Tenebris Ultores Book 3: A Band of Brothers

An entire Legion has fallen under the command of the Fallen Librarian Laos and the Tenebris Ultores have been deployed.

Brother Gladio of the Caliban’s Chosen glanced over his battle-brothers in pride. Three dozen of the finest soles of the Adeptus Mechanius could ever offer. With him the ever brooding Librarian Fist leant on his Force Axe, a slight irritated look in his eyes. Ever since that accident with the Dark Eldar Haywire grenade that killed the final few members of his squadron and almost blew off his leg, shattering the bone, he has been in too much pain but he has awoken on Gladio’s request and has now gone to war beside him.
“Men, the time have come. The Caliban’s Chosen have been called to aide. Almost a hundred Fallen have made Planet Fall, under the command of the once few commanders, a Fallen Librarian by the name of Laos and with the traitor the leader of the Ninth Company of the Dark Angels, Brother Foes. They’ve made dug-ins in No Man’s Land on the land on the air base of Regin, a vital source of power to Molov and without it we have lost our supply from the planets! But there is another honour, few escaped Traitor Marines we lost trail of during the Fortress raid. We shall take our vengeance to them and they will fall to our blade!” Gladio bellowed defiantly, raising his obsidian blade into the air and the men cheered.


“Sir, they’ve dug in the scattered ruins of the air-field!” Called out Brother Devastator Fusel and the sergeant nodded, thumbing his vox-link and repeating the order. 
“Where? To the west of our position sir, a well defended area and one that is not to charge with ease!” The Sergeant, Brother Friar, thumbed the advice to his link; on the other end was Brother Gladio, who was waiting for the right time. 
Brother Gladio looked upon the line from his vantage point on the surface looking down, the cave system providing him and his huge clad soldiers of the Deathwing of the Successor. The rest of the army was arranged in a fire-team formation, spread out with Bolters all checked and barely visible, even the monsterity of the Terminator Armour was fairly camouflaged. 
“Sir, something’s not right. Our Guard had reported more Fallen. Where are they?” Sergeant Brother Friar asked, almost unnerved by the un-expected like he always was, but he was just a recruit, only a decade into being a Full Space Marine.
“Don’t worry Brother, for We Know No Fear and if they peer their heads, we’ll show them that the Vengeance of the Emperor will come to them!” Brother Gladio proclaimed…

Brother Dias sprinted in his armour and slid in the slick mud. He then took aim through his scope as the rest of his squad edged on, wading through the muddy ground. “What is it Dias?” Sergeant Brother Glaive asked through the vox-link in his helmet. 
He glared through his scope calmly to see the veil of mist through the mass of the rock and mud piles, blood and bodies scattered throughout, members of the Guard that was trying to invade before. 
Behind a pack of boulders, was something him and the rest of the Dark Angels and Successors that ever existed. The Fallen. He knew only because of his state in this chapter. Whether he was a Battle Brother or Deathwing, the Calibans Chosen was a family of the Adeptus Astartes and were told their troopers the ancient dark secret of the original Lion.
He held his breath as the Psyker he remembered from his briefing was within reach of his scope. He aimed, calmed down.
Then he fired.
Fallen Brother Laos spun in mid-air, but got up again, roaring to the sky.

“Take aim men, fire upon the Chaos Traitors with all the might of the Emperor!” Librarian Fist shouted gruffly to his Terminators.
The Terminators of his squads turned their Storm Bolters and under the Eye of the Emperor the guns screamed death and two of the traitors fell unmoving.

“Sir, Fallen Brother Laos and Brother Foes are advancing rapidly!” Brother Terminator Clad yelled through his vox-link. 
“Then we kill-.” Terminator Brother Rays didn’t finish the sentence as he collapsed as Fallen Brother Foes fired upon the surprised squad, the entire Terminator Squad fell to their stomachs, pinned down by the constant fire.


Brother Dias slowed his breathing as he ejected another round of ammunition and slammed in another. He slowed his breathing. He fired a bolt of death, but it bounded off harmlessly. 
They were still advancing rapidly so he had to order. “Brother Field, aim and gout the Flamethrower and provide cover for me.” He ordered and the Brother nodded and squirted out gout of flame that steadied with ease. 
He flipped himself around the other side of the pillar of the Skyshield and trained his Bolter through the scope and took aim. He slowed his breathing. “Burn the Heretic, long live the Lion and the Emperor!” He shouted and pulled the trigger. The gun exploded and the bullet delivered Justice. The Emperors Deliverance had come to Brother Laos as he collapsed and didn’t move the eye-piece draining blood quickly.
“Emperor Protects.”

At the sight, Gladio whistled a high pitch and nodded. He leapt off the cavern and thumped onto the ground, leaping up and unslinging his Storm Bolter. He fired quickly as he went into cover on the west of the position. His brothers did the same. 

With the sight of Brother Laos collapsing, Fist slammed his Force Axe to the ground and aimed it to the landing pad. “Deathwing, initiate the sequence Justice of the Imperium!” The Librarian bellowed as he jumped in the air, roared to the air and slammed his Jump-pack starter and it initiated. He flew through the air, bolt round flying harmlessly off them. They landed in the landing pad and instantly went into cover. “Take aim and pick your targets carefully. Conserve ammunition!” The Librarian roared and they fired short, controlled bursts. The Tactical Squads in the middle instantly fell back and went into cover, one of them left in the dirt, his leg blown away from the kneecap. The Librarian uttered an oath to the Lion and roared, flame flickering from his mouth. He breathed it on the lost squad member and watched the Heretic burn, screaming.

The skies flickered a brilliant light as a roar emitted from engines vile and disturbed, mutated by the warp. Falling from the sky, soldiers of Dark Green and red, but the traitors had revealed themselves, different to the Soldiers of the Forest and Water.
Brother Plaid trained his Storm Bolter with ease to the approaching traitors, beside his Brothers-in-arms and their resented but respected Librarian Fist.
“Deathwing, short bursts of fire!” Fist shouted over the roar of the battle ahead. He aimed and as one the whole squad fired upon the screaming engines of their enemy. His firing was true, the screaming shells of the Imperium’s Wrath ripped through the jetpack of the leader, a fireball coiling around the doomed traitor. The Marine crashed into another and hit the Jump-pack belt. It withdrew immediately and they both fell to their death. Fist shot another down. The Marine fell and the Jump-Pack took over and it went AWOL, flying everywhere. 

Brother Foes grinned from afar and Calibans Chosen Brother Dias knew what was going to happen. Brother Foes took aim and Brother Pikas flew off his feet, dying in mid-air. They all took cover in the rocky crop. He twisted to Brother Sergeant Glaive and turned the Space Marine around, to see a Bolter round had captured the Sergeant through the eye-piece. But that wasn’t the worse thing. A shout echoed through the battle-field and Brother Dias peered around the rock cluster, to see Foes charging him and his pinned Marines. “Ah Emperor.” He huffed. 
“Full automatic, don’t conserve ammunition, this Traitor has to die!” He cried out to the other two. 
“Well let’s take this b*****d with us, for the Astartes and the Emperor!”
Brother Foes was barely meters away, roaring. All of the Space Marines grabbed out their swords and waited. Foes hit the small firing force, sliding his sword through the neck of Brother Rhoads, beheading the man. Brother Field gouted flames at the Fallen who then ripped through that and an ebony coloured sword slid through his mouth piece. It was just him left, the only Marine of the squad left. Now or never.

“Sir, Brother Sergeant Glaive and his squad have been dispatched by Brother Foes.” Gladio heard the Devastator Sergeants report, and looked on as Librarian Fist decapitated the final Assault Marine left. 

Storm Bolter fire erupted from the sky-shield landing pad, cutting down muddy figures of the Fallen Marines under watchful eyes, then breathed, smoke drifting from his nose, and he breathed flame, the fire catching on the corpses and jumped swiftly.
After a time, the pinned enemy was slowly cut down. “Halt Fire, where did the final Marine go?” He scanned the dirt and searched through his lifeforce energies, but couldn’t find anything. He heard a slight bing of a bullet on metal and his head flew to the place. He saw slight movement where there was no body. Camo-cloaks. 
He huffed again and blew fire again, the flimsy cloaks no match for the fiery inferno. Two lied still in the flame while the others wreathed, but escaped their cloaks and rolled in the mud, trying to flee.

Brother Foes collapsed as Krak Missiles pounded around him, one catching his leg, which sent him flying backwards. When the dust cleared, the stumbling Fallen had his whole stomach ripped open, but before the Sergeants eyes, it was repairing itself slowly and steadily. Bolter fire then screamed at him, making it impossible to see the commander. They cut the fire off as they saw Foes standing there, coughing and spitting blood and holding his stomach in a formation of pain, even with his helmet on. Bolter fire erupted, three bullets from the Sergeant himself ripped through the armour to mend his right arm a complete pulp. 

Then he charged…
Foes ran forward despite the internal bleeding that was evident in his posture. He graciously leapt onto the building and climbed, Bolter fire rapidly firing his way but he just leapt once more and killed Brother Paestum point blank with his bolt pistol, and flung himself around to face the Sergeant. 
“For the Emperor and the Lion!” He bellowed and swung his chainsword to behead the Fallen, who ducked, wrapped himself inside the guard of the Sergeant and stabbed his heart. The Sergeant gurgled once and then died. His chainsword hung limply in his hand and he gave one last tug on it and the chain bit through the armour and into the flesh as he died. The Fallen roared and threw the Sergeant off his sword.

Fist aimed once more at the pinned scouts and fired and that was that, the Scouts had it, and scrambled away to the cliff. He sprayed once more as they reached the cliff off this rock and two pitched forward, jumping off a cliff and one dropped dead in mid air, dropping like a sack of potatos.

Out of nowhere, a grizzly howl emitted everywhere and suddenly, as if out of thin air an enemy Terminator Squad landed in the West, around fifty yard from Belials Squad and instantly did the same, firing heavily and jumping into cover.


Foes kicked Brother Piouas and the Marine fell off the spire and hit the ground below, impaling himself on a small missile, which ripped his body in half.
He flipped over Brother Ouray and stabbed him in the back, left the ebon sword in his chest as he crumpled and fired point blank into Brother Hasp, the Marine crumpling. 
“Maximum Resistance Retreat, we have to lower him where we can spread out and get him in-.” Brother Roafu hollered before he was torn apart by Foes Bolt Pistol.
They retreated slowly, a cover of fire covering their retreat, Foes slowly backing them out.

A missile flew out of nowhere, smashing Brother Dodson in the face and exploded, catching Brother Polkas square in the face with a piece of shrapnel, killing him instantly. Bolter fire then erupted, catching Brother Piazza through a chink in his chest, ripping through his chest and dropping him and another pot shot got Brother Goliad in the head. Brother Sergeant Froude ran into cover and was instantly vaporized, another Plasma Blast smashed through Brother Flask, glancing Gladio in the side of the face. He screamed but kept going, the pain excruciating.

Brother Tenebris stopped in his tracks, stopping his huge metal exo-skeleton in its tracks, the feet gripping to the muddy patch of ground. His frame groaned and cricked as it turned fully around, the huge exhausts chuffing black smoke into the air. He looked through his eye-slit with his robotic eyes to see the Fallen Brothers charge at him, firing Storm Bolters to him. He reacted quickly and his mummified brain got the Machine Spirit to take over his corpse Machine. It was a choice full of risk, but he knew that the Traitors were fast and deadly, and his Machine since the Krak Missile that hit and wounded his circuitory systems, the motion was delayed. He breathed and went into watch mode. The Machine Spirit gouted fire and the Terminators were engulfed, the nearest one was running, his fist charged fully. The Machine Spirit grabbed the punching arm of the Terminator and pulled the traitor in, the Close Combat arm installed ripped through the Terminator armour like cheese, the entire back of the Terminator scrap metal. The Traitor fell to the floor lifeless as the Terminator ripped out its spinal cord. “By the Lion and the Chapter, die Traitors!” He roared.

Tenebris looked through the heated battle, the Machine Spirit fending off the Terminators, when he saw the Bone White Armour of the Terminators, their green and blue faces dropping from nowhere. 
“To the Victory of the Imperium!” Sergeant Auks bellowed and charged the Fallen Brethren. 

Belial looked around, his face slowly eating his face away. He found one of the Fallen from the Records of the Annuals that was supposedly working for the Chaos Band, leading a small squad of Elites, also Traitors, but not from the original battle of the Lion, the Fall of Caliban. He smiled grimly and roared, taking aim.
“Burn the heretic, for they Betrayed the Emperor, the Lion and all!” He roared and charged the squadron.
The Fallen Traitors snapped their helmets to stare in awe at him, and quickly cocked their guns and fired. He hid behind his shoulder pad, and roared again as their bullets bounced off, so they drew their swords and the leader, Fallen Brother Laski drew his hammer, charging it with electricity. He leapt in the air and landed to the side of a brother, punching the fallens helmet with his Terminator fist. The helmet crumpled and the Chaos filth crumpled with it. He then turned and hid as Bolter shells were fired and trained his Storm Bolter onto the Fallen, blowing the armour inwards and throwing the Fallen off his feet. “I challenge you all to face the Wrath of the Lion and you will fall before my feet and grovel, in the name of the Emperor!” He roared and the Fallen stepped forward. 
“It would be the Pleasure of me to take your skull in the name of Khorne, Blood for the Blood God!” The Fallen Captain laughed in glee and stepped forward, hammer unslung.

Brother Josef was the first to fall as he was stabbed through the back with a Power Sword and fell limp by a Fallen Brother Olaf. Brother Fotiadis charged forward with his Power Fist, throwing it towards Olaf. The Fallen blocked with his free fist, and aimed his Storm Bolter point blank and Brother Fotiadis’ face turned to a pulp. Brother Sergeant Khans stabbed up, and the Fallen fell to his knees, a sword through his head. He retracted it and turned around, a Storm Bolter pointed to his face. “For Khorne!” He laughed and Brother Khans head blew to a pulp. 

Brother Gladio traded blow after electrical blow with the Fallen Brother, so much in fact an electrical field surrounded them. 
After so long, the Fallen and Gladio were out of breath, the electrical weapons slowly draining their spirits.
Then Fallen Brother Laski made one mistake. 
He swung low to the feet and Gladio stabbed downwards through bone and out. He withdrew the blade and twirled it around in his hands, and kicked the Sergeant down, his sword at the heart of the Traitor. “This is where your life began as part of our sacred chapter. This is the Emperor, the Lion and the Astartes and you dishonoured this vow and oath. For that, I speak from the Emperor that you, Brother Laski, are seen forfeit of the rite of the Dark Angels Space Marine.” He hollered and pressed his blade and it slid through bone and flesh like it was butter.
“The Emperor’s Wrath is vied through me!” He bellowed.

Brother Gladio swung his sword around his head and slashed down at a Fallen as he tried to plunge his chainsword into his belly. The wound only opened some armour chinks. Gladio kicked the Fallen and he stumbled backwards, and then he plunged the sword through the chest of the Fallen and he fell down like a sack of potatoes.

Storm Bolter fire erupted once more to the Marines still holding the building and the Fallen cowered behind cover. One tried to fire back and the Librarian took aim and blew its head off.

Tenebris took control as he grabbed the Terminator by the head, throwing the Traitor across the field of battle. But he realised too late. He heard the crackle of electricity and his mechanical beast tried to turn, but his will wouldn’t compete with the tank. He felt a sharp pain and roared, but nothing would come out. He felt the life-support slowly detaching, the artificial blood leaking out of his system. The mechanical beast fell down flat.

Librarian Fist saw the fireball that engulfed the last Terminator left, a name of Brother Forsa, but he roared and charged up towards his men.


Brother Gladio kicked out and caught a Fallen through the chest, sending the Traitor flying to the ground. He leapt and landed with his left foot on the flailing Fallen. “In the name of the Lion and the Dark Angels!” He roared and his Power Sword crackled with energy as it met armour and slid through it straight into the heart. The flailing soldier fell still and quiet, unmoving. He looked up to Librarian Fist in his bloodied helmet. He wiped the blood away and bellowed. 

Brother Forsa bounded up the stairs and appeared on the Landing Pad. Brother Pious sprinted up and took aim with his Power Fist. He threw his Power Fist out to destroy Brother Forsa, who simply grabbed the now beleagued Brothers fist and fired point blank into his face with his Storm Bolter into his face. Brother Pious dropped like a sack of Potatoes and Brother Forsa, the Traitorous B*****d, leapt forward and just as he was to reach Fist, Brother Sergeant Loki rammed into him, sprawling both of them to the floor in a bloodied combat. Out of the smoke, charged out Brother Foes who pointed an Ebony blade at the Librarian, who then stepped forward, his Force Axe crackling with energy. 
They charged each other.

Brother Gladio turned to see a green Space Marine lingering in the shadows, his helmet smashed in a dozen places. “Bring it you Traitor!” He roared to the Traitor. The Traitor ran faster than Gladio could imagine as he threw away his Storm Bolter and unsheathed his bloodied Power Sword, the blade crackling with energy. The Tactical Marine fired Plasma bolts into him but he stood his ground and shrugged them off in his armour. The lone Marine threw his Plasma Pistols out and unsheathed his chainsword. 
The Chainsword revved and they engaged in combat. Trading blow after blow with each other. 
But his right eye was failing him and he struggled to keep it open. Soon it closed and with it, the entire right half of his face going numb. He pushed to Brother Foes desperately, swinging his Sword through an arc that he knew would throw him off balance, but he was tired of war and tired of dying. After three hundred years of living of death and violence, he had been ready to die. 
He swung hard and Foes dodged and flipped around his armour. “For Chaos!” Foes grinned and swung his chainsword through the right side of his face and as Gladio fell down, he knew he would be in a better place.

Sergeant Loki ripped the mask of Forsa, leaving him exposed. Through the gash in his forehead and his bloodied cheek, he grabbed the Fallens head with his hands and squeezed, headbutting the Fallen and reached for his knife. He unsheathed it with his mouth and spat it into his hands. Before Forsa had time to react, the blade was through his head and he fell still.
Loki got himself slowly up to see the Librarian kick the Dark Angel Fallen down and grabbed his arms, quickly binding him through ancient incantations only the Chaplains knew and bound him.

This battle was over. Now he knew it was back to the Rock, where the final few annals would be recorded and their Traitors that were caught were to be interrogated by none other than Ezekial and he knew as well as any in the Chapter that they would break…