Whispers from Slaanesh

"This Sucks!"

by Kenneth Peters

 

"This SUCKS!"

Private Feol glanced quickly back at his squad leader. Corporal Peters rarely spoke, and his outburst was all the more unusual.

"First that screwup on Orin IV and now THIS!" Corporal Peters spat into the bitterly cold wind that was the hallmark of the planet Finindland. "High Command better get their head out of that Inquisitors ass before this turns into a real situation." With that he turned on his heel and trotted towards the relative warmth of the squad bunker.

Feol quickly forgot about his Corporals outburst as he concentrated on just trying to stay warm. But as if to taunt him the wind picked up, he could feel icy daggers of cold creeping in under his thermoparka. He hunkered down even further and decided to use one of his ration heatbars to keep himself warm. As he broke the packs seal he could immediately feel the warmth began to spread. He placed the pack under his torso and hunkered into his slit trench.


Almost two kilometers away a camouflaged form noted the brief flare of thermal energy and began to move slowly towards the reading. Like a ghost, it moved over the snowswept drifts.


Ranger Tuovold was experienced in the art of stealth. He had many months of practice after the Imperium had invaded his world and left him a hunted animal on his own planet. For months he had lived without a steady source of food or shelter, hiding from the roving Imperial 'pacification teams' and periodic scorched earth sweeps. He had seen his sister Leana shot in half by Imperial troops, apparently for target practice. He could still heard the laughter of the Imperium scum as they gunned her down - he shook his head to rid himself of the memory.

He had always been interested in outdoor life, and after he joined the underground Finiash resistance he had refined his natural skills. And now all of his skills were being used to move close to the hated Imperial scums' camp.


As yet another cold wind blast sent a cold draft into every small gap in his clothing Feol reiterated for the millionth time that he hated this planet. He had had a bad feeling almost immediately after being conscripted into a replacement unit for the 10670th Imperial Guard's infantry regiment. The Imperial Guard almost never drafted replacements, especially since the 10670th had been raised only the year before. He had heard tales from some of the veterans in Beta Company that the Finiash resistance forces had proven almost impossible to track down - despite the harsh policies imposed by the Inquisitor brought in to command the flagging Imperial forces. There were even reports that the Marines were going to have to be sent in.

Feol usually did not think of political matters but even he had to wonder what in the Emperor's name was so valuable about this planet. Before the invasion the planet had a semi-advanced technical level and was beginning to discover space travel. The only major resource the planet seemed to hold was the large amounts of Tanathium ore in its northern wastes. All he cared about was finishing up this campaign and having his fiancé' moved to what would be their new home. He longingly glanced at the worn holopicture of his future wife - she looked so beautiful. He felt a little bit warmer just thinking of her.

Now the Imperial forces were engaged in a viscous guerrila war with hundreds of thousands of insanely dedicated natives. Even the tried and true methods of planetary subjugation that Inquisitor Poteml'ian employed had not decreased resistance. In fact his policy of forced relocation, establishing 'Death Zones' and virus bombing the planets grain crop had only hardened resistance. He had heard tales of whole Companies disappearing into the icy wastes. The Finiahs were very good at this style of warfare and refused to give up.

In most cases the planet would have been wiped clean of all life, but so far Exterminatus had not been ordered on this planet. Feol could not imagine why not.

"This sucks.", he intoned under his breath.


Tuovold slowly inched towards the sentry position. He was starting to get cold and his powercells were beginning to run low, this would have to be fast. With a rush he raised himself from the snowdrift he was hiding behind and rushed the sentry, his hummer knife faintly vibrating as it vibrated at hypersonic speeds.

Feol barely glanced up to see a pack of snow suddenly detach from the background and move towards him. He opened his mouth in alarm but was quickly silenced as he felt something faintly cold slide into his midsection. He could only gurgle softly as his lifeblood spilled onto the snow.

With a sharp crack of bone Tuovold slid the hummer knife up through the sentry's stomach all the way up to his neck before letting the body slowly drop to the snow.

"That's for Leana, scum." He spat on the body, it crystallized immediately on contact and shattered with a soft crackle on the dead Guardsman helmet. He did not even see the picture in the sentries hand.

Tuovold could already feel his lower limbs begin to get cold as his heater started to run out of power. With a grunt he began to move towards the bunker. "This sucks," he said.