Martenzo

Star City October 16, 04:33 Green Arrow lifts the skinny middle-aged woman up by her robe and slams her into the brick wall behind her. "Where are you holding them?" Green Arrow demands. His best impression of Batman is not good enough this time. Although Ollie can see the fear in her eyes, she's not afraid enough to talk. With a sigh, Ollie lets the woman down, only to fire a net arrow at her. At least she won't be running off. The last month has been frustrating. Three young women kidnapped already and now the cult got away with a fourth. And his only lead isn't talking. With a life on the line like this, Ollie sighs and finally admits

This evening has brought us knowledge and certainty, but neither has stilled the doubts in my heart. An Eldar Warlock approached us when we were resting, along with his warband. He told us his name, Sidarel. He admitted to guarding us from the Ork onslaught. All our weapons were just out of our reach, and we were each covered by Eldar warriors. A part of me regrets that we weren't vigilant enough, and that we didn't have the strength of will to cut the Eldar down the moment we saw them. Another part of me is glad that we did not. The Eldar offered us an agreement. Twenty kilometers the west, Sidarel said, is an ancient shrine. In it, is a da

Though I didn't notice it on him, Sigismund had also recovered Holf's bolt pistol, but with only a single magazine of ammo. Holf hasn't used it yet, however. The past three days have been nearly without combat. I have heard Ork gunfire in every direction, especially in our rear. However, we have seen barely a dozen Orks. What's more, Sigismund says that those we've seen looked like they were fleeing in our direction, rather than attacking us. What, or who are they fighting? Who is guarding us? As I ponder on these grave topics Sigismund decides to stop for a brief rest. He then leaves us, taking my thunder hammer but leaving his bolter. He t

The night falls and a few dozen xenos attack us in the darkness, cowardly filth like they are. Me and brother Holf dispatch these pathetic creatures with ease. By dawn, Holf tells me about Markus. The techmarine will live and won't require entombment in a dreadnought, but he avoids saying anything certain about how soon he will regain his mobility. There is no sight of Sigismund yet. I did repeatedly hear Ork gunfire deeper in the jungle during the night, but I haven't heard any since about two hours before dawn. Did he fall? Or was he victorious? No matter, the Orks are coming again. Count seven.. no, eight.  As I prepare to fend

I feel something gnawing at the edge of my mind. Darkness and silence surround me. For a moment, I feel that something is about to burst into my mind. Then, I remember something. I am one of His holy crusaders. Brother Chaplain Ingmar of the Black Templars. I will not fall. I see a spot of light ahead. It begins to expand. I feel warm, then there is a small sting in my side. I see a brother standing above me. As my vision clears, I identify him as Brother Holf, the young apothecary in our team. The sting turns into a sharp pain, though I am familiar with that feeling. I ignore it and try to get up. Then Holf stops me and says "Good to see th

Holding Ground It's quiet. It's dark. I can see flashes of light in the distance...Wait. I can hear something. Talking... and some kind of zaps. Suddenly, the voice and the zaps become deafening. The lights become blinding. Oh, that's right. It's night, and I'm in the middle of a firefight. The talker is Captain Roarke screaming through the comm-unit, right into my ear. "Lieutenant! Dammit, come in, Seris!" I press a button on my ear to activate my comm unit and reply „I'm alright, sir. An artillery barrage landed close to my position. I think the warheads are just high-explosive, not incendiary or shrapnel. Definitely not incendiaries

 With a silent blue flash, the TF-27 class colony ship, named Prosperity by its' crew, exits warp-space. The ship's autopilot adjusts engine thrust to begin orbiting another planet in the Dead Zone that used to be Catilid space before the Ancient War. Now, all that is left of the planet is a reflective, crater-scarred surface. Slowly, the ship comes to life. First the silent hum of the fusion reactor. Then the whir of the oxygen decompressors and fans starting up. Followed by the vibrations of the engines giving thrust. And perhaps most importantly, the ship's automated system makes the speakers give out a loud report, which echoed across t

Emperor Eidan, escorted by two of his elite guards, entered an old hangar and looked around. The only thing here was a large, armored robot of some kind and some engineering equipment. I wonder why this General Norman wanted to meet me in this dismal place he thought. The lights in the ceiling suddenly switched on and the guards became more alert, tightening their grip on their rifles. "I don't like this" One of the guards said out loud. "This feels like a trap. Your highness, I suggest that we leave." "Radio for more men, soldier. There are plenty tagging along with the motorcade" sounded the response given by the Emperor's confident, ev

 I am an old man, you know, over one hundred and forty years old. You expect me to remember what happened all those decades ago? When I was, what, twenty or thirty? Well, you're in luck. I remember Eidan's rise to Emperor of Mankind quite well. He was young back then, only two years older than I was. At first, people saw him as a fool with a loud voice. He said he could restore the Terran Republic to the glory it had before the galactic financial collapse in 2503. A few people believed him, hoped he was right. I must admit, I was one of those few. But in retrospect, I can't figure how I didn't see his eventual plans to turn the Republic into