Warhammer 40,000 Lost Prophecies

[Kargoth]

As the chaos bombardment ceased, the monsterous fleet began sending down it's remaining drop-pods and landing ships..
Karsus strode through the rubble of the remaining city defences..resistance had been all but non-existant, "Gather the troops..we're taking this planet.."
He casually reached out and shattered a chunck of nearby masonry with his lightining claws..
"We need to find that information.." He muttered to himself as his attendants left to do his bidding.

[Zac]

Angelos watched through the scope of his sniper rifle as one of the marines, he guessed must be the leader ducked behind cover, only to have his hiding place exposed by a well placed gernade. One of the necron warriors who had recently teleported in took aim and was about to fire when Angelos first shell slammed into the warriors face. It staggered back and Angelos took aim once again, placing another shell in almost the exact same area as his first.

The necron warrior dropped and Angelos scanned for a new target, something screamed just over his head and he realized the necrons had discovered where he was hiding. Another blast crashed into the hill he was firing from and he decided it was well past time to move to a new location.

+Command, this is scout team alpha, come in over!+

+Copy Alpha, go ahead, over.+

+Requesting fire support for this location, danger close mission, I say again, danger close!+ He looked over his map as he moved from the crest of the hill over to his secondary firing position, and read off the coordinates of the necron base camp.

+Understood Alpha, we will designate artillery fire to support your forces, Thunderhawks are in bound with assult teams, good hunting soldier, command out.+
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Artillery placements had been set all over the mountain, dug deep in their own craters to hide them from enemy troops massing at the base of the fortress. Three large guns had been given new firing orders and they slowly began to turn on their axis, the long barrels swiveling torwards the sky. Huge, tank sized shells had been loaded into the breach and they now awaited orders to fire.

Guardsmen backed from the huge gun and placed their ear muffs over their heads to shield their ear drums from the sound of the large weapon firing it's ordinance. The commanding officer placed his fist around the chain that would cause the weapon to fire and waited for the attack command signal. Two other similar guns were also awaiting the order, not far off from the third, each loaded with huge calbier projectile.
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Angelos reached his secondary firing location and dropped onto his stomach, placing the rifle scope to his eye and scanning the forward operating base of the enenmy necron forces. The team of space marines, seeing that they could not simply push their way into the camp had fallen back and taken cover against controlled enemy fire.

+This is scout team alpha, you are clear to fire, I say again mission is ago. Bring the rain!+

Even at the distance his team was at, the loud crack of the huge guns could be heard. He grinned inside his rebreather as he heard the scream of the shells beginning to rain down onto the necron camp. Those souless bastards would never know what happened, and he watched as the base was consumed in fires. If anything had lived through that he'd be surprised.

He turned at the low buzz of the Thunderhawks engines in time to see two ship lower and drop their teams of marines. They fanned out and Angelos stood so they could make their way over to him. Blood Angels chapter symbols were painted onto their shoulder guards and they spread out creating a portective bearer around the small hill he had set up on.

+Alpha, on me!+

He spared a glance over his shoulder once again taking in the distruction of the enemy camp. The first real blow to the enemy and he had helped deliver it, he'd get some praise for this. He just hoped the space marines who had been so close to the base were all right. The head marine strode over to him and nodded curtly.

'My men are going to move in and make sure nothing remains of the camp.' He paused as another salvo of artillery fire slammed into the ruined camp ahead of them, three salvos would be fired, to ensure that everything within the camp had indeed met its end. Your team will provide over watch while we move in, Thunderhawks will remain on station to provide fire support should anything surprise us.'

The final shower of artillery fire blasted into what was left of the enemy camp and the marine units moved in, bolters held at the ready. If anything was left Angelos knew it was only a matter of time until the marines found it, and then finished it off, he pressed the scope of his rifle to his eye and began scanning the outlying area for signs of the mystery team of marines who had assulted the camp in the beginning. He found nothing of the men and went back to covering his fellow Blood Angels, offeringa prayer to the Emperor that those marines had made it to safety before the artillery bombardment.

[Pandorym]

As the vast Guass Beams of the tomb fleet stripped away the soil as only Necron technology was capable of, cutting the primary minefield into harmless chunks of metal that were rapidly crushed back into the dust by the feet of metal warriors, much smaller blasts flew through the cloud of dust kicked up by the bombardment, forcing the troops of the Imperium back. Even with the loss of a warrior platoon and the subsequent hope on the part of the entrenched Imperial Guard forces the sight of a vast army marching unharmed across their defenses, firing madly, was enough to send the more foolish men running right into the pistol blasts of the commissars. The old saying that it took more courage in the Guard to retreat than advance was being put to the test, but so far it was holding despite casualties.

With the minefield and outer bunkers destroyed, the Necrons could advance unopposed by infantry-based heavy weapons and simple defenses. The problem was that even as they achieved this victory they came into range of the enemy tanks and APCs. The Imperial Guard is known for fielding an impressive variety of powerful vehicles, and that day it seemed that the forge world of Mars had belched forth all it could muster. Even with superior technology the might of the undying warriors was put to the test by the speed and power of their foes, once again leaving it up to the Pariah to cripple these defenses using two of remaining three obliteration sigils. Though infantry were being wiped out left and right, the Necrons were being forced into a stalemate. A trench war to rival World War One might erupt in a single battle, and Emissary knew nothing of the events back at camp.

[Seerow]

"An uncharted planet?!" Brother Captain slammed his hand upon the wooden table. Scraps of paper filled with rough sketches went flying about. The white scars joined by the various Grey Knights remained still despite Yuen's yell.
"We're warriors Justicar not explorers. I'd sooner be gunning down the Orks alone then go running around like lost puppies. Especially in the Eye of Terror!"
Justicar Warren remained calm, simply weathering the late Yuen's anger. His icy demeanor only becoming apparent within the last few hours. After all there were many lives at stake, but a living Primarch could be a huge asset in the future for humanity.
"With all do respect Brother Captain. We are not forcing you to come with us. You're here by your own accord. If you wish to retreat from the task, we will not think any less of you or your men."
Yuen cursed under his breath. It was the highest honor to rain doom upon the heretics. To refuse the chance to battle with them. Would be seen as a cowardly notion, and while Yuen wasn't fond of going to some forgotten planet. Neither was he about to risk his honor and reputation. When he had finished his thoughts he gave a harsh glare to the Gray Knight.
"You dare call us cowards? Show us our enemy, because the White Scars will rain death upon them." With that Yuen stomped off, a drink would be well in order before hastening off to war.
The Justicar despite himself grinned at the prospect unfolding before them. His brother's were a bit nervous. Facing a demon in the sanctity of Terra was one thing. Fighting them upon their home ground was quite another. In the end, it wouldn't matter so long as the Primarch was theirs.

[Luxius]

Sitting in one of the remaining unharmed bunkers, a few kloms behind the Necron army, Cypher and his team sat on the benches, tending to their wounds. They had escaped unharmed from the battle at the camp, but were not foolish enought to meet the Blood Angels. There could always be the chance that one of them knew the Dark Angel's secret. Knew that they were the Fallen. Fortunately, only Cypher had been affected by the Necron's attack, and his armor held up even then. Turning to Bishop, Cypher joked,"Ha, Bishop, looks like you didnt get to use those rounds after all." Smiling Bishop replied,"And you almost got your head blown off, so dont laugh at me." Laughing, Cypher looked out of the bunker slit. He could see the Necron army in the distance, and the Imperial lines even further. He watched as lines upon lines of warriors marched across no-mans land, a wave of black and green death, only to be blown apart by artillery and tankfire. He watched as Guardsmen ran in fear of the heartless metal constructs, only into the guns of the heartless comissars. Hit by the gauss rounds, Guardsmen died by the droves. This was rapidly turning into a war of attrition.

Racking his pistols yet again, Cypher turned around and shouted over the background sounds of explosions,"This is it men! We'll move to the western Necron front and mow through their lines. All weapons are free, you are allowed to fire at will. Remember men, For Redemption!" With those words, he ran out of the bunker, advancing onto the western Necron lines. They would have to make quick surgical strikes if they were to win this. That included hit-and-run tactics. Perfect. Exactly his forte. The few warriors outside of the lines turned to the charging space marine, and raised their gauss guns to fire. They never did, as a plasma bolt erupted in the chest of the lead one, and a bolt round blew the head off another. Three shots rang out across the field and the remaining three warriors all fell, a sniper round in each of their heads. One of the original got up, only to be hacked apart by Cypher's Ctan Phase blade, smashing through its necrodermis with relative ease. Tha battle had begun.

[Zac]

Imperial Guard tanks rolled down the mountain side, their engines kicking up dirt as their heavy weapons belted fire at the enemy. Large shells screamed through the air and slammed into the necron lines. Dozens fell, only to rise once again their living metal armour molding itself back into perfection. A bolt from a guass rifle slammed into the lead tank, and the turret popped off in a loud explosion. The remaining tanks of the squad moved around their fallen leader. The heavy weapons firing and searching for new targets.

Throughout the front lines dead guards littered the trenchs. Their bodies half destoryed by the powerful guns each necron warrior used. The pitiful las rifles of the Imperium were nothing compared to the awesome firepower being displayed by the enemy, but even still the dead metal casing of necron warriors could be seen across the field of battle.

Officers screams orders at their men, and shot as many shells into Guards for retreating as they did enemy forces. The line was holding but just barely, if more men did not reinforce them soon, they would have to retreat to the secondary lines. Just then a group of Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks burst through the clearing, their heavy guns spitting death at the enemies of the Empire, and a cheer rang out from the men taking cover within the trench.
Their victory cries were cut short as two of the five tanks burst into flames and even over the sound of combat screams could be heard from the men being cooked alive within the tanks.

Guards turned their view back to the necrons, hatred filling their hearts as they fought their enemies. They were slowly being pushed back towards the second line, but they would force the necrons to fight for every inch.
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Marines sat quietly as Calgar's forces lead them deeper into the mountain.

'These tunnels lead out past the base of the mountain, we can use them to get behind the enemy. Once we are in position Captain Whitemane will lead the attack on the Necrons from the front, while my terminators and your Blood Angels hit them from behind. We also have armour being pushed up to support the middle. My Ultramarines will attack the left flank, while guard elements of the third defensive line along with Whitemane and his company push the right.'

Sentius nodded his understanding and moved forward, sending oders to his troops stationed at the opening of the tunnels. So far the necrons had not discovered the hidden passage, and while some of the tunnels had been caved in by the planetary bombardment many remained open for them.
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Rus Whitemane tasted the air on his lips for traces of the enemy as he stalked through the sand covered battle field, stumps of trees stood in odd places, and caused his men to jump, mistaking them for enemy soldiers. His Space Wolves followed loosely, laughing at the fear displayed by the Imperial Guard he had been assigned to lead into battle. He reached the far right of the Imperial battle line and ordered his troops to ready for the push forward, the low sound of idling tanks named in honour of his Primarch. He offered a quick prayed and activated the rune on his sword, the teeth coming to live with a loud roar.

Lord Calgar's voice played over his comm-link and he smiled at the Chapter masters words.

'Captain, the time is now. Push forward.'

He turned to his men, and the guards he now lead, over a thousand units, supported by his great company of Space Marines, and three squads of Leman Russ Battle Tanks. 'For the Russ and the Wolftime!' The men of his company screamed their battle cries, the Imperial Guard echoing them, caught in the excitment, they rushed forward as one.
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Forty battle tanks, and scores of lighter armoured transports pushed up the center, ralleying the scant front line around them and rushing forward in time with Whitemanes attack on the right.

On the far left, some five-hundred Ultramarine warriors stood and rushed forward, screaming for their honour. Thunderhawks followed over head, their heavy lascannons offering support to the Space Marines attacking the Necron left. Controlled artillery fire sprang from the tops of the mountains and slammed into the enemy lines, softening their defenses before the combined assults of the Imperial army rushed forward, weapons blazing.
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Sentius and Calgar motioned their troops forward, taking every caution to make as little noise as possible. Smoke gernades had been launched from artillery postions over the lines of necron forces to hide the marines as they made their way up behind the warriors assulting their planet. A necron soldier turned at a sound and Sentius's blade slid through his armour with ease.

The surprise assult had began, and across the line Space marines were making first contact with the enemy, supported by heavy armour, and the heavy guns of the Thunderhawks. The artillery had been silenced as soon as friendly troops became too close to risk more shells.

[Mr Hyde]

As the so far unhindered and undetected assault squad neared their second and third objectives Grim flinched as his uplink with the Flayed Ones, Tomb Spyder, and Monolith were cut short. Nearly lashing out at one of the nearby Immortals Grims mind began racing. This was bad, and annoying.

There were only a few ways they could have taken them down so fast, with ships, with a massive barrage of tank fire, or targeted artillery. The first two were unlikely, the Necron lines would never let anything bigger than a speeder get by, and they still controlled the air that far from the enemy base. Which left only one option, the humans had some really heavy weaponry off somewhere, probably at his third objective.

With the rear base compromised 780414705881 would have Grim’s hide, or his soul, if they were driven back to no rear base, even if they eventually did win.

And with 780414705881 busy at the front lines Grim had only one option, use what little control he had over the Necron forces to get a rear base set up, not easy, but at the same time, not terribly hard either. The most powerful troops he had control over were Necron Warriors unless otherwise directed, however, Scarabs were not usually considered resources, therefore he could order as many as he wanted, and they could build Monoliths, which could easily do the job if he built them at a safe distance. Sending orders to his Shroud Cruiser it flew to about fifty miles behind the Necron front lines. Well out of any artillery range, and still close enough to be of aid if things went wrong. This might work out after all.

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Rising silently and invisibly the Shroud-Class Light Cruiser leaves its quiet desert hideout, flying high and slow to avoid detection. Landing at its preordained coordinates the main landing doors open and swarm upon swarm of Scarabs burst forth, swarming into large piles. As they work madly and mindlessly the dark and foreboding tips of Monoliths slowly take form, foreshadowing the dark events to come.
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Returning his attention to their target Grim and his small band of forces surveyed the forces ahead of them. Small groups of tanks clustered around the repair factory situated at the bottom of the hill a good five hundred yards away. If they could get close they could rip them to shreds, but until then they’d be wide open. Annoying, but it would be doable. His chronometron wouldn’t be ready for another use until just after their third objective, if everything went according to plans, and it would be best if he could save his two uses of the Cloak of Shadows for the last two objectives.

With the unexpected loss of the Flayed Ones a tough mission had just gotten tougher. Ordering his troops to stay low and take cover Grim leapt onto the Destroyer and began and headed towards the rear of the repair station, swinging far to the right around the small valley so as to remain undetected. Leaving the Destroyer out of sight Grim crawles to the top of the incline, peering down at the unsuspecting vehicles below.

[Pandorym]

Even as progress began to grind to a halt Emissary already knew the desperation of his situation. His remaining troops were surrounded, and even Necrodermis could only take so much punishment. Hissing in rage he opened heavy fire with his Staff of Light, shredding the tire tracks of a Chimera and forcing it to a halt as the wheels cracked against the rough rocks of the planet's surface. Using the vehicle for cover the Bronze Lord summoned his personal scarab swarm. The little robots cut deep into the soil using miniature Gauss projectors, creating instant earthen walls for the entrapped Necron army. As quickly as they had come they vanished back through the battlefield, dispersing and burrowing into the ground in case they were needed again.

It was with a fury born of zealous fire and the scent of possible victory that the men of the Imperium came ever onward, two taking the place of every one flayed alive by the weapons of their enemies. Marines cut through those who had been left out of the earthen walls with ease, barely kept at bay by constant fire. Just short of the second line of defense, the metallic army had come to a complete halt. Casualties were heavy, and any officer in their right mind would have offered a surrender. Emissary, however, was both a Necron and insane, strong evidence that he was not in his right mind. Even as the marines reached the pit where the remaining robotic forces were, hacking away the first defenders of the makeshift walls, a terrible cracking sounded. Suddenly a rain of debris flew down from the hills in a great tide of rock and sand, flowing over soldier and vehicle alike.

When the cloud of dust had cleared and the rocks thrown aside it was discovered that the Necrons were nowhere to be found. The pit had been entirely filled in with dirt, and sensors picked up absolutely nothing where the small army had once been. Yet the harvesters had not yet been defeated, for despite his insanity Emissary was nothing if not careful. His scarab swarm had began chipping away at the mountaintop the moment they had finished with the pit, and he had allowed them to unleash it when the tide definitively shifted in the enemy's favor. He had planted several swarms aboard Grim's light cruiser to begin digging a tunnel beneath the battlefield, and a small contingent of warriors had manned this area that was so integral to the backup plan. With the primary base in ruins and the Necrons having disappeared, it would fall to the Imperium to mop up the Chaos invasion and then attempt to break the blockade of their planet. It was unlikely that they would suspect an attempt to remove the artifact from below as well as above.

"Pariah Grim: Continue your current orders, but exercise greater stealth. Aid the Chaos forces in disrupting the armies of the Imperium in any way possible, and continue to place obliteration sigils as quickly as possible in order to give the illusion of continuous orbital bombardment. This unit will proceed to continue to remove the artifact under directorate 1B. Terminate all programming regarded to directorate 1A and proceed."

[Luxius]

"Regroup on me!" shouted Cypher as he realised the Necrons had escaped. He looked around the battlefield, glancing scores of fallen guardsmen and a few traces of twisted metal. Not bad work, considering the odds. Then he heard the crunching noise of space marine feet walking across the churned battlefield. Whirling around, he spotted a large group of Ultramarines headed towards him. So did his men. Some raised their weapons, while some turned to run, all trying to ascertain whether these men would recognise them as the loyalist "traitors" they were. "++Hold!++" voxed Cypher as he frowned at the sight of these new complications. He had two choices. Teleport him and his team away, or greet these once-brethren.

Looking closely, Cypher recognised of the figures moving towards them. The marine was a giant, even for a space marine, and wielded two powerfists, each connected to a bolter underneath. Marneus Calgar. Chapter Master of the Ultramarines. Cypher smiled. Ancient though he was, he still kept himself concerned with the matter of marines. Maybe for once, this was a man honorable and reasonable enough to work with, even to stand beside in battle. Walking slowly, Cypher made his way towards the other marines...

[Zac]

Their plan had worked, the necron forces had not been able to counter the bold human move, and now they had retreated. To where was anyone's guess but that did not matter at the moment, they had once again saved the planet from invasion. Calgar held up his scared powerfists yelling to his soldiers as they moved around the battle field. Something caught his eye and he turned to get a better look at it, space marine uniforms could be seen in the distance though which chapter the warriors were from Calgar could not quiet make out.

Scores of dead bodies littered the field of battle, the men who had lived through combat ran from one body to the next checking to see if there was time to save those who were still moaning. Necron weapons were savage things and very few warriors were left wounded, the smell of buring flesh was almost overwhelming. Tears shed from many of the guard, and marines, moving through the dead. True, they had won the first major battle for the planet, but at what cost?

He began to make his way for the team of space marines he could not identify and as it dawned on him he growled, 'traitor marines, first company fall in on me!'

The remaining soldiers of first company ran to their chapter master, falling in around him weapons held ready. He could see that the squad of traitors were not making a move to flee, infact a few seemed to be bleeding from battle wounds. 'They assisted my men in combat?' What in chaos is going on here?'

He reached them, and the anger was plain on his face, the bolters attached to his powerfists had long since ran dry, by the energy of his fists had not, and he now looked ready to kill again. 'What in the name of the Emperor of man are traitor warriors doing on my planet?'

[Pandorym]

If there is one thing to be said for the Necron forces, it is that they always return. Even should they fail to secure the artifact, the Nightbringer would simply bring in a new regiment after devouring their souls. Granted, it might not happen for a thousand years, but of what relevance was that to timeless beings? Despite this the warriors trudging through the tunnel that was rapidly being erected before them and collapsed behind them could not contemplate failure. It would cost them everything, but they were incapable of comprehending that. They lived to kill, and they were certain that they would never stop killing. They passed under the maximum sensor range of the Imperium without raising more commotion than a small scavenger, though this might raise eyebrows among the especially alert sentries given the scarcity of animals of Macragge, and continued to the point at which they would stage their ultimate assault: directly beneath the subterranean vaults that housed so many treasures of the Imperium and elder races.

The first group of warriors, ten out of thirty, remained behind to guard the tunnels and serve to make the enemy think there were far more Necrons than there really were by acting as reinforcements if necessary. The remaining twenty continued upward with half of the scarabs, tunneling slowly toward the vaults. They would probably not be detected until they began to cut through the vault material, and then all the scarab swarms would devote their attention to the job and engage emergency power to ensure that it went quickly enough to make contact with the enemy minimal. They stopped just short of the metal that was thick and strong enough to dissuade even them, waiting while Emissary made a final transmission.

"Pariah Grim: Commence diversion."

[Kargoth]

Karsus's men had fortified the demolished city-they knew imperial and space marine forces were in the process of mobilizing against them-his own warriors and the necrons had inflicted heavy casualties in the initial attacks-and would hopefully inflict even more later on.
"Move the artillery forward and beign bombardment on imperial postitions-and gather the men-I want those emperor accursed weaklings dead..i'll not have our chapters glory ruined by those snivelling idiots.."

[Luxius]

Looking cooly at Calgar, Cypher felt no fear. He replied,"I am here to help, for I am no traitor. I'm surprised you know of the Secret, but that does not matter. What we want you to know is that we were here to help and only to help. Try to strike us down if you must, I shall hold no grudge 'gainst you for that is your duty. But if you are the honorable man I believe you are, I trust in you."

Drawing back, Cypher holstered both his pistols and asked his force to do the same. He would not want to shed the blood of his brethren unnecesarily on this day. Too much blood has already been shed...