Mantis Warriors- Togan Dozier

[Ahazra Redth]

Even years afterwards, you would be able to see the scars (physical and mental) that the brutal Tranquility Campaign had on Brother Togan Dozier. Dozier had always been a grisled man, mind you. But the vicious fighting and the lost brothers, combined with the eventual loss of the war, would make him one of the grimmest men in the chapter. 

 

Some of the other veterans of the Tranquility campaign wore there yellow power armor, with its distinctive black claw mark pattern as a badge of pride. In a way, it was. Only the strongest men of the chapter were able to survive those dark times. But it was equally powerful as a symbol of shame, a constant reminder that he had viciously fought for the wrong side.

 

And now, Dozier was fighting again. This time, though, he was fighting on the side of the Emperor, as he should have been the whole time. Holding his shotgun in one arm against his body, his other arm beckoned the other men in his squad forward. After the Tranquility campaign, he had been assigned to the Tenth. The fact that he had a company number at all was ironic, though- The entire chapter barely comprised two companies, and that was after they had been allowed to recruit more neophytes.

 

His squad rounded the corner, guns raised cautiously. But nothing was there, and they continued forward. They were in the process of clearing the old temple that had been found on their new home world, with plans to create a new fortress-monastery. There's nothing on this ****hole planet anyways, thought Dozier. Why do we have to clear an empty temple? 

 

Maybe the planet wasn't as empty as they thought it was, though. There was a beeping, a low, pulsating tone, which meant non-Astartes life forms were in the vicinity.

 

"Guns up, people!" said Dozier. Following his own advice, he shouldered his shotgun, ready for whatever the scanner picked up. "Ready on my command!"

 

The next few moments were tense, to say the least. The squad creeped forward slowly, ever so slowly towards the door behind which they believed lay the mystery creature. Dozier reached forward, and opened the door.

 

"Fire!" he yelled, seeing what was inside. His men quickly got into formation, shooting into the doorway. The volley of fire seemed to have no effect on the room's inhabitant, though.

 

"Fall back!" he commanded, and his men were more than happy to. The beast did, of course, chase them down the hall. It was a long dash back to the temple entrance, and when they finally got there, something peculiar happened. The beast flew towards the door, full speed, and vanished. 

 

It wasn't an instant disappearance, though. It was more as if he had, say, gone through a portal. Dozier looked at the entrance in awe. He stepped back inside, and out again to see if he could get to whatever place the beast had vanished to, but there was no affect. The beast was gone, and they had no way of knowing where it went. 

 

It was later in the day, and the sun was setting when Brother Dozier and his squad were resting in the makeshift camp that was to be home until the temple was clear and converted. The camp was centered around a Thunderhawk gunship that had crashed, which was the real reason that they had come to the planet in the first place. Now, the command squad had set up in a large tent across from the wrecked Thunderhawk. The Master of the Forge, Collarti, was currently leading a effort to salvage as much as possible from the wreckage. Brother Dozier, done giving his account of the beast, crossed over to talk with Collarti.

 

Collarti was an old friend, a very old one. They were friends before the Tranquility campaign, before the war, before they were even neophytes. Collarti had not been around for the brutality of the tranquility campaign, though, and Dozier had. Life had been much kinder to Collarti, and he showed it.

 

"What can I do for you, Togan?" said Collarti, as he started to lift a piece of rubble. Dozier, silently, crossed over to help his friend.

 

"Are we really doing this again?" asked the Master of the Forge. This had happened before, soon after the end of the Tranquility campaign. Dozier slipped into a deep depression, and stopped talking for around a month. 

 

"No." said Dozier, grimly. "I just wish I knew what the hell happened back at the temple."

 

Update- Added some new bits, which was actually where the story was supposed to start! I have a plan as to where I want this to go, and I promise I'll get there- Eventually. This is partially to help develop fluff for my army, though, so I may go in depth and add several seemingly redundant characters. Hang around though, please. It'll be interesting, I promise!