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