Diary of a Gue'la (Warhammer 40k)

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-11 02:02pm

The following passages are all that remain from the diary of a fallen hero. His years of service and sacrifice to the Greater Good shall not go unrecognized....

Journal Entry 153

The ship shuddered and shook violently as it entered the dense atmosphere. I wasn’t prepared for it and nearly vomited inside of my helmet. I fought hard to keep my nerves still. These aliens were a weird bunch but they were nice and outfitted us well. I peered down at my weapon. It was a marvel in its own right. I had been shown how to properly clean and maintain it and how to treat it respectfully as it was what was going to keep me alive. I still remember the days at camp where we practiced with moving targets. None of those targets were all that difficult but I fully understand that my targets will now be firing back.

The ship stabilized and we were all told that we were now in the atmosphere and would be landing at the front line in a couple moments. It was still weird how these creatures told their time and I am still not used to it but I have found that doing as they say provides fruitful rewards. I held my head high and remembered that I am fighting now so that my family and tribe are safe and prospering under the help of these technology adept aliens. My gaze found that of one of my fellow squad mates sitting across from me. He looked funny in the helmet and armor that the aliens had provided to us. I guess I did not realize at the time how funny I must have looked in return.

The ship touched down and we all moved quickly out of the back. Explosions sounded in the distance and echoed in the emptying compartment of the ship. I heard screams as some of the men in front of me fell to the ground. Bullets were flying everywhere and ricocheting off of the walls. One hit me square in the chest and knocked me off my feet before I was able to reach the firm ground. It hurt worse then anything I had ever felt. The pain coursed through my chest cavity and my eyes squinted shut trying to push away the pain. My shoulder was grabbed hard and suddenly I was on my feet again.

It was the man that had been appointed to lead our squad. I hardly knew him as he was from a different tribe then my own. Now that I think of it I was the only one in my squad from my tribe. He screamed at me and shoved me forward and then hit me in the mid of my back with the butt end of his weapon. It didn’t hurt really and it served its purpose; I moved.

Finally off of the exit ramp I hit the ground running, following closely on the heels of another man in front of me. His name was Tek. He was from a friendly tribe that had settled near my own back on our home planet. We met at the recruitment center and shared similar interests. Tek was a kind man and I enjoyed his company while we trained though I felt I still barely knew him. He wasn’t much bigger then I but his shoulders were broader and he was definitely stronger than I.

Tek jumped down into a large trench that had been dug into the ground and I followed him down as quickly as my feet would take me, and not a moment too soon. A large boom sounded behind me and dirt went flying up into the air. The muddy earth came raining down upon my armor and a large clump landed on my face mask. I brushed the dirt away my hand and instantly puked at the horrid sight that lay at my feet. I lifted my helmet and spewed the contents of my stomach onto the mangled corpse of the man that hadn’t made it to the trench. My eyes hurt and were full of tears though I wasn’t crying.

It was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen in the sixteen years I have been alive. The man’s helmet was scorched black as was his chest piece. Sharp pieces of metal stuck out every which way from his lower torso and thighs. The most horrific thing was that the rest of his body was missing. I sunk down and fell back into the trench. I curled up into a ball and let my helmet fall to the ground beside me.

If it wasn’t for my leader and Tek I probably would have died right there in that trench clenching to my knees and wishing I was in the arms of my mother. I write about it now and feel that in that moment I had shamed my fathers and my tribe. The next thing I remember is being pulled to my feet and told to fire over the trench. Tek was still standing beside me and he was relentlessly firing away at whatever was on the other side of the dirt hill. The bright red beams of his weapon left the barrel at an astonishing speed.

I don’t even remember looking or aiming but I grabbed my weapon and mimicked Tek. I squeezed the trigger mechanism and sprayed red light at oncoming enemies. I squeezed and squeezed and squeezed some more. I remembered how our alien friends taught us how to fire these weapons. ‘Hold down for three shots then release, hold for three then release’

I heard a faint click and ducked down behind the safety of the dirt mound. I instinctively reached to my belt and reloaded the ammunition cartridge. Tek was beside me reloading his ‘ammo’ as well. Ammo was what we tribesmen had come to call the cartridges because not many of them could actually pronounce the full word.

“I think we are winning brother,” Tek said to me. His words are the only ones I remember hearing during the hours we spent firing over the dirt mound. We held that position until one of the alien priests commanded us to cease fire and prepare camp. He was a weird fellow.

The other aliens followed his every word without question and he commanded the utmost respect. It was odd that he did not fight like the others but still was respected. Back in our tribes the grandfather of our tribe was the best hunter of all of us and that is how he earned respect. This alien just stood there and told others what to do. His weapon was beautiful in its own right but it did not fire beams of red light like ours nor did if fire the blue light that there’s did. He didn’t even wear any armor; the most peculiar being around to say the least.

Free time is coming to a close and most of the men have already gone to rest in their tents. Tek is already asleep beside me and I can hear our leader talking to another tribesman about a hunt he was on as a child. I care not to listen in as it seems to be a bloated and boastful story, and probably only half true. Oh well I better get my as much rest as I can.

Journal Entry 154

The past couple days have been very trying. More men are dying every day our numbers are nearly half from the day we stepped off of the giant flying ship. I have noticed that more of my fellow tribesmen are dying then the aliens. They have better weapons then us and always seem to be in better positions. I guess they are just better warriors then us. They have seen more fighting then us and are harder. I shared a brief word with one of the warriors while eating my ration of food yesterday.

His name was something like ‘Shas’la Fal’shia Demlok Kauyon’. From what I have been able to decipher from the training manuals and books that the aliens have given us, his name is even longer then that and his real name is only Demlok or something to that effect but only the closest members of his tribe may call him that. I recognized the second word very well as it is the home planet of these aliens. I have read some material on this planet and seen pictures of it and am astonished with the magnificence of the buildings. I dream to someday explore the cities of that world, though such a dream will probably never happen.

Anyway the warrior told me of another fight that he had been part of to further this ‘Greater Good’. He had earned himself over thirty kills in just one battle with the same enemy that we faced now. Thirty kills may not seem like a lot but if you have ever encountered these beasts that we fight you would understand how thirty is such a large number.

I finally got a good look at enemy over the past few days. They are freakishly large and muscular. Their arms are larger round then my own head. They stand nearly one and a half times as tall as I and I am no child. Their weapons are large and crude looking, not sleek and small like the ones provided to us. All attempts to make their weaponry work in our hands have failed. They must have some special way of making these large chunks of metal work. They swords and axes are especially dangerous.

Their large sharpened blades chop through our armor easily. Just yesterday a few were able to break through the line and made it into the woods we were using as cover. The three beasts were able to kill a good twenty men or so before they were brought down. I personally helped bring one of them down with continuous fire. Tek was there to help me and so was my leader who I have come to know as Dium.

It is easy to feel helpless against these foes. I fired at the advancing line to witness one of these beasts shrug off ten or more shots before one burned into its skull. The alien warriors have far better success with their weapons. Demlok Kauyon gave me some insight about aiming for the jugular and head. He had also told me that if my aim was not that great to just pull the trigger as hard as I could and aim for what I could. I did not want to talk back to the warrior but I feel that my aim is one of the best of my tribesmen. Some of the unlucky ones to have died barely knew how to use these weapons.

I got a good look at the large transports like the one that brought us here. The curves of the machine are awe inspiring and the many large guns equipped on it demand that the machine be given respect. We received more ammunition cartridges today along with some more weaponry. These ships also delivered much small flying vehicles. These do not truly fly like a bird but instead hover in the air as if floating freely on water. Some of them have very large guns that are three men in length and can take down some of the larger beasts with ease. The ones without the large guns carry the alien warriors and equipment around at a very quick speed.

I scrapped a new chest piece off of a fallen tribesman today. I no longer have the bullet hole from the day we got here and this new armor fits better. This one also has the circular symbol of the aliens on it. I try to keep it clean and in good repair and in doing so I hope it helps stave off any harm that happens my way.

We begin a long march tomorrow to another location that the beasts have infested. They say it is a small city and that the fighting will be close so before I lay down to rest tonight I must remember to sharpen my sword. It is a well crafted weapon and much lighter then the kind that my tribesmen and I used to make out of heavy metal. It attaches snug to the end of my gun and makes the weapon almost feel like a hunting spear, almost.

Tek has finished sharpening his sword and has given me the rock. I think I shall listen to another of his long winded stories while I prepare for tomorrow, until then.

Journal Entry: The conquering of a ruined city

I knew today was going to be tough but I had no idea it was going to turn out the way it did. We started by waking as the sun rose and marching till the sun was high over head. The long march brought us to the edge of a wood that peered down upon the city that we were to take over. From the vantage point of the hill we saw nothing but wreckage and ruin. Nearly all of the buildings were falling over or ready to do with the nothing but the flick of a finger. We could not see any of the green skinned beasts from the woods and Dium told us that our alien allies had not found any inside the city. We were ordered to infiltrate in next and take a large building on the other side of the town that was still intact. We could see it in the distance and could tell that it wasn’t as ruined as the others around it.

Dium ordered us down the side of the road through the bushes; we crept slowly along while the warriors and our fellow tribesmen covered us from the wood. Tek was following me and I was directly behind Dium who was leading the way. There were twelve of us total and I never had the chance to learn some of the newer faces names before we made our approach.

We made it to the city wall and traversed our way through a large crack. We immediately took cover inside what appeared to be a guard house for the main gate. Dead greenskins lined the floor and at the window sat an alien warrior with a long strange looking gun. He told leader Dium that they had taken the building and were covering the long road that lead up to the city square with their long range rifles. As Dium and this warrior discussed something I peered out the window and saw many greenskins lying dead in the street. I also noticed that they had not made it very close to the building and I very much wanted to have one of these long strange weapons. Just then I noticed some movement at the city square and not a moment later I was pushed aside by a warrior with the long rifle. He sat patiently and waited for the beast to edge closer. I watched from behind, holding my breath in spurts to attempt to quiet all noise. Everyone else from my group was moving back towards the doorway to lead. I waited just long enough to see the warrior fire his weapon and run the beast through. One shot put a fist sized hole straight through the beasts upper chest and you could hear the groan it let out as it fell to the ground.

I have to say I felt very safe walking from building to building knowing that those warriors with the eagle eyes and long rifles were covering us. I damn near felt invincible. That was until we reached the distance that the rifles could no longer reach. Dium said we were going to have to hold the town square until the alien warriors could take up better positions in a new building.

The first few moments passed quietly. I had taken up a nice little spot behind a fallen statue. Tek was right there beside me with his gun resting on the statues torso. We had spread through the square to cover all four streets that lead in the four different directions. The street that circled the square was not very wide and if the green skins were able to sneak out of a building and charge us we would not have had much time to stop them. I remember thinking that as I sat there and no sooner did that thought run through my head then five of the beasts charged from the building closest to Tek and I.

Tek and I yelled as opened fire of the lead beast and we must have had the favor of the land because we were able to burn enough holes into with our first volley that it fell to the ground. Tek aimed at a second one and started firing as I aimed at a different. I remembered back to when those three from before tore through our brothers and knew that our chance of surviving five of them was not good. I aimed for the beast’s neck and squeezed the trigger. To my luck I my aim was true and I brought down the beast with its head almost separating from its shoulders.

It wasn’t enough as the last three jumped over the statue at us. The one punched Tek in the chest and he went flying backwards and landed sprawled out on the ground. I ducked and hit beneath the base of the fallen statue and the combined fire from the rest of my fellow tribesmen brought one of the green skins to its knees. The other two beasts kept charging towards Dium and the others and seemed to forget about me. I jumped to my feet and pulled the short sword from my side. I lunged forward and shoved the blade straight down through the neck of the beast that had fallen to its knees.

I hardly remember what happened next but from what Dium has said to me and the others that survived are spreading around the camp tonight I must have gone berserk. From what they have said I withdrew my sword and screamed as I charged at one of the remaining beasts that had just run its cleaving weapon through a man to Dium’s right. It saw me coming and made an attempt to run me through. I dodged to the side and cut out the back of its knee. The green skin fell down to that knee and I ran my sword through its back and partially out its chest.

The last beast had just killed two more of the men, whose names I never had the honor or knowing, when it must have saw me kill its comrade and charged at me. Everyone has said that I parried its attack off before it punched me in the chest and I went flying backwards into a ruined pillar. I had given Dium enough time to sneak up behind it though and run his blade through the beasts back. Dium had only wounded it and he was knocked away also. The beast had run through three more of our men before Dium had rose and was able to use someone else’s blade to finish off the beast.

At least I’m alive and we were able to take the city. I lay now on a hard bed with bandages over my chest. The alien shaman said I will be fine and that with a day or two rest I will be able to fight on for this ‘Greater Good’ that I keep hearing about. The shaman, or what he said to call him as ‘medic’, told me that I was lucky to slip away with only bruises and a cracked rib. He also told me that Dium had only broken a bone in his arm and would be able to fight again with the help of some alien medicine. Tek was not so lucky. He had suffered a bad head wound and one of his breathing organs had been punctured; though the medic said Tek would be good as new in about a week.

It is peaceful and quiet now inside of this building. This will be the first time in weeks that I have slept with a roof overhead, not counting the cramp quarters we spent inside of the alien ships that brought us to this planet. The moon is high and I need my rest. Tomorrow hopefully will be a day of ease.

l33telboi · Post by **l33telboi** » 2006-09-11 03:06pm

I like it. I like it a lot.

Tau versus Orks eh? But what exactly was our nameless hero, a human from a regressed world that the Tau recruited?

The “I think we are winning brother,” part was great.

Too bad you decided to make it a one off. I would have loved to see how the story progressed.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-11 03:30pm

It's not a one off there will be more journal entries to come. The nameless hero is a human from a regressed world that was settled by the imperium during the emperors crusade but was abbondoned. Almost all technology was lost and the planet had reverted back to tribal ways. They are no longer on their home planet but are fighting as Gue'vesa in a large Tau hunter cadre in the conquering of another planet. I have some interesting ideas for future entries to include diverent civilizations, includeing different imperial worlds that have taken up arms in the name of the Greater Good.

I may even go back and do some of his earlier journal entries that I omitted. One of the reasons I started at entry 153.

Thanks for the reply

l33telboi · Post by **l33telboi** » 2006-09-11 03:35pm

Nice. Might i suggest including a part where they come across the IoM in one form or another, noticing that the majority of their own species is actually fighting against the Tau. Just a suggestion of course, but i think it could open a few neat avenues to explore.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-11 04:52pm

Thanks to a really slow day at work I was able to complete another two journal entries.

I am slowly developing a Tau name for our hero though his real name shall remain nameless. Enjoy.

Journal Entry 156: War Does Not Break For Injuries

My hopes did not come true today. I was attempting to rest from the chest injury I suffered yesterday. I did have dreams of the fight with the beasts and started to remember what the others had told me, or perhaps I’m just starting to believe the stories they are telling. Either way I was rudely interrupted from those dreams by large eruptions that shook the dirt loose from every crack in the building.

The booms were so loud I fell off the edge of my hard bed and to the ground with a thud. Well I’m not really sure if I made a thud being that the explosions were so loud, but it felt like a thud; if thud is a feeling. I grabbed my armor that had been stowed away beside my bed and hurriedly slipped it on. It hurt a bit trying to fit it on over the top of my bandaged chest but I managed. My helmet was missing and I didn’t want to bother finding it. I grabbed my weapon that was propped up against the wall and started jogging off between the beds of the other injured tribesmen. I climbed some stairs towards the roof of the building.

I was met at the top of the stairs by one of the alien warriors. He saw me coming and for a moment looked puzzled then suddenly changed his expression to what I have come to learn is a smile. His mouth moved and words came forth and he pointed to an opening on the roof between two of his warriors. I have been studying the language of these aliens and it is not all that hard to figure out and even though I knew what he meant at the time I did not really listen to what he said. After looking through my books I was able to roughly translate what he said into “I am surprised to see you able young lucky strike.” I guess this ‘lucky strike’ was my nickname that he decided to give me. I feel honored now that one of these alien warriors has given me a nickname but that it has the word ‘lucky’ in it I am a little embarrassed to say; though I may be translating it wrong.

It did not take me long to rest into the spot between the long rifle wielding warriors. Their guns made a very distinct sound and being among them made me feel safe. Peering out over the roof I could see the wall that separated the city from land beyond. There was a big gap in the wall and debris laid all around. Green skins were pouring in through the crack and I saw many tribesmen fighting to try and hold them back. It was useless for me to fire and I could not bare the thought of hitting one of my fellow warriors. More beasts came through the wall and the tribesmen were being killed off until they finally broke and ran.

They ran back through a line of the alien warriors and no sooner did the last tribesmen hit the line that the warriors let loose. Their weapons pulsed with a light blue energy; their shots looked like a giant blue wall as it hit the green skins. Many dropped and I smiled at the thought that they were getting what they deserved. The second volley from the line included the bright red beams from our weapons and I realized that my brothers had not fled out of fear but had done so out of position. This was the first time I had seen the alien leader value our lives.

Then all of a sudden a very large beast stepped through the crack in the wall. It was twice the size of the regular beasts and parts of its body were actually metal. It bellowed and laughed as the blue and red beams bounced harmlessly off its armor. It spoke in a language that I did not understand and I doubt our alien friends understood either. Just then the un-armored commander stepped from the line of warriors and his men stopped firing. I remember at this moment I thought how stupid he must be to do something like this.

The long robe fell from the commanders back and he drew his double bladed staff. It was a marvelous weapon and was decorated in bright colors. He twirled it around and did some sort of dance in front of the giant machine beast. I had never seen one of these aliens without armor or shirt but his chest was all muscular without any hint of fat. Truly the body of a warrior and he had deceived me by his appearance in the robes. I still thought he looked weird and I fear I always will; I just can’t get used to the fact that their skin is blue.

The large beast, who I presume was some kind of leader, bellowed and laughed again and so did some of the beasts behind him who had taken to watch this display. I do not understand why these two were squaring off in such an honorable manner when these beasts did not deserve it. The large machine beast pounded its metal arm that contained a large metal crab like pincer against its armored chest and roared. It then charged at our commander and I thought that his tiny blue body would be crushed with one swipe. To my astonishment our commander used his staff to parry away the attack and move away from the big beast.

He did another dance like move and drew a line in front of him with the end of his staff. I chuckled a bit as I understood the gesture; he was mocking the big machine. The beast did not like this and charged again, this time swiping with its other metal arm that contained a large gun like weapon. Our commander blocked that attack and another attack with the beast’s pincer and gracefully circled the beast again. It was humorous to watch from my vantage point but it was also what appeared to be a beautiful war dance. The big beast was frantically pounding its chest and swiping at our commander again and again.

At first I could not understand why our commander let the battle continue on as he had the upper hand the entire time. The battle had gone on for a couple moments and the all of a sudden something caught my eye. On the other side of the wall closing in were two of the floating machines of the aliens; the ones without the big guns that carried the warriors into battle. Then it hit me all of a sudden. The commander was laying a trap. He was playing to these beasts senselessness of fighting to distract them.

A brief noise sounded from a building closer to the wall and went seemingly unnoticed to all of the greenskins. The big machine beast made one final grab at our commander and he parried and finally struck. The one hit severing a tube that ran under the beasts arm. Black ichor spewed from the two ends of the cut tube and the beast struggled to raise its arm. The commander danced and struck again at the other arm of the beast and its crude gun weapon fell to the ground. Another duck and twirl and the staffed alien struck a killing blow the neck of the large beast as he stood on its shoulders. He raised his staff towards the enemy line and I felt myself let out a cheer along with everyone else. The beasts were startled just enough and the combined blue/red fire erupted from out line once more.

The beasts turned to run and were cut down swiftly by the warriors that had flanked them and the guns of the warriors’ rides. Not a single green skin survived that blood bath and for once in the past week their number of dead was higher then our own. My lack of respect for the weak looking un-armored command is now gone. I can see why these warriors follow him into battle. His courage, honor, and resolve are greater then I have seen in a thousand other warriors.

Once again we rest in the city. I have given my bed to some of the wounded from today’s fighting. My chest still aches and pains me but the cool liquid that the medic gave me helps soothe the wound. I visited Tek this evening and told him and the other injured of the magnificent battle that I saw. I may have embellished it a little here and there but tried my hardest to lift their spirits. Many of them cheered when they heard the part of the story where our commander claimed victory over the machine beast as they had actually watched it themselves.

Interesting as I have never figured myself as a story teller, Dium was there but he just stood by and smiled. I think I may have made him proud to have me in his squad.

Journal Entry 157: Rain + Dirt = Mud, Mud, and More Mud

We’ve finally stopped to rest after a long four day hike. It has been raining since the first day and it has slowed our progress tremendously. I thought it was muddy a couple days ago but I am sure by now that there is no earth beneath us anymore. We trudged through a field today to take a small encampment and nearly drowned in chest deep mud. I envy Tek and his smooth ride though I don’t envy the pain he has been going through. He is doing well today and should be able to walk with us tomorrow but two days ago he had gone unconscious and nearly died. The medic described it to him as some sort of blood clot. Neither of us knew what that meant but at least he can’t give it to any of us.

I had to see the medic again today. Taking the encampment didn’t go as easily as planned. A couple men in another squad slipped while we were sneaking into position and alerted the enemy. There squad didn’t make it, I mourned them after dinner and said a tribal prayer from back home. I am getting used to all of the death. I took a minute to remember back to the first day we hit this planet and how my rations found their way out of my stomach the wrong way. I only hope that my actions now are bringing pride to my name and to my tribe.

My thoughts are clouded though. After dinner this evening leader Dium caught up with me while I was praying. He wanted to commend me for the bravery I had shown during the battle that day and I couldn’t seem to remember them again. He laughed at my response and proceeded to tell me how I single handedly took out two squads of the mini-beasts today. These small greenskins are only half the size of the bigger brother beasts and to my luck a lot dumber. Dium says that my skill with a blade is something to behold and wishes that I could have seen myself carve the little bastards up.

After the other squad that was with us slipped up and got charged by the one unit of mini-greenskins I charged the other unit from my cover, leaving my weapon behind. The first ones were said to have died without noise as I slashed the throats of three of them in two swipes. I killed two more as they turned to face me and another as it raised its gun. Grabbing the weapon out of another hand I kicked it forward into another one that had just fired its hand gun. The bullets riddled the body of its comrade and I jumped to the side to take out another that was charging. Left, right, up, down. I kept getting confused between the different versions of the story my squad mates were telling me. They all sounded similar in many ways and I am beginning to scare myself just from listening to them. Dium said that at one point he thought I was going to start breathing fire and spitting acid. I rejoice that my antics provide comedic relief for my tribesmen; I only wish I could remember so I could laugh as well.

All I know is my chest doesn’t hurt any more but my left arm is gashed from my shoulder down to my elbow and my right forearm has two parallel slash marks across it. They burn a hell of a lot more now then they did before the medic poured his liquid on them. Dium says the gash will leave a nice battle scar and earn me respect among more of the tribesmen.

The other tribesmen in my squad, that now only numbers the six of us, have invited me to play a game of chance with them tonight. Since we do not have any of our personal treasures to trade and gamble we are going to gamble drinks from some homemade firewater. Quate has been boasting that his liquor is top notch and that it will help us all sleep better tonight. I do not doubt him but I wonder how much effect it will have on Snife and Rein are both big men and appear as if they can take a lot. I am not a small man when compared to our alien allies but my squad mates are all taller and larger then I; except for Tek who has lost a lot of his weight from being injured and he is still broader then me.

…

It is the middle of the night and the rain has stopped. I can not sleep. The moon is bright and provides me with light so I may write down my thoughts. I was able to fall asleep easily after having some of Quate’s firewater; it sure did go down smooth. I once again dreamed of fighting and the massacre that I must have caused today. It was so vivid and real and so close to the descriptions that my brothers have described. I prayed to grandfather for answers tonight and I hope that he may find the strength to send an answer in my dreams yet to come. These actions may be helping us win battles but it is un-nerving that I cannot remember them.

I ran into some of the alien warriors that were on night watch and one of them called me ‘Kunas Ka’ and another that called me ‘Kais Nan’. I will have to look for translations later but I remember ‘Ka’ means strike or blow. They are probably calling me lucky again and I wouldn’t blame them because I cannot call what is happening to me anything skillful. One offered that I sit down around a light with them and have a sip of their drink. I remember from training camp that the alien warriors were not that polite towards us and even looked down upon us. Perhaps it is the feeling of brotherhood that draws them to friendlier terms now.

Though after smelling and tasting the drink that they had, I think it may just have been the firewater talking.

Coalition · Post by **Coalition** » 2006-09-12 01:12am

Looks very good so far.

Still, one detail, is where he is dodging. The pattern should be "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, (B, A, start)". That would let him get a lot further, and finish the campaign.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-12 02:34pm

Appoligies in advance for any gramatical mistakes, I was able to write this today but didn't have time to review much of it.

Enjoy,

Journal Entry 158: On the Road Again

More marching for the past couple days. It is getting really bothersome that we keep on moving. I saw more of the large flying transports today. They headed in the same direction we are headed. Why aren’t we being carried around like the rest of the army? How come we have to footslog our way across the country side? These alien warrior allies have strange ways of doing things. Oh well at least Tek is back on his feet.

We passed straight through a city today that I think was earmarked for us to take. But by the time we had arrived our alien friends had already won victory. This city was about the same size as the one we had stayed in over a week ago. It was a more beautiful sight though because the buildings had very little damage done to them. I marvel at the height of some of these buildings and their construction. I have never seen designs such as these. They do not belong to our allies though, as I have seen some of their buildings at training camp and in books. The largest most fortified buildings also had a strange double headed eagle hanging above their doorways which wasn’t the symbol of our allies.

Dium took me with him to a meeting in that city. We were two out of only six tribesmen to be invited to the meeting. The commander gathered us along with the squad commanders of the three units of alien warriors that were stationed with us. I was the only one there that wasn’t a squad leader and I didn’t fully understand why I was allowed to be there. That was until the commander starting talking and my fellow tribesmen all looked upon. It hit me; they couldn’t understand a word he was saying. The commander didn’t pause much nor give me time to translate most of what he was saying. I wasn’t prepared and really wish I would have taken my notes and books with me.

The meeting was brief and we were dismissed to our barracks afterwards. Tek and the rest of our brothers were waiting for our return. Dium instructed me to tell them what I could remember from the meeting while he went to share stories with the other squad leaders. The meeting was about how the town had been cleared by a special team of the alien warriors the night before our arrival. The commander’s assistant also said that the town used to belong to race of tribesmen similar to us, but they were killed to the man long before we stepped on planet. I believe that comment was meant to anger us so that we will fight harder against these green skinned beasts but it mattered little.

It was nice staying in those buildings and it displeases me to have to sleep in the dirty tents tonight. Tomorrow brings another day of marching as we continue to move farther north. At least we have not had to battle recently and my cuts have healed over with minimal scaring. I was telling Tek about what he had missed while he was injured but it seems my brothers had already told him about our battles. I showed him the scare from on my arm. It is nice to have him back with us now and he is slowly putting on some weight. He will soon be back to full health and I will become the smallest and shortest member of the squad again, oh well.

Journal Entry: Injured Again, Surprised?

There is so much to write about since we hit the road three days ago. I hardly know where to begin. I will have plenty of time to write now since I am once again injured and must rest.

We had rose with the sun once more and began marching. Thankfully it took us about four ‘Dec’ or till high noon to reach our apparent destination. I think I am finally getting a grip on how our friends tell time. Anyway the battle was already underway when we reached the city wall. This city was much larger then the other we had stayed in and I was happy that we were not the only warriors to fight there. We marched right into a fortified building right inside the wall.

I saw many strange things inside of this building. Many of which I do not think I want to know what they do. Maps, diagrams, and many other things were laying on tables and special light machines. We all waited in the large area of the room while our commander met up with what I presume was the command of this fighting unit. I noticed how their armor was not colored the same as ours. It was patterned in grays and blues; surely meant to blend into the surroundings.

Our commander came out and told our fighting group that we were to cross the city and take an important building. I didn’t fully understand at the time what he was saying but by the pictures he showed us on the special light machine I figured out what was going on. I’m glad that who ever placed me in this room with the rest of the injured remember my pack with my books so I can learn more of our allies’ language.

We crossed the city easily and met very light resistance. The building we were to take over was large, twin doors ten meters high and twenty meters long were open. There were some beasts in the open lot in front of the building, apparently standing guard. Flat bedded machines were parked outside in the lot as well. Loud crackling and bangs noises could be heard from inside the building. We were positioned behind the rubble of some ruined buildings only about forty meters away from the beasts in the front lot. I started getting a small pain in my stomach, something telling me that this was not going to be easy. You know that guy feeling that we were about to do something really stupid.

A warrior leader from one of the alien squads sent hands signals to Dium and then Dium responded and turned to us. He told us to ready our swords and prepare to run. I don’t know how I knew it but I did. We were being sent straight at the beasts that were taller, stronger, meaner, and more skilled in close combat then us, funny thing is I wasn’t surprised. I dropped my backpack and unsheathed my sword. With thirty meters or so to close before we reached the beasts it was well short of a surprise attack. Hopefully we would receive some fire support from the warriors. We tribesmen were pretty good in close quarters battle and much better then our alien friends, but these green beasts were ruthless and tough. Granted there were almost fifty of us tribesmen and only about twenty or so beasts they still had the advantage.

The warrior gave Dium another signal and that was our cue to charge. I was one of the first over the wall with Tek right beside me and Dium right in front. We ran hard and fast. The beasts saw us coming and gathered into a group, I swear I could hear them laughing as we closed the distance. All of a sudden Dium held up his hand and he hit the dirt, surprised but not confused we all followed his motion. With the beast’s attention on us the trap was sprung, our fellow warriors started firing from behind us. The first volley dropped almost half of the greenskins.

From the prone position Dium gave the order to fire and we all opened up with our guns. The gods favored us today as our first volley nearly killed the rest of the. Of course it wasn’t going to be this easy I thought to myself and once again I was right. From the front gate of the building came more warriors. Some started our way while some made for the red trucks. Dium ordered us to hold and continue firing, so we did. The mindless beasts ran at us without any regard to the amount of fire they were taking.

All of a sudden beasts from the rear of the advancing line jumped into the air and large metal barrels on their backs ignited. They flew over us and landed several meters back from our flank. I surely thought they would come after us but they kept for the building that our alien friends were using for cover. They hit the building with their guns roaring, I remember thinking that things were not looking good. I turned back and started firing at the advancing wall of green. Without the help from our allies the beasts would reach our position easily.

As easily as things turned bad for us they turned good in a matter of seconds. From out of now where warriors in heavy armor landed to our side and started firing into the beasts. There were only five of the heavy armored warriors and they weren’t much taller or bigger then some of us, but their guns were powerful. They were joined with a number of floating discs. Four of the warrior guns were firing the same kind of blue energy that the regular alien warrior weapons fired. But each gun fired with the strength of four guns. Their aim was true and the beasts were hit hard, and started to fall back. The fifth warrior held a different gun from the rest. It wasn’t circular like the other but squared off.

I saw the warrior with the different weapon aim at one of the red flat-bedded trucks that some beasts were piling into. For a moment the weapon gathered a large pulse of energy and then suddenly released a giant blue beam. The shot hit the truck and instantly melted through the metal and into the bed where the beasts were gathering. The screams and moans were loud and distracted the greenskins that were moving in on us. These beasts were not fearless after all, the truck blew up in a tremendous explosion and they turned and ran for the safety of the building.

I have no clue what came over me next but I grabbed Tek and Rein by the arms and pulled them to their feet. Dium looked at me as I started running back towards the ruined buildings were our warrior friends were. Quate and Knife didn’t wait for a word from Dium as they charged with Tek, Rein, and I. Dium followed us. We charged back across the open lot to the buildings. We could see the beasts chopping freely at our warrior friends. Their weapons buzzed and chewed through the armor of many of our friends before we could get there.

There was no blacking out for me this time, I fully remember my actions and am surprised at the strength that I didn’t know I had. I ran directly past the back of the first beast and shoved my sword through the neck of the second one. The first one, surprised to see someone come from behind him, raised his large chained blade to swipe at me but caught Tek and Rein’s swords into his sides first. The beast groaned and fell to the ground. I pulled my sword out and jumped at a third beast that was taking shots at a warrior that was dodging the crude bullets the best he could. My blade caught him in the arm and he dropped his sword and turned around to face me. Before he was able to bring his crude pistol to bear on me I slashed my sword across his throat.

The warrior looked up at me from behind the dead beast and pointed. I turned and saw a large greenskin bearing down on me weapon raised. Dium came running in from the side and spear tackled the large brute. I jumped on top of the stunned opponent and thrust my sword through its skull and into its brain. My gaze turned back upwards to see Quate and Knife double teaming the last beast. Quate was in front of the greenskin, he darted back and forth getting the beast to swing while Knife struck from the side and drove his sword into its rib cage. Quate followed up by shoving his sword into the chest cavity of the beast as well. It knocked both Knife and Quate to the side as it stumbled a bit and grabbed at the lodged swords. A warrior that was hiding in the building stepped out of a second floor opening and put a shot through the back of the beast’s skull at point blank range.

Dium ordered us to form up and we gathered quickly but there was no need. We all stood and watched as the floating transports of our allies dropped in and started unloading warriors into the open lot. I think I counted six of the transports in all. The building was ours. It was a good thing that we weren’t the only force trying to take the large structure or we would have been massacred. We were used as the assault force yet again, though it was something we were getting used too. Besides we are much better at close combat then our blue friends.

From what I can recall that is the first battle that I had not been injured in. Surprisingly not one of my brothers in our squad was injured beyond basic scrapes and bruises. The rest of our force wasn’t so lucky. Over half of our fellow tribesmen who helped take the building were killed and another fourth were seriously injured. Only a squad and a half of the alien warriors in our battle group survived the rocket beasts. One of the greenskins had been lucky enough to injure our commander with a shot from its pistol. We were told that our commander will be fine with rest, but that he is being pulled from the front.

We passed out early that night and I forgot to write, but no worries as I now have plenty of time after what transpired today. I fell ashamed that I am laid up not because of a battle injury but because of stupidity. We were ordered earlier today to move the rusted scrap metal that was scattered throughout the building we took yesterday, and place it into piles outside near the ruined buildings. While Tek, Rein, Knife and I were moving a large crate, a piece of metal fell from a pile behind us and struck Rein in the leg. Rein flinched and let go of the crate. I was left holding one side on my own and needless to say I wasn’t strong enough; my leg got caught under the damned thing.

The guys all stopped by earlier to poke fun at me for being weak and Quate brought me some firewater that I can sneak sips of when the medics leave. They said another day of rest and my leg will be fine. Oh well at least I’m not doing any more grunt labor.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-09-12 03:55pm

You've been talking to the Mess, haven't you. You've got the 'poor suffering infantry' tone down pat

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-13 01:47pm

I can't seem to keep the thoughts from flowing so I was able to pump out yet another entry. Hope you all enjoy.

Journal Entry: The Life of Ole Sam

Today was an interesting day. I got to sleep in for the first time in months. It feels so good to rest the body though my leg still pains me. The medic gave me some pills to take incase the pain increases beyond my ability to bear it. But I want to show them that I am tough and am planning on giving the pills back to them in full. Being laid up has given me time to brush up on my Tau. I am finally beginning to understand more about our alien friends and their language.

I met a poor warrior today that had lost his left arm and leg in battle. Talking with him gave me a lot of insight into their lives and rituals. His name was Shas’la Fal’shia Ol Suam and he was kind enough to enlighten me about why it was so long. These alien beings hold their title and rank highly even if they are mere peasants. They take pride in every little thing they can do to help further their cause. He was a Shas’la which is the second to lowest rank a warrior in their tribe can have. I do not understand why they call their tribes ‘castes’ but that is there way. Literally translated it means fire warrior, which is odd as that is what I was referred to back in my tribe. My tribe roamed the barren plains of the north where wild fires raged throughout the summer months and we had learned to live among the burnt ground, hence why we were called fire warriors.

I cannot translate the last part of his name but Suam I do know is another word in their language for flame or fire. Ole Sam is what I like to call him even though I know better to do it in front of him or any other alien. They do not take kindly to anybody calling them by shorter names then they have and see it as a sign of disrespect.

Sam had been stationed with a high tech bunch of warriors. He described some of the awe and wonders of these floating machines they fly around in. These transports were assigned to every team of fire warriors and most used them on the field of battle. I questioned him as to why the original four squads that accompanied us tribesman had not taken these machines as it surely would have helped their survival. Sam told me that in order for our force to not attract attention we had to travel by foot only. We were supposed to be an advanced infiltrating force but the constant rains on this planet had altered the plans.

His team was part of the advanced force that had taken the city we had been staying in days earlier and from that battle is where he received his wounds. His team was one of the first ones inside the city and they had left their transport behind so they could use the cover of darkness to scout the area. They saw that they had an opportunity to take the lightly defended city before we would have arrived so they decided to do so. From their vantage point on the roof top of a building they waited for a large patrol of the greenskins to come into range. Once they were all in range the warriors unleashed their blue death.

The sounds of dying Orks, I’ve finally found out what these greenskins are called, awoke the others that were sleeping or standing nearby. They rushed out of their buildings into the waiting arms of the fire warriors. Unfortunately their scouting had been incorrect in the assessment of the Orks weaponry. Sam and his team were mercilessly killing at will from their rooftop when crude missiles struck the structure and crumble it to the ground. Pinned and bleeding many of the warriors in that team died that night. Luckily for Sam the same men that helped us win the battle for the factory had shown up, coming in from no where to rain death upon our enemy.

He described these courageous warriors and it refreshed my memory a bit. I had forgotten how big they were when I first saw them. Their large armored body elongated more because of these things call ‘jet’ packs. It still amazes me that these weak alien friends of ours have mastered ways of flight and weaponry. Sam also told me that these special warriors were able to use their suits to hide almost in plain site during even daylight hours. I found it a little hard to believe and told him that I would need to see this for myself before I trusted his word on the matter.

The flying warriors had swooped down and surrounded the ruined building. With their weapons blazing they were able to hold off and kill most of the Orks. Sam told me that only one of the stealthy warriors had fallen and he wasn’t even killed. The warrior’s gun was hit by a random bullet of the enemy and was charged by the greenskins. The beast sunk a heavy blow into the chest of the warrior knocking him to the ground. With the Ork’s sword lodged tightly in his chest piece, the warrior activated his ‘jet’ pack and flew up into the attacker. They flew through the air and straight into the wall of another building. The weight of the warriors armor and they speed from the pack helped crush many bones in the Ork’s body. After the battle was over, a team had shown up to retrieve survivors. Thee armored warrior raised his now broken weapon to signal for help from underneath the corpse that laid upon his chest.

If only Sam could have known this warriors name and passed it on to me. I would have said many a prayer for this alien friend and wished him fast recovery. He would surely be a great help in the battles to come. Someone with bravery of his stature could have had many wives back on my home world.

I asked Ole Sam what he was going to do now that he was missing half of his body. He seemed very depressed at the question and part of me wished I hadn’t have asked it. Sam said that even though he would no longer be able to fight for the “T’au Va” he would still be useful. The medics would provide him with a new leg and arm made from their many wondrous machines and he would be able to work at the academy back on Fal’shia.
I assured him that the academy and students would surely benefit from his experience and his tale of bravery will inspire many to do as he did. Sam smiled from my comment and extended a sign of thanks to me before he was taken away. I will miss talking with that warrior, he talked with me almost as an equal, which is more respect than I have be given from all of the other Tau combined.

Dium and Tek visited me late into the evening before I went to rest for the night. Their faces were shining and they were wearing garments that at first I thought they stole. They had on the same armor as our fire warrior friends, and told me that they had a suit waiting for me. I asked them as to how they were given such honor as to wear the more protective and highly valuable equipment and they told me that our team had fought honorably for our commander. Our commander had requested that we be given some of the equipment from the warriors that had fallen so that we could better fight. It was truly an honor to have this equipment bestowed upon us.

Tek showed me that they had also given us the magnificent weapons that the warriors used. He had carefully shined his and was something to behold. Ours looked a bit different and shorter in stock then our warrior friends but seemed as though they would work better for up close fighting. Dium said that I would be well enough tomorrow to attend a small training exercise with a warrior leader. They were going to show Tek and me how to use and maintain the weapons. When I asked why no one else would be shown Dium told me that they only had enough to spare us two of the glorious weapons and that Tek and I were the best shots so we were going to be the ones to use them.

I know I shall lay here and smile tonight as I fall asleep. The honor I feel for being rewarded is great and I cannot wait to be on my feet again.

Until the next time,

l33telboi · Post by **l33telboi** » 2006-09-13 03:52pm

Pace yourself, good man. You're writing faster then I'm able to read. Don't burn yourself out.

Having said that, you're off to a kickass start. Hopefully we'll be able to see a lot more of this story.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-14 04:18pm

Again this story just seems to be writing itself. I figured I would post this for everyone because I will not be able to post again till after the weekend is over. Family events and hockey games will keep me busy, plus I have inspired myself to actually start building a force of Tau and bought some last night. The inspirations are so great....

If I find myself getting enough inspiration I may even model up some of the characters from my story, though only the main character as I don't want people thinking anyone but him is immune from death.

Journal Entry 161

The sun is high overhead and we have been given a couple hours to gather our thoughts and prepare for a special mission. For some reason I am very excited, not because we were picked for a special operation but because we will be receiving a ride in a Tau hover transport. I remember the ride in the big flying transport well and am expecting the ride in this small skimmer to be more enjoyable.

Training went well this morning and I am getting better at translating their language, though I did have help this morning. At our training was our old commander’s assistant. She is different in appearance then the commander was and these fire warriors our. I had mistaken her for just a female warrior at first but she was able to enlighten me more towards why she is different in appearance. Not only is she female as I had thought, but she is also not of the same ‘caste’ as the warriors. She said that she is no warrior and never will be, her tribe’s people are traders, translators, and negotiators and do not fight. I found it very odd that they did not fight at all and she said that only the fire warrior caste did so. There seems to be more then just these two different groups and I am beginning to suspect that our commander was of a different caste then both the warriors and non-warriors.

I guess calling her our old commander’s assistant isn’t very respectful of her position as she is an assistant to all of us. She said that she is assigned to our small group to help the commanders with translation. We have set up time before the special mission tonight so she may help me with certain command signals and other important words that I have been unable to learn on my own. She says it that I must be very intelligent to have learned so much without much help and doesn’t understand that many of the tribesmen from my planets cannot read or write, but I am the only one here that came from one of the high level tribes. Our mothers and fathers had held on to ancient scripts and taught us at a very early age to read and write our language. Since then I have always enjoyed learning as much as possible as it helps me to survive.

Tek is also from a high up tribe though not the same as me. He was able to understand the use of his weapon rather easily this morning, though he did need my help with translation. I told him that if catches on this quickly with their technology I would gladly translate so that he may so me how to operate the tech quicker. Tek and I make a good team and I would have been proud to have him in my tribe and am much honored to be fighting along side him. These new weapons are much easier to target then the old red beamed ones we were used to use, and they are much more powerful.

Well I better make sure my new armor is fit correctly and that my weapon is ready because the meeting is in a couple moments. We are traveling light but I have been able to find a pocket for my diary so that I may write when I get the chance. The transport that we must be using has just landed. To the skies we take to bring swift death to our enemy.

Journal Entry: Old Friends Lost Again

It is a sad day. Many were lost in our battle the other night. Dium, being our leader, held the burial rituals this evening for our fallen brothers. I looked on with tears but kept my head high because they died fighting for a better life. Not a better life for themselves but for our tribes back home.

Intzu had met us two days as we were boarding the hover transport for our special mission. I had not seen him since I left my tribe many months ago. It was nice to see a fellow family member and his embrace was comforting. The mission was very important to have a shaman along for support and Intzu was no apprentice, he was powerful. Along with Intzu we were joined by three more tribesmen.

These men were my brother shaman’s bodyguards and they were mountains of men. They made Knife and Rein look small and nearly made me look like a child. Their weapons were similar to our old ones but had cords running from where the ammunition cartridge was supposed to be and the cords ran to a pack on their backs. After seeing these weapons in battle I assume they were upgraded red beam shooters, because they were much more powerful. The huge men joined us along with Por’Ui Dal’yth Yanoi, our commander’s old assistant, inside of the transport and we were whisked away.

We were dropped about three kilometers away from our objective. Our mission was to plant this one device, which Quate volunteered to carry, near a giant tank that held fuel for the Orks war machines. The fire warrior leader who gave us the details said there would be many tanks of this liquid and that we would to place the device as close to the biggest one as possible. After that first device was planted we were supposed to retreat to a point half a kilometer away before stopping to pull the trigger on another device, this one Rein offered to carry. The warrior said the mission should be easy and we may not even have to fire a single shot if we were quiet enough. I am glad that Intzu was included with us on this mission; his gift of listening to the spirits of nature would help us remain hidden from our enemy.

The ten of us silently but quickly moved toward the objective. We decided to traverse a wood that lay to the north of the Ork camp. The sun had set and darkness was setting. The woods offered us good cover. We sat there and observed the enemy movements while we waited for the right moment. Intzu’s eyes grew into a distasteful yellowish color and his brow was showing signs of anger. Something was wrong and we all knew it. Intzu murmured words in our ancient tongue and his anger was put into each one of us. The spirits of this place had been desecrated by these vile Orks. No tribesman on our planet would have stood idly by and let this atomicity continue; stealth just went out the window.

It did not matter that the enemy out numbered us by ten to one. It did not matter that they were stronger and more skilled in combat than us. It did not matter now if we even completed the mission. Our way of life was being trod upon and we did what we had to do. With a tremendous war cry we all charged down into the encampment. The initial surprise gave us a small advantage. I was quick and being the first one down the hill from the woods gave me the first kills. Two of the beasts fell to the blue energy from my powerful weapon before I dropped the gun and drew my sword. An Ork charged me with his large sword like weapon held to his side and as he made a side sweep with his weapon I ducked underneath it and delivered my blow. My sword cut across his abdomen. Intestines and stomach contents came spilling out and the beast fell to his knees as his tried to shove his entrails back inside of himself. I used that chance to slit his throat and continue on to the next victim.

Dium was dodging and parrying a beast but couldn’t land any blows. I took the opportunity to leap onto the greenskins back and shove my sword into its back. My leader saw this and as my blade sunk and surprised the beast he shoved his sword deep into the things chest cavity. I jumped from the dying beasts and started running towards Tek, who was feverously defending himself from two of the beasts.

One made an overhead chop and its weapon got lodged in Tek’s rifle, Tek twisted his weapon disarming his one opponent. The other made a swipe at Tek but luckily I had made it to his side just in time to block the blow from cutting my brother in two. Dium, who had followed me, came charging in and with the same strength of a wild bull tackled the beast who attack I blocked. They scuffled on the ground before Dium was able to shove his sword up through the jaw of the greenskin. Tek finished off his opponent with some fancy sword work as well.

Intzu and his body guards were surrounded by a number of greenskins over thirty meters way. Dium, Tek and I prepared to charge in but held for a moment. The Orks were falling left and right as the large brute bodyguards used their larger swords to cleave at will. One of the large tribesman fell by the lucky blow of an Ork and then another. Now was the time and we charged as fast as we could. The third guard fell before we even halved the distance and Intzu was left alone against seven of the large beasts. Their blows could not find there a mark though as Intzu parried every attack and counter-attacked with small slashes. His blades shined in the night and their slashes were wearing his enemies down. Intzu was an honored member of our tribe and had been gifted a matched pair of fighting swords.

The swords had a long history within our tribe. Every time a warrior that had been entrusted with the blades reached the age where he became one of the tribe fathers he would passed the blades onto another warrior. Intzu was not the first shaman to receive the blades but it was a practice not often bestowed upon the spirit talkers. The blades were ancient artifacts that had no story of how they came to be. One myth from the tribe is that they were a gift from a strange man to the leader of the fire warrior tribe long ago. The tribe had been at war with another tribe from the mountains. The matched blades were said to have slain the enemy leader in a dual and ended the war.

Another myth was that the blades used to spark with lighting blue energy and could cut through the thickest of stones. One of our ancestors had found the blades lying upon the altar of a long forgotten hero’s grave. When in his hands, they lit up with an eerie blue flame and he led our tribe to the greatness it is now known for. It did not matter now as the blue metal blades only refracted light from the moons above and did not produce this energy that has been in many myths.

I charged the nearest of the weakened beasts and killed it easily. Tek followed suit and took out another beast to my left. Dium rammed his sword into another beast and then drew his weapon that had been slung over his shoulder and put two shots into another from two meters way. Intzu finished off the remaining three beasts easily in only a couple strokes. His dexterity was great and he could dodge and jump away from the beasts attempts at will. It was a magnificent thing to behold. The four of us looked around and could not see any of our brothers though the sound of battle echoed in the night.

A large bellowing sounded from behind Intzu and from the dark a large Ork walked out. In his arms he held the shaft of a very large metal flail. The end of the flail was encircled with four rotating chain blades. This Ork must have been the leader as he appeared to be the biggest and meanest I had seen since our commander took down the metal plated one. There was a low rumble in his voice as the blades on the flail started gaining speed. Intzu made a motion for us to circle the beast and we did so. The four of us with our meager swords and this giant green skinned beast, easily the size of all of us combined, and his deadly heavy flail. Our odds didn’t seem good at all.

The beast swung the flail around and it barely missed me. Tek dove in and stabbed at the beast’s leg but his strike only found armor. Dium followed in and his slash found skill but it did not go deep. Dium jumped back but Tek wasn’t able to make it to safety and he caught the tip of the flail in the chest. The blow was light but enough to send Tek flying ten meters through the air and into some brush. Intzu prompted the Ork to swing at him and that gave me a chance. I ran in and sunk my blade into the beast back. It moaned a little and turned to catch me flat footed. It back handed me and I was sent flying back a couple meters into a large tree. Dium had climbed up one of the large tanks and jumped onto the back of the beast, but before he was able to strike with is sword the beast flung him aside as well.

Intzu was left there facing the monster by himself and the beast had barely been injured. The flail flew through the air and Intzu jumped high into and a back away and the weapon barely missed striking him in the back. The large end of the beast weapon flew around and came back for another strike. Intzu dove forward and rolled out of the way of the weapon but ended too close to the beasts left leg. Our brother dug both blades into the thigh of the beast, causing it to let go of the flail on the back swing. The large weapon flew through the air in a demented pattern and I had to dodge to get out of the way before it had almost landed on top of me. I watched helplessly as Intzu got batted down away from the beast.

My sword was caught in the beast and I had left my gun behind long ago. Tek was either unconscious or worse dead and Dium was struggling to stand up. There was nothing I could do when the giant ork ripped the swords from his thigh and threw them aside. It then stomped down at Intzu and forced our brother to his feet again. The beast was quick and grabbed Intzu in his one hand and then the other and lifted Intzu off the ground by his neck. It was mumbling something and started squeezing its hands tightly around Intzu. I could hear the crunching of bones but I did not stand by, I raced for the blades. No sooner did I grab the blades then I hear a loud noise and looked back to see the beast falling over onto its back, Intzu still grasped tightly in its hands.

The beast fell to the ground and let go of my brother. I raced to his side only to find the shattered body of the warrior. His face was bruised and cut. Blood was leaking from his ears and mouth and I could see bones sticking out through his chest. His garments were soaked in blood and in his hand was a small pistol. Its design was something I had never seen before though its construction was similar to our red beamed weapons. Intzu looked at me and with his dying words spoke the ceremonial words of passing. I did not notice that the blades were still in my hands. To have the blades in my possession was something I dreamed of as a kid, but now to actually have them I felt as if I was not worthy.

I closed Intzu’s eyes while tears formed in mine. Dium limped to my side and placed his hand on my shoulder. He lifted me to my feet and told me that we had to finish the mission so that Intzu and his guards would not have died in vain. His words helped me gather enough strength to continue. Rein and Quate came from the darkness, weapons dirty and smoking, swords in hand soaked with ork blood. Rein’s left arm was hanging limp at his side and Quate had a large gash down his face. Sadness filled their eyes at the sight of our brothers lying on the ground dead. I sheathed the swords in their ceremonial scabbards and stowed them away in my pack.

Before I left Intzu’s body I also grabbed his pistol as a small weapon was better then no weapon. Dium ordered Quate to place the device before more Orks found there way here. We had killed enough to please this earths spirits and we could only hope that time would help life flourish here again. Knife appeared from the darkness and helped Tek to his feet though I do not know how. Knife was bloody and broken, his skin was dirty and his armor contained many bullet holes. Rein sheathed his sword and helped with Tek while Dium and I covered their retreat to the woods. Quate followed soon after running by the light of the moon and torches that had been hanging from the Ork’s tents.

The six of us made it to the spot marked on Dium’s map and Rein set up his device. It only took in a moment to do so as the instruction for it were not difficult. The machine turned on and lights started glowing. Rein reached down and pressed a large button that glowed red as he pressed it in. He then flipped a switch and the result was the biggest explosion I have ever heard or seen before. The wave from the blast knocked us to the ground and a giant fireball reached into the sky. The smoke was so black that it could bee seen against the night sky. Any enemies that might have shown up after we left would not have survived such a horrific thing.

In a clearing ten meters away a large machine turned on its lights as a hatch dropped down. Running lights turned on and the inside of the transport lit up. I grabbed Tek and threw him over my shoulder as everyone else made their way to the skimmer. We loaded in and told the crewman to shut the door. Yanoi looked at us and bowed her head. She congratulated us on completing the mission and consoled us on our loss. Sadness was in her face and I could tell that she had come to like my brother Intzu. These tau weren’t emotionless towards us after all.

I sit here and stare at the swords in awe. They are beautiful weapons, even more beautiful then in my dreams as I had never seen them before. They shall remain in their sheaths and I will carry them with me, but until I am able to console with the tribal fathers I feel that I cannot wield them. My honor is not great enough and I would not want to shame my family or my tribe. I have a reason to live now and I will do everything I can to get these blades back home. I will not die nor will I let any of my brothers. Our team cannot fail for we possess the blades of the blue flame.

Apologies for grammitical errors. I am not the best when it comes to those sorts of things. Have a good weekend everyone!

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-09-14 08:13pm

Heh... so will those swords light blue for him or not?

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-09-18 03:27pm

Journal Entry: Finally, Rest for the Weary

Again I find myself writing from the comfort of a medical bed, if you can consider being injured comfortable. The medical center is much nicer here aboard the great metal ship and I am clean for the first time in a month. My injuries will heal and I will continue fighting for our alien friends though it won’t be for awhile; the break will be good for all of us.

Two days ago, the day after our success with the fuel dump, we were rushed to a large battle that had commenced. Rein and Tek had to remain behind because of their injuries and even though I was happy they were out of danger, I was sad to not have their help. Six more tribesmen joined us that day aboard the hovering transport. They were fresh looking and younger then I; yet I was still the smallest of all of us. Dium openly hugged and kissed two of the boys and their expressions of pure joy brought a smile to my face. They were of the same build and facial features as our leader and it was easy enough to tell that they must have been from his tribe. Dium told me later during the trip that they were not only from his tribe but were actually his twin sons, Nils and Nath.

The other four tribesmen were not truly tribesmen. Their skin was pale in comparison to our own and two of them had light colored hair. Their names were funny as well and were not like the names of our people. Garth was the one of them that talked a lot and their language was similar in many respects to our own so communication was easy. They were actually from a different planet than us tribesmen and told us that they had joined our Tau friends out of need for supplies because their brothers had left them stranded.

We reached the battle and were dropped right on the front line. Instead of being met by a commander or ranking squad at the drop zone we were met with a rather surprised looking greenskin. He turned towards us as we left the safety of the hover tank. His voice was loud and he bellowed the same war cry that we had heard before, “Waaggh.” I smiled as I knelt down and filled his chest with shots from my weapon. Granted I was now holding the same red beamed weapon as everyone else, because the guns we lost at the ammo dump could not be replaced. It did not matter, I would make due with what I had.

After we killed the lone beast we headed deeper into the woods towards the sounds of gunfire. I admit it felt good to be inside the forest instead of some city walls. It felt more like home, even though I grew up on the plains with little in the way of forests, but still it felt like home. We reached the edge of the woods and met up with a team of the alien warriors who had set up in the cover. The commander of that team told us that we were to secure their flank incase any Orks made it to us. These warriors were not the same fire warriors that were stationed in the firing line and there was only four of them. Their armor wasn’t as cumbersome and was similar to our own, though probably better. Their weapons were shorter in stock like the one that had been given to me and had some complicated looking machine attached to them.

These warriors were not firing at the advancing enemy. They had their guns pointed towards them but they were not pulling their triggers. I figured that their weapons were like our and must have had a shorter range, but that is where I was wrong. From this point on the day would just get more and more bazaar. Two of the warriors told their commander that they had a lock on the primary target. I peered out to see what this target was and was quite frightened to see a huge machine rumbling across the field heading straight for the firing line.

The blue beams of the fire warriors bounced off the front armor of the monstrous vehicle as it sped quickly towards them. Guns were pointing out from all over the vehicle and were firing away with reckless abandon. It seemed like the machine was going to run over the warriors without much in the way to stop it but just then from behind the fire warriors streaked two large flying objects. They screeched through the air at lightning quick speed and struck the machine with two tremendous blasts. The first one hit the tracks of the huge tank and the second one hit squarely on the machines main gun.

The tank slowed almost immediately to a halt and greenskins started pouring out from the rear of the vehicle. Some of the smaller guns aboard the rolling fortress were still firing but the rockets had done their job. The commander ordered his men to lock onto the orks that were now spilling from the machine. No sooner did they say that they had locks then fire started pouring out for the fire warrior line. Their shots were hitting their marks and beasts were falling left and right. It did not take me long to realize the power of the weapons our friends wielded. I stood their and watched as they helped their brothers kill off the green tide that was flowing like the ocean. Just then Dium yelled at me, “Incoming!”

My ears are still ringing with his words. I couldn’t really hear anything else for the rest of that battle. Everything had been muffled by the large blast that hit the trees we were hiding in. I scrambled over to where Dium and the rest had taken position to find three of the human warriors laying in a mangled mess of body parts and timber. Knife and Quate had opened fire into the woods off to our left at some greenskins that were trying to sneak up on us. Nils and Nath swarmed to their father side and were lifting a large log off of him. As I got to Dium’s side I realized that he had been knocked about badly and wasn’t awake. I grabbed the twins by their collars and threw them towards Quate.

They didn’t need any more instruction on what to do. The twins opened fire with their weapons and helped keep the advancing beasts at bay. The tau team leader came to my side and started firing from the safety of a boulder while the others took up higher positions behind Knife. Their weapons were unleashing a weird projectiles from the under slung launchers. Two orks wailed as they were hit with the grenade like weapons and the rest of the unit dove behind trees and brush. I wasn’t waiting for them to regroup, now was our chance to kill them where they were.

My sword unsheathed I yelled as I charged towards the pack of beasts. The remaining human warrior Garth was right behind me and the rest were not far behind. Garth proved to be quite good in a close fight and he was lighting quick in the woods. He dodged the trees and country ground as quickly as the rest of us tribesmen. His work with his blades was something to behold. One in his off hand was just a bit smaller then our own and the other was built into the end of his weapon, something he had done before the battle. The two of us had killed four of the greenskins before the rest of the group had caught up. Nils and Nath fought much like their dad with heavy handed blows over the quick stinging blows the rest of us used. Though they attacked less frequently, they injured more easily. Another blast sounded from behind us and we all hit the ground as splintered wood came flying our way. The shards hit us all but barely seemed to phased us, with the exception of Knife who took a rather large on in the leg and couldn’t move.

I peered out from the woods across the plains to see a large crudely built weapon lobbing shells at the woods around us. The machine was being manned by the lower, smaller greenskins and their aim was bad. Shells were flying through the air and landing before the woods, behind the woods, or no where near us at all. It was remarkable that two of their shells had even got as close as they did. The alien commander directed his men to target the machine and within moments another large rocket soared through the sky and tore the large cannon and crew limb from limb.

The fire warrior line was advancing and the greenskins were being backed into a corner. Large ships flew fast overhead and dropped a lot of bombs from their bays. An armored fortress in the distance suddenly erupted into fire and smoke as the bombs hit their marks. Two large hover tanks, the ones with the very large guns, floated over the warriors and unleashed huge rounds that impacted on many orks at once and all that were in range were killed. The greenskins were not fearless today and turned and ran back towards their now burning fortress. Many more tanks floated in and chased down the fleeing beasts. Some of the tanks were smaller and much quicker then others and I watched in amazement at the speed that our alien friends attacked with.

The warrior commander motioned to me and that is when I found that I could not make my way to him. I looked down to find that the splinters from the shredded trees had done more damage then I thought. I pulled some of the larger ones out and had to sit down from the sudden pain that coursed through my legs. It wasn’t until now that I noticed that everyone was in the same condition I was. The tau warrior came to my side and told me that he called for a ‘devilfish’, if my translation is correct, to come pick us up. With that he and his squad loaded into one that had just landed in a clearing right outside the woods.

Oh how I would like to punch that warrior now. I do not know if he forgot to call one in like he had said or if it just took them a long time to get one to us but we sat there in those woods for over half the day. I was able to crawl around and gather the men. We all bandaged our wounds as best we could. Dium had come to but was still dizzy. Garth seemed to be the least effected of all of us. He was saying some kind of prayer over the other three humans that had died during the first blast. After his prayer he stripped them of what equipment was still good and packed it away in a couple packs.

I think it surprised Garth when a transport actually came for us. He seemed like he was ready to head off and fight for himself. I reassured him that our alien friends valued us and would not leave us behind like his comrades had done to him. He laughed a bit at that comment and told me he is really just in it for the money and spoils. Though I did not say this to him, I found that was a very low and dishonorable way to fight, but as long as he fights the way he did that day I will not look down upon him for it. I am beginning to realize through Garth, and through the books that our alien friends have given me, that not all civilizations are as generous as the tau.

Garth spent the day beside me in the medical bay telling me of his past profession as a fighter for high. He would fight for who ever paid him to and that he had no loyalty to any race or government, though after working with these tau he said it would be hard to fight for his former employer. Some of the battle stories he had were very exciting to listen to. He helped me understand how wars are fought in the vastness of space and what some of these larger machines are called and used for.

All in all it has been a very eventful and tiring day. I am looking forward to walking around tomorrow and checking in on all of my brothers. More days of rest, and perhaps some studying, lies ahead until we find out where we are going. It will be a couple more days yet before our team can do some battle training and that is a good thing as we are all in need of resting our bruised bodies.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-11-06 01:19pm

Journal Entry: The Space Faring Life

Life aboard this machine is quickly becoming repetitive. My tribesmen and I find the constant battle simulations to be tiresome. We were happy today to learn that we were only a couple days away from landing operations on a hostile planet. If the only way that we get to see the sky and smell fresh air is through the cloudy smoky ruins of war then so be it. This life aboard a space ship is for lunatics.

To my dismay they have split up our squad. Tek, Garth, and I were placed with a bunch of new recruits that had been brought on board with our ‘cadre’. They are more like Garth then Tek and I. They know how to use their weapons well and I have learned much about technology and their planets. Everyday I learn more and more about this universe we live in and everyday it surprises me less and less. The new recruits listen well though and seem eager to prove their worth to our alien friends. Tek has corrupted their minds though by telling them stories of my supposed ‘heroic’ actions from our first battles. I snapped at one of them today when he accidentally stepped on my ankle while getting down from his bunk. He flinched and ducked out of the way expecting me to swing at him, his eyes were that of a scared child during a thunder storm.

For some reason our commander felt I should lead our squad and gave me an upgraded weapon to show my status among them. The weapon is beautiful and I keep it in good repair. It is the same long barreled design as the ones that our fire warrior brothers carry into battle. I also obtained a special backpack which I can use to re-charge the ammunition cartridges, or power clips as I like to call them. The commander seems to have taken a liking to me and my fellow tribesmen, though he still appears to have some mistrust towards the humans from other worlds.

I got to peer out of a port window this evening and look out into the vastness of space. It made me sick to my stomach at first, never having seen the wonders that lay beyond the planets we walk on, the nausea went away and a sort of humbling feeling swept over me. The bright lights in the distance sparkled here and there and I could see a beautiful formation that swirled into a spiral like shape. It was the prettiest color of blue I could ever remember seeing and somehow it reminded me of home. I admit I think of home every once in a while at night, and it does get to me emotionally, but I keep reminding myself that I making my tribes life better by fighting for the “T’au Va”.

Journal Entry: Walking Nightmares

The day started as it was supposed to and everyone was in their places. My squad was lined up in formation as one of the commander’s officers inspected our equipment. He noticed the sheathed swords that I had attached to the back pack they had given me and smiled. I smirked back and he continued on his way. Demlok Kauyon had become as close as friend to me as could be expected from a commanding officer.

Shas’ui Fal’shia Demlok Kauyon was a brave and combatant leader and was rising through the ranks of honor quickly. He has shared much with me and is one of the few alien warriors that talk to us tribesmen as if we were his kin. So quickly was his rise through the ranks of our cadre that he had been honored with a giant war suit. This war suit stood near three times as tall as us and had enormous weapons mounted on it.

Demlok wasn’t the only warrior to have such as suit. Our commander’s war suit had a much more battle worn look to it. It was fit to show that our commander was battle hardened and would fiercely fight instead of just sitting back and commanding others to do what he would not. Demlok and our commander were the only two suit warriors that went to battle without others by their side; Demlok would surely stick close to us tribesmen to lead us through the battle.

The equipment we were given was new and colored in a splendid green color. The helmets all contained radios that we could use to talk to each other during battle and mine was connected with Demlok’s suit and the other squad leaders. There was only four human squads with the cadre now and we were all equipped the same. As Demlok walked down the line I peered from my position in front of my squad to Dium who was standing in front of his squad. He smiled and patted his weapon which was the same as mine. I was not the only tribesmen in which our alien friends placed their trust.

We loaded into the ‘Orca’ transports quickly as the red lights turned to green. I stood at one end of the entrance ramp and Dium at the other. We barked at the men and ordered the four squads quickly into the back of the drop ship. Dium and I entered with Demlok as the last troopers sat down. There was barely any room left with the four full squads squeezed into the ship along with Demlok’s suit. It was crouched down and the cockpit was open waiting for its pilot to step inside. Six of the slots above our heads were empty but from two of them hung the floating machines that we had come used to seeing aboard the space shit. These two ‘floating discs’ were armed with the same kind of guns that our fire warrior friends had, though they were the shorter carbine versions.

The men all sat quietly as Demlok closed the cockpit on his suit and it seemed like it took forever for the back hatch to close. I remember feeling a little nervous as the ship shuddered as it launched from the bay. This would be the first time that I was going to be in charge of something. My squad was going to count on me to keep them alive and I could not let them down, at least Tek was by my side. The nervousness did not subside though and the flight down to the planets surface seemed to take an eternity. Time may have seemed to stand still while aboard the ship, but once we touched down that was an entirely different story.

Explosions and gun fire could be heard before the door even opened. Dium and I followed Demlok’s suit out of the back hatch and the men were quickly behind us. The two drones buzzed over our heads and to Demlok’s side as his jets ignited and he took off into the sky. It didn’t take long for Demlok to jump out of site into the ruined buildings, but we did not worry. Dium and I had our orders and we knew what was expected of us.

Dium took another squad and headed for a large building on the left side of the drop zone and the other squad followed me towards the North side. Our south east flank would be covered by an impassable mountain that this ruined city was built into. Lucky for us the streets were wide and the buildings were sparse from the LZ out to the rest of the city. Dium’s squad and squad three were set up in a giant three story building while I set up my squad and squad four in two separate single story houses. These places would provide little protection from enemy fire, but they were better then dirt trenches.

It didn’t take long for the enemy to notice we were there. Figures moved in the buildings across the grassy knoll, strange figures. The distant battle sounds grew quiet as did the sounds of my men clamoring and talking amongst themselves. Silence fell over the battlefield and the jitters that it brought with it would shake the most die hard warrior to the bone. I do not know how I kept my wits about me but I was able to give a silent hand signal to my men and the squad in the building adjacent to us. The silence was barely disturbed by the sounds of safety buttons being clicked off.

What sprung from the ruins and charged across the field will surely haunt my dreams for weeks to come. Men that could stand among giants clanked as they crossed the field. Their armor was thick and adorned with skulls of many beings. Deadly spikes spurt out in all directions and satanic symbols were painted on their armor. I was surprised to see only ten of them attempting to charge into us and at the time thought they would have fallen to the first volley. I gave the order over the com link and both my squad and squad four opened up with our red beams of death.

To our astonishment and fear the beams struck their armor but barely scratched the surface. It was like we were shooting at walking tanks. The figures screamed through their helmets and were drawing nearer to us. I ordered my men to concentrate their fire onto the warrior that was leading the charge. The tidal wave of red laser beams poured onto the warrior and a couple shots finally found chinks in the warrior’s armor. The warrior fell to his knees and clasped at the ground, but still tried to crawl forward. All of those wounds and the monster was still trying to move forward. At the time it seemed as if these being were fearless but no I can say they are just plain mad.

I raised the sights of my powerful rifle and drew a bead onto one of the warriors who, to his own misfortune, decided to not wear a helmet. From the barrel of my magnificent weapon streamed the powerful blue energy I had grown accustomed to seeing. The pulse like shots were dead on and the face of the grotesque, human-like creature was burned to the bone, and its brain surely fried. Its body went limp and the beast fell to the ground with a loud thump. Two down, eight to go, but they were already halfway here.

From their hips a loud cracking sound chattered away and return fire started hitting the building. The large bullets started to impact upon the walls of the building and blowing head sized holes right through the concrete substance. Each bullet exploded like a tiny rocket. One of the men in my squad took a shot directly to the chest. His armor was useless as the round entered his body and exploded the contents of his chest cavity out his back. Another two men took rounds to their extremities and body parts were blown into small flying shrapnel. A forth man found himself pinned under the remains of a wall.

I rallied the shaken squad for one more volley; it was going to be the last chance we would have before the soldiers were in hand to hand combat. We all raised our weapons and let loose a hell storm of shots, squad four continued to pour in fire as well. One unlucky nightmare caught a red beam in its lightly armored neck piece and blood started spurting from the hole. How the hot laser beam didn’t cauterize the wound the second it hit is beyond me. The men ducked back after the volley and started to ready their knives; I slung my weapon around my shoulder and drew my swords all the while whispering a prayer.

The gods were favoring us. Right before the horrifying warriors reached the building they were ripped to shreds by incoming missiles. One soldier was ripped in half from a direct hit and shrapnel from his mangled armor punctured another’s leg. It caught them off guard and caused them to stop their charge to hug the dirt. As they scrambled to hug the terrain ice blue waves of energy started raining in from the rooftop. The plasma melted their armor to their bodies and any screams of agony were cut short as the heat melted their lungs. When the fire had ceased and the dust settled, not one of the warriors was standing. I ordered my men forward into the carnage to be still any survivors gasping at dying breathes.

Demlok had surely saved our hides, and his weaponry had amazed us all. His battle suit had given him supreme accuracy compared to our own. I am forever in his dept and only hope to repay this honored warrior. We continued our watch without any more fighting. My squad was less five members now, three dead and two wounded beyond the ability to fight. I feel that it is my fault and ‘am ashamed to have suffered so poorly against so few an enemy. Though Dium and squad three had also took causalities to roughly the same number of foes that had charged them at the time we were in our fire fight.

Dium consoled me and told me that I was a brave leader to have rallied my men when such monsters were bearing down our throats. Squad four has been split up to bolster Dium’s squad and my own; and squad three which is now being lead by Quate. Tek and Garth have just returned and we shall all lie down now for rest, though I fear I may not be able to sleep. Our shift will be up soon to relieve Quate’s squad. At least we held the landing zone and reinforcements have been able to arrive. I dare not think of facing those armored men again but my senses tell me this fight is far from over.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2006-11-06 06:53pm

Chaos Marines? Or just regular Space marines. Whatever they are, there might be a Dreadnaught in the area if it's city fighting. Our Crisis suited friend might have some trouble with THAT.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2006-11-06 07:11pm

sounds like chaos marines to me.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-11-07 11:23am

Leaning towards being Chaos but the thing is since this is all written from the point of view of a tribal human whose civilization has long been seperated from any imperial contact they have never seen any marines. I will try to be more descriptive in furture journal entries.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-11-08 02:14pm

YAY! MORE!

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-11-08 04:40pm

Grammatical errors aside this entry is not yet finished and has sparked my imagination, expect more ... Chaos

Journal Entry: The Common Denominator of War is Blood

Events never transpire in the best possible outcome. Battle plans get through out the door quickly when something unexpectedly happens. Smart soldier adapt and overcome while the weak become cannon fodder, or in this instance food. The past couple days have opened my eyes to the most horrific nightmares this side of the galaxy. Sleep does not come easily at night and I fear that I will not be able to rest properly unit we are off this hell hole of a planet.

It all started the morning after we had secured the landing zone. Dium’s squad was on patrol along with some of our fire warrior brethren. The rest of us had taken the time to chew on some rations. Tek, Quate, and Nils were all discussing their favorite flavor of fire water and how they couldn’t wait to partake in the beverage as soon as we would leave this unholy ground. Garth tinkering with his equipment as usual and the raw recruits were all clutching their weapons and whispering to each other. I didn’t pay much attention to this at first but in retrospect I should have been slightly more alarmed.

I could have sworn I heard someone start talking in a deep cynical voice. I stood as did my tribe brothers. The recruits looked up at us with puzzled looks but turned and continued about their gibbering. Garth stood as he sensed through us tribesmen that something wasn’t right. I motioned to the men to join me for a walk to the armory to check on supplies, though they all knew it was only a rouse. The six of us walked through the compound quickly until we were out of sight of the tents and ducked behind a parked transport. Tek and Knife were already checking their weapons ammo cartridges’ as I dropped to a knee and pulled my swords from my back. Garth turned to Nils, who was startled by the sudden ‘disturbance’ and ordered the young lad off to find Demlok and report that something was wrong.

Garth was not like us tribesmen yet he too had felt the eerie feeling that had filled the tent. Something demonic and appalling was trying to talk to us, speak through a medium into our minds. Our ancestors had warned of demon speakers and their evil doings. We tribesmen were well trained from early in our youth to defend against suck attacks, though I had never experienced one before I was not going to be tricked by its sudden arrival. Garth was unusual as he seemed to be able to guard against the speaking of this presence without having been blessed and trained by a shaman. Truly the tribe he came from was knowledgeable in such areas.

We had left the tent none too soon because as we huddled by the transport readying our weapons it happened. The screams were horrific as the recruits inside of the tent were suddenly being ripped apart, limb from limb. One recruits head come flying out of the tent and rolled along the ground until coming to a stop thirty meters from where his body was being devoured. Another unlucky recruit thought he had escaped and was running from the tent clutching at his mangled arm when suddenly from the open flaps of the blood soaked tent shot the abomination that had just dined on its fill of soldiers.

The beast had mutated inside one of the recruits bodies seriously disfiguring the appearance of the young man. Small membrane like wings sprouted from the creatures back and its fingers had morphed into razor sharp claws. The warriors head had been replaced with an elongated set of mandibles and a second set of eyes had grown in. The armor that had once clothed the warrior were now scraps hanging from the muscular body of the beast and where the warrior had worn boots there was now large raptor like claws. Everyone was stunned from the gruesome blood covered body of the beast as it glided through the air before landing on the back of the fleeing recruit. Its claws on its hands and feet ripped flesh and muscles from the recruit as the beast started shoving the raw meat into its mouth.

Though I was nearly frozen in place at the sight of the horrendous act this beast was committing I had enough wits about me to yell at everyone else to open fire. The pulses of red light streamed through the air burning the beast upon contact. The first couple shots surprised the beast enough to leave its meal still alive and screaming for mercy. More and more shots hit their mark but the beast barely flinched as its skin was being seared apart to the bone. More and more fire poured in as a unit of warriors came from their tent with their pulse weapons draining rounds into the enemy. Their hot blue plasma struck the beast down to the ground where the massed fire burnt any remaining flesh from the beasts’ body.

Alarms were sounding and lights flashing but that had all gone un-noticed until now. I looked around, realizing I had forgotten my helmet, and took Tek’s helmet from him and ripped out the com device. I repeatedly asked for Demlok and waited for a reply but heard nothing from the device. We had no clue what was going on and everyone looked as if they had forgotten where the latrines were and had decided to use their pants as toilets instead. Unsure of what to do I decided to ready the men to break for the command tent to search for officers, but we never got the chance. As we all stood to move another large nightmare landed aboard the engine of the transport and growled at us from its perch.

The thing reached down and in one swift swipe dismembered Knife’s head from his body. We all watched in a brief moment of horror as one of our own fell to the ground spurting blood from the neck and twitching uncontrollably. Quate raised his weapon screaming in anger but never got a shot off as the monster leaped on top of him and ripped the length of this arm open. Tek kicked the beast in the side as hard as he could and knocked it from Quate. I jumped from behind and sunk both of my tribe’s ancient swords into the back where its wings sprouted from. It shrieked as the diamond sharp edges protruded through its chest. I rolled sideways to the ground as my brothers opened fired at point blank range.

I stood and as Nils came running up, read still slung over his shoulder, and stopped dead in his tracks. He gasped as he pointed to the top of the transport where two more of the winged had just landed. The beasts sneered at us as their limbs tensed and prepared to spring the monsters onto us. The situation was looking bleak and there would have been no way for us to defend against two more of those nightmares. But just then a stream of blue plasma knocked the two beasts from the devilfish to the ground behind it. Their bodies hit the ground already half melted from the extreme heat of the shot that had just hit them. I instantly grabbed my swords from the dead beasts back and finished off the two dieing ones. Our hides had been saved again by Demlok and it wouldn’t be the only time that day he would help us.

It has been two days of fighting since Knife was killed and Quate was maimed. The fighting has been constant to defend the landing zone and preparations are in place to get us out of here. To our luck no more of the demonic beasts of presented themselves and the fighting has been at directed back towards the giant armored men. The casualties grow on our side as these hatred filled warriors are not easily killed. To my best count we are losing three to four for every one of theirs that falls. Though this is the first chance I have had to write for a couple days I fear I must put down my pen and help prepare to depart from this now haunted ground. I only hope that Dium’s and his squad are alright because we have not heard from then since they were put on patrol.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-11-08 10:10pm

0_0

Damn... that was nasty.

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-11-13 03:24pm

Journal Entry: The Common Denominator of War is Blood… continued

The unspeakable horrors of this world shall haunt my dreams for the rest of my eternity. The foul beasts that the enemy employs have surpassed even my most vivid nightmares. Giant armored humans with a thirst for blood, flying daemons sporting razor sharp claws, and hounds of death that gnaw on the remains of our fallen brothers pale in comparison to the monstrosity that the cadre faced today. This monster was born of pure evil and blood lust. Its menacing stance stood larger the most of the buildings I have ever seen. Blood seeped from every orifice on the creature’s body that was not covered in thick, course black hair.

The beast shook the ground as it walked across the battlefield. The largest of our tanks could not withstand the mighty blows from the beasts’ almighty weapon; an axe made by the devil himself. Bladed on four sides it resembled more of a glaive then an axe but it mattered not as the power behind the weapon was the reason it caused so much harm. Two full squads of our fire warriors were caught out of position while trying to retreat from a building they were holding. The nightmare smashed their transports as easily as I could crumble an aluminum can in my hand. With out the speed to retreat they vainly attempted to hurt the beast with their pulse fire. The warriors fell almost instantly. Most died upon the gruesome blades of the beasts weapon while the others were chewed up by the beast so it could suckle the blood from their bodies.

Our alien friends let loose upon the monster with the full effect of their mighty ‘hammerhead’ tanks. The rounds flew through they air at astonishing speeds, each one hitting their mark. The monster groaned little as the magnetically charged shots ripped into its body. One tore the monsters left arm almost completely from its body as another broke the limb of the creatures’ left wing; but still the creature stood. The nightmare licked its bleeding arm and roared up into the air. It then launched into the air and then came flying down upon one of the tanks that had strayed too far from the cover of the ruined buildings.

My brothers and I heard the engines over heat as the monster ripped the gun from its turret. The double explosion was all the pilots of the tank could muster in a last ditch effort to take the beast with them to the great beyond. Their effort was for not. The beast was blown backwards off of the now smoldering heap of metal but was barely stunned. It stood to one knee and bellowed in laughter, mocking us. Demlok took the opportunity to take pot shots at the creature from behind as it knelt there and enjoyed its carnage. Missiles and plasma splashed the creature, burning craters into its back and disfiguring its wings.

It was a short lived victory for Demlok to cut off the nightmares ability to fly. Our leader had turned his back towards an enemy unit in order to do damage the monster. The large marines opened up with the nerve racking chatter of their bolt weapons. Bolt rounds exploded upon the surface of Demloks armor. The armor clad death warriors charged towards Demlok, their chainsaw swords now buzzing. I ordered my men to open fire on the charging unit, hoping to bring one or possibly two down before they reached our comrade. Our aim was true but our weapons meager in the attempt. Not one even noticed the red and blue beams bounce off their exoskeleton-like armor. I remember thinking that this was the end for our friend.

It was then that our cadre commander, Shas’el Fal’shia Elan’Kais Kauyon, soared in from the roof tops. The camouflage of his suit had kept him hidden among the wreckage of the buildings. He landed beside Demlok facing towards the marines. The under slung blasters on each arm of his suit charged their blue energy and unleashed their might upon the warriors. Four fell instantly as the hot plasma melted their human bodies inside of their armor. The resulting smell was foul but something we were not uncommon to since stepping foot on this world. Demlok continued firing at the monster as it stood and twisted to bear witness to its enemy. Our commander fired once more into the rampaging warriors knocking three more to the ground in flames of plasma fire and causing the remaining three warriors to decide against moving any further. The situation still remains frozen in my mind as it appeared that Commander Elan’Kais and Demlok were to meet their fate at the hands of the enraged beast that stood at least double their height. Elan’Kais was still facing the now retreating warriors and Demlok’s suit was facing the beast head on as it prepared to charge, but thankfully the saving grace was something that had been out of sight and out of mind during the situation.

The loud crackling sound of a rail gun nearly deffened us as it charged a round in its breach. In an instant the rail gun fired and struck the beast square in the rib cage. The round found its way deep into the beasts left side, and then its way back out of the right side of the chest cavity. Blood gushed from the great like a great fountain. Demlok fired his thrusters to jump from the beast as it fell forward towards him. There was a spark and an explosion that flung Commander Elan’Kais forward. Demlok’s suit had malfunctioned and the monster fell on top of it, causing the failsafe to detonate.

Commander Elan’Kais was not injured but the same could not be said for our fearless friend Demlok. His ejection system had also undergone damage during our days battling this foul enemy and he was not sprung clear of the detonation cleanly. The only news we have heard since he was taken away was that he is still clinging to life. My brothers and I pray that he may return to us for he was a trusted leader and friend.

The fighting has died down and the enemy retreats. The loss of such a monster must have been hard to their numbers. We have suffered much and are expecting to leave the planet soon enough. Why we had to fight here is beyond me as the reason has been kept secret, though I vow to find out that reason.

Dium’s squad had been holed up with a different cadre that had been stationed in a different sector then us. How he and his men survived a hike through this hellish city to that sector, over twenty kilometers away, is beyond even our commander’s comprehension, but I’m glad that he is alright.

The sun rises for the first time in days. I feel that by the warmth and light of its rays I may feel safe to venture into dreamland. I long for sleep as it have been nearly two weeks since I remember getting any.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-11-13 04:53pm

Woah.... what *was* that thing?!?!

HSRTG · Post by **HSRTG** » 2006-11-13 06:06pm

A Bloodthirster. Mid-range Daemon of Khorne.

@Chapter: Good stuff. More ASAP please.

Setesh · Post by **Setesh** » 2006-11-14 10:56pm

Really well done, but will we see kroot?

P.S. the Bloodthirster, (not the standard model, this one was custom made to look like a specific one. They are damn hard to kill in both table top and Dawn of War. I send terminator squad with a dreadnought minimum

falconkline · Post by **falconkline** » 2006-11-15 11:23am

Yes a blood thirster it was and it took a helluva lot of fire power to bring it down. This next journal entry is rather long and is lacking in any real action. Just setting up the story for a what should be a rather interesting campaign for our Tribal friends and their tau allies.

Really well done, but will we see kroot?

~Setesh

They were already planned to make an appearance and start to in this entry, ironic you ask for them and recieve them

. Though they are being reserved for real action until the cadre starts its campaign, perhaps I'll throw them into a training excersie entry before then to help wet your appitite.

I actually started a one off that will highlight a battle from their previous campaign. It will be more of a narrative over the journal entry style. Here is a teaser for ya... It will be about Dium and his squad and their trek across the damned city, expect a daemon or two

Now on to the main attraction

Journal Entry: The Peacefulness of Space

Edit:: This entry went completely off track from where I wanted to go with the fanfic. I am sorry everyone for the lack of focus and I promise it will not happen again. I have decided to remove the entry for any future readers.

Do not worry though, the Kroot will be making an appearance in future entries.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Diary of a Gue'la (Warhammer 40k)

Diary of a Gue'la (Warhammer 40k)

Not done by a long shot

Fuel for the Fire..

The Life of Ole Sam