Backstory: Hammers of Man Part II

Part II: Conscription

It’s my own fault, really. I should have known how little tolerance the Imperium had for behavior that was at all aberrant. I should have stayed home that day. I should have sat in my hab and beat the heat with an amasec or two. Instead, I found myself loping over the dunes, trying to get a peek at the camp I had helped build. I knew the area well, and knew the best approaches, so it wasn’t long before I was peering over a boulder and down into the small valley below.

Off to one side, two Overlord-class transports were landed, their engines still spilling vapor onto the tarmac. I barely noticed the dropships, however. What caught my eye most of all were the giants forming up in neat ranks on the parade ground.

My first thought was that they were Astartes. I had heard of the gene-bulked warriors, and knew their fearsome reputation. However, this suspicion was disproven when a standard human Commissar strode out before the men (if they could be called that). The newcomers were massive in comparison, easily two or three heads taller than the Commissar. Accompanying the man was the bug-like techpriest adept that had contracted with me. He skittered along on metallic appendages, keeping pace with the officer’s brisk step.

The two of them joined a small group of the giants, who stood at attention before the ranks of others. While the main group of men (trainees I assumed) were dressed in simple tunics and fatigues, the ones the Commissar joined were fully armored, unpainted ceramite glittering in the summer sun. Further, they seemed to be in slightly different classes or varieties of armor, some heavier than others, some equipped with what looked like wings and boosters.

So they were Astartes. The strange project requirements suddenly made sense. But these had to be something new. Their size, their armor. These weren’t typical Marines.

As I watched, one of the armored Marines turned his helmet in my direction, and I quickly ducked behind the boulder to avoid detection. I could hear the Commissar launch into a speech about duty to the Imperium, and besides the ambient noise of the dropships venting their excess oxidizer, the steppe was relatively silent. I ventured a peek over the boulder again, and found the scene much as I had just seen it. Strangely, the officer that had glanced my way was no longer a part of the formation.

Suddenly, what sounded like a meteor roared in and landed right next to me. The sand around me kicked up and blinded me, and the impact of the object striking the ground was near deafening. As I regained my senses, I saw the bulky form of the Marine officer walking towards me, the heat from the large pack on his back making the air around him shimmer. He raised a stubby but massive bolt weapon and pointed it at me.

“CITIZEN. HALT.” came a vox-amplified voice.

His command was unnecessary. I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to. I literally shook as his piston-empowered stomps made the ground under me tremor.

A power-armored fist gripped my shoulder and hauled me to my feet.

“IDENTIFY YOURSELF.”
“V..V..Vasili Usukov!” I stammered, swallowing hard.

The monstrous warrior turned his head slightly, as if listening to something.

“COME WITH ME.”