Mikes40k

The Siege of Veritas Prime Veritas Prime, a towering Cathedral World dedicated wholly to the worship of the God-Emperor, became a battlefield of divine reckoning when its spiritual leaders were revealed to be corrupted by the Fane of Glory , a grotesquely zealous Chaos Warband devoted to Slaanesh. The traitor Cardinals and Ecclesiarchs, once paragons of Imperial worship, incited the planet's PDF to turn against the loyal, while the Fane's daemonic allies tore through sacred shrines and reliquaries like rapturous carrion beasts. Into this horror descended the Hospitallers' Strike Force Lucerna , their power armour gleaming amid ash and fire, joined by the devout 1st Cantorian Guard , a regiment raised on Cantoria Minor and steeped in Imperial Cult doctrine. Known for praying before battle and anointing their lasguns, they saw this as a holy war. The extent of faithlessness burned at the hearts of the defenders rallying them to hold firm in what was inc...

The overhead lumens buzzed in and out, casting the corridor in stuttering frames of light and dark. Every few seconds the compound plunged into shadow as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. The smell of machine oil hung heavy in the air, mingled with something wetter, meatier. Trooper Halvek’s boots scuffed on the rockrete as he followed the squad, lasgun clammy in his grip. The others moved in quietly, each man waiting for the next flicker as though the light itself might betray what lay ahead. When it came, it revealed a body. Juras. Or what had once been Juras. The corpse was splayed in the centre of the corridor like a grotesque offering. His ribcage had been cracked apart and pulled wide, ribs splintered into jagged prongs. The organs within had been arranged with sickening deliberation: lungs draped across his shoulders like a shawl, heart resting in cupped hands of bone. The head was gone, wrenched away at the neck in a spray of sinew. The squad froze....

Ní neart go cur le chéile I watched the Thunderhawk dock on the Imperium’s Gauntlet and the two Primaris Marines walk down the rampart to meet the rest of the Kill Team for the first time. We had regrettably lost several brothers on our last mission. Two first born Brethren new to the Deathwatch arrived the day prior and were stood to attention with the rest of the squad behind me. Inquisitor Selekoff requested these incoming recruits herself and, as was her way, I knew nothing of them except their arrival. I’m sure she liked to do this simply to keep me on my toes. Still, it gives ample opportunity to hone my skills in statecraft and diplomacy for which I was grateful. I am of the White Consuls. We pride ourselves on our abilities as governors and diplomats in equal measure to our martial prowess. As such I familiarised myself with many of the common traits displayed by my brothers and cousins from different lineages. For all our differences as Chapters within the same gen...

A SHADE OF CORAX  A shell struck Sergeant Edvinas’ helmet, splitting it in two and spraying a cloud of gore and bone shards into the air. He dropped to the ground. His body limp and lifeless. His soul now joined Kiril's in the Emperor’s memory, leaving only three of us still among the living. Rounds from heavy bolter placements continued to slam into our position. The situation was dire. Everything that could have gone wrong, had done. An apocalyptic electrical storm had destroyed half our landing craft and disabled most of the others. Our intel greatly underestimated the Black Legion’s strength planet-side, for a far greater number of the Planetary Defence Force had seemingly turned traitor, by force or by choice was not of importance. Either way they now had their weapons trained on us. Lieutenant Pasi had lost comms with our brothers in orbit and now we were backed into a small corner of a once proud Imperial city. I heard a click in my vox unit and Ensio’s ident bl...