Fear Incarnate

Field of Stars

"Light cruisers attempting to close on our front!" Yelled a deck officer from across the bridge, The Bleeding Rapier shuddered as torpedoes were loosed at the captains order. Innoak watched as the Cruisers desperately attempted to speed up but failed to outrun the sleek forms of the torpedoes. They erupted in sprays of fire and flame, it was satisfying to watch but Innoak still longed for combat on the ground. More ships broke from the main fleet descending on Etheria, they were all smaller vessels. Innoak was thankful, had the Battlefleet attempted to close on the full fleet they would have been slaughtered. Still, it was clear the enemy would not deviate from their task to corrupt Etheria. Not even to chase down the Imperium's ships. Innoak snuck a glance at the ground auspex. He noted with some satisfaction that his brothers were finally engaged in battle. Innoak turned back the the bridge, he watched the enemy cruisers slowly close. He sighed, this would take a long time. 

Bunk rammed his sword through the chest of a cackling traitor. He hefted the now screaming maniac up and brought him down with a roar, the impact sliding his blade free. He kicked the corpse back and used the space to take stock of his surroundings, he could only do so for a second before his right pauldron erupted in a shower of sparks. A traitor with a chainaxe had sunk the weapon into the ceramite there. Bunk reacted in a quarter of a second, he pivoted back and took the marine off balance. A quick bash with his pistol to disorientate the man and his blade soon pierced the gap between chest and groin. The traitor fell back while spitting obscenities, Bunk interrupted his final words with a bolt shell. All around him pink and purple traitors battled with impassive grey and white. The shimmering field the traitors were assaulting cast a shallow white light across their battlefield. The moat surrounding the field was stained with the ichor and blood of mortals and transhumans alike. Bunk noted the mortal soldiers butchered before were set to siege the shimmering field. They must have been the 'Horde' Innoak spoke about. He chuckled, not much of a horde after all. Bunk had no time to muse as he was once again interrupted by another attack. This time his soul screamed in furious agony in concert with the damned soul of his opponent.

"We can't just hide here! People are dying outside!" Glimmer was raising hell in the council room. Her words were only helped by the sounds of inhuman shrieks and strange pops and cracks. "Glimmer! This field will protects us from threat from outside. We cannot simply walk out of it." Angella retorted, the stress of the siege shown in the strained frown on her face. "And even if we could, I would never let you. Whatever is happening outside needs to remain unknown. For all our sakes." Adora sighed she hated not being able to do anything, but she could at least try to hold things together. "Glimmer, The Queen is right. Whatever happened to the Horde didn't sound good, and this sounds worse." Adora's words struck a note in Glimmer, she just let out a furious huff and sat down, refusing to look anyone in the eyes. "Anyone else? No? Meeting adjourned." At the Queen's statement the few members got up and filed out. Adora considered staying behind. But decided not to. There was something she had to do. 

Kranx watched silently from the shadows, he stalked along the frozen forest waiting for an opportunity. His men were similarly spread out along the trees, around them the battle between the three forces ground on. The Mortal soldiers were running like hares in the wake of the battle between the Soul Haunters and their pink armoured opponents. So far the casualties to the Primaris Space Marines were low, the superior breed of Astartes utilizing the full remits of their arsenal of weaponry and tactics to their fullest.  Intercessors bobbed in and out of cover, the fifteen of them laying down punishing fusillades of fire into the traitors. Aggressors held down the enemy with great spouts of promethium from their gauntlets, the brought down any who tried to get to close to the Intercessors. From a safer position Hellblaster squads fired lances of bright plasma at their enemy. Traitor marines fell with black holes in their armor, other simply vanished, immolated by the power of a star. Still, the traitors were by far more numerous, and Kranx could already tell the battle would go south once the traitor's ships reached the atmosphere. His eyes still plied the traitor lines until he spotted something. A squad of havocs were moving along shallow water, their heavy weapons would make short work of the thin lines of Soul Haunters. :Kranx recalled the words of his old scout sergeant. "Time to earn your pay Reivers, take out those havocs." 

Vilechorn could see the lapdogs now, he saw them move and duck, he saw them crouch behind cover and spit fire at his kin. He laughed and hefted his rotor cannon, gesturing to his brothers to do the same. No cover could save the lapdogs from them. They levelled their weapons and made ready to decimate the loyalists. Vilechorn squeezed the trigger on his rotorcannon, expecting to hear the sweet sound of rotating barrels and shells firing at a maddening rate. Instead he heard a loud clunk and the grunts of his comrades. He turned to his left and saw Callesca with a knife in his throat and a tall skull faced warrior standing over him. With a roar Vilechorn went for his bolt pistol only to find his hand no longer functioning. Vilechorn then realized what happened, he looked down to see the point of a knife straight through his stomach. His severed spine could no longer keep his legs upright so Vilechorn collapsed. He could only let out a low groan as his attacker crushed his head with a single solid stomp.