Broken Angel

[Sons of Horus]

Okay so I didn't get to finish the last story I did but that's probably because I never really thought it through in the first place. Let's admit it, that story wasn't that good anyway. I can't promise to finish this one either but at least I thought about it before writing it down. I think it's better so far even though I've only done one chapter. So... here it is

 

Chapter I

 

Scar/Stand Your Ground/Rain of Fire

 

“This scar? Ah, the Greenskins gave me this scar sometime before the campaign ended,” said Raphael. There was just a hint of bitterness in his voice as he slowly ran his left hand across the streak of red flesh on his exposed chest. The captain wore nothing above the waist as he polished his battle-scarred armour with the gentleness one would expect from a father cradling his own son. His light yellow hair was cut short after the triumph at Ullanor and Kas still wasn’t used to seeing him without his golden mane flowing around his shoulders. The captain’s visage used to remind her of an inferior version of the Primarch. Now that his hair was all but gone, however, all he looked like was another ordinary blonde astartes. “You’re staring again,” he said calmly.

She blinked at him twice as though confused, but before she could say anything he waved his hand in front of her face to catch her attention. “Do you have any more questions or are you just going to stare at me like a statue?”

She wanted to let out a giggle. He probably had no idea just how much he actually looked like a marble statue. Raphael was sitting down yet he still made her feel tiny in comparison. The astartes definitely looked human but the genetic alterations were telling. His torso was flat like a solid armour plate of bone and his entire body was one massive slab of muscle. His skin glistened with sweat although he smelled like powder and oil. After a few moments, her gaze lifted to meet his and she suddenly snapped out of her trans-like state.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “Yes, uhm, could you please tell me how your company took over the Orks at Hell’s Teeth?

Raphael paused for a few moments as he recalled most of the details of the assault on Hell’s Teeth. In was an incredibly brutal struggle against a nearly endless horde of Greenskins at the fortress of Warboss Spinekraka. “All right then. Well, the first part of the assault was the landing from orbit.”

 

The Luna Wolves, led by their primarch Horus, had driven straight towards the central planet of the Ullanor system leaving the rest of the legions to attack the other non-compliant worlds instead. Among the remaining legions were the Blood Angels.

The Primarch Sanguinius himself had made it clear to all that his legion would help exterminate the Orks on the infested planets. One of the first attacks by the Blood Angels was the battle that would be remembered as the assault on Hell’s Teeth.

Captain Hariel had led the IX Legion’s 10th company against the Warboss Spinekraka and his WAAAGH! Most of the fighting was done at range for the first few days, then, it got even bloodier as the Angels met the Greenskins in close combat.

 

“Those damned Orks are gonna reach the line!” shouted lieutenant Kouril over the crackling discharge of las weapons and the thundering bass of artillery fire. The sky was choked black by shells the size of vehicles and steaks of light that could sever limbs with the slightest touch. Smoke rose in great pillars from the wreckages of burning tanks and field guns like a thousand funeral pyres all lit in unison. The Greenskins had charged towards the Army’s front line three times already and the valiant, courageous men had hurled them back each time. Lieutenant Kouril knew, however, that this fourth attack would breach their front. The men of the Imperial Army were well trained soldiers who were more than capable of taking on the numerous threats of the galaxy. They had the weapons and the equipment, and most importantly, they had the numbers. They stood a chance against this foe at long range, but if the Orks got close, they would all be slaughtered.

Each soldier continued to fire at the amassing horde of xenos filth that was about to run straight into their ranks. Most of the shots ricocheted off the crude steel plating the aliens used as armour. Some struck glancing hits leaving scorch marks and small holes while even fewer actually struck the Orks in lethal places, killing them outright. Still, the torrent of las fire was not doing nearly enough damage to stop the Greenskins from advancing.

As one, the xenos horde rushed towards the frightened lines of the Imperial Army in an attempt to bring their brutish strength to bear. Many of them wielded axes that could cleave men from collar to hip in a single stroke. Others carried motorized chainblades that could tear through armour and flesh with ease. They fired their guns as they charged without much care for aiming. The weapons were incredibly simple yet dangerously effective. They were obviously just meant to spit out as much as they could, for what the Orks lacked in accuracy, they made up for in volume.

Kouril continued to fire his pistol as solid slugs whizzed past him. He felt fear as the Greenskins drew in closer but he knew his men were counting on him to lead them now more than ever. He wished the colonel hadn’t been killed by a lucky shot earlier in the campaign. Now the burden of leadership rested on his heavy shoulders and he had no choice. It was victory or death. He kept squeezing the trigger even as two men to his left both lost their heads in clouds of pink mist. Another man a few feet away from him fell to the ground screaming as his leg was blown off. The aliens were now less than fifty meters away which was even closer than the last attack. He unsheathed his sword as he felt something warm trickling down his pants. The blade sparkled and shined against the flashes of las fire. Its edge had never tasted Ork blood before.

The aliens were now less than twenty meters away when an incoming vox transmission was detected. “Lieutenant!” called the vox operator. “It’s a message from the Blood of Kings.”

Kouril didn’t turn away from the charging Orks when he spoke. “Broadcast the message damn it!”

The operator increased the volume on the bulky transmitter before adjusting the antennae. Imperial technology was annoyingly cumbersome. The message came in static riddled bursts but it was clear enough to give all who heard it what they needed most. It gave them hope. “This… Blood of Kings… IX legion… assault on… Teeth… 10th… look to the skies… salvation!”

As one, the men under the command of lieutenant Kouril raised their heads for just a moment. Out of the darkness above came burning pods in the dozens. The sky was raining fire down onto the Ork WAAAGH but before the first of the Angels landed, the charging horde slammed into the Imperial Army’s front line.

 

Kouril was hurled from his feet by one of the larger brutes causing him to land several meters away from where he stood. The force of the impact dazed him and probably broke a rib or two. He got up as fast as he could, stumbling like an elderly man in the process. His steel rapier lay a short distance away beside the lower half of a man he didn’t know. He ran over to pick it up but one of the Orks got in his way. It swung its chainblade in a high arc that would’ve severed his neck had he not rolled away first. The lieutenant dodged a second strike that luckily put him behind the alien. He dove for the steel blade that stuck out of the ground almost vertically and took it back, turning just in time to block a blow from above. He was no match for the Ork’s strength which drove him to his knees. Just as he parried another horizontal attack, the first of the drop pods landed causing the earth to tremble. A split second later and the sides of the pod split open like the petals of a blooming flower.

A single massive mechanical monster strode out of the charred drop pod and immediately opened fire on the rampaging Greenskins. Its twin-linked autocannon blasted bodies apart like bags of red water. Some of the aliens were either brave enough or stupid enough to attack the venerable warrior in close combat. Their axes and chainblades barely even scratched the paint from the baroque sarcophagus. The dreadnought rotated on its axis, smashing aside the xenos filth with its power fist. It picked up one particularly large Ork and broke it like a twig before discarding the body.

Just then, more drop pods began to land amidst the seething army of aliens. Blood Angels emerged, bolters blazing and chainswords roaring. They blasted and hacked their way mercilessly through the Orks that were attacking the Army units leading the assault. Raphael launched himself at the largest Ork nob he could find. He raised his power sword and let it fall with all his might. The nob blocked the attack and threw a punch at the warrior. He dodged and rammed his helmet into the alien’s face causing it to step back. Taking the opportunity, he dropped his energized blade and seized the Ork’s own weapon. It took a lot of effort but he eventually wrestled the weapon free after delivering a bone-breaking kick to the nob’s groin. He spun once before caving in the Greenskin’s skull with its own hammer. The xenos creature fell to the ground, its head no more than a bloody lump. The astartes retrieved his sword once more.

“That wasn’t necessary,” said Hariel. The captain of 10th company stuck to using nothing but his bolter, as usual.

Even though Hariel wore a helmet, Raphael could still tell that he was smiling underneath it. “You know me, I just couldn’t help it. It’s been too long since I’ve been in battle.”

“Heh. You’ll never change,” replied the older astartes. “Just remember, we still have a war to prosecute, alright? And the sooner it’s over the better.”

Raphael just nodded before walking back to reunite with his squad.

 

The Ork attack had finally been dealt with. Most of the Imperial Army soldiers were lucky enough to have had the Angels arrive just in time to save them. Lieutenant Kouril was one such man. The nob that he had dueled with was killed by the dreadnought before it could butcher him to pieces. Not everyone was as fortunate though. The lines were littered with corpses, both human and alien. None of the astartes had been killed in the initial landing. Now that the field was clear of Orks, the IX legion’s Stormbirds and Thunderhawks began the tedious process of landing the heavier vehicles like Land Raiders and Rhinos. The Blood Angels would begin the final push towards the Ork fortress in less than an hour. For now, they watched the orbital lances cut into Hell’s Teeth like the Emperor’s judgment.

 

“I see. So after the 10th company cleared the Army’s lines of the orks how did you manage to bring the fight to their gates?” asked Kas. She slowly took a sip of water from a plastek bottle she had been carrying around. The liquid was unusually warm as all the ice had probably melted away in the heat of the captain’s quarters. She carefully wiped the sweat accumulating on her forehead before returning her attention to his inhuman musculature.

“How did we manage to bring the fight up close to the greenskins? Well, we’re Astartes,” the captain smiled.

[Yaj]

Spinekraka - I may nick this! great name and a good story to.

 

Looking forward to more.

[Sons of Horus]

And there shall be more! :tu:

 

Chapter II

 

Unexpected Guests/Assault on Hell's Teeth

 

The 10th company were busy making their final preparations for an attack that would break open the ork bastion at Hell’s Teeth when a contingent of Ultramarine thunderhawks suddenly descended from orbit. No word had been received from the Blood Angels’ fleet that any additional support forces were to take part in the assault. The cerulean gunships landed in the midst of the Imperial Army’s trenches and bunkers, causing the updrafts from their massive engines to blow away several tents. Their frontal ramps descended at the exact same moment their landing rails touched the ground, spilling out dozens of blue-armoured warriors each. The astartes marched in ordered ranks with their bolters clutched tight against their breastplates. Every movement they made was done in perfect unison.

Out of the third thunderhawk came a massive, heavily armoured Ultramarine. He held a gladius that shimmered with an unnatural energy field in his right hand while he carried a thick rectangular shield on his other arm. His helmet’s faceplate bore the visage of an eagle, proud and strong. A flowing cloak of crimson hung around his shoulders, fastened to his banded armour with golden brooches. Six other figures emerged from the assault craft behind him. Their armour and heraldry all a few degrees less ornate that his own. They each carried a standard power sword in one hand and a bolter in the other.

The Ultramarines all gathered together in precise order before the one in the ornate set of armour stepped forward to address Captain Hariel. “Greetings, in the name of Ultramar. I am Acanthus, Champion of the 5th company, and equerry to Lord Guilliman. It is in my Primarch’s interest that we join your assault on Hell’s Teeth.” The warrior’s voice was slightly distorted by his helmet’s vox grille, but there was no mistaking the arrogance in his tone.

“No such order has been made known to us,” said Raphael as he took a provocative step towards the champion. The only thing that stopped him from going any further was the captain’s ceramite gauntlet resting on his left shoulder.

Captain Hariel gave a reassuring nod to Raphael causing the latter to step back. “What the sergeant really meant to say was: why were the Blood Angels not informed of your assistance in this theatre?”

Every soldier within the vicinity could sense the tension building between the two groups of astartes. Most of the common Imperial Army soldiers weren’t used to seeing the demi-gods at odds with one another. There was a long pause before the Ultramarine finally spoke, “I must apologize for any misinterpretations of our intent. We are here to assist you in taking the ork bastion. Our vessel should have notified you several hours earlier. Perhaps there was some data loss, captain.”

Most forms of short-range communication amongst the ships in an Imperial fleet were deemed reliable even during a battle, and although data loss was a rare occurrence, it was still plausible especially with a fleet so numerous in orbit.

“I’ll confirm this with our capital ship later. In the meantime, prepare whatever forces you have, champion of Ultramar. We strike in thirty minutes.”

 

The Blood Angels and Ultramarines charged towards the front gate of the ork fortress just as the sun began to set. The vanguard of the assault was led by a dozen land raiders and even more rhinos. Other armoured vehicles followed closely behind the advancing astartes transports. The dust trail left in the wake of the advancing armoured column nearly blocked out what little sun light remained as the dying rays lit the battlefield crimson.

As the superhuman soldiers gained ground, the battle tanks and artillery pieces of the Imperial Army began a renewed barrage on the battlements of Hell’s Teeth. Scores of xenos were blasted from the walls of the stronghold as gun batteries were blown apart causing their stores of ammunition to detonate in chains of explosions. When the vehicles of the gene-enhanced warriors drew closer, the greenskins fought back. Wall-mounted turrets and cannons unleashed a deadly payload of energy beams and solid shells while orks of all sizes fired from their badly constructed towers. Many of them sprayed volleys of fire without even taking aim at the unstoppable tide of astartes. Slugs ricocheted from the armoured plates of land raiders and rhinos alike. To the super soldiers inside, it sounded like it was merely raining.

Several rhinos stopped dead in their tracks, immobilized by the torrent of incoming fire. A rare few of them were too grievously damaged to be recovered from the field even after the battle. The hulking land raiders began to fire their heavy lascannons at the ork bastion’s defences in unison. Large chunks of the walls began to weaken almost enough to collapse. The continued siege coupled with the orbital bombardment only minutes earlier had seen to the severe disabling of the fortress’ major defences, yet still the greenskins fought with everything they had left.

A concussive bang erupted from the front of the stronghold as the first land raider rammed straight into the main gate of Hell’s Teeth. What met the armoured vehicle was an even greater wall of lead from the blazing muzzles of shootas and rokkits. The heavy battle tank ground to an agonizing halt as the bottom part of its right track section was sundered under the immense volume of fire. Immobilized, the lead land raider continued to fire all its weapons at whatever it could lock on to.

It took only a moment after the hull-mounted heavy bolter was blown off its mounting for the frontal assault ramp to drop down. It landed on the ground with a hiss of released pressure seals.

At this exact moment, more and more of the other astartes transports drove their way through the outer walls of the fortress and into the heart of the ork WAAAGH! The massive amounts of fire that were all targeted at the lead tank now spread out across the rest of the armoured transports leaving the first vehicle with a temporary moment of respite.

From the troop hold of the first land raider emerged five Blood Angels clad in slab-like plates of tactical dreadnought armour. Each carried a twin-linked bolter save for the last who wielded a long-barreled reaper autocannon. They did not hesitate to unleash the destruction they carried onto the surrounding orks. Other astartes clad in ordinary suits of power armour descended the ramps of their own transports. Many sought cover the instant they left the shelter of their tanks while others moved undaunted amidst the rain of slugs and explosives.

They all fought furiously against the greenskins, gaining ground and securing their hold on the area with each passing minute. The xenos corpses began to pile up as more and more greenskins were blown apart by mass-reactive bolt rounds. It took another four hellish hours of non-stop fighting to clear the outer areas of Hell’s Teeth leaving only the tower of Warboss Spinekraka unbroken.

Blood Angels were covered from head to toe in steaming ork blood, although the red color of their armour made it less obvious. The Ultramarines on the other hand, had their brilliant blue armour stained crimson from the xenos’ vital fluids. The astartes now had control over most of the fortress, however, there were still a few pockets of resistance that had to be dealt with. A dozen squads of Blood Angels supported by the Ultramarines would mop up the remaining orks around Hell’s Teeth while three squads lead by captain Hariel would attack the Warboss in a final attempt to subdue the brutish leader. With Spinekraka’s ultimate demise, the planet would finally rest entirely in Imperial hands.