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This is my second ever work of fiction. It follows the life and times of Ardath Dei, Archon of the Kabal of Shattered Souls. This particular story is based on a game that I had on Saturday. I was allied with my brother in law who took his tau force, and we faced off against Chaos and (you'll find out later). The battle was part of the Ultimate Battle for Ultimate Destiny, we had 600 points per player, per side. I had:
Spoiler:
Archon Ardath Dei
- Splinter pistol
- Husk blade
- Combat drugs
- Shadow field
Crisis Battlesuit
- TL Missile Pod
- Shield Generator
3x Stealth Suits
- 2x Fusion Blasters
6x Fire Warriors
- Pulse Rifles
10x Kroot Carnivore
5x Gun Drones
1x XV88
- multi tracker
1x XV88
- TL Plasma Rifle
- Multi tracker
This is just Chapter 1, it turns out that I can't make a short story out of it after all!
Spoiler:
A Fragile Alliance
Chapter One – A Clashing of Swords
Ardath stamped his boot in to the chest cavity of the dying Kroot. He leaned down, resting an arm on his knee as he stared in to the creatures’ eyes, and whispered “It does not end here, warrior of the greater good”.
A dozen like bodies lay sprawled in the surrounding woodland. The battle... if such a small scale encounter could be termed as such... was sweetly brutal. The Kroot had thought to ambush the Dark Eldar as he raced ahead of his raiding party, not realising that they were to be the first of many lives snuffed out at the Archons whim that day.
Fa’lon, the first amongst his elite Incubi bodyguard, approached. Despite wearing bulkier armour than his Kabalite cohorts, the Incubi was near silent, a slight rustling of scattered leaves and the snapping of twigs the only clue as to his movements. Ardath had no doubt that, had he wanted to, Fa’lon could have avoided even that level of noise.
“My Archon, the rest of our party approaches. My brethren and I have ensured that they remain out of sight in preparation for the retaliatory strike”
“Good” toned Ardath, pleased at his Lieutenants ability to act on his own initiative. “We will not have long to wait before...”
He was cut off by the whoosh of thrusters engaging, and looked up to see a quartet of hulking battlesuits clear the tree tops, and thumping down around him, the force of their decent cratering the woodland floor. In the blink of an eye, Fa’lons heavy Klaive was at the throat of the nearest battlesuit, crackling with the power of the dark city.
“Fa’lon, hold... At least, for now. I would speak with our hosts” mused Ardath
Fa’lon gave a nod of understanding, though the buzzing Klaive remained within an inch of the suits throat.
“You have made a grave mistake coming here, Eldar”. The voice sounded tinny through the battlesuits external vox systems, as though spoken from a great distance. “This world is under the protection of the Tau Empire, and you will answer to me for the atrocities that you have committed today, and those made by others of your race in the past”. The final three Incubi bodyguard took position, each behind the remaining battlesuits, going un-noticed until the hum of their klaives at the battlesuits backs gave away their ambush.
Ardath chuckled, knowing the events that the Tau referred to very well. “You speak of the Dark Revelations, Fire Caste. Golden days indeed! Tell me your name...”
“You would do well to mind your tone, corpse! I am Shas’El Sha’draig Or’es M’yen Fio’shas of the 4th Expansion”. The introduction was forced, angrily, through the battlesuit speakers. “Your kind has dogged us for centuries; you have played us for fools, forever counting on the good will and desires of the Tau – the righteous race! There is no hope for you, you will not join the Tau’va, you are incapable of even stemming your narcissistic tendencies to save your own kind! That ends today” ranted the Knight, powering up his twin plasma rifles, blue arcs of energy crackling around the black gun barrels.
“Well said, Or’es, it’s good to see some venom coming from one of you idealistic fools for once. However, before you make the first of many mistakes in trying to kill me, would you care to hear about the force of Mon-Keigh Chaos worshippers that have taken a liking to your pitiful planet? By all means, feel free to remove the flesh from my withered old bones, though you should know that it will take more than a mortal death to call an end to my existence”.
The plasma rifles hummed with unreleased power, the light glowing a brilliant white as the build up approached critical mass.
“You lie. You wish only to postpone your death”. There was an uncertainty to his voice now, a quiver of doubt. If Ardath could see the Knights face, he’d see the eyes darting between the 2 other battlesuits, looking for an affirmation that this was just another ploy.
“Kill me and see me proved wrong then, but know that I will be back, dancing on your desecrated bones. I might even make a throne out of that pretty suit of yours. Or, you could act on my warning. Join with me in hunting these filthy mud men”. Ardath's tone was dismissive, making light of any threat that Or'es may have implied.
“Why should I believe you? We have not detected any unauthorised entries in to this system, I would know”. Still, the rifles held their charge. Fa’lon pressed his Klaive closer, cutting a sliver of hot metal from the armoured helm of the suit, his brothers acting likewise, pressing their blades in to the backs of their charges.
“You fool, Or’es. Did you detect my entry on to this pitiful planet? I think not. Now power down those fire lighters of yours and commit to the hunt! Ignore my warning and be cut down where you stand. We will leave this world to the greater threat and watch it burn from afar.”
It was impossible to not take pleasure from playing the Tau’s emotions like this. He despised the Dark Eldar with all of his might for the atrocities they had caused, though the forces of Chaos were a superior threat, and the resident Tau forces had no knowledge of them.
“Fine, you will accompany me to the White City and state what facts you have to the Council. Further action will be decided upon then, along with your fate”. Or’es stepped back from the buzzing klaive, venting the built up plasma energy from his rifles, the heat visibly displacing the air around them.
With that Fo’lan and his brethren lowered their klaives, shutting down their power cores. The Tau turned to face their assailants, their anger at having the tables turned on them evident in their movements. The Incubi stared impassively back, statuesque in appearance, radiating nothing more than a superior, cold indifference back at the 4 suited warriors.
“You would debate with politicians whilst the Black Legion carries out whatever rites they choose? I know this planet is worthless, Tau, though I still expected more from you. Leave them and they will spread like a cancer, everything you hold dear will be destroyed, your planet enslaved, and lives extinguished in a heartbeat. I have seen these filthy Mon-Keigh in battle before, you cannot fight them alone, Tau.” Ardath paced impatiently, one hand on the shaft of his agoniser spear, the other on the handle of his splinter pistol.
Or’es railed at the threat, “This shall not happen, we leave immediately.” He turned to the nearest battlesuit, “ Ko’vash, make all haste to the White City, alert the Council to what we have learned here, you have the means of tracking my suit?”
“Yes, Shas’El” nodded Ko’vash
“Then go, ride the lightning. For the greater good, Ko’vash”
“For the greater good, Shas’El,” with that Ko’vash engaged his thrusters and took off to the east.
Or’es turned slowly to face Ardath, his fellow battlesuits taking position on either side of Or’es, still radiating malice at the interlopers “You have yet to state your intent Eldar, why are you doing this? You know that there will be no more ‘cultural exchanges’, what’s in this for you?”
“Revenge, and reclamation, Knight. The Black Legion took something from me, either I retrieve it from them, or I take their blackened souls. Both would be preferable” muttered Ardath. He depressed a jewel on his vambrace, calling his force to his side. They appeared from the shadows, two Venoms and a Raider ghosting in to the clearing. The first of the Venoms pulled up alongside Ardath and his four Incubi. Swinging themselves up on to passenger platform, Ardath looked down at the battlesuits, the thrill of the hunt coursing through his veins
“Do you think you can keep up, tin knight?”
With that, the Venom disappeared in a blast of exhaust fumes, closely followed by the howls of Kabalite Warriors and Wyches mounted on the other transports.
“Make one wrong move, corpse, one wrong move is all it will take for me to end you.”
- TO BE CONTINUED -
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2012/05/14 21:56:56
