GIVE THEM NOTHING, BUT TAKE FROM THEM EVERYTHING!

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MARSHAL'S LOG [ENTRY 005] - 345128.M42

MARSHAL TYRION

COMMANDER, 5TH BLACK TEMPLAR CRUSADE

ZULU-PRIME, THRAXIS SYSTEM

I. MISSION.

(A) ELIMINATE FORCES OF CHAOS. A LEGION OF CHAOS HAS BEEN AMASSING ON A PLANET IN THE THRAXIS SYSTEM. THE 5TH HAS BEEN DISPATCHED TO PURGE THE THREAT. 

II. COMBAT ACTIONS OF INTEREST

(A) THE TRAITORS WERE ARRAYED AROUND A THREE STORY RUINED HAB-BLOCK ON THE FAR SIDE OF ZULU-PRIME, THE PLANET'S CAPITOL CITY. WE MADE PLANET FALL NEARBY AND TOOK THE INITIATIVE. I LED THE CHARGE. AS WE CAME INTO RANGE, ONLY BY THE GRACE OF THE EMPEROR I WITHSTOOD A MENACING AMOUNT OF FIRE POWER FROM THE TRAITOR MARINES. I PUSHED THROUGH THE DEADLY STORM AND BREACHED THE STRUCTURE.

(B) I PRAYED FOR THE EMPEROR AND HE WAS WITH ME. MY HAMMER OBLITERATED A FULL SQUAD OF TRAITOR MARINES... EVEN AS THEY SHOWED THEIR BACKS I SCATTERED THEIR ARMOR... THEIR HEADS... THEIR BONES... ALL WOULD DIE. THEN, I SAW THEIR LORD. GLEAMING IN RED AND BRONZE TERMINATOR ARMOR, HE CARRIED AN AX SPEWING A SEEMINGLY  ENDLESS FOUNTAIN OF CRIMSON GORE. AMONGST THE KHORNATE ICONOGRAPHY, WRITTEN UPON HIS ARMOR, WAS HIS NAME: KRATOS. HE GLARED AT ME WITH GLEAMING RED EYES. I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS LEVEL OF TAINT IN MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS. HE SPOKE... 

"PUNY MORTAL... THE DARK GODS HAVE GIVEN ME GIFTS YOU COULD NOT POSSIBLY IMAGINE... I WILL SEND YOU TO YOUR EMPEROR NOW."

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH SPEED. POST MISSION ANALYSIS REVEALED I WAS STRUCK WITH THAT VILE AX OVER 11 (ELEVEN) TIMES BEFORE I REACTED. MY BLESSED STORM SHIELD REPELLED EVERY STRIKE AND WAS DESTROYED. IN RETURN, I SWUNG MY HAMMER WITH THE SKILL OF THOUSANDS OF BATTLES, EACH STRIKE A CRITICAL BLOW. THE LORD WAS LAID LOW, SPRAWLED UPON THE PLASCRETE FLOOR, BUT LIFE HAD NOT LEFT HIM.  

KRATOS WINDEDLY SPOKE, "WRETCHED LAP-DOG... I VOW TO KHORNE I WILL KILL YOU SLOWLY... AND I WILL BRING ABOUT THE END OF YOUR PUNY IMPERIUM." IN A FLASH OF GREEN ENERGY, KRATOS WAS GONE.

(C) BROTHER CHAMPION INVICTUS LED SQUAD MADOX AND FELL IN BEHIND MY CHARGE. BEFORE THEY COULD JOIN ME THEY WERE FLANKED BY KHORNATE RAPTORS, A FEARSOME QUICK ASSAULT UNIT UTILIZING JETPACKS AND SPECIALIZED RANGED WEAPONS. MY BRAVE NEOPHYTES THREW THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF THE ATTACKERS AND DIED HONORABLY. BROTHER INVICTUS FELLED THE RAPTORS' CHAMPION WITH A VICIOUS UPWARD SLASH FROM HIS BLACK SWORD. THE SKIRMISH WAS A BLOODY AFFAIR AND THE RAPTORS WOULD CLAIM ONE OF MY BROTHERS FOR EVERYONE OF THEM THAT WERE BROUGHT DOWN.

(D) BROTHER GRYMM'S ASSAULT CANNON RIPPED THROUGH THE WEAKLY ARMORED CULTISTS. HE WAS DEEPLY SADDENED WHEN HE DISCOVERED ALL OF THE CULTISTS HAD BEEN SLAIN AND HE WOULD NOT BE NEEDED FURTHER DURING THE BATTLE. 

(E) ALL NEOPHYTES WERE SLAIN ON THEIR FIRST MISSION. REQUISITION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR 4 (FOUR) ADDITIONAL NEOPHYTES TO FILL THE LOSS.     

III. PERSONNEL INTERACTIONS.

(A) BROTHER CHAMPION INVICTUS. BY HAPPENSTANCE, I OBSERVED BROTHER INVICTUS IN HIS ARMING CHAMBER. HE WAS STRIPPED OF HIS ARMOR AND WAS APPLYING BLESSING OILS TO THE BLACK SWORD. HIS TORSO HAD BEEN BURNED BADLY IN THE LAST BATTLE AND WAS A GRUESOME VISAGE. AS I WALKED AWAY I VOXED APOTHECARY KALEB.

(B) INQUISITOR BALE. I HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO MOVE MY STRIKE FORCE INTO THE MELKIN SYSTEM. A MORAL THREAT MAY BE FORMULATING AND MUST BE INVESTIGATED AND ERADICATED.  

IV. PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS.

(A) THE BATTLE WAS WON RATHER EASILY. I DO NOT THINK IT WILL BE SO EASY THE NEXT TIME. KRATOS' FORCES WOULD HAVE BROKEN US DURING OUR APPROACH WITH HEAVY WEAPONS, WHICH HE LACKED FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON. THE NEXT ENCOUNTER WITH THIS CHAOS LORD WILL NOT BE SO EASY.

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