Never a Son so Loyal

[Flint13]

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"How do we engage Astartes? Mamzel, that's an idiot's operation. The second a mortal engages an Astartes, they are already dead.

 

You have to kill a Space Marine? Make sure it never gets a chance to fight back."

 

~Legatine-Commander Breanne Kalder

413th Cohort

 

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The drop pod’s retro jets screamed, flash burning through the last of its fuel reserves in the fractal second before impacting into the muddy earth. Before the shower of impact debris began to fall, the heat-shielded petals popped their explosive bolts and slammed open. The pod detonated in a brilliant fireball, flinging red hot fragments of shrapnel in a thirty meter spread.

 

“Hit it again,” Sergeant Lybell’s smoke-roughened command echoed across the cohort comm. Stabilizing servos in the structure of the cannon armature whined as they realigned. From the Veletarii’s dug in position, Lybell saw an armor panel within the wreckage shift.

 

“Hit it again, now!”

 

The massive vehicle shuddered as the weapon boomed. It was several seconds too late. With a rending crash, an Astartes in ruptured, sparking war plate ripped his way from the detritus and lunged up the short incline. Behind it, the few spars and armor panels of the pod that remained disintegrated in a wash of flame.

 

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“Open fire!”

 

Before the Sergeant had finished the order, the volkites of his squad were sending short beams of radiation down range. None of them connected.

 

“It’s too fast!” Kedden yelled into the vox.

 

Veletarii Jakx had just clicked her comm bead active to respond when his helm blew apart. Before the headless corpse hit the mud, the Astartes had vaulted the barricade and had a pistol leveled in its single remaining arm, firing rounds into the rapidly backpedaling Veletaris of Headhunter squad. It drilled two shots into the soft mesh weave between the helm and plastron of Hald’s carapace and the gunner crumpled forward over the pintle mounted multilaser atop the squad’s Dracosan. The tank’s treads began spinning furiously, reversing to put range between it and the marine. Without pausing the Astartes flung the now empty pistol into Talkan’s helm from less than four meters away. The snapping pop of the Veletarii’s spine crackled through the comm-network.

 

Jakx wheeled and leveled her volkite just as Sergeant Lybell fired his plasma pistol at almost dead zero range from behind the Marine. Without turning, it ducked the plasma bolt. The red bolt seared past, close enough to flash liquiefy the top half of the Astartes's left plaudron, but caused no actual damage. A sharp backhand sent the weapon flying from the veteran’s hand and the fully armored Veletarii spinning away into the mud. With a lunge, the Astartes planted a ceramite boot in the chest plate of Telena, the last nearby Headhunter. With Raddick to her left, both he and Jakx opened fire, raking the marine’s warplate with radiation. It turned, drawing a gladius from a thigh sheath. It only seemed to need to take a single lunge to cover the fifteen meters between them, thrusting the blade up and under Raddick’s plastron and driving him backwards over the barricade behind him.

 

 

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Jakx screamed in anger as she scrambled backwards to put distance between them, snapping shots from her volkite rifle as she did so. Her bolts crisped the last vestiges of blue and white paint from the ash blackened ceramite. The weapon clicked empty and she flung it aside, drawing her bolt pistol in one smooth motion. It was too late, the Astartes was already diving towards her, the wordless howl blasting from its vox grille echoing her own. She was still bringing the pistol up to fire when she squeezed the trigger, half intentionally, half fear reflex. It barked like a rabid ursid and the marine grunted as a shell punched through the fiber bundles between greave and thigh plate. It detonated and the Astartes pitched sideways less than two meters from her. Even as she turned, she knew it wouldn’t be quick enough.

 

A spray of hyper oxygenated blood splashed across her visor. The tip of a trenching pike burst from the left eye lens of the marine’s warhelm. Before Veletarii Telena could recover from the momentum of the swing, the Astartes reversed its bloody gladius and drove it backwards. The tip of the short sword pierced the center of her breastplate like it was parting rotten wood, caving the armor in as the crossguard at the base of the blade struck it. She fell backwards, vomiting blood into her helm.

 

Jakx emptied her sidearm’s magazine into the Astartes, the bolts ricocheting from its helm and gorget. She snarled and crouched low, drawing the combat hatchet from its place in the small of her back. The remaining green eye lens glared balefully from the scarred helm as the Astartes began to regain its feet. It towered over her, blood running freely down the front of its armor from the creature’s ruptured socket and vox grille. It’s voice was the sound of a tremor quake given life.

 

“If you fight an ul…”

 

Lybell’s crackling powerfist struck it in the small of the back, just below the warplate’s power pack. It drove forward, obliterating armor, flesh and spine. With a sound like a Dracosan breaching an earthwork rampart, the Astartes crashed forward into the mud, its helm less than a meter from Jakx’s feet. The sergeant blew out a long breath as he splashed down into the mud next to it. He slowly eased himself across until his back was resting against the bulk of the dead Astartes. Jakx joined him, disengaging her helm’s maglock and flipping up the faceplate. She dropped her hatchet into the mud beside her and patted down the front of her armor’s equipment compartment. From within, she drew a small rolled leaf cigar and a lighter.

 

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Lybell leaned backwards slowly, his own helm’s faceplate locking up as he did so. With a deft twist of his power fist, the Astarte’s helm came free.

 

“We lost too rutting many today, Han. This had better be worth it.” Jakx exhaled along with a puff of rich smoke. Her eyes roamed across the muddy ground, over the corpses of almost half of Headhunter squad.

 

The Sargeant didn't reply. He glanced sideways at her as he tossed the helm down in between them. Blood was splashed haphazardly across it. 

 

“That’s against regulation, solider,” he growled as he plucked the stubby cigar from her lips. His eyes stayed on hers as he inhaled deep.

 

The rain had just started to come again, washing the blood and ash from the two Veletarii sitting in the mud as they both broke into weary, smoke wreathed laughter.

 

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[jimbo13]

That was..... AWESOME!!! That was a great bit of fluff. And the models are suitably awesome as well. Love the tanks beautiful weathered camo. An overall yum.

[Marqol]

As usual awesome fluff piece to go with very nicely painted models. The weathering on the tank is ace, may I ask what method you've used for the paint chipping?

[Slips]

I wont but solar auxilia...i wont buy solar auxilia...

 

Also like how there be Badass Ladies in the unit, as one would expect.

[Kriegsmacht]

Cool stuff Flint  I love the weathering on your tank. :tu:

 

Your soldiers look nice as well. :)

[depthcharge12]

Sweet job buddy! Keep em coming!

[Audemus]

Hell yes! I'm loving the fiction Flint! Welcome to the Solar Auxilia fold, lord knows there needs to be more of us.

Goldstein is still mine though, don't you try to steal her!

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

So many questions of loyalty, but a lovely start!

 

I hope to see more soon.

 

WLK

[Frostmourne]

Wowsers.

 

I just made a mess in my trousers.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Awesome! Wow, that was intense! 

 

Without pausing the Astartes flung the now empty pistol into Talkan’s helm from less than four meters away. The snapping pop of the Veletarii’s spine crackled through the comm-network.

This part was my favourite.

[Arac]

Awesome start. Please continue.

[Skalpynock]

You've managed to make an Ultramarine scary, of all legions. That's great, we need almost as much scary Ultras as we need Solar Auxilia.

[Dosjetka]

I love how the Ultramarine just tore through those traitorous Veletarii before (inevitably) falling in glorious battle. Makes for some good reading. ;)

[Daemon2027]

Cool, really well written background piece and the models are really nice.

[Xin Ceithan]

Given the sheer amount of awesomeness you churn out, I start to believe that “Flint13“ isn't your moniker, it's more like the actual number of clones involved in the Hobby...

Great stuff there!

[Aeternus]

This is looking good o_o Very well done, on both the story and the models. I await more eagerly.

[Dantioch]

The fluff and minis look awesome Flint but killing Ultramarines...... this treachery is unforgivable.

[Flint13]

Oh wow, thanks for all the awesome replies, guys! Lemme see if I can answer a few questions.

 

@ Jimbo - Thanks! Glad to hear it.

 

@ Marqol - It's always nice to hear my fluff is decent. I always worry a bit it isn't up to snuff ^_^

 

The chipping is a basecoat of Vallejo German Gray, zenithal highlighted with Medium Sea Gray, then sealed and sprayed down with AK Chipping medium, with a second, heavier zenithal pattern top coat in glacier blue.

 

@ Slips - Of course there are

 

@ Krieg - Thanks man!

 

@ Depth - I will do my darndest.

 

@ Audemus - Thanks! Goldstein is all yours. Gosh knows I'd be happy to hear she's still finding work. I haven't seen her in anything since Terminator 2.

 

@ WLK - The loyalty of the Ash Vipers isn't questionable. It's for the Warmaster, easy as :D

 

@ Frostmourne - Gross. But appreciate the compliment.

 

@ Augustus - See, one thing about the way Astartes are commonly written that tends to irk me is how lethal they are. Humans can train to be all sorts of badass, but an Astartes is literally built to be the most lethal weapon possible before they are even armed and armored. If a marine can reach a human, that human is dead, regardless of what the Astartes is armed with, or if its even armed at all.

 

I want to show how lethal they are to mortals, but also how the Ash Vipers slowly learn how to minimize Astartes advantages as they engage them more and more often.

 

@ Aarc - Plan to! ^_^

 

@ Skalpynock - Thank you! That is exactly what I was shooting for. That's a second bit that I feel tends to get overlooked in the fluff occasionally; the whole transhuman-dread angle. Astartes are engines of destruction. Mortals in the military of the Heresy era have fought alongside them for the length of the Crusade. Now they have to fight against them after seeing what they are capable of. That should be damned terrifying no matter how hardened a Veteran is. That very human fight/flight reflex should be in overdrive regardless.

 

@ Dos - Glad to hear it!

 

I'm sure his helm is making an adequate soup pot for Headhunter squad after they cleaned it out and patched the giant holes.

 

@ Hydra - Thanks man! Always love hearing it.

 

@ Xin - Flint13 is a combination of my surname and my lucky number. But your version works too ^_^

 

@ Aternas - Thank you! I should have a Leman Russ Incinerator in the works shortly.

 

@ Dantioch - I mean... the Ash Vipers are 'traitors' after all. A small amount of treachery is implied :D

[Kol Saresk]

@ Augustus - See, one thing about the way Astartes are commonly written that tends to irk me is how lethal they are. Humans can train to be all sorts of badass, but an Astartes is literally built to be the most lethal weapon possible before they are even armed and armored. If a marine can reach a human, that human is dead, regardless of what the Astartes is armed with, or if its even armed at all.

 

I want to show how lethal they are to mortals, but also how the Ash Vipers slowly learn how to minimize Astartes advantages as they engage them more and more often.

 

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[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Off to a good start on this, but I hope they have a good amount of reserves to draw on.

[ThatOneMarshal]

Awesome! Wow, that was intense! 

 

Without pausing the Astartes flung the now empty pistol into Talkan’s helm from less than four meters away. The snapping pop of the Veletarii’s spine crackled through the comm-network.

This part was my favourite.

Reminds me of the scene from Saving Private Ryan when Tom Sizemores charater is shot so he flings his pistol in anger. 

 

Love the fluff, I love reading about fighting astartes from the view of a common man, albiet a very well trained man but nevertheless a common man.

I love the Tank with the chipping.

 

Am loving all the Solar Auxilia!

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

I was hoping for loyal Ash Vipers killing a traitor Ultramarime!

[Kol Saresk]

I was hoping for loyal Ash Vipers killing a traitor Ultramarime!

Oh but they are. It's just a matter of perspective.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

 

I was hoping for loyal Ash Vipers killing a traitor Ultramarime!

Oh but they are. It's just a matter of perspective.

Sorry Obi-Wan, but I'm not buying that argument.

 

WLK

[depthcharge12]

Just a small point of contention in your fluff (which was awesome by the way), why is there only one marine in the drop pod? :D

 

I mean I guess he almost did the job by himself, but Guilliman's accounting OCD would be set off by sending only one marine down in a pod. Gotta think about fuel costs :P