Ceremite

[Luy22]

1

 

I, Tactical Marine Orion, sat within the confines of my drop pod. My squad was around me. I was not afraid. Maybe a tiny bit, as this was my first combat mission against the Orks. My blue armor of the Ultramarines felt as though it had weighed a ton in that 20 minute drop through space to reach the black deserts of Crystalline far below. Crystalline was a planet of black ash wastes, broken by great forests of bright blue crystals, of which the local Imperials harvested for energy. A bell dings in my earpiece, and our weapons, boltguns, slide out of a compartment in the vessel. I pick mine up, and lock and load. The drop pod experiences some heavy fighting against the winds as it breaks the atmosphere.

 

Now I feel cold for a short amount of time. My HUD activates, and I can see the status of my squadmates and other objects through the screen before my eyes. The drop pod rocks. "They're firing upon us, damn..." Says squad leader Ulyss. "I told Captain Epathus. But he did not listen... Hang in there, lads..." More rocking, it gets heavier and heavier. Soon, there's a blinding white flash, and next thing I see are sparks everywhere. Two brothers are already killed by impalement. The pod begins to turn on it's side. I will admit, I am getting a bit scared, but due to training, I can suppress this. I have no idea how far from the ground we are. And I do not want to die for the emperor in a failed landing.

 

We start spinning. I can feel and heard what sounds like thousands of tiny pebbles knocking along the sides of our pod. Bullets. Enemy fire, I am guessing. A loud noise is heard from all sides. Ulyss laughs, we are the only two left in this pod. He says "They are firing an orbital bombardment. We'll join up with another squad after crash. Hold on, brother..." Ulyss had been my trainer since he had first taken me from my little farm on Calth around twenty-five years ago. Was like an older brother. A ringing noise grew from outside, and a hold burst from the bottom of the vessel. A bullet crossed up and slashed into Ulyss's armor, forcing a gasp from his lungs. He would live, I knew he would He had been crushed by a Tau battlesuit before and survived. Now we're upside down. Blood is dripping everywhere. A bullet slapped against my shoulderpad. A few fires burst out around the confines of the pod interior.

 

It was then when we had finally crashed. The pod's first contact with the ground sent up a few more fires, I felt my power armor grow hot as flames licked against it. We began to roll down a hill, I at least think it's a hill. We go rolling down farther and farther, and then fly through the air. Then we hit something, something big. I lose consciousness.

[Luy22]

2

 

The original plan of the operation was to drop ten combat squads in a perfect circle around the mining outpost to aid the defenders, made up of what is left of the local Planet Defense Force, and the mining colonists. I awaken by flashes and explosions. I look around the interior. Everyone but me is dead, including Ulyss. I take his powersword, slinging my boltgun over my shoulder, and take his bolt pistol. I bite back some rage for my fallen brothers, as I emerge from the wreckage into the black night.

 

The dark sky is full of lightning. All around me are the black sands of Crystalline. Blue crystal forests are shattered all around. As lightning flashes, I see that my armor, up to the knees, had been blackened by fire. I climb out of the crater that our pod had created, and once at the lip, I see the outpost, several clicks away. A firefight had began. It seemed as though all other drop pods had landed safely. I had to reach them. I jumped over the crater's lip, and charged. I saw them for the first time as I came to a large crystal structure. I hid behind the crystal tree, and lightning flashed again, illuminating their monstrous green bodies. Great dripping salivating tusked maws drooped from their tight faces. Their bodies were in that of a hunchback. They looked like big green gorillas he had read about in one of Maccrage's history scrolls. All of them carried guns and knives. Horrifying, I had said to myself. They were between me and my brothers, setting up their own firing line. This would be the hardest part. I drew a frag grenade from my belt, and tossed it. The little grenade landed in a horde, and following that I tossed another three in another direction. All exploded at once, just as planned. This made the Orks confused, and broke a great line. From the Imperial defenses, Space Marines and PDF alike began to charge down towards the aliens, opening fire. The Orks roared and bellowed war chants, and charged at them. I was following the Orks. The nearest one, I had stabbed with my commander's powersword, the blade coated with energy cleanly slicing through the abdomen of one of the brutes and felling him. Another I had shot down with Ulyss's pistol. A big brute came from behind and knocked me down. The weapons were gone from my hands, and I was forced to fend him off, picking up my own boltgun and blasting his brains out.

 

"DAKKA!" I heard from behind me, I turned to aim, but the Ork who had shouted at me had put a bullet into my head. I felt the left side of my face go numb. I could not see out of my left eye. My view screen was fizzing out into static. I fired blindly, until finally I felt the earth on my back, and waited, and waited, until I had fallen asleep. This did not last long, as a minute or so later, my right eye had opened, and I was staring into a cracked view screen. I was being dragged.

 

"He is alive." Said a voice. A human voice, thank the Emperor.

"Good. See to it he stays that way, apothecary. Tell him to see me after battle." Said another deeper voice.

"Yes, brother-sergeant." Said the first voice. I felt sick to my stomach. A bullet snapping on the nearby wall brought me back to reality, and I was fully conscious. The apothecary, Brother Tyrran, took my helmet off. I gasped once I saw his helmeted face staring back at me. Behind him, I saw a firing line of space marines firing upon the Ork horde. I had been dragged from the battle to the outpost. I looked to either side of me to see similar wounded, a few even colonists missing limbs. One had half a head left and was drooling.

"You are to get a bionic eye implant, brother. I will work on it tonight, but you must rest easy. You shall have returned sight in the morn, I promise you this. Rest easy, brother..."

 

And after hearing that, I slept.

[ToberiousTheValiant]

I wonder what will happen next. Ulyss better get some avengeance.