The Reaper's Hammer Crusade: Upholding the First Born Vow

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

NOTE:

 

If you build the Suppressors, pin the model to the base flying stem. For some reason, I had a difficult time getting them to glue on at all, so the pin was the only real solution.

[Brother Christopher]

I had some time to kill on a train ride and I must say, I really enjoyed reading the fluff you've come up with. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

+++ FLUFF ALERT +++

 

PT 1

 

It had already been a hard fought campaign. Sword Brother Baledian and his brothers had joined the contingent of Ultramarines as they fought across the kilometers toward the communications array, along with a small Black Templars strike force under his command.

 

The order to conjoin this force had come almost at the last moment before the forces split up to take their separate objectives. Marshal Eidrich had been direct and stern, as was his usual way, but this force did not seem to be the overwhelming hammer strike he had become known for since his ascendance to the rank. Even as he had cast the order, he seemed distracted, only focusing his full attention on him and his Sword Brethren fully as he studied the repair work to Baledian's armor and inquired on his readiness. Baledian was near to taking offence at that, but held his emotions in a tight grip in front of his leader. This was a public inspection, and it would look ill of him to openly question the Marshal's judgement.

 

Baledian had recovered fast enough from the duel. If he was of a type to admit it, he would have acknowledged that a few of his wounds still ached at him in an annoying way, but he was not. He stoically allowed the inspection of himself and accepted his commanders approval. If Marshal Eidrich noted any of his lingering discomfort, he did not remark on it.

 

His small force was to accompany the Ultramarine strike contingent and support the retaking of the off planet communications array. That had been the simple order. As the gathering dismissed to their transports, Marshal Eidrich pulled Baledian to one side and gave a more concerning order.

 

'Watch them,' he had said to the side, 'And if at all possible, ensure it is a Black Templar knight that takes the array.'

 

It had confused him to hear that order. Had not the goal of the duel with Sergeant Angorian been to foster peace and brotherhood amongst the two factions? Why, then, did the Marshal now seem to trust them less? He seemed distracted when it came to their allies, and he had no idea what to make of it. He had nodded his receipt of the order and strode to his waiting Land Raider, hoping that his disquiet had not been noted.

 

That had been many hours before, and at the back of his thoughts as the force fought to within sight of the low blocky building with the antenna and casting dish array atop it. His own aches had been well suppressed by the combat stims that flooded his internals, and his brethren fought with all the might they could muster as they advanced through the thick of the traitors. His ire was up, and none allowed any quarter to the enemy.

 

The gates of the low wall came into view. They stood opened to them, almost as if they were being invited in, save for the two tanks attempting to hold them at bay. The Templar LRC mowed down troop formations like grain stalks to the scythe, and the Ultramarines own version kitted with the heavy lascannon sponsons took a heavy toll on the enemy armor. A mass of the traitorous PDF poured out of the gatehouse and into the prepared trench line just beyond the nearly destroyed tanks.

 

Baledian bellowed loudly as he led the way into the trench, his brethren beside him. He knew no fear as the las blasts from the pitifully weak PDF weapons stopped cold as they impacted his armor. He barely registered the finger-sized pockmarks being left in his chestplate as he dove into the trench amongst the enemy. His powersword swung in a flourishless chopping motion, up and down onto the bodies he deprived of the worthless life they yet clung to. His brothers Azahim, Mikhael, and Tolor rained down similar blows with their snarling chainswords, and Vorchticht slashed any and all within reach of his lighting claws. Blood began to rain down on them in torrents, thrown by whirring teeth or splattered in half charred sprays by powered blades. Baledian reveled in the slaughter, crying out blessed battle prayers as he went.

 

It took much to reel himself back from the carnage he was inflicting and remember his orders. He was to take the array, or ensure a Knight under his command did so.

 

'To the walls!' he bellowed, pointing toward the opening, 'Take the gate!'

 

Just as he said the words, a growling scream from the unremembered nightmares of entire species sounded out over the crash of the battle. For the briefest  of moments, barely the span of a racing heartbeat, all fighting stopped.

[Brother Carpenter]

More more more

Zeal rises

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

+++FLUFF ALERT+++

 

PT. 2

 

The Ultramarines Rhino crashed onwards, the driver seemingly oblivious to the near stoppage of the fighting. It was either that, or the driver saw the opening he needed to carry his cargo of Marines to relieve Baledian's brethren as they made for the edge of the trenchworks to the gate. Either way, the severely damage vehicle slewed to a halt, it's pintle mounted storm bolter raking into the covered enemy with a whickering salvo to eliminate targets of opportunity or keep their heads down as the compliment of Astartes inside deployed. Not for the first time, Baledian admired the tactical acumen of their comrades.

 

The ramps on the Rhino's sides slammed down for combat deployment with solid clangs on the paving, disgorging it's compliment of combat squads. The teams moved rapidly toward the trench when another howl of rage sounded out over the battlefield. The newly arrived Marines halted in their tracks, turning in the direction of the roar.

 

It was much closer this time. A distinctive sound of leathery flapping rose above the crash of the battle, and a charnel house stink of old rotten viscera pervaded the air above the fycelene and freshly spilled blood already permeating the area. The smell made his gorge rise, almost overpowering his genehanced ability to negate these effects. It was with a dawning horror that he placed the smell and sounds. Baledian, and this entire crusade force, had faced the horror about to unfold before.

 

The vox at his gorget let loose a screech of static, then burst into frantic, badly garbled voices on the general channel. He couldn't make out the words, and couldn't focus on it at the moment. The Ultramarines under Sergeant Angorian were closing on the gate, and he had his orders. He needed to get his squad moving quickly. 

 

He didn't get the chance.

 

A nightmare beast came down on wings similar to those of a bat, skulls rattling together from chains or clacking against one another woven into it's coarse hair. In one hand, it held a massive double bladed axe, it's haft made of stacked skulls. It's other swung a huge brick of a flail on a spiked chain that was longer than a pair of Land Raiders parked end to end. Sickly flames belched forth from it's massive maw over a black tongue that never seemed to be able to reel itself back inside of it's jagged line of razor sharp fangs. What appeared to be beaten brass plates of armor covered much of it's massively muscled body. The stink around it grew worse as it landed before the Rhino.

 

'Throne!' Captain Victorian exclaimed over the vox, 'What is that!'

 

The vox static finally cleared enough to allow the voices from a distance to be intelligible. 'THAT,' Marshal Eidrich's deep voice screamed over the open channel, 'Is what your Librarian became!'

 

Baledian could hear the background roar of thrusters over the open channel. They had to know that the air defenses weren't down yet, but the monster that just dropped into their midst was a complication that had to be dealt with.

 

The traitor regiments were whipped into a frenzy by the arrival of the tainted beast, and redoubled their attack in every quarter. Angorian became bogged down by the sheer weight of bodies pouring out of the gatehouse. The squads beside the rhino opened fire on the massive warp beast. The Rhino's gunner took shots at it as well, unable to miss at such close proximity. Baledian could hear the revving of heavy engines within the array compound, and knew that enemy armor reinforcement was inbound. So many choices of action, but only one direction would clear a path for the inbound Storm Raven. He had no choice but to leave the beast for the Ultramarines to deal with and make for the compound.

 

He charged down the trench line to the rickety stairs that led up to the accessway to the gate. The Land Raiders poured fire in two directions, trying to score hits on the beast and whittle down the resistance at the gate. He heard rather than saw a massive hammering of metal on ceremite plating, and a crumpling like that of a tin ration can. The engine of the Rhino behind him stuttered and died, and the storm bolter stopped it's firing. Baledian didn't look back. He couldn't do anything for those marines. The ones ahead could use his blade more than the dead.

 

His Sword Brethren made the jump to street level without risking the stairs, hacking into the traitor PDF with controlled sweeps of chainswords and point blank fire from their pistols. They made their way around the flanks, hewing into any resistance they met, making steady progress toward the open gate. Angorian's own Astartes blasted bloody chunks from the smaller bodies before them, beating them down with fists and the butt ends of their bolters in an effort to keep pace with the Black Templars. The PDF seemed more concerned with the larger Ultramarine force bearing down on them. Baledian was sure that the Ultramarine Sergeant and his warriors could hold against the tide pushing into them. He had his orders...

 

Honor overrode his orders. He couldn't let this warrior, this comrade he had dueled, face these screaming, bloodthirsty traitors alone. He knew this was a defiance, and didn't care. 

 

'Into them!' he bellowed, and charged into the thick of the fighting.

 

They didn't have to aim their strikes. The press of bodies trying to get into the fight with Angorian's squad was so thick, it was like swinging into training servitors set to the lowest combat setting. Even as his brethren slashed into their backs, they seemed to ignore the attack from behind. It would be the last mistake any of them would make.

 

The tide turned quickly with their aid, the combined attack felling the counter assault despite their frenzy. The last left standing fell to the point blank and disciplined fire of the Ultramarine bolters. Baledian saw for an instant Captain Victorian Racing across the field to get to grips with the monster that they had left to their backs. He turned quickly to see the many wounds on the beast. It seemed completely oblivious to the craters gouged in it's hide, and bellowed rage as it once again took to the air. A few flapps of it's wings and it was lost to sight once again, a clutch of new skulls ripped from the helmets of dead Astartes swinging from a bag attached to it's decaying belt.

 

At the sight of the departing warp creature, the PDF began to wail and lament, almost as if the fight was fleeing along with the beast. What resistance had been pouring through the gate slackened to a trickle. Baledian looked to Angorian and found him staring at him. The Sword Brethren were closer to the gatehouse.

 

'Don't,' Angorian growled. It was obvious he now knew that the reinforcement wasn't just to assist his beleaguered squad.

 

He couldn't respond. He didn't have it in him to put voice to what he was about to do. He turned away quickly and raced into the gate, cutting down the few defenders that weren't too demoralized to stand flutily against them.

 

Just inside the gate were the anti-air gun cogitators. They appeared to set to automatic targeting of aircraft, and for an instant, he wondered at how the warp beast hadn't been tracked by the auto targeting. Baledian had no time to dwell on the question. The macjine had to be shut down at once, and he put two bolt rounds into the base of the display. Angry sparks flew from the cogitator as the screen blanked out.

 

Angorian flew threw the gate and rounded on Baledian.

 

'What are you doing?' he asked with a sound like a betrayed friend.

 

'My orders,' he responded, then clicked over to a private channel with his Marshal, 'Sir, anti air is down. You are clear to proceed.'

Edited June 23, 2019 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

+++FLUFF ALERT+++

 

Pt. 3

 

     This shouldn't be our fight, the thought pressed into Marshal Eidrich's head once again. Hindsight always being clearer, he now knew he should have ignored the request for "temporary minimal assistance" that the governor of this world had broadcast astotelepathicaly. He should have pressed on to the call of his High Marshal, in support of the chase against the Greenskin Warboss that even now was most likely fleeing to some infested safe haven among more of it's own kind amid the aftermath of the invasion of the world of Armageddon. At this moment, he wished that he had. A simple flight, a simple objective, and the most massive gathering of the Black Templars Chapter since the Last Wall Protocol had been enacted millennia ago.

 

     Instead, he found himself on Keeltos, first fighting what should have been cousins-in-arms, then a xenos menace that shouldn't have even made it this far into the galaxy from the eastern fringe, then what seemed like the majority of the local PDF forces that garrisoned the planet. He knew his allies were hiding something, and he chaffed at being confounded by them time and again. They had some unknown goal, most likely to protect whatever it was they were hiding, but they fought alongside his Crusade diligently, with all of the honor that the sons of Guilliman were renown for.

 

     Strange traditions, lifted out of antiquity and presented as normal. Heraldry that was slightly out of balance with what he knew, but unmistakably correct even if ancient. The use of archaic and long defunct terminology and acknowledgement of ranks not used since... Even he did not know.

 

     He was stuck in this quagmire, however, and would not shirk the responsibility of it. They had come too far, done too much, and lost too many to ever tread back. Marshal Eidrich's Reaper's Hammer Crusade was in it for the long haul, even if it chaffed at him now.

 

     Baledian's report of the anti-air array being deactivated brought him back into the moment, away from reveries of what had passed and what might have been. The Stormraven turned sharply north-westward, on a direct approach to the comm array. Baledian had done his duty, as Eidrich knew he would, and now was the time to force his fury to the fore and take the objective himself.

 

     A short way down the cargo hold, strapped and barely restrained into a troop seat that nearly swallowed him whole, Governor Haldread looked to be on the verge of voiding the contents of his stomach. His throat swallowed repeatedly, and gasps of air rattled from him. He never understood the human reaction to abrupt changes in direction, speed, turbulence both natural and combat induced, but he had seen the effects all too often. This was why he gave the Governor credit for holding it in. Or perhaps his stomach is simply devoid of anything to vomit, the next thought followed.

 

     In the clutches of the rear claw of the aircraft, Venerable Cread swung lazily, seeming as a statue in transit from one plinth to the other. Eidrich barely made out his form through the smeared soot and scratches on the small vision block, the banner on his top plating snapping soundlessly and furiously in the air rushing past him. Inside the troop bay, Sword Brother Tarin and his squad sat nearly immobile, each staring across the hold. Their helmets gave nothing away as to their mood, but their posture screamed readiness. Even young Cadon, recently elevated to full Initiate in the midst of this conflict, bided his time as still as the others. They had already replenished ammunition, replaced chainsword teeth as needed, and gone over one another to ensure that what battlefield repairs needed attending to were competed. All there was to do was wait.

 

     Now that wait was nearly at an end. The Stormraven screamed into the fray below. He heard the hurricane bolters attached to the hull resounding through the armor plating. He glanced at a visual feed showing the ground war below and the effect their passing was having on the enemy. As promised, the anti-air guns were silenced.

 

     It had been eight months. First convincing the Ultramarines they were not the enemy, then attempting to eradicate the Tyrranid xenoform from the face of Keeltos, now this battle that had somehow gained the attention of a Great Beast of the Warp. The Imperial Calendar had passed from 998 to 999.M41. They had been here almost a year, and were no closer to being finished with this rock.

 

     Behind him, retching and a wet splash upon the deck indicated that the Governor had finally lost the battle with his gorge. A slightly acidic smell of partially digested rations crept into the olfactory sensors of his helmet before he blocked them out. As it turned out, he did in fact have something to lose in his stomach after all, and the thought crept unwanted back into his thoughts, lodged there for many months now and refusing to give way.

 

     We should not have come here.

Edited June 14, 2020 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

I do hope that you will all forgive my almost year-long abcense from posting. I have found it difficult to keep up with the demands of every day life and make progress on almost ANY of my projects to date. Not even Nurgle's newest blight on our planet has slowed the pace of my daily events, as the task masters of my factorum decided to keep operations ongoing amid the crisis regardless of events unfolding around us. I could be called fortunate in that, I guess, but it does leave me little time to hobby or write. After a while, it got harder and harder to muster the energy or drive to do much of anything, even before the pandemic. My zeal hit an all time low.

 

Now that it's back, I'm making slow, plodding progress on a few long shelved projects. I'm working on painting terrain, more specifically, the Sector Imperialis game board. Then I have all the recent aquisitions of ruins to do, then it's back to my Imperial Knights (I finally have a 2000+ point army of them!), I do have a few BT units to do, (most of them Primaris [DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!]), but a few other... What are we calling the non-primaris SM's? Non-Primaris? Pre-Primaris? Small Marines? Either way, I have a few of those to work on, and I will hopefully be posting pics in the not-too-distant future (Hopefully?).

 

I hope you all enjoy the new fluff piece above. More will be following the next time the zeal hits again.

[Brother Kraskor]

Welcome back to the fold brother! And we call them Firstborn I believe.

[Marshal Reinhard]

I'll continue to call them classic marines, but don't let me tell others they're wrong for using other terms.

[Medjugorje]

Firstborn is often used by black library ( GW official)

Classic Marines is often called by the fandom who like it more and Oldmarines is a term often used in discussions when people talk about Primaris will replace the "normal" Marine.

 

 

I like the term Firstborn as I like the name classic marines.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Firstborn sounds a lot better. The original, classic, iconic, Emperor's Own. Even as I acquire the Primaris, I will always have a special place in my Crusade for the Firstborn. Matter of fact, one day, when the story above progresses to that point, I'll have to write that in. I'm sure, even lore-wise, not everyone is eager to jump the "Primaris Rubicon".

[Doghouse]

Fantastic army well done. :tu:

[Brother Christopher]

Man, thanks for posting these stories - I had a blast while on the tram today; it was a fun read! And it's great to see you back.

[Medjugorje]

Because of the discussion of Firstborn vs Classic... I forget about the posts before I really esteam that.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

+++FLUFF ALERT+++

 

PT. 4

 

    The Venerable Dreadnought Cread swayed in the grapnel claws of the Stormraven, gazing as languidly at the surface conflict as it was possible to do through his sensor array linked directly into his cerebral cortex. He registered air movement past him via the suite of pick-ups across his carapace, but it was nothing like the feeling he vaguely remembered when he was truly alive. It was raw data streamed to his mind, not something really felt. The mechanisms of his armored form seemed to try to recreate a few of the sensations as closely as possible to what would be felt by a normal Astartes, but all knew that it was never the same. Impacts on his armor were registered, catalogued, displayed before his eyes for what they were and where he had been struck, the severity of damage and overall combat efficiency remaining, but it could not be considered pain. Occasionally, a particularly heavy blow would shake what remained of him within the armored sarcophagus, and he could actually feel those impacts within the tank through the amniotic-like fluid that surrounded him, but little else.

 

     It wasn't often that he allowed himself to dangle from the rear grapnel of a Stormraven. It left him too exposed and vulnerable, forcing him to place his trust in the pilot and servitor in the top turret to defend him as well as the aircraft. His oversized form was a huge target swinging idle from the underside of the small craft. But, there had been no other choice in the matter. Marshal Eidrich had laid out the plan prior to embarkation, and it was a good plan. Cread was well over 750 years old, with much in the way of combat experience, and could find no fault with the plan, even if he didn't much like the mode of transport to the next conflict.

 

     Beneath him, he saw the wall surrounding the communications array pass quickly, and the Stormraven plummeted in altitude to hover about 10 meters from the ground, He barely registered the troop bay doors front and rear pop open for a combat drop before the grapnels disengaged their magnetic lock on his armor and he was in freefall. Rockcrete shattered and flew away from him as he impacted the ground. Stabilizer servos screamed in his stubby bipedal legs momentarily as they fought to keep him from toppling, knee joints bending to compensate for the sudden impact. Cread quickly gained his footing and rose to his full height as his sensors identified the threats he had been brought in to deal with.

 

     A pair of Leman Russ pattern battle tanks were rushing toward the gate before the Stormraven had flown in. Now they came to a tread skidding halt as they struggled to bring their cannons to bear on the aerial target. As soon as he began to move, a pair of white beams lashed out from the craft and struck the lead tank in the join between turret and hull, blasting chunks of armor away and fouling the turret ring. The tank crew were still trying to swivel the turret when Cread let them know there was a much closer and deadly enemy to them than the Stormraven.

 

     In less than the space of a heartbeat, he recalled his death. An unremarkable world, barely worthy of a name in Imperial archives, traitor elements of both humans and a small contingent of Word Bearers had begun using it as a beach head for assaults on neighboring systems deep within Segmentum Pacificus. He and his fellow Sword Brethren had fought them on for almost a month before he was laid low. It had been a traitor Leman Russ that fired it's payload right in front of his feet as he raced to get to grips with the occupants. It was the last pain he remembered feeling as so many parts of his anatomy were obliterated. He should have died. He held on to life for three days while apothecaries worked him over, trying to save him for the fight to come. When he was extracted, he was well beyond any replacement limbs or organs to bring back to combat effectiveness. No matter how much was done to save his life, it was ebbing. The Techmarines came for him the moment he arrived at the frigate, and all turned to black for an unknown period of time. He awoke to a new life, a new form, stronger than he had ever been, but limited by it. It fueled his hatred for the traitors even more, and his desire to rip apart enemy armor.

 

     A feeling of heat registered in the ghost limb of his right arm as the massive multimelta affixed to his shoulder powered up. He roared his hatred wordlessly through vox emitters as he released the built-up power and charged along the path of superheated air. The beam struck the front glacis of the tank, turning the metal of the hull into cherry red slag. The powerful beam seared it's way through the vehicle, hitting the ammunition stores and destroying the vehicle from the inside in a massive detonation. Debris pattered his plating harmlessly. He paid it no more mind as he turned his full attention on the second tank, legs growling as he leaned into the charge.

 

     The second Leman Russ began to fire it's heavy bolter frantically at him and Cread closed. The impacts and successive explosions did little to slow him. As he drew up on the vehicle, he plunged the power claw of his left arm into the front armor and reached for the operator. The claws began to spin on the axis of his wrist, turning the drivers compartment into a slurry of splattered blood, bone, and meat. Ripping his arm free, he hammered again and again at the tank, tearing gaping rents in the armor as he went. The remaining crew tried desperately to bring the battle cannon to bear on him. Cread reached up and took the barrel in his claws and crushed it with ease. Unthinking, the enemy crew tried to fire regardless, cooking off the round inside the barrel. The blast backfired into the turret, setting off more ammunition at the ready, and tearing it apart in an explosion that rivalled that of some Titan munitions.

 

     Cread stood over the smoking wreckage. If he could still pant with exertion, he was sure he would be.

 

     A melta shot through the oily smoke of the wreckage, searing into his armor just left of his sarcophagus. He staggered momentarily as his sensors fizzed, then came back online. The path of the beam was traced back through the smoke to a line of hastily erected sandbags, a small group of traitor PDF huddled behind them. Cread bellowed again and turned on this new enemy. As he began his inexorable advance, the PDF broke cover and began to flee.

 

     It wasn't enemy armor, but it would do for now. He fired multimelta and stormbolter at their backs and pursued.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good story. I presume Venerable Cread will be the next model you assemble and paint?

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

I presume Venerable Cread will be the next model you assemble and paint?

 

No actually. Venerable Brother Cread is the FW BT Dreadnaught model shown much earlier in my pics. Here it is again for reference (Click to enlarge).

 

 

I'm trying to incorporate my models in the stories that either look cool IMO or did something awesome in the narrative campaign my son and I are playing alongside/against one another. I do have another GW Ven-Dread I'm going to be working on, but that's down the line on projects ATM.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Oh, by the God-Emperor's Holy Throne...

 

I'm trying to hold off on buying more stuff, but looking at the Indomitus box that's coming, my resolve is weakening. I've started down the path of collecting Primarus already, and the offerings in this box are just too good to pass up. Also, it further preps for the incomming 9th Ed, and whether I like it or not, it's coming. May my more puritan brothers forgive me, but as soon as the preorder comes up, I'm ordering it.

 

(I know it comes with some filthy xenos as well, but I'll decide on how to dispose of them in the future. Maybe incorperate destroyed bits of them onto bases or something!)

 

Update:  I'm stunned! the pre-order is already sold out! looks like the wait will continue...

Edited July 11, 2020 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[Brother Kraskor]

Perhaps a sign from the Emperor brother. 

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Perhaps a sign from the Emperor brother. 

 

The Emperor provides!!! made to order at least!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

+++FLUFF ALERT+++

 

PT. 5

 

Marshal Eidrich was already on his feet and mag-locked to the deck when the Stormraven began it's plummeting decent into the citadel of the communications array. His guard of Sword Brother Tarin's Against The Dawn squad leapt up only a fraction of a second behind him. Initiate Cadon helped Governor Haldread release the straps holding him into the overlarge seat and scooped him up in a cradled carry much like a babe in it's mother's arms.

 

Brother Malovich, the Emperors Champion of his Crusade, stood and waited by the rear hatch, body language indicating that he was loose and ready. Never had he seen the champion fidget or seem reluctant, not since his elevation to the role. As with most of the Emperors Champions he had known, it seemed as if they knew when their time was done, and that made them suburb on the field of battle. Until the moment of their ordained death, they knew they would survive anything thrown at them. Apparently, this would not be the battle he had foreseen losing his life to.

 

The hatches blew open fore and aft. Wind dying from the rapid decent rushed into the compartment, and Eidrich caught a brief glimpse of Venerable Brother Cread just before the clamps blew and he dropped out of sight. Then he was running and leaping into the air. Ten meters to the ground were covered in a heartbeat, and he felt the rockcrete break under his boots. He was up and firing his combi-plas immediately at the small command group at the top of the steps. They scattered as his bolts hit indiscriminately, felling a PDF trooper in a spray of bloody chunks that peppered their commander.

 

'By the Throne,' Haldread bellowed over the din of bolt pistols firing, 'That's General Delnorte!'

 

The intercepted communication ran through Eidrich's mind once again, and a white hot rage ignited in his chest. This mortal called us traitors, the thought cut through the anger, fueling his hatred into a conflagration. He took aim and unleashed a plasma blast at the General. A moment, the superheated beam crossing the short distance up the steps, would spell either total victory or prolonged conflict on this backwater world. Seeing the beam ignite in the barrel, a trooper leapt between Eidrich and his commander, taking the full force of the blast to his chest. Delnorte ducked back and began to run.

 

Eidrich screamed his rage at his fleeing target, firing his bolter on full auto. More troopers covered his withdraw from the engagement. Behind Eidrich and to his right, two massive explosions rocked the plaza, sending loose debris scattering everywhere. 

 

Malovich matched his Marshal stride for stride up the steps to the comms array. Against The Dawn moved at the pace of the Governor, slightly slower as he ascended the stair toward the control room. Baledian and his Sword Brethren had gained the plaza alongside Angorian and a squad of Ultramarines,  hammering bolt after bolt at the now fleeing traitors. The PDF, knowing that the battle was lost, were withdrawing as fast as possible in any direction that was open to them, scores of them dying with blades or bolts in their backs. 

 

Eidrich wanted to give chase on the traitor General, to throttle the life from him with his own gauntlets. He wasn't sure it would end the conflict, but a leaderless rebellion would be disorganized enough to be quelled faster. He almost gave chase, almost gave the order for his forces to run down the traitors, throwing everything to the wind and finishing the war now, but...

 

But there were other considerations that could not be ignored. He knew that Captain Victorian had an agenda, and was holding something back. His searches of Imperial Archives had so far not dredged up the knowledge he required to even begin to form an accusation against the Ultramarine Captain, but he knew that if he yielded the array to his forces, he may never gain the information he sought. With a bellow that might have rivalled those of Venerable Cread, he skidded to a halt at the top step near the array entrance. He seethed in anger, knowing that he had to take the array with the Governor. They had to get their counter message to the seat of Imperial power, as well as use the array to send his query about his Ultramarine counterparts.

 

Against The Dawn quickly broke down the hasty barrier into the array and entered. A flurry of bolt shots echoed within for a few moments, then fell to silence. Tarin came out, signaling an all clear, then escorted Haldread within.

 

Captain Victorian finally entered the plaza and removed his helm. To Eidrich's surprise, there was no anger or frustration on the Ultramarine commander's face. A look of triumph scanned the remnants of the battle within the compound. He gave Eidrich a small nod, then went to his Sergeant. They huddled for a moment, then Angorian stalked away back through the gate.

 

Victorian once again acknowledged Eidrich, raising his gauntlet in salute before following after his subordinate. Eidrich stared after him, his helm impassive, but his face beneath twisted in confusion.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Hey, I'm not too sure if it's been thrown out there yet, but if anyone is looking for ways to spruce up or otherwise personalize their BT's, look up Last Light Creative on youtube. There's some great conversion work being done by this guy and has given me a wealth of ideas on things to do to my own Crusaders in the future! Check it out if you havem't seen it yet!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

++INCOMING TRANSMISSION+++

​-308.29.5618.55-CODED MESSAGE-

++PLANETARY GOVERNOR VENTION HALDREAD

​     ICARAN PRIME & KEELTO SYSTEM-

​+++ALPHA-LEVEL SECURITY REQUIRED+++

  -CODE 20026-195B2 /INPUT RECEIVED-

​  -MULTIPLE BIOMETRIC INPUTS RECEIVED/HIGH LORDS CONCLAVE/TERRA-

​+++COMMENCING DOWNOAD-READER VIEW AVAILIBLE+++

​  -READER VIEW SELECTED/ LOADING---

+++SCRIPT CONVERTED TO READER TEXT/ ALPHA-LEVEL SECURE+++

 

​-TO: THE TERRAN HIGH LORDS COUNCIL

​-FROM: VENTIAN HALDREAD, FORMER MILITANT GENERAL-ICARUS SECTOR, PLANETARY GOVERNOR, KEELTO SYSTEM, IACARAN PRIME

 

My Most Esteemed and Noble Lords,

 

As has been no doubt gleaned from transmissions you have received from the PDF General Marius DelNorte, The current situation on Iacaran Prime and the Keelto System has fallen out of control. While I cannot dispute this reflects poorly on the local leadership, especially my own, I will attempt to make my counter to the charges that have been leveled at not only myself, but the Reapers Hammer Crusade of Black Templars led by Marshal Rawlin Eidrich and the Ultramarine contingent led by Captain Tiberious Victorian.

 

To begin, I had no idea that the Ultramarine strike force had been contacted by General DelNorte. I made a request of the Crusade as I had noted them on post deployment standing close by. To be entirely honest, I did not expect any reply, and a denial of my request if anything. But the message was received that Marshal Eidrich was en route, and I was overjoyed to have not only the zealous fighters of the God-Emperor coming to our aid in what must have been viewed as a trivial matter with a research station falling out of communication, but was assured that if anything was wrong, they would purge the location without leaving any scrap of malicious infection to escape and taint our tithe of food-stuffs to the Imperium.

 

The General's assessment of the situation is accurate and correct in the beginning. There was conflict between forces at the beginning until the xenos species was discovered. Neither Chapter thought there would be others operating in the area, but recent evidence concludes that it was forces under General DelNorte that began the brief firefight. Once elements of the Ultramarine force made entry into the afflicted station, all forces were immediately set upon by the xenos species commonly referred to as the Tyranid. It also appeared that many more of them had expanded their foothold on this planet by using burrowing forms to tunnel away to other areas. Both Astartes Chapters agreed to purge the alien menace from Icarus Prime.

 

As the battle began, all forces worked side by side against the xenos. However, during the cleansing of a data collection point near to the research facility, it was the Ultramarines once again that discovered that the xenos were brought here under the auspices of General DelNorte for experimentation and possible use to overthrow the Imperial Government. As explained to me by Marshal Eidrich, this would never be the case, as these xenos attack and consume everything they come across. As this information was discovered, the PDF forces turned their weapons once again on the Astartes.

 

I am aware that this version of events contradicts the evidence and testimony given by DelNorte, and have added pict and vox recordings of the engagements I have already outlined.

+++OPEN FILES?+++ -Declined by user

 

The tactical situation as it stands right now:

1) Xenos fleet entered system shortly after discovery of DelNorte's perfidy

2) Battles raged across planet as well as in near orbit by vessels of both Chapters

3) PDF Forces sieze control of Hive Madrigal, capital of Icarus Prime

4) For unknown reasons, the xenos abandoned the system in it's entirety

6) Ultramarines under CPT Victorian proceeded to purge the planet

7) Black Templars under Marshal Eidrich captured Hive Capital Spires and begin retaking hive

8) Chapter Fleet harries hive fleet as it flees the system, leaving ground forces

9) General DelNorte seizes control of planetary communication with system astropathic choir as "shadow in the warp" (Term used by Chapters to explain the dulling of psycic presence) passes, sending his communique with a false version of events

10) Black Templars and Ultramarine forces end siege of Government Bunkers as well as retake communication array

 

This is where the situation stands at the moment. The fleet is currently returning to Icarus Prime, and UM and BT forces have secured much of the upper hive and working into the middle hive, with forays into the lower and underhive on as-needed basis at the moment. It appears that DelNorte has positioned the bulk of his traitorous forces throughout the hive rather than disperse them across the planet.

 

Also, a strange and terrifying xenos beast has been harassing all loyalists forces as of late. It seems impossible to bring down, and wreaks havoc everywhere it appears, then launches off once again to another part of the hive. The Space Marines have wounded the creature many times, but it does not seem to care much. It comes, it kills, and it leaves. The Astartes are being very tight lipped with information regarding this beast, but my Ecclesiarchal Representative insists it is an unclean creature (As if that were in any doubt). I would have, of course, sent pict feeds of it for further identification or classification, but every image we have on file is distorted and subsequently useless.

 

As Governor of the Keelto System, I am officially requesting any aid possible to end this insurgent activity at once. The Astartes are doing a fine job indeed, but these traitor forces are dug in deep, and proving difficult to uproot. 

 

Your Esteemed and LOYAL Servant,

 

Ventian Haldread

Imperial Governor

Icarus Prime and Keelto System

 

+++TRANSMISSION END+++

[Brother Christopher]

It's always a pleasure to read another instalment of your BT fluff. It's also a great reminder that there is more to the hobby than spending money, assembling and painting models, complaining on forums and the occasional gaming! I hope that other members of our community find your work as inspiring as I am.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

***OFFICIAL FINDINGS OF TRAITOROUS INTENT-KEELTO SYSTEM***

Re-HIGH LORDS CONCLAVE, TERRA

294.999.M41

 

1) It is a fact that the Keelto System is now declared held under the sway of Heretic Forces. With contradicting reports now received from both sides of this engagement, this would normally be placed into the hands of the Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus, for investigation. As it stands, an Inquisition representative is already on scene-

 

-Inquisitor Report-   Access?

[spoiler]Iason Mondage, Ordo Hereticus, Currently on assignment on Icarus Prime-

I have collated my report of Heresy within the system as ordered. The local PDF Commander, General Marius DelNorte is found guilty of crimes against the Imperium and sentenced to death on my order. To this end, I have activated the asset assigned to me from the Vindicare Temple, Ivan Rectule, to enact the God-Emperor's vengeance in this matter. 

There is a sizeable and growing heretical movement operating in the lower hive. It shames me to say that a Greater Deamon is now operating within the lowest levels and making murderous forays up into the conflict nearly unopposed. This has been brought through by one of the Ultramarine Librarians who appears to have turned his flesh over to the beast and was witnessed in his transformation by Rectule.

The PDF CDR is proving to be elusive. His movements are being covered through the actions of many subordinates. It is my opinion that the PDF forces allied with him are unsalvageable and also placed on the List of Known Heretics. I have been made aware of the communication sent to the High Lords of Terra from the PDF CDR and can unequivocally say that it is a falsehood designed to confuse the matters here. As the communications array has been retaken, I have tasked one of my subordinates to send this data with the next communiqué to Terra, as that has been the plan of the Astartes Forces here to exonerate themselves.

Marshal Rawlin Eidrich is no traitor, and zealously prosecutes this war against the heretics here on Icarus Prime. His forces from the Black Templars Crusade he leads have not fallen to the Arch Enemy nor show any sign of turninng from the light of the God-Emperor. Tiberius Victorian and his Ultramarine forces are no traitors either, even given the fact that a hand full of their number swayed to the influence of Chaos. 

On the subject of the Ultramarine forces, my Lords, I have next to no information on their fleet, such as the 3 vessels they committed to the engagement can be called a "fleet". CPT Victorian leaves a lot more unanswered questions as to his previous actions than is acceptable to me, even though they fight against the heretic tide. Their wargear is almost too operational, their venerable archeotech in such a state of repair that my own Mechanicus agent has never seen the like, and their near constant slips into references of rank and title that has been out of date for so many millennia that the usage in and of itself begs the questions to be asked. I have taken the liberty of consulting my own data archives on CPT Tiberius Victorian, but the only hard matches I have been able to make are from so long ago that it is impossible to be the same Ultramarine. Perhaps his is an Honor Name, but I recommend further investigation of his origins.

Finally, I have received intelligence from my own network within the hive that the Heretics are preparing for a ritual of some sort. As one of the God-Emperor's servants, I can only speculate what this ritual is supposed to do, but I am humbly requesting authorization to activate assassin assets for an Execution Force under my control. There is still a chance to save this planet from total annihilation.

Blessings of The God-Emperor Upon You,

Iason Mondage, Ordo Hereticus[/spoiler]

As can clearly be seen from the Inquisitorial Report, it is the second communique that is accurate. The aspersions cast on the Black Templars Crusade and the Ultramarines Strike Force have always been entirely false, as the High Lord Militant has argued repeatedly and at length. It is so noted that General Marius DelNorte is found guilty of treason, sedition, turning from the light of the God-Emperor, subversion of forces, tainting the souls of his forces, and many other crimes (see full list of findings of guilt in RefPac:1200RJ-5TFC189-1547B2). The sentence of death for these crimes is ratified and entered in the Administratum Logs for DelNorte, his forces, and any other persons colluding with either him or his personnel.

 

2) All previous charges against the Astartes forces operating in the Keelto System are hereby dismissed. (See evidence within the Inquisitorial Report above)

 

3) The request for an Imperial Assassination Force, or retasking of qualified personnel to fill one out, is granted by the High Council. Assets from the Callidus and Culexus Temples are ordered into the theater of operation and a new asset from the Eversor Temple Ordered awakened and retasked. Vindicare Temple will not divert another of it's assassins at this time as it's operative in theater is still active.

 

4) The request for vote to investigate the CPT of the Ultramarine Strike Force is postponed until further notice. Objections for a vote heard from the High Lords of the Administratum and Iquisition. Objections against a vote heard from High lords Militant and Eccesiarchal Representitive. Any further discussion tabled until situation at the Cadian Gate and Cadia itself has been resolved.

 

DISCUSSION END-999.M41

Edited November 5, 2020 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN