Into the Dark

Into The Dark...

A Warhammer 40k short story.

 

Achilies hacked the chainsaw into the Genestealer. The smell; foul, like a combination of oil and human excrement fused together to create  something tottally abomnable, but that did not distract Achilies. The blood smattering across his blue armour and thickening the chainsword in in a dark crimson blanket, with the creature screeching in what appeared to be pain. The corridors were claustaphobic barely room to move around, all dirty and neglected, with metal clashing across metal to form what appeared to be makeshift repairs by the passage of time. "The Hellfire of Iron" had been lost in the Warp for three thousand years, but its re-appearence of this Hulk was seen as an oppurtunity as well as a duty to retrive the anchent relic "Herald of Honour" that was taken from the Ultramarines so long ago and to destroy the Space Hulk before it reached to the Ulrix sector which housed a Forge World.

 

As Achilies removed the chainsword from the ribcage of the Xeno, it hissed before slumping to the ground. "Onwards Brothers" Achilies ordered his brothers "The relic is almost within reach, soon we will be off this blasphemous pile". Achilies crushed the Xenos head, blood squirting in all directions, the cracking of bone only to echo the corridors of the Hulk, then walked on as with the rest of his squad.

 

The area was dark. Lights flickered occasionlly, it was only a good thing squad "Lions Roar" had good vision from their enhancements combined with the night vision upon their helmets. "Brutus, how many clicks before we reach the relic?" Asked Pentus, Pentus being a veteran of the war for Macragge was always bitter at least when knowing he was fighting Tyranids and knew he wanted to get this mission done and over with as soon as possible.

"Aye, just ahead this corridor will be the room containing the relic acording to the vox-readings" Brutus replied to Pentus. Remus and Darium the fourth and fifth members of "Lions Roar" stayed silent, just checking everywhere for the slightest sight of more Xenos for attack.

 

Soon they reached the entrance of the room with the relic and Achilies smashed through the aged ceremite door as it would refuse to open. as they entered they saw the Herald and the room. the rooom was blasphemous. Anchient statues pushed and broken by makeshift metal, cracked by age and slowly crumbling before the weight of age that had been enthrusted upon them. The walls ripped apart and twisted to the will of the hulk. At the back wall of the room opposite the entrance stood the Herald of Honour within its wired casing the Herald was an Axe. A Power Axe that was known for slaying many a Daemon and Heretic Lord alike, with a firey heart the Herald was a sight to behold glowing brightly illuminating half the room. Achilies the proud Sargent of Macragge, known for many a deed from slaying the Ork Warboss Grimteef and the Mutant Lord Asregoth the defiler, marched towards the relic and knelled before it. the wrires keeping the Herald emplaced, uncoiled and unwound around it and the Axe was pushed forth towards the Ultramarine by pistons. Achilies with keen intent grabbed the Relic and held it uphigh towards his brothers.

"WE MARCH FOR MACRAGGE!"
"AND WE SHALL KNOW NO FEAR!" His squad replied to the sargent in syncronhisation.

Brutus turned around to face the Entrance willing to make a keen exist when suddenly he was hoisted up two feet by two large Scythe-like mandibles and Brutus clashed to the floor after a loud snap was heard coming from his arms. Brutus let out a loud shout of anger and pain and attempted to get up but he could not. His arms were cut clean off his torso. Pentus quickly rushed towards Brutus and grabbed Brutus to stand him up, Brutus writhing in agony. Remus and Darium aiming their Bolterguns in all directions as Achilies came to Pentus' aid.  "Ive seen this before on Macragge, we are being stalked!" Pentus told Achilies. "Squad we need to abandon this dammned place, Pentus will escort Brutus out of this area. Remus, Darium and I will escort you two out!" Achilies orderered his squad. Achilies knew from the War for Macragge that this was an organised stalk and hunt tactic from the organised bioform known to the Imperium as a Lictor.

 

Suddenly the bioform burst through the floor and grabbed Darium taken by suprise and coiled its arms and scythe-like mandibles around the Astartes. before Darium could react the Xeno's small tenticles coiled around his helmet smothering his head and jumped back into the hole it had just created, Remus blasted the bolter hoping to hit the dammned Xeno, the boltfire flickering the room in bursts of light, but to no avail; No Ailen howls were heard and Darium was nowhere to be seen. The Xeno had caught its first victim.

"Extraction! NOW!" Ordered Achilies, "We require the assistance of a battering ram urgently!" Achilies was bellowing orders through his vox to the ship that had taken him to the hulk. "Yes my Lord, but you need to move towards these co-ordinates for a scessfull extraction" A servitor replied through the vox, "Very well, make sure its ready when we get there" Replied Achilies. soon all Astares exited the damnned room.

As walking through the Claustraphobic corridoors Achilies at the front, lading by example followed by Pentus who kept Brutus upright, then followed by Remus, all were checking for life insignias but none were seen on the scanners within the readings on their helmets, All aiming their Boltguns and Boltpistols ahead awaiting for the Xeno at any moment, everystep with caution. Suddenly after walking across a four way junction of corridors, a mandible hooked Remus by the torso by the back and recoiled trapping Remus and hoisted him into its claws impaling Remus by the stomach who was the excecuted by a swift decapitation by one of its many clawed fingertips. Pentus turned to see the grisly sight, fired his bolt pistol in anger whilst he kept Brutus upright in his other arm, most shots missed for the foul Xeno was quick, an undeniable fact but as it left the scene a bone cracking impact was heard, blood gouted everywhere and a high shriek was heard from whatever it had in pace of a mouth, and thye Lictor dissapeared.

 

"The Xeno should bleed out now" Pentus growled "and by the Emperor I hope it feels its pain to its last breath". "We have lost many Bothers on this mission, let us not lose more by cursing at xenos that should be dead now, Our bothers died so that the mission can go on" Achilies pursued, He knew that there were more ailen beasts upon this wretched hulk of the dammned and he did not want to spare a sinlge secxond on it, and so the survivors went on.

 

At last they got to the destination zone. Achilies saw that the assault ram had not arrived yet and demanded to go straight onwards to the vox. "By the Emperor where is our extraction vessal? We cannot wait any longer we have a severe wounded and lost two of our own here, so how long before it comes?" Achilies asked in fustration, his tone blank but grim. A servitor replied "Extraction now within two minuties" Achilies was fustrated that he had to wait but he knew full well the battle barge escorting him along with other squads to reclaim other lost relics and to destroy certain energy cores were needed to blow the Hulk up wes unnder fire from achient offencive capabilities from the Hulks damaged drives. As soon as Achilies switched off from the vox, the ground eruppted and burst, Brutus and Pentus fell stright into the floor gaping wound and as they fell Achilies heard the many screeches of many alien beasts as well as many feet stampedeing towards Pentus and Brutus. Achilies knew their fate was on board the Hulk, forever now. Achilies had no time to grieve as from teh wound of the floor teh damnned Xeno crawled out and stood up looking at the captain. The capatin was ready for a riptose by the alien attack but the Lictor did not strike first, it was as if the Xeno was studying him, ready for the rigtht time to pounce. Through the glow of the Herald and the bionic enchncements of his sight the Captain saw where the wound from Pentus' bolt pistol was made, it had took a chunk of its eye out along with part of the skull. The captain knew what to do and since time was not on his side he knew he had to attack first. with a wave of the axe, the Capatin swung the Herald across one of the mandiples of the lictor, only to be blocked and the thrown into one of the walls of the Hulk, as the Lictor made an advancement upon the Captain with its claws to grab his chest the Captain wasted no time and threw himself right into the Bioform tackling the beast, dased the Lictor had no time to counter the fury of the ultramarine, with two more swings the Herald bit deep into the Lictors mandibles and cut them stright off, the alien shrieking so loud it would have been deafing to the avaerage guardsman, But Achilies had heard it all before on other battlefields, all roars and shrieks were the same and did not phase him. before the Lictor had time to attack once again Achilies hammered the Heralds fury right into its chest, blood gouting straight from its wound, the Captain kicked the aliens torso to sheathe the blade away only to hammer the blade right into its head. The xeno, was finnally extreminated.

 

As the Lictor fell to its knees and into the wound of the floor a thousand ailen shrikes were heard. Achilies knew he had little time left to wait. 

Achilies Stood his ground, if he ran he knew he would be overun by overwhelming Xeno's. He raised his plasma pistol to eye level, stairing straight into the dark, his vision could only see so much but he knew that there were uncountable eyes watching him running stright towards him. the footsteps were loud and were getting louder and louder along with the unbearable shrieking. Suddenly a large clash of metal was heard from a small distance away. He knew it was the extraction vessal. Achilies seizing the oppurtunity at that moment ran, he ran the fastest he ever could through the hallway and there it was. The casteus assault ram in its mighty glory. It was a blessing to behold. The Xenos burst through all walls and floors and roofs but Ahilies with all his might bashed past them the cracking of Xeno bones heard for all, into the barge, the barge sealing off its doors dismembering Alien limbs as they to writhe and claw their way in. The barge took off leaving a large vacume sucking uncountable Xeno lifeforms out into the cold void of space. No more screams. No more shrieking to be heard.