Prologue: A Cruel Joke
The Celestian carved through her foe. These Chaos Daemons were easily dispatched. Turning she looked upon the small squad she had taken with her, comprised mostly of Battle Sisters. They seemed to be fairing quiet well, despite their lack of experience. As she turned back to her foe, she paid for her lapse of concentration. A Daemon Maul smashed across her chest, hurling her backwards through her squad, and shattering her breastplate. This new adversary, a Chaos Marine in black and red armour with a golden trim, easily tore through her sisters, crushing them all into bloody ruin with his maul. After he tore them apart he reached down and began to rip apart their bodies, soaking his armour in their blood and chanting in praise to his false god. The celestian hauled herself back to her feet, a righteous fury burning in her soul.
"Heretic!!", she screamed, "the Emperor shall have no mercy upon ye!"
She flourished her power sword and charged the slayer of her sisters, though the gesture proved to be futile. The marine simply batted her sword aside and planted her back on the ground.
"Pathetic, I truly wish that we could find someone better to mess with than the feeblest of forces in the Imperium", a sorcerer laughed from his perch as he watched the fight below, "perhaps it is time for my Blood Raptor brothers and I to have some fun."
"Traitorous scum!" the Celestian yelled, her black and white armour torn and tattered, shattered when the maul hit it.
"Oh, look at you! No bionics, lot of blood!" the Korhne Berserker chuckled as he reached down to pick her up.
Her armour was shattered from the waist up, her skin was torn in many places, streams of blood ran down her chest as she heaved heavily trying to breath. The Sorcerer placed a hand upon the red marines shoulder, and the latter dropped the exposed battle sister.
"What is it Sirrus?" he asked, upset at being denied his blood.
"Lets have some fun brother." Sirrus said as a warp rift opened behind them.
"Not going Slaaneshi on us now are you?" he asked with a half laugh,"If you do then you'll be the only one."
"Nay brother, I just want to see if I can break her faith." Sirrus replied darkly.
The Celestian punched him in the ribs. A futile gesture which only served to break her hand. He didn't bother responding to the useless attack, instead picking her up and throwing her in to the warp rift. As the loyalist flew through the warp screaming, her thoughts came upon the name of the Warband. There had been a Space Marine Chapter that had been lost to the Imperium with that name. Had they defected to Chaos? Or were these just more Chaotic tricks? The sister had no more time to give it thought, as she was thrown from the warp, slamming bodily into dead trees, tearing her exposed top half up further, and breaking her right arm.
The sister said a silent prayer to the Emperor, thanking Him for her continued life so that she may still be of use to Him. Upon standing she noticed her surroundings for the first time, though she didn't pay much mind when she heard a feminine scream from the other side of the field. Pushing herself up with her left hand, since her right arm and hand were effectively neutralized, she ran towards the primal cry for help. What she saw made he stop in her tracks. Two creatures that existed on Terra stood before her, only they were speaking in her tongue.
One was holding a gun to the others head. Upon further examination, the Celestian realized that the female was tied to a broken lamp post on the side of the crumbling street, and their were five other female bodies lying in pools of their own blood behind them. Drawing her knife, she did the only rational thing she could. She charged, with the full intent on killing the male.
"Purge the unclean!" she yelled as she drove her power knife into the stallions flank and grabbed his neck.
The stallion had no time to react as the Sister of Battle jerked his head clean off of his body and allowed it to roll from sight. The mare remained silent with her emerald green eyes fixated on the human, her kelly green coat splotched and matted from her abuse. The wounded sister cut the ponies bonds before smiling down upon her.
"I am Celestian Lucia, of the Imperium's Sisters of Battle, who are you pony?" she asked, her brown eyes cutting straight down to the very soul of the rescued pony.
The pony shook her head and pointed her hoof to her mouth, which was running red with her own blood.
"You are hurt, we must find you medical help at once." Lucia proclaimed as she stood up and drew her bolt pistol.
The green pony took a few unsteady steps, then collapsed on her side. The sister followed the mare's gaze towards a small wooden wagon that was overturned. Lucia knelt down and closed the mares eyes before she walked over to the wagon and lifted it slightly. She was rather surprised when she heard a young colt yelp in surprise and fear upon seeing her.
"M...mommy?" he sniffed as he cautiously peeked out from below the wagon that Lucia was holding up.
"I am sorry, but she is dead." the Celestian replied, frowning at the child as he ran to her motionless body.
The colt wailed over his mothers desecrated figure, his tears mixing with her blood as the sister stood off to the sidelines so she wouldn't disturb the mourning.
After a heart wrenching hour the colt pried himself off of his mothers body, gave her cheek a soft kiss, then walked slowly back to the sister.
"I shall help you find a safe place, then I must find my way back to where I belong." Lucia stated as she began to walk away, the colt remained silent as he followed close behind.
Many hours had passed and the colt was now sleeping in Lucia's one good arm. Seeing as though he was still young and what he had been through, the sister couldn't blame him. She set him down under a living tree as they came out into a clearing of the woods, and looked at him. From his white coat with its green speckles, to his brown mane and tail, this colt was almost calming to the sister.
"I swear, I wouldn't last a day as a pony, especially if the Imperium found me." she said, unaware of the blue vines approaching her from behind.
She stroked his mane before walking closer to the vines and sitting down opposite of him, though where he was he was hidden well. The sister had no chance to scream when the killing joke wrapped around her chest and she was enveloped in a white light.
Author's Note
Okay, I know there are no Space Marines yet, but they are coming in the next chapter. I decided that it would be best to start with Lucia, since she would have been hard to explain later. Hope you all will enjoy this, and pleas do tell us what you think of it!
Stay Brony Everypony!
Chapter 1: In the Emperors Name, Let None Survive
Chapter 1: In the Emperors Name, Let None Survive
"Brothers!" The Chapter Master yelled over his Thunderhawk's vox unit, "Upon this day, we shall strike for the Emperor, and eradicate the warp spawn from this world in which has been besieged for ten long Terran years."
A roar of approval from the marines in the other Thunderhawks sounded back through the vox.
"For the Emperor, we shall burn the heretics and purge the xenos! Leave none alive brothers!" the Chapter Master recited their oath loudly.
"Failure is not an Option!" the other marines replied in unison, reciting their chapters motto.
Satisfied with this reply, the chapter master cut the vox link.
A terminator, bearing the golden trimmings of the chapter's honour guard stood beside him.
"Master Nitronus," the guard began, "we are but one and a half companies strong. The Imperium has sent countless forces to this world with no success. What makes us different?"
"Benjamin, we know who our enemy is, and we are familiar with their tricks", the ancient Chapter Master replied as he checked his war gear.
"Phinneas!" Nitronus called, as he checked his bionic right arm's storm bolter, "please ensure that you conserve your ammunition, you have a power lance for a reason."
The addressed Terminator laughed heartily before dipping his lance in acknowledgement, "Aye my lord."
"What is the plan then?" Benjamin asked, checking his own storm bolter mounted in his suit's right arm, since his power fist took up his left.
"Our primary target is Sirrus", Nitronus replied. "If we take him out, they will lose their best strategist, which should make the rest of the fight much easier", as he carefully strapped himself into his seat.
Following suite, Benjamin began to affix his own harness, though the other five Terminators from his squad were still checking their weapons. "You believe this?"
"I do brother", was all the Chapter Master could say before the Thunderhawk lurched to its right side.
"Hold on!" yelled the pilot,wrestling to get the craft under control ," we are caught in a warp storm!"
"Strap in!" Benjamin yelled in unison with Nitronus, but before the others could comply the Thunderhawk was ripped from real-space and launched through the atmosphere of an alien world, impacting many four legged flying xenos before plunging through the clouds and slamming into the ground.
------six hours later------
"Chapter Master?" Benjamin groaned as he got to his feet after falling through his restraints.
"I live." Nitronus replied as he stood up. He shook the dirt off of his armour whilst checking it for damage.
"We appear to have been the lucky ones." the honour guard remarked as he looked to the five dead Terminators.
The Scout pilot was in a worse state, his body crushed by wreckage when the craft had plunged to the ground.
"Indeed." Nitronus replied. He knew this as a fact of life when one became a Space Marine, for he had seen it time and time again.
"Any idea where we are my lord?" Benjamin asked as he stepped towards the partially open exit hatch.
"Nay, I do not." Nitronus replied, though outside he could hear a small fire fight; the sound of xenos weapons.
"Your call my lord." the Honour Guard replied, moving his storm bolter to face the hatch.
Nitronus pulled the lever to open it fully. As it slammed to the ground, a short distance away he saw a xeno that resembled a Terran horse, but it was wearing strange armor and shooting an energy based weapon at another, who was bare of any coverings. The startled Enclave pegasus spun around in surprise as one of the raider ponies smashed her head in with a sledgehammer. The Raider had a eight pointed star on his flank, and his coat was a burnt orange, though Nitronus didn't bother study him and further before blowing him apart. The mark was all the proof he needed to seal their fate.
"Purge the Chaos!" he yelled running into the battle with his storm shield before him as he drew his force sword.
"Chapter Master!" Benjamin called, noticing that all the ponies had different marks upon their flanks, but his lord didn't stop at just killing the raiders- he cut the Enclave ponies down as well.
"Suffer not the unclean brother." Nitronus yelled as he drove his blade into the last pony, an unarmed pegasus medic.
"My lord, perhaps they were not all chaos." Benjamin replied. His weapons remained inactive.
"They are still xenos filth brother, we know not of what deceit they have perfected." the Chapter Master replied before sheathing his blade and walking away from the battlefield, and up an embankment.
Benjamin gave his lord a nod before following a few feet behind him, though they did not travel far. Just over the hill were lights.
These lights belonged to a small, makeshift fortress that had many spotlights shining around its surrounding areas.
"Perhaps we should make an attempt at civilized communication my lord?" Benjamin asked as he came to the right side of Nitronus.
Nitronus sighed, quietly shocked at his honour guard's suggestion. "Very well, I shall give them a chance", he replied.
"You have my thanks, and if they are hostile, I shall no longer have quarries about removing these xenos from existence." Benjamin responded.
"Failure is not an option." Nitronus muttered as he walked with his last Honour Guard Marine towards the Steel Ranger fort.
------Inside of the fort------
"Ranger Celestian!" a paladin called as he marched out of the Elder's office.
"What do you require, sir." the ranger in question replied, though she did so rather begrudgingly.
"First, drop the 'tude. Second... We need you to report to the front gates, we have visitors!" he calmly ordered before walking away, leaving the mare behind.
"By the Emperor's grace, I can't take this any more", she muttered under her breath as she darted off to the gate.
She arrived at the gate last, and she could see that the ponies were all as nervous and rattled as guardsmen. Quietly, she muttered a prayer to the Emperor that she and the young colt she had rescued ten years ago would survive this encounter, as she looked at the youngest of the rangers with a small amount of pride.
"Lucia, good to know you are here." he chatted quietly, so that the paladins in front wouldn't hear.
"Don't fret, the Emperor protects", the Celestian replied, smiling at the use of her true name, and not her Sister of Battle Rank she had adopted to blend in.
"What do you think this time?" a mare just a year older than young ranger asked.
"I don't know Cherry, I saw Enclave go in that direction earlier!" he replied.
"Well then, looks like it could be another one of those crazy days, huh Tenderhoof?" she replied, using his normal name.
Celestian knew that these two had been involved in a courtship, though she did everything she could to keep it hidden from their 'superiors' for she knew they'd make it impossible.
"Get ready, here come two giant metal beasts!" one of the rangers yelled from the wall as he turned one of the mini-gun emplacments upon the possible threat.
"Metal giants?" Lucia muttered, wondering what else this world had to hide.
"We come in peace and wish to speak to your leader." a voice from the other side of the gate boomed.
Celestian motioned for her two friends to back up slightly as the paladin foolishly spun his gun up, for she knew what those voices belonged to. The paladin blasted the two giants with his mini-gun, to heavy thumps were heard before two blasts of death sounded from the other side.
"I told you that these xenos were hostile!" one voice boomed from the other side.
"Forgive me Chapter Master, but now I shall uphold my end of the bargain" another voice, static-like responded before the gate was punched clean off of its foundation.
"Astartes!" Lucia yelled as she placed herself in front of the two younger ponies, "you two need to run!"
"Okay, you know what those things are so we are gonna listen!" the stallion responded before jerking his marefriend back and away from the combat zone and towards another gate.
Lucia picked herself up on her rear legs and spun around to face the two angels of death, "Loyal Space Marines, in the Emperor's name listen to me!" she yelled over the screams of the dying rangers who threw themselves in the way of the two red and gold giants.
The smaller of the two, possibly the Chapter Master turned towards her and charged with his shield taking the fire of the rangers as they attempted to stop his charge.
"FOR CORAX! FOR THE EMPEROR!" he yelled before drawing his sword back.
The Celestian dodged to the right, the marine's force sword narrowly missing her, as she charged forward to stay clear of his weapons, "Astartes, listen to me!"
The marine ploughed his blade into the concrete wall directly in front of him and pulled it it out in a single motion, "Face your death with honor xenos!"
"Out of all the Astartes in this galaxy, I had to be found by a crazy Raven Guard descendant who seems to be deaf... Wait! That's it!" she proclaimed as she realized that the marines couldn't hear her.
Taking this gamble, she opened her broadcaster to a wide spectrum as she dodged the sword again. Unfortunately she didn't see the shield coming. The Chapter Master swatted her aside and she was sent flying in to the buildings nearby.
"Chapter Master!" Benjamin yelled as he crushed a pony, who was trying to snipe his lord, with his power fist.
The pony's guts decorated the Terminator along with many other's entrails, his power fist had turned solid red as his black visor scanned for any more xenos.
"Well fought, brother Benjamin", the Chapter Master stated as he sheathed his blade.
"My lord, this doesn't seem right to me," Benjamin replied, avoiding the diced remains of an unarmoured pony.
"They are xenos brother. Xenos who fired upon us." he replied, much to Benjamin's disappointment.
"Astartes, next time I say hold fire, hold fire!" Lucia's voice rang out in their vox's through the static.
"Show thyself!" The Chapter Master bellowed.
One of the rangers, the one he had slammed through the wall, emerged from the crumbled buildings. Her armour had been ripped apart from the impact and an Emperor's Sigil could be seen adoring her flank.
"Xenos!" he proclaimed, though Benjamin made no hostile movement when he saw her flank.
"I am a former Celestian of the Sisters of Battle. I was thrown through the warp by strange Chaos Marines a little over ten Terran years ago." She looked down to her two friends who were hiding below some rubble, being careful not to be seen, "My name is Lucia, and I became a victim of a plant known as Killing Joke."
"And we are supposed to believe this?" the Chapter Master laughed.
"I speak the truth, son of Corax", Lucia said.
"Tell me, do you know the name of the Warband who sent you here?" Benjamin asked, curious about this pony that claimed to be in the Emperor's service.
"Blood Raptors", she replied. The Chapter Master suddenly stopped laughing, and became quiet stern.
The two marines look at one another for a time, their black visors sharing a secret conversation. Then the Chapter Master made the first move, getting down to one knee and placing his force sword sheathed and on the ground before Lucia.
"I see now that I was wrong, may the Emperor forgive what I have sanctioned, Celestian of the Adeptus Sororitas", he said before removing his helm, his jet black eyes piercing her brown ones.
"I forgive you, though you should know that while the Steel Rangers are not the best organization upon this broken world, they are the best armed", Lucia replied before motioning for her friends to come meet them.
"Before we continue, you should know something", the Chapter Master said, making everyone stop. "I am Chapter Master Nitronus of the Loyal Blood Raptors, and you have already met our traitorous brethren who nearly killed what is left of our dwindling forces."
Lucia's eyes shifted between the two marines, their shoulders bore a similar mark as the two who killed her squad and sent her to this hell pit. Nitronus looked back to his Honour Guard, who also removed his helm now, his red hair and eyes standing out like his tanned skin.
"Tell me, who was the traitor who sent you here?" Benjamin asked, while Nitronus locked eyes with him.
"His name was Sirrus", she replied, remembering the conversation between the two Chaos marines before the Sorcerer threw her into the warp.
"Ah, then we shall soon have company sister", Nitronus replied as he took up pieces of armour, "And ye shall need new armour if you are to survive."
"New armour?" Lucia asked as the two young rangers came up behind them.
"Indeed. I didn't study as a Techmarine for three millennium for no reason", Nitronus responded as he got to work building her new armour.
Author's Note
Sorry for it being so late, I didn't want to post it without my co-author. Aside from that the Astartes came, they killed, now the Soritas is kicking their asses with words. Benjamin is the level headed one, Nitronus is the borderline Korhn one, and Lucia is Lucia. But what trouble is stirring in the warp and heading towards our five, will the Chaotic Blood Raptors show themselves, since they wanted to have fun anyways, or will other creatures battle them.
Find out next, on Fallout Equestria: The Angels of Death
Defectum est non an Option = Failure is not an option
Chapter 2: Taking Stock
"Your Thunderhawk looks like trash, but the Aquila is nonetheless a welcoming sight brothers." Lucia stated as she trotted up to the pried open doors of the downed craft.
"Benjamin, I shall require you to hold still whilst I enhance your armor." Nitronus said, ignoring the ponyfied battle sister.
"Aye my lord." Benjamin replied without a hint of emotion in his voice as he turned around so that he could watch the two younger ponies.
The Chapter Master then walked inside of the crushed craft and began pulling his dead honor guard members out of it. Their armour was in shambles, but their weapons were the true prize, from which he acquired two las-cannons, a lightning claw, and a couple of storm bolters.
"What are you doing?" Lucia questioned as Nitronus knelt down to his fallen brothers and began removing their armour.
"They would wish for us to make use of it, besides, I need to retrieve their gene seeds." he replied, the three raven skulls chained together on his left leg bobbing up and down as if in agreement with him.
"What will you do with their armour?" she asked in response, though mostly intrigued by the ancient skulls.
"You still need armour, and I believe I have enough parts to build suits for all three of you. As for whatever is left...." he looked down to his arm, "I could fashion myself a guard for my bionic arm as I have done with my leg."
"Or you could avoid getting shot up." Tenderhoof chimed in from behind them, Cherry leaning on his side in a loving manner.
"If only that were an option young one, for ye have never experienced true combat unless you witnessed the horrors of the Horus Heresy." Nitronus said with sadness in his voice, "I was lucky to only lose my leg."
Tenderhoof then cringed at the thought of a mighty being such as this Astartes being in a battle of such ferocity that he could be easily killed. Nitronus paid him no mind though as he mounted a las-cannon on Benjamin's shoulder and began attaching it with a few tools from the Thunderhawk.
"Aye, those were dark days for the Imperium my lord. Dark days, where brother turned upon brother and an entire Empire tore itself apart." Benjamin said, casting a glance to Tenderhoof and the others as Nitronus finished bolting the Lascannon to his right shoulder guard.
As the chapter Master synced it's systems to his armour, the Terminator caught a question from the young stallion. "What do you mean, brother turned upon brother?"
"We, as in myself and my lord, are brothers bound by bonds tighter than blood young one", Benjamin answered,"Our entire Chapter is the same, as is the way of all Space Marines; we all are brothers, both in arms and in blood. Back during the Heresy, there were hundreds of thousands of us that fought in Legions. And it was during the Heresy that these Legions turned on one another, those that were Heretics and those who remained Loyal to the Emperor. We fought bloody wars against one another, slew many of ourselves and billions if not trillions of His subjects in battles that raged for weeks on end."
"That's horrible." Cherry said.
"Aye, but such was the way of the Traitors and their Primarchs. We all had no choice but to fight, to protect Humanity from those we called brothers." A static chuckle arose as Nitronus busied himself on enhancing his brothers power fist with a Lightning claw. "Although I was not alive during those dark times, as it happened many millennia before my birth. Although for the millennia I've served, I've done my best to do by that oath and protect Humanity from those Traitors."
All the while, Lucia was ruminating on the words of the Chapter Master and his Honour Guard as she watched Benjamin activate the power field for his Claws and give it a few test swings into the armour of the downed craft.
Nitronus mounted the second las-cannon on Benjamin's left shoulder and began syncing it to his armour, "The heresy ended with the death of four Primarchs, Horus who had started it, and Sanguinius who was slain at the former's hands."
"And the others?" asked Tenderhoof, intrigued by the tale.
"The others who fell were Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands legion, who was cut down by one he once trusted, the Primarch Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children", answered Nitronus ,"although rumours still persist that he somehow survived the battle."
"The other was the traitor Primarch Konrad Curze of the Night Lords legion. He fell to an assassin, although rumours also tell that he actually wanted to be slain. The Night Haunter, as he was also known, had dark premonitions which slowly drove him mad".
"You say these facts as if you remember those days Chapter Master?" Lucia questioned as she looked him over closer than the last time, taking note that some parts of his armour was of ancient manufacture.
"Istavaan V. At that time I was a tech marine when my Legion, the Raven Guard, was betrayed by the Alpha Legion and our survival was in debt to the White Scars and Salamanders. It was after the heresy I retrained as an Assault marine." Nitronus said in reminiscence as he finished his work on Benjamin's new weapons. He then turned his attention to the armour of his dead honour guard.
"Not as good as what the Master of the Forge can do my lord, but it shall suffice nonetheless." Benjamin proclaimed as he tested his mobility.
"Interesting, but moving back to more current events, what should we watch for against your Chaotic brothers?" Lucia asked as she recognized the MK. 4 Maximus pieces of armour combined with MK. 6 alongside many custom created pieces.
"You can expect to find many unusual things Lucia, many indeed." Nitronus said as he began removing the armour of his fallen comrades.
"Such as slews of Orks, squads of Tau, even other Chaos Marines who shall realize that they had been used as tools by a fellow Warband." Benjamin chimed in.
"Charming." Cherry chimed as she watched Nitronus disassemble a storm bolter and install it into pony shaped armor.
"Not really." Benjamin replied, giving the steel ranger a crooked look.
"Ever heard of sarcasm?" she retorted, spitting her tongue out at him.
"Lucia, your armour and your companion's are complete." Nitronus boomed as he displayed the shining red and bone armours to her, hers with its custom storm bolter split so that it would fire from either side of her barrel.
"A fine specimen brother, would you assist me in putting it on?" she asked as she trotted up to him.
"I shall." was all he said before kneeling down to help the Celestian turned pony as Tenderhoof and Cherry helped each other put theirs on.
The only true recognizable portion of the armour was the Terminator helm that had remained mostly unchanged since it could easily accommodate her pony snout, the Adeptus Sororitas insignia adorned her flanks while a proud Aquila sat upon her chest. The armour was intricate, yet simple, in short it was everything Lucia had hoped for and more as its HUD loaded up and scanners came online.
"Wonderful work Nitronus, absolutely wonderful!" Lucia whinnied, though she hadn't noticed.
Nitronus merely chuckled for a moment before grabbing his Honour Guard's standard out and placing it in the ground between them with his newly armoured bionic arm. Hoisting his shield to his back and mounting it there he began to march with the extra storm bolter attached to his leg. The three ponies and Benjamin noticed that the Chapter Master had begun to move out and followed in silence, as they left the Thunderhawk to forever act as the tomb of those Blood Raptors.
