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Battle of Khalita Ridge- part 7 the finale

Techmarine Vollus of the Guardians chapter of the Adeptus Astartes saw the final route and destruction of the Liskavian guard units ongoing.  As he did so he knew the attack had failed.  He snapped his head around to where the chaos sorcerer had hacked down two of his fellow marines.  Victory may beyond the Imperiums grasp this day, but vengeance wasn't.  With a roar he rushed in to face this champion of darkness.  The Chaos marines uttered a string of foul oaths as he swung at Vollus.  Force sword met power axe and Vollus turned the blade side wide before swinging his axe back across.  He felt the heavy impact of the blade as it slammed into the traitors side, heard the traitors startled gasp.  Then nothing as the axe came free and the traitor fell dead at his feet.  As he did so he saw the daemon herald seemingly looking on though the fell beast had no eyes.  Vollus roared a challenge and began to stride forward.  No dabbler of the warp would survive this chaos victory to trouble the Imperium again he vowed.

Vollus never heard nor saw the Flamers of Tzeentch as they leaped at him from behind.  He saw only the daemonic heralds mocking sneer.  The sudden flames that engulfed him knocked him to the ground.  His weapons fell from his grasp as he fell desperately he tried to reach out and reclaim them while glancing at the smoking corpse of his fellow marine.  Suddenly the Daemon was there swinging his staff with the great blade at the end.  An eruption of agony hit Vollus and he felt his implants struggling to compensate.  With a glance he saw the daemon had severed his left hand.  Suddenly he was being lifted up into the air unable to move as he felt icy pin pricks cover every inch of his body.  Witchcraft! his mind snarled and raged as his body was helpless.  Suddenly the daemon thing spoke.
"A fine prize, a valued prisoner to taint and corrupt.  many secrets will you share."
Vollus could hear the things laughter echoing in his mind just before he passed out.

Major Polkornik watched in horror as Techmarine Vollus of the Guardians chapter was captured.  A hero of the Imperium of man, who had this day banished daemons, Destroyed a heldrake and ended the Alpha legion sorcerer, captured and had his hand severed.  Polkornik could hear the terminator approaching and knew death was on it's way, still he had a last duty to perform so he grabbed the vox.  The Guardians chapter and Imperial high command needed to know what had happened to Vollus if any rescue was to be made.  For all that he had done for the Liskavian's and the Imperium this day, the major knew he owed it to him.  Even at the cost of his life.  He heard the master of ordinance's laspistol firing and the sickening crunching sound of the terminator crushing him.  The major did not turn around just kept broadcasting right until the moment a chainfist punched it's way through his body tearing him in half.

Khopesh the Havoc surveyed the scene before him.  The demons and terminators in pursuit of a couple of retreating guardsmen.  If more than three managed to escape the battle it would have been a miracle.  Already he ws issuing new orders onto the vox.  The wounded were gathered and Imperial bodies stripped of gear.  Khopesh would use most of the grenades they recovered to ring the area in booby traps to discourage small units from moving in under darkness and harassing them.  One of his Havocs found a demolisher shell in the smoking ruin of one of the tanks.  It would be buried at the base of the ruins and a transmitter attached to it.  If any Imperial troops reoccupied the ruin in the future he would destroy them and the ruins with a simple word over the vox.  Transports were inbound bringing militia reinforcements.  The wounded would be flown out along with the captured gear, recovered gene seed and armor both from the Alpha Legion and the Guardians.  Lastly the imperial techmarine would be taken in chains to an interrogation site.  There he would be made to spill every secret he possessed including Khopesh hoped a set of current Imperial encryption keys.  Khopesh listened to the legion vox channel.  Everywhere the news was the same.  The Imperial forces all along the ridges had been devastated and forced to turn back.  Still the price had been high.  The Stygian air mobile regiment had lost almost half their strength in the battles that had erupted amongst the ridges.  The strength of the fireforce units was low it only remained to be seen if the imperials had any strength left and what new counters and strategies they would employ.  Still it mattered not victory was theirs.

 Special thanks again go out to Chris Edstrom (pictured below) a dedicated and talented hobbyist for all his help with the battle of Khalita ridge