Fight of Valkar

Brian ‘Basic’ Longford sprinted through the trenches.

They called him basic because the only weaponry he carried and would most likely ever carry was a lasgun and smoke grenades. He didn’t have any particular skills like engineering, or leadership. But he was a good shot, more then good, the best. He could shoot nearly anything from just about anywhere on a battlefield. He didn’t really have anyone to call him Basic anymore though. He was a lone guardsman. Infact, he was a lone traitor guardsman. He travelled where he felt and usually ended up in a mass slaughter. If he ever came across fellow Chaos, be they marines or other Guardsmen, he’d usually introduce himself as Brian, then say, " ‘but you can call me Basic’ ". Many in the past had laughed at this but it didn’t matter. He wore green clothing with black armour, the standard Imperial Guardsman kit. His hair was as black as the armour plates and his eyes as green as the fabric. He was rather young but this didn’t mean killing put him off. Being 23, war was a big thing, though not a problem. He stood at 5’10 so he wasn’t short or tall.

There was though, one person who was his friend, someone who went with him everywhere and was near the same age being 22. Lilly ‘Angry’ Reynolds was her name. They called her angry because she had the quickest blood rage you’d ever see. Then again, she’d snap out of it the moment she was out of combat. She was infact slightly daemonically possessed. She’d learnt how to control this daemon and rarely had trouble. She carried a power sword, never more then two frag grenades, never more then two krak grenades, and a las-pistol. She was fairly basic too but she already had her nickname. She was a kind soul. Please, Thank You, things that would regularly be heard from her when you wouldn’t expect it. Her teeth were shaped as spikes, a side effect from the daemon. This woman wore brown clothing with pink armour. She’d painted the armour that way on her own. Her hair was in ponytail that hung half way down her back and was a lovely shade of brown, slightly lighter then her clothing, and standing at 5’8, it really put into perspective how long it was. Her eyes were a pale blue which, in the past, had shocked a fair few people as blue eyes and brown hair was not as common as you’d think.

Lilly was right behind Brian as they dived over bodies of guardsmen, jumped muddy pits and ran through the trench. They were currently just travelling and fighting on the grief-stricken planet of Valkar. This area was about to be ground zero for some White Scar bombers. They reached the edge, climbed out and disappeared into the buildings. The ground suddenly shook violently; bombs falling could be heard very close. The duo had taken shelter in a crevice under a cement floor. The best protection they could fine.

"Bugger." Yelled Brian as a bomb fell close to them shaking the ground so violently his head had banged the ceiling. Neither of them liked wearing helmets so they didn’t. Lilly turned to Brian.

"I’m insulted at that foul language." She said and playfully punched his arm. She smiled as Brian gave a grin that said in the most sarcastic way possible: " 'Oh, I’m sorry.' "

Lilly gave a small giggle and climbed out. The bombers had passed and they could continue on their way. Brain followed her out with his lasgun in his hands; after all, she had her sword and pistol drawn. They both knew that White Scar marines would be in the area. The female member walked in front leading them confidently as women seemed to always do. They were best friends, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less and at this moment in time, it was not the latter. Brian had his head down. His lady friend was a shapely woman and he was watching as her hips swayed seductively side to side as she walked. It was almost surprising she wasn’t actually Slaaneshi. Most women seemed to go that way or Tzeentch. He was of course undivided as he thought following specific gods would make his aim tainted. Fair opinion in any case.

"Eyes up!" Lilly’s voice came.

Typical. "How did you know?" Brian asked in the usual sarcastic manner.

"I’m a woman, it’s natural." She said as she turned with her hands on her hips. A bolter shot exploded against the wall near her causing her to fall to the ground. "If that singed my hair I’ll be extremely angry." She checked and smiled from the floor seeing everything was still good. They looked at the doorway as they heard marines coming to the door and not the warp tainted voices of the chaos marines. Lilly put her back against the wall next to the doorway and Brian was down on one knee behind an oil drum. The first marine found himself screaming on the floor as he was being torn apart savagely by the female guard. The second marine found himself gasping on the floor as Brian’s shot pierced a hole in the neck armour and through to the other side. He fired a second, which, went through the eyepiece on the marine’s helmet. The White Scar marine fell forward plainly with a small thump. Meanwhile, Lilly was holding the head of her kill in a proud manner.

Brian smiled once more and led the way out of the door, diving into an alley as a spray of bolter fire clipped his fight. Lilly had of course dived back to her original hiding place next to the doorway. There was a marine with a heavy bolter on the other side of the road from them.

"Lilly. I’ll distract him, you charge him." He whispered through the Com links they’d had designed for them by a tech guy. Brian sprinted out across the road to a demolished building across the road. Every shot from the marine was inches if not centimetres from him as he ran. He fired one shot at the marine, finding a weak spot in the armour between the shin and the foot armour. The marine then toppled side ways as his comrade proceeded to repeatedly embed her power sword in the marine’s abdomen. The white clad imperial sprawled as he was brutally stabbed. It was amusing in a way. Brian sat on the wall and watched, laughing, as Lilly then did a terrible job of hacking the poor man’s head off.

When she’d finally finishing this poorly done task she threw the head into Brian’s lap causing him to fall sideways off the wall. He got up in an embarrassed way showing that he’d obviously not meant to do that. He looked at the sky. It was getting dark fast.

They’d been up for about twenty hours now and they had both yawned a number of times over the hours. They needed sleep badly. "I saw a cosy looking hole in the ground back there." He said pointing a thumb in the direction of where they’d hidden. Lilly rubbed her eyes and just nodded and turned for the area that they’d sleep restlessly for about five hours, six if they got lucky. The hole was infact large enough to sleep in if they squeezed together, but then again, that was nothing different to how they usually slept. They climbed into the hole again put a sheet of metal over the entrance so it wouldn’t be noticed. Brian was pressed up against Lilly without choice but it wasn’t a bad thing. They put their arms around each other for warmth and closed their eyes. Gunshots could be heard but they weren’t close. They never seemed to be at night. Lilly was asleep in seconds and Brian was just there with his eyes closed, semi-conscious. He’d follow in a second but he relaxed awake for a moment with his arm stroking Lilly’s hair. He then dropped off.

Valkar was once a peaceful planet. It was a forest world with hives and colonies dotted here and there. Up until the point where the Night Lords wanted it for themselves. The planet had longer nights then days. Many thought this was bizarre but this was what made it a Night Lord target. As soon as the Chaos marines got close, uprisings occurred everywhere. This was the first time it had ever happened. The planet was well guarded in the way that it had many White Scar marines. However, they had been caught off guard. Tyranids, Necrons, Orks, Chaos, or any of the other races had never hit the planet. Valkar had been engulfed in war for 2 of the planet’s years. The hives and colonies were desecrated and next to all civilian life had been destroyed. The forests were still full and rich, many actually starting to grow into the cities. But they were also where you’d find most of the surviving men, women and children of Valkar. It was a damned planet. This had been made obvious with the non-stop fighting. Night Lords and White Scars were fighting in every street. Cadian Imperial Guardsmen that had made it to the planet’s surface, as reinforcements, fought the Traitor Guardsmen brought by the Night Lords.

Lilly woke with a start. Cadian troops were moving through the area they were in. A few actually stepped on the sheet of metal over the opening. They’d both made a vow that whenever they woke, they’d do it silently. Lilly patted Brian’s arm softly to wake him in the least obvious and startling way possible. He opened his eyes and looked at her. She pointed to the opening. Brian just nodded understanding what was happening. They waited until the passing Guardsmen had gone, then, they peered out of the top to make sure. There were about twenty Guardsmen in the road listening to a White Scar scout sergeant. Brian had a hand firmly on the collar of Lilly’s brown clothing. If she blew it for them now, they were dead meat. She shuddered and looked at him.

"You have cold hands. I won’t go out, I promise." She said. Brian nodded but there was no smile on his face. The Scout turned to head up the round in the direction that Brian had originally dived for cover. The Guardsmen followed him. Brian climbed out first with his lasgun in his hands and peered out to where they were heading. The moment the Imperials had rounded the corner Brian helped Lilly up.

"We have to go. How much sleep did we have?" Brian inquired, his lady fried had a better track of time then he did.

"Four and quarter hours, maybe four and a half." Lilly replied rubbing her eyes once more. Brian yawned and led the way out of the ruined building, across the road to where the decapitated White Scar marine still lay and into the ruins near them. They should have a few minutes of quiet before fighting again. If they were lucky, by the end of two hours they’d reach the forest line. If they did, then they could walk another mile then they could climb a tree for a decent sleep. The forest was the only place there was ever time for a decent sleep. If they were lucky, there might even be a stream or somewhere else that they could wash. Brian’s armour was filthy with dirt. Lilly’s wasn’t much better. With hers, you could see the difference in shade of brown between the dirt and fabric.

The two trudged side by side through the ruins ignoring the dirty puddles and just stepping in them because they were in their path. They had walked for about an hour without an interruption, which was weird as by now they would at least have had a minor fight with the enemy. In the quiet they’d had, they’d been talking about what they’d do when they were finished on this world, how they’d get off of the planet. About half an hour into the walk, Brian had fallen into a hole in the ground. It was too deep to climb out of. This was the only particularly interesting thing that had happened. Lilly had found herself lying in the dirt hauling Brian up the side and out of the pit. Since this had happened their hands hadn’t left contact. Brian was carrying his lasgun propped against his left shoulder, supported with his left hand, his right hand was entwined with Lilly’s left and she was holding a power sword in her right. They hadn’t actually been too aware that their hands were holding.

It was still dark. It would be for another ten or so hours. About sixteen hours of darkness and eight hours of light were really a little bit stupid in there opinion, but they couldn’t control the ways of the planet. Even in the darkness, Brian could see the outline of the trees; it was about a half hours walk undisturbed. No such luck. They both dived to the ground as a load of lasguns opened fire on then. It was just a small group of ten guardsmen, most likely raiding for the wounded and supplies but they were deadly enough.

Lilly looked at Brian all watery eyed like women sometimes did. "They singed my hair!" She said showing him the slightly burnt ended of the ponytail. It was luckily the bottom of it so it didn’t matter too much but she seemed generally upset.

"Don’t tell me, tell them." Brian thumbed the direction of the Guardsmen that had fired on them with a slightly evil smile on his face. She jumped to her feet and dived behind the closest wall. Brian followed suit. She removed one of her frag grenades from her belt and through it over the wall. Some screams could be heard as the Imperials scattered. Brian stood up and gave Lilly cover fire as she ran into the buildings the Guardsmen had run to. He could see that two of the men had been killed by the blast. He could see nine others in the building and Lilly. She was currently shooting the brains out of one with her las pistol. Brian was forced to duck as las shots poured in at him. When they momentarily ceased he came out and opened fire strafing across the gap. One Guard down with a shot to the face. Another Guard down from two shots in the abdomen. A third down due his arm being shot followed by his heart. Lilly had massacred another guardsman in one swipe of her sword. Only four more Guardsmen to go.

Lilly ran up some stairs to where two guardsmen were shooting at her from an upper level. They weren’t safe anymore. Brian was left to take out the remaining two on the ground floor. He took a chance and ran from cover. A lasgun shot tore through the fabric of his green clothing and left a scolding red mark on his upper arm. That didn’t matter too much as he could repair it later. He dived round the corner and promptly put a las shot through each of the Guardsmen’s throats. He jumped the stair barrier and ran up to Lilly’s level. He found her biting the neck out of the last Guardsman. His body fell lifeless to the floor. Her face was daubed in blood though, it was obviously not her own. Brian went over to her and wiped the blood off of her face with the sleeve of his clothes. Brian looked at what they had done. The bodies were everywhere. He looked for any other injuries he might have sustained. His arm was all he could find and the skin burned from the white-hot laser. They set about searching the bodies for anything useful. Brian had found a few las-cartridges. And had given Lilly a replacement fragmentation grenade.

"Thank you." She promptly said and Brian laughed. It was ridiculous how a traitor would say thank you. "Cards anyone?" She was facing him holding a pack of cards at eye level. They’d have something to do when they got into the forest at least. She’d handed him a med kit so that he could stitch up the fabric and put some cream on the burn. They found nothing else that would help and after He had quickly patched up the hole they continued. They didn’t want another attack. They stayed low, went without a word and went as fast as they could. They reached the trees in about 20 minutes and ran full pelt for another fifteen so that they were in a decent way. They found themselves in near pitch black but one of the planet’s two moons was up in full tonight and gave sufficient light. The canopy only gave them a little light though. After another few minutes walking they found a tree that they could rest in. They climbed about two metres from the top, leaving a four-metre drop below them. The branches were strong enough to sleep on and they were an even spread so you could lie down with worrying about falling.

They sat and played cards after opening up part of tree so they had enough light to play together. Lilly kept winning which somewhat annoyed Brian. He always seemed to lose at card games, he’d never been that good. They eventually packed up the cards. About another five hours of darkness was left meaning they’d been playing cards for an extremely long time. The nights were cold here and the days scorching. Anyone would think it was a desert planet. They didn’t have blankets either. They sat – well; Lilly sat more on Brian’s lap – huddled in the tree. She had her arms round his neck and he had his round her waist. Her head was resting on his shoulder. Their weapons were all packed and they were ready to move come light. 5 hours. What were they to do with that much time? Once more, Brian found himself stroking her hair with one hand.

"Do you think we should get some sleep while we have the time?" He asked her dreamily. She just nodded. She took her head off his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek before replacing her head and falling asleep. Brian pushed Lilly’s fringe out her face and kissed her forehead. He then followed her into sleep.

They both seemed to share dreams of death. Screaming people that were bleeding to death. Destruction. They may be chaotic but they didn’t like these dreams. Brian woke first. He wiped the sweat from his face. The sun was rising. 5 hours had passed already? That’s the problem with sleep: it goes by too fast. Lilly was still having her dream, he could tell because she was muttering angrily. Hers wasn’t as much about death and the screaming, bleeding wounded. She was fighting the daemon infesting her in her dream. She woke with a jolt.

Brian was surprised to find that Lilly was calmer then him after her dream. He pulled out their ration packs with a look of disgust. Lilly didn’t look any happier at the sight of the dried meat.

"Don’t we have anything different?" She asked unhappily. "Can’t we go and hunt something instead?2 She looked at him with wide eyes in a way that made you want to give in. He slid the ration packs back.

"Fine." He gave a small smile to say: "You win." And then made sure they had everything. Lilly got off Brian’s lap and he started to gain some feeling in his feet again. "There’s a river near by that we go and clean up in." He commented. She squeezed his crotch gently.

"Well let’s go." She said with a smile the showed that she was in one of her slightly mischievous mood. She lowered herself down first and Brian followed. His crotch was practically on fire. He closed his eyes and counted for a moment so the feeling left and then he lead the way to where he thought that the river was.

They both had their weapons drawn once more. They were looking out for any animal or plant that looked particularly appetizing. Lilly suddenly jumped in a bush firing her las pistol at something. Brian was staring at her as she popped up a moment later holding a large rabbit. "I love the way you are so stealthy and catching these sorts of things."

Lilly smiled at him. "Don’t make me have to take the sarcasm off of you." She laughed then continued, "I’ll skin it, and you cook it." This made Brian laugh. Her confidence was great. It set her aside from many females he’d met in the past. It may also be the reason why they were such great friends and more. They finally reached the river. The clean water looked extremely good after being stuck with what they could find on Imperials. Mostly what they carried was alcohol anyway, that or dirty water. Brian went to the edge and peered in at his reflection. It was crystal clear. He kneeled down and splashed some water on his face to remove the mud. His hands were clean because they both wore gloves. He took them off and put them on his belt. He cupped his hands and took a drink of the water. It was perfect.

Brian emptied his canteen and filled it with the river’s water. Lilly threw him hers and he filled hers with the water too. "I’ll wash first, I’ve skinned the rabbit already." He turned round and she had already put the armour in a pile and was getting ready to strip off her clothes too. Her weapons were next to a pile of sticks that they had gathered for the rabbit to be cooked over.

He went to the sticks and sat cross-legged next to the sticks and arranged them so that they could be lit. Lilly had gone to the water’s edge with her stuff and was now removing her clothing and putting it next the armour. She then walked into the water ignoring its cool bite. She was only in her lady’s boxers, as women weren’t supplied with anything for their chest. Anyway, this wasn’t the first time that Brian had seen her naked (or next to naked) as they had washed together many times. This was no different. Using two rocks, he set the sticks a light and he picked up the rabbit. She’s gutted it too and removed the head. Using one of the remaining sticks he skewered it and held it over the fire. As he roasted their soon to be breakfast, he watched Lilly wash. She was an extremely attractive your woman. She’d let her hair down now to wash it. There was of course one problem with them washing. Afterwards, they had to drip dry and their clothing was always wet from washing. Though, on this planet, at least the sun would dry everything fast. Lilly was cleaning off her armour and clothing now so she’d be done soon.

Brian turned the rabbit over again. Lilly came over dripping wet. Brian felt ashamed as he couldn’t help but look at her breasts. When she reached him she dropped her stuff on the dry grass and put her hands on her hips. "Boy, get your eyes to my face." She said this in such a playful voice; he knew that his friend didn’t mind in the slightest. She sat down next to him and looked at the rabbit. "That’s going to take a while longer, I’ll hold it while you have a wash and I’ll watch you." They laughed at this and Brian returned to the riverside and stripped down to his own boxers.

He got into the water and realised just how deep it was when it came straight up to his waist. Brian dropped below the surface of the water. When he came up again his own shoulder length hair had covered his face. He was surprised at just how much dirt did come off his body. He helped it all come off then went and got his armour. The dirt came easily off the metal plating. He scratched the bits from the nooks and crannies then got the clothing. He could see where all the dirt was. It was obvious against the mid-shade green. He used a pebble to get it all out. It took a little while but he did it. He went back to where Lilly was still sitting bare-chested. The guardsman dropped his stuff next to Lilly’s and sat down on her right. He pulled a knife out of their equipment and pierced through the rabbit. It was finished now.

They removed it from the flame and tore off what meat they wished to eat. When they’d finished, Brian quickly buried the carcase with the ashes in the forest. He came back and checked their clothing and armour. The armour was dry already being metal but the clothing was still wet. The heat was beating down now and they’d only been out for half an hour really.

Lilly had moved to the shade it was that hot, hence why it was surprising why the clothes were still wet. Brian sat next to her and put his arm round her. His hand accidentally slid to her breast and he pulled away embarrassed. Lilly looked at him and put his hand where it had touched. She then pulled him over her a started kissing him. Brian was startled at first. He didn’t know what to make of what was happening. He knew that he’d always liked Lilly and she didn’t really mind that. He decided to go with it and see where it led. She rolled them over and pressed herself against him. His pelvic area was burning. Their hips had met.

Lilly was ready for this but it felt so wrong. The daemon inside her may be trying to pull her into it or away from it. She slipped a hand down Brian’s boxers. At this they flushed red and withdrew a bit, then came back together. Lilly stripped them both of their under garments. For the next hour – even though the clothing had dried inside ten minutes – they made love together. None of their moans, whispers, screams, or shouts were heard but all were of pleasure. For the duration of their lovemaking, they remained undisturbed. It was like a dream for each of them while they rode each other.

When they were finished, came the common after sex talk. They talked about what they would do next. Of where they were to go. They spoke of there time on the planet so far and finally, what the implications of what they had just done could be. They had both agreed it was the most enjoyable experience that either of them had had but it may intrude on their fighting. Though, most likely not because they were certain that it would have come anyway. After this talk they lay naked arm in arm for a few minutes.

Brian was the first to get up and get his clothes and armour back on and was shortly followed by Lilly. It was nice to be back in clean gear. Now they just had to find a way over the river. There were a few seriously slippery looking rocks a few yards upstream. They could swim but the current was fairly fast meaning it would be hard to save the other if one was overcome by the flow. They have to chance the rocks seeing as they didn’t want to get their clothing wet again. Lilly opted to cross first. Using her arms as counter balances when she faltered she gracefully crossed. Brian had to cross next and he followed her path as best as was possible. She’d made it look easy as he faltered twice as many times as she did but he made it across eventually.