Vermilion Wings: In the kingdom of the Spider

[Evz]

Part IV

 

 

In the weeks after the leader of the cult known as the Pleasure's Wave was executed, the Vermilion Wings and their agents hunted down every last cultist and mutant down. They spared no one. Entire villages, and city buildings were burned if even one heretic was found within. These occurrences irked the Astartes present, but they had to cut off the infected limb before the disease could spread into the rest of the body. These events were questioned by the Inquisition, who had investigated the planet once afterwards, found that all were "accidents". Being so far from the main part of the Imperium, within the Eastern Fringe, the chapter had little run-ins with the Inquisition save for several campaigns in days long past.

 

Within the past fifty years since the execution of the Wave, many battles and campaigns have been fought. The Thirteenth Black Crusade and the Fall of Medusa V occurred. The Vermilion Wings did not participate in those campaigns as they were beset by cowardly Tau running from a Tyranid Hive Fleet, and the Tyranids. It was chaos, but with the help of the Ordo Xenos, they were able to divert the Hive Fleet's path away from the Oshim system, and into more Ork-thick space. Within this difficult time, Eth Thran was promoted to brother-sergeant of his own squad of space marines. He had grown older, more wiser, and even better of a killer than ever before...

 

I

 

 

Another bolt was put into the head of an oncoming Ork. The lifeless hulking green corpse fell backwards, over a thick tree root and into the waters of the swamp. Eth stood, raising his smoking bolt pistol. Around him were his battle-brothers. Uriel, Ty, Jael and Furlac. "Retreat to the ship. We are getting out of here..." He said to Uriel, who waved the others back. They were on the world of Thorn, a death world no less, the majority of the planet being covered entirely in swampland. The space marines bounded over roots, ducking under trees, trudging on through the swamp as the Ork horde was behind them. Eth caught site of Ty, who was carrying the chalice they had come for. He tripped over a root, falling face-first into the muck. Eth stood over him, blasting down two Orks. "Come, brother." He said, reaching out a hand. Ty took it and was lifted to his feet.

 

"Aye. Thank you." Eth grabbed the chalice and shook off the mud covering it. It was an ancient relic that the Orks had taken from Saon during the very early days of the chapter's history, when Callisto was still covered in greenskins. A mighty roar echoed through the trees, and reptilian birds flew upwards through the canopy for safety. Gun shots rattled out. "They are making a counter attack." Ty said.

 

"Then let us depart. I hate water anyways." Eth turned and ran, followed by Ty. The thunderhawk gunship was not that far away. It was in a clearing. Uriel, Jael and Furlac stood, boltguns aimed out. The marine sergeant and battle brother burst through the foilage, running aboard. As he ran past the others, Eth said "Get on, we're leaving now." The others nodded. Uriel turned as an Ork horde appeared deep within the swamps, running at them.

 

"By the blood..." He said. "So many." Furlac pulled him aboard.

 

"Not now..." Once aboard, the pilot lifted them upwards and out, but they were not alone in the skies. Two Ork fighters followed, their guns rattling away. The bullets scratched the thunderhawk's hull. Eth walked up to the cockpit.

 

"Fly us up. Those are Ork crafts. They cannot survive the void." The pilot nodded and brought them on course for the stars. One Ork fighter began to freeze up as it left the atmosphere, the other turned around and went back. The Ork following them was determined. Once they had left the atmosphere, it was frozen-over, and fell back a burning charred hunk of scrap metal. The pilot would not survive. The gunship made way for the Strike Cruiser Seraphim's blade. She glided smoothly into one of the docking bays and landed with ease. The marine squad disembarked, and were greeted by a chapter serf in front of them carrying several scrolls. "What is it?" Eth asked the man. He held out a scroll.

 

"A message sent from the Spire, my lord." Eth read it aloud, so that all could hear.

 

"A pirate craft known as Skullcrush was found carrying away some of the chapters artifacts, including armor and weapons, from the chapter's hold on Callisto. Since you are the one force that far out, you shall be the ones tasked with retrieving the artifacts, and bringing them home. The last place our sensors found the pirate ship was in the Crystal sector, not too far from your position but a warp jump away. Find them. Kill the thieves. For the Emperor. For Sanguinious. Good luck." Eth rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the serf. "It looks like we have a job to do." He looked to the serf. "Go to the bridge, and tell them to make for the Crystal sector." The serf nodded, bowed, and left. "We will also need to interrogate them, and find out how the hell they managed to steal our possessions." He said, as Ty walked up beside him. Ty was a true brother to him, and they had first met defending Oshim's capitol world from the Tyranid hive fleet.

 

"It could have been any time. And if we fail that, at least we've taken back Saon's chalice..." Eth nodded to him.

 

"Yes, the chalice. But that was many years ago, the 23rd founding. This had to be recent, and so many artifacts..." He pulled his helmet off.

 

"We shall find out eventually, brother." Ty said. "Only time shall tell." Eth nodded.

 

"Time will tell..."

[Evz]

II

 

The bridge was massive. Great gothic windows showed space beyond the glass. Servitors and serfs worked at consoles all around the deck. Captain Abiel stood, his hands behind his back, watching the serfs work down in the control pits. Eth walked up beside him. "I have received word that something of ours has been stolen. What do we know?" He asked.

 

"They have stolen the axe of Saon, Eth. That and several suits of artificer armor." Abiel led Eth over to a command hologram, and activated it, showing them the planet. The green orb flickered to life, showing a planet surrounded by an asteroid belt. "This is Crystaline." Abiel began, walking around to the other side and putting his hands on the edge of the hologram projector. "It is a mining world, and has been in our firm grasp, in the middle of the Imperium, since the age of strife, maybe even before." Eth nodded at it.

 

"Why did the pirates land there? Do they have a hideout?" He asked.

 

"We don't know. The last communication from them picked up by an Imperial satellite, was a distress signal. So, most likely they were trying to go through the asteroid field, and got badly damaged, so they crashed. I am sure the mining colony has taken them in, if anything."

 

"They are pirates." Eth said, "Armed with weapons. Do you think the colony could stand a chance?"

 

"They have weapons too. You and your brothers must land here." He pointed, zooming in on a section of the planet. "The southern region. This is where the largest mining installation is, along with the crash site. The coordinates of the crash site have been put into the Stormraven's databanks. You leave in five minutes. Get our relics back, Eth. There is a good reward in it for you."

 

"I did not know I did this kind of thing for a reward..." Eth smirked, and turned to leave out the bridge gate. Abiel returned to the projection of the planet.

 

* * *

 

The Stormraven glided through the asteroid belt, dodging the giant floating rocks and skimming over them. Eth watched out the porthole as they few through a giant O-shaped rock. "A mining colony with pirates swarming around." Furlac said. "It does not sound like this is going to be easy."

 

"We are space marines, astartes." Said Jael, "Of course it is, what do they have, paper armor?" He laughed. Uriel was as quiet as Eth was. Uriel was young, probably the youngest of them here. It seemed like forever ago that Uriel aided him in killing the mutated clan in northern Callisto. Forever since he slaughtered his entire family.... A ding made Eth snap back to attention as they flew through the atmosphere. It was one of the most hellish planets he had ever seen. The skies were stormy, lightning cracking on the horizon. The planet's surface was a desert, of blue sand. And massive forests of twisting, warped green crystals stuck out of the earth in all directions. Eth could see many crystal forests, and that was probably how the world got its name. Crystaline. The ship jolted again as lightning struck nearby, followed by a flash in a nanosecond. They stood within the compartment, jump-packs ready.

 

"I cannot fly any lower or we will crash." Said the pilot. Eth nodded to him. "We shall contact you when the storm ends."

 

"If it ends..." The pilot muttered. The loading ramp dropped, and the space marines jumped down, engaging their jump packs and landing safely. The stormraven flew away into space, and the marines watched it leave. Eth threw his arm forward, motioning them to follow him to the wreckage of the Skullcrush, just over the lip of a blue dune. The craft was large, a civilian ship built into a pirate craft. Its entire backside was ripped apart, sparking and burning. On the side there was a painting of a giant skull with a hammer smashing and cracking it. The Astartes moved in, and Eth found a way in by tearing apart a piece of shrapnel into one of the corridors. They entered.

[Evz]

III

 

The airlock which Eth had broken into was small, as it was used by civilians in days long past, so a space marine had to crouch in order to crawl through. Ty moved first, followed by Furlac, and Eth and Uriel. The three of them made their way down the corridors. Uriel stopped. Eth turned to him. "Brother Uriel, what is the matter?" He asked.

 

"Jael... Where is Jael?" The fourth member of their squad was missing without a trace. "Was he with us crossing to the wreckage??" The others went silent. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed through a window. "Where is he??" Eth turned to them.

 

"We have to continue as normal. Perhaps we will meet up with him later on... Now, onward!" He waved his hand and they followed their sergeant down the long corridors.

 

"The hold, sir." Furlac said, knocking on a large bulkhead door.

 

"Get it open."

 

"Aye." The marine worked the panel beside the door, and after a minute it ground open, sparks flying. Within were several relics of different chapters. A helmet of a Doom Eagle. A boltgun of the Imperial Fists. A shield of the Ultramarines. A jump pack of the Space Sharks. There was at least a dozen Chapters worth of things in here. Eth stood while the others looked around.

 

"The axe is not here..." Ty said, walking over to a terminal and activating it. "And according to these files, several other things that are supposed to be here are not present. Somebody has gone off with them." Furlac crossed his arms. Eth nodded to Ty.

 

"How far away is the mining colony?" He asked.

 

"About half a mile to the northwest, brother-sergeant." He stood away from the terminal.

 

"Alright, the pirates must have made for the colony. We go there, now." The others complied, not that they had a choice. They had to retrieve that axe. They made their way back outside, where it was still stormy. Lightning smashed apart a crystal, and it fell into the sands. Eth shielded his eyes with his arms from the brightness. The four of them activated their jump packs and flew off towards the colony.

 

The colony was built into a large mountain of blue rock. The gate was immense, the Imperial Aquila just above it to show who lived there. On the ramp leading up to the door were several bodies. A few of them uniformed, others rag tag. Obviously the uniformed belonged to the colony, but the others could be any side. A few of the bodies were mangled, and torn apart. "By the Throne, what has happened here??" Said Uriel.

 

"Come, let's go and find survivors..." Eth said, leading them into the gate. The inside was dark, dimly lit by orange lights along the walls. Eth held his bolt pistol outwards in case anything tried to attack them.

 

"All remain calm. Everything is fine." Said a vox-cast. "All remain calm. Everything is fine." It was in a loop. Something was amiss. They continued and Furlac opened a door into a small room, where behind a barricade of barrels and crates was a lone human holding a shotgun. The marines put down their weapons.

 

"Greetings, citizen..." Eth began. "What has happened here??"

 

"Spiders..." He said. "THE SPIDERS!!" A single arachnid crawled across the floor, silver in color, its eight spindly legs bringing it scuttling across the metal. Uriel crushed it beneath his boot.

 

"He is correct, brother-sergeant, there is an infestation." Said Ty. "But did they tear those men outside apart? And what did bring down the Skullcrush??"

 

"Settle, Ty..." Eth said to his brother before turning his gaze back to the man. "What has happened?"

 

"T-the pirates came. They were r-running from their wreckage. We didn't let them in... There was a skirmish outside in the desert between the PDF and the pirates. Then they came. From the crystal forests. They swarmed us. We all ran inside, but they did too. They did too! Tore everyone apart. Men, women, children. Pirate, guardsmen. Everyone and everything. We're all dead. They took the bodies d-down there..." He pointed to a door across the room. "I remained here, surviving for two days, to do my duty to my Emperor, protecting this district. I remain here diligent... And steel..." He sobbed heavily, hugging the shotgun to his chest. Eth turned to Uriel and Furlac.

 

"Protect this man, speak to him more. Ty, with me." Ty nodded and followed Eth into the room that was pointed out. There was no floor, just a hole in the ground. Their jump packs flared, and they hopped down.

[Evz]

IV

 

Ty landed, followed by Eth, their boots hitting the ground, which was made out of crystal. They were deep beneath the facility. There were tunnels built out of warped crystal formations in every direction. "Which way?" Asked Ty. Eth looked around, and found some scratch marks in the crystal on the ground, leading down a tunnel to their right.

 

"This way..." He stood, and both of them gripped their chainswords tightly, and walked down the corridor of crystal. After a while, Eth caught some movement in the corner of his eye, he turned, aiming his bolter, to find a spider. Like the one in the colony above, this one was tiny. "Such a small thing ripped men apart? It isn't even attacking us..." He said, turning back to the hall. Then the floor began to move up ahead, and suddenly thousands of the tiny creatures were swarming around them. "Come, Ty, the least they can do is slow us down..." The two Astartes pushed onward, trudging through the thick river of spiders. Then a big one came. It was large, and silver like the others. It had the upper body of a man, save for its four arms, all ending in long scythes, and its horrific insectoid face.

 

"Kill it!" Ty yelled, aiming his weapon. Eth aimed too and both opened fire. The creature was eventually wounded and began to run back the way it came.

 

"After it!" Eth yelled, and they stormed down the corridor. Then they came to a large chamber. There were many more of the giant spider things coming at them, screeching loudly. The two space marines opened fire, taking down a few. One of them reared up, slashing down at Eth, and cut down his face, his helmet ripped off, and a big gash of gore across his face, he fell. The creature reared up, roared, and stabbed down, puncturing his primary heart.

 

The world before Eth's eyes flashed white, and turned back. The monster picked him up and tossed him across the room. He hit the opposite wall, and fell to the ground. He stood, but the beasts swarmed over him, stabbing him. Biting him. He punched one, its brains spilling out. He ripped the claw off of another, using it as a blade against them. At the entrance, Ty was still shooting, holding them at bay with both his and Eths' bolt pistols. Eth was up against the wall. He panted heavily, chopping left and right. Then the creatures stopped, backing away slowly. From a large cave, came the biggest of the spiders. Her abdomen was as big as the hole she crawled out of. Her head was longer than the others. And she had four extra arms. She screeched. Embedded in her side was the axe of Saon, along with many bullet holes. One of the pirates had tried using it against her, and failed. Eth stood slowly. He was blind in one eye now, and his primary heart was dead, his secondary one doing all the work. He breathed in heavily, his mouth dripping with his own blood. His long brown hair wet from the sweat. He roared, and charged, brandishing the claw, and sent it into the head of one of them, rolling over the corpse, and running to the queen.

 

She screeched, spitting at him. Acid hit his armor, making it burn and sizzle, part of it hit his face, where they had already cut. He fought through the pain, and jumped. He grabbed onto her side, his mailed fingers gripping into the chitin. She thrashed, threatening to dislodge him, but he held tight. He ripped the axe free, and was knocked down, falling to the floor, where the rest of the monsters crawled over to him.

 

He felt them stabbing into him. His organs ripping, his body bleeding. His armor getting torn. One ripped off his left shoulderpad, and tossed it. His fingers gripped the axe tightly, and he lashed out with it, beheading two of the beasts with the powerweapon, now brimming and glowing with energy. He stood to his feet weakly, a broken, bloody mess. The others charged him, but they fell. Ty had gunned them down. "Kill the queen!!" Shouted Ty, shooting at more coming at him. Eth, weak, and sure he was going to die, charged as hard as he could. One final charge. He leaped, jump pack giving him the final push, and buried the axehead deep into her skull. She screamed, green blood blasting out onto Eth's ruined face. He ripped the blade out, falling in a heap, rolling out of the way as the queen fell, her brain destroyed. He lie there, heaving. The beast was not yet done as well. With her final moment, she reached out with two of her claws, and punctured Eth's wrists. He bellowed out in agony. And the queen died in the pool of her blood.

 

Ty ran down, he had only suffered a scratch to the head, and his left arm was impaled by a claw, but he had healed thanks to his fast-healing. He lifted the claws out of his battle brother. "Brother-sergeant..." Eth looked up to him. "Brother-Ty... I do not... Want to die... Here..." He belched out a gout of blood from his mouth. His armor was punctured and broken in hundreds of places. The gauntlet and forearm armor of his right arm were missing. He continued to pant. Ty detached the jump pack from his sergeant's back and picked him up.

 

"You will not, my brother. Keep fighting." And Ty slid the axe onto his backpack, where he normally put his chainsword, and carried his brother out the way they came. The tiny spiders, now without a queen, were going berserk, ripping one another apart, only sometimes clinging to Ty's armor and trying to disparately bite through the mesh in between armor, but he kept going. They reached the hole they had come through, and Ty jumped up, his pack blasting them upward.

 

The others, Furlac and Uriel, stood vigilant next to the soldier clutching the shotgun. "Call for extraction..." Said Ty. "Go." Furlax nodded, running to find a voxx terminal. Ty set the broken Eth down on the floor, and blood pooled around him. "They have damaged his Larraman's Organ... He is bleeding badly." Furlac ran back.

 

"A thunderhawk is en-route. Let's go, they don't have much time. The storm has ended but not for long..." Ty picked up his wounded battle brother and the three of them ran out the way they came, the mangled bodies still there. The shotgun man had followed them.

 

"I am the last... Everyone else is d-dead..." He sobbed heavily. Uriel put a hand on his shoulder.

 

'Then come with us, we may have need for you, or you can go somewhere else." The man nodded, sobbing more.

 

"My family... Gone.." Uriel turned his head upward to see a thunderhawk landing, sending out a gout of steam as it touched down on the blue sands. The marines ran up and servitors and a Sanguinary Priest tended to Eth's bleeding, broken body. Eth's vision was black. He could see deep into the darkness. He felt his entire life end. He was going to die here, wasn't he? That was probably it. Or was he? He could live... Or could not. He felt his insides burn as the pain throbbed. He felt blood gushing out of his mouth, but all he could see was black.

 

Nothingness was inhaled and he was consumed. He started to dream...

[Evz]

V

 

The docking bay was full of activity. Servitors and serfs alike were loading ships with ammunition and crates and fuel. Battle brothers were filing into thunderhawks and stormravens. The thunderhawk pulled in and landed. Its ramp opened and the Sanguinary priest pushed Eth's body down across the bay on a floating cot. As Ty stepped down he bumped into Captain Abiel, who was in the process of putting his helmet on and was accompanied by his golden-armored honor guard. "Greetings brother Ty, Furlac and Uriel. I need you down there, with me." Ty took a look at the priest in the care of Eth.

 

"What of him?" He asked.

 

"He is in good care, Ty. I assure you. I have already sent a battle company to the surface and more are deploying. I need you to help me cleanse this horrible place." Ty nodded.

 

"Very well."

 

"You are in charge of this assault squad as of now, and forever. I have plans for Eth should he survive." He pushed them aboard, and the thunderhawk lifted off and flew to the planet. The surface beneath the stormclouds was bloody and horrendous. The ground was littered with drop pods and tank hulks and wrecks. Space marines battled spider creatures everywhere. The thunderhawk barley missed a falling crystal tree as it touched down, and opened. The honor guard and Abiel activated their jump packs and flew out. Ty looked to his men.

 

"With me. For Eth and Sanguinius and the Emperor. To me!" He cried, revving his chainsword and blasting out, followed by Uriel and Furlac.

 

* * *

 

"Thran! THRAN!!" He heard the voice from outside his hut. "Thran!!" He awoke, groggy. It was morning, and was cold and crisp within the wood of his father's hut. Eth fell out of bed onto the wooden floor. Outside was a mess of activity, children everywhere. "Thran!" Cried his best friend, Tubiel. "We go to the mountain today!" He said happily. Beyond him he could see his father, the guide, readying for the adventure with the other children of the village. He wore a great pack on his back and carried a spear. Eth sighed, not wanting to have gotten up so early. Within the hour they had begun.

 

They went through forests, across fields, and finally began to ascend the mountain. It was a rocky climb, until an avalanche had separated him from the others. He cried for hours at first, and after he collected himself, began to walk around, to try and find another way. He knew not where he was, he had never been this far up. He then came face to face with a lion. The beast was immense, five times his size, with teeth as long as his forearm. It charged at him, roaring, baring its teeth. He dodged the first strike, picking up a rock and tossing it, bashing it in the eye, causing it to bleed, whine and reel back.

 

The lion came in again, but Eth picked up a bigger rock and bashed its brains out. The others found him, over the dead lion, covered in blood, still holding the rock. His father picked him up and brought him back to the village. He had committed murder that day. He could never forgive himself for killing that first lion. Or the tiger the next week, or the flock of birds the following month. As the days moved on, he became adept at killing. He had a sword forged for him. He went on quests, taking random animal names from his village and setting out across the world to kill them and bring back a trophy. It was on one of these quests he had been found by the Vermilion Wings. He stood over the corpse of a Plains-smasher, a gigantic four-horned rhino-esque creature. The space marines walked out of their ship and pointed at him. He looked upon this god, as a small boy, and followed the armored warrior into his ship.

 

He had not seen his village for many, many long, long decades.

[Evz]

VI

 

When Eth awoke, he was on a bed. He groggily sat up, looking at his surroundings. It was dark, there were other beds in the room. A medicae facility? But there was a great 'I' of the Inquisition on the wall, and over the door. He could not see from his left eye, and he was covered in bandages, with a cloth around his waist. Eth got up, standing to his feet. His body was healed, for the most part. He walked outside the door. There, sat a robed acolyte dwelling over some notes. Eth tapped him on the shoulder. "Hello?" He asked. The man turned around. He had a bionic eye and a bionic right hand beneath his robes.

 

"Yes?" He asked.

 

"Where am I? What is this place?" Eth scowled at the man.

 

"You are aboard the Firestorm, our master inquisitor's ship, of the Ordo Xenos. We arrived shortly after you went unconscious apparently, and you were brought aboard so that the master could look after you, and we could benefit from your abilities."

 

"So I am in another ship? Are we still over Crystalline? Where is your master??" The man stood, only coming up to Eth's chest.

 

"This way, my lord..." He led the astartes down some corridors, past a set of windows overlooking the planet below. It was a big blue ball, the green blotches of crystal forests were sparkling. Explosions and fires sparkled the world as the fighting consumed the planet. The acolyte stopped before a large door, and opened it, the metal sliding open. "He is in here, do be polite. He is a very nice man..." And the acolyte left. Eth stepped in. It was a large room, an observation chamber. Around the circumference were notes, scrolls, pictures, sketches, art of many different races and societies. Within the center was a viewing dome, and the inquisitor stood, in a trench coat, hands in his pockets. Eth walked up beside him. He had his hair combed all the way back and slicked. He wore a business suit of the average Imperial citizen beneath the black trench coat. A few scars were on his face as well. He was probably one of the youngest inquisitors Eth had ever seen.

 

"Fascinating creatures." The inquisitor said, as Eth walked up tot he glass. Three scientists were working over a corpse of one of the spider things below. "I am Inquisitor Gaine. You are obviously brother-Eth of the Vermilion Wings. Yes." Eth opened his mouth to speak. "We entered the system. I discovered your ship held somebody who was seriously wounded. Doing some research, I found out about your little flaws, and I do seek to exploit them in return for your safety and to benefit the Ordo Xenos. I brought you aboard, had my scientists work on you with the aid of a Sanguinary Priest, for two days, and now, you are back to full health, or at least as far as you can get. Problem with the left eye, but whatever, you are up. If it wasn't for me, you would have entered a dreadnought within the week. I don't understand them, dreadnoughts. Such confined poor dead souls..." He paused. Eth closed his mouth. Insulting dreadnoughts? Who was he to say such things!

 

Gaine turned to him. "They are Gangulli. That is what my research shows me. They were asleep. Asleep for ages, decades, billions of years. They were created as a biological weapon by some ancient now-extinct alien race. The race's empire crumbled, and the weapons were sent into hibernation, on several different worlds. I have met them once before, only briefly, and I see you have awoken the entire hive, which honeycombs the entire world below the surface... I mean, yes, the ones beneath the mining colony and ship were already awakened by some sort of mining operation, and slaughtered the populace. By killing the queen of that little section or 'district', you awoke the entire beast."

 

"I did what I had to do for our chapter." Eth said. The inquisitor looked to him.

 

"Did ya now?" He walked around the observation deck, spinning around, hands still in his pockets. "You astartes are so honor-bound, ya don't think of anything else!" He laughed, walking over to some notes and coming back. "I'll give you your armor and some weapons back, if you go down there, take a nibble out of that beastie, and come back to me with whatever information you learn. Go." He pressed a vox button. "Mr. Halon, vacate the room, I'm sending down a professional!" He said.

 

"But sir, we are professi-" he cut off the reply. Eth nodded, and walked down into the elevator. It would not be too difficult. It took him down a level, and he wandered down a long hallway, passing the scientists, and entering the room. Within was one scientist, taking notes. Eth ignored him, and stood before the creature. It was massive, as big as a land car. It lay sprawled across the table, eight long spindly legs, with two long scythe-like arms in the front, a neck and a head with pincers and two big bug eyes full of darkness. He grabbed a serrated knife, and cut into one of the arms, and put the chunk in his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it. It tasted stale and dry, and left a bad taste. Within the minute he saw a civilization, of green trees and temples and jungles. Then within the hour it had all been nuked and became a wasteland, the temples crumbling to dust. Then ages passed, and the wastelands turned blue, and the crystals began to grow. Then it stopped. He walked over to the intercom.

 

"I got next to nothing, just a flash of life on the planet before. I saw temples and jungles but tha-" He stopped.

 

"Oy! What? Continue tellin' me!" Gaine demanded. Eth had his attention set on the monster, which was twitching. It jumped up, stabbing through the scientist and impaling him. He did not make a noise when he died, and his blood was sprayed all over the dome. Eth grabbed a bone-saw and blocked a shot from one of the scythes. He ran outside and locked the door. Gaine turned to one of the scientists in the viewing room. "Gas it." He said. "Kill it!!" The monster screeched, and bashed down the door, roared again and ran out. Eth had already escaped.

 

"I suggest we get to another part of the ship, inquisitor." He said.

 

"Aye, let's." And they left. The monster soon would come up, and would hunt down anything alive on board.

[Evz]

VII

 

"Down this corridor." Inquisitor Gaine said, his longcoat flowing behind him as he flew around a sharp corner, followed by the giant herculean Eth Thran, and the few scientists that were present.

 

"Where are we headed?" Eth asked. "I am curious."

 

"To the bridge, we shall seal off all entrances. This flagship was built to my specifications. It is booby trapped in over one hundred places and has many defenses. Now, let us not terry." He led them across a bridge. Now they were in space, under the special shield that kept the vacuum out. Eth looked out at the other Imperial ships surrounding the planet. He saw the Vermilion Wing strike cruiser floating not far away. And then they re-entered the ship, running through rooms. Klaxon alarms went off. "I hope none of the others get released." Gaine said as they came to a spiral staircase.

 

"Others...?" Eth asked, stopping at the base of the stairs. The scientists ran up. Gaine waved him onward.

 

"Go, what are you waiting for?"

 

"I am not a coward, Inquisitor. Show me to the armor so I may arm myself and fight the beast." Gaine's face dropped. He reached into his inner pocket and handed him a card.

 

"That'll get you into the bridge armory... D-down that hall." He pointed. "To the left, then another left. Should be a few shotguns, maybe a bolter, if you're lucky. Oh, by the throne, I hope the others didn't get out..."

 

"Inquisitor. What 'others'?" Eth's face went stern.

 

"The other aliens. I have a zoo on board... Though..." The lights flickered. The klaxons silenced. Then the lights went off. "No... No no no no no!!" He bolted up the stairs just as the lights came back on. "Lock down everything, I want all stormtroopers at the bridge, as soon as possible!!" He screamed, running. Eth watched him go. The space marine turned, and started down the hall, following the inquisitors directions. He found the armory as a few stormtroopers left it. The lights shut off again and they double-timed it to the bridge. Within, there were shotguns, a few combat knives of different types, a few Tau weapons. And one single boltgun. Eth ran his fingers down its casing. It had an intricate brass design on it. Whether it was a prized possession or not mattered nothing to Eth as he picked it up. This was definitely an emergency. He loaded it, sending a sickle magazine home. He aimed it around, and it was ready. he set it down, and found himself a flak jacket. It was a trenchcoat design from Armageddon. Of course, it did not fit him, so he ripped off the sleeves, and slid it on over his large frame. Now he found an Ork shoulderpad, and slid that onto his right shoulder, and a Tau pad over his left. He picked up some special armored pants from Necromunda and slid into them. Thankfully, they were large enough. He then picked up a large serrated combat knife, gifted to Gaine from the Flesh Tearers. He grinned at the site of a family relic, and slid it into his belt. He was prepared to fight the xenos on board.

 

* * *

 

Gaine ran about the bridge, checking different stations as the power went out again, the only light from torches and candles arranged throughout the immense chamber. Once it came back on, he found the zoo terminal. All xeno species within had escaped. He cursed, and slammed a fist down onto the console, and got up and turned, taking off his coat and throwing it over the railing. He walked up onto the command pulpit and leaned on the railing, looking out over the twenty stormtroopers stationed to protect the bridge. He sighed. Hundreds of animals were kept aboard this vessel. He dabbed at the sweat beading his brow with a cloth, and turned his attention to Crystalline, of which was still in hell...

 

* * *

 

Ty, Uriel and Furlac crawled through the crystal forest. A stream of clear water ran through their path under a large branch of crystal. Then he saw them. Four spiders coming their way. "Open fire!" Ty yelled, and the marines opened up with their boltguns. Bolterfire blazed out, crashing into crystal and alien alike. Ty watched as two of the beasts ran underneath the crystal branch, and blasted it apart, sending the branch crumbling down, and crushing the monsters.

 

The other two circled around and charged them. One bit into Furlac, who growled and drew his knife, striking it in the eye. The beast screeched and reared back on its hind legs. Uriel blasted its two claws off and then punched it in the face, sending it down and curb-stomped its skull, sending chitin and brains everywhere. The last one roared, and charged, slashing at Furlac, and slicing off the left exhaust of his backpack. It struck again, stabbing him in the heart but he pulled it out and cut off the claw. The monster came at him once more but Ty rolled into its way and chewed its face apart with his boltgun. Ty turned to the others. "I suggest we get out of this forest and meet up with another squad. It's too dangerous alone. Let us join the main battle." The others nodded and he led them through more of the thicket until they found the edge. The wastes outside was a mess. Aliens ripping apart marines, tanks blasting apart the larger warrior creatures. Commander Donal touched down with his jump pack on top of a large beast and sent the Axe of Saon into its skull, felling it. Donal rolled off, waving his men onward.

 

"This is going to last a while..." Said Furlac, applying special gel to fill in the crack the creature had made when it stabbed into him, and the wound rapidly closed shut. His heart, however, would need to be looked at. He shrugged and stretched. Ty nodded in agreement.

 

"It will. Let's go." They activated their jump packs and flew into the combat.

[Evz]

VIII

 

Eth stepped outside into the corridor, aiming his new gun around. There was nothing. A few more steps and he heard a purr, and turned. On the ceiling was some sort of cat-thing that was using camouflage to blend into its environment. "Xeno bastage..." Eth grunted, lifting his boltgun up and opened fire on the beast. The creature fell oozing green blood from its wounds into a puddle upon the floor. It screeched, and released several howls of pain. Then four more appeared out of nowhere further down the hall. Eth growled and blasted them apart, but they kept coming. Then a tentacle grabbed his shoulder and held him down. He grabbed onto it and pulled it towards him and some sort of cephalopod flew his way, grabbing onto his face.

 

All he could see was a beak, snapping and attempting to bite his nose off. He fumbled, grabbing his new knife and stabbed the creature in what he believed to be its head, and with a loud sagging noise it fell, leaving him covered in a purple gelatin. He shivered and wiped the mucus off of his face, sheathing the knife and bringing the boltgun back up, and started down the hall. This was a bug hunt.

 

* * *

 

Inquisitor Gaine walked around the center of the bridge. "Contact the Deathwatch on the planet, tell them to get up here as fast as possible!" He yelled out to a servant down on the main deck. He grabbed his laspistol as a roar echoed down the stairwell leading up to the bridge. This thing that was coming was big. And it was.

 

A giant four-legged furry beast sporting five mighty tusks protruding from its fanged jaws barged in through the bridge bulkhead, bashing aside any opposition and sending stormtroopers flying into the walls, their bodies mangled. It roared, the sound of thunder clashing in the skies of a storm. Gaine fired at it. He had captured it from its homeland, a vast savanna, and now it seemed, it came for him. He deserved this punishment, he had its entire family exterminated. The beast bashed into controls and trampled servants and stormtroopers alike, then it caught Gaine's sent. It clambered to get up to the command tower in the center of the bridge, but Gaine denied it access, firing down at it with his laspistol. It turned, and rammed several consoles. The ship began to turn nose-down.

 

It was trying to make the ship crash. Or was it just a big stupid beast? Gaine knew not. It continued to trample, and every time the lights went out, and the ship turned downward more. The planet was in perfect view now, petals of flame the size of continents spreading across its blue and green surface. The bridge began to shudder as the ship began to descend.

[Evz]

IX

 

Eth fell down, his body sliding down the floor of the hall as it turned downwards. "By the bloody throne!!" He cursed, grabbing onto the corner of a hall. He heard the ship creak and groan and shriek as the ship began to plummet through the atmosphere. He climbed up and began to crawl upwards. An alien screamed down at him from above and he looked up to see a large tentacled beast, writhing in feelers, its body was one big mouth.

 

The astartes pulled up his boltgun, aiming upwards and opening fire on the creature. It shrieked terribly, reaching down a tentacle. Eth pulled free his combat knife and stabbed into the appendage, sending purple blood flying down upon his face. The blood was cold as ice. He sheathed the blade and continued to fire upwards with his boltgun until the thing fell, sliding down, trying to grab a hold, but then it fell past Eth, smashed into the wall below him, and then fell down the hall Eth was traveling before.

 

Eth refused to die in a ship. He wanted to die in combat, by the hands of an enemy. He made his way down, as the ship was falling to pieces around him. He got to a drop pod chamber and entered one, closing it, and firing it out. The pod was fired out from the bottom of the vessel, which was now sideways. The pod flew out, and then began to descend through the blue clouds as the Inquisitorial battleship impacted with the ground below and exploded. The drop pod smashed into a blue sand dune, and released. Eth jumped down into the sand, and pushed a fresh magazine into his boltgun, and looked around. There were several other drop pods. Stormtrooper squads were organizing around. A sergeant ran up to Eth.

 

"My lord." He said. "We made it out as soon as we could... Xenos monsters got loose on the ship. It was chaos, we had to escape. Where's Inquisitor Gaine??" He asked.

 

"I don't know. He was on the bridge last I heard of him. Organize your men, we are heading to the main battlefield." The marine turned and began walking to the sound of gunfire. The stormtroopers followed him.

[Evz]

X

 

The stormtroopers followed Eth over the rim of a blue dune, the strong gusts of wind freezing them rigid as they overlooked the crystal forests, where just beyond, the main fighting occurred. Eth looked to the men. "Who of you is in-charge?" He asked.

"I am sir." A bearded, long-haired, muscular stormtrooper stepped forth, wielding a hellgun in a bionic hand. "Hastus." He nodded at the astartes. Eth pointed toward the forest. "Lead your men to the front, Hastus. I will join you momentarily." Hastus waved them on and they rushed around the marine as though he was a stone in a river toward the crystal forest. Eth scowled, and hefted his bolter, and walked onward.

 

* * *

 

Ty gunned down another of the Gangulli warriors. Uriel was behind him, his boot crushing the exoskeleton of another creature. "They are without number..." The young Vermilion Wing muttered.

"That they are, Uriel."

"Do they have an end?"

"Everything has an end. Everything dies. That's what I've learned in this lifetime, if anything..." Ty sighed. They were in a thicket of crystal trees within the main fighting. Furlac had been ripped in two by a larger beast not an hour prior. Uriel looked around, noises of battle filling their ears. Several fireballs flew up into the storm-choked sky. Ty bent down to inspect the skull of one of the creatures, purple blood oozing from its cracked jaws.

 

"We must continue on, brother." He said, urging Ty to get up. Ty nodded and stood to his feet.

"Yes, we should..." He turned in time to see Eth standing directly in front of him. "I have missed you." Ty said, unsurprised.

"And I you, old friend. The Emperor refuses to let me rest just yet." Ty tossed him a few magazines.

"I am surprised that you survived this long without armor."

"As am I. Perhaps it is faith that shields me."

"Perhaps..." Ty looked to Uriel, "Well, youth? Any greetings for our team member?"

 

Uriel nodded to him. "Welcome back, Eth." Eth smiled at him, sheathing the serrated, bloody combat knife.

"I seek out Commander Donal." He said, "Bring me to him." Ty nodded, reloading his weapon and motioned for them to follow. The main field was hectic. Thunderhawks were spilling in through the dark clouds. These were black and silver. The Deathwatch had come to their aid.

 

Commander Donal was in a forward command tent belonging to the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Septim, who had brought in a contingent of Deathwatch aboard his ship, which had arrived not long after Gaine's ship crashed. Donal looked up at Eth, dirty, in his ragtag gear. "Brother Eth. I am glad to see you had made it off of Firestorm in one piece..."

"It was not easy, Commander." He looked to the Inquisitor, "This is...?"

 

"Inquisitor Septim. This is my acolyte, Nathan Glenn." He presented a young, clean-shaven guardsman in chainmail and a longcoat, carrying a lasgun. Nathan nodded to him.

"Marine." He said. The astartes nodded at the acolyte.

"A pleasure." He looked to Septim. "Lord Inquisitor, the creatures are Gangulli. They've been hibernating for centuries, maybe longer. Their nes-"

"Their nesting grounds are within the colony. I know, Eth. The Deathwatch have already entered it. Go to one of the thunderhawks, get properly fitted. We need more assault marines." Eth nodded, and walked off.

 

* * *

 

He walked down the boarding ramp, clad in his own armor, his helmet snug upon his skull, a bolt pistol in his right hand and a chainsword in his left. He was ready for battle. Ty and Uriel joined him. The Gangulli attempted to flank them, a horde rushing at them. Eth revved his sword and they charged into the thick of it.