The Battle of Ediah

[Solid Zaku]

"I would never presume to question either your judgement or your foresight, Chief Librarian. It is simply that this doesn't feel right." The man before Sergeant Karzeinar looked down at his kneeling form with his eyebrows raised.

 

"I would hope that something like this should never feel right. We are sworn to the Emperor's service. All of us. Even them." The ephemeral flames swirling around his force staff glowed a bruised purple at the mention of their foes-to-be. "Be that as it may, they have dishonored us, and they will find us at their doorstep for this. You may take your men and make ready. Vengeance is ours, brother."

 

"For vengeance," he replied, pivoting on his heel as he left. Even with Chief Librarian Gohda's assurances, he still couldn't shake the feeling lodged in his mind. It ached at him, and for good reason. Astartes did not fight Astartes, not like this. Were he facing a true traitor, Karzeinar would have no qualms forcing the whirring teeth of a chainsword down his gullet, but these men were no such filth. These were other Space Marines, ones whose names were legendary. They were children of Dorn, the Crusaders Ebon, the Black Templars. The name alone was enough to instill the fear of the Emperor into even the most debased heathen. And here he was, he noted grimly as he anointed his bolter's firing mechanisms with a hushed prayer to the Omnissiah, ready to deal fatal blows to them.

 

The altercation had begun, ironically, in their workings together. The Templar's Crusade had made planetfall around the same time as the 5th Company of Solidus' Legion. While he was unaware as to the motivations of the Templars, their reason for being at Ediah was in response to emergency distress calls that had reached them whilst on patrol in the sector. The planet had found itself suddenly under assault from inordinately well-organized bands of heretics and assorted traitors, and had cried out for assistance. Scouting parties led by the Company's scout Sergeant Dyantir found that the traitors were flying the banner of a well-funded planetary noble who had come under the influence of what was apparently a Daemon. Messages relayed to the Black Templars were put under consideration, but very little assistance was forthcoming, frustrating the newly appointed Captain Raishe. In the end, as the archenemy's headquarters crumbled, help finally arrived from the Black Templars, and the two Astartes elements drove back and ultimately destroyed the leadership of the traitors. Much to the Chief Librarian's dismay, few of the people on the planet acknowledged or praised their true liberators, instead holding to the sigil of the similarly colored, but better-known Templars. What happened shortly after remains a mystery to Inquisitors studying the onset of the battle. What is known is that the Chief Librarian had asked the Marshall of the Black Templars to rectify the mistake, but was rebuked and insulted due to his nature as a psyker.

 

Within the histories of the Marines of Solidus' Legion, what is known is that not only did the Templar Marshall insult the Chief Librarian, but also brashly implied that the Chapter was in collusion with the traitors, simply because they allowed psykers in their midst. This spur against the honor of the Chapter could not be ignored. Although Chapter Master Heironymous refused to allow the full brunt of the 5th to be used in this vendetta, he did grant permission for an advanced party to bring retribution to the high-minded Templars.

 

"Karzeinar, whom among us is ready?" In his ancient Terminator armor, Gohda was a vision of violent wisdom. Resplendent in his armor of azure, ebon, and crimson, he towered over the other Marine. His physical size, although intimidating, was a pittance compared to the weight of his thoughts. They loomed over him like an angry cloud, although his face gave no sign as to his state of mind.

 

"Sergeants Uzkul, Makuruz, and Dyantir have made their ready-checks, brother Librarian. Techshaman Naggarund has announced his willingness to fight as well." This brought a smile to his face. The wily tank commander was always itching for battle. He had been approved for Captaincy numerous times by the Chapter Master, but had refused, content to remain locked away in the 5th's vehicle pool, soothing machine spirits. Those were his chosen people, and there were none within the Chapter who would presume to interrupt his following.

 

"Very good, Sergeant. Make for your Thunderhawks, we make planetfall within the hour. For vengeance."

 

The spot they had chosen to make their war of honor was a verdant plain, largely untouched by either the chemical pollutants of the Hives or the wars that sundered them. It seemed fitting for the last vestige of beauty on this planet to be ripped apart by conflict, especially with what was on the line. If the Legion won, their honor both on this world and in the sector was withheld, and the Templars would learn that youth, even amidst Chapters of the Astartes, had it's advantages. Should the Templars be victorious, however, not only would they never be given the recognition they had earned in blood, but a pall would always remain over their collective heads in the eyes of those they would wish to aid, should the Templars untruths become THE truth.

 

As Gohda stepped out of the night-black Thunderhawk, he observed the area. A handful of long-deserted habzones littered the area, although the land around was lush and green, long since healed from the abuses likely hurled against it when man first stepped foot on Ediah. In his minds eye he saw the lightly tinged aura of Sergeant Dyantir, his camouflaged scouts tucked into one of the less ruined habs. Makuruz and his men were some yards away, readying their weapons one last time. Without his senses he could hear the throaty rumble of Arkaryus, Naggarund's personal favorite. Its' machine spirit was eager, like a baying hound its' teeth a gaping Demolisher cannon. Karzeinar was on the other side of the valley, Zill purring away lightly. The Rhino was a veteran of many conflicts within the Chapter, and Gohda knew it would serve the Sergeant well. Of Uzkul, he had no reckoning, as his men were aboard one of the Drop Pods above orbit. Lastly he could feel the impatience and anger within Raishe. He worried for the young Captain, although he was a capable warrior, he was weak in the ways of strategy. To go alone and bear the brunt of the Templar's assault? It seemed madness, but it was not the Chief Librarian's place to question matters of the 5th. He would allow the Captain to learn on his own.

 

'I see them. Three Rhinos. Correction. Two Rhinos, and one Razorback. There is an ancient flanking them. This seems small for them, Librarian. Are they that overconfident?"

 

"Perhaps," Gohda responded to Dyantir. He could see them cresting the horizon, their dark armor chased by brilliant white and red. They were in a row, forming a wall of metal behind which the Librarian could feel the inchoate anger of a Dreadnought, his ire at being awoken radiating to the psychically gifted Marine. He could also feel the arrogance from within the Rhinos. These were men sure of victory. Sure of their righteousness. It would please him immensely to teach them the folly of their pride. Wasting no time, he subvocalised a command to Captain Raishe. In a blur of fire and thick smoke, he erupted from behind one of the ruined settlements, directly in front of the Razorback. Befor it's turret could pivot to annihilate him, he brought his Lightning talons to bear, strafing them against the reinforced links of the vehicles tracks, slicing them apart, and sending the vehicle skidding to the side, dizzying the occupants.

 

Gohda made a dash for the conflict as fast as his bulky armor would allow him. Raishe had bought the advance party time with his diversion, little more. Naggarund and Arkaryus leapt forward, but stopped quickly, being soon outpaced by the Librarian. The basso woosh of a missile launcher darted out from the wrecked hab, followed by a singular chorus of sniper rifles. The lascannon on the Razorback exploded, and the drivers died with wet thunks as their bodies were riddled with fire from their immobile positions. Although they were all racing to join the Captain, along with Karzeinar who pushed Zill nearly to the breaking point, the Chief Librarian knew they would not make it in time before retribution came for him.

 

Raishe, satisfied with his wounding of the Razorback, sent his intentions towards the lumbering Dreadnought that was presently firing its massive autocannon towards Karzeinar and his transport. He bounded forward and savagely mauled the revered ancient of the Templars, slicing off it's autocannon arm at the joint and sending it reeling back temporarily. However, the Captain had made the mistake of stretching himself too thinly. Black Templars rushed out of the Rhino behind him, shouting oaths of hatred and zeal, firing their bolt pistols in a hail of fire that distracted the Captain long enough to allow the long-dead behemoth to grasp the young Captain in it's energy sheathed power claws. As it crushed down and ruined the atmospheric failsafes within the ancient armor of the Captain, it let loose a torrent of flame, immolating the Captain and his precious wargear. This sent Naggarund, the revered Techshaman of the Chapter into apoplexy. With the skill of hundreds of years of service, he aligned the barrel of the Vindicator and fired it, annihilating the squad of Templars and blowing out fully half of their Rhino, it's mechanical guts smote on the burning grass. The other Templar Rhino was more prudent, racing towards Karzeinar's unit. Gohda could feel the rage emanating from the Rhino within, the feeling of being so utterly cheated from their prize of close-in combat overwhelming their good senses. He smirked as he rushed towards the wounded, but still vicious ancient. Sometimes it was the concealed blow that was the most lethal, as his Primarch had once said.

 

As if to punish his thoughts, an explosion of noise erupted behind him. Behind Makaruz's squad, the blossom shape of a drop pod showed through the falling dust. It was not his Chapter's own. To his horror, he saw as the berzerker Templars gunned down most of the hapless Sergeants men and cut down the rest with gnashing chainswords, taking only a handful of casualties of their own. There was no saving them. They were lost. Gohda let these thought envelop his mind as he challenged the ancient Templar with his beaming force staff. If they were going to hate him for being a psyker, he would give them a reason to. He allowed the anger and frustration welling within his spirit to come to the fore and, just as the war walker was going to strike the Librarian a dolorous blow, he cut off both the Dreadnoughts power fist and one of it's legs, sundering the machine in a welter of sparks and lightning. As the now thoroughly and literally disarmed Dreadnought thrashed and kicked, Gohda walked away, chasing now for the Rhino approaching Karzeinar. It would be even more humiliating to let the dead warrior live with the shame of being brought down by the thing their order despised the most. The idea filled him with renewed vigor.

 

Naggarund was delighted. It was not often the cantankerous spirit of a Vindicator allowed for precision, but this time it was spot-perfect. Perhaps the machine's spirit felt the anger of the slight the Templars had brought them as well, and was allowing it's fury to make way for more the practical concerns of war. Behind his helm, he gritted his teeth as autosenses within his armor linked with Arkaryus warned him of approaching enemies. Long years of reading auspex sweeps, along with as many years of understanding the tactics of anti-vehicular combat told him precisely what was coming. Two Land Speeders, rushing in. He dryly noted that one of the skimmers attack vectors was too low, too fast. He took a grim satisfaction seeing the overenthusiastic pilot clip a drainage pipe, ruining numerous antigravity suspensors in the front. He stifled a gasp as he saw the careening vessel fall towards the Chief Librarian. He then watched in amazement as the machine was nearly cleaved in two by the Librarian as it fell, almost an afterthought to the angered Astartes. He withheld a chuckle at the whole incident, but was soon silenced by the pattering of an autocannon and heavy bolter against hull of his vessel. He vouchsafed the armor purity of the vessel himself, but wasn't about to let the cocky newcomers get off a lucky shot. He quickly voxed an order to Dyantir's scouts and was pleased to hear the gratifying krump of a krak missile striking the vehicle, sending it tumbling to the ground in flames and ruin.

 

At last, Gohda thought. As he approached, he could see both Rhino's had collided, neither one willing to give the other the right of way. But neither backed down, either, their machine spirits too stubborn to die over such a paltry thing as a head-on wreck. As if wishing to continue their fight by proxy, hatches around both vehicles burst open, and warriors of black armor rushed towards each other. Although as he approached the swirling melee, he could barely see which army fought which. It didn't seem to be going well for one, however, and he noted with a start that it was his own. Sergeant Karzeinar was a good man, and a decent strategist, but wouldn't be able to hold out for long against what he now saw was the Marshall that had so thoroughly wronged him. Just the sight of the man sent the Chief Librarian into a rage. As he finally found his way into the fight, he allowed his keen othersenses to direct his hand, and he slew many of the boorish Templars. Robes and seals ignited in the wake of his psychic onslaught or were bowled over by the sheer mass of his Terminator armor. In the background, he could hear a deep thunk and a chorus of screams. Naggarund had caught some more of the wretches.

 

Sergeant Uzkul arrived at the last, his drop pod a molten seed pod. As it crashed to the earth and his men disembarked with silent anger, he could see Karzeinar's men were losing against the host of the Templar Marshall. He stormed in, chainsword and bolt pistol screeching against void-black ceramite, cutting the liveries and dangling fetishes of his foe aside. Soon all that was left was the Marshal, his thunder hammer scoring death after death as battle plate was cracked open like shells upon a seed. In his blind fury, the Marshall either didn't realize or didn't care that the rest of his men were long dead, having been taken down one after another by the other side. As he brought down his electrically wreathed weapon for a final blow, he was caught midswing by the Chief Librarian. Gohda's massive armor and psychically multiplied strength made the act pitifully easy. The Marshall looked into the psyker's eyes and bellowed a fell curse, but his fury was wasted as the psionically aided axe cleaved the Templar from shoulder to waist. At last, the end of this dark part of history had come to an end.

 

Though Imperial historians have yet to be given access to the Templar's view of the fight, the annals of Solidus' Legion proclaim it as a sombre victory. Upon a pedastal within the Chapter's head Battle Barge Death's Deliverance lies a helmet bearing the markings of Sergeant Makuruz, above a marble carved sigil of a four-sided cross...

[BassWave]

You sir are a good story teller, I really enjoyed reading your report :tu:. Congratulations on your victory by the way, you should definantly do more of these when you have the time :D

[Nilsson]

One word; Flawless