Skin Walkers

[Gyson_Vore]

I recently started working on my Renegade chapter and the minis, and I found an old story I had started. I've since edited and added to it, and thought to see what people thought of it. The IA can be found in the Renegade fluff thread, and the minis can be found in the hall of honor ((I'll put down links if people want)) Anyway, here's the story, COmments and Critiscim welcom.

***

 

Flenius smiled at the slight ripping sound from the peeling of skin that accompanied the frantic screams of pain as he cut a strip of flesh from the back of the helpless slave, the screams echoing through the cells aboard the Strike cruiser Coltello. Taking the strip he then wound it around the handle of the knife that took the skin, ignoring the cowering slave as it's crimson lifeblood seeped across the floor. Testing the grip the new cover provided, Flenius stood, his massive armored form standing over two meters in height, the cerimate plates that were originally a dark green were now streaked red by blood from the pennants of skin that adorned his armored body, some of it tanned, other pieces still fresh, still dripping. He approached his squad, all similarly covered with hides, macabre giants covered in grotesque shadows cast by the dim light of the ship. All 9 were fighters seasoned by centuries of combat, and their skills were many. They had once been some of the greatest defenders of humanity, until their fleet was enveloped by a warp storm. Within the roiling etheriem, they were slowly enlightened by the power of Yeenaaldlooshii. They were shown how the Emperor had used them. Nearly half a millennia later, they were unleashed upon the world of Novion. There the former Shadow Knives chapter unleashed their fury using their particular skills at slowly crippling the enemy by small sabotage teams. It was there their earned their new namesake. From the Shadow Knives homeworld of Wendigo, there was a legend of a creature that would kill it's victims, and then wear their skin as it stalked new prey, gaining the strength of those it ate. As the teams worked on Novion, they would skin the bodies of the defenders, decorating their armor with the macabre embellishments. It was then that they became Skin Walkers.

 

That was far past, and Flenius brought his mind to the present and slowly merged his mind with the present. He and his squad were preparing for another planet. Perious Secundus was a heavily populated hive world, massive mountain ranges separating the hives that mined the minerals that were in high demand by the Adeptus Mechanicus. It was here that the Skin Walkers were planning on striking next. The Imperial world would be aware of their presence as the emerged from the warp, and the ships were already shaking as the orbital defenses opened fire so they would begin in a rapid fashion. The fleet consisted of the Battle Barge Khopesh, and the 10 Strike Cruisers. Aboard the Coltello, Flenius loaded his squad aboard the drop pod that would carry them to the surface, the ship aiming its firepower towards the surface. It would be under that cover that the drop pod would descend. Chapter Master Dermius was standing on the bridge of the Khopesh, and with a silent nod, the ships fired their cargoes of death.

***

Calibis wiped his balding head as his crew, the Perious Bastards, loaded the ore into the giant mag-rails that would carry it to the hive to process in order to transport to the forge worlds that would need them. He looked up as he heard a crash, two of his men squabbling over a fallen ore car, and Calibis sighed. He was foreman of this crew for five years, three years longer than the expected life span.

"Watch that frakkin' car you grox heads! If you slow down the system I'll have your hides!"

He looked up into the sky, praying to the Emperor for patience, when he saw a light piercing through the smog laden clouds towards the mountain above him. The last thing Calibis saw before his eyes burst and ran down his face like molten metal, he thought he saw a meteor streaking towards the earth.

***

Captain Kenroth of the Perious PDF was standing over the holo-screen, swearing rampantly as he saw what the alert was for, 11 unidentified ships had just shown up in the system, opened fire and destroyed both the orbital defenses and the main mining facility that supplied most of the precious ore in all of Perious. He turned to another officer in the control room, that was reading the stream of paper that was pumping from the cogitor.

"Bennet! What is the status of the hive's void shield?"

The young clerk looked up slowly being swallowed by the stream of paper.

"The shield's of all hives are fully functioning, and in less than a moment the Emperor's Benevolence will be ready to fire!"

Kenroth smiled, knowing the orbital cannon would be more than enough to take at least three ships out in one shot. He was distracted from the image of burning debris in space by a tug on his sleeve, and he turned to face the officer from the holo screen.

"What do you want? Shouldn't you be paying attention to those frakkin' ships?!"

The officer shifted nervously, his hands fidgeting.

"T-the ships sir... they jumped back into the warp... they're gone."

***

Flenius emerged from the drop pod, his eyes scanning the rocky outcrop in which they had landed. The next out was Severus, the special weapon carrier, his plasma gun giving a ghastly illumination to the death mask he had tediously carved from the head of a dead Cadian, the entire face now resting on the Marine's helmet. Carves and Evisor were close behind, their bolters sweeping the rocks as they spread out, followed by Hackis, Kene, Bastus, Tantus, Dirkis, Katar and Scmitar.

 

Fanning out with the efficiency born of hundred years practice, each marine taking a defensive position save for Flenius, who was looking for the best path from their landing zone.

The pattern of attack for the Skin Walkers always began with the disruption of communication, the mere spark that would engulf the planet. Flenius opened the comm-channel for a moment, giving brief orders.

"Move to the narrow defile to the north east, Serevus take center, conserve ammo."

In silence the squad broke their cover and moved to the passage, reforming to suit the narrow path. They had a little over 500 miles to the communication center, and all in the squad were anxious for the taste of blood.

***

Sgt Endrich of the Perious Storm Regiment, 14th company stood with his squad of storm troopers, eying the column of smoke rising over the ridge line from the Mining facility. They had been on a routine training patrol from hive Epsilon Beta, to keep the soldiers keen and ready for next deployment. At the moment however they were waiting in a bowl shaped depression waiting for the comms trooper Barker to get through to Regimental Command. The lances and torpedoes had thrown up a great deal of interference, despite the troopers diligent work praying to the machine spirit of his Vox unit, it only blared static. Endrich could see his men were on edge, some of them were pacing in their stony gray fatigues, blue carapace glinting dully in the light seeping in from the slowly closing hole which the batteries had pierced through the smog. They had been trying desperately to contact Regimental HQ, not having an idea what the frak was happening. To the extent of their nervous imaginations, there was an entire fleet out in orbit ready to land who knows what sort of horde in a full planetary assault. All of them jumped, guns humming to life as some loose scree tumbled down the slope to their left, but that was forgotten as the first actual words were heard, broken by static. Endrich walked over, grabbing the microphone and placing it on his head.

"What in the name of Holy Terra is going on?!"

***

Flenius cursed the loose earth that had almost given away their presence. They would have to get past these troopers if they were to continue with their mission, and he knew it would not take much to bypass them, but being loose for the first time with prey right before them... it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Loosing his sword from the mag-lock on his hip, he made sure his pistol was secured as he drew forth his knife, the new grip giving a soft feel against his gauntlet. He knew the other's were drawing their knives, ammo too precious to waste this early in their task. Without a word, Flenius launched himself into the void above the guardsmen, his hides flapping slightly as he fell.

***

Endrich was trying to make sense of the garbled words that would stick out through the static, and he thought he heard a few numbers of what he presumed were lost resources, then static again. He heard a loud crunch and turned just in time to see some... Thing impale Stryker through the chest with a sword that resembled a hideous carving knife through the chest, before twisting it and ripping it out through the guardsmen's ribcage and shoulder as if it were cloth. The thing turned to face the stunned Storm Troopers, and Endrich felt his stomach churn, vomit rising in his throat. It locked eyes with Endrich as time seemed to stand still as he took in the horrific visage. The thing looked like it had clawed its way out of a demented, hellish nightmare. It towered over Endrich, and he was by no means short. It was covered in what looked like patched of skin that were ready to slough off, the eyes glowing a sickening, blood red, searing with unholy flames. Paks was the first to get over the shock of the monster's appearance, and raised his Hellgun, the weapon humming to life in an instant, but he never got a shot off, another creature fell from the sky, the sound of snapping bones and rupturing organs accompanied his gurgling death scream as his body was crushed under the massive weight. Endrich drew his Hellpistol as he heard more of them drop, his men screaming in agony, and he fired at the first that landed, the shots bouncing off of it's hide as it advanced on him, doing nothing more than to agitate the thing. It raised it's sword ,and the last thing Endrich saw before the blade cleaved into his skull were those bloody eyes of the damned, burning hellfire glowing in their depths.

***

Flenius stomped his foot into the skull of the guardsmen, a sickening crunch sounding as he withdrew his sword. He lifted off his helmet for a moment, lifting his blade to his lips and running his tongue along it's carefully made blood groove. It was sweet, a decadent experience he had not had in decades. He replaced his helmet, knowing that there was no time for such distractions now, they still had their primary mission to complete, and until then there would be no trophies. Turning to his squad he replaced his sword on the Mag-lock, looking for a route out.

"Reform, and be prepared to deal with any more... interference..."

With that he led his squad away from the slaughter, the vox caster spewing out static that fell on ears permanently deafened.

***

The communications relay and transmitter tower was a massive structure, standing over 100 meters height, dishes studding it's entire facade up to the main dish, which spread fifteen meters across tower was situated on a peak, at an altitude where the PDF forces guarding it (and any rebel forces attempting to assault it) would need respirators to withstand the air's pollutant concentration. Dotted along the path were heavy Stubber emplacements, but they were few and far between. There was a garrison of 150 PDF troopers guarding the tower, and it was the headache of Captain Everes Montegue to keep all of them in order. Everes was like many PDF officers, being the son of an Aristocrat, joining because it was a moderately easy (and safe) way to rise through the twisting hierarchy of the hive society. He was portly, his crumpled uniform showing this greatly, his crown espoused by thinning, greasy black hair, a thick moustache bristling beneath his nose. In the last week alone there had been no less than 7 major brawls and countless small scuffles, he had lost several of the lower ranking officers and most of his garrison was in the stockade! All of this because his men had nothing to do except drill, and most of the troopers here were the ones that they wouldn't trust back in the hives. They needed something to break the monotony, and Everes prayed it would come soon, or by the Emperor, this job would be the end of him.

***

Flenius looked up at the tower, annoyed slightly. The imperials had a slight tactical advantage in the high grounds, but it was a paltry excuse for a fortified position. He counted eight heavy weapon positions, none of them overlapping their arcs of fire, leaving gaps big enough to drive a rhino through. The guards were also weak, only outnumbering the marines 11 to 1. It would be a massacre. The imperials had slipped, this 'fortification' being a wretched and pitiful sight. He signaled to his men, and the moved out, silent shadows on the mountain side. They would have to show these fools the error of their ways.

***

PDF trooper Vedius scratched idly at his respirator, wishing her were inside with a lit Lho-stick in his hand, yet here he was, carefully picking his way across the mountain side on patrol, a thankless and unwanted task. He would meet with the second guardsmen halfway across, each taking a hemisphere before going back to the bunker. By the Emperor, it was frakkin cold out, the wind whipping across the rocks unhindered. He spotted Kamster leaning against a rock some ten meters away, his auto gun at his side. Vedius sped up, putting his attention to the earth so as not to fall.

"It's been as quiet out there like the crematoria... What's the matter you son of a grox, too tired to..."

He trailed off, looking up for the first time to notice the blood trickling from Kamster's respirator and throat, which had been neatly slit to the point it was almost severed. He then saw the knife explode through his throat, severing his spinal column, and then nothing.

Flenius watched as Tantus finished off the second guard, Hackis having gotten the first, the lifeless body falling limply to the ground. Both deaths were completed in complete silence, and Flenius nodded to the two marines, acknowledging their silent request to take trophies. Tantus and Hackis knelt, the former taking a strip from the trooper's torso, the latter taking a strip from his dead man's face. With their new grim testaments to their skills, they took point on the path of their advance up the mountainside.

***

The first gun nest was 30 meters ahead, and Flenius took a careful sight along his Bolt pistol from their cover in a rocky out cropping, and squeezing the trigger, the Stalker silencer round exited the barrel, and sped along its path to impact in the trooper's chest, knocking him from his feet. Before the body had hit the ground, Flenius and his squad had burst from their cover and had covered two thirds of the ground between the nest and their hiding place spraying covering fire as they advanced. The bursts from their Bolters caused troopers to drop either for cover or dead, but slowly and surely, return fire began to pepper their armor, bouncing off their armor as if it were nothing. Flenius slowed slightly as a round impacted in the soft armor at his knee joint, grazing his leg. As the blood began to clot instantly, Flenius leveled his pistol in the direction of the shot, rewarded by a scream of pain as a trooper fell, his arm ripped off at the shoulder.

***

Capt. Everes hauled himself out from behind his desk as he heard gunfire erupting outside, hastily drawing his autopistol as he pulled on his respirator. Stepping out of the bunker he saw several men hurrying about in attempts to get to their positions. One trooper a few meters ahead was knocked back as an explosion ripped off his arm, splattering bright blood across the stony ground. Everes nabbed the few men near him and hurried them to the positions near the tower, moving clumsily despite their attempts at stealth. Upon arrival at the tower, Everes marshaled the troopers that had managed to make it into a firing line behind the last heavy stubber. The men stood in a fearful silence, each one tense. They all wondered who they were facing, and at least one man wished they hadn't when they saw Flenius' squad.

***

Flenius and his squad walked forward calmly, savoring the look of fear on the trooper's faces before one of them opened fire with a pistol, which started a torrent of lead from the firing line. Hackis fell down as a round from the heavy stubber impacted into his helmet. Serevus leveled his plasma gun in response, and fired, sending a burning orb at the gunner, which enveloped him, tossing him back into the troopers, lighting a few more with smaller fires.

***

Everes shielded his eyes as the plasma flare swallowed the trooper at the stubber. When he looked up, he saw the enemy setting their guns into position and blasting away. The exploding shells ripped through the PDF troopers, the man next to Everes getting his head removed as a round impacted into his collar bone. Things were going bad, Everes barely able to hold them there. Pulling his extend-able shock maul from his belt, he raised it up as he screamed the order to charge. He and the 35 some odd men ran howling hive gang war cries, guns blazing wildly. Many troopers were blown apart before they reached their attackers. Everes could actually see the trooper's autogun rounds pinging off their armored foes, his men shooting point blank as well as swinging their guns about. Everes ducked as one of the troopers went flying, blood spurting from his crushed face like a fountain, and the captain recovered to see one of the armored figures striding towards him. Everes swung his shock maul at the figure, but it raised a gauntlet and caught Everes’ arm, the difference in size making the captains arm look like that of a weak child. He felt the figure tightening it's grip, the pain so intense that it forced Everes to his knees. Gritting his teeth in pain, Everes leveled his pistol only to have it bated idly away by the figure's free hand which held it's monstrous gun, a snapping sound indicating that Everes’ arm had snapped cleanly at the elbow. The flood of pain edged his vision in red, the monstrosity before him raising it's foot and placing it on Everes' torso. He could feel the other applying pressure, tendons snapping, muscle ripping and joints cracking. With one sickening wrench, Everes watches as his arm was torn from his body, blood spraying in a sickening arc as if from some form of grotesque spring. He would have died in minutes from blood loss, but he didn't live that long. He saw the thing level it's gun, and then his face burst in a gout of blood and bone. The body of captain Everes Montague fell and lay still, growing cold as the men he had once commanded were slaughtered. Blood ran through the rocks as if it were a small stream.

***

Flenius strode across the field of the dead, an occasional limb crunching under his heavy footfalls. At the moment his squad was split amongst the compound, each small group tasked with a different task. Hackis and Tantus were taking care of the troopers that were held in the brig, making sure to leave a few alive. Serevus and Gladius were readying the tower for demolition, while the rest were scouring for supplies. Flenius was left with a rarity, a few moments for thought. Their assault had been in their favor, injuries being light. Minor damage to armor, though Hackis was worst off. The heavy stubber had destroyed the right optic unit, and shards of it were embedded in his eye. He would need it replaced with bionics when he returned to the Coltello, something any Marines of the Skin Walkers disdained, feeling it a sign of weakness to need a mechanical adjustment. More than likely Hackis would be denied the honor to go with the sabotage squads, more than likely relocated to a heavy weapon squad. It was a some what sad fate for any Skin Walker, but the weak had no place in the front lines. He forced the thoughts from his head, and looked towards the tower. It was an imposing monolith of technology, standing like some sort of effigy to the Adeptus Mechanicus. He saw Serevus and Gladius moving away, and after a moment the marine's body was shaken by the shock wave of the explosion, the metal screeching at their sheer audacity to destroy it. It fell slowly, tipping to one side before gaining speed, and like a giant it fell, crashing into the rocks with a jarring crash. He watched as Serevus and Gladius moved towards them, their faces hidden behind their helmets. Slowly his squad reassembled, and Flenius gave them a quick look over. Hackis had stowed away his bolter, now carrying a heavy stubber, to conserve ammo of their blessed tools of death. The rest of the Planet's forces would be arriving soon, so they would need to disappear. As the descended down the mountain slope opposite from the side on which they had advanced, Flenius looked up, a faint smile rising as he knew the rest of the chapter would be arriving soon. Then nothing would stop the death of this planet.

 

***

 

Kenroth could feel his heart pounding as he looked at the grainy pict screen showing the remains of the communication tower. What was happening? First ships in system destroying the orbital defenses, and then the mining facility, but they did not do this. He turned to face the menials in the room, who were looking at their screens as if in a daze. They all seemed to snap out of it as soon as the Captain started shouting.

“Get all the patrols moving! I want all personnel armed and ready for action. Get the transports up and get some squads to the Comm facility to find out what happened. Move it people!”

The center burst into activity, sending out orders for the squads to enact, pools of vehicles to start and for the armory to begin rationing ammunition in case of extended fighting. Whatever was out there would be destroyed. If not by the PDF then the Grenadiers would step in, though Kenroth was reluctant to call them in. The enemy had attacked his men, and he would make them pay.

 

***

 

Flenius signaled for his men to stop and take cover as he spied a patrol heading towards them, and he took a moment to asses their strength. It was a small squad, about six armed with autoguns. They were moving up in a spread out group, obviously nervous. One held a small device in his hand that he moved with large sweeps of his arm, and it became obvious that it was an auspex of some sorts. He gestured to his squad, telling Tantus, Kene and Hackis to flank them to the left. It was a low risk if they found Flenius and his squad, but it would be just as easy to kill them now. Flenius saw that his marines had reached there position, and he reached down and picked up a rock. He threw it off to the squads left, and they all wheeled guns at the ready. Hackis took the moment to rise and open with the stubber, sending chinks of stone flying as men fell, while Kene and Tantus took careful aim before shooting, making each round count. Four fell quickly to the attack, but two dived for cover. Flenius saw the bulky communication equipment that the average soldier used, and he cursed as he stood, pulling free his sword as he went forward. IF the enemy found out what they were up against they would not be as afraid, and Flenius had been indoctrinated in his half-sleep that fear was the greatest weapon. He felt autogun rounds impact on his armor from the other that was still alive, but he simply ignored the pock marks forming as he moved to where the other had hidden, and he looked down at the insignificant worm. Flenius watched as the soldier raised his autogun and held down the trigger, rounds impacting on Flenius’ face and upper torso as he raised his sword above his head and drove the blade down through the soldier’s gun, torso, caster and a few inches into the rock. The other soldier turned to flee but Hackis took him down in a hail of bullets. Flenius pulled his sword free, and looked the direction from which the patrol had come. Below lay the expanses of Gamma Secundus, the towers shooting into the sky as smoke belched from deep inside of it. Out here it would be easy to find them, but a hive offered many places to hide… and new opportunities.

[LoneSniperSG]

Definitely a nice read. :devil: I can't help but thinking of Necron Flayed Ones throughout all of it though. Perhaps they're the legendary skin-wearing creature?

[Gyson_Vore]

Their entrance to the hive was facilitated by a large sluice gate on the verge of collapse. It took only a slight kick from Kene to send it crumpling in on itself, splashing into putrid green water that reached a little over the marine’s ankles. Runes flashed across Flenius’ retinal display, showing a high toxicity in the water, but nothing that would pose a threat to the armor of a space marine. His squad sloshed through the liquid for what seemed like hours, each one alert for anything that might pose a threat to their secrecy. Finally the pipe opened up into a cistern in the lower hive, debris and garbage littering the ground. Nearby was a pile of fallen masonry and beams, and it was there Flenius signaled his squad to take cover. The debris around seemed to suggest that they were in a derelict manufactorum of some sorts. Gutted machines covered a good bit of the floor, offering a decent base of operations for a time being. The fleet would wait a day or so before returning, and then the fighting would begin in earnest. The air, which had been still, suddenly carried the sound of gunfire, small arms fi the barks of shotguns. Flenius had his squad spread out on the floor as the sounds approached.

 

***

 

‘Dog-Face’ Barker swore as he ducked behind a fallen piece of stone as one of the juves had his face blown away by an Arbites shotgun. It was supposed to be an easy sell, just some xeno-tech to the Hell Blades, but the Arbites showed up and all hell broke loose. Barker peered around the block of stone and snapped off a few shots from his auto pistol, before seeing an old transport production plant that had shut down decades ago. Signalling to his remaining gangers one took out a frag grenade and lobbed it, forcing the officers to duck down, and by the time they came back up Barker and the other three were gone, abandoning several Juves that were soon put out of the Imperium’s misery. Barker watched from inside the plant, a wry smile on his lips as the Arbites checked ther injured and dead before moving back towards the precinct . This Arbites just had no smarts. He turned to the others that had followed him. There was Bones, Spike, and…

“Where did Saw go, the frakkin’ plank…”

Barker looked around and with a wave told the others to find their missing member. Barker turned on a small light, the thin beam cutting through the darkness. He could hear Spike and bones moving about, both of them louder than they should be. Idiots.

Bones walked nervously, his pistol out. He had a bad feeling about this, a rising sensation along the hackles. He turned a corner and nearly jumped out of skin as he saw a figure leaning up against a rusted furnace, and it took a half moment before he recognized Saw’s massive frame. He walked up, setting a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“What are you doi-”

He stopped as he found himself looking into the other’s eyes, Saw’s neck sliced through to the point where it was lolling over his back by a scrap of flesh. Bones barely had time to scream before the barrel of Saw’s autogun pierced through his chest from behind, splattering Bones’ face with his own blood .

Barker came running at the sound of the scream, and pushed his way past Spike to see what in the nine hells was happening. At the sight he felt bile rise in his throat, and raised his pistol nervously.

“Let’s get out of here Spi-”

Barker turned, but the other was gone. Cursing the coward Barker headed for the door, but he stopped as something slapped into him with a wet ‘thlop’. Barker screamed and pulled it off of him, throwing it to the ground before shooting it. When he saw it wasn’t moving, he shined his light on it, and saw something that resembled fresh meat, still wet with blood. As Barker leaned in closer to inspect the thing, a body landed in front of him, it’s face frozen in a screaming death mask, gouges in the muscle showing where something had ripped off it’s face. Barker backed away, his body pounding with panic, when he hit something that wasn’t there when he had passed through. Wheeling, Barker fired, screaming as he did so. Each flash of the muzzle showed something that could not have been human, something that was borne from the deepest nightmares. His pistol clicked, the magizine empty. He raised the gun to try and bash the thing, but it struck fast, one hand crushing over Barker’s, pistol and all, the other going about his throat. The last thing Barker saw before his throat was crushed with demonic strength was a set of smoldering red eyes hidden behind what was once a human face. Then, he went still, and ‘Dog-Face’ Barker was no more.

 

***

 

Severes dropped the body to the ground, as the other members brought the corpses together. Flenius took his knife and knelt next to the former ganger, and cut a thick morsel of flesh from the arm, and removing his helmet he tore into it hungrily, signaling his squad that it was time to feast.