Here's a story I'm still working on. It's about Marius, a terminator from the Star Dragons chapter (my own chapter, Drak-Angels successors).
It's a WIP, so it's far from finished (don't let the last bit fool ya on that
), so comments and critiques are welcome
Sorry if it's a long read, I didn't feel like stopping...
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Heavy footfalls kicked up little clouds of dust, their sound resounding in the eerie silence. A lone shadow loomed up from the fog and the darkness. A thin red laser line shot forward from its head sensors, another from the massive weapon it was carrying. A giant terminator came forward, its black armor now dulled by the dust of the battlefield. In the darkness, it was hardly visible, except for the two lasers and the soft glow behind the deep blue eye lenses. Its assult cannon was raised at the ready and constantly swinging from side to side, expecting enemies everywhere.
Marius looked around. The dark stone walls of the ruined building were crumbling, and the ceiling was gone. His helmet sensors provided all kinds of information about thickness and building materials, but he paid little heed to them. The place looked safe enough. He checked the room, or what was left of it, and made sure no enemies were nearby. A falling stone caught his attention. Quickly he moved over to the place where he heard it, but there was nothing. His sensors didn’t indicate any life signs either. Only slightly comforted, he sat down in a dark corner. He unlocked his assult cannon, and removed his helmet. The smell of death and burning flesh immediately penetrated his nose, but his augmented body and strong-willed mind resisted the nausea.
Marius stroked back his long black hair with a heavily armored hand, the cold metal scraping his skin. Sweat stood on his forehead, but he cared not. He thought back of the past few hours, and the happenings since he was teleported to the surface of this planet. It had been hell from the first moment, and a lesser man would have lost his wits and ran crying. Only his rigorous training and strong faith had prevented Marius from doing just that, but grief was burning in his mind. Out of two terminator squads, he was the only survivor. Even the librarian that had accompanied them had perished; gunned down by a battery of railguns and his mind attacked by the foul creatures of the warp. Return fire had killed dozens of enemies, but it was not nearly enough. The landing site was almost overrun, and its defenders dead or in full retreat. Marius had barely made it out alive, and was now separated from all friendly forces by an overwhelming number of Tau troops and vehicles. He had wandered the ruins of the outpost alone, his communications systems damaged in the heavy firefight. Sounds of battle were all around him, but ever further away.
Marius picked up his helmet again, and looked at the damage. It could not be repaired without the proper tools and replacement parts, so he put it on his head again. He locked the heavy Assult cannon back to his right arm, and stood up. Suddenly a sound caught his audio sensors, and amplified it inside his helmet. Footsteps. Three strong, at least. Every now and then they stopped, and voices rang out softly. It sounded like a search pattern; a small group of warriors securing the ruins. Five heat signatures popped up inside the helmet. Marius hid behind a large pile of rubble, but the sound of his heavy footsteps alerted his opponents. Five nimble, yellow-armored figures entered the destroyed room, lasers flashing from side to side. They spoke in a strange language, and two advanced while three covered the room with their long thin rifles. Marius powered up his assult cannon. The barrels spun ever faster, and he stood up. Immediately the three aliens aimed for him, but the hyper-accelerated ammunition could not penetrate Marius’ thick armor. Marius pushed the trigger. A hailstorm of solid ammunition flew through the room, cutting through armor and alien flesh as if it were not even there. The fire warriors were perforated by dozens of bullets, and died before they hit the ground. Marius stopped the spinning of his gun, pleased by the devastating result of his attack. He quickly headed back to the streets, knowing that the noise of his shooting would surely attract more aliens than he could handle alone…
Silence was all around him. Marius hauled himself over a crumbled wall, and reached another street. It was dark; night had fallen, and dust and clouds covered the stars. Bodies were strewn all over the place. Heavy fighting had taken place here, and both sides had suffered many casualties. The Tau had conquered the city, but its defenders had made them pay dearly for every inch of it. Marius felt sorry for his fallen comrades, and proud to be part of such a resistant army. He too would have given his life in defense should he have faced this force, but he was spared. He did not know for what purpose, but he would make sure that the sacrifice of his fallen brethren would not be in vain.
He stomped loudly through the street, making no effort to silence his loud footsteps. It would be in vain anyway. He was heading back to the landing site, where he had been teleported. Those foul aliens would surely be interested in the powerful terminator armor of the fallen there. Marius could not let them have it; it was too valuable and too sacred to give up without a fight to the death.
Something buzzed past his head. Immediately Marius leapt for cover and scanned the area. Another scout team had spotted him, and was firing at him from behind cover. Again, he powered up his assult cannon, waiting for the twisting barrels to reach fire velocity. Like a vengeful rain, the bullets slammed into the debris. Two of the fire warriors fell, a fine rain of blood spraying on the wall behind them. The others dropped to the ground, sheltering from the murderous bullets.
The noise of the cannon stopped. The fire warriors got up again, and aimed at the distant terminator. But before they could pull the trigger, a giant metal fist grabbed the head of one of them and squashed it like a bug, blood spraying in every direction. Marius dropped the warrior’s limp body, and grabbed the next faster than anyone could have thought possible from such a lumbering giant. Blood spatters colored his armor a deep crimson, the silver dragon emblem on his chest turning to a gory red. The third fire warrior stood frozen in terror, but then turned and ran. He clumsily scrambled over the debris, but was cut down by a quick volley of Marius’ assult cannon. He fell. His legs were a mangled mess of flesh, bone, and shreds of armor, but he pulled himself along with his arms. Marius walked over to him. As he approached, the alien turned and raised his pulse rifle. The hyper-velocity round hit Marius’ helmet, damaging the optic systems. Quickly Marius took the helmet off, and looked at the small bloody figure in front of him. He could feel its terror. He reached down with his powerfist, and grabbed it by the throat.
“Mankind will rule supreme,” he said with a menacing voice, and he slowly squeezed his powerfist.
“The light of the emperor will spread throughout the galaxy, and your kind will forever perish.”
Blood poured from the body as Marius’ hand was clenched to a fist, the alien flesh completely squashed, the warrior dying a painful death. Marius felt the life flow out of the body. He dropped it back on to the rubble. The blood was clotting in the dust, turning it to a black mud. His mind set, Marius picked up his helmet again. It was useless now. The optics had been damaged, and he would be blind if he put it back on. With a roar Marius kicked the dead body, flinging its head a dozen yards away and sending more blood flying through the air. He tossed the helmet, and walked off in the direction of the landing site. The loss of his helmet would mean he had to rely on his own senses, and his head would be vulnerable. A loss, but an acceptable one. Marius did not care much. All he could think of was his fallen comrades, and the swift destruction of his enemies.
A distant buzz broke the silence. Marius halted to listen. The high-pitched sound of jet engines approached from the direction he had come from. Not the heavy roar of the Thunderhawks Marius knew all too well – it sounded different, much lighter. Marius knew this sound too. They were battlesuits, Tau machinery with thick armor and deadly weapons. Marius walked into a ruined building, hiding from the lethal machines. A minute later, three of them slowly hovered past, followed by a full squad of fire warriors. Marius knew they were looking for him. Every now and then they would halt and search the ruins, only to return to the streets and continue on. It would only be a matter of time before they would find him. Marius withdrew through the building, ending up on another street on the other side of the building. He could hear the jet engines of the battlesuits. He heard the fire warriors call out. ‘All clear,’ he guessed, although he could not understand the language.
He turned to move back. The direct route was now heavily guarded. But he found this way blocked too; a battlesuit just rounded a corner and hovered onto the street. Instinctively Marius switched on his assult cannon and ran towards the alien construct. He fired as he ran, bullets springing off the battlesuit like angry flies. A few his weak spots in its armor and sparks could be seen flying from a few joints. The jet pack on its back puffed and fell silent. The battlesuit landed at the very same moment that Marius reached it, and his powerfist slammed into the front of its carapace. The power and immense weight of the terminator flung the construct against the wall. Marius’ powerfist broke through the front carapace. Marius opened his hand and grabbed the terrified pilot inside. He janked the alien through the hole. A sickening crack, and the lower body came out, blood streaming from Marius’ fist. The battlesuit sparkled and slumped down. An arm fell through the massive hole in the front, blood dripping from its four fingers. Marius tossed the legs, and looked around. This kind of noise was sure to attract attention. He ducked in the alley the battlesuit had come from. He waited, but it was not long before he heard voices and footsteps.
Stuck in the dead-end alley, Marius walked back to the opening to the road. He checked his ammo box; there was not much left. He spun the assult cannon again, ready to shoot anything in sight. As he reached the main road, his fears became true. The entire fire warrior squad had taken up positions outside, and the three battlesuits hovered just behind a wall. Immediately pulse rounds slammed into his armor. Marius sent a hail of bullets through the streets, and a few cries of pain told him he had at least hit three of them. The battlesuits veered up, plasma streams and missiles blazing at the terminator. Marius dodged most of them, but two missiles hit him square on the chest. The lifted his arm to protect his face, but could not prevent the flames from burning his cheek.
Luckily his thick armor had saved him once again, and now the smoke and dust hid him from his enemies. Marius ducked behind a wall and walked around. His footsteps sounded too loud for his taste, and he feared his enemy would guess his plan because of them. But as he returned to the street he looked at the backs of a few fire warriors, one of them tending to a wounded comrade. They never even saw him. The heavy munitions from the assult cannon killed them before they even had a chance of looking back. The battlesuit that hurriedly popped up behind the cover debris was shot down in the volley as well, crashing in a cloud of sparks and smoke on top of its fallen kin.
The other two suits scattered and took cover in the ruins, while the remaining fire warriors hastily repositioned. Silence fell, and Marius withdrew quietly behind a wall. He silently wished he still had his helmet optics. Its heat sensors would tell him all he needed to know. But he would have to do without.
He took a deep breath and stepped back on to the street. Immediately the pulse rifles of the fire warriors unloaded their munitions against his heavy armor, still unable to harm him. Again his assult cannon spat fire, and a wall of dust and fine blood spatters erupted as his volley struck body and stone alike. The battlesuits emerged from cover, their plasma rifles aimed at Marius. The mighty terminator kept shooting fiery death from his cannon, hammering down on the battlesuit in front of him while trying to dodge the shooting of the other.
One shot found home. Super-heated plasma melted through his armor in less than a second, burning a deep wound in Marius’ toughened flesh. The noise of the cannon stopped. Marius stumbled and fell on one knee. The pain was intense, deadly for a normal man. But Marius withstood it, and the healing hormones were released into his blood stream. The bleeding stopped quickly, and Marius stood up again. He aligned the mighty assult cannon with the hovering battlesuit, and pushed the trigger. Dozens of bullets struck and penetrated the armor of the construct, perforating the pilot inside. Before it hit the ground the jet pack of the suit exploded, sending dozens of pieces flying in every direction, bouncing off of the crumbled walls and Marius’ plasteel armor plating. Marius turned away, and checked his ammo box again. He sighed; he had wasted too much…