A Story of The Crusades
Ok, so I'm a bit of a fluff nut. As such, I will be writing down all of my Black Templars battle reports here in the form of a story (some of the battles are also made up, but still). I hope that this will flesh out my army.
Day One
Lazarus rounded the corner. He had been a Templar for three hundred and seven years, and he knew him way around the Eternal Crusader off by heart, but he had never been down this corridor before. It led to High Marshal Helbrecht's personal quarters. The High Marshal had summoned him personally, and no one knew why. He snapped out of his thoughts as he reached the door. It was a vast door, made of solid adamantium, and bedecked with many emblems. Lazarus thumped the door.
"Come!" called the High Marshal. The door opened and Lazarus walked in. Helbrecht was staring out of the window, looking at the green planet that glinted beneath them.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Lazarus din't see this comment coming. Helbrecht wasn't renowned for being a lover of art.
"Yes my Lord."
"Do you wonder why I called you."
"Yes my Lord, everyone does," Lazarus was confused. Helbrecht usually just cut to the point. This was unique.
"Do you know who we are chasing," Helbrecht turned to face Lazarus.
"Yes my Lord," Lazurus sounded confused, "everyone does, the Orks."
"Well, an offshoot Waaagh! has broken off from the main force and landed on this world. I am making you a Marshal and you will be assembling a crusade against these Orks." Lazarus swelled with pride, but did not show it, his pycho-conditioning prevented it.
"Thank you my Lord," he stated, as coldly as possible.
"Now go, you have a crusade to organise..."
The Landing Ground
The Drop Pods had landed on Caldana half an hour ago. The Templars had set up a defensive perimeter around them. Lazarus looked about him. The Pods where arranged in a rough circle, with a Thunderhawk in the centre. The Thunderhawk was one for seven on the Battle-Barge, but the rest had remained on the ship in order to provide support wherever they where needed. The Thundrhawk had carryed with it two Rhinos, which sat quietly in the corner. Techmarines where constructing walls between the Pods. One of his Castellans, and eager man called Balthazar, approached him, his highly polished Terminator Armour glinting in the light of the two suns.
"Yes, Castellan," Lazarus said, calmly.
"My Lord, our sensor drones have some worrisome news," Balthazar stated, saluting with his fist to his breastplate.
"Explain," Lazarus' voice was no-longer calm. On an Ork infested world, jumping at everything was a good survival strategy.
"We detected a small Ork warband moving towards the camp. We even saw them," the Castellan pointed, "over there. But an Eldar taskforce arrived out of nowhere and slew all of them." Lazarus smiled at this. Xenos doing the work for him. Perfect. His smile fell as he realised something. If the Eldar where here, then the problem was one of two things. One, the Eldar where threatened by the Orks. Owing to how small the Ork warband must have been, this was unlikely. Or two, Chaos was forcing it's way in.
"Castellan," Lazarus' was ordering now, the Honeymoon was over, "I want you to go out with Squads Heinemann and Gelrach and fortify the Hive".
"What for?" Balthazar questioned.
"Chaos." Said Lazarus, bluntly. a few Marines heard him. They turned round, open mouthed and shocked. Lazarus turned to them.
"Yes my brothers, it seems that the filth of the warp has come to this world. Castellan Melchior, I want you to take the Terminators to the Hive near hear, guard it with your life. Techmarines, get those walls up, we're genna' need them." The Marshall turned to the two Castellans he had previously be talking to.
"I've changed my mind. I will be sending you down to the hive with your fighting companies. We need to stay hear and hold the industrial complex. If the Greenskins got their hands on some of the technology they're developing here, half the Segmentum could be a risk. Take the Thunderhawks, and as many Rhinos as you can fit in them. I will join you as soon as I can." The Castellans saluted, and Lazarus walked away.
Hive City
The Thunderhawk wined as it came into sight of the hive city. The side door was open, and Balthazar was leaning out of the side. He had first spotted the Hive City fifteen minutes ago, but back then he hadn't understood it's shear immensity. The hive grew taller as you neared the centre, the main spire reaching into space and forming a port. One of the Crusade's Strike Cruisers Emperor's Wrath was docked. The other Thunderhawk pulled up beside him, with Castellan Melchior leaning out of the side. Balthazar heard his vioce in his ear over the vox-network.
"Loop round to the east side. The Orks have been spotted their!" he called, shouting over the Thunderhawk's engines. Balthazar had never understood why Marines will maintained this obsession with shouting over loud noises, the Lyman's Ear allowed them to filter out such noises. The Castellan leaned back into the transport. The pushed a button on the wall, next to a microphone and a speaker that directly contacted the pilot.
"Brother. Head round to the east and land us there." he ordered. The Thunderhawk dropped it's wing as it arced round. As they approached the hive the engines dropped to a low grumble, before they landed on the main wall. The doors flew open with a crash, and the Marines automatically gathered up their equipment and filed out. Balthazar jumped out of the door he had been leaning out of before the transport landed. There where twelve Thunderhawks landing across the huge wall, two whole fighting companies. A Melchior's Thunderhawk landed next to his, and the Terminator Armoured Marine approached him.
"Me and the other Terminators are going into the catacombs beneath the city. Orks may be foolish, but even they will find the way into the catacombs," he stated coldly. Melchior was never one to show anything other than loyalty. It made him a great knight, but a tiring companion. Balthazar nodded.
"Do we know the situation at main camp?' Balthazar asked. Melchior shook his head.
"I know as much as you do. The rest of the crusade will be joining us shortly, once they have secured the agri-communities on the coast," Melchior seemed annoyed by this. He thought little of humans and their plight. Balthazar suddenly remembered, the common folk! They where in this too. He turned to a Commissar that had just walked up to them. He switched to his ordering about tone
"Commissar," he said bluntly, "We are now in command of this hive. Station your men on the West, North and South walls. It is unlikly the Orks will attack there". The commissar knew better than to argue with an Astates, and so he simply nodded and walked off, ordering his men as he did so.
"And so it begins..."
Horde of Wrath
Lazarus swore as he fired his bolt pistol into the raging sea of Orks. He was stood on the wall the Templars had erected when they had first arrived on Caldana. Next to him stood his Storm Brethren, each one equipped with highly ornate Terminator Armour. The Orks had been assaulting the Black Templars for the last half hour, and although they had made no ground, the Templars where wasting ammo.
"This isn't how we fight!" growled Lazarus. He placed his pistol back in it's holster and activated his Lightning Claws. He called a battle-cry before leaping into the enemy. His Sword Brethren joined him, their Storm Bolters barking as they jumped from the wall. Lazarus' Claws chewed thought the Orks, and he carved a red wake where he trod. Balthazar's voice came crackling over the vox in his helmet.
"My Lord, we are within range of the Orks, would you like us to engage?" Balthazar questioned, the battle fever obvious in his voice.
"No my Brother," Lazarus shouted over the did of battle, "I want your men to drop in, swords swinging!" Just then, the Thunderhawks swooped low over head. The three aircraft fired, strafing the hoard. The doors opened and the Black Templars dropped out into combat.
The Orks where failing now. The confusion caused some of their number to turn and run. Lazarus approached the Warboss. The Warboss bellowed something in his crude language and charged him. In one smooth movement, Lazarus rolled away, gripped a grenade, primed it, and threw it at the Ork. The huge beast put his arm up to cover its face as the blast broiled out. Lazarus jumped thought the flames, his claws flashing orange. He embedded them in the Ork's chest. It bellowed again, and batted him away. Lazarus was unaware of this, and flew off, smashing to the ground and leaving a trail in the mud. The Ork jogged over to him. Lazarus was lying on the floor, his head bleeding and his eyesight unfocussed. The Ork stood over him, it's huge power claw raised to launch the crushing blow. Then it's eyes rolled back it it's head and it fell forwards, revealing Champion Augustin.
"I thought you might need a little help my Lord," said the Champion, a touch of humour in his voice.
"Yes, well," Lazarus said, a little unsure as to how to answer, "Anyway, we have a horde to crush," The two brothers charged the remaining Orks as they fled into the forrest.
"Kill them all!" Lazarus called as he ran into the forrest...
