Dragon and the Dynasty - Part 2

The Dragon and the Dynasty – Part 2

It had been one month since the landings on the forsaken planet. The unnamed and mysterious world was determined to remain so as the 2nd division of the Emperors Dragons fought a desperate campaign against a fully awakened Necron dynasty.

Cut off from the fleet in orbit with all contact lost and unable to be resupplied, the division was critically low on supplies. The Necron’s had been awake when the first scouts of the legion had landed and had allowed them to close in on their city before launching their ambush.

Any other force would have been obliterated by the assault had it not been for the fact that their opponents were Astartes. The finest warriors humanity had ever produced, they fought back with a primal savagery that forced whoever was leading the Necrons to quickly change tact and re-evaluate the war it was waging. Hard to kill and incredibly skilled at all forms of warfare, the Emperors Dragons had lost their leader in the opening stages of the battle only to quickly fall behind the prodigy known as Achilles, captain of the second chapter. Now leading the remaining space marines in a fighting retreat, what had been an expedition to create an Imperial outpost was a war of survival.

The war was moving towards an inevitable conclusion. The Necrons had absolute control over the planet and their forces were overwhelming. Achilles and his brothers had forged a path to a deep valley nearby the city they had been ambushed in. Maps memorised before landing on the planet, it was the best way to hold off the Necrons and funnel their forces to mitigate their numbers advantage.

Achilles fought a losing war as if he were on verge of a victory that his brothers could not see. Always finding counter strategies and ways to overcome every attack and as the month passed, the Necron’s changed tactics a multitude of times to overcomes Achille’s adaptations. One thing noted by the Astartes command was the lack of air support by the Necrons. Trapped in a canyon and holding out in a static position, it was the weakest point of defence for them and yet there was none. Something must be happening in orbit they had surmised that was forcing the Necrons to invest all their air support into that region.

This wasn’t just a second founding chapter company; this was a ten thousand strong space marine force sired by a living primarch and they fought a savage war for survival that defied all odds. Such a force was truly terrifying. Regardless, the Astartes were falling one by one. It also spoke of the incredible might of the Necrons to force them into such a position. Through it all the shining light of Achilles stood. Scores had fallen to his blade and there was no illusion that without his leadership and tactical prowess the division would have already fallen.

However, something darker was occurring beyond the tall walls of the canyon they fought in. Many kilometres away, deep within an ancient vault a hideous creature sat. Encased in a throne as if in some sick mockery of the Emperor of Man, an incredibly ancient C’tan occupied the vault. With twisted and pre-historic sciences, the C’tan was merged into the throne with a variety of contraptions and machines. From here the C’tan ruled and commanded his forces, every single Necron his eyes and ears, taking in all the different angles and battlefields simultaneously within moments. Achilles with his superhuman mind would go through dozens of strategies within minutes. From within his throne, the C’tan would sift through thousands.

Almost as if they were playthings, the C’tan used the drawn-out campaign to learn and absorb as much as he could about the Astartes. Ancient wars had been fought well before the age of man and this was a new enemy to learn from. Once everything had been gathered that the C’tan deemed useful, he would crush the remaining Space Marines who had dared tread within his domain.

Such a time was near and the C’tan prepared his forces to land the final blow. The air support that was supposedly missing was being brought forward to crush the remnants of the devastated division. However, as the pieces all moved into alignment, something went amiss. The C’tan was quick to adapt, but the mysterious force kept on interfering. Matching his moves, countering even. What creature could do so? What had the power to stop a C’tan and his legions?

Achilles, drawing his sword yet again from another fallen foe looked skyward as if in prayer. Another battle had been fought and again the Necrons were pushed back. He’s always wondered about that, why retreat when they clearly never tired?

In the sky a single orange flare appeared, hurtling down as it broke through the atmosphere. Soon it was followed by ten more, then hundreds. Then Thousands…

To be continued…