Skirmish (IV)
++Facility 2W6379BJ, Denton III++
++3.637.879.M39++
“Acolyte,” said the tan-skinned, black-haired woman looking up at the alicorn.
“What are you doing here?” demanded Twilight, not lowering her bolt pistols or detaching from the ceiling. “You weren’t described in my mission overview.”
“I owe you no explanations,” Kylara answered impassively.
“If you want to keep breathing, Interrogator,” hissed Twilight. “You’ll tell me what you’re doing by yourself in the middle of a Necron-infested base out in the desert.”
The woman snarled. “You dare to threaten me?” She tightened her grip on the plasma pistol by her side, but did not draw.
“I dare,” the alicorn replied. “You aren’t in my mission briefing. But you’re here. And you’re alone. And you’re alive. In my book, those things are suspicious.” Her pistols clicked meaningfully. “Explanations now, Interrogator.”
“You have no right to demand explanations from me, xeno vermin.”
“Then that’s my problem,” Twilight’s expression was hard as diamonds. “But I’m sure the Lord Inquisitor will understand my judgment if I explain the extent of your suspicious behavior. This is a warzone, after all, and we cannot take chances.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Shock and outrage crossed Kylara’s face for an instant, before being replaced by narrowed eyes. The woman stared, her eyes glancing around to where Twilight knew the rest of her squad waited for orders. She sighed.
“What do you think I was doing?” she said at last. “I was here doing my duty,” Twilight’s face remained stony, and after a moment Kylara elaborated. “I was sent here to confirm the authenticity of the alleged visions of the witch Marius Quinn, and to extract any useful intelligence from him.”
“And why are you still here?” the alicorn demanded.
“I was caught in the xenos attack. I have been unable to secure exit for myself or the prisoner.”
“And why are you alone?”
“Because the last group I found myself with was destroyed by the xenos.”
“And why were you coming this way?”
“I heard the sounds of combat and thought I might find other survivors to regroup with.”
“Why weren’t you in my briefing?”
“I cannot speculate on our lord’s motives, but my suspicion is that he believed me dead, or else irrelevant to your assigned task.”
Human and alicorn stared at one another in silence for some time, neither moving at all. The men of Twilight’s squad looked on, some wondering whether it would come to a clash, others wondering who to side with if it did. But at last the alien seemed to make up her mind, and, with a sigh, reluctantly returned her bolt pistols to their holsters. Kylara in turn released her grip on her own favored weapon.
Twilight Sparkle dropped from the ceiling, landing easily on her hooves once more. “You can come with us,” she said, slowly. “But I warn you: give me one reason to think you might have mindshackle scarabs, and I’ll end you then and there. Understood?”
“I would expect nothing less,” said the Interrogator through gritted teeth.
“Do you know where Marius Quinn is currently being held?” Twilight asked. “I have his previous location, but if you were seeking others and didn’t go there it implies that either you couldn’t reach it or no one remains alive there.”
“The latter,” answered Kylara.
“Is our target dead, then?”
“I do not know.”
Twilight grimaced. “Very well.” She gestured for the others with a wing. “Let’s move!”
Another of the Emperor-damned machines fired from point-blank range just as the one in front of it went down, this shot catching the Astartes’ chainsword in a glancing blow. That was more than enough to atomize the bulk of the weapon, with the rest rapidly being eaten away by the lingering effects of xenos techno-sorcery. Brother Venris of the Deathwatch hurled the useless hilt aside with a curse. Before the Necron could fire again, the Space Marine seized the barrel of its weapon in one hands and wrenched it away, forcing the barrel to aim at the floor. Simultaneously, he took hold of the Necron’s upper right arm and pulled as hard as his genetically-enhanced muscles could manage.
With a rending sound, the monstrosity’s arm was torn from its joint. Brother Venris threw the useless, flailing metal limb aside to wrap his left hand around the Necron’s neck. With his right, he punched its skull-like face once, twice, then three times. Ceramite-encased muscle met unbelievably ancient necrodermis, and the necrodermis crumpled. With its face caved in like so much cheap aluminum, the Necron failed to resist as the Astartes hurled it to the ground and crushed its head beneath his boot.
“Xenos filth,” he snarled, for what could have been the thousandth time in those last few days.
Brother Venris turned to aid his brothers just in time to witness the now one-armed Brother Fares impale another metal abomination through the torso with his own chainsword before kicking its limp form to the floor and whirling around for more. But there were no more. The last of this group of Necrons had been sent back to whatever hell spawned them, their bodies fading away as they always did in green light.
A more superstitious man than the Imperial Fist would have taken the lull for an Emperor-granted respite, but Venris knew the relentless machines only stopped when they had all been slain – or else when they were simply preparing for the next assault.
“Brothers,” he voxed. “I am shamed. My sword has been lost.”
Brothers Fares and Atellus, the other two surviving Astartes of the original seven that had started this battle, themselves survivors of other battles that had culled their numbers from ten, bowed their heads solemnly. The loss of an honored mechanical comrade was more than just a tactical disadvantage; it was a black mark on the record of the Space Marine who had been so careless. Many of the weapons they carried had been honored relics of their Chapters or the Deathwatch for centuries or more. If they survived, Brother Venris knew that he must answer for it. But he was far from the only one so dishonored.
All of the Space Marines had been fighting for well over forty-eight hours by then, without substantial rest or resupply. Ammunition and grenades had been exhausted long ago, and guns were reduced to mere clubs – if they were not abandoned altogether or simply destroyed in combat. Brother Fares now held the one functioning weapon between the three – his chainsword – and he showed his loss in the form of a missing right arm and numerous gouges on his armor. Brother Atellus had taken to using a particularly tough section of piping for a crude bludgeoning weapon and had lost his helmet and portion of his left ear. Brother Venris now had an empty bolter and leg injury from falling debris to show for his efforts to stem the metal tide.
And yet still, in spite of the thousands of machines they had put down between them, the Necrons came on still. In large groups or small, in the form of scuttling insects or walking skeletons, in the doors or through the walls, the implacable advance had continued apace. Most everyone in the base was slain, those few mortals whom the Astartes knew yet survived cowered in a commandeered laboratory zealously guarded by the three remaining superhumans. None of them expected to escape, but all were determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible. They were sons of the Emperor, and He would expect nothing less.
It came as something of a surprise when their superhuman ears picked up the sounds of bolter fire. The distinctive crack of the gun, followed shortly by the detonation of shells, echoed throughout the dark and empty halls. It was a sound each Battle Brother knew more intimately than a lover, and as one they turned their heads towards the source.
A single thought passed between each Space Marine, communicated without the need for words: had help at last arrived?
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
941 users online
92,403 hits today, 1,358,049 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Interesting. I forget the specifics of the Deathwatch, but they're one of the few Space Marine groups that would swallow working with an alien, right?
5033183
Not usually... they're the Inquisition's designated alien-hunters.
5033183 It's actually the opposite, the Deathwatch are the Ordo Xenos' Chamber Militant. Basically, they're dedicated alien hunters
5033237
i.imgur.com/vIB0qdl.png
I figure their reaction will be something along these lines, right?
5033237
Alien hunters? That's like half of their foes... Not very specialized.
Strange, though. I thought they were expected to be more flexible with what tech they used, or something. Must be misremembering something.
At least they're out of ammo, so they can't shoot first and ask questions later, heh.
gonna be neat to see how the react to twilight.
5033514
Actually, a lot of the time many of the Imperiums forces are designated to fighting heretics as well, the deathwatch are solely meant for fighting xenos, so they get specialised equipment, like unique ammunition and such. It might not seem like much of a specialisation, but trust me, its big deal in the Imperiums book.
These Space marines are seeming a bit overpowered. I mean I get that they're bad asses, but a necron warrior has the same strength and toughness of a space marine
5033689
In the crunch. But that's just game balance. In the fluff, as I interpret it, the bog-standard Necron Warrior is stronger and tougher than a human, but less so than a Space Marine. A few hundred Astartes have been known to conquer planets by themselves; the same cannot be said of the run of the mill Necrons.
I'm also looking forward to seeing how the Deathwatch reacts to Twilight. Though I suspect they may assume at first that Kylara is in charge of the squad.
5033731
Have you read the fall of Damocles? I have and no way in that can ten space marines annihilate a thousand warriors. In that story the marines are stronger than the warriors, but not THAT much stronger.
Also in the fluff, Necrons repair themselves while still active and get back up nearly all the time unless they are completely obliterated. Not in the game due to balance but fluff says they can do that. That warrior should have gotten back up by those standards.
5033885
I assume you are referring to Fall of Damnos? In which case, yes, I have read it. If you look carefully, in this fic's predecessor Kylara even notes that she's from Damnos (which obviously has yet to fall). I worked that in as a little shout-out.
Anyhow, it's something of a biased perspective - I doubt the Marines have actually kept count, or could tell when a Necron fell, teleported away, and marched right back into a fray a couple minutes later.
5033901
Right Damnos, but the point is that by just lore, the Space Marines still aren't that strong, when fighting there they had to use cover and squad tactics, and still they suffered rather heavy casualties to the necrons.
5033909
These guys have lost 4 of 7 men, are out of ammo, and are all wounded. And this is to an assault that was really only meant as a distraction in the first place. Also, they weren't alone in fighting when this began. Now they are. This has been no cakewalk for the Astartes, but they're giving as good as they can.
Nice chapter there.
And when the xenos hunters Space Marines meet their inquisitorial reinforcements... oh that will be rich!
5033939
I can see that, but they still seem way too overpowered. I mean the only guys I could expect to have a cakewalk in this would be primarchs. But again, they still seem overpowered to me.
5033939
Or, the Necrons are a bit rusted and need lubricant.
Spess Mareens!
5033689
But they're slow as dirt. In melee that's a huge deal; even ingame that becomes a significant downside.
5034525
METAL BAWKSES on the hillside!!
METAL BAWKSES full of SPESS MEREENS!!
5034777
That's true, but there's still the matter of when the necrons where shooting, and they aren't THAT slow. Heck a Necron Elite Lychguard (I believe his name was Obyron) one beat the chapter master of the white scars in a one on one fight despite the slowness. The Necrons are still very tough, very strong and they aren't so slow that they can't reasonably block and hit a space marine.
EDIT: Also apparently people don't like it when I call the space marines overpowered, shame htey don't bother to tell me why they disagree with my opinions.
5035139
They are overpowered... They're supposed to be. They're balanced in the games but in the fiction they are decidedly unbalanced.
Also, there's like 10 of them and a bajillion necrons. Haven't you heard of conservation of ninjitsu?
5035234
5036325
I know that space marines are supposed to be stronger than they are in the official game rules, my problem here is that as someone who owns numerous books such as the after mentioned fall of Damnos, along with books like the Sallamanders omnibus. These space marines are far to overpowered even by those standards.
I love the warhammer lore okay, I read it extensively and I know that Space marines are more powerful than their stats in the board game show, but these space marines are still overpowered, unless they where chapter masters or captains or such then there's no way they could smash their way through THAT many Necrons.
I'm sick and tired of everyone waving away my complaints at not only the overpoweredness of the Space marines but also the underpoweredness of the Necrons. The Fluff doesn't make then THAT strong, in the fluff they do get beaten, and in the fluff Necrons gain an element of overpoweredness too you know. After all in fluff references to Necrons, they get up nearly all the time after being destroyed.
5037159
They haven't been smashing their way through. What about this is unclear to you? They started with seven healthy Astartes, plus skitarii, plus PDF, on the surface. Now they're three wounded Astartes, a few cowering civilians, and nobody else, hundreds of meters underground. How much clearer do I have to be that they are losing, and pretty badly? They've managed a fighting retreat and kept themselves alive for a while, not offhandedly destroyed the Necron army.
5037230
They Started with 7 Astartes, now they have 3, against apparently thousands or at least hundreds of Necrons. They didn't have many other forces nearby when we first saw them fighting, perhaps a hundred at most. So to reiterate, they have taken 4 casualties to hundreds if not thousands of Necron warriors. Just because they're losing doesn't mean they aren't overpowered, they are taking far to much of an account for me to not declare them overpowered.
5037371
All their allied forces have been wiped out. They are down to their last few men, and one weapon. And all this to a diversionary attack whose only real objective is "keep these Deathwatch guys busy while Trazyn captures Twilight". The Necrons do not care about winning here. As per their commander's orders, keeping the Astartes from doing anything and making them think that Trazyn is present (just in case) constitutes the entirety of the army's mission. And judging by my descriptions so far, their entire tactic has been to throw grunts and scarabs at the enemy because no one cares if they die.
But, you know what? Fine.
You declare the Astartes in this fic overpowered. Good for you.
5037473
Whatever, I'll rescind my previous statement if you want. Thanks for taking an offhand comment and blowing it way out of proportion.
5037515
I'm simply defending my fic. You have the right to believe whatever you wish. I'm just getting a bit tired of this, as we seem to be arguing past one another.
5037515
It depends entirely on the type of Necron, really.
The Warriors can be generally mowed down with impunity. They are not particularly more durable than a Guardsman in flak armour. Their main advantage comes from their ease of repair, which actually makes them virtually indestructible if there is a Spyder or Ghost Ark nearby. If we assume they aren't getting back up, an Astartes would be, in practice, worth several hundred warriors... We're it not for those Gauss Flayers...
Immortals are generally a harder nut to crack, being about as durable as a Nob. Usually it would take several bolts to bring one down, but the ability to be serviced with similar ease as the Warriors makes them unlikely to stay down for long... I'd say a 100:1 ratio for the Marines, again without factoring in weaponry...
Once you get into the Lychguard and Praetorians, however, things change. The heavier chassis of higher order Necrons vary in terms of durability, but many actually exceed the protection of Terminator Armour. The only thing that keeps Astartes on a level field with Lychguard is the tendency towards traditional melee weapons, rather than firepower. Against Praetorians, Astartes are almost universally inferior.
All this breaks down when you bring Gauss weapons into it. Under ideal circumstances, a Necron Warrior can destroy a Land Raider. Even against nothing but a thousand Warriors, a single squad of Astartes are likely to be ripped appart by the sheer overwhelming power of Gauss weaponry. Because Cause weapons are so supperior, it skews the numbers and complicates the issue.
Astartes function as a force multiplier. The more Marines, the more powerful each is, because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The same goes for Necrons. One Warrior bargains one Astartes is going to be annihilated. A hundred against 10? That's more balanced. A thousand against a hundred, and the scale starts to tip towards the Necrons.
So ya I didnt write this but I found it here http://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/comments/2ce0ci/how_many_necrons_can_a_single_space_marine_defeat/
and this argument seems to support Snake Staff. I am new to WH40K but I know enough. Basically these guys may be slightly "blessed" by the emperor.
First the weather and state of Equestria in "Dark Ones", and now this?
... Is a little detail like that more important than the whole fanfic? I do not think so and prefer to enjoy reading "Xenos and War".
Please Snake Staff don't let this bother you and keep going. You are doing a fine good job.
5038693
I would argue about the numerous points there but quite frankly I don't care any more. Not to sound pretentious or snobby but I'm just done with this argument, I made a single offhand comment on what I observed around 11PM and look what it got me. I don't agree with many of those points and I still think that these marines are a bit overpowered, but I'm not going to argue on the finer points of it any more.
DIS SUSPENSE....!
well done on setting the tone so beautifully. This is orders beyond most 40K fanfics i have ever read.
keep it up and kudos on a job well written.
Just started reading, got caught up to this point... and I want more...
So please continue with this amazing story! I'll be waiting.
Run of the mill spacemarines might have problems with dispatching thousands of undying metal zombies, but Deathwatch is like, to space marines what space marines are to normal people (do not quote me on that, I can't afford this hobby and I may be thinking about the Grey Knights). Or at the very least the finest marines the chapter can offer up for service in the Deathwatch. Also they're fighting in a underground facility in tight corridors where numerical advantage means little. At least until the Necrons can burrow through the walls to get at their flanks.
Here's a nice art I've found, that might fit this fanfic :
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/281/2/a/twinquisitor_by_shaadorian-d821seg.png
(Source)
soooo the ship and squad the necrons took down 2 chapters ago...was the one Kyala saw....