I could feel the heat of the atmosphere through the walls of the drop pod, I could hear the sounds of battle, even through the wind, I could hear the other drop pods falling through the air and unto the planets surface, I was with my sisters, and I was ready for combat, and ready to die for the empress.
The drop pod began to slow, and finally it came to a stop with a loud crash that shook the ground beneath us, I had little time to prepare as the doors opened. I screamed at the top of my lungs as myself and my battle sisters charged into combat
"For the Empress and Fluttershy, death! DEATH!."
We were already under fire from several griffons, they were hiding behind chunks of destroyed building, firing their shootas in our general direction. My space marines spread out while levitating their bolters in the direction of the griffons. Despite me and most of my team being earth ponies, (with the exception of two pegasai, an an unicorn) Our armor gave us the ability to use telekinesis, granted the armor's telekinetic field couldn't lift anything heaver then a heavy bolter, and we could only lift things in a roughly two meter radius, We could still use our weapons more efficiently then the guard.
One griffon flew from out of his cover, wielding a giant axe in his claws, the alien descended on me, clearly recognizing me as a sergeant. The bird-brain landed on my back, the force of it's impact staggered me and would have knocked my to the ground if it weren't for my power armor. Pain arched up my back, the sheer impact of the griffon landing on me would have easily crushed any normal pony.
The creature was about to crush my head with it's choppa, but moments before it swung it's giant axe at my helmet, several bolt rounds flew through the air and blew giant holes in the griffon's torso. " Thank you Ferox," I said to the unicorn whom saved my life, and not for the first time either.
"There is no time for thanks, we must continue the assault," The unicorn said through the voice modulator in her helmet. The unicorn then turned forward and fired upon the griffon hoard with her heavy bolter.
"Very well Ferox," I replied to the space marine, before assessing the situation. The drop pod had landed much closer to the target then intended. Ruins and rubble extended in all directions, We had landed inside a ruined building, the building was filled with griffons, most of whom were smashed when we landed, the rest were being mowed down by our benevolentia priest, whom was currently using the storm bolter mounted to the drop pod.
In front of the ruin we had landed in, a ruined cathedral was standing, astoundingly intact compared to the rest of the city. Inside that building was our objective, however it was surrounded by griffons, and no doubt there were even more inside.
"Push forward, inside that building is our objective," I shouted to my squad, before levitating my power sword and preparing to charge the griffon hoard.
"SQUAAAAAAAAWK !" screamed a griffon who was flying at me with a sword clutched in its claws, reacting quickly I blocked the attack with my power sword. I didn't even need to swing, the griffon's own swinging force had split his own blade in two, my sword had cut clean through the griffon's choppa. The angered griffon discarded what remained of his sword and threw it to the ground, then he tried to get underneath my helmet with his claws. I moved and blocked the griffon's slash with my shoulder, the griffon had scratched the paint, but then his claws got caught in the emblem welded to my pauldron.
While the griffons claws were caught in my pauldron, I repeatedly jabbed my sword into the bird's torso. Removing the body of the griffon from my armor, I stared into the eyes of the griffons who witnessed me slay one of their kind. Some of the griffons backed away and looked as if they were either going to retreat, or charge us, but I wasn't ready to let them escape or get the first blow.
I charged after one, and with a single slash of my blade, I removed the creature's head. In quick succession, Ferox fired her heavy bolter into the griffon hoard, killing three of four by the time I attacked another one of these xenos, Then the rest of my squad opened fire, the benevolentia priest fired with her bolt pistol, while the rest of my team fired with their bolters.
We had cut a path through the griffons, We were lucky, but we were severely outnumbered, we were only ten strong, while the griffon hoard attacking us was roughly three hundred by my estimation. We were almost to the building, the broken doors of the cathedral were in sight, but then we saw something emerge from the griffon hoard, we were all hiding behind a chunk of rubble, the griffons didn't draw near, instead firing at us from afar, despite the bird-brained nature of the griffons, our last push had frightened them into ranged combat.
But then it came to the front of the crowd, an enormous griffon in make-shift power armor was standing at the front of the hoard, it had a giant twin-linked shoota mounted to it's side, while on the other it had a giant choppa, "Liz'en ere ya poniez, dis planet, and every fing on it belongs to da griffz, an' no red poniez are gonna stop uz, cuz' we gots da dakka! SQUAAAAWK!" screamed the haak
We ran into the cathedral, we couldn't fight a haak and her army of birdz alone. The griffons came after us as we went into the ruined building, most of us ran as Ferox and one of the pegasai provided covering fire. We were backed up to a locked and barred door, I was about to buck the thing open, but then the door opened by it's self.
Inside the main room of the chapel, there were royal guard whom had managed to survive, looking around I saw at least thirty guardsmares. The guardsmares had locked and bared the door once we were in, but against that monster in the armor, I doubt that the door would last long. Many guardsmares had crowed around me and the rest of the space marines, they were in awe and hope filled their eyes, but they didn't have much time to gawk at us, they came to roughly about neck level to a space marine like me.
"Thank Celestia you're here, we were separated from the rest of my regiment two days ago, and were stranded here, under siege from the griffons for most of that time," said a pale orange commissar.
Griffons were coming in through the windows and the holes in the roof, but they were being held at bay by the guardsmares, and now the rest of my squad had gone to help the deffence, while sevral guardsmares and space marines were still watching the door carefully, and sanguinem curans, the benevolentia priest, had gone to help the wounded and dying.
"Where's the artifact?" I questioned the commissar.
"Forgive me, but we were unable to keep it out of the hands of the griffons, I don't know where it is, but if I had to guess, I believe It would be in the claws of that haak outside."
"Very well," I replied to the commissar, "This is Ira Rubrum of the blood mares second company, requesting reinforcements at our current position," I spoke into the vox device in my helmet.
The moment I was finished talking with the commissar, a loud explosion echoed from the doorway. The griffons had blown a hole where the door once was, and now griffon birdz were poring in, and slaughtering the defenseless royal guard.
The haak had stepped through the door, the commissar had a bolt pistol in his mouth and fired several rounds at the haak, but the shots simply detonated on her armor, and had little effect. The commissar had drawn a chainsword from his coat and charged the haak.
Just as the commissar got into mele range, the haak had brought down her oversized sword on the stallion. blood flew in all directions as the commissar was sawed in half by the griffon's attack. the guard were being wiped out, my space marines were fighting back, but we wouldn't survive at this rate.
One of my space marines was attacked by a griffon who had managed to grab on to the marine's head and fire his heavy shoota into the helmet, I fired my bolter, but it was too late. a few more marines had died to the griffons, there were only six of us left, including the benevolentia priest.
"Ha, ha, ha, look at ya stupid poniez, all cut to bitz and bleedin' on the ground" the haak said with a tone of pride in her voice, something I thought impossible for a griffon.
I ran as fast as my powered legs could carry me, the griffons had started shooting at us. then the sound of the haak's giant twin-linked shoota ripped through the air, and Ferox, slowed down by her heavy bolter, was torn to shreds by the firepower coming from the haak.
I jumped out the window, we were still being shot at by the griffons as we ran for the nearest cover. Hiding behind the nearest destroyed building or chunk of rubble, griffons were flying out of the ruined cathedral and descending on us, but while flying they exposed the more vulnerable parts of their armor, and thank the god-empress that the haak in her mega-armor couldn't fly.
There was no where we could run, if we moved from cover we would be gunned down. then, just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, the haak had jumped out of the window after us, her giant sword in her claw, and her twin-linked shoota mounted to her side, firing wildly in all directions.
Then, just as the haak jumped at us, a strange black shadow, flying faster then the eye could track, flew right into the haak. Blood flew in all directions, and the whir of a chainsword tore into the griffon.
