Sting of the Scorpion

[Luy22]

Prologue

 

The world of Gargoth below was choked with smoke. Ruins covered the ash wastes of the planet. Sandstorms blew this ash through the ruins of the ancient destroyed Imperial cities of the planet. Imperial Guardsmen charged through the sand-filled cities, wearing protective masks and cloaks to keep out the sand, and to keep them from suffocating. Private Red Tanner was one of these Guardsmen, of the Clouro Ashlanders. The Ashlanders were excellent at fighting in ash-wastes, as, like Gargoth, his homeworld of Clouro was entirely ash waste, with all cities built underground. Their uniforms were a heavy flak-cloak, a protective mask that provided infrared and night vision, along with a knife, many spare lasclips, and a autopistol.

He walked down an ash-choked corridor, the windows of the building blown-out long ago by some orbital weapon. This war had been going on for two years. They were fighting the Tau, the military race of xenos who had fishy features, and blue skin. Red had seen his number of the creatures in the past. They weren't Human. Nor did they deserve to breathe air. They were aliens, the aliens that had destroyed his homeworld, and his family with the same orbital weapon at athe start of this war, and information dire to destroy it was rumored to be here on Gargoth. He held his lasgun up, as he heard a noise up ahead.

 

+Private!+

 

He stopped, his platoon officer's grunting loud angry voice was in the voxx-bead embedded in his ear-piece of his breathing mask. He halted, some dust coiling around his ankles like a snake. "What is it, sir?"

 

+How's your sweep, any signs of the enemy?+

 

"I just saw movement up ahead, I'm gonna go check it out..." He replied.

 

+Emperor be with ya, kid...+

 

"Aye, you too sir..." His platoon officer, Nathan Glenn, was a fine man, and had been like a father-figure to him ever since those damn Tau had hit his homeworld. Nathan and the rest of the platoon were camping out in the inner-city, which was a lot less choked with ash, but, it was also colder than a witches Ful\'tra. He turned another corner, and came upon a staircase. He cautiously went down it, careful not to slip on any ash. His boots finally hit the desert after the final step. He was in some sort of plaza. Red looked around. It was made out of shops and hotels and taverns, with all the windows blown out and the insides full of ash. In the center, was a Tau Orca Dropship. A few Fire Warriors huddled around it, talking. Two were Pathfinders, the scouts. He knelled, aimed, and fired. The lasbolt whistled through the air and made purchase in the domed helmet of the pathfinder. It dropped it's rail rifle, and fell to the sandy floor. The Fire Warriors turned, but he was concealed by shadow. He put his finger to his ear.

 

"We need reinforcements! I need reinforcements!!"

 

+Loud 'n clear, Red, we're on our way!+ The Fire Warriors were on their way over. Orca Dropships held about forty-three of the damned filth!

 

Sh*t!! repeated itself over in his head a million times. He saw the shadow emerge. He ripped free his knife, got up, and stabbed the alien in the neck, felling it. With his free arm, he aimed his lasgun, ripping the other to shreds. The boarding ramp opened, and the rest began piling out in formation.

 

Sh*t!! Sh*t!! Sh*t!!

 

He made it back into the shadows, shivering and cold with sweat. He held his lasgun tightly.

 

+Almost there, private!! Hold!!+

 

He couldn't. A Fire Warrior stood next to him, pulse rifle raised. Blue plasma cut the man apart faster than a knife through butter...

 

1

 

Commander Felix of the Red Scorpions 3rd Company sat in silence within the Strike Cruiser Bane. A marine in gray and yellow armor stepped into his meditative chamber within the bowls of the starship. The only features of the marine's armor was his helmeted face, illuminated by the several candles throughout the chamber. "We have arrived at Gargoth, commander. Orders?"

 

Felix slowly stood, his features were shown. A long scar across his muscular chest, from right thigh to left ear, from an old battle with an Eldar Banshee. He had light brown hair, and blue eyes. "Get the troops in the docking bay, we go by thunderhawk. Send Terminators and dreadnaughts in by drop pod. We are not to waste those..." Last battle with the Tau, they had lost most of their drop pods to the defense turrets on the surface. The marine nodded, turning to leave. A elevator opened, and he stepped in. Slowly, as it descended, he outstretched his arms. Servitors crawled from the dark corners, adorning him with the gray and yellow armor, hooking his powersword to his belt, handing him his boltgun and poweraxe, and finally, clasping on his helmet. The elevator stopped, and he stepped out into the docking bay, overlooking the squads boarding their thunderhawks. Beyond the shield holding their air in, he could see the ash world. Both the night and day side. Explosions danced across it's surface. "Board up!" He shouted. "May the Emperor be with you all!"

 

~~~

 

Back on the planet...

 

"NOOOOO!!!" Shouted Nathan Glen as he entered the plaza, seeing his private shot down in front of him. Their vehicle, the Desert-Trak, an old vehicle once used on Clouro as a cargo transport, but later adopted into the Guard as a vehicle to move fast across ash wastes. The Desert-Trak's autocannon blasted away at the aliens. Nathan bellowed orders as the tracked vehicle slid to a halt. He and two others, lasguns blazing, leaped from the cart, firing at the aliens. Nathan cut many of them down with his chainsword, ripping the bastards to shreds. He fell by his private and best friend. "I should have gone with you...!" The chaos surrounded Nathan now. He lifted his gasmask up, revealing his sweaty, bearded, grizzled face. He yelled orders, blasting at the Fire Warriors attempting to surround him. The Orca began to hover, turning it's weapons towards them. It opened fire, blowing up the Desert-Trak and leaving Nathan and his two other squadmates as survivors. It fired on them as they tried to hold off the Tau. Then came a Godsend. Thunderhawk Gunship bled from the sky, many of them. It fired at the dropship, sending it down into a tavern. Blue plasma and fire popped and sizzled from the machine. The thunderhawk landed. A Red Scorpion space marine with a bolter blasted apart a Fire Warrior with ease. "Get in, get in!!" They charged, Nathan rolled in, sweating and gasping for breath. "Thank you, lords!! THANK YOU!!"

 

"Are you saying you were being chewed up by the weak alien scum??" The marine laughed, but the laugh ended. "Sorry... I am Sargent Nero of the Red Scorpions third company. We just entered orbit about an hour ago... the Xenos have really been heavy in this sector for awhile now... Sorry about your friends..." The smile dropped form the platoon leader's face. He turned, watching as all the Thunderhawks flew over the great destroyed ash-choked city. Fire and explosions could be seen in the streets. Mushroom clouds erupted on the horizon around great battles between tanks and titan war machines far off in the distance. "We are to capture this city, Sargent Glen. We are to reunite you with your headquarters, and you will be coming with us to strike at the enemy headquarters to rescue some of your own..." Nero said. Nathan nodded, but jumped as he heard the krump of a missile nearby. The gunship shuddered.

 

2

 

 

"Port side!" Nero yelled. Marines got to the portholes on the sides, and opened them, aiming their bolters out to fire at the Tau fighters flying around outside. Nathan and what was left of his platoon grabbed up their lasguns and fired out. One man took a plasma shot to the face, his sizzling melted skull showing the burnt brains beneath. The corpse instantly began to reek. "Damn!" Nero said. "The scum are too fast!!" He turned to the pilot. "We need missile support, asap!" "Acknowledged sir." The pilot replied. The thunderhawk dashed through several large spire-like sand-colored buildings, which were started to turn blue, as the sun was now setting. The Tau ships were coming in fast. Another missile hit. Smoke belched from the thunderhawk's left wing, and, simultaneously, the ship jolted to the side. A marine fell down, a plasma wound in his arm. He was still alive, thankfully. A missile streaked from somewhere else in the city, and hit one of the Tau ships, sending it spiraling down towards a building and exploding in blue flames. Nathan and his men cheered, but still, two more remained. Another missile hit. This was it. The lights within dimmed, and it started going out of control. "Hold on! We're crashing!" Nero said. Nathan looked at his men. Two were praying for protection. he, himself, was scared out of his mind. He held onto a handlebar next to him. A ammo box fell from a compartment in the wall and hit a marine in the back of the head, making him stumble back. The marine who had suffered from a plasma shot to the arm was now back up once more, holding onto a strap. The ship turned on it's side, as another missile hit. A miniature explosion burst from somewhere inside, immolating one of Nathan's men, making him scream. The ship then hit the ground, Nathan knew not where. His eyes were close. He felt something bite into his arm like a wild animal. Then, everything was silent save for the sound of a fire burning, crackling, and a swooping noise overhead. Then, he fell asleep.

 

*****

 

Nathan opened his eyes. A piece of shrapnel was in his arm. He pulled it out, trying his best not to scream. Once it was out, he weakly tossed it aside, and took some painkillers, swallowing the tablets and praying for better feeling. He got up, stumbling and falling again. Sparks were dancing everywhere inside the destroyed vehicle. He saw other Ashlanders. Mutilated from the crash, they were. The marines had pipes protruding from their bodies. Nero was dead. One marine, the one who had gotten hit by the plasma shot, was still alive, but barely. Half of his helmet came off in an explosion, and what was left was fused to his face. His showing eye socket was missing it's eye. He was talking, muttering a prayer to the God-Emperor. "H-hello? My lord?" "Who is there?" "S-Sargent Nathan Glen of the Ashlanders, the Guard unit sent to help you take this world?" "Ah yes... I am going to die... damn the xenos scum... I will not make it..." He fumbled for something in his pouch on his belt, but could not find it. He swore, and just handed the entire belt to Nathan. "Nate, take this, good boy. It holds something dire for this conflict. Information, and what-not. Give it to a commanding officer asa-..." He dozed off into his eternal sleep. Nathan looked over the rest. Dead, every one of them. The pilot, co-pilot, the entire cockpit was crushed by stone. He crawled out, stumbling because of a wound on his leg. The night sky was full of vibrant, bright stars shimmering high overhead. He heard gunshots popping off in the far distance of both Imperial and Tau war machines. The man limped through the dusty street. Nathan looked back at the crash, the gunship had slid to a halt and smashed into some sort of factory building. He slung his lasgun over his shoulder, knowing this was the industrial district fo the city, there would be tenements for workers nearby. After about ten minutes, he could not take it any longer. He needed rest. Nathan found the tenements, rows upon rows of apartment buildings, ready for him. Most were completely blown away from the first days of this war, but he had discovered one that was not. He went through the entrance, the door having been smashed. The hall here was covered in dust, and he saw rodents scurrying about in the shadows. He lifted his mask up, feeling his beard. He wandered up the stairs, and found an old room with a broken window and a mattress. He smiled. "Thank you, lord..." He slumped upon it. The mattress was the most comfortable thing he had lay upon in months. "Thank you, Him on Earth..." And then the lone Guardsman fell asleep.

 

3

 

Stay tuned, there is more yet to come.