Rapid Fire Challenge: Unleash - August 2019

[Race Bannon]

Prompt: Unleash

Maximum length: 500 words

Deadline: 31 August 2019

Where to post submissions: In this thread

Note - please make sure all submissions adhere to the forum rules. Any entry that breaks one or more rules shall be removed.

[Brother Hellion]

±Space Cowboys±

 

Imperium Nihilus (Formerly Ultima segmentum), Indomitus Crusade, 083M42…

 

This was once a peaceful park; a landscape green from the care of servitors and indentured servants that hosts thriving fruit trees, pleasant rose bushes and gardens that hang on floating anti-grav plated pottery. Now one look through the chimera’s view ports portrayed a grimmer sight; Skulls scattered across ash wastes. Fire pits burning plums of corpse fed smoke into the dark sky. Crucified bodies line up along trenches where the archenemy lay great fire power down upon the imperial lines. No one could survive the trek up Butcher’s hill as it was now called.

 

Nothing except for the armored fist of the 7^th Wyatt Mobile Recon. Dispatched to punch through the line or die trying, the APCs push on as stubber fire and heavy bolter rounds barrage the ceramite hull. Dirt and dried ash quickly cake along the lower edges of the chassis as the treads chew up earth on approach to the peak. One Chimera whose dowser is painted in white wash words Assault This! seems to fire its engines double time as it gains speed.

 

A missile shot by the archenemy streams across the Chimera’s hull, missing it by milliseconds. Its impact shaking to a stop another chimera called Bite My Shiny Metal Dozer! as its exhaust burns out. Assault This! retaliates for its fallen comrade with twin linked heavy bolters roaring back its rate of fire into the trenches ahead. It pushes onward as the line of crucified corpses draw near. The dirt caked dozer blade plows through rusty barricades and razor wire. The treads crushing skull and rock alike as the Chimera spills forward into the trenches of the damned.

 

Cultists, flesh takers and heratek barbarians panic as they climb over one another to avoid being crushed underfoot. The bow plunging into the opposite wall like an ancient terra icebreaker, becoming embedded up to the bolter turret. Treads slowing to a still while the battle rages all around the Chimera.

 

Flesh takers start to hoot at the loyalist machine beast, shaking sickle and iron paw for something soft to rip apart. The barbarians grab autoguns, chanting corrupted machine speak to curse the corpse-emperor’s metal horses as they fire into the hull. Cultists whirling heavy stubbers to finish the job when a deep hiss is heard from the aft access ramp.

 

A solid two feet of ceramite ramp pops off from the aft, landing with a solid thud on wet soil and blood. Charging head first were twelve guardsman; dressed in gray combat fatigues covered over with a solid brownish long tail coat with matching wide brim hat. Their lower faces obscured by matching red bandannas as they poured out with lascarbines raised and hot for battle. They unleashed quick suppressing barrage of hot las into the bewildered hoard. In the middle of the squad, a young Sergeant yells as loudly as his thundering bolt pistols.

 

“Ride Wild and Free! For Brimstone! For The Emperor!”

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job, Brotherblur.

[Brother Hellion]

Good job, Brotherblur.

 

Nitpick:

You misspelled the military rank of "Sergeant" as "Sargent".

 

Thank you