PFC Chapter 665: Prelude to the Killing
Chapter 665: Prelude to the Killing
Chapter 665: Prelude to the Killing
544.M32.
Solar Star Region, Adamantua Star Region, Diamond Star.
A war between Space Marines and alien monsters is breaking out on this planet. The Space Marines are wearing ancient yellow power armor with a raised fist logo on their shoulder armor. The defensive formation they form is tight and consistent, like a high wall blocking the alien monsters.
The Imperial Fists Chapter.
One of the nine founding war groups.
"Boohoo! Boom boom boom!"
At this time, Mohan, the current chapter commander of the Imperial Fists, was sitting in a Damocles-class Rhino command vehicle. Several Tornado missile vehicles around the Rhino command vehicle were firing ground-to-ground missiles. The fragmentation missiles exploded in the beast herd in the distance, stirring up large pieces of dirt, rubble, and broken limbs.
"Advance, compress the space for the aliens!"
Chapter Master Mohan gave the order.
The horn of switching from defense to offense sounded, and the Imperial Fists Space Marines began to steadily advance their front line after receiving the order. The high wall slowly pressed down on the enemy, compressing the space for the alien beasts to move bit by bit, and finally forced them to the nest from which they emerged. The balance of victory was tipping towards the Space Marines.
However, there was no joy on Mohan's face.
He was watching the holographic projector in the Rhino command vehicle, looking at the chaotic red spots on the green star map, with a serious face and frowning brows, and said in the communication channel:
"We must speed up. These aliens are spreading wantonly throughout the star region. We have too few troops to stop them. We must destroy the alien nest on this planet as soon as possible and then move to other worlds. All companies, hurry up!"
"Understood, sir!"
The company commanders responded loudly.
Only one company commander remained silent.
Kurland, the Second Captain of the Imperial Fists.
At this time, the second captain was sitting in a Thunderhawk gunboat, with a technical priest in a red robe standing beside him. Looking at the densely packed alien beasts running outside the window, Kurland looked a little worried. After thinking about it, he finally opened a private communication channel to contact his boss alone:
"My Lord, I think we need backup."
There was silence on the communication channel.
Mohan did not respond to his suggestion.
Kurland continued regardless:
"The Chromes are weak in combat. We can easily defeat them, but there are too many of them. Our entire regiment only has a thousand people. We cannot cover the entire star region. What we need is support in numbers."
Kurland finished his suggestion bluntly.
His meaning was very clear: the Chromes were not strong, the only problem was that there were too many of them. The Imperial Fists, as a Codex Chapter, had only a mere one thousand people, not to mention the one hundred "Wall Guards". More than nine hundred Space Marines were not enough to cover the entire sector. As long as some Imperial Guards were called over, the enemy could be quickly surrounded and strangled.
"I agree with you, Kurland."
Mohan sighed and finally responded.
"Then why..."
Kurland asked in confusion.
“Because it’s not just a strategic issue.”
Mohan said a word that was unfamiliar to Kurland:
"This is a political question, Kurland."
Political issue?
During the hundreds of years he had been a Space Marine and the Captain of the Second Company of the Imperial Fists, Kurland had hardly ever thought about this question. It was a very strange and unfamiliar word to him until it was uttered by the Chapter Master.
Mohan slowly explained:
"The peace in the Empire has lasted too long. I've heard some news that on Terra, the Imperial Senate is even discussing whether it is necessary for the Space Marines to continue to exist... We cannot call on Terra for support. We must win this battle alone and drive out these aliens to prove ourselves and prove that the Astartes are still the sharpest blade of the Empire and one of the most powerful military forces in the Empire."
Kurland was speechless for a moment.
After hearing this, he just felt unbelievable.
The Imperial Fists, one of the nine founding chapters, are the descendants of the Seventh Legion that was fully responsible for the defense of Terra and stood on the walls of the Imperial Palace to fight to the death against the traitor army. Logically, they should be the Astartes Legion that impressed the people of Terra the most. Now they need to take the initiative to prove the meaning and value of their existence to the Imperial Senate. How ridiculous is this?
Kurland also noticed a detail.
When Morhan said "the most powerful military force in the Empire", he added a suffix - "one of them". What made a proud Space Marine so cautious in his words? Aren't Space Marines the most powerful military force in the Empire?
"Follow orders, Second Captain."
Mohan said something and hung up the call.
Kurland sat in the cockpit in a daze.
"I have to correct you on one point, Captain Kurland."
The technical priest next to him suddenly said:
"According to my latest analysis and observations as well as the results of dissection experiments, these half-mechanical, half-insect alien beasts do not possess the most basic advanced intelligence. It may not be appropriate to call them 'chrome people' because they are not strictly speaking human. The correct name should be... 'chrome beasts'."
"The name is not the point, Sage Laurentius."
Kurland waved his hands irritably.
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly froze.
"Wait, you said they don't have the most basic advanced intelligence... Then how can they travel across star regions? If they can't build aircraft capable of interstellar travel, then how did they come to the Adamantua sector?"
Kurland asked a series of questions.
"You've discovered the problem, Captain Kurland."
Sage Laurentius said meaningfully.
"What have you discovered, sage?"
Kurland looked at the technical priest with a serious expression.
"listen."
Laurentius's mechanical synapses pointed out the porthole.
Kurland turned his head and listened carefully. The Thunder Gunship was speeding across the battlefield. Apart from the whistling of explosive shells and the roar of artillery fire, the entire battlefield was shrouded in a strange humming sound. This humming sound seemed to be composed of some simple syllables. Ever since the Fists of the Empire stepped onto the battlefield, this strange sound made by the chrome beasts had been accompanying them.
"I extracted this audio data and analyzed it, trying to find the patterns it contained, but found nothing. Then I compared the audio with several known alien languages and found that the closest one was Orcish."
Sage Laurentius said.
"Orcs?"
Kurland asked, frowning.
So far, there has been no clue that this battle has anything to do with the greenskins. Kurland did not expect to hear such an answer and felt it was not very credible.
“It’s a little weird, but it’s true.”
Sage Laurentius said seriously:
"I have a guess: these chrome beasts may be conveying some kind of message to us. I told this guess to Chapter Master Mohan before, but he showed no interest in what the aliens wanted to say. Thank you for listening to me patiently, Captain Kurland. Sometimes I also need recognition for my work."
The technical priest said as he flipped open an old book.
"From the Battle of Ullanor to the Horus Heresy and up to now, although orcs have been appearing sporadically in various regions within the empire, they have never posed any threat, so not many technical priests are willing to study them. The orc data in my hand is from more than a thousand years ago..."
Laurentius babbled on.
Kurland glanced at the old book covers.
"Alien Anatomy".
Author: Quinto Anastasio.
"Compared to High Gothic, Orcish is not a very precise language. After repeatedly comparing it with the data, I determined that these syllables may represent the following three meanings."
Sage Laurentius pointed to the book and said:
"Kill."
"I am the Killer."
"Or... a beast."
…………
(End of this chapter)