Fiercer Than Cadia

Wodhaus jolted awake, blinking several times until his pitch-black, blurred vision cleared. He saw a dim yellow chandelier swaying from the ceiling. He opened his mouth and gulped down great breaths of air. Even for a Space Marine, brushing death was never an experience easily endured.

What happened? Ugh... it hurts...

His chest was wracked with pain. Looking down, he saw that a massive gash had been cut into his armor. Upon seeing Wodhaus awaken, an Apothecary hurried away, leaving behind only a hazy silhouette. Another Techmarine, accompanied by two servitors, was carrying out emergency repairs on Wodhaus's armor.

The roar of artillery, the hiss of evaporating steel, the savage howls of daemons, and the less conspicuous despairing screams of mortals filled his ears. All of it told Wodhaus that he was still on the most dangerous front line.

Several stray shells struck the wall of corpses and scrap metal piled above the trench. Shrapnel ricocheted off the Techmarine's shoulder plate without leaving so much as a scratch.

Wodhaus did not ask any questions. He quietly waited for the Techmarine to finish his work, using the time to sort through his thoughts.

The portal in the underground factory complex had been violently smashed open by Chaos warships. When the Adeptus Mechanicus designed it, they clearly had not imagined that warships would one day come charging through the depths beneath the earth.

Many alloy pillars had been snapped apart by the out-of-control warships, causing the structures they supported to sink and collapse to varying degrees. Fortunately, the warships had filled the gaps left by those alloy pillars. Unfortunately, the Chaos forces within had not perished in the horrific collisions.

Chaos Space Marines, mutants, Bloodletters, and combat servitors ran rampant throughout the underground complex. Some Khorne warbands, confident in their overwhelming strength,