The Void Scorn(40K)

Captain Xanac took a moment to look about the now cramped bridge of the ship. His mechanical eye whirring and straining to make out the looming shadows through the dark blue light above. 15 hulking suits of armour stood clustered in the centre. There was silence, although not mandated. The air was heavy, as each crewman on the bridge had silenced themselves at their desks. The only noise was of the servitors, and their mechanical whirring, they did not know any better. The first of the demigods, in newly painted black armour, complete with yellow bands walked forth, head bowed. The armoured collar obscuring most of his faceplate, as the servos whirred and strained. He kneeled. The Ivex stood over him. Beaked helmet burning with light blue eye lenses, and new tears that streamed, painted a glistening turquoise blue. A loud thunk was heard, as on the Ivex's right gauntlet the ancient blades clicked into place. Xanac watched, himself kneeling amongst the silence.

The air was filled with screaming. As though the machine spirit encased within the ceramite were to burst from its bindings, slowly drowned into the last murmurings of a dying child, as the blades were dragged, slowly, painfully, across the demi god's chest. After the ritual was complete, the Ivex spoke several words of hissing sibilant speech, before the being stood to it's full height and backed away, standing beside the Ivex.

The next demigod strode forward, the bolts and rivets in his armour, rattling, as if with excitement and anticipation of release. He too kneeled, looking upwards with jubilation, like a small child staring at their parent about to give them a gift. The ritual repeated, and both marines, reborn, stood beside the beaked one.

Erasmus cricked his neck, his flak armour was chafing again and parts needed to be replaced where lasfire had scorched it. He gave a heavy sigh in his helmet, the aquila long since scratched off. He had been under captain Norma, serving The Viper's Bite, longer than most others, making sure that his unit of raiders were among the most elite for her to choose. But in all his time of raiding imperial merchant fleets and boarding actions he had never come across an astartes vessel. He had looked in awe at it on the bridge, a sleek knife like ship, Bristling with guns. Although this one had long since been past it's prime. The yellow paint had been torn, revealing the metal beneath, with large bruises and cuts etched along it's surface. It's guns were silent, It's void shields inactive. Hence why he mounted one of 4 boarding pods with his raiders. A prize like this, even the cautious Norma could not help herself, but pine after capturing this astartes vessel. Erasmus did a final check on his auto gun, and making sure each man and woman of the 19 others on the boarding pod was ready. Of course the only worry on a floating hulk like this one was xenos, that quickly nest on ships lost and spat out by the warp. He did a final check, cocking the autogun, hearing the metalic clang of the heavy stubber to his left being loaded, the heavily tattooed and muscled woman smiling. He clicked his tongue, she had ignored his request to wear her flak armour again. He took a final moment of peace, strapping himself in with his men before the pod lurched as it was fired from the viper class missile destroyer.

The first few precious seconds were quiet, only the noise of lingering space passing by. Until the pounding begun. The pod shook violently as projectiles flung past. The faces on those around him dropped, each now carrying the stark look of fear. 1 pod destroyed. 2 pods destroyed. Erasmus closed his eyes and waited for his to be torn open by rippling fire. But instead he was met with alarms, that signaled their approach to the vessel. If it was active, worst case scenario, astartes were on board, he hoped that not to be the case. But he had the consolation that this was a frigate, an escort, an astartes vessel yes, but only important enough to have at most one squad of demi gods on board. He cautiously sighed a small relief. Perhaps they could deal with 5 demigods if they were spread out throughout the ship. He looked back to the woman, her red hair was dirty and draped over over the heavy stubber, fastened to the wall. She now wore a look of grim determination, face firmly clenched in a look of almost anger.

The lasers were heard from inside the pod, firing up and cutting through the metal of the frigate. All in one motion Erasmus and his 19 raiders, unbuckled and quickly took up arms. They would have to fight their way through the serfs quickly to get to the bridge.

Erasmus felt the pod slam into the frigate, the gears and sound of metal scraping metal, as the doors shunted open, arms and hinges rusted with age and lack of maintenance. Him and 19 others ran out into the darkness that waited outside the bright light of the pod. The interior of the ship was dark, bathed in an iridescent dark blue light. As soon as boots trembled on the metal decking the fire began.

Erasmus tried in vain to look beyond the haggard metal barricade he leaned behind, as his ears were blasted by the sounds of barking rifles. He watched, shouting, as a shell landed into a raider's head, making a large hole, and causing him to panic his eyes slowly glazing over. The shell detonated, splattering blood and bone all over the corridor, and raking wounds down 5 others who were kneeling nearby. They screamed, holding blasted stumps and clogs of flesh that leaked life. Finally they worked up the courage, he had already lost 11 Raiders, just boarding this vessel. He started to scream at those who live to fire back, causing a hail of rounds and lasfire to start cascading haphazardly down the corridor. The heavy stubber whirred to life, giving low thunderous growls, as it spat fire and lead.

The enemy responded.

A bolt of blue, flung through the centre of the corridor, hitting her in the chest. She screamed, her body slowly liquefying as the blue light exploded from within. She dropped. The heavy stubber clanging to the ground. Erasmus answered by shouting and pointing, anything on the other side of that corridor could be killed with that heavy thing, it was their only hope. One of the other raiders nodded over the lasfire and shells.

Erasmus shuddered, hearing something spewl and spit. A soft, growing purring just below the gunfire. He cried out, reaching for Threon.

"NO, DUCK!"

The cry fell on deaf ears under the heinous gun fire and plasma. The beam of red light sang across from him, and as if in slow motion, it embedded itself into the metal of the wall, quickly ripping through, before impacting Threon's flak chest plate. Punching through it, like a sharp blade through decaying flesh. Before long, Erasmus watched as Threon collapsed. A large hole, gaping where most of his abdomen should have been.

Erasmus cursed heavily under his breath, tears starting to try and force their way through his eyes. He reloaded his autogun and perched over the barricade.

Erasmus was met with a pair of light blue luminescent eyes that burned hot stakes, as the large black clad figure sprinted towards him. Flashes of yellow and orange erupting from its bolt pistol. 4 large rivets clad it's head, as the skull like helmet stared back at him. The towering apparition reached the first of his men. The chain sword in it's offhand revved as the sound of grinding meat filled Erasmus' ears. It slashed, and fired, cutting and bludgeoning it's way through what was left of his unit. Erasmus dumped his autogun into the demigod, rounds pinging off ceramite like small stones off of walls.

Click.

The angel of death stood over Erasmus, the pain in what should have been his left arm stung and burned, he cursed and grunted, holding the stump. He looked upwards. Met with the stare of those two blue eye lenses. It's black armoured legs and arms now stained crimson.

Captain Norma, paced up and down the bridge with a look of annoyance. Yelling and grunting orders to nearby crew, as the colours of The Viper's Bite's void shields glistened against the hail of fire coming from the suddenly active frigate.

"Get me anyone on the vox!" she shouted.

"Halstriah! Jerustor! Erasmus! Report in! We cannot stay under this things fire for much longer, tell me how far you have gotten to the bridge!"

The vox crackled, she tried to calm herself, an outburst of emotion was not the answer.

"captain…." a weak voice piped, as the static trailed it.

"Jerustor? What is your condition?" she demanded practically terrifying the ragged crewmembers next to her with her annoyed tone.

"squa-… -ead" he spattered, the echoes of liquid on metal heard under his heavy breath.

The vox cut as the sound of thrust and energy gave way to a loud thud.

"Damn it" she cursed, over 50 men dead in but a few moments.

"captain"

she turned her head, the auspex officer looking at her with a mix of fear and dread.

"a craft is being launched from the frigate, Caestus class…" she breathed a long pause.

"activate the flak guns focus all the fire we have left on destroying it" Norma said, trying to maintain a semblance of sanity or calm.

She scrambled to the auspex, watching as a hail of fire pinged and glanced off of the craft, it bobbed and weaved, making it's way for the Viper's bridge. She grimaced as the blip got closer and closer, finally disappearing as it hit The Viper's Bite in the neck.

"seal the doors to the bridge and activate the turrets in the hall!" she commanded the crew, who worked on their consoles furiously. Norma drew her ornate bolt pistol, scavenged from an imperial merchant captain, wax still visible from where the purity seals had been stricken. She crouched behind a console, hitting a magazine into place, the heavy shells clattering and clicking as she drew back the bolt, levelling it at the now sealed heavy metal doors.

The deck started to vibrate with the footsteps of heavy feet rounding a corner. Lasfire opened up behind the bridge doors creating echoing cosmic blasts as they hit. 3 explosions rang out from outside the doors, the recognisable implosions of krak grenades. The air was tense as silence fell. Crew, holding laspistols and autopistols, with any melee weapon they could come up with.

Scraping, like metal gasping in pain. Norma watched as 4 blades, cut through the doors, retracting then cutting over themselves. Before finally a large black boot caved the doors in. In a blur 4 black figures burst through warped doors, bolters grunting and howling in unison. Norma fired, one shell, 2 shells, pinging off one's black armour, denting it and ripping paint away to reveal the scratched yellow beneath. As if one, all 4 figures aimed their bolters at the rest of the crew mates and Norma. She shivered, holding up her hands, trying to stop the shaking as her bolt pistol clattered to the floor. Her crew followed suit, weapons making a depressive symphony against the deck.

A demigod strode last through the doors, his armour black like the rest, yellow bands adorning his knees and legs. His beaked helm had painted tears that ran down from it's glowing blue eyes. A bolt pistol hung in its left hand, in the other fist, 4 blades crackled with lightning, ancient, and thirsting. As the beaked one passed, one of the others, yellow stripe painted upon his shouting visage of a helm nodded, as if in irritation, a weird twitch. Another came behind the beaked one, cumbersome and methodical, it held a large, ornate heavy bolter. An armoured collar obscured the bottom half of it's helmet as it trudged behind the beaked demigod.

"I am Ivex" It crackled, a low hissing voice that came from within it's black coned apparition.

"And this ship belongs to us" it said, levelling the fist of rippling claws in her direction.