On the planet Clax something disturbing has been happening. Violence was always a part of daily life on the lower parts of the spires but in recent times the rate of violent crimes has escalated. The PDF see the danger this poses but refuses to send in patrols because on Clax the PDF was very low on the list of priorities for the planetary govenor.
See that his underfunded PDF would be unable to handle the situation Govenor Myo decided to send out the call for reinforcements, specifically those specializing in urban warfare. He didn't have to wait long for replies.
First to arrive was a single squad of Kasrkins who had been passing the system to return home but stopped because urban warfare was what this squad did best. A small part of the Tanith First and Only arrived within a week. An urban battlefield is ideal terrain for snipers. Last came the 13th Penal Legion as it was thought that they are more effictive in terrain that is more like the slums they came from. By the time the legion had arrived however, work was already being done.
Scouting in the undercity had shown the main areas of violence were the alleys leading from the crowded market district. Saul led Xan and Smith down the narrow alleys, making note of anything out of the ordinary. There were bullet holes in the wall next to a blood splatter, clear signs of a struggle.
"Make a note of it's location and keep moving" was the order Saul gave as he knew full well that hives tended to have gangs and if there was violence in a hive it tends to be gang related. The squad moved forward until they came to another open area, another market. The squad had not brought most of their weapons lest they scare away whatever was casuing the violence.
Off in the distance gunshots could be heard. Saul gave the order and they advanced as fast as possible in the direction of the sounds. When they got within one mile Saul pulled out his binolculars. It appeared a gang was shooting at something down an alleyway. What they were shooting at was a mystery.
The Ksrkins stood and watched, knowing full well they didn't have the firepower to get involved and reinforcements from the top of the spire would take to long. Within 5 minutes the shooting stopped. The gang took off, running in different directions.
The cadians advanced and turned down the alley. The walls were littered with bullet holes and blood. As they drew closer to the carnage a trail of blood was spotted. It lead to a sewer grate too thin for any of them to crawl down.
Saul got on the radio and informed him that there might be more information in the sewers. The response he got back was less then enthusiastic. Myo told them that he would send down a few patrols into the sewers and that they were to return to the top of the spire.
The first patrol into the sewers was a disaster. Of the 5 men who were sent in 2 returned, one badly wounded. Their story was rather chilling. They had been sent into the sewers at the north of the spire as that is where it connects to two nearby hives, Taris and Korriban. They advanced to the south but one man tripped on something. They heard screaming but by the time they turned around the soldier was gone. Nervously they countinued till they reached an intersection near one of the markets the cadians had been through. The smell here was different, it smelled of rotting flesh. Indeed one soldier found the top part of a skull amidst a pile of trash. This convinced them to return to where they had entered. Before they could begin walking an object like a wire shot out of a dark corner, wrapped around a soldiers neck, and pulled him into the shaddows. The remaining three turned and ran. One of them was caught by another creature. Of the last two one said he saw a red skinned monster. It clawed his back, piercing a kidney and leaving claw marks on his ribs, but a shot from the other soldiers las-rifle forced it back.
This was serious news but Myo merely ignored it. There were over 10 million people in the lower levels of the spire, these creatures hadn't put a dent in that. What would happen next would change everything.
Myo's son, a 19 year old by the name of John, saw his father's ignorance of the problem and so he resolved to do something about it. He took it upon himself to grab a las rifle and a las pistol and head to the undercity. As he walked through a busy part of the northern point of the spire a beautiful woman caught his eye. She beckoned for him to follow. He was led to a nightclub. The Kasrkins saw John walk in and they hurridly followed him. Though they were heading into unknown territory they were still dressed in civilian clothes and carried hellpistols. The nightclub was called Neptune and it was beautiful. One of the walls was a massive fishtank with a platform in front of it. On the platform was 5 stripper poles, each with it's own stripper.
On the opposite wall was a full bar with TVs above it. In the back were private rooms. Saul ordered his men to blend in so Xan and Smith went to the bar and Saul pulled up a seat in front of the strippers (he was watching the fish in the fishtank, I swear). John was nowhere to be seen.
The woman had lead John to one of the back rooms. Things progressed quickly and soon they were kissing. The lady asked him if he was up to a little "deep throat". This sounded good so he agreed. They got to really kissing and she stuck her tongue down his throat and into his chest. She pushed against his sternum with her tongue and broke it open till her tongue was sticking out of his chest.
Xan had already had enough alcohol to knock out a squiggoth and he drunkenly stumbled back to the bathrooms. He slipped just outside John's room and landed in a pool of blood. It took him a moment to realize what it was. He called out to Saul and Smith, causing both of them to come running. They saw the blood and kicked open the door only to see the woman holding John's body. She could only have been a daemonete (no I can't spell it). Saul and Smith opened fire with their hellpistols while Xan threw up in the hallway. The daemon screamed once before the shots from the hellpistols blew her skull apart. The Kasrkins felt victorious but did not notice the owner of the nightclub appear behind them. The owner was tall, far taller then the Kasrkins. His right eye glowed with pink energy. His body was wrapped in a cloak, hiding his full appearance.
He grabbed Xan by the throat and threw him onto the bar. Xan slid from one end to the other. Smith and Saul turned and opened fire only to see their shots have no effect. A lucky shot opened the cloak. What they saw showed them they may be in way over their heads.
A lucky Hellpistol shot hit the pin holding the cloak together. As it fell to the floor the full extent of the undercity's problem was revealed. This huge man who had already thrown Xan clear across the club was no ordinary man, he was a chaos space marine. "We're boned" was all Smith could say before being backhanded across the mouth, shattering his jaw. Saul ordered a full on retreat as he grabbed Smith and pulled him outside the bar. Xan was already outside, having crawled there in his drunken state. Saul put in a call for reinforcements as the marine approached the doors.
The Marine advanced slowly, enjoying the thoughts of what he would do to the three kasrkins. His dreams were cut off however, when a chimera slammed into his side. The chimera itself was at least 50 years old, covered in rust. It's turret had been replaced by a heavy bolter. The gunner, liljoe, opened fire on the chaos marine, knocking him back before a luck shot tore into his neck. The marine fell, dead at long last. The kasrkins withdrew to the interior of the chimera while one soldier came out. His name was Luthor, a demolitions expert. "Heard you guys needed... cleansing fire". He walked over to the entrance of the nightclub and threw in a small black box. It went off while still in the air resulting in an explosion that blew him all the way back to the chimera and removing his gas mask.
What was behind the gas mask horrified the other soldiers. Luthors face was a mess, covered in burn marks and small pieces of metal where his face had to be reconstructed from previous demolitions. He was hideous but at the same time the fact that he had survived all of that was a badge of honor to him. The hurridly picked him up, put on his gas mask, loaded him into the chimera, and returned to the top of the spire.
Having heard the report from the Kasrkins even Myo knew what a threat this represented. However nobody knew where the chaos forces were based. He knew billions of people were counting on him to do something so he did all he could. He ordered the Manaan spire evacuated and the sewers to the other spires cut off. The top of Manaan became a military base as all the soldiers were moved there who weren't already guarding the border to two nearby spires, Taris and Lehon. This was no longer an undercover investigation into a few murders, this was now a major military operation to cleanse the planet of chaos without destroying the planet. Now was the time for war.
A massive elevator was loaded with infantry from all regiments. These men were heading into a battle they knew little of. The presence of chaos marines was already confirmed but nobody knew how many or where they were set up. The only soldiers who showed no emotion was a squad of ogryns. Their squad leader was named Garg and it was on him whom they relied to direct them in the fighting that was to come.
The forces of chaos knew they had been found and they knew what that meant. Imperial forces would come in massive numbers to wip them out. Chaos also knew about the elevators. It was there that chaos would make it's first attempt to hold back imperial forces. They took up positions in the now deserted undercity, with heavy bolters manned by gang members aiming straight for the elevators. Imperial patrols were oblivious to this as chaos came and went using the sewers.
Elevator 007 slowly made it's way to the bottom of the spire. As it slowed to a stop at the bottom chaos forces opened up. The lead infantry were shredded as everyone scrambled to return fire. In a matter of seconds men were taking cover behind the fallen, using corpses to sheild the living. Two of the squads were more successful then the rest, the Ogryns and a squad lead by a Commissar. The Ogryns charged straight at the enemy gun positions, losing 30% of the squad. In the close quarter fighting that ensued mortal humans stood no match for the ogryns except one.
Azzface as he was called simply played dead, knowing the ogryns would pass by him. As soon as they had their backs to him he turned his heavy bolter around and cut them all down. Garg was the last one to fall though he sustained the most damage before dying. Azz's victory was short lived.
Though the Ogryns had turned their back to him he had unwittingly turned his back to the rest of the imperial guard. A commissar by the name of Alcatraz rallied his men and lead a charge despite there still being an active gun on their right flank. Alc was the first to Azz's location and as Azz turned to face the guard Alc jammed his saber clean through Azz's stomach. Azz dropped to his knees and looked up at Alc only to see Alc aim his pistol at Azz's face and pull the trigger.
The battle was still not done however. There was still one heavy bolter team active and until it could be silenced the elevator was still not safe.
The landing at Elevator 008 went smoothly with no signs of resistance short of the gunfire in the distance. One chimera was dispatched to provide assistance. It held soldiers from both the 13 penal legion and the tanith first and only. As the MG that was pinning the men of elevator 007 came into view a man known only as pothead saw a chance for his own personal glory. The chimera opened it's back door despite moving at top speed for the enemy heavy bolter. the chimera went right in front of the gun, it's rounds bouncing off it's sides, as pothead lept from the open back door onto one of the crewmembers carrying an antique machete. The first of the two crewmembers dropped to a slash across his throat, nearly taking his head off. The other raised a pistol to potheads back but was stopped when Garret put a bullet clean into his brain.
Two elevators were secure, meaning only 006 had to be taken care of. This elevator had the smallest force as it was coming down in a fairly peaceful section of the undercity. Wilkey, Sentar, and the Kasrkins were among those assigned to this elevator. It landed without incident. At least for a minute.
10 years previous the Kasrkins had been in a cruiser returning to Cadia from a mission to cleanse a world of chaos forces. As they were in Warp space however, the Geller field generator shut off. Though it was back on within seconds it was long enough for legions of small demons to come aboard. The bridge and engine room were sealed before they could come under attack but all through the rest of the ship the crew was being slaughtered. Small pockets of humans still remained but at time went on more fell to the claws and jaws of the hellspawn. The kasrkins had been resting in their bunks when this happened but they quickly woke and armed themselves. Xan walked casually out into the hallway as though nothing were wrong. A small demon that was eating a crewmember looked at him, growled, and went back to eating. Why it ignored him was not clear.
On the bridge the captain could only wonder how, with the Geller field reestablished, were there still demons on the ship. The only reasonable explanation was that there was already some great demonic force onboard already. What it was and where he had no idea.
By the time the kasrkins rached the escape pod boarding area 85% of the crew had been killed. The deck around the pods was a mess, some guardsmen were trying to defend the pods, others were shoving and fighting their way to grab the few unoccupied pods. As Xan casually approached an empty pod he glanced over at the filled pod to his right. A small group of demons ran up to it and dived into it just as it launched. Xan laughed as he told Saul and Smith to get in. As they boarded a bloodletter charged straight for Xan, him being the closest target. Charging a kasrkin is a bad idea, especially when that Kasrkin has an affinity for axes.
Xan's eyes glowed with a pink light as the bloodletter went from furious to frightened. What it saw in Xan's soul would scare even the toughest demon. As it approached Xan rotated the axe so he would strike with the blunt end. Once it was close the bloodletter swung it's sword as hard as it could. Xan sidestepped and bashed the bloodletter in the elbow hard enough to force it's bones through it's skin. That was followed up by Xan bringing the blade, already facing the right direction, straight down into the demon's knee. It burried itselfin the joint, a perfect setup for a violent finisher. Xan kicked the handle, splitting and destroying the demon's knee as it dislodged itself and flew into the air. Xan caught it and in one quick motion brought it into the demons neck, nearly decapitating it in one hit.
Saul and Smith were already strapped into their seats by the time Xan entered the pod. Without a second thought he hit the launch button, sending them out into the cold blackness of space. On the bridge everyone could feel the demons presence. It was heading away from the ship. "The creature must've accidentally launched itself in an escape pod" the captain thought. It was a reassuring thought but he knew that by now the ship was doomed. As he looked at a viewscreen showing that they were near Cadia he knew what had to be done. If they drew closer the Imperial Navy might send boarding teams to try to reclaim the ship. He also knew the boarders would be overwhelmed and destroyed. As such he ordered that the crew scuttle the ship.
The Kasrkins felt the ship explode as it was still close by but though it was lost, so were the demons that had boarded it. As they headed for Cadia they had no idea the future they faced.
10 years later on Clax as the soldiers departed from elevator 006 they found it weird that though the other two elevators had come under attack upon landing they were still untouched. They knew the enemy were right below them and since they weren't attacking first a call was made to HQ. In short order the roof exploded at certain points as drop pods broke through the floors above because rather then climb one by one down the ladder it was decided a bit of "shock and awe" was in order.
The pods finally stopped when they broke into the sewers, depositing full squads of battle hardened soldiers. As one soldier stepped out of his pod he realized this tactic had an unexpected benefit. Some pods had landed directly on the demons in the sewers.
On the surface the soldiers of elevator 006 quickly set up a supply depot and communications center. The metal of the elevator was used as a giant transmitter that could give orders to any soldiers anywhere in Hive Manaan. The Kasrkins didn't stay around to help set things up, they were needed in the sewer. As they walked forward they heard the gunfire, the screams, all the horrors that lay directly below. They knew full well what they were gettling into.
They climbed down a ladder into the blackness, the only light being provided by their helmets and the holes from the drop pods. Smith went down first and when he reached the bottom he looked up and saw Xan begin to climb down. Xan and Saul heard a scream, causing Xan to let go of the ladder and drop straight into the unknown. When he landed his helmet light activated immediately and where Smith had been seconds earlier was now a trail of blood. It lead down a tunnel, in the direction of the kasrkins objective, the central junction.
Myo was pleased when he heard all possible routes to the other hives were sealed with fairly light losses. However the objective now went from containing the problem to annihilating it. Indeed this was the reason the kasrkins were sent in, they had the expertise for handling the dark confined spaces of a sewer. Where as the ordinary guardsmen would typically lose 3/5ths of their men or more in battles like this the Kasrkins were down to 2/3rd able to fight and the thrid was M.I.A.
As Xan and Saul advanced along the blood trail they heard another scream. It was Smith. Both Karkins rushed forward, heading over a quarter of a mile before they found Smith. He was barely alive, his legs shredded and a massive claw mark across his chest. He coughed up blood and tried to speak. All he could say was "She's waiting for you." as he pointed to Xan and then pointed down a corridor.
Saul told Xan to go ahead as he was going to stay there and if necessary he would set off the explosives in Smith's backpack which was meant as a way of slowing down deamons should the kasrkins be ovverun.
Xan came to a door and through it he found the sewer junction, the very heart of the sewer system of Hive Manaan. The room was over 300 yards across and 100 feet tall, filled with the machines required to treat and driect the sewage of the hive's inhabitants. At the center of all of this was a girl. Xan recognized her from long ago, when he was in High School. He had loved her but she never cared for him. He was stunned as he walked towards her wondering how she had survived in the sewers and why she was here. She took a steb towards him and reached out her arm as if to welcome him. It was now that she changed. In an instant it was revealed how she lived down here for she was a Keeper of Secrets, a great demon. Her outstreched arm shot forward, impaling Xan through the stomach. She lifted him into the air, laughing and smiling as she did so. All he could do was look her right in the eyes with a feeling of immense betrayel.
As Xan hung there his eyes glowed pink and all the hatred, jealousy, depression, and anger became one with his soul. He raised his hellpistol and aimed for her head. when he fired his shot merely bounced off as she proved impervious to mortal weapons. With his eyes still glowing his soul seperated itself from his body and joined his gun. Now this gun was charged with the negative energy of Xan, so much in fact that when he pulled the trigger this time that a huge energy burt was released in an instant, combletely incinerating the deamons head. As she fell to the floor Xan fell with her. When he landed he could see she had returned to her human form once again. He couldn't help but feel bad that he had killed her as he remembered the old days.
With her dead and him on the brink of death as well the deamons would no longer be unified which would make the remainder of the operation easier. He stimbled over to her body, looked down at her and shed a tear just as he himself dropped to his knees and died right next to her.
The last deamon in Hive Manaan was killed within the next few hours. The Hive was secured and Myo felt glad that though his planetary defense force was underfunded it proved it could handle itself.
