Chapter 1 – Entry
There was a raging storm hammering away at their heavily modified Chimera Armoured Personnel Carrier as it drew closer to its objective, the soldiers inside making their final checks on their customized equipment before their mission started. They were the elite of the Stormtroopers, the absolute best of the best of the Imperial Guard, hand picked by Inquisitor Madox for this particular mission. Sergeant Mace Wabowski listened intently to the rain, bringing back fond memories of his childhood on his home world, Issign XI, long destroyed by Chaos forces, he harbored a deep burning hatred for everything tainted by Chaos, and he turned that to his advantage in battle, he supposed that was the reason he had been hand picked by an Inquisitor of all people. After making sure his Bolt gun was fully loaded, he turned to face the team leader, he finalized the orders for the mission, "Ok men, I know this is going to be a hard objective for us, but we are the best of the best, these kinds of missions are made for us, do you get me?" "Sir, we get you, sir!" The troopers replied in unison. At that precise moment, the A.P.C. came to a stop and the rear hatch opened up, allowing the 5 troopers to disembark.
Lieutenant Traz Toshio ordered the troopers into defensive positions, sweeping the horizon left to right and back again, all troopers reporting the all clear. The A.P.C. pulled away to take a safe position at the extraction point, Toshio glanced at it driving away, feeling the same sense of longing as ever before, not wanting to be on any battlefield, but carrying on with a sense of duty to the Emperor, he charged his Plasma Pistol and activated his Power Sword, feeling safer, filled with a sense of purpose. He gave the order to start making their way toward the objective in the pouring rain, the living rain; it felt like the forces of Chaos were mustering all of their strength into the rain, making it into an impenetrable barrier. The occasional clap of thunder and fork of lightning lit up the troops and threw strange and eerie shadows, dancing around on the terrain.
There were many guards patrolling the area around the power plant that the troopers had been ordered to destroy, but they had a generous time limit to finish the operation within, they could afford to move around in cover and examine the patrol patterns of the sentries. After an hour of the troopers watching the guards, they devised their entry strategy, exploiting a weakness in the patrol routes, giving them a window of at least five minutes, more than enough for them. They made their way into the facility, covering their tracks, leaving no trace of their entry. Once inside, they orientated themselves according the to plans they had been given. Corporal Sley Comaan was ordered to investigate the immediate area, as he is the squad’s stealth expert. He holstered his Silenced Bolt Pistol, charged his Lightning Claw and withdrew his Mono-Molecular Filament Combat Knife, keeping his back to the wall, edging to the corner, turning on his Heat-Vision Visor, vanishing into the shadows.
Chapter 2 – Execution
After dispatching three interior guards silently, one by one, stalking up behind the guard and slicing his throat and impaling the other two in the head and the back respectively with a single swipe of the Lightning Claw each, and then hiding their bodies in empty storage lockers, Comaan reported back to Toshio that they should head toward the control room, and that he would go ahead and meet them there. As Wabowski entered the control room just ahead of the group, he saw a guard stuck to the wall, Comaan's Combat Knife through his head, he shuddered at the efficiency of this man, an ice-cold killer, almost disturbing. But he shook the feeling off, concentrating on the uniform of the guard, he seemed to have been a former Imperial Guardsman, but the uniform itself is long tattered, perhaps there was a planetary defense force stationed here, and since, long forgotten. Whatever the case, he knew they were touched by Chaos, and had to die, the only reason he did not insist on engaging the guards outside is because he knew they would be killed in the forthcoming explosion. Comaan removed his knife from the guard and as he span the knife around his fingers briefly, slipping it back into its scabbard, the body slumped to the floor lifelessly. Toshio and Comaan checked various consoles and displays, checking the status of the plant, examining guard positions and where the power is being distributed.
Corporal Em Hirm opened fire on a guard who suddenly appeared, before Toshio could find his whereabouts, his Combat Shotgun opening the chest cavity of the guard, his blood spraying across the dull grey metal corridor, Comaan overrode the alarm protocol, making sure none of the other guards were notified of the intruders breach. Corporal Pav Fern brought his Ballistic Shield and Drum-Fed Bolt Carbine to the only door into the control room, keeping two eyes open for approaching guards, allowing Hirm to advance and drag the corpse into the control room. Comaan and Toshio continued hacking into the mainframe of the plant, Toshio discovered the plans for a ritual to summon a Chaos Daemon, making sure this facility is completely destroyed was the mission’s objective anyway, but now there was a second reason not to fail. Hirm is the squad's explosives expert, he was equipped with a Demolition Charge, but he knew he would need more than that now, but he should be able to reduce the building to dust, nothing must remain. To aid Hirm in his objective, Toshio began searching for an armoury, surely they must have converted a room to such a purpose after making this a military facility, and he was right, it wasn't too far from their location. "Hirm and Fern, secure the armoury, Cpl. Comaan, scout the route to the power core, as for me and Sgt. Wabowski, we will bring up the rear behind Comaan, securing the power core once we reach it." "Sir, yes sir!" The troopers replied, splitting off into their groups, Toshio shutting the door behind him.
Chapter 3 - A Change Of Plans
Hirm and Fern made it unnoticed to the armoury, opening the door, slipping inside and closing the door behind them, examining the interior, looking for useable explosives to use alongside the Demolition Charge and selection of Grenades they already had on them. Hirm found some Anti-Personnel Mines, Melta-Bombs, Breaching Charges and Frag Grenades, Fern found some Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, two more Anti-Personnel Mines and another Demolition Charge. They reported their find to Toshio; he acknowledged and sent Comaan and Wabowski to assist in transporting the explosives. Toshio took up the maintenance balcony to oversee the two doors into the room, he saw a door open and he took aim, his body relaxed once he saw it is his own men, he came down and helped in the placement of the explosives, Fern keeping guard on the balcony.
Once all of the charges and explosives were set at tactical positions around the power core, the main charges were set to detonate via remote. Toshio gave the order to evacuate, experiencing an unfamiliar feeling deep in his gut, this mission was far too easy for these men, this had to be a set up and he gave the order to halt position. "Ok men, this has been a set up, this mission was far too easy for our skills, think about it, there just happened to be a reason for us to make sure this place is completely destroyed, there just happened to be an armoury with the extra equipment we needed, this stinks like Catachan Foot-Rot." They all nodded in agreement, feeling uneasy, pondering what kind of trap had been laid out for them, waiting to be sprung. "Either way men, we have to get out of here, just be ready for a firefight, I'm sure they will be waiting for us outside."
As they made their way to the exit, Toshio ordered his men to go into the armoury and make sure they were all fully stocked up, he didn't want to lose anyone, and minimizing the chances of running out of ammunition during a firefight will help them greatly. Fern took position just in front of the door as Wabowski placed a Breaching Charge he had saved from the armoury on the door and backed away, the squad remaining behind Fern and his Ballistic Shield. The Charge detonated and the door flew outward from the building, clean off of its hinges, a moment later, Las-Fire sparked into life, bombarding the now open doorway, being blocked by the protective field that the Ballistic Shield was generating, Fern took three steps forward and Wabowski and Fern took positions behind him, the three of them opening fire with their weapons at the awaiting guards.
Chapter 4 – Extraction
The guards were being punched off of their feet by the heavy fire being returned by the Stormtroopers, but more guards made their way to breach, backing up the guards already there. Wabowski, Hirm and Fern maintained their suppressive fire as Toshio and Comaan made their way around to another exit, hoping to catch the guards unawares by flanking them from behind; they made their way around the facility, dispatching guards as they came across them. As they snuck behind three guards, Comaan impaling a guard through the back and lifted him clear off of his feet, whilst Toshio upwardly sliced the first in half from left-hand hip to right-hand shoulder and brought his sword down through the second guards head, cutting through his whole body like it was barely even there. They made their way to the exit and Comaan opened the door quietly, slipping out through the narrowest gap and scanning left to right, giving Toshio the all clear. They both headed into the forest, using the cover to hide their approach toward the guards.
The Guards slowly dwindling numbers were beginning to faze some of them; they weren't scoring any hits on the intruders, their morale ebbing away, like so much lost blood. Some of them began to flee their cover, heading toward the safety of the forest, only to be gunned down by Toshio and Comaan, having only just taken their positions, using cover of their own. The guards noticed that they were taking fire from two flanks and adjusted their fire accordingly, but it was all in vein, the crossfire made short work of what resistance was left. As the last guard was disintegrated by a charged shot from Toshio's Plasma Pistol, he made a signal toward Wabowski, Fern and Hirm to converge on his position. When they arrived, they departed for their A.P.C. at the Extraction point.
Chapter 5 - A Taste Of Things To Come
As Toshio's Squad reached the A.P.C., Hirm grasped the remote detonator from a pocket in his fatigues, popped the cover and pressed the button, the squad looked back toward the power plant and watched as the building became wracked with explosions, and then a series of secondary explosions as the core itself ruptured, obliterating the building entirely. They turned back toward the A.P.C. and suddenly everything started to shimmer and break up, vanishing into thin air suddenly, revealing a training room, the Holo-Projectors on the walls deactivating. Wabowski and the troopers look to Toshio with puzzled looks, not knowing what to say, Toshio steps toward the door and paused as it opened, Madox made his way into the room. "That was an admirable performance Lt. Toshio, I had to make sure you and your men were up to the standard as to which I need you to perform, you are intuitive and your men follow orders well, exactly what I need, you have been drafted, welcome aboard." Without another word, Madox turned around and walked away, leaving Toshio to dismiss his men. He got the feeling that working for Madox will be the death of him, but he will be serving the Emperor, and his death will be honourable and worthwhile. He turned to his men and dismissed them, allowing them to go back to their barracks and take off their uniforms to have a meal and a shower before lights out, he smiled to himself, thinking of the challenges that await him in the future and he followed them out, stepping into his destiny...