Utilizing Careful Highlighting
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Bellerophon raged. Thunderhawk gunships even now were recovering men and materiel from the battlesite with the Dark Eldar. The mightly Chaplain had had no rest for 2 days, hearing the great Captain Eos’ confessions over failing to deliver the fatal strike to the Betrayer and now hearing the fragments of reports of the Dark Eldar overunning Helios´ strike force.
The deployment had gone well. An initial engagement with the treacherous Eldar had resulted in a great Space Marine victory, including the Colossos’ smiting of their revered war god, a fragment of the being they knew as Khaine. From there the Emperor’s justice had been delivered to false Blood Angels and Black Templars alike, clearly traitor marines’ masquarading as loyal servants of the Emperor. Losses had been negligable, with minor vehicle damage repaired on the spot. So ferocious had been the Aurora weaponry, the tactial marines themselves had been only called upon to mop up minor residual remanents of shattered enemy formations, a role they easily accomplished with sacred bolters and blessed power armour.
However, even if little loss of life had resulted, three battles in succession had taken their toll. Ammunition was low and tank crews and the space marines themselves were tired from days of combat readiness and constant warfare.
Following the defeat of the false Black Templars, the Aurora deployment had run into the Eldar again. This time the Eldar were immediately seeking to withdraw, trading blows from a distance in a prolonged tank engagement, before melting back into the night. The mighty Colossus had taken down two if their war walkers and crippled both a Fire Prism and Wave Serpent before they escaped. With little ammunition left, Helios had called in the trasports for an evacuation, even though the Chaos Sorceror had eluded him.
Then the worst had happened. With ammunition all but expended and the bulk transports due to arrive in minutes, the Dark Eldar had struck. From the communications fragments that made it to the cruiser in orbit, it appeared a mighty war machine had appeared from nowhere and torn the two vindicators apart in moments while reports from the Colossus itself spoke of the foul aliens swarming over her mighty frame.
Bellerophon knew the Dark Eldar were liable to attack only with the odds stacked in their favour. Their way of war epitomised cowardice, as did their way of life. Exterminatus was their right and only deserving payment from the galaxy. He yearned to be with his brothers smiting the alien even now, although his responsibility with so much of the company leadership structure either wounded or deployed was clear.
In front of him Eos stirred. The mighty Captain was still some time from full combat effectiveness, he was lucky to be alive at all given the enormity of the wounds the Betrayer had dealt him. However he was now well into recovery mode and his mind was back to its full strength even if his body remained weak. His oxygen mask was only one of the many tubes connected to his body in the healing gel, however itwas connected to a two way communicator and it was via this that Bellerophon had been able to keep him appraised of the situation on the planet below.
‘Chaplain Bellerophon. Any news?’ he asked in a whisper.
‘Aye my Captain. Our thunderhawks have recovered the majority of what is left of those who made planet fall as well as our remaining armour. The armoury is in a state over how much damage has been done to your vehicles, including the Colossos, however, I have been assured in time they will set it all to right.’
Eos considered this with his eyes closed, small bubbles leaking out of some of the cables connected to his black carpace the only sign of activity in the tank.
‘Any what of Helios’ he asked, eyes closed.
‘He fell to the Dark Eldar my lord. We are minutes away from securing the site with a thunderhawk inserted team however it seems clear from the reports that came through that Helios and the terminators with him fell in battle with the aliens.’
Bellerophon’s choler was in full force having to admit such blasphemy. Something had gone seriously wrong, the Emperor’s finest did not fall to such weak opponents as the Dark Eldar, and his body surged with adrenaline in anticipation of more information what had happened.
Eos oppened his eyes and looked at the Chaplain full in his skull mask.
‘Old friend. I want you to do the following for me. Firstly assemble and lead a team down there personally and ensure we know exactly what happened. In addition, I want you to find whatever Dark Eldar are on the planet and destroy them in a manner deserving of such filth. Finally, the Dark Eldar will have cruiser somewhere close, likely hiding where our scanners will have trouble locating them, or using some obsence technology to mascquarade as one of our own. I want you to pass my request to Captain Antilles of this ship to find that vessel and destroy it utterely. I will not have such filth traversing the Emperors space without due retribution.’
Bellerophon’s eyes sparkled behind his helm.
‘Yes my lord, it would be my honour.’
Eos’ eyes remained open as he fixated Bellerophon with his stare.
‘One last thing Chaplain. Helios spoke with me about a vision he had of this moment, so I have Archimedes and Chrysaor prepare something for you. I had the armour of the great Augustus, first Chaplain of the Aurora Chapter, removed from the Hall of Rememberence and repaired for your use.
Bellerophon did not move.
‘I understand you may hesitate to use such a sacred relic, however, it is indeed appropriate for you to take this suit back to battle. Chrysaor himself told me the combat systems in the suit are pre-Heresy technology and superior to even the suits Mars can manufacture today.
‘I have no illusions bringing the Dark Eldar to their knees will be an easy task. In their last moments however I want them looking of a manifestation of death itself as their impure souls are extinguished from the Emperor’s light.’
Bellerophon paused, looking like he would say something, before he bowed to Eos and walked away, his hearts pounding his his chest. What a great honour the Captain had bestowed upon him! The name Augustus was a byword for unflinching courage and honour, a mighty first company veteran who had become the most ferocious Chaplain in Ultramarine history and then had become the founding Chaplain on the Aurora Chapter. Bellerophon had read tales of the Chaplain’s role during the great Crusade as a hero of the first company. Such was his inspiring presence across the entire Ultramarines Legion, he had been nominated by the Primarch himself as an exemplar of what it meant to be an Ultramarine and so he was asked become one of the founding Chaplains of the Legion following the Heresy.
Bellerophon also knew the tale of the Fall of Augustus, as it was an epic story itself. A Daemon Prince of Khorne had been bought to heel in his lair on a planet polluted with Chaos. The Aurora marines had fought its minions deep into the bowels of the planet, facing all manner of abominations with grim determination, led from the front by their stalwart Chaplain, who the whole while chanted Litanies of Hate, many he had written personally, as he smote the demonkin. The Prince himself stood in a pool of magma, with the Marines´small arms bouncing from some foul protection granted to him by his god. Augustus had strode through the magma to face the mighty servant of Chaos, his Crozius striking great holes in the creature while his suit of tactical dreadnought armour protected him from the demon’s wrath.
It was a mighty battle with the success of the mission hanging in the balance. The Demon Lord needed to be destroyed, or a least sent back to the warp. For minutes the duel continued, yet even as Augustus struck down the mighty prince, his body ruined and his essence returning to his god for punishment for his failure, the molten lava breached his mighty armour. His legs burned to the bone, the Chaplain crawled towards the marines rushing his way. It was at this moment of weakness that a chaos marine standing in an elevated tunnel entrance had fired volly after volly from his plasma gun into the fallen Chaplain in fury for his falled prince. Shot after shot was turned by the mighty armour however by the time the Aurora marines had felled the traitor, the chaplain was dead, his legs and hips all but burned away by the horrible heat of the lava and from one of the deadly plasma bolts having passed through his armour to vaporise his stomach and chest cavity.
Walking through the massive door into the ships armoury, Bellerophon spied the dreadnought sized techmarine Archimedes next to a massive Aurora green Land Raider, which appeared to be in mint condition.
‘Archimedes, Lord Eos mentioned you have recovered a relic from the Hall of Rememberence.’
He need not have asked. On a magnetic stand stood a magnificent and mighty suit of terminator armour. Its skull visage and baroque embellishments appropriately promised purity in death.
Bellerophon´s voice caught in his chest. Never had he seen a more magnificent sight. Reluctance to touch something so holy warred with his desire to take the relic to deal the Emperor´s justice.
His desire won. With hurried if revered steps, the Chaplain approached the most holy edifice that represented his office.
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