The Shattered

my new story spin off for the DE since part 3 of the Coup.

Here you go! :)

The Shattered

A tiny speck of unlight pierced the bright, early summer morning on Choran III.

It rapidly grew in size, soon large enough to fit a large structure through. Inside, if one looked closely, foggy shapes could be made out, tall spires of pure black, in a realm of undiluted malice and hate. From this portal, one shape grew in size and shape until it seemed close enough to touch, if any human were rash enough to stand that close to the evil-looking apparation.

With a sound of reality splitting, a single ship tore through the veil.

Death had come to Choran.

+++++

Kharrass awoke. Only 2 thoughts occupied his mind. One was a simple desire to know where he was. the second was a headache that threatened to rip his head asunder.

With a snarl, Kharass tore free of his fighter's restraints and hit the release rune on the console in front of him. The cabin of his razorwing flooded with bright light that hurt his eyes, even through his helmet. grabbing his huskblade and blast pistol, he jumped onto the ground and landed unsteadily.

What in the the name of the muses had happened?

Kharass tried to recall the events from his escape of the Slave Cruiser. He dimly recalled traversing the webway and encountering some form of hostile, but the full recollection evaded him.

The point was moot. He climbed to the highest point on his ship, balancing on the vanes at the rear end. His Head still pounded but with a supreme effort he forced the pain away. He had to concentrate.

He did not see any life near his ship. magnifying his lens' he panned across the landscape until he came across a small town.

There.

He knew that he needed to inflict pain and replenish his fading strength, and soon. Hopping down from the vane, he set off towards the settlement.

There, he mused, would be a great place to start.
+++++

The sun was at its zenith by the time Kharrass reached the town. Clinging to the little shadows remaining, he studied the town and moved silently towards the town center. The entire effort took him about an hour to complete. He soon found himself hiding on the roof of the building overlooking the town center. Below, the square bustled with activity. Kharrass looked on in contempt as he noticed who these people were.

"Mon-Keigh"

Kharass' hands twitched with the killing urge, but he needed to ensure he could slaughter them without being mauled by security forces. He knew that in his weakened state, he couldn't afford a protracted combat.

scanning the crowd, Kharass only noticed about 4-5 bored and tired looking humans with weapons. He surmised that they must be part of the Planet's Defence forces. He smiled evilly. He would return to this planet with his kabalite bretheren once he had been picked up. Returning to the present, Kharass made his way over to the Guardsmen, who he could now tell were discussing how to win at "cards." He tensed and prepared to attack.

+++++

"Dammit Freydrich! NO! you don't show the other players one card to make them think they have a better hand!"

Trooper Vorris yawned and reclined on the seat he was in as he listened to Brox try to explain the rules to the squad's stereotypical Muscle man. Freydrich was the son of a lower noble, but he was extremely dumb. All the product of inbreeding between those pompous freaks, thought Vorris. Looking over the square, he noticed Ghreeno and Wilhelm returning from their patrol of the area, although their patrols undoubtedly involved keeping their eyes on the local women instead of the area. Only Brox was competent enough a trooper to guard an area and he was preoccupied by a love of gambling. Vorris sighed and finished his sweep. As he turned to look at Ghreeno and Wilhelm again to make sure they were doing their jobs, he noticed a glint from one of the pots being sold. It was green, which was unusual. It took Vorris a minute to react and turn, by which time it was too late.

+++++

Kharrass swore under his breath and decided to move. That one human on the chair had noticed him, he was sure of it. The man's face betrayed confusion, which told Kharrass everything he needed to know. Standing, Kharrass unsheathed his blade and launched himself into the soldiers.

He landed with an audible crack, and looked down to see that he had broken one of the mon-keigh's backs. His huskblade flashed and ripped through a soldier's chest armor. Turning, he drew his blast pistol and shot one of the 2 that had been playing cards. Now only the Chair-trooper and the one who had been yelling were left to oppose him. preforming admirably, they dropped into crouches and took cover behind a thick metal barrier. Deprived of his blast pistols power, Kharass' mind took in the situation in the time it took for his heart to beat. aiming his pistol, he shot out a canopy above their heads, forcing them to either move or waste time getting rid of the canopy.  Moving into sword range of them, Kharass rammed the weapon up to the hilt into where he had last seen the yelling trooper. A cry of exsquisite pain rewarded Kharass' efforts. Unfortunately, his weapon was now stuck fast into the metal. A flurry of lasgun shots slammed into Kharass. It seemed the Chair trooper had recovered. Jumping into cover, Kharass waited for a heartbeat before his mind came up with a plan...one worth putting into action.
+++++

Vorris was shaking. He had been about to shout a warning when a bone colored apparation had smashed wilhelm into the pavement. He had watched Ghreeno die a miserable death on the thing's blade, and witnessed his body dry out and wither in the wind. Freydrich hadn't lasted much longer as the warrior incinerated his chest. It was only then that Vorris had been able to notice what the killer actually was...a Dark Eldar. One of the slavers. It was only Vorris instincts that had allowed him to drop and get into cover. His mind had raced as the canopy had fallen. It was only when things got quiet that he recoevered and moved. He knew that this eldar warrior would be able to predict where they were, and seconds later Brox had died as terribly as Ghreeno. Standing, Vorris had resolved to avenge his friend and he hammered half his clip into the eldar's chest. The slaver had staggered back into cover, and Vorris had kept his weapon trained on the same spot for a minute now. Vorris took a step out of cover, and allowed his guardsman's training to keep him moving. By now, the square was empty, all the citizens having ran as soon as th guardsmen had started dying. Reaching the wall, Vorris said a quiet prayer to the emperor and stepped around. a slight movement sent Vorris' trigger finger clamped down until his ammo counter was empty and his lasguns charge counter insistently pulsed red. exchanging magazines, he looked at what he had killed, and lost control of his stomach.

The bloody mess ended in two legs. It was all that was left after Vorris' fullisade. But that wasn't the worst part. The two legs were covered in the light blue and gray of the PDF. Vorris had shot one of his own troops.

Vorris vomited again and again. just as he thought he couldn't any more, he did again. For a few minutes this continued until finally, shaking, the spasms ended. Realizing what he had done he threw his weapon away, deep into an abandoned alleyway. Turning, he resolved to go home, apparation or no.

Except that Kharass had other ideas. Having flanked the soldier, he was waiting when Vorris turned.

Vorris' screamed and fell into what had been the contents of his stomach only a minute ago. Grabbing the guardsman by the face, Kharrass lifted him up until his legs were dangling. Feebly, Vorris threw his arms at the Slaver, his bare hands bouncing off the Lord's armor. Waiting, the Dark Eldar only spoke once Vorris had ceased his struggles.

"I must thank you, you pathetic meatbag. You and your comrade's deaths have reinvigorated me. Now i can truly begin planning my escape."

Vorris' eyes widened, but before he could respond, the Archon's hidden venom knife in his gauntlet had shot straight into the Guardsman's neck. As Vorris' life fled from his body, the last thing he heard was a solemn promise from the Eldar that brought tears to the human's eyes.

"I am Archon Kharrass of the Shattered, and I AM this world's death."