Gate 42

“You are mad Lord General. A direct assault on the enemy position in suicide.” The Raven Guard captain remained calm for the moment but the man to whom he spoke was quickly eroding his patience. “Are you not Adeptus Astartes? The legendary Space Marines? They will break like water upon a rock upon seeing you.”  Lord General Onassis Murkazia stated this like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. “We do not fight like that Lord General. You will lose many men should you do this. Give us time and we will save lives.” Captain Bertok almost pleaded with him. “I do appreciate your company’s support Captain but this campaign has lasted long enough. We need to make the assault or the rebels will dig in even deeper and Bareesta will be lost to us entirely.” Murkazia looked to his map and then stared out the Hive city sprawled out before him, watching the snow blow around him. He paused for a moment to listen to the wind howl between the Kilometers high spires. “Captain Bertok we must make the assault now! I will order with or without your support. I have tens of thousands at my command, we will break through Gate 42 and take control of the Fabrica District, starving the rebels within of their means to fight.” “What of the civilians inside Lord General?” The captain rumbled, on the verge of totally losing his temper. “They should never have allowed Chaos to take root among them. The Emperor will claim those who belong to him.” Bertok had enough and slammed his fist down on the table, snapping it in 2. “THAT IS NOT HOW WE FIGHT! WE WANT NO PART OF THIS! YOU WILL FAIL AND THOUSANDS WILL DIE!”   His black pupils radiated a cold fury as his face set itself into a snarl. “THEN LET THEM DIE! THEIR SACRIFICE IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE IMPERIUM!” The Lord General roared right back, drawing his power sword. “You challenge an Astartes, General!?” The Raven Guard pulled his combat knife “You challenged me first…” “My lords please… do we not all serve the Imperium?” A member of Murkazia’s staff, a lowly captain, quickly stepped in to ease the tension. “I see you cannot be dissuaded. We will fight with your men Lord General. But…” he aimed a warning finger. “We do this not for you but for them. Your foolishness will cost them and if we can help shoulder their burden we will.” The captain pulled on his helmet and vanished out into the blowing snow. 25,000 Imperial Guard and 120 Raven Guard stormed Gate 42. They failed. Bareesta was lost along with 48 Raven Guard dead and 15 wounded. 12000 Guardsmen lay dead in the streets and factories of the Fabrica District. Bertok survived and that day there was an oath made. Never again would the Raven Guard fight with Lord General Onassis Murkasia. The captain swore that as he watched one of his most promising, brother Belasko was carried away. He would live despite his head wound. That knowledge was no comfort, it only reinforced his vow. Never again.

Trivia
This came from a comment made by a guy who was playing a Deathwatch game I was running. I created the character with the name Belasko(Basque- translates as Raven) he described him as having a metal plate in his head and burns on the right side of his face. It happened at the battle of Gate 42, he gave me the basic story and here it is.