Previous entries:
Battle Report: Stronghold of the Damned part 1
Battle Report: Stronghold of the Damned part 2
Report by Lieutenant Talis of the Ironwing Space Marines
Transcribed by Andrew Hawnt
The orders were shared amongst the Ironwing and Ultramarines, and formations were agreed. I must admit that the honour of serving alongside the sons of Guilliman drove me on further, as it did my battle brothers. The Ironwing are not as widely known as the Ultramarines, but we are strong and we do not yield to the forces that would seek to topple the God Emperor's work.
Our point of contact was none other than the revered Lieutenant Calsius, a fine warrior indeed, and he shared our resolve to end this matter as swiftly as possible. The time for tactics had passed. The focus of our own assault would be the stronghold itself, to pick off any remaining Poxwalkers and as many of the Death Guard as we could. The Ultramarines would focus on keeping the Orks at bay until we had gained access to the stronghold and then half of their number would turn their aim to our aid. The Orks had brought over a stolen Rhino, its hull daubed with painted skulls and burnt filth. More Ork warriors spilled from its hold, eager for blood.
We charged, and immediately came under fire from both the psychotic Greenskins and the Death Guard atop the stronghold's ruined tower. Ultramarines charged at the Orks and took down half of their number in a raging cacophony of bolter fire and roaring chainswords. Grots ran gibbering from their masters as Orks were cleaved in half or exploded over them in showers of ravaged viscera. One Ultramarine fell as a rocket from a ramshackle Ork weapon struck him. The battle brother vanished in an explosion of shattered ceramite and human debris, and yet his brethren didn't flinch, instead turning the marine's killer into a mist of gore within seconds.
Over the raging battle between them, we pounded across to the stronghold itself. Poxwalkers emerged from hidden tunnels and smashed entrances, and we lay waste to them within seconds. We would not allow such simple adversaries to hold us back this time. I leapt into the ruins first, with my Ironwing brothers an instant behind me. Two Death Guard were waiting and unleashed heavy bolters against us. Brother Herius fell beside me, his head gone completely, his blood spattered across my own armour. It was warpaint to me.
I retaliated with my bolter and brought Holy fire upon the unholy horror before me. The tentacles and pulsating filth that seeped and quivered between the Plague Marine's armour plates was shredded, rancid innards exploding forth as my weapon gouged huge holes in its torso. It didn't seem to care, suddenly advancing on me with its steaming entrails dragging beneath its hulking form. Before it could fire, I lunged forward and jammed a grenade into the joins between helmet and foetid flesh. I used my own inertia to carry me beyond the perversion, just as its top half exploded.
I thought of Herius and got to my feet, pushing on towards the tower steps. Others followed. A shell from another Death Guard marine detonated beside me, blasting chunks out of the wall and knocking me sideways. I landed hard but was unharmed. I dragged myself upright again and saw brother Joseph and brother Fenriz vanish into the tower, their power armour boots thudding up the stone steps towards the chamber atop the tower, where the teleportation tech was held by those heretic followers of Nurgle.
A blast erupted from above us, a blaze of flames and detritus exploding downwards upon me and my brothers. As my helmet optics adjusted, I saw the remains of Fenriz collapse down the staircase. I called across to the others that the column was laced with explosives, but that wasn't our only problem. The sound of the teleporter being activated rang out from above. The Death Guard were bringing reinforcements.
Calsius blocked my way with an outstretched arm. “No, brother. No further. Something isn't right. If they needed more forces here, they could have brought them already. That sound – something is wrong.”
I listened a moment, then it dawned on me. “That isn't the sound of a teleportation sequence. That's the sound of the power cells feeding back on themselves.”
“Brothers,” came the cracked, broken voice of Brother Joseph. He had made it into the tower. “Ironwing, Ultramarines. Listen. Fall back. Fall back... immediately. The Death Guard sought to take us all into... their darkness. The teleporter is not lost technology – it is theirs. This is a tool for gathering flesh to twist and warp!”
“Brother Joseph,” I said numbly over the vox. “You have commenced an overload sequence, haven't you?”
“I have, brother Talis,” came his croak of a reply. “The Death Guard have taken my legs. They have taken my left arm and I am ruined. I can see my stomach on the ground beside me. They are reforming. Their injuries will close in moments. Leave... now.”
Calsius nodded to me. “Your brother is dying, but he does do in glory.” He called out over the vox for all marines to exit the structure immediately. I hesistated a moment, looking at the smoking hole that lead to the tower.
“For the Emperor,” Joseph groaned in agony over the vox. “For... my brothers. For Holy Terra.”
“Indeed, my brother.” I followed Calsius and the remaining Ultramarines and Ironwing. I passed the Orks, all dead, and mangled Poxwalkers. I stomped passed filth and flesh and masses of congealed horror. I didn't look back as I heard the teleporter hit critical and the Death Guard atop the stronghold tower roared in fury as brother Joseph's final act took effect. The chunk of warped tech exploded in a corona of blazing reactions, annihilating the tower and all inside it. The explosion tossed us all into the dirt with a thud, the sound overloading our audio channels for a moment. A shock-wave followed it, a pulse of dispersing energy that disrupted our systems for a moment before they blinked back to life. I checked the runes flashing over my lenses. My suit was largely operational.
We picked ourselves up as the wave faded, looking back to the atomised ruins of the building we had been inside just moments before.
Plans were quickly made for the Defiant Shadow to come to our aid. Genetics would be harvested. Losses would be catalogued. The battle would be recorded. I would see to it that brother Joseph's sacrifice would be given the utmost honour. And then I would join my brothers and continue to our next quest in His name.
And his.
//Report ends
Comments