Farius activated his powerfist and he could feel the oversized war gauntlet tremble with arcane energies at the prospect of shedding the blood of the god-emperor’s enemies. The days ahead would be violent ones, but they always were when the finest soldiers of the Imperium headed into battle. The launchbay was full of motion as the deck-crews hurried to make ready the thunderhawk-pattern dropships. When the pre-battle ceremonies were over the 5th company together with elements of the 3rd company of the Ultramarines chapter would board their landing crafts and dive through the burning atmosphere into the maelstrom of battle.
Tactical squad Lambda stood in formation and Veteran Sergeant Farius inspected them with sharp eyes, searching for any blemishes in his soldiers’ marine-blue battleplates. They shone in the dull light of the ready-room and where as pristine as the day they where shipped from the manufactorums of Mars. Most of his men had a silver stud in their foreheads representing a long time of unrelenting loyalty and service to the chapter. Some had served even longer than a century and that meant surviving ten decades of war, a great feat even for a superhuman Astartes. For superhuman the Ultramarines were, gene altered to be immensely strong and of huge stature, their size no hinder to the tremendous agility and awareness they possessed. Although still mortal they could live for many centuries, even millennia, if they survived the horrors of battling the Imperiums enemies.
‘Sergeant’ someone called in Farius voxbead. ‘Time for launch’ He made the sign of the Aquila and barked orders to move out.
The planet Hyastor IV had been a productive industrial world, providing the Imperium of man with more tithes than any other world in sub-sector Jeridus for a very long time. The shipments of cargo had been punctual and continuous to the core hive worlds for hundred and thirty-three years until they had seized to arrive five months ago. The first to even notice that the communication with a world inhabited by over two billion citizens of the Imperium was gone was the adepts of the Administratum that had noted that the tithes for the second quarter of the year were absent. An Inquisitorial force was dispatched to investigate the fate of Hyastor but it had failed to report back and was declared missing. Sector command commissioned a battle-group of ten Imperial Guard regiments that would be commanded by the old but distinguished, General Galan Karr to be sent to pacify the probable threat the planet had been fated with. That was two months ago and now battle raged across Hyastor IV. Traitor forces, servants of the dark gods of chaos and the eternal archenemy, all names of the single biggest threat to the Imperium and the reason for the war that was raging, had invaded and corrupted all levels of the government. Eventually the planetary defence force had been corrupted as well and turned into mindless cultists devoted to the chaos god Tzeentch the changer of ways. General Galan Karr had reported sightings of chaos marines of the Thousand Sons, once Astartes of the Imperium turned to the service of the ruinous powers by the events of a galaxy spanning heresy ten thousand years ago. That was a threat even ten regiments of Imperial Guard couldn’t handle and a plea was sent to the Ultramarines to assist in the liberation of the planet. Captain Nathaniel had been assigned command of elements of the 3rd company and the entire 5th company of Ultramarines and now Veteran Sergeant Farius commanded a third of that force, a responsibility he wasn’t used to as a line officer.
Two thunderhawks plummeted towards Hyastors atmosphere with an incredible speed. ‘When we hit the LZ, fan out and form a codex-pattern defensive formation’ Farius instructed. ‘We’re landing in a war zone, hopefully undetected, but be wary of heavy-weapons fire. Our mission is to find the leader of this invasion and eliminate him and his traitor-marines. Cut of the head and the serpent will die. The Emperor protects! For Guilliman and for the Imperium!’ All slammed their breastplates in unison. ‘Flak incoming’ the pilot warned through internal vox. The dropships started shaking almost instantly and ear deafening explosions drowned all other sound. Farius sat restrained in his security harness, alert lumens bathing his calm face in red light. He trusted the pilot to land them safely and, even more so, the Emperor to guide them through the heavy metal fragments filling the sky. General Karr’s 552nd Korral regiment’s advance had been halted before a highly fortified and entrenched ridge, occupied by traitor guardsmen and Farius had decided to help the General clear this difficult obstacle. What seemed like an impossible Landing Zone for anyone else was the perfect place to touch down for the Ultramarines and they would land in the square centre of the enemy entrenchment. ‘Commence smokescreen bombardment’ Farius ordered. ‘Commencing run’ the pilot confirmed. The thunderhawk veered hard and dove violently towards the fortification. ‘Firing main cannon.’ The thunderhawk’s hull-mounted artillery fired a self-propelled round that exploded right onto a heavy gun nest crewed by a dozen traitor guardsmen. The artillery piece wasn’t primarily designed for destruction but for cover. A broad plume of black smoke trailed from the impact crater and traitor guards threw themselves into trenches and foxholes expecting further bombardment. None came as the thunderhawks flew straight into the smoke. ‘Be ready’ Farius bellowed. The craft landed with a violent thump and the harnesses unlocked. Lambda and the other squads of the 5th company disembarked and formed up a defensive formation as they secured the landing zone, the black smoke effectively covering their arrival. ‘Thermal vision’ Farius ordered as the thunderhawks departed. That allowed them to see through the smoke and identify their prey. ‘Pick your targets lambda and fire on my mark. ‘Mark.’
A pale traitor officer turned his head towards the huge dark smoke cloud billowing upwards expecting more bombardment. When none came he climbed out of the trench he had thrown himself into. Then he saw something fly out of the smoke with great speed. What could that be, he thought. ’Ehh Steinz’ he said to a Lieutenant still in his foxhole. ‘Take two platoons down to the impact crater and investigate that smoke.’ ’Yes, Sir’ Steinz replied with hesitation. The traitor Lieutenant signed for two platoons to follow him and they advanced down to the great smoke crater created by the artillery piece. They stopped only a few metres before the black wall of smoke. ‘First and second squad advance.’ and as they did the black cloud suddenly erupted with fire. High calibre bolter rounds tore the traitors to pieces at point blank range. The two platoons consisting of eighty men didn’t have time to react until their soft bodies were turned into nothing more than bloody rags. The traitor officer saw the brutal carnage wrought on his men and acted as fast as he could. That would not be enough. Huge blue armoured warriors emerged through the billowing smoke their bolters crackling with fire, every shot a killing one. It was a slaughter.
Farius raised his powerfist and roared too his men to charge. After the initial volleys of bolter fire the traitorguards had been taken completely by surprise and were shocked by the brutal onslaught. ‘For the Emperor!’ Lambda squad ran up towards the hill covered by another squad and hacked, slashed and shot their way through gun nests and trenches. Farius himself leading the charge used his powerfist to club down his enemies in a lethal dance of death. Eventually some of the traitors came too and organised them selves into firing teams but their light las rifles did little against the Ultramarines power armour. A leman Russ battle tank rolled up over the ridge and aimed its main cannon towards the charging marines but Farius was quick to react. ’Take cover! Heavy fire incoming!’ he screamed into the voxfeed. The tank fired and hit one marine, carrying a cumbersome heavy bolter, square in the chest. There wasn’t much left, but the marine’s sacrifice created an opening. Farius knew that a Leman Russ tank needed seventeen seconds to reload and he ducked out from cover, ran with incredible dexterity up the hill towards the tank. Dodging shots and bayonet thrusts from desperate traitor guards while re ran, he shot two bursts into a trench where a traitor officer sat cowering, his face exploding in a red mist. He leaped the last three metres to his target and landed on its hull. His powerfist, crackling with arcane energies, easily tore a hole in the side of the tanks turret and smashed anyone who was inside too pieces. He threw a krak grenade into the hole he had made and threw himself to the ground. The tank crew tried desperately to climb out but was caught in the blast and instantly vaporized. Seeing their mighty tank destroyed rest of the guards started routing, their own officers shooting them in the back for fleeing. ‘This is Veteran Sergeant Farius to all squads. Pursue and destroy the rest of the traitorous filth.’ ‘Sergeant Farius this is Brother Captain Nathaniel’ the vox crackled. ‘Report.’ ‘Landing Zone cleared Captain. The western flank is secured.’ ‘The General will be pleased to hear this. His regiment has been seiging that ridge for three days now.’ ‘Glad we could help the old general, sir.’ ‘Move north sergeant and rendezvous with the 3rd. They report that they have found the bastion of the chaos marines.’ ‘Roger that, brother captain.’ ‘I will follow you with the rest of the 5th when we have helped the good general on the eastern bloc. Emperor guide you sergeant, over and out.’ Farius stood on the ridge beside the blasted wreckage of the Leman Russ, watching his men kill off the last fleeing guards. He saw a battlefield filled with dead bodies torn to shreds, most of them not resembling anything that had been human. Farius had seen this sight countless times before on a thousand battlefields and didn’t think much of it. He didn’t feel any pity for the heretics and traitors; he certainly didn’t have any mercy for them, but the sight would make any lesser men wretch in disgust and horror. He took off his helmet and tasted the bitter metallic tang of his powerfist’s energy discharge while he noticed a guardsman desperately trying to crawl away from him in the mud. Farius approached him and the man, that recognised that he was as good as dead, turned to beg for a quick departure. Hulking over the man Farius thought he heard something, like a whisper in the corner of his mind. Absent because of the distraction he had not noticed that the guardsman had crawled up on his boot and screamed in a local tongue. Seeing the apotecharion attending the dead body of his lost marine, he was filled with searing regret that served to fuel his anger and determination. Lifting his boot of the ground and placing it on top of the man crawling in the mud beneath him he called for the squads under his command to assemble. ‘5th company! We are heading towards the heart of this heresy.
The elements of the 3rd company are waiting to rendezvous with us before we assault their bastion, a desecrated cathedral complex. We will avenge our fallen battlebrother and what they have done to this planet and its people. The wretched traitor screamed in agony when Farius added more pressure on him with his ceramite boot. ‘We will crush the traitors underneath our righteous fury. In the name of the Emperor of man we will have our vengeance!’ The scream ended abruptly when he crashed his boot down on the soft head of the traitor. His marines rammed their fists to their chest plates in approval. ‘Thunderhawk one, we are ready for transport drop.’ Thirty seconds later two thunderhawks appeared with four Rhino transports. ‘Let’s move out.’
They drove north through manufactorums settlements where small battles raged between guardsmen loyal to the Emperor and traitor-guard and mobs of cultists. The Ultramarines provided fire support and inspired courage wherever they strode forward. Because the Astartes were the greatest heroes of the Imperium and too see one was a rare and great honour. They arrived at an enormous square that normally was an impressive sight with grand statues and monuments dedicated to the God-Emperor, but now they were all desecrated with rusty metal spikes, revolting symbols and human sacrifices too the dark gods. Farius rage grew tenfold at the sight of a statue of Roboute Guilliman, the founding father of the Ultramarines, which had its head cut of and replaced with spikes filled with the severed heads of young women. In the centre of the square towered the great cathedral complex. This was a huge building several hundred metres tall that easily dwarfed the other old structures surrounding the square. It was bone-chillingly quiet even though the square was a vast opening normally filled with thousands of people. Something was clearly amiss and Farius felt it instinctively but said nothing to the other Sergeants. He didn’t need too, because he knew they felt it too. They approached the elements of the 3rd company that had taken up a defensive position behind a fallen column. Their commanding officer walked up to Farius while the 5th disembarked the Rhinos. He was greeted with the sign of the aquila. ‘Sergeant Adrius, what have you got for me?’ ‘We have made an auspex sweep over the first great halls of the cathedral but nothing has shown up so far. No visual signs of any chaos activity. But imperial guard intelligence suggests this is the last sighting of chaos marine leader.’ ‘Very well sergeant, vox Captain Nathaniel that we are going in. Codex formation on me.’ Farius jumped up on the roof of the leading rhino and his men positioned themselves behind him. ‘Vengeance will be ours.’ He made a sign to the driver and they started to advance slowly into the gates of the cathedral.
Entering the first great hall would have been a marvellous sight six months ago. Many magnificent frescoes would have been covering the walls, marble statues of saints and heroes of the Imperium would have watched over the crowds that would have come here every day to pay thanks and pray to the God-Emperor. Instead the sight that met the ultramarines eyes was only the crumbled stone of once great artistry and craftsmanship. The air was thick and a dark musk odour filled the place.. It was still dead quiet except of the rhinos that even them sounded muffled and distant. They fanned out in the great hall and searched every corner until they moved on to the next even greater chamber. A hundred enormous marble pillars held the cathedral together and dark alcoves riddled the walls. The darkness was total here and the only light that shone was that of the floodlights on the transports. Although Farius couldn’t see the enemy, he could feel their presence like a bitter taste in the back of his mouth. ‘Farius’ a voice whispered in his head. ‘You have been chosen.’ They drove to the centre of the great chamber and positioned the transports in a circle using them as cover. Except for the gate they entered through there were four other great entrances to the hall each held up by two massive pillars. Far ahead Farius could glimpse a fifth smaller vault opening. He got a strange feeling that something lurked in the room, watching him. A faint gurgling sound suddenly echoed around the chamber, followed by a faint hissing. The sound appeared again but now accompanied with several others almost sounding like a mocking laugh. Whispers trailed around the columns great hall. The Astartes had very acute senses but it was something unnatural about these sounds and they couldn’t pinpoint where they came from. Welcome, something whispered in a malicious and terrible voice, welcome servants of the false emperor. The whispers exploded into booming guttural laughter. The chamber lit up in its dark corners by hundreds of black flames that erupted out of the marbled floors. And out of the shadows emerged the chaos marines screaming, their defiled weapons spewing dark fire. They came at them from all directions but the Ultramarines were not taken aback by the sudden assault. Lambda squad released controlled bursts of fire and took down many by shots to the head, but these were no simple and slow minded guardsmen. The chaos marines used to be Astartes before betraying the Emperor, before their corruption by the ruinous powers. They were almost equally matched but they charged at the ultramarines, crazed by promises of power by the dark gods. The other squads had taken casualties in the initial barrage but now fought methodically and disciplined, covered by the pintle-mounted heavy bolters on the rhinos. The chaos assault was stopped in its tracks and was forced to take cover among the pillars, releasing sporadic bursts of deadly bolts. Suddenly, the maniacal screams of the chaos warriors were added to by thousands of chaos cultists that swarmed into the chamber from the four great entrances and charged headlong towards Farius and his men, hundreds were instantly shot down but they kept coming in wave after wave. They swarmed over and around the Rhinos like plague-bearing insects and tried to smother their enemies with sheer mass. Farius turned around to see one of lambda squad’s marines overwhelmed by dozens of cultists and taken down to the ground. He fired his bolter pistol into the pile of cultists covering the body of his soldier and they fell off, screaming. A blue gauntlet burst out through the mass of heretics and ripped an opening where the buried marine battered his way out from. Heaps of the dead started to pile up and cover the sides all around the defensive formation. Farius realised that it was just a matter of time until they would be overwhelmed. He caught a glimpse of one of the giant columns bearing one of the entrances where the cultists were spewing out from. ‘Devastator squad Omega, fire your missile-launchers at those two pillars at my six.’ he ordered through the vox. ‘Roger Sergeant.’ They primed their launchers and fired. Two missiles streaked over the chamber hitting each of the pillars supporting the entrances. They held at first but they soon started cracking, giant blocks of concrete and marble falling down on the cultist crowded under the entrance waiting impatiently to attack. Farius was about to order another salvo when a great wall collapsed and six Leman Russ battle tanks emerged. He directed the missile launchers their way instead, seeing them as a more immediate threat but was surprised when he saw a mighty blue figure with a billowing red cloak on top of the leading tank. ‘For the Emperor!’ Captain Nathaniel roared and behind the tanks emerged the rest of the 5th company together with hundreds of loyal guardsmen shouting their battle-cries. ‘Need some help brother sergeant?’ Farius heard through the vox and he could almost see the smirk on his captain’s face across the chamber.
‘Indeed we do.’ he replied and became filed with invigorating power at the sight of his battle brothers. ‘Lambda on me.’ he ordered and jumped down in the crowd of now confused cultists. Easily dismembering and mutilating the panicked chaos cultists Farius moved forward towards a hulking traitor marine that brandished a colossal mace that he swung with brutal strength not caring if he hit his own or his enemies. When he caught sight of the Ultramarine he dashed forward, knocking down several cultists, to reach out with his mace and drive it down on Farius. Unable to dodge Farius caught the tip of the mace with his oversized powerfist and it took all his strength to heave it aside. He moved forward and cracked open the traitor’s powerarmor with one massive punch. As Farius crushed the dazed marine under his boot, the voice returned, now more powerful. ‘Sergeant Farius of the Ultramarines’ the voice said. ‘Come alone, and witness my elevation.’ He now knew what lurked beyond the fifth chamber. ‘Captain, this is Farius. I have found the location of the leader.’ Farius voxed with sudden conviction. ‘Are you sure.’ the Captain responded. ‘Most definitely Captain. Permission to eliminate the threat.’ ‘Stealing all the glory Sergeant, are we? Very well, permission granted, we can hold them off here. May the Emperor guide you.’ ‘Lambda, on me!’ Muzzle flashes lit up the great hall and the cacophony of crazed screams and explosions would make any normal man insane. Two of the Leman Russ fired their main cannons at the sea of heretics blocking the path of Farius squad; he didn’t hesitate to use the avenue cleared by the mighty battle-tanks. Wading their way through broken bodies they noticed that the rest of the cultists surrounding the fifth vault backed away and left the path open to the marines to venture forward. ‘Yesss.’ the voice hissed in Farius head as they reached the broad steps leading to the lavishly ornate vault connecting the great chamber to the one ahead. Farius signed to his squad to slow down and keep their eyes open and as they moved forward a gate closed, blocking out all signs of battle from behind them.
Entering a circular chamber they saw a dark-robed figure kneeling before a great idol of the Emperor at its centre. The room had been the private altar of the Pontifex, master of religion on Hyastor IV, and as such was filled with holy relics and idols of the God-Emperor. ‘Welcome Farius.’ The robed figure said with a calm voice. ‘Who are you?’ Farius demanded. ‘Didn’t I tell you to come alone?’ the figure said with a now dark and angry voice, ignoring Farius question. The figure raised both his arms and the six marines of Lambda squad were pulled of their feet and into the air. Farius found himself frozen and unable to move, forced to watch when his mighty marines helplessly floated about in the air. ‘They were not invited’ the figure hissed and closed his hands abruptly. The marines armour imploded and great fountains of blood sprayed across the room covering all in a red mist. ‘But I must say that, that felt good.’ Pleasure filled the dark figures voice and he turned around to reveal a pallid face with dark eye-pits and in them the eyes of a snake. He pulled back his robes and an ancient dark-red power-armour decorated with white serpents and a creature that looked like a vulture covered his body. ‘It is not important who I am. Much more so my purpose here and what I will become. You see even though I take great pleasure in gutting the innocent citizens of the false-emperor; it is not why I am here. This is the final destination before my ascension, before I will shed my skin and become something your imagination could not fathom. My eyes will peer further into the void than ever before and my mind will become privy to secrets more dangerous than any army. I have pillaged and slaughtered countless worlds in the name of the dark god Tzeentch but his thirst for sacrifices is unslakable and not until now has he promised to grant me my wishes.’ The chaos sorcerer raised his arms yet again and whispered an incantation in a dark and forbidden language. A body, which Farius indentified as the Pontifex, was summoned from some ethereal plane of existence and hovered just above the floor. Farius limbs were still frozen and he couldn’t do anything but watch the heathen ritual that was performed before him. The sorcerer unsheathed a long black knife and continued the incantations. To Farius disgust the Pontifex’s was alive and started trashing his body, still hovering a few decimetres above the ground. The chaos magus stabbed the knife down into the Pontifex who screamed in pain.’ Release me from this useless shell. Let me ascend!’ Something whispered in Farius head again; he couldn’t make out what it was. Something was happening to the sorcerer. ‘Yes, tell me the secrets!’ His armour started to bulge and buckle and his head started to shake. The whisper got clearer and Farius could hear words now. ‘Farius…Ultra…have…through…divine…’ the voice said but the meaning was lost to him. Something grew out of the magus and morphed into his armour. ‘What is happening to me?’ he cried. The shoulder-plating got ripped apart and great featherless wings sprouted out of his back. ‘No, no. This was not supposed to happen. You promised me!’ His face cracked open and a great beak erupted out of the skull. Suddenly, Farius could hear the words clearly. ‘Farius of the Ultramarines, my most loyal sons, through you I will exercise my divine power and mete out vengeance and retribution. I grant you the will to smite my enemies. I will protect you from harm.’ He could move now and he was filled with a burning will and fury. Fully mutated the winged creature now turned to the marine and lashed out with a great scythe. Farius caught it with his hand and ripped it out of the beast’s grip, his eyes burning with bright light. With a newfound strength he tackled the abomination into a wall with an awesome force that immediately broke its crooked back. He took its avian-like head in his giant powerfist and crushed it with all of his fury. Black light emanated from the severed neck of the monster and it rose despite its grave injury slashing Farius with a razor like claw. His body almost got cut in half and he fell down on the floor with a lethal wound colouring his armour red. He reached for his remaining krak-grenades and held them to his chest. The headless daemon crawled over him and slashed at his arms. ‘I will mete out your vengeance!’ Farius cried. The grenades detonated.
Captain Nathaniel walked through the decks of the strike cruiser, Guilliman’s Vengeance, orbiting the liberated planet of Hyastor IV. He entered the medicae-facility and walked over to the slabs where his dead marines lay. He had lost a considerable amount of good men on this operation but their lives had bought the liberation of an entire planet. He left the dead to rest and walked to stand beside a bed that was placed next to an observation port. As he watched the planet below he said. ‘I have read your report. So the Emperor truly protects.’ He turned to the one occupying the bed. ‘Indeed he does, Captain, indeed he does.’ Farius replied.
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