The Spiders Web - Artefact hunting in the 41st millennium

[Vulpine]

The Spiders Web

By Vulpine

 

This is the forth short story of 5 that I wrote. I won't say too much on this one. It's about finding Artefacts... Anymore than that might spoil it. Enjoy.

 

[]

 

This was it, Kira thought to himself, this was what they had been searching for, for over two years.

 

Kira was lying on the crest of rocky ridge overlooking a gorge. At the bottom of the gorge was a a large metal wing that protruded out of the Cavan wall. Above the wing was a little more of the ship that had managed to escape burial, and in this was a hole allowing access the the insides of the craft. Kira watched as two figures emerged from the hole although he couldn't really make them out.

 

Kera's hair was full of the same dust that covered everything on this planet. A thin layer had also covered his face and clothing. Next to him lay four other dirt covered explores. They all wore the flack vest famously worn, although not exclusively on Cadia. Other than that they had a mix of clothing which pointed to the fact that these rogues do not work for the imperial guard.

 

"Anastari" Kera whispered this into the ere of one of his hooded comrade, "get on the radio, tell him we have it and we will enter at first light" Kera spoke almost in a broken way, as if this was not his first language. Kera dragged himself away from the edge and began checking his equipment.

 

 

 

Anastari lay as still as a rock on the ridge. The rising sun light covered her as much as her cloak did. Even the best the imperial guard have to offer could not tell she was there unless they stepped on her. She could see her four fellow explores in the cavern approaching the ship entrance she slowly slipped out her snipper riffle and took aim at the figure on the right.

 

Through her scope she could clearly see it was a servitor armed with a boltgun. On the left a robbed figure, armed with a lasgun. She took aim at the servitor and waited for the rest of her friends to approach the entrance.

 

What's that on his weapon? Anastria thought. Etched onto the bolters case was a symbol Anastari had seen befour. She grabbed her ear peace, "Kira, they are followers of Korn, they are with the fallen Astarte's legion, be cautious" she pulled her weapon back up and waited.

 

 

 

Kira was standing, unnoticed right next to the robbed figure. Kira's knife rested comfortably in his hand. He brought the knife up and quickly slashed at the figures wind pipe. The short lived shock on the targets face as the blood soaked into his robes and he collapsed silently to the floor.

 

The servitor did not know what hit him after the last of what remained of his brains were blasted through the back of his scull by Anastari well placed shot.

 

Like rats the four rogues slipped into the ship. Inside was dimly lit buy placed temporary construction lights. Kira and his group could tell instantly that they were walking along a passenger deck. Rows of dead bodies still strapped into the seats. Kira took hold of one of the bodies, he could tell it was that of an Eldar guardian, this was the ship they were searching for. He placed his hand on the orange ornate armour, he could feel the rattle of bones inside the carapace.

 

Kira walked up the passage past more bodies, a Eldar banshee, mummified face on display, still clutching her power sawed lay so very still. Kira struggled to retrieve the weapon from the Banshees hand, as if, even in death, the Eldar warrior refused to loosen it's grip over the sacred weapon. Eventually the dead warrior lost to the rouges and Kira had one of the most beautiful and deadly weapons in the system. The rogues could here talking from the deck above.

 

One of Kira's friends stuck her hooded face up through the hatch, two robed figures with a portable power surplus were attempting to fire up the computer that they were wrestling with. She pulled her auto pistol to her chest, a long silencer tube stuck out disproportionately from the gun. She squeezed the trigger. With a noise like rain on a tin roof the weapon started spitting bullets into the robbed figures. Blood flecks covered the screen they were working on. She quickly and quietly lifted her self up and secured the room with the half empty weapon. Kira and the rest of the team were quick to follow. The room ahead, if Kira's homework was correctly was the engineering deck.

 

"Mr Dorchain, take point" another of Kira's rogues pulled up his automatic shot gun and started moving towards the doorway, Kira behind followed closely by the last two of the hooded group. At the doorway way a sloped grilled walkway.

 

The shotgun started firing on full auto, as the first of the rogues got to the doorway, Kira and the rest of the team knew surprise was now gone and all they had left was luck.

 

Dorchains firepower was replied with multiple bolt gun shots, as each shot entered his body they exploded inside splattering the deck with chunks of meat. As Kira ran up the slope he could not believe what they had walked into. Five marines stud at the top of the grated gantry that was suspended over the sleeping power core of the ship. The Marines armour was a polished dark red with massive bone horns out the helmets. As he bounded toward the Marines, in the corner of his eye he could see the rest of his rogues cut up buy the suppressive boltgun fire.

 

As Kira ran he fired his shotgun pistol at one of the marines, but, like the rest of the units fire it bounced off completely, only scraping the crimson paint work. As he got to the top of the deck the marine swung his boltgun at Kira's head.

 

The weapon clashed against Kira's jaw and echoed through his head. Even with his vision spinning he managed to duck to second strike. Kira found himself squatting at the Marine's feet, he thrusted his newly claimed sawed at the Marine's torso. The weapon still worked. It slides through the armour like it was soft clay. The giant figure started spluttering, the vents in his helmet automatically opened, allowing the thick blood to be expelled. As the marine fell to the floor Kira felt a brutal swipe at his sawed arm.

 

Akiras arm snapped and he dropped his weapon. As he looked up at the assailant another marine grabbed him and lifted him by his throat.

 

"how dear you! My brother has fought along side me since the grate heresy" the Marine scorned. Kira could tell he was the leader, he had a cape made of rotting skin, and his armour had gold patens etched onto it. Kira looked down and noticed that on his side was a Eldar witch blade. "oh, is this what you are looking for?" the Chaos leader pointed with his pistol at the Eldar weapon, "you imperial scum, you think your powerfully enough to use this weapon!" the marine started giggling.

 

"oh, you got me all wrong" Kira replied calmly to The chaos leader. The Marine Dropped the unarmed rogue onto the gantry.

 

"how is that scum?" he mused, pointing his bolt pistol at Kira,

 

"well, my flack vest was from Cadia, my clothing, here on this planet, my shotgun, I believe is Necromundian my knife is from Kevia five. But my cloke, like me, that sawed and this," Kira points to a large gem on his belt "are all from a craftworld, I am an Eldar Pathfinder and you have lead us here"

 

"Eldar? here!" the leader of the Marine's was shocked, he put pressure onto his trigger. Kira's body was peppered in bolt gun rounds, all taking a chunk of his flesh with them as they explode on impact.

 

"you brother!" the chaos leader points to one if the Marine's "secure the main deck and prepare a instant pickup"

 

"Yes my Lord" the Marine replies and starts heading to the door. The chaos leader stopes suddenly. The gem on Kira's broken body caught his eye, it starts to change to a bright blue. As he bends over it, the gem starts to flicker and sparks dance across the floor. The three Khornate Marine's step back from the body.

 

The chaos leader has that feeling, as if something is watching, he looks around the multiple stories of the engine room, as if it had always been there, on the floor above looking down on him is a creature. Body slender like a Eldar but with the face of a spider.

 

 

 

The marine enters the command deck, the only lights were that of a temporary light placed in the corner and a small computer, placed on the table. The computer looked out of placed and did not fit with the architecture of the Eldar ship. Infront of the screen was a cultists in a red robe.

 

"Servant" the marine spoke as he hurried in "send a message to the mother ship, we need retrieval now!" the robed figure did not move "servant!" the marine tapped him onthe shoulder, the marine realised to late. A blade entered his spine, as he looked down to see it slid out through his chest plate, a second blade swiped at his neck, removing his head from his body. The warp spider exarch stud above the fallen marine. "exarch Margrech to warp spiders, main deck secure"

 

 

 

In the engine room two warp spiders ran towards the marine who had now got position on the top walkway. The marine fired his boltgun on full auto at his assailants, the spiders were morphing in and out of real space in blue flickers of light so the fire just went through them. One spider reappeared at the wrong time and a bolt shell connected with it face plate. The shell entered his scull and then exploded inside, scattering his scull down the three decks like heavy hailstones, his body cartwheeled over the hand rail and fell down to the ground floor, joining his fellow Eldar that had rested dead on the ground for a long time.

 

The second continued it's charge, firing as it reappeared briefly. The wire spooled out of the spiders weapon and untangle harmlessly on the power armour of the giant. As the spider got close the marine pulled his chain sawed from it's sheath, as it rawed into life the marine pulled it in a upwards arch to take out the aspect warrior, as his saw blade connected with spider torso he could feel a pin prick catch his neck. The spider was lifted into the air, it's internal tracked spilled out the gaping cavity and all over the servant of Korn. The Korn marine felt the pin prick hole begin to rupture, he felt stabbing pains around mainly his neck but allover his body. His eye sight and herring disappeared and he felt his moth fill with blood. The energy leaked from his body and he collapsed to the floor as the wire finished uncoiling inside of him.

 

 

 

The marine on the ground floor span round as the warp spiders body landed near him. He could sense he was being stalked. The marine held his boltgun one handed and his chain axe in the other. He walked passed towers of machinery, stepping over bodies of Eldar who had been long dead. He knew at some point his stalker would strike.

 

Gun fire echoed above the marine, he looked up to see his lord bringing down another of the spider assassins. He felt it, a change is the air pressure behind him, his reactions were quick, he dropped his bolt gun and he grabbed the Eldar behind him. It was too close for his axe, he dropped it also and grabbed the Aspect warrior with both his hands. The spider wriggled in the grip, that held both his arms. The marine swung his head at the mask of the spiders. The marine closed his eyes and weighted for the feeling of the impact. He felt nothing. He opened his eyes to see the faint blue sparks in the air that the spider left as it teleported away. He looked around while drawing his pistol. He couldn't see it. As he moved his feet to regain a better balanced stance he felt something underfoot. He looked down and saw a black object with a red flashing light.

 

 

 

The Kornate lord felt the blast of the plasma grande the had taken the life of his final brother. His cloak waved in the wind coursed by the explosion. He removes his helmet to revel tattooed marks all over his bold head "I will avenge you brothers!" he howls at the top of his voice. In one hand he held the Eldar witch blade, in the other his boltpitol.

 

He was exposed, the spider could come above or below him. He felt the air move behind him and he turned. Nothing but the end of the gantry. The Korn warrior then felt the pitter patter of the warpspiders weapon on his back, as he pulls his boltpistol towards it, it disappears he blasts the blue air anyway, "damn you Eldar!!!" he screams in frustration.

 

 

 

The warpspider watches it's pray from the top deck. The multiple levels of mesh walkways remind the warrior of the web of the arachnids from his craft world. In the centre, the fly, the pray, the enemy, the marine. Were to strike? The aspect warrior considers, behind him, the end of that walk way, he will think I cannot fit in that gap, his helmet is off, as he turns I will catch him in the soft tissue of his face. The spider disappears into the warp, the ghost like shapes all around him and the faint imprint of the real world around the glow of this spiritual world. As he dives out, back into real space he finds himself right on the edge of the gantry behind the Khornate lord. But I have miss judged, I have missed the gantry. As the warp spider expects the laws of gravity to catch up he becomes ready to jump again before he hits the ground. But. He does not fall, something is wrong. He looks down at his feet, one of his legs and his sternum have become intertwined with the handrail. He has materialised into the metal rail itself.

 

The warp spider screams in agony as the Korn lord swings the witch blade over his shoulder, removing the head completely.

 

"I have revenged you my brothers, am I not grate?" the lord screams, around him the carcasses of the warp spiders as well as his brothers do not answer his call "am I not magnificent!" he yells

 

"I believe you might be lucky" The spider exarch Margrech interrupts as he materialised at the other side of the walkway. His Dark green armour catching the light and his long power blades hanging down either side of him, still sizzling with the blood of his last victim.

 

"we will see, insect!" The lord angered by the remark starts charging towards Margrech. Margrech starts scuttling fast towards him. As they meet Margrech disappears. "are you that afraid of me spider?" the lord shouts.

 

Margrech suddenly appear behind him and slashes one of his blades down the lords right arm. The marine drops his pistol but then jerks the same elbow into the warriors face. Margrech pulls his left blade up to protect him self from the witch blade swinging towards him. He blokes the blade but the force brings him to the ground.

 

The lord towers over him, still swinging the which blade down at him, repeated, heavy blows, like a hammer, smashing down and down again.

 

"I have you Eldar sawed spider," the lord cackles, "And you will die by it."

 

As the lord towers over Margrech he pounds him with blow after blow. Margrech feels the bone in his left arm snap as he tries to block the blows. He tries to warpjump but can't access it under these conditions and must concentrate instead on blocking.

 

Margrech left arm drops, he cannot hold it up, it is smashed to peaces. He block two more with his right but cannot hold the repeated attack off much longer. The Korn lord stopes his attack. Margrech feels a jolt in the walkway as the lord falls back onto it.

 

Margrech looks up. Anastari, the Eldar pathfinder is standing with her riffle still to her eye after the shot. She moves swiftly past Margrech and over the Korn followers body. She looks down at him, half of his neck his missing, poring blood out onto the deck below. He struggles for life as the pathfinder fires another shot into his head.

 

Margrech stands up "thank you sister Anastari. We must move with haste, imperil forces are immanent. Although the which blade is not what we are looking for, it is still sacred, please remove the blade from it's hand" she nodes as Margrech warps back to the main deck.

 

 

 

Margrech walks past the dead Marine and the robbed cultists still siting upright and walks towards the command station. Sitting motionless are the crew. The captain in the centre chair and to his left the farseer who is missing it's weapon "you will receive your blade back my lord" Margrech promises the farssers. He walks past the dead physic and the captain to the seat on the right. Sitting, lifeless in the chair is a warpspider, dressed very much like Margrech.

 

Margrech kneels, "Phenix lord, Widow maker, I have found you!" he prays to the body, "I am your successes and when I clad myself in your armour I will share my body with your soul, in me you will live again"

[Carrack]

The start of the story is great. I like the description of the rogues, and their ambush is realistic and easy to picture. A few things I felt detracted from your story are the grammer and the "Surprise it's the Eldar." With the grammar, in my opinion, a few mistakes is ok, this isn't a report that is going to go to court or something, this is good creative writing for fun, but too many mistakes and it breaks up the flow of reading the story. In this case, I see a tendency to use words that sound like the words you meant to use, like robbed instead of robed, and buy, instead of by. Maybee it's a translation thing, or a spell checker program? The other thing is the Eldar surprise. I think it would have been better if you had hinted at the rogues' origins before outright revealing them for what they are. Maybe describe the rogues as tall and slender, or indicate that they had no trouble navigating the alien ship. Also, if your antagonists are 10,000 year old veterans of the long war, maybe they shouldn't be so easily fooled. Take my criticism with a grain of salt, I'm an uneducated, untrained writer and have only been writing fan fiction for about a year. Also please don't get discouraged by the lack of traffic on this section of the B&C, rest assured your stories are getting read. Oh, I like your fight scenes too, good action.

[Carrack]

By the way, if you like writing stories about Chaos, or against Chaos, there is a weekly post called Inspirational Friday on the CSM board that gets some good exposure, and the topics have always been cool.

[Vulpine]

Hi mate, no your right. My spelling is poor. I spell as it sounds usually. I have Dyslexia, so I struggle with spelling and grammar. So eventually I could get a mate to prof read and edit for me.

 

But the C&C for the Eldar reveal and the compliments on 'fight scenes' is grate. I'm always worried that I can imagin it, I can put it down on paper, I can re read and understand, but can others?

 

Thanks

[Carrack]

That's my problem with fight scenes too, I just don't know if the scene will be as clear in the reader's head as it is in my own, especially larger battles with more moving parts. Thanks for sharing your stories, I'll try to read another one tonight.

[Vulpine]

Fab, thanks. My mate has gone over and checked 'The mutant within' but it's long for a short story... If that makes sence.