The Defense of Quarskin
This story, part of the community effort on the Abyssal Jaws chapter.
“To this day, I have never forgotten fighting alongside the Abyssal Jaws. True, no man could ever forget fighting alongside space marines, an event that I have been lucky enough to witness three times, but my time with the Jaws still remains the most vivid, long after they left. I cannot think of them without smiling, nor can remember them long without shivering.”
“Just a few months after I became a sergeant in the PDF, a horde of Chaos cultists attacked the planet. I do not know from where they came, only that they brought boats to traverse the mighty oceans that are so common on our fair Quarskin. They were horrible things. I saw a galley made out of solid rockcrete, sailing effortlessly on the waves without any engines, but leaving a sea of dead fish in its wake. I saw a ship with a sail made of fire, its horrible light chilling my blood. I saw a steamboat with a paddle made of solid bone.”
“Worse yet was the occupants of these boats. Most of them were human, or at least were once human, but now tainted and maddened by chaos. They fired missiles at passing gulls. They defaced mountains with artillery for amusement. The sea around the chaos ships was red with blood.”
“Though the PDF navy fought hard, they could not stop the Chaos boats from landing. They did however; force the Chaos transports to unload in a heavily fortified choke point, where I was stationed at the time. The fort that I was defending was built on a small island, and it was not uncommon to see waves splashing up against the walls.”
“It was then that we got word our position would be fortified by a squad of marines from the Abyssal Jaws chapter, a chapter known for specializing in aquatic warfare. This was not the first time I had fought alongside space marines. Several years prior, during an Ork invasion, I had the honor (if not the pleasure) of fighting alongside the Ultramarines. I figured I knew what to expect from the Astartes. I was wrong.”
“The Abyssal Jaws were quite different from any other space marines I had ever seen before or after. The day they were deployed alongside they took the time to shake every man’s hand, all one hundred PDF troopers. They insisted in sleeping in regulation bunks, instead of the special bunks we were ordered to make for them.”
“They never criticized or blamed us during battle, despite the obvious competence gap between our forces. On days when the cultists massed to attack the fort, they would always take the most open positions. On days when we were shelled, they would raise morale by telling stories of their previous campaigns, and sometimes even jokes. And on days when the cultist’s attacks lulled, they went about repairing the fort’s previous damages, requiring no praise or assistance.”
“I remember one day a lucky shot from a chaos cultist destroyed my lasgun, the sergeant not only escorted me back to the fort, but he also gave me his bolt pistol. It was a lucky thing too, as the PDF had no spare lasguns in the fort. What’s more, he even spent the lull the next day teaching me how to use the weapon. To this day I still treasure that bolt pistol. “
“One day, the chaos cultists attacked en masse. They were even more wild and frenzied than before, gleefully jumping over their dead brethren to get into the fight. In their midst was a giant of a space marine, larger than even the Jaws, and covered in blood red power armor. The sword he held in his hand was the same crimson color as his armor, though I doubt any pigment ever touched the blade. The cultists surrounding him were ecstatic in their rage, charging forward no matter how many times they were shot.”
“The sergeant of the Jaws charged towards the Chaos Marine. The other Marine swung at the Jaw’s sergeant with his horrible sword, but the sergeant brought up a spear to block. Then, he thrust the spear’s point through the Chaos Marine’s shoulder, and took his arm off. The one armed marine stared stunned at the stump for several seconds, and then fled screaming. The cultists around him scattered, some running towards us, some following their master, and some turning their own weapons on themselves.”
“The Abyssal Jaws took chase after the Chaos Marine, and, try as we might, we could not catch up with them. Seeing as the chaos threat was eliminated, we became to celebrate. Great quantities of beer were drunk in celebration, songs praising the Emperor were sung, and wild lasguns shots were fired into the air. “
“Then, ten hours later, then Abyssal Jaws returned, carrying with them the body of a one armed giant. While we tried to congratulate them on their kill, they said nothing to us, and began silently taking off their armor. I still remember the tattoos on their faces. Blood red, and demonic, looking more like something we’d have seen on a cultist than our saviors. More tattoos adorned their bodies, some of monstrous fish, some of wicked looking knives, and some of designs I could not hope to identify.”
“They then laid the body of the dead marine on the nearest table, and, without ever saying a word, began tearing apart his corpse. Blood flew through the air, muscles torn from bone, bone cracked open. It took me a while to see what they were doing, but, to my horror, I eventually realized it. They were eating the chaos marine.”