Working Title: The Faceless Death

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ I wanted to write some short stories about my new Raven Guard Successor Chapter, and seeing as I'm restricted from physical activity for the next few months, I figured that this would be a good way to escape my world, and indulge my creativity, read, comment, and hopefully enjoy.

 

       -Brother Ulrik

 

++++

 

Part 1:

 

The bolter dropped, pulling the sling wrapped around Torbold's body taught. The bolter swung to his left hip, as he drew his combat knife. Torbold, waited patiently for the heretic sentry to pass before him. As the sentry passed the opening, Torbold reached from the shadows, grabbing the sentry by his head. He pulled the man into the shadows and rammed his knife into the base of the man's skull, killing him instantly. Torbold took care to hide the body from casual onlookers. He did not want a passerby to alert the heretics before the Astartes made their attack.

 

Torbold gave a silent hand signal, the area was clear for his brothers to move up. The rest of the kill team four men, Lodrik, Fyodr, Huginn, and Svard, took position preparing to breach the door. Torbold moved up to take position across from the lead man, Lodrik. Lodrik passed the signal down the stack, a quick double tap on the leg of the man behind. The last man, Svard, passed the signal back. Lodrik signaled Torbold that he was ready to breach with a knocking gesture to the top of his head. Torbold pivoted on one foot, deftly placing the breaching charge on the reinforced steel door. Torbold gathered up his bolter, and turned his back to the door, microseconds before the charge detonated.

 

The heavy door came off its hinges and flew into the room. The sheer mass and velocity of the door instantly turned a cultist to paste on the back wall. Torbold turned around, and threw a fragmentation grenade into the room. With extreme precision, Lodrick waited for the grenade to detonate before immediately charging into the room. The five man team quickly entered the room each picking a sector. Their specially suppressed bolt carbines spitting death at any cultist remaining alive. After the room was cleared, the Astartes moved through the rest of the low rise slum. They made quick work of these cultists before they could summon anything.

 

The all clear signal was given. It was now safe for the inquisitor to come inside to do his grim work...

Edited June 4, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

You're off to a good start.

 

Nitpicking:

The Bolter dropped, pulling the sling wrapped around Torbold's body taught. The Bolter swung to his left hip, as he drew his combat knife.

Why is "bolter" capitalized?

Torbold pivoted on one foot, deftly placing the breaching charge on the Reinforced steel door.

Why is "reinforced" capitalized?

 

Is English not your native language? (I took German classes in high school; I admittedly forgot most of what I learned, but I remember all nouns are capitalized in that language.)

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

You're off to a good start.

 

Nitpicking:

The Bolter dropped, pulling the sling wrapped around Torbold's body taught. The Bolter swung to his left hip, as he drew his combat knife.

Why is "bolter" capitalized?

Torbold pivoted on one foot, deftly placing the breaching charge on the Reinforced steel door.

Why is "reinforced" capitalized?

 

Is English not your native language? (I took German classes in high school; I admittedly forgot most of what I learned, but I remember all nouns are capitalized in that language.)

 

English is my first language. However, I have an issue that I got used to writing letters to my grandfather in German for practice.  I'll go back and fix it, thanks for pointing it out.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 2++++

 

Torbold stood in the center of the room, retracing the raid, for his after action report. As he did so, he spotted a door, which had gone unnoticed before. There was a wall hanging which had been knocked askew, revealing the door. He called his men to the main floor. He raised his weapon as his team silently filed down the stairs with their prisoners. Torbold moved towards the door, silently. He did not know what to expect. Lodrik and Svard secured the prisoners, who would undoubtedly be brutally tortured by the inquisitor for information before being executed as heretics. These Astartes held nothing but disdain for the Inquisition and their foul methods, still the Inquisition's power and authority could not be denied, and so the men went along. Three of the Astartes approached the door.

 

Their razor focus was broken when the, rather bombastic and eccentric, Inquisitor arrived. He strode into the vestibule, an intolerable air of pretense and arrogance surrounding him, and demanded that he and his retinue be allowed to conduct their interrogation. Torbold attempted to protest, but was cut off in the middle of his terse warning.

 

"Sergeant Torbold, you do not give the orders here. I am in cha-" The Inquistor was cut off as the lights flickered, and a rumbling began from beneath them. One of the prisoners doubled over in pain, quickly followed by another, and another. They began to babble incoherently before their tortured shrieks pierced the air.

 

Loud chanting came from below them, followed by a deep humming and more rumbling. The prisoners all began to writhe in agony, before their flesh seemed to pulse and boil. Suddenly their bonds snapped, as their flesh became engorged. From one of the cultists a barbed tentacle shot forward, gutting Brother Svard. Svard fired his bolter into the bubbling mass of shrieking, gibbering, flesh. A mouth tore open across what once was a face, and then lurched forward toward Svard, devouring him from the waist up. Lodrick was caught off guard but recovered quickly as a bladed flesh whip rent the armor on is thing wide open. Lodrick Emptied his carbine into the monster, killing it. There was another monster to take its place, and it tumbled forward, a twisted mass of teeth and mouths. One gaping maw found Lodrik's head, shearing it off at the neck.

 

Torbold, Fyodr, and Huginn all opened fire. They talked their boltguns in sequence, three round controlled bursts, until the hellspawn fell to a twitching heap. Torbold motioned for Fyodr to remove the Inquisitor, but it was too late. The door to the basement had burst open, and spilling out of it came the foul wenches of Slaanesh. One of them, a Herald, had bewitched the Inquisitor.

 

Torbold spat a curse, condemning the weak willed fool. The Herald beckoned the Inquisitor to raise his weapon. Torbold had lost enough brothers this day. He leveled his weapon and fired...

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The story and its "twist" are well-plotted. I applaud your efforts and your competence as a writer.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

The story and its "twist" are well-plotted. I applaud your efforts and your competence as a writer.

Thanks. I'll be honest, I'm doing a lot of this just free writing. I hope that I was able to  build some suspense and a feeling of dread.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 3 ++++

 

The bolter round tore through the Inquisitor's head, splattering the walls with it's contents. Torbold shifted his aim and put two successive shots into the Herald, before he charged the foul daemon. As his thunderous bulk slammed into the herald, Torbold heard a squishing and crunching noise as he plowed through, lifting the daemon off its feet. His momentum carried him through and crashed into the solid reinforced concrete wall. He deftly dropped his bolter, grabbing his bolt pistol and he put two more rapid shots into the daemon's torso, again shifting his aim putting one more round through the Herald's head, from under the chin.

 

The Daemon's head exploded upwards, painting the ceiling a pallid grey and red. The headless corpse slumped to the ground, and began to dissolve, de-materializing back into the warp. Torbold turned his attention to the door, which was spewing more daemonettes into the room. He grabbed the door and slammed it on the next daemonette sending her crashing down the stairs. Fyodr and Huginn were knee deep in daemons and foul gibbering spawn, but they seemed to be holding their own.

 

Torbold figured that there must be a sorcerer in the basement maintaining a warp portal. He opened the door, fired his bolter into the clambering mass, and threw a fragmentation grenade down the stairwell, bouncing it off the wall, and hopefully, at the sorcerer's feet. Some of the daemonettes had regained their footing, just in time to have the Astartes's armored boot collide with their face. Torbold slammed the door once more, and waited for the grenade. A satisfying thud resounded from the basement. The humming and rumbling had stopped. The sorcerer must have been killed by the blast, closing the warp gate, Torbold figured. He braced against the door, just in case it wasn't over, and he began to assist his brothers in clearing the room.

 

****

On a rooftop across from the target building Brother Kristofer looked through his scope. It was his squad's task to prevent any heretics from leaving. There had been an enormous racket coming from the target building, but it would seem that the assault team had the situation covered. Just then an armor clad figure came crashing through the exterior wall. The figure was broken and bleeding, and motionless. Kris's HUD indicated that it was Talon 3, Fyodr, and he was alive, but unconscious. Talon 4 charged out through the breached wall to cover his fallen brother...

 

****

 

Torbold saw Fyodr thrown clear through the exterior wall, by one of the writhing masses of flesh and teeth. He emptied his magazine and the creature slumped to the ground, lifeless. Huginn turned and ran to Fyodr, determined to get himself and his fallen brother into cover, and safely under the watchful gaze of the veiði hrafna, the hunting ravens. The air became still, the last of the daemonettes falling prey to the bolt sniper rifles of their overwatch team. Torbold, breathed a sigh of relief, Today was a truly terrible day, He thought to himself. Mere milliseconds later, a massive sword pierced through his chest...

Edited June 5, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work on the fight scene.

 

Nitpicking:

His thunderous bulk slammed into the herald, Torbold heard a squishing and crunching noise

Adding an "as" at the beginning of the sentence will make it flow better, i.e., "As his thunderous bulk slammed into the herald, Torbold heard a squishing and crunching noise"...

He grabhbed the door

There's a typo, i.e., "grabbed" has an extra letter.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Excellent work on the fight scene.

 

Nitpicking:

His thunderous bulk slammed into the herald, Torbold heard a squishing and crunching noise

Adding an "as" at the beginning of the sentence will make it flow better, i.e., "As his thunderous bulk slammed into the herald, Torbold heard a squishing and crunching noise"...

He grabhbed the door

There's a typo, i.e., "grabbed" has an extra letter.

 

Thanks. My keyboard is very sensitive.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 4 ++++

 

Torbold looked down at the enormous blade which had just effortlessly pierced through his MK X Phobos armor. He attempted to inhale, an action which sent lighting bolts shooting throughout his body. He coughed, he felt a sticky, wet substance splatter back over his mouth and nose. He wheezed a ragged breath, still in shock from the massive trauma inflicted to his chest cavity. Just them the sword was pulled back through him. Searing pain wracked his mind, the sheer agony was nearly more than he could bear. He screamed, his helmet silencing his cries.

 

The door he was braced against exploded into a shower of splinters, his body sent cartwheeling through the air. Torbold landed with a resounding thud, cratering the concrete of the walkway, as he bounced off before crashing and sliding for another several meters before coming to rest in a bloody heap.

 

From the basement, emerged a greater daemon, from all appearances it was one of Slaanesh's keepers of secrets. It was a hideous, but strangely beguiling, monstrosity, a monument to the sins of the child races.

 

Torbold pulled off his battered helm, determined to free his breathing. He leveled his bolter at the monster, shouting obscenities, condemning the beast for it's accursed existence, he fired until the magazine was empty. He struggled to reload his weapon, he fumbled, and a look of resignation came over his face as he drew his sidearm, He would fight to his last breath. The Overwatch squads poured sniper bolt rifle fire into the creature, determined to bring it down.

 

The Beast turned it's attention towards Torbold. It seemed fixated on him, He sat, propped up by a pile of rubble, firing away with his pistol. He saw Huginn start to move to assist him, but Torbold knew his time was up. He knew he was going to die, Huginn looked on as his friend, his brother, resigned himself to death. Huginn looked on in silent horror as one of the beast's massive claws drove down through Torbold's gaping chest cavity. The creature leaned in to savor the delightful agonies it had just inflicted. With his last breath, and dying effort, Torbold released the spoon on a krak grenade and clenched in his fist, driving it, to the elbow, into the creature's mouth. Torbold's face twisted into a look of grim satisfaction and defiance, he hissed a curse at the beast.

 

The Grenade detonated with an extreme concussive force. It would catch the Daemon and the Astartes, entwined in lethal embrace, in it's radius. It ripped them both asunder. The Daemon's corpse returning to dust, reclaimed by the warp, would leave only Torbold's now scattered remains. Huginn called in their reinforcements, the aggressors of the 9th Company detachment, sweeping in with their flamestorm gauntlets burning the demolished hovel to the ground. The skalds would write songs about Torbold, Huginn would see to it. The Librarius Scribes had work to do to ensure that the warp gate was sealed, while the Company Chaplain ministered to the Survivors and the Apothecaries tended to the wounded, and retrieved the gene seed of the deceased.

 

Huginn stood amidst the carnage and wreckage, his helmet in his hand. He collapsed to his knees, and began to weep, his squad had been led into a trap by the damnable arrogance of the Inquisition. He doubled over, on his hands and knees now, he screamed in rage for the loss of his beloved brothers. He slammed his fist repeatedly into the ground, continuing to scream. His rage could be heard far and wide. It was a haunting sound, that carried on the still, frigid air. It could be heard for miles throughout the hive.

 

Captain Sigurd looked on. He knew the pain all too well. Sergeant Torbold had served with him for over a century, and was a valued friend and comrade. When Huginn had finally screamed himself hoarse, Captain Sigurd approached him. Sigurd knelt, placing a reassuring hand on his young trooper's shoulder.

 

"Today we lost valued brothers, and were taught, once more, the valuable lesson that the Inquisition cannot be trusted," Sigurd said in hushed tones.

Huginn glared, his eyes red from tears. He looked to his Captain. He attempted to compose himself, visibly struggling to do so.

 

Sigurd once more looked at him, "Learn this lesson well, Sergeant. Learn it, so you may teach it well, and that it not cost us yet more valued brothers."

 

Sergeant!? Huginn thought, Why do I deserve this? "Sergeant, sir? Why?" Huginn was visibly shaken by this sudden promotion.

 

"If not you, then who? Fyodr is crippled, and in severe condition, Only the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought will save him now," Sigurd answered, his tone was even and matter of fact.

 

Captain Sigurd stood up, and offered his subordinate a helping hand. Huginn grasped his Captain's forearm. Sigurd hauled Huginn to his feet, and gave him a reassuring smirk, as if to say, "We'll show the inquisition what happens when you mess with us." Sigurd put his arm around his new Sergeant's shoulders and guided him to their waiting transports...

Edited June 6, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Again, excellent work.

 

Nitpicking, with suggested corrections between brackets:

Torbold looked down at the enormous blade which had just effortlessly pierced through his MK X Phobos armor.

I replaced "bled" with "blade".

Huginn stood[ ]amid[st] the carnage and wreckage, his helmet in his hand.

I removed a comma between "stood" and "amid", and replaced "amid" with "amidst".

Captain Sigurd[ ]looked on.

I removed a comma between "Sigurd" and "looked".

"We'll show the nquisition what happens when you mess with s."

"Inquisition" should be capitalized; "us" doesn't have to be in this case.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Again, excellent work.

Thanks. I'm hoping that I'm properly conveying the emotions that I want the reader to feel. I really hope that I'm not making my Homebrew Chapter feel too powerful. I don't want my Protagonists to be overpowered and feel too fan-fiction-y.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The writing is competent. Your Chapter is in the middle ground between "Born losers, guaranteed to screw up" (see Luke Skywalker in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy) and "Mary Sue Marines, guaranteed to win despite putting in ZERO EFFORT" (see Rey in the same)- an ideal place to prove you're a better writer than the talentless buffoons responsible for those stories. Edited June 6, 2020 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

My intent with this thread is to make it a series of short stories about The Second Company of my Successor Chapter, so with one story done, I plan to start another series of posts doing another short story. I will probably do a couple of Omnibus posts, to collect each part of each story into one post, later in the thread.

 

++++ Part 1 ++++

 

"Damn!" Hafthor cursed under his breath, "Watch out, the creature is fast." His warning came just in time. Brother Lokin's light shone on the creature and he snapped off a shot. The creature's guts splattered against the wall behind it.

 

Hafthor walked over to the creature's corpse. He inspected the remains. Damn. Genestealer. we must be getting close... They had been stalking their prey, a genestealer cult, for weeks all through the sewers of this city. It wasn't a large hive, actually it was rather small compared to most. This world had mostly expanded out and not up, but the sewer system was extensive and deep.

 

Brother Olaf motioned for the Sergeant, Gunnar, to come over. Gunnar shouldered his weapon, and aimed up. Olaf attached the remote snake camera to his helmet, and began to climb up to the acesss point above them. Sergeant Gunnar was covering Olaf the whole way up. Their chapter excelled in such close order combat, and their training had encompassed the need to be able to fire in close proximity to each other. This squad had been together for decades, through many such hunts. After what had happened to Brother-Sergeant Torbold's squad last time they had hunted for the Inquisition, Gunnar wasn't taking chances. He had his backup closer behind.

 

Olaf snaked the camera through a hole in the access port cover. He rotated it in a full circle, and all he saw was bustling alleyway. He called it down to Sergeant Gunnar. Sergeant Gunnar consulted his map. This is where all trails lead. They had been spending the last few months tracking the cult down, and all those trails led here. Olaf noted a building which looked to be heavily guarded, though this was a recreation district and it was full of clubs and restaurants, armed guards were out of the norm for these establishments.

 

Sergeant Gunnar marked the building on his map, and decided that it would be best to pull his team back to their ingress, and share his intelligence with his superiors, rather than attempt an assault on the building with his meager forces. The Inquisitor will be unhappy, Gunnar thought to himself, Good. Gunnar allowed himself a satisfied smirk.

 

Stalker squad pulled back to their ingress point, to make their report...

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 2 ++++

 

Sergeant Gunnar and his Stalker squad exited the large culvert near their Captain's temporary headquarters. Captain Sigurd was standing on an embankment overlooking where the Astartes had exited. He motioned them to approach. Gunnar and his men slung their weapons, securing them at their backs, and proceeded up the ladder to street level.

 

"I demand to know why your men pulled back instead of pursuing the beasts to their lair!" Gunnar could hear the Inquisitor shouting from outside. Gunnar knocked on the door, interrupting the Inquisitor's ravings. Gunnar allowed himself a smirk before he entered. "Enter!" came the terse shout from the Inquisitor.Gunnar entered the room followed by the rest of stalker squad.

 

"Explain yourselves! I ordered you to pursu-" The Inquisitor's demand was cut off by Captain Sigurd shooting a deadly glare at him. The Inquisitor well knew the reputation of the StormCrows. They had a record of losing inquisitors to "unfortunate incidents" in "the line of duty" and this particular example had no desire to be another statistic. Captain Sigurd motioned for the Sergeant to give the Inquisitor his answer.

 

"Sir, we and the other stalker teams have managed to narrow down the possible nest," Gunnar said, while pulling out a street map of the city, "Here, in the recreation district." Gunnar pointed to the building at which they had seen the heavy, armed, security presence. "We dared not attempt to confirm the nest location on our own. I would suggest that we put containment teams in place, send in eradication teams to deal with the nest, while the stalker teams assault the building above ground," He spoke confidently, and matter of fact about his suggestion.

 

Captain Sigurd knew to trust the judgement of his sergeants, and he did, implicitly.  He stood up, directed the computer technician to bring up a holographic image of the building and its connection to the sewer system, and floor plan. This was to be a decapitation strike against the genestealer cult on this world. This world had an infestation that had to be eradicated. The 9th Company Lieutenant Nodded his agreement.

 

"Captain Sigurd, you have two full squads of Aggressors at your disposal, They would do well as your eradication teams, broken into teams of three men each," Lieutenant Einar said. Captain Sigurd Nodded his agreement.

 

"We will use four teams of our Intercessors, as containment, should anything get past Einar's men. Stalker teams will assault the building, while Lieutenant Helgi's men secure the rooftop," Sigurd commanded, nodding to Lieutenant Helgi, the commander of the 8th company assets assigned to them for this mission.

 

Gunnar and Huginn commanded the two incursor squads, which had been broken into the four stalker teams. The Eliminator squads would be put in place to cover the building as the stalker teams made their assault. Infiltrator units would set up as security to ensure that nothing would escape the ground floor, and the company's aircraft would ensure that the skies would be clear, and to provide support.

 

Two hours later the word was given and the Storm Eagle Transports and Stormtalon Gunships lifted off and the Repulsor hover tanks rolled out...

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job setting up the decapitation strike.

The Inquisitor well knew the reputation of the StormCrows. They had a record of losing inquisitors to "unfortunate incidents" in "the line of duty" and this particular example had no desire to be another statistic.

Taking inspiration from the Gaunts' Ghosts novel Blood Pact, I think the Chapter is more likely to find a convenient patsy for the Inquisitors' deaths, absolving themselves of blame; the Inquisition may be suspect the truth, but lack sufficient evidence to justify eradicating a VERY USEFUL Space Marine Chapter and the VERY EXPENSIVE resources invested in it.

 

Praise the dead Inquisitors as heroes and martyrs to further shift suspicion away from the Marines.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Good job setting up the decapitation strike.

The Inquisitor well knew the reputation of the StormCrows. They had a record of losing inquisitors to "unfortunate incidents" in "the line of duty" and this particular example had no desire to be another statistic.

Taking inspiration from the Gaunts' Ghosts novel Blood Pact, I think the Chapter is more likely to find a convenient patsy for the Inquisitors' deaths, absolving themselves of blame; the Inquisition may be suspect the truth, but lack sufficient evidence to justify eradicating a VERY USEFUL Space Marine Chapter and the VERY EXPENSIVE resources invested in it.

 

Praise the dead Inquisitors as heroes and martyrs to further shift suspicion away from the Marines.

 

I've actually never read those. My basic idea was that the StormCrows know more than they let on, having been at this a good long while, and just let the Inquisitors blunder their way to a gruesome death, and hopefully minimizing Astartes casualties. That and a bit of what you're suggesting.

 

The StormCrows see the Inquisition as a cautionary tale in what happens when you let idiots and zealots rule an Empire...

Edited June 11, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Idea: Preserve the corpse of a "Chaos cultist"- either a real cultist, a random corpse lying around, or one of the Inquisitor's own acolytes (such a convenient patsy). If the Inquisitor causes trouble, kill him, put a "suicide bomb" on the dead cultist, throw the corpse into the Inquisitor's room, and detonate the bomb to destroy evidence.

 

When the Inquisition demands to know what happened, tell the investigators a Chaos infiltrator managed to sneak into the Inquisitor's room and assassinate him, and then mourn the dead Inquisitor as a "fallen friend and worthy ally." If the Inquisition demands to know why the Marines failed to protect one of their own, say the dead Inquisitor kept the Marines away, as he didn't trust the Chapter with the Inquisition's secrets.

 

That puts the Inquisition in a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" dilemma: Either keep the Marines close so they can protect the Inquisitors and the latter can keep an eye on the Marines, the price being the Marine "protectors" have a direct view on things the Inquisition would rather keep secret; or keep the Marines away so they won't know the Inquisition's secrets, the price being there'll be no one to defend the Inquisitors from "suicide bombers."

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Idea: Preserve the corpse of a "Chaos cultist"- either a real cultist, a random corpse lying around, or one of the Inquisitor's own acolytes (such a convenient patsy). If the Inquisitor causes trouble, kill him, put a "suicide bomb" on the dead cultist, throw the corpse into the Inquisitor's room, and detonate the bomb to destroy evidence.

 

When the Inquisition demands to know what happened, tell the investigators a Chaos infiltrator managed to sneak into the Inquisitor's room and assassinate him, and then mourn the dead Inquisitor as a "fallen friend and worthy ally." If the Inquisition demands to know why the Marines failed to protect one of their own, say the dead Inquisitor kept the Marines away, as he didn't trust the Chapter with the Inquisition's secrets.

 

That puts the Inquisition in a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" dilemma: Either keep the Marines close so they can protect the Inquisitors and the latter can keep an eye on the Marines, the price being the Marine "protectors" have a direct view on things the Inquisition would rather keep secret; or keep the Marines away so they won't know the Inquisition's secrets, the price being there'll be no one to defend the Inquisitors from "suicide bombers."

I like that. I might use that very soon. I wanted to give the Impression that the StormCrows were often three or four steps ahead of the Inquisition, and basically much more intelligent, cunning, and informed than the Inquisition gives them credit for being. I wanted the StormCrows to feel like they're a precision instrument, rather than the blunt instrument that the Inquisition expects them to be.

 

Obviously, the Inquisition only really knows the results they get, and the reputation they have, and not the inner workings of the Chapter and their Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP's). I wanted the details to be closely guarded secrets, much like they are in modern Special Operations Forces.

 

I have to say that I do like the idea of them arranging for Inquisitors to have accidents, or not sharing everything they know so that the Inquisitor will blunder into an obvious trap.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 3 ++++

 

Gunnar shifted nervously in his seat. Something unnerved him about the raid. It wasn't a long flight, but it was long enough for his enhanced mind to race through the myriad of unknowns they had. Gunnar, like many members of the chapter, had been raised on a fortress world, trained from the age of six by the planetary defense force to be a professional soldier. Some like Huginn had been brought from a feral world, where he had undergone his people's warrior training from the same age, regardless of planetary origin, all had been taken from their worlds and trained to be Astartes by the StormCrows, the perfect blend of warrior and soldier. They were superb individual warriors, easily more than a match for most foes, and they were also professional soldiers, they were the ultimate expression, the pinnacle, of human martial tradition, but still, Gunnar felt a strange unease...

 

He pushed his thoughts aside as he felt a sudden change in momentum. Their Storm Eagle had come to a hover. The Crew Chief Motioned silently for the astartes to stand up, as he kicked ropes out either side door of the craft. The Astartes moved forward, grabbing ropes and silently sliding down to the ground below. As the Stalker teams hit the ground, the eliminators all opened fire and took out the guards. The Suppressed bolt rounds tore their skulls open, splattering their brains all over the walls behind them.

 

Olaf Slapped a charge on the door, And Gunnar's team took their positions just before Olaf detonated the charge. The wall exploded inward, quickly followed by the team effortlessly navigating the remains of the wall at their feet. Bolters fired, their rounds ripping into the disgusting mutants inside. Bodies hit the floor, limp and lifeless, with wet thuds, as the Astartes continued their ruthless assault. The sound of automatic bolter fire echoed from above the stalker teams. The Inceptor squads had begun their top down assault. Gunnar motioned for Huginn to take his teams and meet the inceptors on the floors above, while Gunnar would take his squad's teams below.

 

Gunnar hoped to drive the cult into the extermination teams. He quickly located the entrance to the basement, Hafthor threw a grenade down the stairwell, and Gunnar shut the door. The grenade detonated, the squad then filed down the stairs into the underground. There was a flickering hologram, and a a crumpled form in the corner. The form was a humanoid female. Gunnar considered her attractive, in spite of the ridges on her forehead and bald head. She wore adornments which seemed to indicate that she was a psyker of some kind.

 

Regardless of her physical appearance, she was a heretic and a mutant, a foul herald for the swarm. Gunnar knew that she would be a valuable prisoner for the Inquisitor, and he placed psychic restraints around her neck and bound her wrists. It struck Gunnar as odd, This was easy, impossibly easy...

Edited June 16, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job.

The form was a humanoid female. Gunnar considered her attractive, in spite of the ridges on her forehead and bald head. She wore adornments which seemed to indicate that she was a psyker of some kind.

I'm surprised the psycho-indoctrination Gunnar received as an Astartes, didn't make him automatically view the mutant with disgust and an itchy trigger finger.

It struck Gunnar as odd, This was easy, impossibly easy...

Hope you're not tempting fate, Brother Gunnar.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Good job.

Thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

 

 

The form was a humanoid female. Gunnar considered her attractive, in spite of the ridges on her forehead and bald head. She wore adornments which seemed to indicate that she was a psyker of some kind.

I'm surprised the psycho-indoctrination Gunnar received as an Astartes, didn't make him automatically view the mutant with disgust and an itchy trigger finger.

 

Part of the indoctrination that the StormCrows receive is to thing not just tactically but also strategically. He recognized the mutant as something valuable, and a potential exploitable resource. It could also have been the creature's mental abilities playing with his mind a bit... To which he responded by suppressing those abilities with restraints...

 

 

 

It struck Gunnar as odd, This was easy, impossibly easy...

Hope you're not tempting fate, Brother Gunnar.

 

Oh, he's suspicious for sure. He remembered his lessons all to well, a brother Murphy once said, "The easy way is always mined..."

 

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

++++ Part 4 ++++

 

Gunnar looked around, sensing an ambush, or some form of elaborate trap. He glanced around the room, looking for anything out of place. He spied a false wall, evidenced by the arcing scrapes on the floor. He signaled two of his men to take up positions on the door, and another to take control of the prisoner. He cautiously approached the hidden door. One of the men tripped the release and the heavy door came unsealed. Gunnar pulled the wall segment open revealing a tunnel. The Sound amplifiers in his helmet picked up faint sounds from below, sounds of flamers, bolter fire belching death.

 

Gunnar Was about to take five men down into the dark abyss, when a sudden call came over the vox.

 

"Contact! All sides, numerous hostiles!" The voice was calm and even, but contained a hint of urgency, "Security teams pulling back to the target building!"

 

Gunnar's HUD confirmed the call came from one of the security teams. Ambushed!? How could we have not seen it? Was all Gunnar could think. The abyss before him became lit with a hellish glow. Gunnar saw shrieking forms clawing their way back towards him, and braced and fired...

 

***

 

The Extermination teams had been hit hard by the retreating mutants. They had attempted to flee, as Sgt Gunnar had predicted. The Containment teams had been effective backup, keeping things from getting out. Sergeant Bjorn and his fellow aggressors had met up in a central sewer hub, located below the target. They were met by stream of fleeing mutants pouring out of tunnel. Bjorn torched his way to the entrance and began to ascend the ramp, rendering all before him to ash and bubbling grease. He then heard bolter fire from around the bends at the top of the spiraling ramp. His HUD lit up, indicating that it was Brother-Sergeant Gunnar.

 

An amplified voice, not over the vox, shouted, "Contact, rear!" The containment teams opened fire to their rear. The same voice rang out again, this time over the vox, "Containment teams, seal the tunnels!" A series of explosions rocked them in rapid succession, collapsing the tunnels as the Intercessor squads burst forth from the dust kicked up by their hasty fortifications.

 

Sergeant Floki slapped Bjorn on the shoulder, a clank reverberated through him. Bjorn turned, performing a flawless pirouette on the ball of his left foot.

 

He called over vox, "Aggressors up!" To indicate that they had been tagged out to defend the flanks.

 

Sergeant Floki called up to Sergeant Gunnar, "Hold Fire, friendlies at your six!"

 

Gunnar called out, "Thunder!" and he was met by Floki's response of "Flash!" Having confirmed the identity of the men below, he lowered his weapon and flipped the safety of his weapon on.

 

***

Brother-Lieutenant Magnus called over the vox, "All units SITREP!" He was met by a chorus of responses. Magnus was relieved to hear that there had been no casualties yet, but now they were besieged inside this building. This was an untenable situation for them. The Inquisitor descended the stairs to the main floor, his entourage in tow. Magnus went about redeploying his forces to best defend their position. They were going to need to extract through the roof, as there was going to be no way for them to leave from street level, and the containment teams had sealed the sewers to keep from being overrun.

 

The inquisitor strode confidently over to Magnus. "I hear that you have a prisoner. Bring her to me," He demanded, "Unharmed."

 

Magnus called for Gunnar to bring the enemy Magos. Moments later, Gunnar came up the stairs, the Magos slung over his massive shoulder. Gunnar deftly popped her off his shoulder and placed her on the floor with careful firmness, to assert his control.

 

The Inquisitor motioned for Gunnar to remove the psychic restraints. Gunnar looked to Magnus, his helmeted head cocked quizzically.

 

"Don't look at him, Astartes!" The Inquisitor shrieked, "I gave you an order!"

 

Gunnar was in no mood to argue. Their raid had now become a siege, and The Storm Crows did not excel as defenders, it was against their nature. A heavy bolter opened fire from one of the windows as one of the Intercessor teams opened fire on a group of approaching cultists. Many Intercessors in the second company had formerly been Tactical Squad Marines, before crossing the Rubicon Primaris, and the chapter had adopted their modified use of Tactical Doctrine for the new Intercessor squads. Indeed the use of special and heavy weapons among the highly specialized Primaris doctrine was a common theme among the Storm Crows ranks. The right tool for the job at hand, Gunnar thought to himself, glad for his chapter's emphasis on tactical flexibility.

 

He removed the restraints. The Inquisitor began immediately to bombard the Magos with psychic energies. At least this one doesn't seem incompetent, Gunnar thought. Outside, the swarming cultists paused. They were now reconnected to their Magos, though she was in no position to give orders. The Inquisitor's two sanctioned psykers assisted in the torture of this abhorrent mutant.

 

The Inquisitor pulled information from the depths of the mutant's mind. The Inquisitor's aide feverishly transcribed the secrets he was pouring out. The Magos let out a piercing, bloodcurdling scream. She was obviously in unbearable agony. Gunnar could not help but feel pity for the mutant. He reminded himself that her very existence was treason against humanity, she was a herald of the swarm. Her existence was a threat to humanity and had to be purged. Still, the torment she was being subjected to was just abhorrent as her existence.

 

The Inquisitor stopped babbling out her secrets, and his face twisted into a baleful grin, and it was apparent that the Magos could divulge nothing more than screams and pleas for death. This was beyond interrogation, this was torture, for no purpose but the sadistic glee of the Inquisitor. Gunnar could stand no more. He twitched preparing to move, but Magnus snatched the psychic restraints from his hand, and slapped them on the Magos. Magnus rounded on the inquisitor, grabbing him by the throat, hoisting him from his feet. Gunnar exploded into motion, striking both psykers with enough force to render them immediately unconscious.

 

"What do you think you're doing!?" The Inquisitor sputtered. "Release me at once!" The inquisitor continued to squirm and gag, choking against Magnus's grip.

 

The rest of the Inquisitorial bodyguard attempted to intervene, but were quickly subdued by Gunnar's men. It was good to see that the Astartes of the Storm Crows all shared one mind when it came to their ethics. Skald Johann came over and relieved the aide of his dataslate, tucking it into his satchel. 

 

The roar of engines sounded overhead. Magnus rendered the Inquisitor unconscious. He called over the vox for all members of the assault force to pull back and ascend.The Company's air assets scoured the surrounding streets, and their first company detachment descended, flamers and meltas burning through the gathered masses of cultists, as the Veteran Company's purge squads fell upon the enemy. The Intercessor teams pored fire into the horde as well, their infernus heavy bolters belching 25mm shells into the crowd and igniting all who came too close with bellowing flame.The Purge squads made their way to the building, and the entire assault force began to leap frog up the building to their rooftop extraction. For the next hour the assault force, and their relief fought, the mob of foul mutants refused to break. Even so its number was greatly diminished.

 

The entire assault force, extracted with no casualties, a testament to the skill of the Storm Crows. In addition they made off with a valuable prize, a Genestealer cult Magos. Her psychic talents would be put to good use, hooked into the seemingly arcane machinery deep within their fortress monastery, which would allow them to track and confuse genestealer cults for decades to come.

 

The inquisitor drifted back into consciousness. He jerked and felt the tug of restraints. He was bound to something. As his mind cleared he was able to determine that he was shackled to a cross. He was on his knees with his arms around those of the cross his wrists shackled with the chain across his belly, and his head bound to the cross at an upward angle. He could clearly see Captain Sigurd standing over him.

 

"I demand to know, just what do you think you are doing!?" He strained.

 

"It is simple, Inquisitor," Sigurd responded, "You are being punished."

 

The Inquisitor though this laughable, indeed he began to laugh out loud. "You think you have the Authority to punish me!?" He shrieked.

 

Sigurd looked him in the eye, no emotion playing on his face, he spoke, "For the gross misuse of your authority, the attempted murder of my Brother Astartes, withholding valuable information, and heresy, we, the Storm Crows Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, find you guilty. For your crimes, your sentence is death, but fear not Inquisitor, your death with be of use to the Imperium..." 

 

Sigurd directed the Inquisitor's glare to a psychic beacon and what appeared to be a large bomb. The Inquisitor noticed that they were out in the wastes, far away from the sprawl of the hive city. The Beacon appeared to be active.

 

"You dare-" The inquisitor was cut off.

 

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, Inquisitor?" Sigurd questioned in perfect High Gothic.

 

Who watches the watchers? What ludicrous heresy is this!? The thoughts raced through the Inquisitor's mind. The realization dawned on the inquisitor. The beacon was bait for the remaining genestealer cultists, and his warp presence and the frequency of the beacon was the bait. The Inquisitor saw the horde's remnants come into view. The Inquisitor broke down and sobbed. He pleaded for his life, begging to be spared.

 

Sigurd walked away to his waiting transport. He boarded, and turned around to watch as the horde swallow the inquisitor. Moments later the bomb detonated, the massive heatwave incinerated the remains of the infestation.

 

Captain Sigurd, Commander of the Storm Crows Second Company, reported that the infestation had been purged, but that the Inquisitor had perished, giving his life to do so...

Edited June 22, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job.

 

What did the Inquisitor hide from the Stormcrows, anyways? A ridiculous plan to

draw the Genestealers towards space a Chaos Space Marine or Ork army conquered, which would also see the xenos devastate the worlds in between- including those under the protection of the Stormcrows and other loyalist forces

?

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Good job.

 

What did the Inquisitor hide from the Stormcrows, anyways? A ridiculous plan to

draw the Genestealers towards space a Chaos Space Marine or Ork army conquered, which would also see the xenos devastate the worlds in between- including those under the protection of the Stormcrows and other loyalist forces

?

I wanted it to be a vague charge, but I think it would be safe to assume it has something to do with the dataslate that Skald Johann took from the inquisitor's aide. That and the fact that he apparently knew more about the Infestation than he let on...

 

I'm going to do an epilogue that will neatly tie up some of the loose ends, and it will deal with the After Action Reports for the last episode. It will be internal records, the ones which do not get submitted to the Adeptus Administratum.