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[Christofari]

Altogether he counted seventeen. The leader wore a headdress made of vulture feathers and a broken cow skull. His shoulders were massive and d*CENSORED*d with a cape made of human skin, the hands sown together around his chest. Woven into the skin were various furs, wolf and racoon were prominent along with many tails from other creatures. His vambraces were covered in snakeskin with snakeheads forming the knuckle guards. His boots had bird claws sewn into the toes and his skin was painted in stripes of sickly yellow and black. His face was partially covered by the jaw of some mutant warthog so it appeared he had tusks. He was wholly inhuman in appearance. Nothing remained of a man there. His eyes were wild and had a reddish tint, bloodshot and infected.

The traveler spoke again, "I ASK YOU, IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE!"

The bandit looked confused. "What is an emperor? Is it like an animal? Some type of machine such as yourself? And why do you speak in its name? Is your name not important enough to swear by stranger?" More laughter.

The bandits never would understand what happened next. Within his armors shoulder guards the traveler had built something the texts referred to as "claymores" several hundred 22 caliber bullets embedded in a block of steel suddenly went off at once and shredded their clothes and feeble armor. Their horses and other beasts of burden reared and kicked, some severely wounded by the spray of small arms fire. Those that could still walk jumped to them ground, some ran, some fired back at the stranger. He reached behind his back and pulled out his twin m93-r pistols and began firing controlled bursts. He screamed at the man in the street, "Find cover and don't come out til I've cleared these fools!". The man did as he was ordered and the traveler returned his attention to the slaughter. The bandits were dropping like flies, a headshot here, a blown kneecap there. None of their improvised armor was able to withstand his fire. He rained death upon them and exercised his old demons and memories. He ducked and dodged and fired more and more. He roared, once again his old battle cry, "FOR THE EMPEROR!" until there was nothing but gunsmoke and the whimpers of crippled villains left in the street. But where was the bandit leader? In all the excitement he had disappeared. The traveler scolded himself for allowing the monster to escape....

[Christofari]

After the dust had settled the traveler moved through the dead and dying bandits. As he came to each he assessed their wounds and asked, "Do you believe in the immortal Emperor of mankind, He who sits upon the Throne of Terra and calls to all man?" The first bandit he asked had several wounds in his torso. He would die soon, this was no doubt. He spat at the traveler and croaked, "to hell with your emperor!". The traveler knelt down next to the man, pulled out a vial, and poured it on the mans wounds. "Burn the heretic..." he whispered, and lit the fluid on fire. He rose and the bandit screamed in agony as the fire burned through him. He moved on to the next wounded and asked again if the man believed in the Emperor. This bandit was clever, or so it seemed. He told the traveler, "oh yeas mister beastly robut mayne, ah certanlee doo baleeve in yur immortal emperor, he that sits on tha thrown o terro!". The traveler knelt down again, put his gun against the mans head, and pulled the trigger, emptying his brains onto the coarse sand and whispered, "Purge the unclean". He continued his "triage" in this manner for several minutes. There were only six still alive from the seventeen who had started the battle. He was now down to the last. He asked this one, "Do you believe in the emperor? Do you truly believe that he will save you?". The bandit began to cry, his leg was a ruined mess and he wouldn't survive long without serious medical attention. He said, "whatever your Emperor is, I know not of him, but I want to. I wish to know what it is that gives you power, what could I do to be like you?" He pleaded with the traveler.
At this, the traveler pulled off one of his pouches and unrolled it to reveal a field medics kit. He poured disinfectant over the mans wounds and gave him a shot of sedatives to calm him while he began to pull the bullets from his flesh. The man squirmed and whimpered but was relieved to see the blood begin to slow. It was obvious his leg would be useless for a time so the the traveler wrapped it tightly and then attached an improvised brace made from a spear lying nearby. The old man from the street finally emerged. He walked over to the traveler and shook his head. "Those bandits have been harassing the people of this valley and many others for years. Why save even one of the devils?"

The traveler reached up and slowly removed his helmet. He looked in the old mans eyes and spoke, "I would not waste a truly desperate warrior. His desperation has made him strong. His lust is no longer for flesh, but for the knowledge I carry. When he is well he will be a fine addition to my ranks. I can see it in his eyes."

[Christofari]

The man answered, "Ranks? What ranks? You have no army that I can see, there is only yourself."

"You are wrong sir. I am but one soldier in the largest empire in all the galaxy. A space marine of the imperium of man. Legions like myself await us in the stars, we have but to return to their waiting arms."

At this the old man thought for a moment, then gave a whistle. Two low tones then three high sharp tones. Suddenly all of the previously deserted buildings began opening up. Makeshift doors and windows creaked open and the village seemed to come to life. People of all ages and sizes, children, women, some elderly. All looked healthy enough. They gazed in awe of the mighty warrior. His armor was like nothing they'd ever seen. Here was a single warrior who had taken out one of the most dangerous warbands of the wastes. He was like an angel. A savior come to bring them hope. They had seen his ruthless side, as well as his compassion. There was no question this hero was her to help them. Sent from somewhere that magic still remained.

The children were the first to approach. Full of curiosity their questions came rapid-fire like the guns on his side.

"Are you a man?" "Do you eat or do you run on batteries?" Why this and what is that. A barrage of inquiries that broad a hopeful smile to the old mans face. This was what he craved, a thirst for truth, and he would deliver. These would be his future soldiers. This village would be the beginning of his new world...

[Christofari]

For many months the traveler stayed with the village. He taught those of able body to fight and those that could not he taught to fashion weapons for the warriors. He showed the children the wonders of space and told them stories of the marines and the emperor. He was their hero, the mightiest warrior they had ever seen. Soon there was nothing he would ask that they would refuse.

After a time the traveler knew they must move on. He began seeking out people in the village with an instinct for mechanics and engineering. If they were to move from this valley they would need transport. They studied maps and found what the old world called a "train yard" some thirty miles from the village. They gathered what they could and began the long march to this place. Everyone had a duty in the emperors new army, some were warriors and some were armorers. Some cooked and others hunted. The caravan from the village stretched for nearly a quarter mile with the new warriors posted strategically to defend against possible attack. It took three days to reach the trainyard. As soon as they sighted the complex the traveler ordered his men to rally and the non combatants to pull back and stay out of sight. He left a small guard squad with the others and moved forward with his troops.

Slowly they crept within range of the trainyard. It was well known any standing structures were tempting nesting spots for predators and bandits. Most were deadly traps for the unaware. They moved forward covering each other as the traveler had taught them.

[Christofari]

There was no life evident in the trainyard. Even through the advanced optics from the shelter the traveler could see no movement. He ordered up a scout detail. Three men would circle wide and try to get different views of the buildings. Oscar, the sniper, armed with an m-14 scout variant with a 7× scope. Brunswick, the best close quarters fighter in the group and a surgeon with a dagger. Festus, the breacher, always carrying his trusty silenced m9.

The traveler had managed to salvage communication gear from the shelter and the scout unit ran a quick test to make sure everything was green. All systems seemed to be ok so they began their march through the hills surrounding the target.

In battle communications the soldiers always referred to the traveler as "eagle". As the scout unit settled into its first observation point , Brunswick called back to the group, "eagle, this is talon. Come in eagle" the traveler gave two clicks of the mic to affirm. The scout party responded, "no contacts at first op. Continuing recon". Eagle again clicked the response and the scout party moved on. From his vantage point Oscar could see the buildings clearly through his scope. There were several small offices and booths centered around three large buildings. One appeared to be a warehouse for storage. The second was some sort of crossway for the trains and the third was a type of garage that linked to the second building. Brunswick leaned close to Oscar, "lemme have a look". "There's nothin to look at, its dead like we thought." Said Oscar. Festus chuckled, "if it ain't dead already, it will be when eagle walks in there he he." Brunswick smiled, "I'm glad you think the old mans immortal, but assuming victory before a fight is a fools game"

[Christofari]

"You can't be serious!?" Festus balked. "The Eagle is the toughest thing in the wasteland. Nothing I've ever seen can take him."

Brunswick replied, "I am merely quoting his own teachings. He is a mighty warrior but he is a teacher as well. He would rather we take his words AND his skills than just one or the other"
"Will you Nancy's pipe down, this ain't philosophy class. All we gotta do is figure out who is and isn't in them buildings and report it back to the force, so lets get it done with less jabber." grumbled Oscar. "Besides, time to move on to the next op zone."

The party moved further around until they were almost directly opposite of the rest of their group. They settled into the next op and began to survey the area. They were still several hundred yards away from the buildings and still could see no signs of life. Oscar tracked his scope back and forth across the complex but still saw nothing to indicate there was any resistance inside. Then suddenly a flash caught his eye. "What the...." he muttered as he tried to bring his scope back to the point where he saw the glimmer. "What did'ja see?" Said Festus. "I can't tell, whatever it was its gone now."
"Well that's all I need" grunted Brunswick. "Talon to eagle, we have possible contact. Moving in for closer observation."

[Christofari]

"Waitaminute!" Said Festus, "weren't you the one just talking about a fools game and all that? Now you're feeling all adventurous?"

Brunswick bared his teeth in a wicked grin, "The eagle teaches death for the emperor is its own reward. That doesn't mean to fight based on foolish pride. I'm not rushing into a fight, I'm investigating a possible contact. Big difference."
Oscar was the ranking soldier in their party, so Festus and Brunswick looked at him for an answer. "Fine, Brunswick, you move in. Festus , you cover from maximum safe distance. Move out".

Brunswick moved up. As he got within a hundred yards of the facility he dropped to the scrub and began crawling. His expertise with camouflage allowed him to blend in perfectly with the mottled grass and sand. He moved very slowly, even Oscar was having a hard time keeping track of him. He moved his scope over to festus's position. He was a little less stealthy. Still a good fighter and an ace with his pistol, for a scout, Festus was a bit clumsy.

[Christofari]

Brunswick had left the radio with Oscar at the op zone. As he crawled through the grass he kept his eyes on the building closest to him. A small office complex with an L shape. He could hear Festus scrabbling a few yards behind him. He could only hope any possible enemies would not. As he crept closer to the building he could see the windows were smashed and the visible doors were hanging loose from their hinges. He glanced back to check on Festus and saw the barrel of his gun peeking from behind a boulder. He continued his silent approach. Still no signs of movement. He paused and sniffed the air. A faint odor struck him. Smokey, almost a burnt meat smell. Even if he couldn't SEE them, he knew this meant humans had been here. Suddenly he heard a cracking sound behind him. He looked back to see Festus, in full veiw, leaning over an old dried log. Before he knew what was happening Festus screamed and fell, an arrow in his shoulder. This was Brunswick's chance, with the enemies attention on Festus he moved into a crouch and rushed the building. He entered the door still trying to stay as silent as possible. Now he got his first glance at their attacker. Standing by the window was a creature like he had never seen. It had the torso and arms of a man but it appeared to be covered in scales. Its lower body was that of a large reptile, clawed feet and a long muscular tail. It wore only a loincloth and at its shoulder was a quiver of arrows. He crept behind it slowly and drew his dagger. Suddenly the beast turned and began to string another arrow, but Brunswick was far too quick. He swung his dagger and sliced the tip of the arrow off, then in a spinning motion, brought the knife around for another strike. The serpent man was swift as well and dodged the next swing easily. Brunswick stepped back and let a vicious kick fly. This one connected with the beasts face causing him to emit a hissing cry. He swung round and tried to trip Brunswick with his tail, but Brunswick sank his dagger into the creatures foot and through the floorboards. Now the creature roared in pain and danced around its trapped appendage. Brunswick drew his second dagger and stepped behind the beast. He grabbed the creature by the jaw and pulled its head far back exposing its throat and in one motion cut it from ear to ear. The beast gurgled and shuddered, then slumped to the floor.

[Christofari]

The beast convulsed for a few moments more. Brunswick held his dagger before him keeping his guard stance. When the serpent man finally seemed done he reached forward and retrieved his other dagger. Wiping the creatures blood from the knives with his handkerchief he took a closer look at the beast. Its head was more like a serpent than a man, a long snout filled with fangs. Its eyes were small and close together near the front of the head, they were still open and blinked occasionally despite the creatures lack of movement otherwise. Brunswick stepped to the window hoping to signal Festus when he heard a hissing behind him. He looked down at the dead serpent man but he had not moved. He turned to the shadows of the room and squinted to see what was making the sound. He pulled out his pocket torch and ignited it in the direction of the sound. Five more of the serpent men were standing in the shadows staring at him. They all moved at once to attack. Brunswick turned and jumped out of the shattered window, rolled on the ground and turned to defend himself. The creatures seemed to come from every door and window now, soon he was surrounded by more than a dozen of the beasts. He shouted, "FOR THE EMPEROR!" and began to charge when suddenly the creature closest to him dropped to the ground. Then another creatures eyeball exploded. Another moved to attack and his brains seemed to leap from his skull in fear. At this the remaining serpent men stepped back, curious as to what was happening to their comrades.

Oscar called back to the group, "Hostile contact, targets engaged south side of op two". and raised his rifle again. He watched as the other serpent men eyed Brunswick intently. "He he, welcome to the empire ya mutant sons of nurgle" he chuckled. He scoped in another of the creatures and shot him dead between the eyes.

[Christofari]

Brunswick had gotten his bearings and realizing Oscar was the cause of these "magic" deaths, he was quickly back on the offensive. Seven left, he surveyed their weapons and calculated his chances. As a scout he was lightly armored, metal vambraces and chestplate, knee guards and a guard over one shoulder. He could defend against most direct attacks with blades as long as he saw them coming, but seven opponents may be a bit of a challenge. Luckily Oscar was still working and another two went down before they regrouped. Finally the creatures remaining decided they had enough of this and charged at Brunswick full on. Weapons drawn they hissed and made noises at each other like the barking of large dogs as they surrounded him. Another shot and another dead lizard.

Oscar shot the creature, "four left" he whispered. His 20 round magazine still had more than enough for the rest. The lizards had gotten wise though, they had surrounded Brunswick making it harder for him to take a shot. He saw one step back however, and he squeezed the trigger. The gun made a little fizzing sound. "Damn! Dud shell!" Said Oscar. He pulled the magazine out and yanked back on the bolt, every second was like a lifetime as he tried to get his weapon operational again. Brunswick was on his own....

[Christofari]

Four left, Brunswick couldn't wait for Oscar any longer. He moved in, slicing one of the creatures across the thigh while burying his other dagger in its shoulder. The creature cried out and tried to jump away. Another of the beasts swung it's primitive stone dagger and grazed Brunswick's chin. He turned to the creature and stabbed it under its ribcage, then brought the knife down splitting its belly and emptying its entrails on the ground. He pulled the knife from the first creatures shoulder and turned to the others. They both attacked at once, the first knocked Brunswick off of his feet and the second moved to stab him with a spear tipped with some kind of claw. As he raised the spear and hissed his chest exploded. The other lizard looked up and his face was smashed by a barrage of small caliber bullets. As the two serpent men fell in dead heaps , Brunswick looked up to see Festus, his gun smoking and half of a bloody arrow in his other hand. "Now that was some foolish pride there, takin on a platoon of muta...." Festus was cut off as the surviving lizard man hit him in the back with a makeshift club. His shoulder still bleeding, he picked up festus's m9 and examined it. Once he had figured out which part to hold it by he aimed it at Brunswick, and let out a vicious hiss. If the creature could smile Brunswick imagined that's what it would be doing right now, gloating in its victory. As it moved to take the shot its wrist exploded. The pistol and what remained of the creatures hand fell to the ground. It screamed and spun around to find its attacker.

Oscar smiled as he looked down the scope into the creatures eyes. "Suffer not the mutant, or any other freakish bastard critters" he murmured, and pulled the trigger.

[Corman2030]

This is awesome man, looking forward to the rest!

[Christofari]

Thanks! I'm surprised anyone can read it with the crappy editing. I forgot my password so I can't pull it up on my laptop lol

[Corman2030]

I didn't find any huge problems with the spelling or grammar. And I accidentally logged off the other day and couldn't remember my password either. Lol it was no big deal to reset!

[Christofari]

As eagle approached, Oscar and the other scouts came to attention.
"At ease men. Fine work here, I'm saddened that we missed this battle but this is sure to be only a prelude. This was obviously a guard post."
"That would be my guess" said Oscar. "But I can't imagine needing twelve guards for one post. What could be so important to a mutant?"
The traveler looked towards the large storage building. "There are only two things the serpent mutants will die to protect; their food, and their eggs...."
Brunswick spoke, "I caught a faint odor of burnt meat on the wind as I approached. I had guessed there were humans here but if these creatures are the RESIDENTS?"
"Then the humans may be the food." Eagle finished Brunswick's thought.

"Ranks FORM UP!" Shouted Eagle. "Give me mixed fireteams of six men each."

At this the soldiers began to divide into their separate fireteams. Each had specialists in close quarters, heavy weapons (improvised flamers and rocket launchers) and riflemen. Their weapons and armor were eclectic but well maintained. Every soldier took his duty very seriously. With only a few months training the Eagle had turned them into a formidable force. Every man knew his position well, their battle tactics were impeccable. During their training the Eagle had taken them into the wastes surrounding the village, sometimes farther than any of them had ever been, and sought out creatures and bandits to battle. The had fought scorps and other mutants, once they even killed a Minotaur that must've weighed over a thousand pounds at least. They were the first legion. The Eagle called them his Dark Angels.

[Christofari]

As the teams gathered, Eagle surveyed the ranks. There were four groups of six, and the three troops left out were his personal unit. Bronson; carrying an improvised flamer and a heavy magnum pistol, Eastwood; rifleman with an old six-shooter at his hip, and Clive; the close quarters expert, wearing an armored trench coat and carrying a smaller version of the Eagle's chainsword. These were his finest soldiers, and the three of them could equal any half-dozen man easily.

[Christofari]

The eagle gave each team their objectives and wished them well, "The emperor protects."
The soldiers answered as one, "For the emperor!" And headed off to complete their various missions. The eagle and his team headed for the large storage building. They kept low and covered each other as they moved towards the quiet structure. Either the guards were not able to signal before his scout team dispatched them, or this was a trap. This did not deter the eagle, he would fight and crush the enemies of man through any traps they could devise. As they came to the last point of cover before the entrance of the warehouse, he paused to observe for any movement. Just as the scout team had reported, there appeared to be no life evident. Perhaps the creatures at the "guard post" were all there had been? He thought better of this and motioned his troops to move up. Bronson took point, he moved quickly to cover the door. Eastwood sighted down his rifle from cover, waiting for any possible threats from within. Clive moved to flank the door opposite Bronson and drew his shotgun, saving his chainsword's power cells should the need arise. The eagle stepped right in front of the door. Bronson readied his flamer and nodded to his commander. Eagle drew back his foot and pulled an improvised flash grenade from his waist pouch. With a mighty thrust he kicked the door completely off its hinges, roared "FOR THE EMPEROR!!"and tossed in the flash grenade.

[Christofari]

Bronson counted to three after the flash went off and thrust his flamer through the doorway. Two quick bursts in opposite directions and he moved in to take point. Clive dropped in line behind him and rolled to the right once inside. Eagle stepped in, his pistols drawn, taking the room in with all his senses and sensors. Two of the creatures lay hissing and burning in the corner beside Clive. One other was running towards the back of the room where another door led deeper into the building. Before he could fire Clive threw a dagger and pierced the base of the creatures skull. The beast fell dead, instantly. Eagle motioned for Eastwood to move in and the three of of them moved towards the next door. As Eastwood entered behind the others he ran a small, nearly invisible, thread across the door frame about a foot from the floor. The other end he attached to one of his hand grenades.

[Christofari]

With their grand entrance the element of surprise was lost, eagle kicked the next door in with no hesitation. As ho took a step to enter, one of the creatures screamed and leapt from his right with a large dagger made from a scorp claw. Eagle dodged slightly and grabbed the creatures wrist. With one motion he lifted the beast off the ground and broke his wrist, the dagger fell to the floor and the serpent man screamed in agony. The eagle holstered his other pistol and grabbed the creatures throat. He looked in the creatures savage eyes and saw no humanity, he closed his fist and ripped out the creatures larynx, then discarded the body in a broken heap.

He now took stock of the second room. This appeared to be an armory of sorts. Bows and quivers of arrows, some swords and daggers made from animal parts and scrap metal, and an old rifle in very poor repair. The serpent men were very primitive mutants. Some form of genetic research or cross-breeding from days long passed. They had never sought technology or skills beyond what they needed to survive. Eating and breeding were their only reasons to live. Regardless, they were subhuman mutants and their primary food source was human. They preyed on villages and travelers, they would even feed off their own kind from other tribes. The eagle had no moral dilemma in slaughtering each and every one of the beasts. From this room they entered a hallway, there was no door to kick in this time so they moved in standard overwatch formation. Bronson at point, Eagle behind with Clive at his right, Eastwood holding rearguard. Looking down the hall they could see doors on either side. Some open, others closed, some with the doors missing. Eagle's sensors and optics were not detecting any heat signatures or radiation in the immediate area so he ordered the men to move up. They checked and cleared each room, no enemy contact. They continued on towards the end of the hall. Eagle guessed they would enter the larger part of the warehouse soon, this must have been offices for administratum personnel. As they neared the end of the hall Bronson stopped suddenly at one of the doors. Eagle and Clive moved to the door and peered inside. Clive growled in anger at the sight. Human bodies in various levels of decay, the meat stripped from their legs and arms, heads removed and sitting on a primitive workbench. Tools lay all around, it appeared as though they had been removing the brains. The lizard men were a superstitious species, likely they felt eating human brains would grant them knowledge or power.

[Christofari]

Clive had always tried to model himself after the Eagle, he followed his methods and mimicked his fighting style in great detail. He carried a double barrel 12 gauge and a smaller version of the eagle's chainsword. He had built it himself from parts he had salvaged. It ran on a less efficient version of the fusion batteries the eagle had salvaged from the shelter. Still, no less deadly in Clive's capable hands. At the horrible sight in the room he now switched his shotgun to his left hand and drew his sword. He turned to the door leading from the hallway and began to move, fire shine in his eyes and his breathing was like that of a caged animal. Anger poured from every part of him. The eagle knew this feeling and called to Clive, "Let your anger fuel your body, but do not let it control your mind." Clive answered with a subdued growl, "I will remain vigilant, no matter my feelings commander." And turned back to the door.

Eastwood stepped up and put his hand on Clive's shoulder. He looked in his eyes and shook his head, then moved towards the door. He knelt down and placed a directional charge on the door. If this was the entrance to the main area of the building they would need a serious diversion to make quick progress once inside. He motioned the others to stand back and set the timer to blow the charge. Eastwood's position was rifleman, but his real specialty was explosives. He had studied the physics and properties of different materials and how they would react to different surfaces. This directional charge was another of his masterpieces. As the timer clicked out the charge blew outward into the door but also inward down the hallway, ripping it from its hinges and rocketing it into the next room like a giant battering ram. As soon as the door did its work the fireteam burst into the room but stopped short. There were no enemies around the door, the room was a wide open warehouse. The walls were lined with cages and the pulleys and loading belts were all redirected to connect to each line of cage doors. For primitives, they had worked out an effective system for keeping the occupants from gathering as there was never more than three in a cage. These captives were human, and in terrible health. Some looked at the soldiers as though death would be a mercy, others lit up with hope at the sight of armed humans.