The Siege of Fort Akin

Wallace Svedson, Excubitor of Fort Akin and his Imperium garrison guards looked on as a few Golden Vipers Space Marines from Third Company interrogated their prisoner; a member of the Haralduran war party caught hovering too close to Andor’s atmosphere. A scarred warrior with pale scaly skin, cold grey eyes and two weeks’ worth of facial growth glared at his interrogators, issuing a slew of curses in the Haralduran tongue.

Sergeant Benn, called Rumble landed a punch that would have killed mere mortals, merely dazing his prisoner. “Easy for you to flap your gums while tied to this chair, eh?” he grated. “Lucky for you Hallies, your bones are stronger than most.” The Haralduran spat, his only response.

Wallace shook his head. “This is pointless,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “You bloody Golden Vipers can pummel the whole lot of them to death and we still won’t be any closer to the answers.” Wallace took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Forgive me sergeant, I spoke out of line.”

Benn raised his left hand, the one armed with his Lightening Claw. “Don’t mention it. Unfortunately for us, the Hallies won’t break from mere beatings and insults.” His arm shot out, the Adamantium blades crunching through the Haralduran’s thick forehead, making the Excubitor jump and recoil. Sergeant Benn pulled out his claws with a sickening rasp. “I’ve sent a squad to warn the Andoran high lords of the threat.” Wallace gave Sergeant Benn a blank stare, who cocked an eyebrow. “The Hallies want something or they wouldn’t have traveled from their precious home world to poke around here. We’ll find out what it is they want when the squad returns.”

The sounds of whiny engines vibrated through Akin's walls. Sergeant Benn and his Company marched out to the courtyard to greet the transport-class Sky Snake. Second and Fifth Companies streamed out of the Golden Viper vessel, the second last man to disembark was the Chapter Standard bearer carrying the Golden Vipers insignia, gold viper's head and blade on midnight blue field. The last man was unexpected.

"Commander Harlan, sir!" Benn called out, saluting.

Harlan Breywood, Chapter Master of the Golden Vipers Space Marines strode the length of the courtyard, his face grim. "Sergeant," he rasped. "I received your dispatch. Have the prisoners talked?"

"Not a word," Benn said.

Harlan bobbed his head. "As I suspected. We may have a bigger problem than we've anticipated. Find your captain, I'm afraid I have dire news."

Once the sergeants and Company captains assembled, Harlan weighted each Golden Viper officer. "I had thought the capture of a Haralduran war party would have been the end of this; but that is not the case. The Haraldurans are planning a massive invasion." He held up a leaf of parchment paper, stained with blood. "According to scout reports, their numbers are in the tens and tens of thousands." The captains and sergeants looked grim but were unwilling to speak their minds. "I have sent an urgent missive to the Lord Commander Militant to dispatch the Imperial Fists to come to our aid. In the mean time we must make preparations."

In all his twenty-five hundred years fighting war after bloody war, three hundred and thirty of those years as Chapter Master, nothing could have prepared Harlan Breywood, called Black Viper and Commander of the Golden Vipers Space Marines for the storm that was about crash the its gates of Fort Akin. A powerful and proud world under the protection of the Imperium, the Andoran nobles had kept a constant ear to the outer eastern reaches beyond the Imperium; rumors of barbaric beings, savage clans, all followers of Upyr the Blood Pater looking to expand into Andor were the talk all over the galaxy, until Golden Vipers Third Company captured the Haralduran war party, prompting Sergeant Benn to send out a distress call.

Harlan, a big man with long black and grey hair and wide stature, read and re-read the parchment report. At first he did not want to believe the Haraldurans, loyal servants to Chaos God Upyr, to be so callous as to invade Andor, but the bloodstained parchment in his hands confirmed the truth of those rumours. For the Black Viper, the pieces were slowly coming together; a war party of fifty Haraldurans trespassing Andoran airspace, captured and held by the Golden Viper's Third Company patrols and awaiting transfer to the penal world Agony on the first barge.

Fort Akin was built as an outpost for Andor and the rest of the Imperium. No army, not even an Imperial army was able pass without first paying tribute to cross through Fort Akin. The tunnel stretched thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, enough for six Stalkers to ride side by side. Murder holes dotted the tunnels on either side; if the snipers couldn't stop their intruders the trap doors built into the ceiling that were filled with boiling oil would make for an excruciating death for would-be invaders. The courtyard was bigger than all of the Imperium outposts this side of Andor, with enough capacity to fit a large army of Imperial Fists, not including the entire Golden Vipers Chapter, every man standing side by side with room to spare. Aside from the main gate, two other smaller gates, ten feet wide on either end of the fort served to deploy the Stalkers and other units (mobile or Space Marine) without risk of losing soldiers should the enemy breach the main tunnel.

"There's something else, sir," Third Company Captain Gowan, called Ignite said. "My squad were on our way back with some information when you spotted them," Gowan said. "The Hallies are also after the Solution, they've known the artifact's location for some time."

Breywood's lips disappeared, the revelation dousing him like a pail of ice cold water. "These prisoners wanted to get caught."

Haraldur, home world to crudely genetically created warriors known as Berserkers and located in the Crios Sector were a fearless and blood thirsty lot, void of any emotion. Originally a cluster of warring tribes spread throughout Haraldur, until a crafty warlord named Kamul, flying the red claws on black of Chaos God Upyr the Blood Pater united his clansmen in rebellion against their ruler King Oris IV, who decreed it forbidden the creation of genetic beings, unaware that his subject was secretly creating Berserkers from the tribesmen he united. Kamul, an immense being standing over six feet, eight inches tall with pale white scaly skin, fiery long red hair, a nose broken many times over and large, piercing grey eyes. He stood twice his size when he donned his Haralduran battle gear; folded metal chest and back plates, shoulder pads, leggings the colour of blood and adorned with the skulls of his fallen enemies.

He led a group of ten thousand Berserkers in a well orchestrated attack on the king's fortress Crow Hill, leaving a death trail of the king's men in his wake, eventually breaking through the doors of the Great Hall. After denouncing the current rulers, Kamul slayed King Oris IV, the queen and their three sons, forever eradicating the royal blood line. The newly-crowned Warlord of Haraldur created a growing army of eighty thousand Berserkers throughout the vast Haralduran territories in the weeks that followed. Kamul went as far as taking subjects from his former king’s allies, their chiefs and other worlds to create his Berserkers.

Those that survived Kamul's purge were either loyal or fearful of the Haralduran usurper. With a massive host Berserkers at his back, Kamul easily conquered and plundered their mortal enemies, former allies of King Oris, the much smaller worlds of Konur and Mersaz through cunning and brutality. Both planets were decimated, the men shipped back to Haraldur to be transformed into Berserkers for Kamul's host, the women and children taken as slaves. Those deemed useless were killed off. Once Konur and Mersaz were laid to waste, and with the knowledge of the sought-after artifact called the Solution, Warlord Kamul set his sights on Andor.

“Tomorrow, we free our brothers, Andor will bleed and the Solution in our possession! Praise Upyr!” his deep voice echoed throughout camp the night before his Haralduran fleet entered Andor. His Berserker warriors, all of them with pale scaly skin and created in the likeness of their warlord, roared and stomped their metallic feet in anticipation to the upcoming battle.

While the Haralduran fleet approached Andor, the Black Viper dispatched another urgent message to the Lord Commander Militant, the second one in a week, along with the warnings given to him by a scout from the Tenth Company, the only survivor from a four-man squad sent to Haraldur to investigate the rumours. The lone scout had staggered to the fort, barely alive and badly wounded. He died of his injuries soon after delivering his report to the Excubitor of Fort Akin Wallace Svedson.

"Commander, if what this scout says is true, then the Hallies are just a few Terra days from marching on us; we may not be able to hold the fort long enough for the Imperial Fists to arrive,” said the grey-haired Wallace Svedson as he rung his hands.

Second company Captain Molo Walright, called Shredder, also with grey hair but older than the Excubitor by several centuries looked over at Wallace and sneered, uttering the Golden Vipers war cry. "Our bite is deadly, our fury is bloody, Golden Vipers prevail."

Newly promoted Captain Sol, Third Company, called Bull and shorter than Molo, agreed. “We'll need another tactic should this Hallie Kamul breach these gates.”

Harlan stared at the fire blazing in the brazier, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He crumpled the blood stained parchment and tossed it in the fire. “It just so happens that we are all that stands between the genetically mutated hordes of Haraldur, the Solution and the rest of the Imperium while the High Lords make up their minds whether to come to our aid or not,” Commander Harlan said as he walked over to the table where map of Andor and the surrounding worlds was laid out. The silence in his war council chambers hung for several heartbeats until he spoke again.

“As it stands, we have, at this moment one thousand hundred Golden Vipers, Kamul outnumbers us at least ten-to-one. That’s Tactical, Assault teams, Devastator squads, a Dreadnought, Rhino and Stalker units, which for obvious reasons we won’t be using in open battle with the Berserkers. That doesn't count fort administrators, cooks, serving boys and servants. That’s the whole of Fort Akin’s defenses against over ninety thousand barbarians," Commander Harlan looked at his captains. "We need to fortify every inch of the fort,” Harlan turned to Captain Sol. “Form up the men and assign them to positions and stations as you see fit. Captain Molo, see to the defense of the fort itself. Since both our cannons are out of commission, therefore another alternative must be found.” All three captains and the sergeants with clenched fists pounded their metallic chests, saluting their commander and made haste to prepare the fort's defenses for the coming siege. Harlan pulled out his beacon device, sending out a call to First Company, who were left on Ivar to stand ready.

On the second night of preparations and in the midst of a heavy downpour, all activity stopped. At first the men could not believe what they heard, until it happened again. The shouts at first were thought to be the sounds of wild animals fighting each other in the dense foliage far out to the north, until the lookout spotted the first torches.

"Commander, enemy sighted!"

Commander Harlan, his massive Chainsword Serpent's Touch, attached to the back of his midnight blue power armour with the viper's head painted in gold, ran to the battlements, his eyes adjusting to the heavy rains and scanning the sea of pale scaly warriors in their full body armour emerging from Snake Forest, their war cry echoed throughout, sending a chill down the spine of the Fort Akin excubitor.

Once the last of the Haralduran Berserkers cleared the forest, they halted. From a distance the Black Viper saw two shapes strutting towards the garrison walls. The first was a very tall and muscular man with pale scaly skin; his body was covered with brown and red war paint. He wore an elaborate multi-coloured robe, leather shoulder plates and chest straps. They stopped within thirty feet from the towering structure.

"Soldiers of Andor, Golden Vipers, behold the might of Haraldur!" shouted the other being, who appeared to be their dark priest. He held a wooden staff in his left hand and from it hung the polished skulls of their conquered foes. He wore cotton short pants, various necklaces linked with bones, unkempt hair and a vest made of animal pelt adorned with the insignia of Upyr. His body was painted with a mix of blacks and greys. "Warlord Kamul in his infinite wisdom, bestowed on him by the Blood Pater, is offering Andor the chance to lay down arms, surrender without any bloodshed and to give us what we seek, our brothers along with the hallowed Solution!"

When no response was given, the dark priest resumed. "No response will not help your predicament; the great Warlord Kamul gives you the opportunity to lay down your weapons with your lives still intact, so long as you give us the Solution and our kin and swear allegiance to him. Consider this a final offer."

Through grey, narrow eyes Warlord Kamul understood the continued silence and slowly turned his back on the defenders to make for camp. "You condemn yourselves!" barked the dark priest as he spun and followed the Haralduran warlord. Commander Harlan, his captains and a row of Golden Viper Tactical snipers looked on wordlessly.

"If what's said about the Haraldurans is true, we are in for a long siege," said Captain Molo.

"Better than giving that mongrel the artifact." Commander Harlan had hoped for word from the High Lord whether reinforcements were on their way, but he also knew Warlord Kamul would not wait, he would launch his assault at the drop of a flag. "Prepare for battle." Golden Vipers' standard bearer appeared beside him with the Chapter colours gold on midnight blue. "Our bite is deadly, our fury is bloody, Golden Vipers prevail!" The super-soldiers of the Second, Third, Fifth and Tenth Companies echoed the twenty-thousand year old words.

A harsh shout rang out in the Haralduran tongue and the first wave of Berserkers stormed Fort Akin with long, reinforced ladders in the hopes to penetrate its defences. Harlan estimated their numbers to be at least in the thousands, a drop in a bucket for Warlord Kamul. Just before the first Haralduran Berserkers came into firing range, the Black Viper issued orders through his visor speakers for Captain Sol to have Devastator units at each of the postern doors and at the rear gates of the fortress.

Commander Harlan was in his power armour, his golden gorget and lobstered gauntlets matching the colour of the painted viper's head on his back. His legs were armoured with a pair of midnight blue greaves and a metal skirt of polished steel hung from his waist. Underneath his armour he wore nothing but steel. He hastily detached his Chainsword Serpent's Touch, snatched his powerful Bolt gun and ran up towards the battlements. The rain had lessened to a drizzle as the Tactical unit formed up along the battlement low wall, their bolt rifles poking out from the crenellations.

"Vipers, fire at will!" shouted Commander Harlan as the light rain pelted against his round top helm. A deadly shower of bullets fell upon the Haralduran invaders, but as fast as the Golden Vipers Tactical teams fired their volleys and hitting their mark, the endless number of barbarians were crossing the firing range in zig-zag formation and had placed their ladders along the walls of Fort Akin, smelling blood as they begun their climb. Harlan revved the throttle on Serpent's Touch, a powerful Adder Chainsword held by every Chapter Master since the Golden Viper's inception and hacked at the first Berserker that crossed through the crenels, opening a huge gash across his foe's scaled chest before shoving him over to the hard ground below. Another Berserker scrambled to the walk way, taking a swing at Harlan with a nasty looking spiked club. Harlan ducked, Serpent’s Touch biting down to shear off a leg before the Black Viper disembowelled the Berserker. The walk way was filled with Golden Vipers Space Marines and the Berserkers of Haraldur, mixed with gunfire and Chain-melee weapons. A few of Harlan's men had fallen over the wall, a quick glimpse from the battlements saw the bodies carried back to the Haralduran camp for ransom.

The fight had begun to diminish when Warlord Kamul called for a retreat; those caught on the fort battlements were left at the mercy of the Golden Vipers. After stabbing another Haralduran Berserker and throwing him over the wall, Commander Harlan called for his captains. The standard bearer skidded to a halt after beheading another Haralduran.

"They'll be back, make no mistake about it," he said as the wounded were attended to by the Chapter Apothecarion. "And no word from the Lord Commander Militant," Harlan's voice dripped in scorn. "Damn that man!" All four men were covered in sweat and blood.

Captain Molo looked to Captain Sol then turned to his chapter master, changing the subject. "Commander, we need to prep the Dreadnought."

Commander Harlan nodded in agreement, though visibly irritable. "Very well then, see to it."

A trumpet blared from the direction of Warlord Kamul's camp followed by the sounds of beating drums: BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. The Black Viper looked on as the Haralduran dark priest marched across the battlefield with Warlord Kamul himself and a squad of twenty Berserkers. Behind them another group carried what looked to be ten poles the size of small trees with sharpened tips. Finally, another Berserker squad brought up the rear with ten captured Golden Vipers; they appeared to be tortured, some of them maimed. Their armour torn to bits from Haralduran gun fire, hindering their abilities to heal instantly. It did not take a sorcerer to spell out to Harlan Breywood what was about to happen to his men.

"Soldiers of the Imperium," the dark priest intoned not long after stopping to a halt in front of the main gates of Fort Akin. "Warlord Kamul of Haraldur has offered peaceful terms in exchange for the Solution and our brethren, yet you continue to spit on his generosity!" The dark priest began pacing back and forth, measuring the Golden Vipers up for his next words. "Behold then, the price of insolence!" As the dark priest stepped aside Warlord Kamul barked some orders to his squad.

Commander Harlan Breywood stood helplessly as he witnessed his men shoved violently onto their stomachs, completely defenceless. What transpired for the next several minutes would give Harlan night terrors for years to come. His men were held down as the Berserkers shoved sharpened poles, the tips smothered in animal fat up their rectums, all while Warlord Kamul looked on with a disturbing smile on his face.

Harlan looked away, cursing loudly at the grisly scene before him, but couldn't block out the piercing screams of pain. The Black Viper could feel the Golden Viper's rage surging when they saw their comrades impaled by the Haraldurans. Excubitor Wallace was unable to withstand what he saw and tossed his lunch. To add insult to injury the impaled Golden Vipers were lifted, their stakes placed in holes and set ablaze, while still alive, for the Space Marines guarding Fort Akin to see.

"Consider this a warning, soldiers of the Imperium! Continue to resist our demands and see your precious worlds burnt to ashes, your army crushed under our might! This I swear by Upyr the Blood Pater!" shouted the dark priest. Kamul gathered his men and his priest as the stench of human flesh rose from the battlefield.

Bull and Shredder waited for the Black Viper in his chambers. When he arrived his face was grim. Captain Molo was the first to speak. "We've sustained minor damage to the main gate, scratches really, other than that the fort is still intact."

"My lord," Captain Sol spoke next, "we've lost so far fifty Battle Brothers, not including the ten impaled on the battlefield."

Sixty less Golden Vipers, Commander Harlan thought bitterly. Before he could breath another word, Shredder cocked his head, his eyes narrowed as though trying to concentrate. "You hear that?"

At first Captain Arno and Commander Harlan heard nothing; if it hadn't been for Molo bolting out of the chambers, the other two would have thought the Second Company Captain had gone mad.

When Commander Harlan and Sol reached the battlements, Captain Molo was shouting orders while ducking low to avoid being shot and getting hit by other projectiles hurled at the Golden Viper Tactical teams. He saw Commander Harlan and Captain Arno approach. "Bull! Black Viper! Looks like they've regrouped!"

Harlan cursed his folly; he kicked himself for letting his guard down. He looked over to the middle of the battlements. "We need those godforsaken cannons! Find someone capable enough to repair them!"

While Captain Molo took off in search of people to repair the cannons, Captain Sol skidded to a halt where Harlan was crouched. "My lord, the Hallies are trying set fire to the main gate!"

"If the cauldrons are ready then let’s give these whoresons a hot oil bath!"

Not one to allow himself to smile, even when an enemy deserves his fate, Harlan grinned from ear to ear as the sounds of scalding hot oil hissed on Haralduran flesh mixed with screams of agony, their body armour melting into their skin. The smell of boiled trans-human was the worst he'd ever experienced, but at least the main gate of Fort Akin was still intact.

His relief was short lived as he heard the tick-tick, tick-tick of Haraldurans climbing their siege ladders.

"Bastards," Harlan hissed. "Tactical! Take them out!" A flurry of bolt rounds slammed into the Haralduran horde advancing on Fort Akin's main gate.

Harlan unsheathed Serpent's Touch, ran to the nearest ladder and jabbed the serrated blade through the top of the first Berserker's head, pulverizing it. He wrenched his blade out of the barbarian's battered skull just as another Berserker, much larger than the first one he killed, reached the top of the battlements and made a run for the Black Viper.

Harlan stood his ground, oblivious to the fighting around him as he and his foe clashed Chainsword with Chainaxe. He parried a downward chop, catching the Berserker off balance, but the Berserker quickly recovered and tried to take the commander's head off with a back handed slash. Harlan ducked under the deadly strike only to block a forward slash, followed by another backslash. The Berserker's course, black curly hair bounced as he took a few steps into his flurry of strikes, almost distracting Commander Harlan for a split second.

As the Black Viper retreated backwards, he tripped over the body of one of his men and fell flat on his back. The large Berserker, seeing his chance at spilling blood, strode over with the head of his Chainaxe pointed at Harlan's exposed chest. Now standing over his prey, the Berserker gripped the hilt with both hands, raised his weapon to begin his deadly plunge...

...and found himself impaled on the end of Commander Harlan's Serpent's Touch, the thick serrated blade protruding through his scaled chest and out his back. His gaping, disbelieving eyes stared back at Harlan as his life slipped away. Harlan revved his blade, ripping it out of the Berserker before taking another shot at the dying Berserker's torso, the final swipe cutting the giant Berserker in half. Harlan shoved his over the edge, watching the Berserker fall over Fort Akin's massive wall.

Just as the battle began to dwindle, Commander Harlan spotted another wave of Berserkers rapidly approaching the fortress. But instead of storming the main gates, they broke off into two groups, each taking the smaller doors on either side setting them ablaze.

Commander Harlan cursed, then called out to his captains through his visor speakers. "Berserker Terminators are trying to breach our small doors! Unleash the Devastators, see that these Hallies die for their efforts!"

A thought nagged at Commander Harlan as he exterminated another Berserker. Who’s been supply these brutes with our armour and weapons?

Captain Molo Shredder Walright, in his midnight blue power armour led his squad of five Devastators through the south postern doors, Bolters up and aimed at the advancing Terminators. "Steady boys," Shredder called out. He could feel the battle rage surging through his men. Captain Walright arranged two firing lines, three standing and three crouched. Moments later Berserker Terminators crashed through the postern door, unleashing their Lascannons. Three Devastators fell before the front line of the Terminators were vanquished by the surviving Devastator Missile Launchers. Bull and his squad charged at the Berserker Terminators, their Heavy Bolters lighting the tunnel in a series of blinding flashes. Shredder unsheathed his Adder Chainsword, a unique melee weapon crafted specifically for the Golden Vipers Chapter. He ran as fast as his armour would permit, revving the throttle to slash at the nearest Terminator once, then twice, splitting his armour to shreds.

Another Berserker Terminator dashed through the postern door, making a run for Shredder with a deadly war hammer in his large hands. Adder Chainsaw and Haralduran war hammer clashed, leaving gouges on the tunnel walls and sparks in their wake. The Berserker swung, missed, and was impaled by Bull's Adder Chainsword.

"Black Viper, this is Shredder, send out the Dreadnought!"

Before he could acknowledge his commander's response, Bolter rounds penetrated Bull's power armour. He staggered back, shaking off the impact when a Berserker war hammer connected to his head, the impact breaking the left side of his face. He fell on his stomach, the Berserker beating down on Captain Molo Walright mercilessly with his war hammer.

Just before the fatal blow, Shredder sneered at his enemy. "Our bite is deadly," he croaked. "Our fury is bloody. Golden Vipers prevail!" The Berserker did not savour his victory for long; a Golden Viper Dreadnought entered the tunnels, tearing him to scaly shreds with rapid Heavy Boltfire.

All Commander Harlan could see was black smoke coming from the side doors and the Dreadnought he unleashed. He knew his Devastator Squad would keep the Berserkers from taking the fort but wanted to see the outcome for himself.

The tunnel was littered with dead Golden Vipers and Berserkers. Twenty feet away the Black Viper spied the body of Captain Molo Shredder Walright. Harlan shuffled over towards the middle of the tunnel; after what seemed like an eternity he knelt down to inspect his fallen Battle Brother. Captain Molo's chest plate was still smoking from the Bolter rounds; his back was a grotesque mess, a crimson pool forming beneath him. Shredder's face was dented from the blow of the Berserker war hammer. The Black Viper shook his head at the loss of a formidable Battle Brother and Captain.

"Commander, the men were wondering what we should do with the Haralduran prisoners."

Harlan looked up to see a very tall, and young Brother soldier, Harlan judged him to be two hundred years old with long, shaggy brown hair. His face was spattered with blood from the fight; an Adder Chainsword hung from his back, Bolter shouldered. The man's piercing green eyes with flecks of silver looked at Commander Harlan Breywood with concern.

"I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Sergeant Elias Blimm, called Carnage, Fourth Company Assault Squad, my lord."

Commander Harlan reached up. "Help an old man up if you would be so kind, Sergeant." Once on his feet, the Black Viper studied Elias Blimm further. "I don't recall seeing you here. Where did you serve?"

Sergeant Blimm nodded. "I was recently brought in from Ganstire to serve under Captain Molo Walright..."

"...who is no longer with us," Harlan cut in as he looked down at his dead Battle Brother. "He will be sorely missed."

The young sergeant inclined his head. "If it pleases you, commander, I can arrange to have his body sent back to Ivar, locked in Viper Hall for viewing and his weapons and armour stowed away until we perform the burial rites."

Commander Harlan was impressed by Sergeant Blimm's quickness and attention to detail. "Tell me something Sergeant Blimm, how did you transfer to our Chapter?"

Blimm’s face was grim. "I was recruited by my former Chapter, the Steel Foxes of Ganstire before they were disbanded by the Inquisitors; something about corruption and certain Battle Brothers systematically killing their own on the Chapter Master's orders. The Inquisitors uncovered the traitors, eight in total. They were executed, including Chapter Master Kazar. Those who were innocent of the plot were scattered to various chapters. That's the truth about how I came to Golden Vipers, Fourth Company."

"Ganstire is a Death World,” Harlan said, “known for their harsh desert environment. The C'Tans once tried to colonize the planet nine thousand years ago, a couple of millennia before the founding of the Steel Foxes, but for some unknown reason they abandoned their mission." Breywood paused, then laughed. "It's small wonder why you were sent to Ganstire." He was about to ask the young sergeant if he'd seen the likes of the Haraldurans when the Fort Akin war horn went off; AAAAAOOOOOOOOOO

A Golden Viper from Fourth Company burst in the tunnel. "Commander, the Berserkers have regrouped! They bring a battering ram!!"

Both soldiers ran as fast as their power armour permitted to the battlements. The Black Viper and Carnage peered over the edge of the wall to see the Haralduran Berserkers pushing a massive ram sixty feet long and as wide as a great oak tree. The front end was crudely sharpened to smash anything in its path with little effort. Golden Viper's Fifth Company Assault Squad had already regrouped, weapons ready, along with the rest of the Chapter Tactical Squads formed up along the battlements.

"Our walls may be four feet thick, but while they ram our gates, the other Berserkers will use their ladders and our burnt out side doors for entry," Harlan shouted to his men. "Show no quarter, for none will be given!!"

As the Haralduran Berserkers, with their battering ram got closer, Commander Harlan turned to Elias Blimm. "Seek out Captain Sol Arno, Bull he's called, he will be in need of a strong Battle Brother." The young Golden Viper saluted quickly and ran to find the veteran captain. Harlan grabbed Elias by his arm. "You're the ranking officer of Second Company now."

"Sir!"

"Tactical!" Harlan called out. The Tactical Squads of the Second, Third and Fifth Companies lined up the length of the wall. The Squad leaders of each Company gave the command, unleashing another storm of Bolter rounds. The rain of Bolt rounds slowed the Berserker advance but did little to stop the battering ram. When one Berserker fell another rushed to take his place.

Harlan growled into his visor speaker. "Send out the Rhinos!" The Battle-Brothers in the tunnels made room as four Rhinos, two in each tunnel rumbled out onto the battle field, Storm Bolters firing at the oncoming Berserkers, ignoring the invaders with the battering ram.

Commander Harlan's face curdled like sour milk when he saw the endless steam of savages nearing the wall with their ladders. If things weren't bad enough, Warlord Kamul himself was on the battlefield making his way towards the wall, firing shots at the Rhinos. "Hold them off as long as you can!" he barked at his Tactical Squads. Harlan ran to the centre of the battlements where the Haraldurans began ramming the main gates. "Are the cauldrons ready?!"

"They are commander, all three are full with boiling oil!"

"Pour the cauldrons!"

The screams coming from the Berserkers were horrifying as they were being cooked alive. By the time a fresh replacement of Haraldurans raced to pick up the battering ram, the Golden Vipers Tactical Squad had already reloaded their Bolters and unleashed with lethal accuracy.

Third Company Captain Sol approached Harlan. "More Hallies keep coming commander and we're horribly outnumbered. What are your orders?"

These savages will not lay their filthy hands on the Solution. "We defend Akin, Bull. Golden Vipers prevail!"

Captain Sol saluted. "Golden Vipers prevail!"

Looking around at the chaos before him, Commander Harlan Breywood accepted his fate, "Golden Vipers," Every man present, on the battlements, those in the tunnels and those driving their Rhinos listened intently. "If today shall be the day we give our last breath, then be it so...so long as we take our enemies to the fires with us!!" The roar of the entire garrison was deafening, a sea of Adder Chainswords clanging against Bolters.

“Golden Vipers, prevail!” The Black Viper turned in time to see the Berserkers clear the last rung and land on the battlements. The Golden Vipers Tactical Squads unsheathed their Adder Chainswords as they recited the Golden Vipers war cry, revved their throttles and quickly began cutting down Berserkers as they cleared the last rung of the ladders.

The two groups went steel to steel and as Commander Harlan hacked another Berserker with his Chainsword; he could hear the cursing and screaming of men on both sides. A fiery red blur caught his eye near one of the ladders; Warlord Kamul had entered Fort Akin, donning his own version of Imperium-issued power armour, a nasty looking Chaos Chainaxe in his hands. The Black Viper could feel his battle rage surging, his heart was beating hard in his chest, he tightened his grip on Serpent's Touch as the Haralduran warlord spotted him. Within his first five steps he slew two Golden Vipers, his Chainaxe ripping through their power armour.

Warlord Kamul pointed the head of his Chainaxe at Commander Harlan, silently stalking him. Even at ten feet away Kamul in his armour looked like a giant volcano of angry flesh, ready to explode. Harlan stepped forward to meet him, blocking a strike aimed for his head. Harlan quickly side stepped to his right, slicing Warlord Kamul's left armoured thigh. Kamul hissed in pain and that was all the reaction the Black Viper got from him. Kamul whirled around and swung out with a backslash, but Harlan ducked in time to hear Warlord Kamul's Chainaxe buzz a few inches from his head.

Commander Harlan pounced, his first strike was easily blocked, the second however grazed the right side of Kamul's ribs; Harlan was sent flying with a devastating back fist punch for his efforts, the hard landing on the battlement walkway, driving the wind out of him; he was dazed by the Warlord's hit. Harlan struggled to stand as he spat out two broken teeth and a mouthful of blood.

A shadow loomed over him and then a Chainaxe smacked the empty spot where Harlan was lying a minute earlier, having rolled out of the way from the Warlord's attack. Commander Harlan looked up to see the pale face of the Haralduran Warlord, red and twisted in rage, chopping down on the spot where the Black Viper scrambled away from, sending up sparks as Chainaxe connected with stone. The sound of the cauldron scraping the hinges were heard, as another chorus of high pitched screams pierced the afternoon, the third time since storming Fort Akin that the Berserkers had boiling oil dumped on them.

Warlord Kamul advanced with a yell, forcing Commander Harlan to hastily parry his attacks while back peddling across the battlements. Harlan managed a couple of counter-strikes until he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. A Berserker stood behind him with a toothless grin after smashing Harlan with his forearm.

"No!" growled Warlord Kamul. "By Upyr, you won't take the glory from me, he's mine, fool!"

Before the Berserker could react Kamul separated his head from his shoulders. It rolled for a short distance before stopping a few feet from the ladders leading down to the courtyard. Before the headless Berserker slumped to its side, Warlord Kamul resumed his attack; but by then Commander Harlan, still on his knees but fully recovered, saw him coming. Breywood tried to stand but was met with the sole of a big armoured boot, hitting Commander Harlan square in the chest, putting him on the flat of his back once more.

Warlord Kamul, the undisputed leader of the Haralduran Berserkers stood over his fallen foe sweating, bleeding, huffing and puffing. His grey eyes bore into the Black Viper as he savoured victory. The fighting still raged around them; the Bolter rounds hitting their targets, the clash of steel, the shouting and the dying were only distant sounds. The fate of his Chapter was sealed, in his eyes he had failed them.

Kamul reached back with his ugly Chainaxe, aiming for Harlan's head...

...only to stop in mid swing! His back spasmed as a Bolter round entered his ribs. The Warlord used his Chainaxe to hold himself up and grasp his sides as another round pierced his left hamstring. He let a roar of pain and frustration, and was brought down to one knee. Harlan Breywood saw the opportunity and cleaved his enemy with an upward cut; through Warlord Kamul's testicles to his stomach. He watched with no emotion as blood and insides spilled out onto the battlements when he ripped his Adder Chainsword from Kamul's body.

Kamul had fallen on both knees, screaming at the top of his lungs. Commander Harlan felt a new-found strength as he slowly rose with Serpent's Touch grasped tightly.

"Our bite is deadly," Harlan shouted. "Our fury is bloody. Golden Vipers prevail!" He glowered at the mutilated warlord. "Here lies the terror from Haraldur, to be food for the gods!" One stroke was the Black Viper needed to cut Warlord Kamul in half, Serpent's Touch glistening with blood.

Commander Harlan Breywood, Chapter Master of the Golden Vipers Space Marines snapped his head around at another sound; Imperial vessels, including the mobile fortress Phalanx dropping off Company after Company into battle with a hardened enemy. Shouts of encouragement rang out all over Fort Akin, surging the beleaguered Golden Vipers forward, vengeance raging. The Berserkers, who just moments before had been close to victory found themselves cut to pieces by the combined Golden Viper and Imperial Fist forces. Two of the four Rhinos sent out by Commander Harlan laid waste to the Berserker; the other two were reduced to burnt-out shells. The Dreadnought's one-team massacre added the fatal final touch.

"Leave none alive!" Harlan shouted.

A Golden Viper space marine, in the Chapter's signature midnight blue power armour with the viper's head painted on the torso, armed with a Heavy Bolter, a massive Adder Chainsword strapped to his back, accompanied by Harlan's Standard bearer and Excubitor Wallace Svedson approached, saluting crisply. "Captain Chas Var, First Company."

"Captain Chas," Harlan saluted in return, squeezing off a few Bolt rounds at the fleeing Haraldurans. "Warlord Kamul is dead. I want First Company to infiltrate the Berserker homeworld of Haraldur; your men are to seek and destroy any Haralduran hostiles, Berserkers, anyone who poses as a threat. Use any and all methods at your disposal. I'll find the Imperial commanding officer to allow a Company of Fists to augment your strength."

Captain Chas' fist clanged off his chest plate. "On your orders, Commander."