Bit of fluff for my Guard

[CommissarZac]

Tyranid's Terror  and Righteous Anger were explained to be Isabel's Vengeance's fellow punishers in her squadron, in chapter 2 I believe.  I apologies if I need ed to clarify it more.  The Atlas was the one the tank was escorting to recover a chimera the orks were using as bait.  I like your attention to detail.  I will edit the chapter to reflect removing the warhead.  And yes I fully intend to let the sponson and hull gunners have a chance at glory as well.  thank you again for your help

[CommissarZac]

Chapter 6

 

The following days were uneventful as the orks were continuing to be mopped up around the planet thanks to the arrival of one of the Astartes companies. Black Templar if he was not mistaken. Once they received word Orks were infesting the planet, they responded they would be on their way. Yet still no one had reported a band of ork wierdboyz, and Colonel Ulfric was growing more impatient. He received word that an astartes land raider was coordinating raids in the southern sector. No doubt the orks had got their hands on one of the honorable space marines equipment. He gave the order to assemble his crew as he knew the only orks even remotely capable of stealing a land raider were the wierdboyz. The crew assembled and loaded up on a shuttle. Since loosing his two squadron mates tanks, and since they had not been reforged yet, Ulfric chose a squadron of Sentinels to accompany them to the southern sector's frigid wasteland.

After they were dropped off, the freezing air giving the iceworlders a sense of home, Ulfric ordered his attack force to the last known coordinates of the land raider. The Sentinels easily keeping pace with the lumbering behemoth as they made their way. After several hours Ulfric saw fresh smoke in the distance and ordered his task force to investigate. Upon arrival to a remote village, Ulfric questioned the survivors. They all claimed a dilapidated Land raider, had come rushing through their village destroying structure after structure before opening it's ramp to spew out horrid orks to round up any humans they could find. Then, as fast as they came, they were gone. Ulfric voxed HQ to send a relief squad to the village. After the relief squad had secured the village he ordered the task force after the Land Raider, following the quickly disappearing tread tracks in the snow. As if things couldn't get any worse, now a snow storm had descended upon them. Dropping visibility to only a couple hundred yards. After searching for what seemed like eternity, finally the crew caught a break.

In the distance they could see the stolen land raider. And what the orks had done to it would be enough to make any tech-priest, who still hadn't purged all his blood for oil, red with anger. The holes the orks tore in her to purge it of the occupants had been hastily rivited over with huge plates of ceramite, no doubt scavenged by the same traps Ulfric's crew had discovered earlier. On top of the vehicle was what appeared to be a hastily built turret with a huge cannon. Ulfric knew not to let the appearance fool him. While the workmanship may appear shoddy and loose, he knew the turret was as solid as any ork contraption they built. Ulfric knew a head on strike from it would no doubt be enough to penetrate his armor.

“Ok men, this is for our squadron mates.” Ulfric began “Flykr, I want you to try and keep us angled at them. That cannon look like it will pack a punch if it hits us head on. Sponson gunners, show them no mercy. Sister Fraiya, use the las cannon to destroy their treads and keep them immoble. Sister Mary, show any ork foolish enough to stick his neck outside the error of his ways. Sentinel pilots I want harassing fire all over it. Remember to keep moving” Everyone acknowledged their orders and the battle had begun. Sister Fraiya had managed to take out both the land raider's tracks before one of the gretchen popped out a hatch to investigate. He was immediately turned to dust from the Punisher cannon. The sentinel pilots were doing a superb job of keeping the ork gunners busy as they dashed around the land raider like a gaggle of children around a nursemaid. As soon as the big cannon started rotating Sgt Flykr gunned the accelerator, and took off in a clockwise circle around the vehicle, trying to keep the tank ahead of the rotating turret, which was difficult given the crowded forest they were in not to mention all the snow limiting their traction. Then Sister Geniveve unleashed her new weapon upon the looted transport. Streaks as bright and hot as a sun scoring the hull. Their luck would soon run out as they hit a patch of ice and lost traction effectively slowing them down enough for the cannon to get a bead on them. Thankfully orks are terrible marksmen and the first shot sailed clear over their heads. The second one how ever found it's mark on the right sponson, Showers of sparks accompanied the loudest clang any of the crew had heard. The multimelta was out and Sister Geniveve was wounded as she clutched her right eye blood trickling down. Their saving grace was that it was a glancing blow and had not penetrated the armor. The ork turret had begun to engage the sentinels and it looked like their marksmanship was improving as the ork gunner successfully lead a shot at one of the Sentinles, completely crushing the armored cockpit and knocking it off its mechanical legs. “Keep them distracted men.” Ulfric ordered as the sentinel pilots started to feel the ineffectiveness of their multilasers and autocannons. It seemed the orks were gaining confidence as well as they started picking off the remaining sentinels one by one with the rest of the weapons that adorned the raider. Sgt Flykr was still trying to get the tank unstuck with out damaging it when the final Sentinel was downed and the turret started to target them. “Come on Sgt, we need to outrun that turret.” Ulfric said. “I'm trying sir but if it's done wrong we can break track and then we'll really be in for it.” As the ork turret came to rest square on Isabel's Vengeance, Ulfric looked out the vision slits as the cannon fired.

Time seemed to slow down immensely as he watched the cannon round sail through the air towards his tank. His life flashed before his eyes, and the feeling of guilt for leading his men into a what became a suicide mission was ever present. He couldn't let it end like this. There was vengeance to be wraught. Saint Isabel's as well as his own. As the round sailed closer he eyed it with the determination that no matter what happened he would end the green menace. Suddenly a battle sister jumped at the round and swatted it off course with a power maul. The round changed trajectory and ricochet off the front armor. The blow also knocked the tank loose and Sgt Flykr had resumed his circling this time turning to the left so Cpl Reggie could finish off the brute. “Finish him off Cpl, before our luck runs out.” Ulfric ordered. No sooner had the order been heard then Cpl Reggie unleashed the fury of the mulitmelta and somehow struck the ammo rack underneath the cannon, blowing the turret straight off.

After mopping up the survivors, the crew administered first aid to Sister Geniveve. She was wounded and would need an augmetic eye but they needed to get back to base first. Two problems, first was the hit they took messed up their vox, so calling for extraction was out of the question, and they were low on promethium. Ulfric desided to get out of the forest to give the vox a better chance. Upon exiting, Ulfric spotted a Sister of battle standing in the snow, the same sister that had deflected the shot that should have ended his crew. “Hey sister, we have wounded, we need you to vox HQ for extraction.” Ulfric shouted, the crew unaware who he was shouting at. The sister just turned and started walking. Utterly flabergasted that a sister of battle would turn their back on a fellow sister, he ordered Sgt Flykr to follow. “Sgt follow that Sister, don't lose her.” he ordered. Flykr looked through his vision slits, and then to the auspex. “I can't see a thing Colonel.” he responded. “She's right in front of us about 50 meters ahead.” Ulfric answered. Ulfric ended up giving directions at every turn.

After traveling for about another hour the crew came upon an abandoned, snowed in shrine. Ulfric witnessed the Sister that was leading them make the sign on the aquillia to another Sister in different colors and then vanish. Ulfric didn't know what to make of it but he knew he had to get his crew somewhere safe for the night, which was almost upon them. He ordered Sgt Flykr to find a safe place to park the tank for the night as they would make camp in the Shrine. After setting up and conducting a short recon, the crew had found the stores which held some rations, and fresh dressings for Sister Geniveve, which Sgt Flykr had been ever so attentive to. Ulfric found the comunication center and had Sister Fraiya see if she could use the vox to send an extraction shuttle. She successfully voxed HQ but because of the storm they would have to wait till morning for the shuttle.

After everyone was bedded down and the order of watch established, everyone huddled close the the roaring fire they had made in the remains of what looked like a dining hall. Before dozing off Ulfric had wondered, how was is no one else saw the sister but him? Was this some sort, of trick by the ruinous powers? He decided to contemplate it more in the morning as his eye lids had been protesting staying open for about the last hour, and finally drifted off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Yes Fury was a huge inspiration for this chapter LOL)

 

Thanks again to Bjorn Firewalker for the proofreading and suggestions.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Nitpick 1: Genivive will need an AUGMETIC eye. (The emphasis is mine, as cybernetic organs/limbs are referred to as this in Dan Abnett and Sandy Mitchell's works.)

 

Nitpick 2: You described the looted Land Raider's turret as "shoddy, rickety, yet solid looking". Considering the terms used are contradictory, perhaps new descriptors should be used, e.g., "deceptively shoddy and rickety in appearance, yet undoubtedly as solid as any Mekboy's work".

 

Question 1: Which CHAPTER of the Adeptus Astartes sent a company to aid the Joutinheim 798th, and why? (It's okay if you have the Space Marine Captain counter, "What reason do any loyal servant of the Emperor, need to kill His enemies?" but any competent Imperial Guards commander will ask the question. If the Chapter in question was the Dark Angels or their successors, who ALREADY have a reputation for abandoning their allies to pursue their own ends...)

 

Question 2: What happened to the Sentinels that accompanied Isabel's Vengeance? Overall, the battle with the looted Land Raider seemed too short; the Orks didn't even seem to have shot at the Sentinels.

 

Question 3: What kind of cannon uses a fuel cell- the explosion of which blew turret off the looted Land Raider- instead of ammunition? More details are needed.

 

Good work, overall. I apologize for the nitpicking, but if this work is widely read, I will NOT be the only one to ask these questions. Best answer them now, before 4chan's trolls get their hands on it and then crucify you the way they do C.S. Goto.

[CommissarZac]

Much thanks will edit in the near future.

[CommissarZac]

edited

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The editing is mostly effective. I like the description of how the ghost of a Sister of Battle used a power maul to swat away an incoming artillery shell. But you have to be careful when using words unique to a science-fiction franchise- you misspelled ceramite as "ceremite", promethium as "promethium" (apparently a mistake Sandy Mitchell also made in 'Death or Glory'), and augmetic as "augmentic".