The Marks of War

by DungeonMiner


Chapter XI

Apple Bloom took the brush carefully in mouth, letting it hover above her pauldron. The black paint that sat on the brush was thick, but not so thick that it dripped onto the floor of her tiny, spartan room.

Techmarine Gravius, the first techmarine she had ever met, supervised her, lest her brushstroke went awry, and offend the young machine spirit of her armor.

She carefully moved, tracing over the large black X that marked her as a Devastator, the five-man heavy weapons squads that were the designation just above the scouts. As well as holding the majority of the heavy firepower, Devastator squads also were the ones that taught the new marines how to use their power armor.

A careful stroke and the last coat of paint went on to her right pauldron.

Gravius nodded. “All seems well. Shall I prepare the rituals to seal you into the suit once more?”

“Please do,” she said, dropping the paintbrush onto a piece of cloth before a knock sounded on her door.

Gravius stood, and began to prepare the armor, while Apple Bloom crossed over to the door.

It opened to reveal Librarian Lazarus Briehl.

“Greeting Codicer Briehl,” Apple Bloom said, greeting him by his rank, something she knew he hated.

“Greetings, xeno,” Lazarus answered, complete with a scowl.

“Is there something you need, Codicer?”

“I am to introduce you to your squad,” he said with a growl.

“Are you being promoted from shuffling papers around?” she asked with a smirk.

“I would watch your tongue, xeno. The squad is under my leadership.”

Apple Bloom grimaced. “Of course,” she sighed, before staring up at the librarian. “I’ll need to get into my armor, but then I’ll be ready.”

He nodded, and waited in the corridor as Apple Bloom turned back inside her room. “The quicker rituals then?” Gravius asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head and smirked. “No, I plan on wearing it for a long time. If that’s the case we better do this correctly.”

Lazarus raised an eyebrow. Knowing without even reading her mind that she was just taking the extra precautions just to spite him.

After a short, thirty-minute wait, the armored pony quickly joined the librarian, bolter in mechadendrite.

Lazarus led the way, walking into the depths of the Omnis Arcanum. “We are to accompany Captain Burgolf Aren of the 4th company. We have heard of a large Tyranid force on Calderis. The 4th company is to be sent there to protect the recruitment world from danger. Any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“We are taking the hallowed Strike Cruiser Words of Clear Understanding, and we will be leaving posthaste.”

“I have not heard of that ship,” Apple Bloom muttered.

“It once belonged to the late Captain Indrick Boreale, when the name was lost in our records, it had simply gone unnamed for a long time. The Captain renamed it, against the recommendations of many of the techmarines on board. The ship has never been without incident since.”

“Boreale,” Apple Bloom muttered. “Isn’t that the marine that led five companies to their death during the Karuva Campaign, and is the reason we basically have no presence in the Imperium?”

“In short,” Lazarus answered.

“I will remember him as I go into battle.”

“I do every day.”

---=][=---

The Words of Clear Understanding shuddered and whined as the two marines crossed it’s length from the launch bay to what would be her room.

Lazarus had kept conversation to a minimum, something that Apple Bloom was quite thankful for.

She honestly didn’t know why she didn’t like him. Her hypnotherapy had told her that Psykers were a necessary evil, a tool that was liable to transform into a daemon as easy as it could help you, but that certainly wasn’t it. The Blood Ravens were known for their incredibly high number of Librarians, and so each marine had learned to be comfortable around their mentally powerful brethren.

Other than that, she couldn’t remember why she didn’t like him, she just knew it was mutual, so she kept the tradition going. After all, that’s what she did for—

“Oh wonderful, it’s the xeno, did they finally let you out of the 10th company and become an actual marine?”

Ramiel…

Sure enough, there he was, just inside the small common room aboard the monstrous ship. “Hello, Ramiel,” she said, barely giving the other marine a second look. “Firstly, I have seen scouts that can do far more than you certainly can, and second, I’m quite surprised to see you here. I figured that surely someone of your glorious record would already be a Captain, perhaps even Chapter Master.”

“None of that,” Lazarus warned, “We’re a squad, and we shall live or die as one. Therefore, you must act as a squad, a unit that cannot be broken. It is said, ‘Adamantium walls and plasteel bulkheads may seem formidable, but an unshakeable faith in the Immortal Emperor of Man can overcome any barriers,’ likewise, it is your faith in each other that will give you the strongest bond.”

Apple Bloom could tell that Ramiel was rolling his eyes under his helmet, and she was sorely tempted to follow his example.

“Now,” Lazarus continued. “You two know each other, but the rest have only heard of you, xeno. I will let you introduce yourselves, in the meantime, I will check to see if any further preparations necessary before we depart,” he said, before stepping away from the room.

Apple Bloom looked around the room, at the four other marines she’d be working with.

A long second passed in silence before one of them stood. “So there she is, the infamous Xeno Marine.” He held out a hand. “Karlon Thyras, Heavy Bolter operator.”

Apple Bloom took his hand in a mechadendrite, and gave it a good shake. “The honor is mine.”

Karlon gave the mechanical tentacle a good shake before revealing the two other marines behind him. “This is Coberos Virion, who works our Heavy Flamer, and that is Israfiel Merus.”

The last marine waved, but said nothing.

“He has trouble speaking,” Karlon explained. “A Tyranid got at his throat, just beneath the helmet, nearly killed him.”

Israfiel nodded, before tapping the large metal tube that Apple Bloom recognized as a missile launcher.

“And you already know Ramiel,” Karlon said, “he’s in charge of the Lascannon.”

Ramiel said nothing but simply stared at her.

“It’s an honor to meet you all,” Apple Bloom said. “I am to be your new assistant gunner until the time when I may wield one of these venerable weapons comes.”

“May the time come quickly, for the glory of our chapter,” Karlon answered before Coberos spoke up.

“It should not be long,” he offered, “I’ve heard that our generation of Space Marines are on a shortened training period in order to rebuild our forces.”

Apple Bloom nodded, when Lazarus walked back into the room. “Prepare yourselves,” he said, “we will embark with the half-hour, and then our warpdrive shall take us.”

Apple Bloom nodded, before heading towards what she assumed was her room. Without a word, she hopped onto the small cot, and sat, waiting for the time when she was needed.

---=][=---

The warp pulsated outside of the Strike Cruiser, and the daemons of the warp watched a realspace shadow pass them by, yet another oddity in the Realm of Chaos.

Safe inside the ship, protected only by the Gellar field that surrounded the Words of Clear Understanding, Apple Bloom carefully studied her new enemy.

As was according to their methodology, the Blood Raven’s began each assault by studying their enemy and formulating a plan. They even went so far as to use their many Librarians to divine the movements of the enemy, and plan and act accordingly. The study and preparation could take weeks at a time, which is why the Blood Ravens never had a moment’s rest on board any ship as they traveled.

However, Apple Bloom had to sit out for the beginning stages of the planning since she had to research the enemy yet.

So here she sat before a massive tome, Xenos and Their Horrid Kind, by Risa Herra of the Imperial Inquisition, and carefully, reverently read its delicate pages in the Librarium of the Strike Cruiser.

“Tyranids are an extragalactic composite species of hideous xenos that is actually a space-faring ecosystem comprised of innumerable different bioforms which are all variations on the same genetic theme. The Tyranid race is ultimately dedicated solely to its own survival, propagation, and evolutionary advancement. The Tyranids collectively form a monstrous superorganism that travels across the universe in their great Hive Fleets of biomechanical Hive Ships, systematically consuming all other biomatter to enable its own rapid evolution and reproduction.”

She sighed to herself, mentally bemoaning how dry Lady Herra was in her writing.

She honestly preferred Vehicula Inimicorum Nostrorum, by the Inquisitor that insisted on putting her entire name and title on the cover of her book. At the very least she knew how to write.

As she sat there, reading about the vileness of xenos, a stray thought popped into her head.

“I’m a xeno...am I vile?”

She squashed the thought with a strong, resounding, “Yes,” and moved on.

She was a xeno. She was inferior to the human form. Her only saving grace was that the Emperor had blessed this form with an avatar, but beyond that, she could never be as great as human being.

That was she was taught. That’s what she knew to be true.

She turned another page, and continued reading, learning once again that Tyranids could force their evolution and adapt their newest ranks to survive whatever new thing they had encountered, using the genetic material they had taken from the recently devoured.

It was a horrid thing, that disgusted her beyond reason. The very sight of its inhuman form forcing her brain to recoil in revulsion.

It had taken her nearly twenty years to look at herself in the mirror again.

She flipped the page, and continued to read.

And that’s when the klaxon sounded.

Sirens wailed, and Apple Bloom’s head popped into the air.

There was only one reason for the sirens to sound in the warp.

“The Gellar field…” she muttered, before running for the door, one of her mechadendrites grabbing the bolter as she leaped from her room.

Her mind quickly cycled through anything that could cause the Gellar field to fail, and the first thing that popped into her mind was the Navigator. If one of the Psykers that was navigating the Astronomicon were to accidentally run the ship through a daemon, then the daemon would not need to get passed the field, and could simply make a possession.

That was good enough for her, and she ran for the bridge.

---=][=---

It, and truly that is the only word that really applies, was a Daemonette.

A pink-skinned, six-breasted monstrosity with long ears and a lithe, disgustingly graceful body, was making quick work of the human crew on board the Words of Clear Understanding, with its massive, scythe-like claw that it had for a left hand.

Impaling yet another man on the end of her claw, the daemonette moaned in infernal ecstasy, praising Slaanesh.

“So many mortals to kill, and not a single thing to stop me! Oh, thank you! Thank you god of excess for this pleasure you have given me!”

The monster swung its claw around, killing another serf, while a third was screaming into the vox controls. “We need support, my lords! A daemon is ripping us apart! We need—”

His cries were cut short as the daemonette silenced him, and shivered in orgasmic joy.

With a smile that wrapped around her head, the daemonette leaped in front of the door, blocking the escape of the remaining serfs, his claw dripping with blood.

And then the monster laughed, as its eyes went from serf to serf, picking her next target. “Oh, if only an Eldar were here. Then I could listen to their screams as I drag them into the warp with me.” He laughed before she began to sing.

“Give yourself over to absolute pleasure
Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh
Erotic nightmares beyond any measure
And sensual daydreams to treasure forever
Can't you just see it. Whoa ho ho!
Don't dream it, be it...
Don't dream it, be it…”

Bolter fire ripped through the monster’s back, and a large red figure slammed into it, sending it sprawling forward into the bridge.

It quickly turned, hissing as Apple Bloom moved into her sight.

And then it blinked.

And stared.

Apple Bloom, however, did not hesitate, and quickly began unloading into the daemonette, emptying her magazine into the foul thing’s flesh. “For the Emperor!” she cried as the suit’s targeting system slightly corrected her aim.

The daemonette did not yelp, or cry, but only stared, even as the bolts ripped into her body. All thirty rounds penetrated his skin, exploding as they dug in, and ripping the body apart.

She reloaded, and the Daemonette finally spoke, her entire right side all but gone, and slimy with black ichor. “What...what are you?”

Apple Bloom slid a fresh magazine into her bolter, before she unloaded a few more bolts of her second magazine into the thing, starting from the head and working her way down, leaving only the legs and the torn, splattered remains of what was once her flesh.

A total of thirty-two rounds were needed to kill the Slaaneshi daemon and Apple Bloom shook her head.

She was blessed in that battle.

Her experience in battle against daemons was practically non-existent, yet even so, the monster seemed somewhat odd, and kind of docile, at least towards her.

“Are you alright?” she asked the serfs.

They nodded, shakily, just as other Marines began flooding the room.

“Where is the enemy?!” A marine asked, leveling his bolter at the empty air.

“It’s gone,” Apple Bloom, said, using one of her hooves to point at the black viscera around the pink flesh that lay scattered around the bridge. “I took care of it.”

A new marine stepped onto the floor. “And an excellent job you did at that, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom bowed as the helmet-less marine entered. His armor was heavily decorated with purity seals and a large, metallic circle behind his head.

“Captain Aren,” she bowed, recognizing the Iron Halo as a sign of his rank.

“This victory shall be noted in the Omnis Arcanum’s Librarium, young Marine,” the Captain said, before taking command of the bridge. “Prepare a replacement navigator our course is unchanged.”

“Yes, m’lord!” a serf answered, before scurrying away.

The Captain looked back down at her. “Keep this up, Apple Bloom, and you shall make your chapter proud.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “‘Honor the Chapter, and you will be honored by them,’ quoted from Azariah Vidya’s Tome of Brotherly Valor.”

The Captain nodded, pleased. “Indeed, honor shall be ours.”

---=][=---

Lazarus was silent as the marines around him slowly worked on their plan, fixing any issues the Librarians foresaw, and carefully picking the relic they would choose to hold the centerpiece of their attack.

He was silent, and he was furious.

That filthy xeno had now impressed the Captain, which was the exact opposite of what he was trying to do.

He had hoped that when the creature was put into close combat it would falter, and its cowardice would become evident. Instead, she had proven herself to the single most important person on the ship.

Oh, curse that disgusting xeno! Curse its filthy ways to the Warp, and may the Daemons consume its soul for all eternity!

And the worst part, the part that annoyed him and angered him the most, was the singlar fact that it was all his fault.

The planning became mindless chatter as his thoughts turned to the single, horrid thought that she would not be here, she would not be a Blood Raven, if he had simply killed her when he saw her. She was going to taint the entire chapter with her xeno filth, and it would be all his fault.

He could see it now, the first greatest traitor would be Azariah Kyras, the previous Chapter Master before Gabriel Angelos, who was tainted by Chaos, and was only followed in pure evil by Lazarus Briehl, who brought the entire chapter to its knees by tainting the chapter with a single xeno marine.

It was a story that wrote itself. The warning of digging too deep into secrets bringing the downfall of everyone.

He sighed, and refocused on the plan at hand.

He could rectify this mistake another day.

---=][=---

Calderis was an arid world that had been torn by war on more than one occasion. The warm stones were home to one of the Blood Raven’s last recruiting worlds. The arid landscape home to hardy people and hardy plants.

Large swaths of land lay scorched and ruined, and small pockets of ruins marked the place where settlements once stood.

The population had recovered slightly from the attacks previous, yet they were still shaken, and hesitant to leave their tiny homes, especially as the Tyranids were beginning to migrate across the western hemisphere towards the inhabited east, consuming every living thing, from rock lizard to stone vine is its path.

Calderis was one of the last planets from which the Blood Raven’s took their stock. If this planet were to fall, the Blood Ravens may just disappear from the Imperium.

As Apple Bloom and her squad touched down, she knew this.

This wasn’t just a fight to save the lives of the men of the Imperium, it was also a fight to save the Blood Ravens themselves. This was a fight to save her family, and even when she had been a mere neophyte before she had all of her implants, she had a single law burned into her mind. A motto from a life that was all but forgotten.

An Apple ain’t nothing without her family.

As the Thunderhawk’s bay door opened, Apple Bloom was first to jump down onto sandy rock. Her squad followed behind her, weapons ready.

Her mouth opened, and her Respirator Vox grill let her voice rip into the skies with the Blood Raven’s battlecry.

“We will not be found wanting!”

---=][=---

“The Alien fails because it cannot embrace the Emperor.”—Imperial Thought of the Day.


Huh...that’s...slightly disturbing.

“Huh? What?”

Oh, hey, Pinkie. Well, you know how Apple Bloom’s a Space Marine and that one guy said it can’t happen because she’s female even after I said it shouldn’t work?

“Yeah?”

Well, I decided I might as well check 1d4chan to see if they have anything to say on the matter, and apparently, there are canon female Space Marines, just in all the wrong horrible ways that we should expect from Warhammer 40k.

“As in...?”

Well, according to this article Honsou of the Iron Warriors, a traitor legion of Space Marines, created a...let’s say a method of making more Chaos Marines using a very unlucky woman, who is now a bloated, twisted, undying, insane, mutated pregnant mother-slave only alive because she's in the Eye of Terror.

“I...oh...wow...um…”

Yeah, it's pretty bad. Other than that, it’s an interesting article, if technically NSFW.

“Well...anyway…”

Right! Next up, Sweetie Belle on Craftworld Alaitoc, meeting an old friend.

“We’ll see you then, guys.”

Until next time, Bye!