Prostata Tèrtius - Alone in the Dark

Part I

The robed figures all stood in silence. Underneath their bonewhite robes glistened dark green armor, obviosly powered by mechanics. "So the drone arrived with pictures of marines from the Black Legion battling the Orks we've suspected knowing something about the Fallen? Those that we attacked on Prostata Prime?" brother Phylium, champion of the 5th Company Command squad, finally broke the silence. "And they were battling for the honour of defacing the ancient statue of the Emperor?"

Another while passed in silence. It became obvious they were waiting for something. "Let's see the complete battle," proposed the newly initiated Brother Càran, eager to see the infamous 'Black Legion' perform against the dreaded orks. "I'll go and get my squad." As all remember their hard battle against the orks, not more than two terran weeks ago, all awaited the drone initilizing to play the recorded battle on the walls of the battlestation:


The statue of the Emperor stood tall inside the ruins of an old chapel. It was rumoured that the statue was pre-heresy, made in the image of the Emperor on his visit to the system during the Great Crusade. Now it looked like a symbol of faith in a protector that had failed. The chapel ruins stood on the outskirts of a small settlement. One could already see the ravaging orks anmassing to assault the settlement, intended of drawing out the marines to fight by defacing the statue of the Emperor. The orks had succeded in their endeavour! Marines was already on the target, but it was not the Emperor's Finest that had responded to the orks sacrilege! Foul postures, oozing sores and quite an unhealthy odour surrounded the sickly marines hiding behind the chap- - - -

"What in the coldest parts of space happened?" said brother Filius. Brother Elras, who had brought the tapes, explained: "The drone collapsed. Malefunction due to rapid corrosion. Also, two of the servitors that reclaimed it now lies in the infirmary. I'll just reroute the images... There!" The film continued.

The orks started fireing their guns way before they were in effective range. The sounds of the orkish vehicles' motors roared. The green horde and their rampaging dreadnoughts ran forward, while the bikes and vehicles waited on each flank. Allthough eager to rush forward, the bike-riding orks showed discipline their race was not known for.

"Why aren't the bikers advancing?" more than one brother wondered in silence. "It would seem that the orks employ tactics," brother Sgt Calvus answered them all. "It's not unheard of for orks to take the proper course in a skirmish. There are more examples of this 'cunning' from the Salamander's footage from Armageddon." The more inexperienced brothers saw the orks in a different light, as the film continued.

The plaguemarines on the objective opened fire on the approaching green horde and many orks fell, but then they where over the bolterwielding marines, that none-the-less defended themselves with great skill and effort. As the rampaging orky-dreadnoughts came crashing in the plaguemarines seemed in dire straits, but the powerfist wielding mutant destroyed the hulking brute the Dark Angels recognized as Orksa-Stompa, then the smaller dreadnought was distpatched in a fiery explosion that send nearly half the filthy damons designated as 'plaguebearers' back to the warp.

Meanwhile, the lightning fast truck containing the ork warboss and retinue had flanked the chaosmarines and wielded their dangerous powerclaws in proximity to the Predator-class tank and the havocs carrying the heavy bolters. Clever manouvering on the chaosmarine part left the mega-armoured orks in a lone position and they embarked on their trukk and tried to redeploy closer to the objective and the hand-to-hand combat. As their trukk promptly was destroyed by the heavybolter-toting havocs and the predator and chaosmarines unloaded their firepower on the ork warboss' retinue the rest of the plaguebearers moved in, but was promptly dispatched by the ork powerclaws and the lone plaguebearer that was left dissapeared in a puff of postulesmelling smoke. The plaguebearers had bought time, though, and the firepower unleashed left the ork warboss quite alone. Then the predator's mighty lascannon made a pair of smoldering boots out of the warboss.

"There! Notice how the traitormarines just kept their distance and saturated the warboss and it's retinue with fire. That's the way to deal with the orks!" brother Sgt Calvus commented. The rest just followed the film, nodding knowingly to the age old axiom: "Fight Green with steam!"

Even though the orks pressed on towards the stalwart statue of the Emperor, who just endured, the Black Legion Chaosmarines sat too tight on the objective and could easily stave off the opposition. The film ended with the orks making a retreat, while the Black Legionaires took studied the statue...

As the pictures faded out the huddled marines commenced their waiting. "What was it the chaosmarines was doing to the statue?" one young tactical marine questioned. Before anyone could answer the signal to prepare for battle sounded through the battle monastary. This was what they had been waiting for.