Warzone: Borhelia - a mini-campaign on the planet Boreliah in the Esenie system!
Colonel Suvarov had a bad feeling about this. It was a long, long time ago, since he'd been summoned to an order's despatch where he was the only one summoned. If it wasn't the Inquisition behind this he was a bad-smelling squig poop...
***
The staff-meeting had been far worse than he had expected. It was the Inquisition alright! Along the Inquisitorial mumbo-jumbo there had been two explicit orders, which were expected to be obeyed without questioning. The orders were very clear; First; accept the 133rd Baneblade unit as support... and second; split the all available forces in two halves –, one larger comprising of two infantry companies and the artillery which would head for the city of Grontsberg with the role of supporting the airborne attack on Lord Entragians stronghold and the rest; one smaller half with one infantry company plus the Baneblades and all Sentinels available, which would secure the sacred structure at Point XXX. The Inquisition had been very clear about the importance of this mission. The structure at Point XXX mustn't be touched by anything; no lasguns, no artillery shells, no boltfire, no nothing... not even a finger were to touch it. If that happened, if the structure was soiled by anything, the Inquisitorials had been very clear about the consequences;
-If anything even touches the structure, holy in the name of the Emperor, you Colonel Suvarov, will answer to us. And don't even bother committing suicide should the sacred structure be hit. The Inquisition will revive you and punish you anyway!
Colonel Suvarov had been on the brink telling the Inquisitorials that it was impossible to defeat an enemy without causing damage, but he realized the pointlessness in saying that. The Inquisition would not listen to any protests. Suvarov knew what this was: a suicide mission!
The Inquisition had then generously let him choose which group he wanted to accompany... Suvarov gritted his teeth. To be treated like this by the Inquisition was embarrassing. It was like they thought he wasn't able to plan and lead an operation... it was like they thought he was a young Whiteshield! Suvarov had considered the whole thing though and kept his mouth shut. One didn't question the Inquisition – that would only lead to problems. Instead he played along and chose to go with the smaller group to Point XXX, together with his Ogryn bodyguard. That mission was really a suicide, but he couldn't let his junior generals go to certain death. No, he decided to do this himself! He would show this Inquisitorial men in their silly robes that he wasn't a lowly Whiteshield pissing in his pants when an enemy was near...
***
The force on it's way to Grontsberg moved out in good order. Colonel Suvarov took a long look after them before he embarked on his personal Chimera. Everybody looked nervous and Suvarov realized that the men had understood that this could very well be their last mission in the name of the Emperor...
They had been moving along a winding road for hours, but they had finally arrived. Colonel Suvarov looked through his magnifying glass. The sacred structure at point XXX lay just a couple of miles away. His bad feelings had grown into great concern and almost wished that a retreat order would call this whole thing off. What Suvarov saw in the distance was extremely demoralizing - a Chaos Titan stood next to the structure with it's guns pointing right at the advancing guard... I won't piss in my pants, Suvarov thought, as he disembarked from his Chimera into a nearby ruin. At the same time the Chaos Titan fired at the Baneblades, which were prohibited to fire due to the closeness of the sacred structure. The Baneblades were easily destroyed by it.
Colonel Suvarov waved at his Vox-caster and screamed orders. Wave after wave of guardsmen advanced towards the structure. It looked like they would make it, when suddenly lots of Daemons materialized and moved into it. A lone Chimera was also moving rapidly towards the structure. The driver seemed to have no care for the safety of his vehicle as he skidded and stopped just outside. Commisaar Broglie and and a group of Ogryns disembarked and charged to Daemons. The attack was successful and Colonel Suvarov could see the triumphant Commisaar slaughter the Daemons. But, Suvarov's hopes vanished when he saw a Great Unclean One clumsily emerge among the sacred structure. Broglie realized that he wouldn't stand a chance, but resolved to fight until the end! The Ogryns charged the Greater Daemon but were easily cast aside! The Great Unclean One roared and fixed his eyes on Commisaar Broglie. Broglie tightened his grip around the hilt of his powersword...
This was madness, Suvarov thought. He was just about to give the order to retreat wheen a large whining was heard from the Chaos Titan. It's guns spoke and they spoke of death! Colonel Suvarov had only time to make a desperate shout:
-Incoming! Go to gr...
The Titan hit the ruins where Suvarov and his men were. Everything exploded and the ruins were pulverized. Suvarov fell, mortally wounded thinking about how slow and silent everything suddenly became. He and his men were then buried under tons of concrete and steel.
***
The ruined city of Grontsberg lay a couple of miles to the east of the Fortress of Filth. It had been severely devastated by a Chaos assault several years ago and had never been rebuilt. There had not been any resources available to rebuild it and besides, the city was just another lost objective in this campaign. The Imperial authorities figured that Grontsberg would not be worth the effort, since the fortress at Grontsburg could easily hold several garrisons. At least that was what the Imperial authorities had thought, until they learned that Chaos forces had taken over the fortress. As things were now Grontsberg could suddenly be of use; the Imperial Guard would have an excellent firebase, from which they could support the Space Marines strike at Grontsburg. Right before the advance into Grontsberg the news came; Colonel Suvarov and almost the whole force at Point XXX had been killed by Chaos forces. The shock was great and nobody spoke in several minutes. Colonel Suvarov was a fine leader, a real soldier. The guardsmen shook their heads. Then their shock became anger. The guardsmen were eager to avenge their beloved leader... they demanded revenge… and they would have it at Grontsberg.
***
The air was filled with a smell of sulphur, rotting eggs, crap and a thousand other bad smells. It was a nauseating mix, which had made the already dying wildlife finally draw its last breath. No growth, no animals… just decaying weed. And in the middle of the stench; the Fortress of Filth! The once beautiful Fortress of Grontsburg had been turned into a grotesque mockery of an Imperial structure, as the ruinous powers of the plague god, Nurgle, had been at work. It was a disgrace to every member of mankind and it had to be crushed and erased from the face of this planet. The Inquisition had been very clear to the Imperial commanders that this particular place on Esenie was deemed as Pro Primo in the war against the forces of Chaos. The book; Liber Magii, was important, sure, but the very fact that Lord Entragian of Nurgle had, with the aid of heretics, managed to take over and soil a Fortress of Redemption… that was not to be tolerated… not in a zillion years!
The planning of the strike had been rash, it had to be, since it was little time before Lord Entragian would unravel the secrets of the book; Liber Magii. The book would surely lead him to more vital clues in the search for Gulibus lost library and the Inquisition couldn’t have that. Mankind couldn’t have that! It was time to teach Lord Entragian a lesson. A hard lesson! And there were not only the Chaos forces that needed to be driven off. The Orks were gaining momentum and more and more Ork clans teamed up with the Chaos forces. No doubt this alliance would break eventually, but as things were now the Orks and Chaos Space Marines needed each other and this was also dangerous to the Imperial forces. Things had to be done now to break things up a bit…
***
-Lord Entragian! An incoming message… seems the Fortress is under attack!
The serf looked warily at his commander, knowing that Entragian’s temper shifted constantly. There was a possibility that he beheaded the nearest person just because he had an itch somewhere. Entragian looked calmly at the serf though as he patted a Nurgling, which sat on his arm.
-So, they came at last… well, it was only a matter of time… Entragian waited a while… Ok, prepare the teleporter… I will personally get the book… I just hope Pox is finished with…
Entragian suddenly turned and headed for the teleporting chamber. The serf looked after him a long time, then turned to the ship’s comm-system. He sighed with relief.
***
The sky above the Fortress of Redemption was filled with fire. The barrage from the Emperor’s ship “Final Justice” hit the ground around the Fortress with a might worthy a million lions! Explosions ravaged the earth as the missiles hit the ground. But. They missed! The missiles were hitting the ground only. Some minor damage was inflicted, but the Fortress and the surrounding bastions were unharmed. After a while the barrage ended and silence filled the area. Inside the Fortress and the bastions the preparations for imminent assault were at its height. In the fortress Death Guard and Thousand Sons took fire positions and in the bastions Orks and more Death Guard waited for the onslaught that would soon come. Then a lone whistle blew and all hell broke lose.
It was a fantastic sight as the several squads of Iron Templars and Black Ravens suddenly appeared; first as flickering images, then as the impressive killing machines they were. Their guns started blazing immediately after they materialized. They have landed in the middle of enemy positions, risking the danger in teleporting into massive objects. The gamble paid off, as none of the teleporting marines had any accident. And in the distance a thunder was heard as several marine vehicles sped forward towards the outer line of Chaos defence. The battle for Grontsburg had started with a bang!
***
A joint attack by Black Ravens and Iron Templars against the northern bastion was successful! The bastion fell down in pieces, as meltaguns, lascannons and then a dreadnought smashed into it. From the rubble crawled a unit of Plague Marines out, determined to hold the ground. The following assault from the Iron Templars commander, Champion and Marines broke into the tough Chaos Space Marines, who held their ground despite several losses. The bastion had fallen, but the Plague Marines wouldn’t let anyone pass that easily.
Around the Fortress of Filth, several squads of Iron Templars Terminators and Black Raven Hunters landed and attacked without mercy. They fired at the Fortress but only scratched it. They managed to blow up a Chaos Predator though and severely cripple a Chaos Vindicator, but that was just about it. There were screams heard from inside a part of the Fortress, as strange magic sent several Plague Marines into the concrete walls, crushing them in the process!
All around the Fortress and bastions there was now frantic fighting. Then the Chaos and Orks reinforcements were arriving! A unit of Chaos Terminators teleported just next to a unit of Iron Templar Terminators and a unit of Plaguebearers, accompanied by Lord Entragian himself appeared next to a Lone Black Raven and a unit of assault troops. The Chaos Terminators quickly voxed a command to Severina, a Slaaneshi sorceress, who answered by magically moving the Iron Templar Terminators just in front of the Death Guard Terminators. They opened fire, but only managed to scrape the Iron Templars armour. The Death Guard Terminators then charged the Iron Templars and a brutal battle ensued. The were appalling misses from the Nurgle Terminators and the Iron Templars retaliated by almost wiping out their adversaries!
Meanwhile, Lord Entragian beheaded the Lone Wolf and was in turn charged by a squad of Black Raven assault marines. He held them off and was helped by the unit of Plaguebearers who aided him in the fight. But the Plaguebearers were all banned by to the warp, by an efficient counterattack by the Black Ravens. Lord Entragian was about to be overwhelmed and hoped that Pox had succeeded in fixing the teleporting device. He realized that he had tried to bite off more than could chew and that the Liber Magii was as good as lost to him. A rage filled his head, but there was nothing he could do to get to the book. He should never have left it here! He shouldn't have! He roared in his comm-system to Pox, the Nurgle sorcerer, who responded by teleporting Entragian away from the imminent danger of being killed by the Black Raven assault marines.
The battlefield was now a terrible killing zone. The Ork reinforcements were building up and the counter attack by these forces were about to tip the balance of the battle into the favour of the Chaos Marines and Orks. But the Plague Marines in the northern perimeter were finally despatched and the counter attack by the Orks there could not stop the Black Ravens pouring through the gap and attack the Fortress of Filth. One section was held by the Thousand Sons and this section was ripped to pieces by the Black Ravens and the Thousand Sons were soon after wiped out. The Fortress were about to be taken by the Marines!
***
Brother Hercules of the Black Ravens lifted his powerfist in the air. He had just tore the head off the Tzeentchian sorcerer and secured a vital part of the fortress. His orders were clear; find the entrance to the chamber where the Liber Magii was and retrieve it. Nothing else mattered! He gestured to his squad and they started searching for a hatch in the rubble. As a couple of stray bullets from Ork weaponry slammed into a nearby piece of concrete Brother Eklos found it. He quickly opened the hatch and the squad of Black Ravens moved inside the fortress. As they descended a slippery stair, gagging from the vile stench, that even penetrated their protective systems in their power armour suits, they were attacked by Nurglings. Diminutive images of the foul lord of plague and decay. The Nurglings were no match for the Space Marines and they continued downstairs. The battle raging some meters above them sounded strangely distant – almost like a bad dream. Brother Hercules suddenly stopped and peaked into a room. What he saw was an utter nightmare! Hundreds of bodies lay in a great pile. The smell was beyond comprehension and the sight even more unfathomable. The corpses had once been humans and he recognized the uniforms – guardsmen from the Metz Garde. The scene was like a butchery, only that the bodies weren't cows or pigs, but human bodies. And they were twisted and looked like they've died several times, each time more violent. It must have been a horrible experiment gone wrong. He told the sqaud to move on. From above there was a loud explosion, but Hercules moved on with his squad. There was no resistance. In fact, it was too calm! He approached a sealed door, full of chaotic runes. This must be it, he though. It was a strange vibration here and it could only mean that it was the chamber where the Liber Magii was. He hadn't had this feeling anywhere else. Hercules pointed at the door and told Brother Petros to bring his meltagun. The door melted and the chaotic runes glowed and disappeared. Hercules pushed the broken door open. This is too easy, he thought. He had just finished that thought when a large creature hissed and charged. It was Daemon Prince! The markings told him that it must be a Khornate daemon. The Black Ravens opened fire with their Bolt Pistols and counter charged with a howl. The Daemon Prince easily avoided the gunfire and swept with his long, blood red sword and decapitated two Marines at an instant! Brother Hercules didn't flinch though and threw himself at the Daemon Prince's throat. The Khorne creature backed into a large bulkhead and lost it's balance. It was just what Heraklis needed and he grabbed the Daemon Prince by the throat and squeezed like he never had squeezed before. The head of the Daemon Prince twitched and then fell off it's body. Both the head and the body of the Daemon Prince suddenly flickered and vanished back to the warp. Hercules had killed it! He dropped down, breathing heavily, and looked around. The Liber Magii lay on a table. Some candles were laying beside it. It was trembling – the book was actually trembling. Brother Hercules resisted the urge to look in the book and put it quickly in a steel-case that was handed to him by another Space Marine. He nodded, rose, and left the room. The book was retrieved – now they just had to get it out of the battlefield!
***
The Imperial Guard advanced slowly through Grontsberg. It was a dangerous place full of debris and dead-ends. But they finally got into position and started pumping the Fortress of Filth with Lascannons and Missiles. This draw the attention to the Orks in the south, who suddenly saw something to rip apart. A large part of the southern reinforcements headed eagerly for Grontsberg and the Imperial Guard. The guardsmen found themselves in trouble as Killa Kans and a Deff Dread charged from each side of the city of Grontsberg. They were suddenly fighting for their lives in close combat and things were looking bad for them. But a quick look at the Fortress of Filth made them hold on, as the Fortress finally was taken by the joint forces of the Black Ravens and the Iron Templars. A last counter attack from the Chaos Marines and the Orks was not enough and they started to withdraw – the battle of Grontsburg was over!
***
The static on the vox was suddenly broken as the voice of Octus of the Iron Templars was heard;
-Inquisitor Ripley! We have the book! I repeat … we have the Liber Magii. Sadly Lord Entragian managed to escape… but we have the book!
-That is good news, Octus! Now, get the book out of there to my HQ. This must be done now, before anything happens. Octus, this is imperative. Get the book out of there now!!
-We’ll do, Inquisitor! Over and out!
Inquisitor Ellen Ripley leaned back and sighed. This had been a terrible gamble and a hard operation, but now they had driven off Lord Entragian from Grontsburg and retaken the book. She immediately reached the vox again to inform Inquisitor Eisenhorn and tell him the good news. Finally things were going the right way…
***
Commisaar Broglie felt the end draw near. He had had a good life, doing the Emperor's work with pleasure. The fight for mankind in a universe filled with heresy and war had been good, but now he was to meet his doom... and what could be more fitting than a Greater Daemon. He would be a legend, dying fighting a vile abomination from Chaos! The tight grip on his powersword was hurting, but he wouldn't bulge now. Then he saw the Great Unclean One stagger and the structure at Point XXX starting to glow in a sickening green colour. A large figure materialized a bit further away and the Greater Daemon turned to see what was happening. Commisaar Broglie had been given a chance to escape. He took it! This was no disgrace, besides what he had seen was vital information. He grabbed his personal vox and screamed into it as he ran like mad away from the fat Daemon;
-This is Commisaar Broglie, the last survivor at Point XXX!! Do you copy? Lord Entragian is here!! At point XXX!! I repeat – Lord Entragian is alive and here!!! I request imme...
Commisaar Broglie was turned into a molten piece of slag as the Chaos Titan fired it's weapons on him. It was a coward's death, being shot in the back, but nobody would be able to tell it to anyone...
Lord Entragian materialized right in front of Pox the Vile. All around him the structure he stood in was glowing with a green fluorescent colour. He cowered a little when the Chaos Titan fired.
-Is it safe here, Pox? Entragian asked with a horrible grin.
-Safe it is, my Lord... but the book... what about the book?
The vile Marines took it... but we will take it back! Besides, Pox, I have a memory you know... I will continue making those new soldiers... we only need to figure out the missing piece... so they will stop exploding!
-We, my lord... I gather you will still be needing my services then, my lord?
Entragian looked at Pox and smiled a horrible smile.
-You will get one more chance, Pox! One more! Now, let's get the surveillance equipment up. Those foolish Imperials will most certainly blabber about the whereabouts of the Liber Magii... it's not over yet!!
***
The Valkyria lifted with a roar and took to the sky. Onboard it was an honour guard of ten Storm Troopers from the Strelkovy Brigade and the men sat in silence and stared at the steel-case which contained the Liber Magii. Every man in the honour guard could feel its force and effect upon them. But they were here to guard it and they wouldn’t dream of even touching the case. They nodded respectfully at each other as the Valkyria gained speed.
-It was a good fight!, tried the Storm Trooper lieutenant, as he sensed the tension in the cargo space. Nobody answered, but at least he got a smile from one of his Storm Troopers. He leaned back against the hull and closed his eyes for some much needed sleep. He must have slept an hour or so when he suddenly woke up. The Valkyria rocked hard and a thump was heard against the hull.
-What the…
The Storm Trooper lieutenant tried to rise to see what was going on. The Storm Troopers had without a word crouched and cocked their Hellguns and looked around the cargo area. Then the front of the Valkyria exploded and was ripped off and the aircraft started falling towards the surface.
-What the frag!
The Storm Trooper lieutenant tried to look out of the hole in the aircraft but had to put down his visor before he could see anything… he wished he hadn’t. On the ground, which was rushing towards them in an alarming speed, there was thousands of insect-like shapes and among them some huge bugs.
-Oh, frag… not the ‘nids…
The Storm Trooper lieutenant gave up, sat down and awaited death. He looked at the steel-case with the Liber Magii and thought that things would now be very, very difficult. He then closed his eyes and waited for the end to come…
***
-Inquisitor Ripley, please wake!
Ragnarius of the Black Ravens spoke gently on the vox. Ripley quickly opened her eyes. She instantly felt that something was very wrong and was awake at an instant.
-Tell me Ragnarius, what has happened? Tell me, now!
-I’m afraid something’s happened that we never calculated would happen….
-Tell me, man! What’s going on??
-The Valkyria which transported the Liber Magii has crashed…
-Crashed!? Crashed!? How? And where? Where’s the Liber Magii? Oh, my Emperor!
-Eh, the Valkyria crashed somewhere around the Pomonian Mountains… at least that’s where we last heard from them… and, Inquisitor, there’s a … complication…
-What? What could possibly complicate things more? And how could it crash?
Ellen Ripley was torn inside by these news.
-It seems that the Tyranids are on the move. En masse, Inquisitor! It seems they are the ones that shot down the Valkyria… and… there’s another complication…
Inquisitor Ripley sighed and closed her eyes.
-What, Ragnarius, what?
-Lord Entragian is reported moving his forces northwards. He must have heard what’s happened and are trying to retrieve the book himself
Ripley’s eyes opened and widened. She had a hard time breathing. This could not be happening.
-Entragian mustn’t find the book, Ragnarius. Go there and find it first. You have anything you want at your disposal! I will also contact Logan Grimnar to come to aid you!! Go, Ragnarius! Go now!!! I will contact Eisenhorn. I’m afraid I must deal with the warp gate at Metz… otherwise I would have joined you. Good luck, Ragnarius, may the Emperor protect you!
Inquisitor Ellen Ripley closed her eyes and thought of the latest year. This year had been a true bitch… and the bitch was intent on staying in the neighbourhood. She swore and reached yet again for the vox.
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Written by Tony Melander (& Mats Mariedahl - translated by Tony Melander) (2010)