brains out as his choppa loped of an arm from another marine. A bolt round grazed him in the side, he fired back at whoever shot him and pressed his bike on through the melee at the rest of the warbikers came into the marines flank in a huge charge.

 

That would have carried the battle for the ork warbands, if it where not for the trails of flame in the sky and the thirty shapes of jump pack marines, at their head the forbidding form of a chaplain. Chaplain Britannicus’s first action in the battle was to smash the power-shrouded head of his crozius into Razdukk, crushing his skull before traveling through his body and tearing him in half.

 

The chaplain fired his pistol again, blowing the brains out of another ork wabiker as the assault marines under his command opened fire with their bolt pistols and let lose with their flamers, roasting the entire warbiker mob. Then they readied their chainswords and charged into the orks, chainsblades whirling as foul xeno blood and gore stained their shining purple armor as they ripped the warbikers apart.

 

 

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Captain Basiclus’s plan went perfectly, the rhinos and razorbacks of the Second Company driving it straight into the flanks of the ork attackers right where they wanted them. Eagle Claws jumped out and sprayed volleys of bolter fire into the packed mobs of the xenos along with flamers and meltaguns. Then they charged into the battle with their combat blades.

 

Captain Basiclus led the charge, power sword shining in one hand as he fired his bolt pistol in another; the Eagle Guard surrounded him, their halberds snapping to attention as the power fields clove through the orks easily. Ork killa kans and dreadnoughts exploded under fire from Predators who then turned their lethal guns on the ork mobs, slaughtering dozen with the precise shots that the Eagle Claws had trained for.

 

Elite terminators of the First Company, led by sergeant Trajan and Librarian Otctavian ripped into the orks like a hot knife through butter. Storm bolter rounds claimed dozens of lives and heavy flamers roasted whole mobs. Then the terminators charged, the astartes armed with thunder hammers and lighting claws tackling he largest of the ork nobs and cutting them down before moving on to the next xenos scum.

 

This was the pattern-perfect form of warfare that the Eagle Claws favored, the planned perfection that they excellent in that turned a battle for survival into a bloody dance of death. Basiclus cut down ork warrior after warrior, his Eagle Guards following him, two marines armed with flamers set afire any orks that dared to attack the captain of the second company.

 

Librarian Chemosian send bolts of lighting from his force sword into the multitude of orks before him, his glowing blade beheaded orks before him that fled at the awe-inspiring aura that the Librarian produced. A mekboy had turned a shokk attack gun on the advancing librarian, chuckling he focused the sights and his tube sucked a fresh grot into the weapon to sent at the librarian.

 

However the Eagle Claw psyker smiled as he subtlety manipulated the warp currents around the gun to explode in a massive shockwave of blue energy, obliterating the mekboy and his creation. At the loss of their warboss, and their mekboy, and seeing the defeat of their most vicious nobs the remaining orks broke and lost their morale, trying to flee the combat swiftly as they could.

 

But the Eagle Claws never gave them the change, bolter volleys felled dozens of orks and the assault marines of the Eagle Claws pursed them, cutting down xenos after xenos while being led by chaplain Britannicus in sermons of righteous hatred. Not a single ork escaped the Eagle Claws alive, Eagle Claw assault bikes chased down the last few stragglers down in the desert, holy bolters spitting death into the backs of the last few orks and grots.

 

It is said that an army takes more casualties as it breaks then it does in the whole battle. Now whether or not this was true was out of the question, the entire xenos horde was dead so the point was moot. Great piles of orks were piles high into the sky as Eagle Claws with flamers set the corpses afire. Other scouts with flamers scoured the battleground, trying to eradicate the ork spores before they could bud.

 

After the battle the wounded were reverently fished out of the battlefield, Captain Eardius among them. Almost twenty marines had been slain in the battle, a grievous record but many more would have died if the apothecaries had not as been skilled as they where. The Eagle Claws chapter was renowned for the excellence of their apothecaries. They were a mostly codex chapter, like the Ultramarines, never having such extravagant unit diversions as the Blood Angels of Space Wolves.

 

But they excellent in their apothecaries. Eagle Claws apothecaries had been fame for their skill and genius across the sector. Apothecaries from the chapter where in high demand in the Deathwatch. In all it was an excellent victory, the entire ork warband of Warboss Skabgit was wiped out before it could threaten the rest of the Cerved System. The vital factories of the world were protected from ork pillaging.

 

The massive success would earn the Eagle Claws many honors. It also established Captain Basiclus as the premier tactician of the chapter. However such glories often had other sides. Soon after the battle the Eagle Claws were petitioned to aid in a crusade in the Eastern Fringe. Naturally they accepted. After accepting new line brothers at the fortress monastery on Caesarea Prime they set of to the east.

 

To the Tau Empire.

[Roguemarine]

excellent, i know this has been up for a bit, but read the latest installement of your series and thought hey i should probably read it from the beginning, kudos

[Gree]

This is an very early work, my writing has improved since then.