The scenery on Corzand was not much to look at. The most of the planet was red ash, broken up by the odd tree or boulder.
A platoon of the planets protectors marched by the red dunes; they all wore bright red uniforms with dull red armour. They were mostly conscripts in a reserve unit. Not exactly the best the Imperium had to offer.
The sergeant held up his hand to halt the platoon as he checked his map.
"Hold up" he said as he looked at the oasis nearby
"There's no water spots, marked on this map" he said
Private Jester; the man who thought himself the units comedian leaned over the sergeants shoulder
"Maybe the oasis got bored and decided to move" he said
"Shut it, private" said the sergeant
"Wait sir" said Corporal Croppo as he leaned over the sergeants shoulder
"Look at the date marking; this map is as old as Russ"
The sergeant smiled at the corporal "Thanks, corp; I want a few words with the supply clerk when we get back"
The troops then headed towards the oasis. As the troops drew their canteens and got ready to rehydrate, the sergeant ordered his soldiers to cease.
"Could be poisonous" said Private Hotchkiss
"Right, Jester; you try it" smiled the sergeant
"Me?" asked the unfunny private
"Yeah; don't want your friends dying around you, do you?" smiled Croppo
"Alright" shrugged Jester
Jester dipped his little finger in the water then placed it in his mouth
"Clean" he said
The troops then began refilling their canteens and dunking their heads in the water. Two of the female members filled their helmets up with the water and then upended them over their long hair.
"Hold up girls" smiled Jester
"You don't want those nice uniforms of yours shrinking from the cold water; better take 'em off"
One of the female soldiers just shook her balled fist at the unfunny comedians dumb joke
After a short recharge, the troops were ready to move on. As they took a few steps away from the oasis, the sergeant stopped in his tracks. He spotted a thin, winged shape in the distance. He turned to his corporal
"The gear boys test any air craft here?" he asked
"Not that I know of, sarge" shrugged the corporal
As the troops got further away from the oasis, Jester spotted something in the near distance
"What the
is that thing?" he said as the shape moved quickly behind the sand dunes
"Looks like a boat!" said Hotchkiss in disbelief
"A boat; in the desert...don't be stupid" snarled Croppo
The 'boat' then came straight at them, its pointy eared occupants hanging off the side, eager for carnage
"Eldar; open fire" shouted the sergeant as the Raider came at the group of troops
The raider blasted the platoon with its primary weapon. Several of the troops were killed in the process. The sergeant was sent flying. After he hit the ground, he picked up his bolt pistol, quickly scraped off the dust and began firing at the enemy.
Croppo joined his leader and fired at the enemy with his pistol, vainly
"I've never seen Eldar like these before" he said
"Who cares what they look like; just shoot them" shouted the sergeant
A witch* then ran at the N.C.O's; she was half naked and armed with a flailed sword like weapon in one hand and a claw tipped net in the other. In one swift move, she sliced the sergeants throat open, knocked the corporals weapon from his hand and managed to kick him in the chest so hard, he coughed up blood. She then wrapped the net around him like a cruel parody of a festive holiday present.
Jester and Hotchkiss fired frantically at the lightning fast Dark elder warriors that had surrounded them
"What are they?" said Jester in confusion
"I don't know; FREAKS!" shouted Hotchkiss in response as he saw one of his comrades get decapitated by a witch**
A blast then sent both men flying. They then landed roughly on the ground amongst a pile of dead men
The fighting stopped. Lhydya; the Succubi in charge of the raid surveyed her victory
"Not a bad haul" she said
"These
still have breath in them, I know how much he likes the females" said a warrior as he roughly dropped both the female troopers to the ground
"Are they harmed?" asked Lhydya with a raised eyebrow
"Only emotionally" laughed the warrior
"Here's one more; he's a leader" said a witch*** as she kicked the 'gift wrapped' Croppo over to Lhydya
"Go to hell" shouted Croppo in defiance
The raiders all laughed heavily at the comment.
Lhydya squatted infront of Croppo and smiled as she patted his cheek as though he were his pet
"Oh, your 'hell' is paradise compared to where I'm taking you" she smiled wickedly
Lhydya pointed to the senior warrior
"Get the living ones back to the fortress; the dead one's aren't going anywhere so we can come back for them"
Her minions all laughed at the order
The raiders forced the living prisoners onto their vehicle and then departed.
*The laptop I wrote this on changed the 'correct' Dark elder spelling to the English translation
** see above footnote
***Again, see first footnote