Hey y'all, yeah, another story, I had thought of it while developing Infinite Circuit's later plots and stuff and thought it would be cool to write. I will be continuing this(I'm going to overload myself,lol
), so yeah, enjoy!
Prologue: Fangs of Russ…
“Even since he was nothing more than a mere child, on the day of his recruitment - swept away on wings of steel unbound by laws of gravity- one fact was certain. He loathed entering the atmosphere… especially in the case of Drop Pods. For two and a half centuries, it had been so and now… few things never change; this is one of them.”~~~~~~~~~
Yet, as he peered through the crystal clear sheet of glass of the port window, he realized that the feeling of dread swelling within his chest had suddenly vanished, long before he ever took notice. It didn’t require much thought as to why, gazing upon the sight and one would know.
There were fewer sights more serene, more majestic than this. An endless ocean of the black abyss, alight with innumerable, shining beacons of glimmering, white light guiding the way into thousands of invisible routes throughout the eternal void. It all stretched beyond the limits of his vision, though he failed to focus on the fact for too long; shifting his stare onto the massive globe floating beneath him.
This was their destination, their mission, their home. He remembered the vast oceans that swallowed it, the sheets of various continents that jutted from the watery surface; yet even from here, his eyes were denied the view of its true layout.
It was strange, nearly the entirety of Hinaria was shielded from the beauty of space, almost isolated from the rest of the galaxy by the giant, thick screens of swirling, smokey grey clouds blocking much off much of the atmosphere. Even so, he knew there weren’t mammoth storm clouds brewing upon the surface. He always pondered the cause of it, but not this time.
“Ten minutes till operation commencement.” It was a heavily grated, lifeless voice that droned resoundingly from the hidden V.O.X.. It blared harshly within the drums of his sensitive ears, causing him to frown at being snapped out of his hypnosis.
Yet he refused to sour his mood, instead focusing on the dwarfed, charcoal colored moon drifting by Hinaria’s side. It glowed eerily, its aura fueled in the light cast from a distant sun.
The light leaked through the thick sheet of glass, pouring over and illuminating all in its path; including himself.
A few of the more awe-stricken individuals might call him a god among men, but he was usually referred to as a giant. Which he was, though -admittedly- he was somewhat short for a space marine; seven feet, usually coming up to most of his companion’s shoulders.
“No, stop worrying, I have it under control…. Yeah, he’s in here I bet.” Judging by how muffled the distant voice was, he easily pinpointed the approaching figure toward the elevator at the hall entrance.
The lean, muscular frame that he had forged through hellish training was currently enwrapped within its second skin. The Power Armor he bore was a light, smokey-blue, complemented with snow white along the edges of shoulders and knee caps. Etched onto the centre of his right shoulder pad was the arrow insignia of the tactical squad; its counterpart adorned with a matt black aqulia. Glistening from the chest plate, a masterfully carved, golden, open maw wolf slightly bulged from the rest.
His skin wasn’t so pale compared to other natives of Hinaria: lightly tanned. Dull, naturally squinted, violet eyes peered resolutely from a squared face. Though many have joked that it was probably the trio of claw scars running diagonally from the left of his forehead to the right of his jaw that caused it. Either side of his head was shaved to the last few centimeters, leaving a valley of jet black miniature spikes cropped upon the top.
Shields of Russ battle-brother Iono remained silent. At the moment, it was all he needed, all he desired. To look upon the stars and bear witness to the Emperor’s realm, it never failed to wisp the breath from his lungs, calm his emotions. He felt… placid, whenever he went out of his way to visit this particular spot.
The atmosphere of the storage room heavily mirrored the ocean void minus the stars. The claustrophobic interior wasn’t lit artificially, only by the beacons guiding its greater whole further in its journey. Not as if it needed to be, to reveal the cold steel that it had been constructed with, or the towering stacks of metal crates occupying all available space save the narrow path linking the doorway to the window.
An abrupt hiss shattered the silence, the serenity, and his trance and the space marine sighed dejectedly as he prepared for the inevitable. The sudden noise was followed by a quiet whine of invisible servos and suddenly the entrance into his haven slid aside to allow the intruder access.
“I thought I’d find you here.” Despite the apparent helmet distortion, the pup of Russ could easily hear the rasp in his brethren’s age-worn voice as he entered storage.
The space marine was clasped in the exact armor that his subordinate wore, save the beaked helmet isolating his features and any expression he chose to wear. An unsheathed chainsword hung freely from the ammo pouch attached to the left side of his waist; bolter holster on the right.
Sergeant Taeyos Taon halted for a moment, before resuming a casual walk till he reached his brethren’s side. The officer opted to remain silent for a second, choosing to take in the view that the younger one had done just moments ago.
“Saint Hinaria…” He finally spoke, as if he were reminiscing about an old memory.
Iono scoffed, louder than he intended and the pair of giants exchanged a knowing glance at each other before reverting back to the planet. “You can hardly call it “Saint” now.” Smooth, soft spoken, yet firm, Iono’s voice had finally been heard in Taon knew how long. “To be brought so low by rebels…” He whispered the last portion of his sentence and Taeyos detected a bit of growing resentment in them.
The Sergeant shrugged. “Well, it happens. We are all humbled by the Emperor at some point in our life. Who would’ve expected our people to cast away their oaths of loyalty?”
“Not all of them have.” Iono protested, his face hardening in determination. “The Emperor’s children are always worth fighting for.”
Though it was soon replaced with an arched look aimed at his superior when he begun to chuckle to himself.
“Of course, its why we’re here… everything hangs on us, Iono…” He paused for a second to place a palm on the young battle-brother’s shoulder pad. “Our chapter, our people, our home, our honor…”
Iono nodded grimly. “I’m ready, Brother Sergeant, we’ll cleave these heretics apart with the fangs of Russ!”
Taeyos returned the nod, laughing heartily at the show of enthusiasm. “Well, you won’t cleave many heretics without a blade… or a knife for that matter. Look at you, not even a bolter on hand at the eve of battle! You’re too laid back for your own good, Iono, I’ve told you that. You best hurry to the armory, meet me in the hangar; you know which Drop-pod you’re assigned to.”
Iono’s eye slightly twitched at the mention of their means of travel onto planet-side, though he quickly masked anything more as he knew Taeyos caught it. His lips curved into a soft frown as the officer bellowed another burst of laughter, spinning on his heel to leave.
“Few things never change.”
~~~~~~~~~~
First try at a space marine story, hopefully I did well with it.
