Sergeant Azaroth heard only dimly the bark of Squad Lupus' Storm Bolters. His squad was tasked with following in the wake of Lupus to attempt to establish a line of retreat for the squad. It hadn't worked out so well. His squad had been divided when a large wave of xenos had swept through their location. He was alone and sealed behind a bulkhead awaiting rescue.
He wondered what had happened to his squad. Xavier's fate was certain. He had seen him carried off by several of the beasts and lose his power fist arm in the process. He was a good soldier and a close brother. It pained Azaroth to think of him as gone. Jagg had sprinted off ahead, impetuous youth that he was, after realising there was no way backwards anymore with Azaroth's blessing. If there was a chance he could assist Lupus in their goal, good luck to him. Circe and Orris were further back. Their chances for survival were best and he was sure they would be able to link up with the other squads, themselves following in Squad Azaroth's wake.
The sound of gunfire was gone. Only the clacking of claws on metal gantries remained. Azaroth sighed. No chance for rescue before they got to him now.
Something clawed at the door. Azaroth pointed his Storm Bolter at it and loosed off a shot. It punched a hole in the metal and exploded in the air out of his sight. One of the xenos squealed. Azaroth smiled and more scratches followed. He calmly loaded in a fresh clip and carefully aiming, unloaded it in to the door. As the door gave way, he had a satisfying glimpse of a pile of purple and blue multi-limbed corpses laying in an untidy pile before the frame was filled with the Genestealer's much more mobile kin. Another second passed and Azaroth would never see anything again.
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Showing posts with label background. Show all posts
Showing posts with label background. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Monday, 27 December 2010
Ark of Dust Background - Part 2
Sergeant Catania took stock. The breakthrough had not gone well and they were so deep in to the hulk that comms had gone dead. It had been an hour since they split off from Lupus and his wolves. An hour since that sprint through those terrible corridors, heaving with those clawed monsters. An hour since he watched Tristan and Novara get torn apart, his own storm bolter jammed. An hour since panic filled his heart as three of them bound towards him and the thought of the shame of his failure in death made him collapse before them, his sword falling from his fingers.
"And they shall know no fear."
His rescue came in the form of a grey armoured fiend. Brother Jagg had blown them apart with his own storm bolter and ordered the Blood Angel to pick up his sword and get to his feet before his brothers saw him. Jagg had become isolated from the other Wolves and, upon hearing the intense firefight, had hurried to lend his assistance. Catania felt shame again now. He had besmirched the honour of his chapter in front of one of the other brotherhoods.
Siracusa and Avellino had rounded the corner shortly after that, having dispatched the last of their pursuers. An hour since he had held that failure in his breast and still it stung. It was just the three of them now. Siracusa had fallen as a clawed hand had plunged through a vent in to his helmet, making pulp of his head. Jagg had loosed off six shots in to the shaft and they had moved on. They had a mission to complete and their was no time to waste with such trivial things as goodbye.
They had been planting explosives in key areas of this part of the hulk. With only three rooms to go, things had been suspiciously silent. As they clomped down the passage to the final section, they heard the Genestealers keening screeches ahead of them. There was no turning back. "Death or glory", thought Catania "and maybe some redemption too."
"And they shall know no fear."
His rescue came in the form of a grey armoured fiend. Brother Jagg had blown them apart with his own storm bolter and ordered the Blood Angel to pick up his sword and get to his feet before his brothers saw him. Jagg had become isolated from the other Wolves and, upon hearing the intense firefight, had hurried to lend his assistance. Catania felt shame again now. He had besmirched the honour of his chapter in front of one of the other brotherhoods.
Siracusa and Avellino had rounded the corner shortly after that, having dispatched the last of their pursuers. An hour since he had held that failure in his breast and still it stung. It was just the three of them now. Siracusa had fallen as a clawed hand had plunged through a vent in to his helmet, making pulp of his head. Jagg had loosed off six shots in to the shaft and they had moved on. They had a mission to complete and their was no time to waste with such trivial things as goodbye.
They had been planting explosives in key areas of this part of the hulk. With only three rooms to go, things had been suspiciously silent. As they clomped down the passage to the final section, they heard the Genestealers keening screeches ahead of them. There was no turning back. "Death or glory", thought Catania "and maybe some redemption too."
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
The Ark of Dust
In the year 609.M41, a small Imperial flotilla that had dropped out of the warp near to the world of Valhalla stumbled across a vast space hulk drifting dangerously close to a populous agri-world. Among the flotilla were two Space Wolves strike cruisers carrying upwards of 150 of the chapters finest, en route to Valhalla itself to link up with a gathering crusade force. Upon discovering the hulk, Wolf Lord Gulo ordered a small contingent of the Wolves under his command to board the vessel and investigate what, if any, threat resided on board the hulk. The marines initially met little resistance but within 15 minutes of boarding, they were swiftly and suddenly assaulted by a large number of genestealers and massacred to a man.
Gulo realised that this was no straightforward boarding action and was pondering whether destroying the hulk was an option. However, upon assessing the data returned to him by the boarding party before their unceremonious massacre, two things became clear. First, the size of the hulk meant that destroying the hulk with cyclonic torpedoes or even a continuous barrage of firepower would only split the hulk in to several large chunks, which, if caught in the planets gravity, would be drawn towards the planet and cause catastrophic levels of destruction which the population would surely not survive. Secondly, one section of the hulk seemed to be a large Space Wolves vessel. Gulo's curiousity was piqued. Leaving the majority of his force under the command of his Rune Priest, he sent them onwards to Valhalla, keeping only his Terminator armoured contingent and sending out a request to nearby Baal for assistance.
Lexicanum Calistarius answered the call at Commander Dante's request. His experience on board the Sin of Damnation only a few years previously made him the perfect man for the job. Unfortunately, that mission had had a profound effect on the librarian and he still smarted at the loss of so many brave marines. The memories of Lorenzo and his squads sacrifices to get the librarian to safety and ensure the success of the mission had not faded. He arrived with 40 terminators at his beck and call and immediately met with Gulo to decide on a course of action.
The plan was simple in theory. The hulk had two weak points which, if sufficiently damaged from within would split the hulk in to 3 pieces. The other two chunks (the largest of which seemed from the scans to be the most heavily populated) would be small enough to be towed out of the system and destroyed. The third chunk could then be explored by the Space Wolves to see if anything of worth to their chapter could be salvaged. This would then also be towed and destroyed.
All in all, 55 terminator armoured veterans of the two chapters were present, and they would be sent in to secure a forward base from which the force could operate. At this point two small teams would be sent deep in to the hulk to plant the explosives while their battle brothers would follow in their footsteps to secure their escape route. These teams were to be lead by Blood Angels Sergeant Catania, a man with over 500 years experience under his belt, and Space Wolves Sergeant Lupus, a legend in his own right.
The boarding action went off without a hitch and the terminators encountered little to no opposition. A beachhead was established and the two squads set off together on their mission...
Gulo realised that this was no straightforward boarding action and was pondering whether destroying the hulk was an option. However, upon assessing the data returned to him by the boarding party before their unceremonious massacre, two things became clear. First, the size of the hulk meant that destroying the hulk with cyclonic torpedoes or even a continuous barrage of firepower would only split the hulk in to several large chunks, which, if caught in the planets gravity, would be drawn towards the planet and cause catastrophic levels of destruction which the population would surely not survive. Secondly, one section of the hulk seemed to be a large Space Wolves vessel. Gulo's curiousity was piqued. Leaving the majority of his force under the command of his Rune Priest, he sent them onwards to Valhalla, keeping only his Terminator armoured contingent and sending out a request to nearby Baal for assistance.
Lexicanum Calistarius answered the call at Commander Dante's request. His experience on board the Sin of Damnation only a few years previously made him the perfect man for the job. Unfortunately, that mission had had a profound effect on the librarian and he still smarted at the loss of so many brave marines. The memories of Lorenzo and his squads sacrifices to get the librarian to safety and ensure the success of the mission had not faded. He arrived with 40 terminators at his beck and call and immediately met with Gulo to decide on a course of action.
The plan was simple in theory. The hulk had two weak points which, if sufficiently damaged from within would split the hulk in to 3 pieces. The other two chunks (the largest of which seemed from the scans to be the most heavily populated) would be small enough to be towed out of the system and destroyed. The third chunk could then be explored by the Space Wolves to see if anything of worth to their chapter could be salvaged. This would then also be towed and destroyed.
All in all, 55 terminator armoured veterans of the two chapters were present, and they would be sent in to secure a forward base from which the force could operate. At this point two small teams would be sent deep in to the hulk to plant the explosives while their battle brothers would follow in their footsteps to secure their escape route. These teams were to be lead by Blood Angels Sergeant Catania, a man with over 500 years experience under his belt, and Space Wolves Sergeant Lupus, a legend in his own right.
The boarding action went off without a hitch and the terminators encountered little to no opposition. A beachhead was established and the two squads set off together on their mission...
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