Battle Brothers

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

I started writing this fic a LOOOONG time ago, actually before I even played Space Marines... The narrative alternates between the exploits of Sergeant Thanus Ryen and his squad of Marines, and a Regiment of Guard on campaign against the Greenskin menace... And it's still not done! (Hopefully the mods can look past the fact that it includes IG in it, as it does include Power Armor too!)

 

Here's Chapter 1!

 

“This is Brother Sergeant Thanus reporting. My Tac Squad is pinned down under fire from snipers!”

“Brother Thanus, this is Brother Captain Andrecus. What is your status?”

“We’ve been pinned by enemy fire. My squad is taking heavy damage. Brother Andan has fallen and Brother Cantus is badly injured. We have taken cover in an abandoned fortification.”

“Where are you located? Your signal hasn’t shown on our scanners for about twenty minutes, and we haven’t been able to reach you on your comm unit. We assumed you had been lost.”

“We are approximately forty clicks north, northwest of staging point Alpha. Our communications were jammed shortly after we entered the area. We are holed up at the bottom of a canyon, under attack from both sides and…” the Space Marine Sergeant’s voice broke off into static. It came back a few seconds later. “ repeat, send reinforcements! We cannot hold out much longer, four of my men have fallen now.”

Thanus paused, taking aim at a head that popped up behind a rock on the side of the canyon wall. He squeezed off a shot with his bolt pistol, and struck the exposed head dead center. Then he ducked back down and resumed his speech with Brother Captain Andrecus. “Brother, send reinforcements! I we are facing the Tau in a ranged engagement. They are armed with very powerful weapons, strong enough to pierce our Power Armor much more easily than their normal plasma rifles. I believe they are carrying railguns, or some new heretical weapon.”

“Have no fear Brother Thanus. We have managed to locate your position with a satellite scan, reinforcements are en route. A Razorback is being sent to extract you. Hold fast, we will get you out of there. May the Emperor protect you, Brother.”

“And he you.”

The communication ended, there was nothing more to say. Thanus turned to his squad. “Brothers! A Razorback is on its way to extract us! Stand firm, as the Emperor would want you to!”

Suddenly, a blazing bolt of blue energy cut down the Space Marine nearest to Thanus. His diagnostics faded to orange in Thanus’ heads up display. His Power Armor was applying all the drugs in its system, but the brave warrior was fading fast. Thanus cursed the Xeno that had fired the shot, and looked up, hoping to identify the shooter by looking for the leftover thermal index from a recently fired railgun. What he saw instead, was a battlesuit standing tall upon the clifftop. It bore the markings of the Tau leader known as Commander Steelblade. Thanus was puzzled. Steelblade’s behavior was not consistent with his documented combat strategy. He was said to rush his opponents, skewering them on the mighty warblade he carried, a rare tactic for the Tau. Instead, he had just made a kill using a railgun. And the Tau fighting around him… They weren’t using Steelblade’s common combat doctrines… They were fighting more like the normal Tau Fire Warriors and Pathfinders, but they carried experimental railguns.

Thanus’ questions were answered when Steelblade spoke through a voxcaster. His words boomed through the canyon, and he spoke with the authority of one assured of victory.

“You, humans! Listen to my words! You are fools to fight those who would offer a hand in friendship!” Thanus interrupted, his own words ringing through his megavox, which he turned up to full volume. “Hah! Friendship!?! We wouldn’t take your hand in friendship if you tried to force us at gunpoint, you Xeno scum! Space Marines! SHOW THEM THE WRATH OF THE EMPEROR!!!” His squad opened fire with everything they had, showering the Tau with Bolter rounds.

Although it was impossible to see his expression through his crisis suit, Thanus could imagine Steelblade’s visage. Thanus fired his bolt pistol at the headpiece of the Tau commander’s battlesuit, but the shot was diverted by the XV8’s shield generator. Steelblade spoke again. “So be it! You choose death over enlightenment and peace! Die, pitiful, foolish humans!!!” Steelblade charged, his blade held behind him.

“Now that’s more like it!” Thanus quipped, picking up the Bolter of his fallen comrade. He fired off a burst round, the three shots bouncing off of the charging Xeno’s shield. He fired again, and then Commander Steelblade was upon him. The Tau commander swung his blade, nearly slicing Thanus in half, but the Space Marine narrowly dodged it, swinging back with his chainsword. His weapon was blocked by the XV8’s shield. He pushed against the force of the shield, trying to get his weapon through, but to no avail. Steelblade struck him with the side of the large blade, knocking him aside. Thanus managed to climb to his feet in time to block the relentless Tau commander’s next attack, a cleaving downward sweep. Thanus’ chainsword held under the attack, but Steelblade’s XV8 had a lot of weight and strength behind it. “Emperor protect me!” Thanus whispered under his breath.

“Your Emperor can’t save you now, human! You’re doomed!”

“You aren’t frightening me, alien. I’ll never give up!”

“You won’t have to. You’ll be dead!!!”

Steelblade pushed harder, his weapon giving off sparks against Thanus’ chainsword. The brave Space Marine Sergeant gave up another prayer, then mustered the great strength in his Power Armor. He strained, groaning with effort, and pushed away the Xeno’s sword. He followed up with a mighty punch that sent the alien’s battlesuit stumbling backwards. Just then, he saw the diagnostics of one of his squadmates fade to orange in his HUD, and it soon turned to red, and from there it went to black, signifying a dead soldier. Thanus was filled with rage, and he dashed away from the Tau commander, who was regaining his balance from the Space Marine Sergeant’s attack. He turned on the Tau Pathfinder who had slain his squadmate, and struck him down with the chainsword, then beheaded him. The Xeno’s head bounced away, rolling to Steelblade’s feet.

Thanus saw the Tac Squad’s rocket launcher lying on the ground. He picked it up as Steelblade ran at him. He prayed that it was still loaded. He didn’t bother with the aiming sight, the Tau commander was close enough to hit without using a sight. He gave up a prayer and squeezed the trigger. The launcher lurched, a krak round spinning from its barrel. It struck Steelblade head on, piercing the shield and smashing into the crisis suit armor. The force of the blast flung Steelblade backwards, and Thanus, only a few feet away from the blast, was knocked off balance as well. He clambered back up and observed Steelblade’s damaged battlesuit. The shield had been deactivated, and there was a large hole in the side of the machine. But the XV8 suit had managed to survive the blast.

The shield had stopped much of the rocket’s momentum, and the projectile hadn’t breached the armor, the blast had done most of the damage.

Steelblade stood, searched for his bonding blade, found it, and charged Thanus again. Thanus sought another rocket round, but couldn’t find one. He picked up a Bolter instead. Without his shield, Steelblade would be more susceptible to armor piercing Bolter rounds. Thanus doubted that this Bolter had any AP rounds in the clip, but he fired it anyway. Bolter shots smacked off chunks of Steelblade’s armor, but they didn’t stop his charge. Thanus gripped his chainsword tightly, and rushed Steelblade, hoping that his chainsword would be able to pierce whatever the crisis suit was made of. The chainsword shredded off a bit of the crisis suit’s plating, but it didn’t pierce into it. Steelblade knocked Thanus to the ground, then picked him up and held him with an iron grip, then held the plasma rifle attached to his suit up to the Space Marine’s head.

“Now die, fool!”

Thanus braced himself for his death. He closed his eyes, fully expecting to open them and see the Emperor before him. But just as he heard Steelblade’s rifle loading a particle to fire into his brain as a plasma blast, a whistling sound filled the air. Thanus looked up, and saw a sight that made his heart leap. He pushed himself from Steelblade’s grasp with a Herculean effort, managing to get free as a Whirlwind’s missile struck the Tau commander full on. The blast propelled the Space Marine backwards, his head slammed into a rock and he blacked out. His Power Armor dispensed drugs that revived him a few moments later, and he pulled himself to his feet. Steelblade’s crisis suit was lying on the ground, a smoldering crater having replaced the left side of the battlesuit. Steelblade staggered upright, stumbling. He turned and ran, activating his damaged jump pack. He managed to half run, half fly down the canyon, towards the exit of the high walled fissure. Thanus grabbed his bolt pistol and chambered a clip filled with AP rounds. Another Whirlwind missile slammed into the ground behind Steelblade. The Xeno leader increased his pace, trying desperately to escape the pursuing Thanus, who moved with the grim determination of one who wanted only revenge. The Space Marine aimed and fired, piercing the Xeno’s armor, striking Steelblade inside the battlesuit. The XV8 lurched, and a cry of pain came out through the megavox. Thanus put on a burst of speed, but as he drew near the injured Tau leader, a group of Stealthsuits shimmered into view. They engaged Thanus, using weapons that looked much like Steelblade’s bonding blade. The brave Space Marine was beaten back by the four Stealthsuits, for his armor was damaged and his strength was waning. Thanus mustered strength from within, calling upon the Emperor to protect him. He launched himself onto one of the Stealthsuits and drove his chainsword down through the armored head and into the Tau pilot’s brain, killing him. He spun, kicked off from the suit he was perched on, and slammed into another, driving it to the ground and striking it with his blade. The two other suits grabbed him and flung him off of their comrade, then fired at him with fusion blasters. Their shots struck him, further damaging his armor. He tried to get up off of the ground, but his strength failed him. He looked down and saw that there was a gaping hole in his gut. It had come from Steelblade’s bonding blade.

More fusion gun shots struck him. He reeled with each blast, trying to get to his feet. This made no sense! He was a Space Marine! He was a master of war! He was a servant of the Emperor!!! These were nought but puny Xenos, he should be able to kill them easily! Thanus mustered all his strength, and he drew a frag grenade from his belt. He staggered upright, and dashed toward one of the Stealthsuits. He yanked the pin, then slammed the frag down into the crack at the neckline of the suit. He shoved the battlesuit away, then drew his bolt pistol and fired an AP round through the headplate of another Stealthsuit. The suit that he had shoved the frag into exploded violently, and shrapnel pinged off of Thanus’ armor. The last battlesuit activated its stealth system, but before it could move away, Thanus put three bolt pistol rounds through its chestplate. Its stealth system deactivated, and it staggered and fell. Thanus finished it with a shot to the headplate. Then his legs failed him, and he was forced to lock his Power Armor in the standing position. He manipulated his armor directly by giving it mental commands. His body was directly linked to the Power Armor, and though normally it would move with his body, sometimes he would have to move it with his thoughts. He moved forward, his steps plodding and slow. It had been a long time since he had done it this way. He took aim with his bolt pistol and fired at Steelblade, but his hand was shaking and he missed. He realized that he has lost a lot of blood… The only thing that was keeping his body going were the stims still in his system. He needed an Apothecary. He locked down his arm, moving it with his mind instead of his body. He fired again, this time he blasted off a chunk of Steelblade’s armor, but didn’t strike the Tau leader himself, inside the armor.

Suddenly, a Pathfinder leapt from nowhere and struck Thanus in the head with a bladed weapon. The Space Marine fought to keep his concentration, and he swung at the Xeno. His fist contacted with the side of the Tau soldier’s body, and the force of the blow snapped the weak alien’s spine in half. The Xeno gave a cry of pain and died, as three more Pathfinders ran at Thanus, firing weapons. The shots struck the injured Space Marine, but he managed to stay up, and kept moving towards the fallen form of Commander Steelblade.

The Pathfinders reached Thanus and struck him all at once, then leapt back a few yards. The force of their blows knocked the Space Marine off balance, but he managed to regain his footing as the Pathfinders readied to attack again. More Tau soldiers came running, soon ten or twelve Fire Warriors and Pathfinders had joined the attack on the Space Marine. Some fired their weapons, while others ran up and attacked him with their leaping jump attacks. Thanus adapted, blocking their attacks by kneeling and letting the force of the blows push him back, then he would stand back up and charge. Whenever the Space Marine landed a blow, a Tau soldier died. But the brave defender of humanity was losing. Not even Space Marines are invincible.

As Brother Sergeant Thanus sank beneath the rain of blows, blasts, and blade strikes, he gave up one last prayer for help to the Emperor.

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

If I get some replies, I'll post more of it. :) *Hint hint. HINT HINT. DRASTIC HINT!*

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

Oh what the heck. I'll post it anyway. I'm tired of waiting for comments... Lol.

 

The sound of Shootas going off sent alarm bells ringing in Tank Commander Callidian’s head. He pulled his head into the hatch as bullets pinged off the side of the Leman Russ. A few more shots zipped by overhead. He reached up and yanked the hatch cover down, and the interior was plunged into darkness for a moment, before he flicked the switch and the lights came on.

“We got greenies to the left boys. Burten, fire the Heavy Bolter!”

The left sponson gunner opened fire on the small group of Orks approaching from the left. The fire ripped into the Ork’s line, shredding most of them. Even when the Orks had stopped their charge, having fallen out of order, Burten kept shooting, sending bolter rounds into the dead carcasses of the Orks long after life had left them.

“Nice shooting, but try not to waste so much ammo. We may need it later…”

“Sorry sir. I just really hate them buggers…”

“I know. But you don’t get any more vengeance on them for wasting your shots.”

“Right sir. I’ll try to do better.”

“Good.” Callidian spoke to the driver. “Nat, take us forward, try to get away from the greenies. They’re probably sending Tankbustas to get us right now.”

The Primary Gunner, Tim, spoke up. “Yah Cal, I can see some more comin’. Shall I turn the turret and fire the main gun?”

“No. Nat, take us around towards the Orks. Tim, use the Heavy Bolters. Try to shred em’ up. Burt and Jan, give em’ Hell with your guns too!”

A chorus of “Yes sir!” rang out in the cramped interior of the tank, and the Leman Russ went into action. The driver, Nat, spun the tank around and drove towards the Orks. The gunners opened fire, and the Orks were mowed down by waves of flying metal. A voice came through the tank’s comm unit.

“Sergeant Callidian, where are you going?”

“We’re engaging a group of Orks. They’re in retreat. Permission to pursue?”

“Roger that. Permission granted. Squad A5 will move up to support your rear. The Orks have captured one of our trenches. Expel them and fortify the trench. Set up a defensive position. You will be reinforced when you take the trench.”

“Roger. May the Emperor protect!”

Callidian gave the order to advance. “Full speed ahead, Nat. We’ve got a squad in support.”

“Ok, you got it.”

The Leman Russ accelerated, and the cabin was filled with the roar of the engine. The noise was soon worsened by the sound of Heavy Bolters firing. Cal covered his ears with the comm headset. It blocked out the noise of the engine and the Bolters. Then the Battle Cannon fired. The tank was rocked back on its tracks by the gun’s recoil. Cal looked at Tim. “Why’d you fire the Battle Cannon?”

“Look out the hatch and you’ll see!”

Cal opened the hatch. The smoldering wreck of an Ork Wartrukk was sitting a few meters away from the position of the main Ork advance.

“Ah, a Trukk assault. Good shot, by the way, a direct hit on the engine.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Nat, move up. I’ll order the infantry to make a strike on the Orks.”

Nat drove the Leman Russ closer to the foe. Cal spoke to the Sergeant of squad A5 through the headset. “Hey, Sergeant Nelson, I need you to make a strike on the Orks. Think you can do that?”

“It’s Grentel now sir. Sergeant Nelson was killed five days back.”

“Oh… My apologies. Can you make an assault?”

“If you give us cover fire, we can go for it. The greenies are pretty well dug in though.”

“Alright. On my signal, make the charge. Stay out of our lines of fire and we’ll give you fire support. Ready?”

“As ready as I, or anybody about to rush into the jaws of death, will ever be!”

“I know you hate it, but it’s your duty to the Emperor.”

“You been reading the toilet paper too much.”

“Maybe… Still, move on my command, got it?”

“Yah.”

“Alright, go!!!”

The infantry squad ran towards the entrenched Orks, firing lasguns and throwing grenades. The Leman Russ intensified its assault on the hastily erected Orkish fortifications, shredding any Ork who showed his head above the shallow trench which the Guard had dug and used before the Orks took it from them. The infantry squad reached the trench and jumped in, slashing and stabbing with bayonets and firing off round after round from their lasguns. The Orks fought back, but there were too few of them. The Leman Russ had reduced their numbers to only seven, and the ten man Guard squad killed two in close combat. Then Sergeant Grentel gave the order to move back.

The Imperial Guardsmen got out of the trench and turned to mass their fire on one Ork at a time. Soon, three more Orks had fallen. By then, the Orks had started firing their Sluggas, and two Guardsmen fell. Callidian wished he could do something to help, but it was too late. This was the job of the infantry, his job was done. Then, another man fell. He decided it was time for a change of plans. Two Orks left… Was it worth it? Of course. To save a life, it was always worth it.

“Sergeant Grentel, have your troopers move back. I’m going to fire the Battle Cannon into the trench!”

“With all due respect sir, no. Our lives aren’t worth a Battle Cannon shell… We’ll deal with it, there’s only two left. Plus, we want this trench intact. A B-Cannon shell would bust it open. Save your ammo, Cal.” The sound of a chainsword ripping through flesh came through the comm unit. “It’s already over.”

“Well done, Sergeant Grentel. You handled yourself well. You’ll be an excellent replacement for Nelson.”

“Glad you think so sir. I know he was your friend. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be… This is war, men die. Friendships break. Brotherhoods made in battle are split apart. He was a good man. He’s in a better place now…”

“Anyplace is better than this farking snatpile…”

“Yah? Well if it’s such a ‘farking snatpile,’ then why does the Colonel want it so bad, huh?”

“I dunno, but he’s sure sacrificing us squadies to get it.”

“That’s what we’re here for.”

“No. That’s what we’re here for. You get to sit in a ten ton armored hull. You’re a tank commander. I’m a squadie.”

“It makes little difference. We’re both humans, and we’re both soldiers. There’s enough similarity there. Now let’s reinforce this trench.”

“Alright. But I have wounded men, and I need a medic…”

“Alright, I’ll have one sent in with our reinforcements.”

Cal tuned into the Captain’s comm channel.

“Sir, Squad A5 has injured men. Requesting a medic.”

“They lost theirs then?”

“Yes sir. He hasn’t been replaced yet.”

“Very well. I’ll send one in with Squad A3. They’re on their way now.”

“Thank you sir. Sergeant Grentel will be very pleased.”

“I thought Nelson was A5’s Sergeant?”

“He was. He died a few days ago.”

“Ah… Well, my condolences to Grentel and his squad, but unfortunately, that’s what happens in war. I’ll have to get that change documented…”

“Yes sir. Thank you. I’ll convey your sentiments to A5.”

“Very good. Carry on.”

Cal turned his comm unit off.

 

<><><><>

 

Dreyfus Carter ran for his life, his feet pounding on the forest floor. The sound of Stormboy Rokkit Packs filled the air around him. Dreyfus turned and fired his lasgun. It was a good shot, and it struck one of the Rokkit Packs, destroying it and the Stormboy wearing it with a violent explosion. Dreyf fired again, and then again. Two more Stormboys went up in flames. Only two left now.

One of the Orkish pursuers fired a Slugga. The shot struck Dreyf in the shoulder, but his shoulder pad, a piece of Carapace Armor, stopped it. Dreyf turned and fired again, blasting another of the Stormboys in the head, slowing him down. Another shot to the Rokkit Pack killed him and scattered his companion with hot shrapnel. The last Stormboy was one of the bigger Orks, a Nob. He seemed to have been the squad commander. Dreyf turned to fire again, but as he ran backwards, his foot caught on a tree root. He tumbled head over heels. The Ork was almost on him. He scrambled backwards on his hands and knees, trying to bring his lasgun up to his shoulder and fire. The Ork drew closer, grinning.

As the monstrous, ugly, semi-fungoid creature closed in on Dreyfus, the Imperial Guard Medic managed to shoulder his lasgun and get a bead on the Ork’s chest. He fired, once, twice, three times. The Ork didn’t stop. As it descended upon Dreyfus, the Ork opened its mouth, threw its head back, and gave a roar. The Orkish warcry ripped from its throat. “WAAAAAAGH!!!” Dreyf fired one last time, and his shot went into the open mouth and struck the roof of the creature’s mouth, piercing through the weaker bone there and up into the brain. It slowed the Ork, but not much. The cry was cut short as blood flooded the throat, and Dreyf fired once again, striking the Rokkit Pack and destroying the Nob as it drew within striking distance of him.

Hot shrapnel showered the Imperial Guardsman. He cringed as a piece stuck in his arm. When the rain of hot metal ended, Dreyf stood up. He checked himself for injuries and found none, then he pulled the piece of shrapnel from his arm and threw it aside. He stood and checked his lasgun charge indicator. It was nearly full. He shouldered the weapon and started moving again. The forest ended only a few meters ahead, and as Dreyf emerged from the woods, the sounds of battle hit him. Up ahead a squad of Guardsmen was holding back a group of Orks. They still had a surviving comms man. Dreyf ran up, and opened fire on the Orks with his lasgun. Soon, the small band of Orks was dead.

The squad Sergeant came up to Dreyf. “Thanks for giving us some help there. Where’d you come from?”

“Checkpoint Beta, in the woods. It’s fallen to the Orks. We were fighting off a bunch of Shoota Boyz when we were ambushed from behind by Stormboyz… I was the only one that survived long enough to hear the order to fall back. My name’s Dreyfus Carter. Do you have any wounded? I’m a medic.”

“Oh, yah. We got Ned here… He’s got a deep gash from a Choppa blow… The rest of us are mostly ok, nothing serious. We’ll comm HQ and inform them of your presence. Trav, get a line to Battalion HQ!” While the comm man tried to get a signal from HQ, Dreyf tended to the injured man. His left arm had an ugly gash in it, and his uniform was bloodstained all down his sleeve and the left side of his shirt. Dreyf took a vial of disinfectant and applied it to the wound. The liquid fizzed as it was applied to the gash. Dreyf wrapped a bandage around the Guardsman’s arm, and then tied it on.

“There. That should hold you for now. Try to change the bandage whenever it gets too dirty. Here, take a roll of bandages and some more disinfectant. Disinfect and re-bandage the wound every five days. You should be fine in about two weeks.”

“Thanks. Here, take my extra lasgun clip. It’s full, and you’ll need it if you’re gonna be slogging it back to HQ.”

“You’ll need it more than me… I have plenty, I took some off my downed squadmates…”

“Ah, I see. Your whole squad gone then?”

“Yeh, the whole squad.” Dreyfus sighed. “Died fighting bravely though.”

The squad Sergeant spoke up, interrupting. “I wouldn’t worry about having to slog it back. HQ’s sending a Chimera to extract us.”

“Us?” The injured Guardsman asked. “Don’t they want our squad to stay here?”

“No. With Checkpoint Beta gone, HQ is pulling us back to a new position, just set up. They’ve got some heavy weapons teams there, prepped to hold back the Orks till reinforcements get in from Brigade HQ. Then, we should be able to finish this at last!”

“I hope so… This farking campaign has gone on forever! We should be out of this dungheap by now!”

“Yah, well, the campaign took a little longer than normal… I guess it’s because the Fire Falcons aren’t here to back us up.”

“Damn Space Marines, snubbing us to go Tau hunting on Thelorbus…”

“Aw, shut up! There’s only so many Marines in a single chapter you know!”

“Yah, but you’d think they could send more than one Chapter to help us…”

“They could, I suppose. But the Falcons have always been the Chapter that traditionally supports us on campaigns. Nelguard is a big planet, big enough to have a few Regiments of Guard and a Space Marine chapter. So we usually work together. Not this time though, I guess. There was a more pressing matter elsewhere.”

“Yah, whatever. I still say they abandoned us in our hour of need.”

“Don’t you mean our month of need?” One Trooper asked sarcastically. The whole squad laughed.

“Yeh, that.” The injured squadmember sighed, then continued. “You know, I just wish I could get out of here…”

A chorus of “Yah.”s and “Me too…”s rang out in a half hearted way, then the squad fell silent.

Suddenly, the sound of a Chimera’s engine cut through the uncomfortable silence left by the absence of words. It drew closer, and finally it pulled up near the squad.

“Squad D4?”

“That’s us.”

“Need a ride?”

“Boy, do we ever! Open the hatch!”

“Okay, okay, just calm down, it’s open.”

The Chimera hatch opened, striking the ground with a soft thud. The squad piled inside. The Sergeant gave orders to the Troopers. “All right, Ferg, Thad, Chan, Telp, Jer, and Gruf, get your lasguns in those firing ports. Ned, you stay put, and Dreyfus, how are you with Multilasers?”

“You want me to be the gunner?”

“Well, seeing as this Chimera doesn’t have one, yah.”

“Fine, I’ll give it a whirl… But shouldn’t this thing have a gunner?”

The driver interrupted. “We had one three days ago. He got transferred to another Chimera that needed one. I haven’t gotten a replacement yet…”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

The Sergeant smiled. “That’s a good man! I’ll take the heavy bolter down here. Good luck up there, medic!”

“Thanks.” Dreyf said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

 

And that's a big chunk of the IG stuff... Next, more about everybody's favorite Space Marine Sarge (or, at least, MY favorite Sarge...) Thanus!!!

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

More Marine stuff.

 

This thread hasn't been melta'd yet... That's a good sign I guess...

 

Thanus felt himself slipping into darkness. His injuries were getting worse, and he knew his time was ending. He tried to resist the darkness, but it crept into his thoughts and pulled him ever closer to death. He felt the weight of the enemy soldiers piling onto him, slashing, stabbing and punching him.

Then suddenly, the sound of a Bolter firing! A round slammed into the top of the pile of warriors. More shots, more screams and groans of pain. Then, a roar, the voice of a brother through a vox-caster!!! Soon, a beam of light pierced the darkness, and Thanus saw a Power Armor clad hand reaching through the haze of his vision. He reached out to take the hand, but it seemed like he reached forever, but the other hand took his, and he felt himself being pulled up. It felt like he was being yanked from a swamp. Finally, he stood, and the other Space Marine handed him a syringe. Thanus barely managed to plunge the needle into his arm, and the healing drugs inside clarified his vision and numbed his pain.

Thanus went to activate his HUD, but found that his eyepiece was missing. Still, he didn’t need the HUD to know who stood before him. It was Brother Corporal Joseph, his second in command. “How did you survive?” Thanus asked. “My HUD registered you as dead…”

“An unlucky shot blasted my tracking unit out of my backpack.” Joseph explained “It must have remained functional and registered me as KIA.”

“I see. Do you have a vox unit operational?”

“Yes sir. I have made contact with the strike force sent to relieve us. The Whirlwind that fired on the Tau comander is about a minute away. A Razorback and two Landspeeders are with it. The Landspeeders are here to eliminate Steelblade. You are in no condition to continue the fight.”

“But he will escape! We must pursue!”

“It is too late. A Devilfish transport appeared and loaded him up. He exited his XV8 and entered. You injured him severely. It is not likely that he will survive. Only the Landspeeders can catch him now.”

“Why didn’t you go after him when you saw me go down?”

“I apologize, but I was dealing with my own threat. Three stealthsuits assaulted me and I defeated them, but it was not easy. Now sit. An Apothecary and a Techmarine will be here soon. Then we can repair you. For now, you must sit and wait.”

Thanus sat on a small boulder and waited, clutching an armored hand to his bleeding stomach. In about a minute, a pair of Landspeeders flew past, their engines making the high pitched whine that characterized them. A few seconds later, a Whirlwind rumbled by, two missiles gone from its firing pods. It had been firing at extreme range. Only the best could make an accurate shot at the range the Whirlwind had fired from. Thanus was glad to have the best in his chapter. A Razorback pulled up, stopping in front of Thanus and Joseph. The Razorback’s boarding hatch opened, hitting the ground with a dull, metallic thump and raising a tiny cloud of dust. An Apothecary stepped out of the vehicle, followed by a Techmarine. The Apothecary moved to Thanus’ side. The Apothecary began to apply blood staunching agents to Thanus’ wound. The flow of thick, oozing Space Marine blood coming from Thanus’ wounds was soon stopped, and a clot had formed. A scab soon appeared. The Apothecary injected Thanus with more healing drugs and then moved on the Joseph while the Techmarine stepped in and began fitting adamantium plates to the gaping hole in Thanus’ armor. The Techmarine’s servitor arms moved quickly, bolting and welding on pieces of ceramite and adamantium onto Thanus’ damaged armor. Soon, the pain of Thanus’ machine spirit was eased, and his armor was made whole again.

“My thanks, brothers, you have eased my pain and repaired my armor.”

“Thanks are not necessary. We do our duty, success is our thanks, our reward.”

The Techmarine moved onto Joseph, who had damaged armor as well. Then the Apothecary moved to the bodies of Thanus fallen comrades, and extracted their gene-seeds. Thanus and Joseph paid their last respects to their brothers, and as they boarded the Razorback, Thanus swore that he would avenge them, even if he had to die a thousand deaths to do so!

[Master Gladious]

woo go Thanus he's one kick arse marine sgt :D

 

please post more of Thanus' story it rules

 

Master Gladious :)

 

The sign of officalness

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

Some more IG stuff...

 

I think Callidian is my favorite character... I don't know though...

 

The next bit about Thanus will follow.

 

Callidian shifted on the hard, greasy pallet. His back itched from the straw that poked through the meager shred of fabric covering the pile of hay on which he was trying to sleep. As a Tank Commander, he got his own tent, but others weren’t so fortunate. The straw was still irritating his bare back, even in this position. Cal tried to sit up, but the low tent ceiling stopped him. He let himself fall back down, then turned around on the bed and opened the tent’s zipper. Cold night air rushed in, and Cal picked up his rumpled undershirt from where it lay in the pile of his clothing at the foot of the bed. He pulled it on over his head, then grabbed his las-pistol holster and crawled out of the tent. Outside, he strapped the las-pistol to his leg. If the Commissar saw him without a weapon, he’d be flogged or worse.

As he walked along the inside of the hastily erected defensive wall that the Guard had set up, soldiers standing guard or walking on patrol waved to him. He stopped at a pile of rocks that was supported by large logs and had a platform on top. A Heavy Bolter had been set on the top of the makeshift turret, and Sergeant Grentel was sitting on the platform next to it, asleep. Cal climbed the rocks to the platform and shook Grentel’s shoulder.

“Huh? Wha… I wasn’t asleep, I swear! I was jus’... Uh…”

“Relax, it’s just me. Dozing on your watch, eh?”

“Heh, yeh… Sorry.”

“You put the whole lot of us in danger, you know that?”

“Well it’s not like there aren’t three other sentries and a patrol coming by every three minutes. I doubt we would have been caught by surprise on account of me.”

“Yes, but if we were attacked and you were asleep, who would fire that Bolter?”

“The gunshots would wake me up…”

“Maybe. But why take the risk?”

“I’m sorry… I’m just so tired, and… Overwhelmed. Being a Corporal was much easier….”

“I know. It’s hard, but stay awake, get it? You can sleep when you’re relieved. Nelson would have done it.”

“Nelson… He was so much braver and smarter and better than I am… How do they think I can replace him?”

“He wasn’t any braver or better, he was just good at looking like it.”

“Heh, well he sure was smarter…”

“Oh, I dunno. You haven’t had a real chance to prove yourself yet. This is it. Good luck, Sergeant Grentel.”

“Yah, you too Callidian. Good luck…”

Cal moved on. He approached another Heavy Bolter set on a large, flat boulder. In front of the boulder, the log palisade wall had a gap cut in it for the Heavy Bolter to fire from. Burten, one of Cal’s sponson gunners, leaned against the wall smoking a cigarette.

“Burt.”

“Cal.”

“So, how are you?”

“Fine. Smoke?”

“Sure.”

Cal accepted the offered cigarette and searched for the lighter in his pocket. It wasn’t there.

“Need a light?”

“Yeh, I left my lighter in my uniform shirt-pocket…”

Burt held out a lighter. It was chromed and etched with Burt’s name. Cal held it up to the cig and hit the button. It lit the cigarette, and Cal took a long puff, the nicotine from the cigarette going into his system. Cal handed the lighter back.

“Thanks Burt, I needed a cig… I’ve been tryin’ to quit but, you know…”

“Yeh, it’s hard. I’ve tried and failed many a time. Way I figure, I’m prolly gonna die from a blast to the head rather than blackened lungs in old age.”

Cal laughed. It felt good to laugh again, even if it was a bit forced. Burten joined in.

“Ahh… I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to laugh. Thanks. I think I needed that more than the cigarette. Well, I’d better move on. Don’t fall asleep!”

“I won’t, you can be sure of that!”

Cal sighed and walked on. He saw others like himself, who couldn’t fall asleep and who were trying to walk off their uncertainty and discomfort. After a few minutes, Callidian came to the high, rocky outcrop that marked the end of the defensive line and the beginning of the Tolgond mountain range. Another outcrop like it could be found on the other end of the line. A hastily erected tunnel had been cut into the weaker parts of the rock on this end, leading to a bunker buried deep under the surface, from which another tunnel linked up with a small base, which would send reinforcements if necessary. This pass was the easiest and most convenient way through the Tolgond Mountains, and if it could be held, the Orks would have a hard time getting past the mountains, which spread for miles in every direction.

Cal stopped at the gate to the double width palisade surrounding the bunker door. There were four Heavy Bolter platforms on this palisade, and five men stood guard in the entrance, three carrying flamers and one holding a grenade launcher. All of them carried chainswords at their sides.

“Halt. Name yourself and show your ID.”

“Sorry. Tank Commander Callidian Steelhand. Here’s my dogtag… I was just out for a stroll to clear my head.”

“Ah, right. Well, this place’s off limits. There’s still a crew at work down there, and the walls aren’t quite secured yet. Sorry to have been rude to you, but it’s our job, and we don’t want to lose any men in accidents.”

”Not a problem. Glad to see you’re doing your duty. Well, I’ll turn around then. Goodnight and good luck, comrades!”

“The same to you, Tank Commander.”

Callidian headed back to his tent.

 

<><><><>

 

Dreyf scratched his head. Still no lice. He was well off, he had the means to keep his head clean. Other soldiers didn’t. Supply lines had fallen apart. It was like the Departmento Munitorum had forgotten them… Dreyf plopped his helmet back on his head and fastened the strap. Then he looked at his lasgun, sitting in his lap. He had removed the outer casing and was cleaning the sooty scorch marks out of the barrel. If soot was allowed to build up in the barrel, it could affect accuracy and the damage done by the lasgun blasts would be reduced. Plus, if it went un-attended for too long, it might do permanent damage to the weapon, and even cause it to explode in his face. Dreyf pushed a stick with a moist rag tied to it through the barrel. Some soot fell out and when the rag emerged it was almost completely black. Dreyf swung the rag against the rock he was sitting on, then he rung the rag in his hands, getting most of the soot out of it. Then he swabbed the barrel again.

Dreyf took his two lasgun power-packs out of the fire that he had been using to charge them. Without a charge station nearby, this was the only way to charge packs. Next to him, Squad D4’s Sergeant, Marcus, pulled a stick from the fire. On the stick were two slabs of meat, perfectly roasted and dripping with juice. Marcus pulled them off the stick and handed one to Dreyfus. Dreyfus put the meat on his camp plate, then dug in with his multi-tool’s utensil set. The meat tasted wonderful after spending almost a whole month without anything other than dry rations and the occasional foraged fruit or tuber. Dreyf took a mouthful of meat and mixed it with a mouthful of dry rations. The mixed flavor was a pleasant and surprising one. He washed it down with a swig of mead from a canteen full of the stuff that he had been saving for almost five months, since his squad had occupied a country manor on Tolbridius. Tolbridius had been re-taken from the Orks, and Dreyf had been transferred here.

“Thanks for the meat, Marcus.”

“You’re welcome. I shot a niblack and packed in almost the whole carcass. Nothing tastes quite like roasted wild niblack. The farm raised kind is much less enjoyable, in my opinion.”

“Well, for me, any meat is good meat.”

“Heh, yah, I guess so.”

“So. You were big into hunting?”

“Oh yah. I was a great hunter before I got drafted. Niblack was one of my favorite things to hunt. Of course, I used a rifle back in the day… And boy, I had to fill out whole mountains of paper just to fire a single shot, let alone even get it or carry it anywhere! But I still liked to hunt. And it made it easier to feed my family.”

“So you have family?”

“Had. They died from a plague about three weeks before I was drafted. I had a wife and a little child. I still miss them… So much.”

“I guess you don’t like to talk about it then.”

“Oh no, I do. It eases the pain to think about them. About the happy times we shared…. Ahh well. That’s over now….”

“Yes, I suppose so.” Dreyf tried to change the subject. “Care for some mead? I’ve kept a canteen of it since the Tolbridius campaign.”

“Sure. Here, put it in my cup.”

“Alright, say when to stop.”

Dreyf poured out the mead from the canteen to the metal mug, the amber stream of liqid flowing out of the canteen mouth.

“That’s fine, thanks.” Marcus said. Dreyf stopped pouring and capped the canteen. He put it back at his belt.

“That’s good stuff there.” He said. “Vintage stock from a manor on Tolbridius.”

“Mmm. I can tell. Good stuff, good stuff…”

“So.” Dreyfus opened up a new line of conversation. “What’s our status? Can we hold this line?”

“You mean this half-finished, slip-shod, crummy excuse for a barricade that they had us build?”

“Uhhh… Yah, that one.”

“Well, in my opinion, there’s not much chance we’ll even survive, let alone hold this line for any length of time. Just look at the raw facts for a moment, will you? We have three squads of men, with at least a third of that number consisting of wounded soldiers. That’s about, what, thirty-five men, including the injured? Then there’s a couple Stormtroopers that are here with the Captain, two Russes and three Chimies, with their crews. In total, bout 51 personnel, only about 40 of whom can actually stand up, let alone march or fire a lasgun.

Then you’ve got our opponents. Almost a thousand Ork Boyz with unknown armament, presumably led by Nobz, and likely supported by Trukks at least.

Now tell me. Do we stand a chance?”

“Well…….” Dreyf paused, unsure. “There’s always the Russes.”

“Yah, but even the might of a Leman Russ can’t hold out against a thousand Boyz. Let’s face it, we’re doomed. We can’t hold this place, and we couldn’t even if we had solid stone walls in place of this pile of debris we’re calling a barrier!”

“Huh, you’re probably right… What I wouldn’t give for a Land Raider right now! I bet one of those could take a thousand Orks!”

“Well I’d be happy if I had even a single Space Marine at my side!”

“Heh, yah. I wish Thanus was here now.”

“Who’s Thanus?”

“A Space Marine Sergeant. I met him in the Dogrendal campaign. He’s my friend, my steadfast ally. We have fought many battles together, and we’ve always come out on top!”

“How… How many campaigns have you seen?”

“Six.” Dreyfus let the statement hang in the air.

“That’s more than most… A lot more. I’ve made it through one campaign. Tolbridius. Even that is more than most.”

“Yah.”

“Which of your campaigns did you meet this Space Marine on?”

“Dogrendal. My first… He’s probably the reason I’ve managed to survive so long.”

“I’ll say! You’re real lucky! Not everybody has an uber-loyal Space Marine body guard to protect them from harm!”

“Oh, I don’t have just one. I have ten. Thanus is a Sergeant, a Veteran Sergeant, and as such, he has a certain amount of, at least this is how I think of it, sway over where he is deployed. For the past six campaigns, Thanus’ squad has been deployed alongside my own in the field. I’m a medic, and a damn good one if I do say so myself, and not a single one of my comrades perished in any of those six campaigns. Some came close though, real close. We won great honors, we were given special privileges. Some of us chose to wear Carapace Armor, others chose flak or a mixture of the two. I wore a mixture. We carried Hellguns, not lasguns, we had advanced sensor equipment and carried extra heavy weaponry. We were the best unit of Guardsmen in the whole battalion.

We took the name of the Talons, since we served mostly as advanced scouts, dropped with our Space Marine allies into the midst of enemy territory. We were called the Talons for a reason… We were the “talons” of the Fire Falcons. We did scout work, observing the enemy, calling down artillery strikes, lighting up targets for our Marine brethren to shred with Bolter fire. We were aptly named. We were the Talons, and our strike left our foes bleeding, and usually leaderless.”

Recognition dawned on Marcus’ face. “Wait, you’re saying you’re the last surviving member of the Talons!?!? The unit known as The Claw of The Emperor?!?”

“Yes.”

“I heard about you! Your exploits are legendary! You’re the best! You are truly an inspiration to all guardsmen! I heard about you on Tolbridius. They say you captured an important enemy fort by landing four Drop Pods inside of it and destroying the unsuspecting defenders, then holding it until reinforcements arrived! They say you were responsible for the death of Warboss Nogskull! They say-”

“Yah,” interrupted Dreyf “I know what they say. Heh, I should. I did it. But my unit is dead now, and that means that the Talons are no more.” Dreyf sighed.

“No! No it doesn’t! Can’t you see! You’re Corporal Dreyfus Carter! And I’m Sergeant Marcus Deckand! Together, we’ll rebuild the Talons, and we’ll make them better than before!”

“I appreciate the thought, but if we’re gonna rebuild the Talons, we need the help of Thanus and his Marines.”

“Then we’ll get their help! And by the Emperor, we’ll do this!”

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

Latest stuff. More Thanus stuff.

 

Thanus knelt as the Company Chaplain passed the censer of incense over his head, and he inhaled the fragrance of the exotic spices in the burner. The Chaplain offered Thanus his hand. “Rise, brother, and take your place. Your fallen comrades have been delivered into the hands of the Emperor. They shall be replaced by new warriors, and the Emperor’s will shall be known unto the galaxy!!!”

Thanus answered with the appropriate phrase. “Yes, verily shall his praises be upon the tongues of all my brothers, and those under my command shall always serve him to their fullest, and know him as their master!”

“I say now, rise brother Space Marine, and be known once again as the instrument of his will! You shall be the hammer with which his foes are crushed to fragments, you shall be his hands, his feet! For you are the Space Marines, and you shall know no fear!!!”

A shout rang out in the Chapel of the Battlebarge, as the combined voices of three hundred attending Space Marines rose and mingled into one unwavering cadence, a cascade of sound that caused Thanus’ ears to ring and the metal vessels on a nearby table to clatter and dance about with the vibration.

The ceremony ended and Thanus left the Chapel with his newly ordained squad. Nine brave, loyal Space Marine warriors followed him out of the Chapel. As Thanus crossed the floor of the large, open ship-bay, a bulkhead opened in the far wall and a lone figure strode out of the opening. His power armor shone like a star, and he carried a power sword in a case at his side. He held his helmet in one hand, and walked with thundering steps towards the Tactical Squad. Thanus recognized Brother Captian Andrecus, and he hurried to meet his commander. Thanus stood at attention and saluted Brother Captain Andrecus, and the others in his squad did the same. Andrecus spoke, his scarred features cracking into a smile. “Well, I’m glad to see you alive and well Sergeant. At ease.”

“Thank you sir. My squad is prepared for action.”

“I’m glad to hear it, because you may be going into action in a matter of hours. You see, a call has come in via Astropath that Talon Squad was all but destroyed in a recent battle. The only survivor was Corporal Dreyfus Carter.”

“I knew this would happen. At least Dreyfus survived. He will not be denied his vengeance.”

“Neither will you. You are being re-deployed. Our actions against the Tau in this system are going very well, especially since you have removed the Tau commander from the action for the time-being. Your presence has been requested on Londus. The 3rd’s campaign is slowing, it is becoming stagnant. They want to re-form the Talons. Will you go?”

“I will. When do I leave?”

“Within the hour. Prepare yourself.”

 

And this brings us the the end of what I already have written. Now, I'll update as I finish sections of story.

 

"Stand by for updates, men!"

:tu: