His armor marked him as a Veteran Sergeant, though he wore the livery of the Ultramarines' 2nd Company. A necessary, although temporary, concession he had told himself as he boarded the bridge of the Battle Barge Sword of Macragge. The situation on the forge world of Ciedus was getting worse by the hour. As the forces of Chaos spread throughout the southern hemisphere of the planet, the Astra Militarum was steadily losing ground, as well as valuable resources to the Heretics.
The Captain of the 2nd looked up from his auger array, the green holographic interface still reflecting off of his skin and armor. "Sergeant Icarius," he said as he placed his fist on his chest, more out of a sign for respect than rank, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"
The Veteran Sergeant returned the gesture, his face scarred, weathered stone beneath his helmet. "The 1st Company has heard of your plight upon this world, and has decided to send you reinforcements," he explained as he took position in front of the array.
"I see, and will your squad be joining you in this endeavor?"
"No."
The Captain seemed to be caught off guard by the statement. "Did the Veteran Captain send you alone? Does he believe that one-"
Icarius cut off the captain. "I requested to be reassigned to the 2nd Company for this mission. I have previous experience dealing with... unconventional Chaos threats. Luckily, the Veteran Captain agreed with my assessment." He held his tongue before he revealed any more. While the Veteran Captain did reassign him to the 2nd Company for this task, it came with heavy stipulations. The first being that he, and he alone, would be sent. The 1st Company had better things to do than chase ghosts after all.
"I understand." The auger array shifted from the planetary map with the push of a button, loading in a more detailed map of the initial invasion. "A week ago, several warp signatures were detected in this sector of the southern hemisphere of the planet. The local Planetary Forces were mobilized, but were unable to hold back the heretic's advance. Several reports of daemons of unknown origin were seen assisting the traitor guard."
The auger array shifted once again. "Three days ago, the Astra Militarum made landfall on the planet. They were able to slow the heretic's advance, but they adapted. They shifted from a general onslaught to more surgical tactics. Stopping munition supplies, maiming key figures within the Guard, and resorting to fear tactics.
"Two days ago, the first confirmed sighting of a Heretic Astartes was made. Their armor configuration suggests they once belonged to the Word Bearers, but their weaponry and iconography does not match their profile."
Icarius was silent as his gaze lingered on the auger.
"You have a theoretical?" The captain asked.
"The beginning of one. These daemons, you mentioned that they were 'unknown'. How is that?"
"Reports were... unclear. They seemed to have been tampered with in ways. Forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus tried to examine them closer, but the local Inquisition forces forbade it."
"The Adeptus Mechanicus? What do they want with Daemon corpses?"
"Its unclear right now," the captain said with a shake of his head, "but reports said that the Daemons were... upgraded in a way. An unholy mixture of demonic energy and machine."
"And do those reports have any validity?"
"As valid as any other battlefield rumor."
Icarius shook his head. It was exactly as he feared. "Theoretical: We are not dealing with the Word Bearers, or any other legion. Rather, you are dealing with a Warband consisting of members of three separate legions. Word Bearers to conjure and control the Daemons, Iron Warriors to provide enhanced weaponry and siege tactics, and Night Lords to strike at the heart of Imperium Forces."
The captain, as well as the entire bridge, was silent at this point. One legion was bad enough, but three separate Chaos Legions working in unison, or as much in unison as they could, would spell the downfall for this world.
"And is there any proof to confirm your theory?" The captain asked. It was a heavy claim to make. And if he assumed incorrectly, the change in tactics could give the forces of Chaos the upper hand.
"I will find proof," Icarius said with a nod, "I require command of a Fire Support Squad, and I will hunt down the leaders of the Warband myself."
The captain's face dropped in disbelief. "You believe that we are up against the combined forces of three legions, and then you suggest I hand you an entire squadron to test your theory?" He approached the Veteran Sergeant as he continued. "If you are wrong, you could cause this world to fall."
"And if I am right, this world has already fallen."
The two Ultramarines looked at each other, seeing if there were any cracks in the other's logic. But it was Icarius who spoke up first.
"If I am wrong, then I will submit myself to the Deathwatch as a blackshield."
The captain was silent once again. A regular marine serving as a blackshield was a cause for shame, but a veteran of the 1st company?
"I will assign two men to act as your aides." He eventually said, "their lives are in your hands Sergeant, see to it that they will not be wasted. I will prepare a dossier for you and have them see you in the armory. Dismissed."
Icarius placed his fist upon his chest and bowed, turning to leave the bridge of the battle barge, considering himself fortunate that he was able to convince the Captain. While he did believe that the enemy they found themselves fighting was some sort of unified force, in truth he was unsure of what exactly he found himself up against. But the enemies' tactics pointed to those three Legions working together. And if the Iron Warriors were there, it meant that he might be there.
It meant an end to a century long ghost hunt...
The Veteran Sergeant slowly exhaled, forcing those horrid memories back beneath his surface. They were motivation, but he would not be lost in them. He would let the Emperor guide him to his target if he saw it fit. He would not sate his need for revenge at the cost of an entire forge world.
But still... he could hope.
Hello, and thank you for reading over my prompt, and I hope that you've enjoyed it so far. I've found myself back in a Warhammer 40k mood and thought I would try to set up a rp set in that universe. Like mentioned in the writing sample/starter above, this would focus on the Ultramarines, however you are open to writing as any Imperium aligned force.
As for my character, I would be writing as Veteran Sergeant Gretian Icarius, formerly of the 1st Company that was transferred to the 2nd in order to assist in the battle for the Forge World Ciedus. As the sergeant of a Fire Support team in his own company, he specializes in target acquisition, enemy suppression, and armor hunting. He prides himself in his logic and adaptive tactics, moving in response to what is in front of him rather than sticking to one rigid set of maneuvers.
Your character is open to whatever you pick for yourself. Like I said before, ideally they would be an Imperium aligned character. Maybe another Ultramarine in his fireteam, a Sister of Battle who brings the fight to the enemy with religious fervor, or maybe a Guardsman operating deep within enemy territory. Of course, I am more than happy to brainstorm with you in order to come up with something.
That all being said, I am an advanced lit/multipara writer when with a good partner. I don't have a hard limit on reply lengths you send out, all I ask is that you send out enough to keep the scene going! I also prefer to write on Discord as well, since its just easier to have all of my plots in one place.
If this interests you, please feel free to send me a message. Be sure to include your age, timezone, and your favorite 40k faction
Courage and Honour!