FALLEN

[Grand Master Belial]

9 of 34 in 2 weeks. About 23%. Just let that number settle in.

 

Wait... 34 minus 9 (casualties) minus the force on the planet (2 tactical squads, one devastator Squad, Liliel and retinue and the scout squad). Oh...

Sounds like a few marines have to go back on the ship to make the cruiser empty (stupid math-joke). :ph34r:

 

If you read again, Xaphan gives the 34 number to Leviticus after he is aboard the ship. The five were already removed. I am keeping a very close track on the 34 marines. (That is why Duma has made an appearance. I was holding back four. Before the mission Leliel had three left in his Command Squad (Leviticus killed the other two in the observation deck). Jehuel had seven men under him, Pammon had four Devastators under him. Duma and and three others made up the Scout squad. Uwala gave Leviticus a full ten man squad. Now add Uwala, Assiel, and Xaphan and now you have the 34 marines.

 

As it stands now, Jehuel broke his squad to fill out Leliel's retinue and Pammon's Devastators. But neither of them is at full strength. Leviticus split off Nakriel and Vehuiah so now he is under strength.

 

Sorry to confuse you there.

 

Alas, Grand Master Jack, you have hit upon something I have been wrestling with for these last few months. After being discharged from the Army, I am losing touch with my military background. Now add to it that I am now engaged and moving yet again so that I can get some more free time. I haven't had my mind been able to dream much like I did last fall. It is getting rather annoying.

 

I'll endeavour to revise the last section to more fitting of my older work, but I fear my life is pulling me in a direction this story may not be able to follow.

[Bellicose]

Take your time and go with it man. Life never follows an easy path or we'd all have a complete chapter to game with and the time to do it. You'll get there and we will all support you in this endevour, just look at the visits this story has had, were all hooked. :ph34r:

[Erasmus]

(Hand shaking)

 

Must have more............Need fix.

 

Come on you know I'm good for it!!!

[Grand Master Belial]

Its still really good, but just doesn't have the 'feel' of earlier updates. These ones fell a bit rushed.

 

Try to use the same amount of description as before, it made it so much better.

 

I had a couple minutes to flesh this section out a bit more. Is this a bit better?

 

‘You can die!’ replied Leliel. With a massive swing, Leliel brought around his chain-axe and bludgeoned the self-proclaimed Praetor’s head deep into his body. The corpse looking slightly reminiscent of the extinct Squats remained stuck on the end of the chain-axe. Leliel took in the image before tapping the rune that flared the chain-axe to life. Throwing the obstruction clear of the teeth, the chain-axe spun up to speed where it produced a high pitch scream. To Leliel, it was a scream demanding more blood. In a sudden burst of violence, Leliel and his marines opened fire with their pistols and began attacking the mercenaries. Jehuel remained close to Leliel though he let himself go to the release of violence and the thrill of killing.

 

The mercenaries were stunned; they had always preyed upon weaker groups. Their cowardice had left them ill prepared to face against a hardened foe like the marines. Many of those closest to the marines tried to turn and run only to be cut down by the small group of marines. Those that managed to raise a pistol missed wildly or had the las-round absorbed by the thick ceramite armor.

 

One of Jehuel’s squad brought their flamer to bear and unleashed a plume of burning promethium. The bright plume of light cast a strange glow on the already lit landscape. Leliel delighted in the sound of the screaming men and the smells of cooked flesh. Nevertheless, Leliel preferred the tinny smell of freshly spilt blood. Another coward tried to flee in front of him. Leliel thrust forward his simple bionic hand and grabbed the mercenary by the neck. He lifted the flailing human off his feet before ordering his hand to close. Leliel couldn’t feel anything through the hand and it satisfied him as the steel fingers crushed the neck of the human into pulp.

 

Throwing aside the corpse, Leliel reached the ruined sanctum of the Emperor. Leliel turned back to admire the destruction his marines were unleashing. With each pull of the trigger or swinging of a weapon unleashed the scent of blood as another pathetic human died by marine hands. The scent of blood was so pungent that Leliel had the feeling of rapture. The sensations began to envelope him like armour. He felt invincible and noticed his senses had heightened to the point that he can hear the beating of the hearts of everything around him. His vision was so acute that he could even see the arteries on their necks pulsating. Turning toward the ruins, he found he could see through the floor. The blood-induced vision showed a large pool of blood below the floor of the ruins. Peering into the pool, he could see a cavern in the shape of the symbol of Khorne lying deep below the floor of the cathedral.

 

Leliel snapped out of the vision and made his way into the ruins to a pile of rubble that once was an absolutions chamber. With a few quick orders, several marines began shifting boulders until they found an access hatch leading downward. It had been severely damaged when the structure collapsed and the broken pipes had leaked water that lay stagnant in the depressions of the floor as well as rusting the hatch solid. Leliel began to hack at the hatch’s hinges with his chain axe. It finally yielded though the chain-axe had lost several of its teeth in the process. Leliel and his entourage dropped into a cramped passageway. Following the passage, they came to a large chamber. On the other side, there stood the yawning entrance to the sanctuary of Khorne. The entrance was guarded by bronze sculptures on either side with a pile of skulls at their base. Even in the low light, Leliel could see that they carved to resemble Bloodletters. ‘We will need an offering. Go and find me a worthy candidate.’

 

+ + +

 

Perspicax looked through the optics as he approached the rendezvous point. ‘Something’s wrong, very, very wrong.’

 

‘Sir?’

 

‘Is there any traffic on the vox?’

 

‘I’ve got a lot of chatter on the other bands but nothing on the on the coded bands, sir.’

 

Perspicax looked again at the scene on the horizon. The rolling plain obscured much of the view. But from what little he could see, there was no activity at the rally point. Putting down the optics he grabbed the vox handset from the operator. ‘Lead to Column, slow and disperse into tactical formation. Prepare for an ambush.’

 

Around him, the group of Chimeras and Salamanders staggered themselves out on the dusty roadway and slowed to avoid raising too much dust. PDF Troopers in the Chimeras took up positions behind one of the six mounted lasguns in the rear compartment. Troopers hitching a ride in the Salamanders took cover behind the sides of the exposed compartment and readied their own weapons.

 

The new Lieutenant sunk back down into the crew compartment and reached for his battered pack. Undoing the straps holding his bedroll, he quickly unrolled the thick blankets to reveal his sniper rifle. Quietly he began to reassemble his preferred weapon as he whispered a prayer to the Emperor and the rifle’s war spirit. After checking his weapon, he lifted himself back out of the open hatch of his Chimera. Using a few soil bags for support, he settled in behind the scope as the Chimera continued to bounce along on its tracks. The optics on the scope was far better than his newly issued field optics. Looking toward the rally point, his morale fell like a drop pod. The reaction force had been attacked.

 

Erasmus, I am going to try to give you some new stuff soon. I had some troubles with my account for a while. Keep up the encouragement, even if it is in a PM.

[Bellicose]

Ahh got my fix. I'm with Erasmus, need to know more , more damn it more ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

 

Oops sorry about that feeling much better now, must be of off to see the apothecary, capstealan node must be malfunctioning.

 

joking aside I do check this post to see if there is any more quite often. A big project you have here and well done. looking forward to seeing more. Good luck Grand Master

[Erasmus]

That last section is now perfect. It flows better and your slowly moving away from your past and present tense mix ups.

 

Don't worry Beliel, take your time.

[Nostromo]

Good! Much better than the previous version.

Their cowardice and left them ill prepared to face against a hardened foe like the marines

I think the "and" does not belong there - does it?

[Grand Master Belial]

I think the "and" does not belong there - does it?

 

Nope, I switched it to "had" above. Thanks for the catch. I am cleaning up a little bit more of the end of Chapter 14 then it's on to 15!

[Grand Master Belial]

CHAPTER XV

 

Sergeant Pammon continued to march down the street. On either side, buildings shot up vertically five stories or more. Most of the windows were broken and doors beaten down and refuse littered the streets. The city had been looted pretty thoroughly. Two marines armed with bolters marched slowly ahead of the group as spotters. The remaining four Devastators stayed close to Pammon as they walked down the thoroughfare towards the blip on Pammon's auspex. With no other objects on the auspex, each marine kept a close vigilance for any signs of booby traps that might evade the sensors. In the short time since they left Leliel to pursue his own agenda, they had stumbled upon several humans that had died through rather dubious accidents.

 

What puzzled Pammon was the silence. The crash site should be a hot bed of activity. Yet, the only sign of activity seems to be behind them. What bothered the Devastator sergeant more was the group of Scouts that are supposed to be in the area. Each had an unnaturally high lust for violence and blood shed. Pammon could easily swear that the lot of them was the first to succumb to the call of the Blood God. Pammon could care less about the worship of any god. All he cared about was raining the most amount of destruction as possible on a target without being a target himself. Now, he was a target.

 

The two point marines finally came to a point where they could see the crash site. The utter ruins of a hab-block stood in front of them. In the ruins lay hundreds of corpses, some from the impact while others were more recent. As Pammon reached the site, he looked over the bodies quickly. Most of the recent dead were killed through combat, but a couple appeared to have died from something else. “Point men, disperse and find us a defendable position.”

 

““Yes, sir!”

 

Squatting down into a tight perimeter, Pammon again consulted his auspex. Staring back at him was the large blip on the screen depicting the crash site. Nothing else was visible on the small hand-held scanner. “Pammon to point can you see the object from your location?”

 

“Yes, sir. It is a Dreadclaw Assault Pod, badly damaged by the looks of it. I would say that by the unscorched areas that it had been traveling through space until it was caught in the planet’s gravity well. The crater around the object does provide adequate cover. “

 

“Alright, take up covering positions, were moving out.”

 

“It will be done.”

 

As one the group stood up and with practiced precision, the five marines covered the distance between the ruins to the position held by the two tactical marines. The Dreadclaw had crashed through several buildings before it stopped in the base of the hab-block. The hab-block collapsed and destroyed the adjacent building as it fell. Much of the ruin had been cleared around the pod and on an adjacent corner. Several burnt out terramovers still sat in the ruins. It did not take Pammon long to find defensible positions in the rubble. There was only one route of approach left to those attempting to retrieve the pod and now it was defended by seven space marines.

 

Satisfied that his men were in a highly defensible position, Pammon turned his attention to the Dreadclaw pod. All around it were recent burns and scoring from shrapnel. Several places showed areas were someone attempted to burn into the pod before abruptly stopping. The skin itself had melted under the intense heat created as it fell through the atmosphere. Running his gauntlet along the surface, Pammon felt pits as if the pod had been tumbling through space before it was caught in the atmosphere. Any markings or paint would have been blasted off in the scorching heat. It is no wonder that it was declared an artifact, it fell from the stars, but none knew who put it there. Pammon made his way through the rubble towards the hatch and found that it had already been breached.

 

The ambient light outside more than lit up the interior of the pod as Pammon looked around. Inside were the remains of ten marines pulverized against the top of the pod along with the decayed bodies of people trying to pillage anything of value. Insects and what passed for vermin on this planet lurked in the shadows, feasting on the corpses. Pammon grabbed a human corpse and threw it out of the Dreadclaw to make room for his armored form to fit inside the pod.

 

As he turned back, Pammon stopped dead still. In the space most recently occupied by the corpse, a small group of round bodies stared back at him, their bodies covered in open sores and pustules, Nurglings. What Pammon once thought was vermin were actually Nurglings. The Pod was full of them.

 

“Evac! Now!” Pammon yelled backing away from the pod. The Nurglings followed behind. The squad stood to depart when out of the ruins came hundreds of the blighted creatures. They were surrounded and trapped. Pammon stunned that he fell unknowingly into a trap could only say one thing, “Kill them all!”

 

The roar of bolter fire quickly filled the air about the ruins but just as quickly as it had started, silence reclaimed that part of the city.

 

+ + +

 

The lingering sounds of bolter fire were faint but still noticed by Leviticus. The sounds put it some ways off and yet the trail of bodies, still warm and leaking blood, went off in a different direction. “Leliel must have split his forces.”

 

“Aye Brother Sergeant, by the sounds it must be Pammon’s bunch. I recognize those Heavy Bolters. Though I thought only Pammon had a bolter when we last saw them,” replied Barkiel.

 

“No, Jehuel split his squad in half so that he can join Leliel’s entourage. There are six marines with Pammon and four with Leliel and Jehuel.”

 

Leviticus thought for a moment, “Leliel is the priority though we will have an enemy on our back. We are too few in number to split up now. Leave Pammon alone for now, we can deal with him later. Let’s go.”

 

+ + +

 

“Emperor damn me, I wish there was some cover.” A PDF Sharpshooter whispered quiet enough only to be heard by those close to him. Perspicax wished he knew his name so he could reprimand them later. Now was not the time, now was the time for battle. Perspicax let go of his officer duties and became a sniper again. His face darkened with dirt and donning his sniper cloak, Perspicax melted into the landscape. His thoughts turned to his old spotter Helice.

 

The great bear of a man survived though he had lost both of his legs from all the splinters of wood and chunks of rubble tossed by the missile. He could be fitted with bionics, but they were noisy and prone to jamming in the adverse conditions. He could never serve as a sniper again. After this, neither will I. Perspicax thought to himself.

 

Breathing deep, he let himself absorb the environment around him. He could feel the breeze hit his face and the smell of wet grass. He could feel himself becoming one with the environment. He opened himself up to the sounds and sensations around him. He could still hear the popping of the cooling engines of the vehicles on the roadway as well as the rustling of sharpshooters as they took positions and made themselves more comfortable. They were not snipers, but the enemy was very adept at it. They will no doubt surround this area and close a noose silently on this position. I can’t stay here.

 

Slipping out silently, Perspicax made his way away from the assembled soldiers and out into an area he had scoped out as an ideal sniper location. He only wished it were not already occupied.

 

Inside the command Chimera, the Vox operator continued to scan the frequencies on the vehicle’s vox-set for any sign of activity. Through the static came what sounded like High Gothic and then nothing again. No one in the PDF uses High Gothic; it was the language of the elite groups of the Imperium. Excited at the prospect that help had arrived, the vox-operator rushed out of the back hatch and into a waiting knife.

 

+ + +

 

Duma looked at the person stuck on the end of his blade. The shocked looked in the persons eyes gave Duma a small matter of satisfaction, but Duma was outraged that his quarry had the nerve to fall on his blade without him doing a thing. Discarding the operator, the Sergeant looked to see the others silently kill the vehicle drivers and the tank commanders. None knew that the scouts had their flank and even now approached the rear of their position.

 

+ + +

 

Perspicax crept up into the position he had scoped out. It provided a commanding view though it lacked any heavy vegetation. Perspicax looked through the rifle’s scope at his old position, the Sharpshooters were all in their positions, and a couple had taken to nibbling on their ration bars. Panning over to the vehicles, Perspicax’s heart jumped up into his throat. On the top of a Chimera, a hulking form was cutting into a limp driver’s head. When the form finished he reached down and grabbed something from the body. Perspicax was riveted to the scene and yet he felt an urgent need to throw up. The form withdrew one of the driver’s eyes and popped it into his mouth.

 

Filled with a sudden heat, the sniper lined up a shot behind the sniper's ear and pulled the trigger. The scout jerked suddenly before falling over. What little sound his rifle made was enough to arouse the others attention. One looked up to see what happened to his companion before Perspicax also put a round into his head. Two down, but how many others were there.

 

+ + +

 

Duma coughed as he crawled off the roadway and into an irrigation ditch. Two of his scouts now lay dead amongst the pathetic humans. Both of Duma’s hearts were thundering. Finally, I have a worthy opponent. He signaled his last scout to move out toward their latest prey. Both stayed on their bellies and like snakes, moved through the long grass towards where they last heard the sounding of the sniper rifle.

 

+ + +

 

The landing struts groaned as they took the weight of the landing gunship. Nakriel had engaged his sus-an membrane in an effort to extend his life. Vehuiah bent down and picked up his battle brother before hearing the hissing of hydraulics as the ramp began to descend. Qalbam stood at the top of the ramp his bolt pistol leveled though he had no armor above the waist. The apothecary sat slumped against the bulkhead with a fresh blood clot against his temple.

 

“Leaving so soon? I thought an Angel never turned away from battle.”

 

Vehuiah replied, “Who said anything that I had turned away from a battle?”

 

“You bear no wounds and here you are running away while your Lord has commanded you into battle.”

 

“I will not serve under one whose mind is bent on wanton destruction. I fight for the betterment of Man not the betterment of a single man.”

 

“Ha! And yet, you swore oaths to serve a single man. You hypocrite. Do you not remember when the Emperor tossed you over to his underling who then in turn left you on Caliban to rot!”

 

“I do remember the disgrace we received from the Lion. However, it doesn’t compare to the disgrace I have received under Leliel. We have become nothing more than selfish pirates, an anathema to Man. I can see why the Chapters hunt us. We were given strength and power to help mold the galaxy for the betterment of others. Nevertheless, with that power came a grave responsibility, a responsibility that we have long forgotten to uphold. For that, I am shamed and yet I am shamed further by the actions of those that were once the finest Legion ever to travel the stars.”

 

“Enough talk!” Qalbam lowered the pistol and picked up a chainsword. It coughed into life as the Fallen marine descended the ramp. Vehuiah stepped back still holding Nakriel in his arms. Both of the marine’s bolters were slung behind the Squad Leader’s back. He had left himself get into a tactical disadvantage. Unfortunately, the mistake will cost the lives of two marines.

 

Qalbam raised the sword and leapt into a charge. Vehuiah rolled forward depositing Nakriel on the grass. He came up on one knee and his bolter in his hands. Without thought, Vehuiah fired.

 

The stunned look Qalbam was plain to see. He looked down to see his chest in ruins and his feet suspended above the ground. It was then that he lifted his head to find his arm caught in the vice grip of a servo arm. Turning in the air he looked into the cold stare of the Techmarine’s helmet. The grip on Qalbam’s arm tightened until the bones shattered under the crushing grip. The chainsword fell out of the useless hand into the waiting palm of Xaphan. With a flick of the servo arm, Qalbam was released only to be cut down the chainsword.

 

Vehuiah held his position until the Techmarine lowered the growling sword. “Thank you, brother.”

 

“Good speech. Though I think, we had better tend to those who do need our help. Bring Nakriel aboard. I’ll look to Brother Assiel.”

 

+ + +

 

Perspicax surveyed the area around the convoy for any more targets of opportunity. He caught snatches of movement in the grass, but not the source of the movement. One thing was clear; the movements were closing on him. Looking through the scope, he looked toward the sharpshooters. They had heard nothing and remained oblivious to the danger behind them. The memory of the marine feasting on the driver's eyes stuck in his mind and without thinking, he fired off a couple of shots next to the sharpshooters.

 

That got them moving. The plumes of dirt brought their attentions towards their rear. One of them looked to have noticed something and signaled to his companions. As one, they each fired the rifles toward the target. The barking of another weapon followed it up. One man blew apart in a spray of blood and gore. Another screamed in agony as his weapon shattered in his face. The remaining shooters all returned fire. Each one fired round after round into the spot where they saw the flashes of the bolt pistol. It never sounded again.

 

+ + +

 

Duma threw the mini-vox away in disgust. Whoever spotted them was smart enough not to raise the alarm using the vox. What he thought were attacks by the sniper, were nothing more than attempts to rouse his companions. One of whom spotted Duma’s remaining scout. That same scout now lay dying from the numerous wounds he had received.

 

Luckily, in the ensuing confusion, Duma had managed to slip closer to the initial sniper. The sniper had a good position, but the marine’s eyes were sharp enough to see that the sniper was alone. This one sniper had killed all of Duma’s hand chosen marines. Duma was now positioned so that he had both groups to his front as he attempted to flank of the one experienced sniper.

 

More shots were fired. Their suppressors were good at removing most of the sound but his enhanced hearing was able to hear them out without a problem. He saw the rifle barrel was still not pointed in his direction. How pathetic, he is staying in that position instead of moving. Perhaps he is not that experienced after all.

 

Duma crawled slowly through the grass. He could feel the thrill of the kill rising in him as he edged ever closer. He was half way up the grassy hill. The few scrub brushes concealed his position from the other sharpshooters. He glanced their way; they had come out of their positions to search the bodies and to look for others. One apparently had his trail, but it did not matter. After he kills this one sniper, the rest will be easy. Turning back to his prey, the sniper’s barrel had shifted a little bit, but it still showed no indication that it had detected the marine lying just a short ways down the slope from his position.

 

Planting his toes, Duma quickly launched himself at this prey. His blade flashed out as he quickly launched himself at the prone sniper. The blade plunged down through the air and into the neck of the body like a tooth of some gigantic beast.

 

Snap.

 

Duma withdrew his combat knife to find no blood on the blade. Suddenly confused, Duma knocked the helmet aside. A spare barrel tumbled forward and a small shrub stared back at him. He had been duped.

 

+ + +

 

Perspicax sat perched atop an adjacent hill and let a small smile cross his lips as he viewed the confused look on the marine. Without another thought, he squeezed the trigger of his sniper rifle, dropping the marine like a slaughtered grox. “The Emperor’s Justice be done.”

[Grand Master Belial]

New Stuff above, finally. I'll try to get some more in later today.

[Erasmus]

What a twist!

You might want to look at this bit.

"Pammon made his way to the hatch did he see that the pod had been breached. "

It doesn't make alot of sense.

It could do with a bit more proof reading to change a few more mixed up words.

 

But still good :)

[Grand Master Belial]

What a twist!

You might want to look at this bit.

"Pammon made his way to the hatch did he see that the pod had been breached. "

It doesn't make alot of sense.

It could do with a bit more proof reading to change a few more mixed up words.

 

But still good <_<

 

Thanks, I fixed the one above. I'll proof it again before starting on the next section. I knew I had to have a reason for the Quarantine Zone. At first it was to be Tyranid Spore (though getting a hold of a Xenos isn't really a good reason to call in mercenaries), then it became a Necron Tomb Spyder (the phase out ability killed it's use as an artifact though) until finally it became a Corrupted Death Guard Pod.

[grand master jack]

Woooo! New chapter.

 

Again, not your best, but still really good stuff.

[Grand Master Belial]

The lingering sounds of bolter fire were faint but still noticed by Leviticus. The sounds put it some ways off and yet the trail of bodies, still warm and leaking blood, went off in a different direction.

[Grand Master Belial]

Duma threw the mini-vox away in disgust. Whoever spotted them was smart enough not to raise the alarm using the vox. What he though were attacks by the sniper, were nothing more than attempts to rouse his companions. One of whom spotted Duma

[grand master jack]

Remember kids, turning to chaos attracts exterminators!

 

Much better!!! :)

 

more... MORE!!! :)

[==Me==]

I like it, very well done :)

[Bellicose]

Well done, outstanding work. Of course i just had to start at the begining again, thankyou, anything to get away from the World cup.

[Luko124]

I've been hooked on this story for a week. to me it's better than Dawn of War, Lord of The Knight, and Ravenor.Your story has inspired me to make Persipix, and I think Duma got what was comin for him.

[Grand Master Belial]

Remember kids, turning to chaos attracts exterminators!

 

Much better!!! ;)

 

more... MORE!!! :blink:

 

Finally!

 

I found the missing piece that made Grand Master Jack happy - the details.

 

I've got the Word file open now and I'll be adding more throughout the day. I'll try to post it up in ten hours.

[Nostromo]

It's getting better and better.

Just one thing - is my english just simply that bad or why do i have trouble comprehending that sentence:

"What he though were attacks by the sniper, were nothing more than attempts to rouse his companions."

[Grand Master Belial]

It's getting better and better.

Just one thing - is my english just simply that bad or why do i have trouble comprehending that sentence:

"What he though were attacks by the sniper, were nothing more than attempts to rouse his companions."

 

"What he thought were attacks by the sniper, were nothing more than attempts to rouse his companions."

 

It is a complex sentence and I forgot a letter. How's the above or should I give it a rewrite?

[Nostromo]

After having read it the fourth time i finally comprehended it. 'No need to change it.

[Grand Master Belial]

Leliel stood above the head of a struggling human. Leliel stood with his torso bare holding his combat knife in his one good hand. His eyes were glazed over as though no one was present. He walked around the sacrificial alter before putting his knife away and grabbing his chain-axe. He toggled the activation rune and swung the axe over his head and down into the neck of the sacrifice. The teeth had barely begun to move as they bit into the man

[grand master jack]

Finally!

 

I found the missing piece that made Grand Master Jack happy - the details.

 

shock, horror!!! :P :lol:

 

Liek the new stuff, but it didn't build up nearly as much tension as the previos chapter.

 

Try to expand the ritual and the daemon possesing Leliel. That wold help the build up. ^_^