Warhammer 40K Fan Fiction ❯ Wed to Faith ❯ Chapter 1: Introduction ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Warhammer 40,000 or anything within it. That all belongs to Games Workshop, and is being used without their permission or even their knowledge. Also it contains porn (lots of it), so if you're under 18, either stop reading it or just pretend you didn't read this. Whatever. Anything you read in here, exercise caution when trying at home.

 

 

“Target is stationary,” Sister-Dialogus Carmine said softly into the vox-caster, looking over her display screen. “Multiple living creatures present, approach with caution. They're probably a retinue, and are likely armed with superior equipment.”

 

“Understood.” Canoness Kasanja responded over her headset. “Okay, girls, the witch probably has a tough bodyguard unit. We're going to land a klik away and approach through cover so that we can lay down suppressive fire as necessary. Firestorm Daughters, you're with me. Silver Storm and Soaring Valkyries, you flank left and right. Sister Petra, I want you to come in to support us once we've made contact. We may need your immolator for a rapid escape, or to hit them hard, but we can't be sure yet.”

 

Checking her Auspex, Kasanja could see the cluster of buildings their prey was at. They had recently heard of the Dark Eldar witch - both a member of a wych cult and also a Psyker - and knew that this was worth pursuing. Witches very rarely were encountered amongst the Dark Eldar, to the point that they almost always fell under the Ordo Xenos rather than Ordo Hereticus. But at this opportunity, the Battle Sisters would not be found wanting. They would kill or capture the witch and weaken the morale and warp powers of that cabal.

 

With every squad leader replying in the affirmative, as soon as the strike force disembarked from the landing craft, they advanced. True stealth was not an option - the power armour was heavy enough to ensure that, as well as being brightly coloured and powered by engines that made plenty of noise. Still, they tried not to be more conspicuous than necessary. Her retinue of ten, all in gleaming gold and bronze armour, followed. They would have preferred to surround their Canoness, protecting her with their lives, but her love for them was such that she would lead, preferring to risk her own safety for “her girls”.

 

Meanwhile, to each flank, a squad of five Seraphim used their winged jump packs to propel themselves up onto the rooftops of nearby buildings. They needed to get as clear a path as possible to truly make use of their speed, and so taking the high-road was their best option.

 

It didn't take very long at all for combat to start. It turned out the witch did indeed have a retinue - a small team of incubi surrounded her, clad in their superior armour and wielding two-handed power weapons that crackled with energy. But scattered at a few points in sniper positions, teams of Dark Eldar waited, expecting their hunters. A spray of tiny needles flew through the air in clouds, perforating the walls of the nearby buildings, and striking more than one sister. They were fortunate in that their armour turned most of the rounds aside, but still, Sister Megi grunted and fell to one knee as a foot-long metal barb impaled her thigh, straight through the armour. Dropping, she quickly discovered she couldn't move her leg at all, and only after did she realise she was quickly bleeding out.

 

That was all it took. “Kill those who protect the witch! Let none stand!” Kasanja cried, and the deafening roar of bolter fire echoed through the abandoned town on the former mining planet. Mini-missiles, filled with holy promethium, tore through the air and detonated on impact with the snipers. One pocket of the warriors was wiped out, just like that, with white-hot flames scorching their flesh and melting their weapons. Those that survived were in no condition to fight.

 

It was then that the Seraphim charged, swooping down seemingly from no-where to engage the true target. Bolt pistols fired warning shots into the chests of the retinue, and hand-flamers washed the field in cleansing fire. Even before it died down, all ten veterans ran into combat, ready to slay the bodyguards and take the witch captive.

 

Unfortunately though, there were others that Carmine had not detected with her scanners. Shadowy mandrakes, in their stealth-skin, had evaded all detection and stepped out of the darkness right behind Kasanja's retinue. They pulled their triggers, and silently-propelled splinters lodged themselves in the backs of three of her Celestians, who fell to the ground with cries of pain and shock. The rest turned, just in time to be set upon by the shadowy assassins. Two more were cut down, blood flowing freely before they could even get their defences up, and retaliation seemed almost impossible. Their foes moved as fast as the air around them and were hard to spot, only a single bolter-mounted Sarissa finding soft flesh to disembowel.

 

But the mandrakes clearly didn't count on the skills of Kasanja herself. Leaping forward, she clenched her fist - simply to trigger a digi-weapon. The beam missed as the mandrake ducked, but she had expected as much. He ducked right into her blessed lance, and his head was impaled through-and-through. Only one remained, and as he closed in on the Canoness, he was grabbed around the neck by Sister Anke. Her other arm was disabled, so she could not break the mandrake's neck, but she did the next best thing: held on tight and threw herself to the ground, feeling the assassin's body being crushed beneath the weight of her armour. Then she blacked out from blood loss.

 

“Sister Petra, we'll need you! Get in fast!” Kasanja shouted into her headset, but as she regained her cool, she realised the Seraphim were faring much better. They dived in, harassed the armoured incubi who were slowed by their gear, dealt a casualty and then darted out before an effective retaliation could be mounted. As more snipers tried to draw a bead, they were already hurling themselves in again, and soon the incubi were slain, and it was all the witch could do to hold them off with her use of psykic energy.

 

The turning point seemed to be when everyone else arrived: half a dozen of the reaver jetbikes descended from the skies, peppering Kasanja's remaining squadmates with their weapons, but at the same time, Petra's immolator ploughed through a thin wall and unleashed a wave of thick, searing flames. The Celestians hit the ground, letting the fire pass overhead and scorch the pilots. One engine exploded from overheating, another reaver lost control and collided with a building, killed instantly. Others fell to the ground as the pilots died from the heat. The remaining members of the Firestorm Daughters started moving their fallen comrades into the cramped vehicle, hoping they would survive the trip back, even as Kasanja strode forward.

 

A bolt of darkness seemed to come from nowhere. It collided with Kasanja, hitting her square in the chest… only to disperse harmlessly off her mighty armour. It had been crafted by the very best, and no xenos weapon could possibly pierce it. But that was enough to get the attention of the Seraphim. The Silver Storm disengaged, flying up to face the one remaining team of snipers and their dark lance, and Kasanja fixed her gaze upon the witch.

 

But it seemed the alien warriors knew they would be defeated by the Seraphim: they threw themselves to the ground, and waited for the angels to charge in. Even while they waited, they primed their plasma grenades… the blinding flash of green flame lit the night sky, and only two Sisters made it safely to the ground. The warriors had sacrificed themselves in order to kill three Seraphim, but the look in Kasanja's eye said everything: the price would be paid one thousandfold when retribution came. She charged, and as the witch prepared to dodge her relic spear… Kasanja's armoured fist slammed into her solar plexus, knocking the witch out cold.

 

“…We have the target. Gather the bodies of our fallen, we're going home. Sister Carmine, you can expect us soon.” She said quietly, tears already forming in her eyes.