A Time For Change

[Brannick]

(Part 2)

A bolt of bright blue lightning arced across the night sky illuminating the ruined outskirts of the industrial town. A crash of thunder and the ensuing torrential downpour signalled the arrival of yet another storm. The assassin watched on from his fourth floor vantage point as the three figures trudged onward battling against the elements. He had ended up following them for a quite considerable amount of time as the opportunity to accomplish his mission had yet to present itself. Upon the entrance in to the town he had decided to make use of the many elevated positions to bring his high velocity rifle in to play. One shot and it would be the end of yet another successful campaign for him, hardly the degree of difficulty that warranted the High Lords to appoint him this task. But luck was not running with him so far. Not only did it seem the terrain was against him but now the elements too. He cursed to himself about the combination of bad weather and a target that never alternated from a winding path. It made it nigh on impossible to make an accurate attempt on the mission objective. Percentages were against him.


A constant but quiet barrage of Orkish obscenities poured from underneath the hood of Kreepz the Wierdboy. He detested the rain, especially when it was mixed with mud and he had to trudge through it messing up his lavish garments.

“’e iz still followin’ uz Bossâ€￾

Gragslak grunted a reply to Kreepz. “Yooz be keepin’ ya mind on ‘im, ya ‘ear me Kreepz?â€￾

Gragslak turned to the Wierdboy for a response, a colossal bolt of lightning illuminating the grin of acknowledgement.


Thunder crashed, causing debris to fall from the rooftops. The assassin took a few cautious steps back from the edge of the building where he now stood. He had anticipated the route that the Orks’ would take, allowing himself a small grin as he watched the Orks’ deviate in and out of the broken buildings eventually settling on a path straight toward him. The numerical distance readout built within the scope of his rifle ticked ever downwards, the time was now, and he turned from the edge of the building back to his positioning. He loaded the explosive rounds and re-attached the rifle sight. He waited patiently in his new element protected lair.


“Da shoota az stopped ahead of uz Boss, we iz sittin’ gruntsâ€￾ the anxiety in Kreepz voice was evident.

“’e wont be shootin’ at uz til weez getz roun dat pile of bricks en stuffâ€￾ Gragslak nodded to the large pile of debris that lay immediately in front of them. “da wevver and dem bricks iz stoppin ‘im from shootin’ too far awayâ€￾ Gragslak’s confident tone was reassuring to Kreepz and the accompanying Ardboy Bronk.

“Anywayz, itz me ‘e wonts, yooz aint wurf nuffin to ‘im. ‘e can be goin back to Oomie land and be tellin all iz matez that ‘im killed da mighty Gragslak. ‘im aint gonna av dat chance. Yooz listen, dis iz me planâ€￾ Graglsak cleared his throat, spitting the remnants onto the road.

“We az a few moments when we getz behind da bricks en stuff where da shoota wont be able to see uz, dats when im gonna go and get ‘im. Kreepz, yoo iz gonna make it seemz to ‘im dat I iz still ‘ere wiv ya, yoo make an ollergram of me wiv ya magik. By da time ‘e starts shootin’ I shall be up wiv ‘im to kill ‘im. Yoo got dat den Kreepz?â€￾

“Fink so bossâ€￾

“Wot if e shootz at me en Kreepz first Boss?â€￾ Bronk looked puzzled.

“Den dat iz juss bad luck Bronk, now get yerselfs readyâ€￾


Gragslak darted down the side alleyway, hurdling a pile of wooden beams as he went, showing an amazing burst of speed for such a large Warboss suited in mega armour.

Kreepz and Bronk rounded the large pile of debris, their heads down and trudging ever so slightly slower than they had been so that their Boss was able to gain some distance on them. Kreepz grimaced under his hood as he struggled to keep the hologram in as pure a condition as possible under the barrage of Mother Nature.


The assassin’s finger caressed the trigger of the high velocity rifle in an almost loving way.


Gragslak crashed through the wooden door of the three tiered building, sending splinters of all shapes and sizes in every direction, then careering up the stairs towards the rooftop door.


The force of the explosion sent Kreepz and Bronk flying through the air, both landing slap-bang in the middle of a pool of mud, completely winded from their aerial adventure.


The assassin could not believe what he had just witnessed, momentarily losing his composure he settled back to his rifle to take further aim, oblivious to the fact that the explosion had masked the sound of the rooftop door being torn off its hinges. The Warboss swung his double-headed axe down upon the assassin’s arm sending it toppling from the building along with the high velocity rifle that the appendage still had a grasp of. Gragslak grabbed the assassin by the legs, hurling him across the rooftop in to an air-conditioning system. The assassin slumped to his knees exposing the impression that his body had left within the metallic panel. Gragslak sauntered over to the limp form of the assassin.

“D’ya know who I iz skinny Oomie?â€￾ the Warboss prodded the still form of the assassin with the end of his plasma shoota. The assassin vomited forth a mass of blood.

“You are Ork Warboss Gragslak Diamond Tooth the Thinkerâ€￾ was the gargled reply.

Gragslak picked the assassin up by the scruff of his combat suit and marched him across to a ventilation outlet that had a row of sharp spikes protruding from it. The Warboss slammed the assassin on to one of the spikes that pierced neatly through the upper torso, bending the spike upwards so that the assassin could not wriggle free.

Graglsak removed the hood of his cloak exposing his face to the harsh weather. “Das right Oomie, now wot iz I gonna do wiv yoo?â€￾ Graglsak ran his hand across his Barandt diamond bottom jaw, seeming to take great pleasure from the silky smooth texture.

“Letz juss shoot ‘im in da hed and feev all ‘is stuff.â€￾ The out of the blue comment announced the out of the blue arrival of Bronk and Kreepz to the rooftop.

“Spoze we could do that Bronkâ€￾


“This is “The Wrath of Marsâ€￾ calling Major Jarod Torvez, please respond Major…overâ€￾


“Who in Zog’s name iz datâ€￾ Gragslak tried to pinpoint where the communication was coming from whilst both Bronk and Kreepz drew their bolters in anticipation.


“We repeat, this is “The Wrath of Marsâ€￾ calling Major Torvez, please respond Major…overâ€￾


“Looks like dis Oomie scum az told ‘is mates we iz ‘ere don’t itâ€￾ Gragslak’s eyes turned into narrow pools of pure evil. Kreepz and Bronk stepped away from the big Warboss, knowing all too well that one of the Boyz usually getz toasted when Da Boss az dat look about ‘im.


“This is “The Wrath of Marsâ€￾ calling Majorl Torvez. We have entered high orbit over the planet, please respond…. overâ€￾


Graglslak emptied the contents of the assassin’s kit bag on to the drenched rooftop making a beeline for the transmitter.



“Major Torvez, this is Captain Darius Vorion of the Ultramarine Fifth Regiment please respond…..overâ€￾


“Dey iz gonna come lookin for ‘im Boyz. Take wot yooz kan coz we iz getting out of ‘ere nowâ€￾ Gragslak’s orders were plain and simple. Bronk made a dash back down the stairs for the high velocity rifle, whilst Kreepz foraged through the rain soaked items on the floor.

A loud metallic clang temporarily distracted Kreepz from his feevin. A quick upward gaze and another large bolt of bright blue lightening illuminated the now decapitated form of the assassin.

“Ello Raff of Mars guess who dis izâ€￾ Gragslak thumbed at the outgoing button on the transmitter


“This is “The Wrath of Marsâ€￾ identify yourself…overâ€￾

“Dis iz Warboss Diamond Toof Da Thinka …I juss chopped ya boyz hed off…WWAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHâ€￾ “and errrr ovaâ€￾ Gragslak duly crushed the transmitter in the palm of his hand.




The factory was situated directly in front of the three Orks who looked on in apparent bewilderment at the building’s enormity. A vast quantity of chimneys on the factory rooftop produced what seemed an endless amount of smog into the atmosphere. All of the Orks could taste the toxicity in the air, they were all familiar with the smell that accompanied the toxic drizzle.

“Lookz like we av got ter da rite place den Boyzâ€￾ Gragslak nodded ahead indicating at the six Goff sentries who were positioned outside of the vast sliding factory doors.

The six Goff Nobz looked on in visible disgust at the approaching Bad Moonz Warboss and his small entourage. Gragslak produced his kustomized plasma shoota from under his cloak and nonchalantly gestured with the large weapon for the Nobz to the to get out of his way. The Goff Nobz were known to be stupid, but even they knew their limits, it took two of the large brawny individuals to pull on each handle to start the doors rolling open. A low-pitched murmur announced the introduction of the automatic door mechanism, servos and hydraulics kicking in to assist the Goff Nobz.

Graglsak stepped passed the Nobz without as much as a nod of the head in appreciation. Bronk and Kreepz could not stay silent, as it was not every day they had a Nob to open the door for them, they both tittered as they strolled arrogantly passed. One of the Goff Nobz salivated profusely with rage at the cockiness of the ‘Ardboy and the Wierdboy, made worse by the two Bad Moonz Boyz shrugging off the aimed ferocity with obvious glee.

Gragslak came to an abrupt halt just inside the factory doors, breathing in a large amount of the air as he did so.

“Yoo smellz that don’t ya boyz? dem be Gargant fumesâ€￾ Bronk and Kreepz had never seen a smile so broad. The three Orks standing silent for a few precious moments, as if awe struck by what lay ahead of them.


“Lookz like we az got company bossâ€￾ Kreepz pulled on the Warboss’s cloak to draw his attention to the barely noticeable figure that was heading towards them through the dense clouds of steam. Gragslak turned and sent Kreepz flying with a right backhand blow to the jaw.

“Neva saw dat comin did ya magik boyâ€￾

Bronk started to laugh heartily at his Boss’s humour, only to be presented with the large barrel of the plasma shoota as gratitude.


“Slabâ€￾ roared the Warboss.

Gragslak’s broad grin beamed even further at the sight of his favoured Mekboy, although he would never tell the Mekboy that.

“Wot ya doin ‘ere Boss, we thought dem Goff gitz were in kontrol of dis kampainâ€￾ Slab smiled a toothy grin back at his Boss.

“Fings change Slab, now wot ya been building for me kampainâ€￾ asked the Warboss

“You iz gonna love da gargants Boss, dey is almost reddy to goâ€￾ Slab brushed off his garments, adjusted his small necklace of teeth and buttoned up his tightly fitting waistcoat.

“Letz go and av a look at ya work den Slabâ€￾


“Yer fink yer goin sumwhere Gragslakâ€￾

The Bad Moonz Warboss turned to find Goff Boss Snappinbonez accompanied by two of the Nobz who were on sentry duty outside of the factory. Snappinbonez was suited in jet black mega armour with black and white chequered patterning, three space marine helmets swung from chains attached to his belt. Snappinbonez’s left eye was missing and a horrendous scar ran down the left-hand side of his face.

“I go where I wants you stinkin Goffâ€￾ Gragslak fingered for his axe. Bronk, Kreepz and Slab edged slowly away from the potential situation.

“Dat shiny mouth u got iz gonna look good on me beltâ€￾ The Goff Boss chortled whilst looking for appreciation from his Nobz, proving to be a big mistake.

Gragslak launched at Snappinbonez, embedding his mighty double-headed axe deep in to the Goff Boss’s skull. A fountain of green blood showering the Bad Moonz Warboss, who looked on with some pleasure as the Goff Boss slumped to the ground with a metallic clang. The two accompanying Nobz turned and walked back to their positions outside of the factory.

“Right Boyz, we az work to be finishing and quick, those Oomie pansies will be ‘ere soon and we wanna be reddy don’t weâ€￾ “And Boyz, let de ovvers know dat I am da new Boss of dis kampainâ€￾

[IBBoard]

Cool, two new chapters to add Thanks for the submission - I take it I can add them to the site again?

I'll try and read over them later today, along with Hulls Raven's mamoth submission! Website work in the morning, a bit of Uni work in the afternoon and then a bit more on the website

[IBBoard]

Hi Brannick, sorry for the delay but I'll get your story up soon. I've just got Hulls Raven's story up (it's a slow process reading, formatting and grammar checking the stories!) but for the rest of the evening, it's time to sit down with the fiancee and watch some CSI

[Brannick]

No problem IB.

Just looking for a litle feedback as the two Ork stories run on from one another.

Cheers mate.

Bran

[IBBoard]

Another great story/chapter. Gragslak is becoming a well developed character now, and I like the inclusion of the Weirdboy (they were one of the classically Orky bits of an army in 2nd Edition). There's a bit of a gap between the two stories that could possibly fit a bit more Ork-centric plotline in it (something small involving the goings on with the Gargant or whatever) but the continuation of characters instead of lots of shorts is good.

It's up on the website now, I'll announce both of the stories in the news section tomorrow morning. I'm not sure what you want with the gaps (which of them would be those 'blank line breaks' in books and which are just slightly longer breaks by accident) so I've left it flowing for now. I've got to fix up quite a few things on HWT anyway, and HTML is one of them (Skins@HWT is the one getting all of the tweaks because it's busier). If you want any breaks in, I'll re-set the page style and put in some horizontal rules at the important breaks

Thanks for posting the stories, and I hope we see more

[Hulls Raven]

Darned good story. You have set out the atmosphere very well. And the charactor discription is well put out I enjoyed reading the story.



~Raven.

[Brannick]

Thanks for the comments folks.

@ IB - if you are able to seperate the discussion lines in to seperate breaks that would be cool.

@ Raven - I shall try and get around to reading your Crimson Fist story as soon as I get a chance (Warvault tends to be a tad consuming, but, I will have a read at some stage and post comment).

I have been working on part 3 of this little sage for, oooh, about a year - I am the slackest author of all time I fear !

Cheers

Brannick

[IBBoard]

I'm sure it's worth the wait I know a lot of Fan Fiction authors really should not be let anywhere near a keyboard and word processor, but that never stops them! It's always good to find the talented authors.

As for formatting - discussion's already in separate paragraphs, unless you mean some areas where you have 'paragraphed speech' that should be a new line for the speaker that isn't. What I more meant was the bits like:

“Letz go and av a look at ya work den Slabâ€￾


“Yer fink yer goin sumwhere Gragslakâ€￾

Where you've got two lines. Was that intentional? does it need some form of bigger divide in the version of the story on the website?

[Brannick]

IB - I have seen how the stories are displayed in the fan fiction forum and it looks fine as it is.

I have another Chaos story that I will post up in the not too distant future. I am trying to salvage it from the hacked Imperial Literature site.

Bran

[IBBoard]

Good luck recovering it, and I hope Imp-Lit get back up and running soon.

One advantage of custom software - no-one knows how it works Although it does mean I don't have the expertise of other people and so might have left some of my own holes in there, but I think I've covered most angles for the main sites (i.e. sanitise all input so that you don't use un-sanitised user input!)

Now to go and tweak the skinning slightly - remove the horizontal rule and put the GW copyright/disclaimer junk in a little box instead of just a paragraph

[Brannick]

An Admin's work is never done!

[IBBoard]

And a one-man-admin's dreams are always bigger than he can achieve!

Hopefully Warvault admin-ing won't get in the way of the rest of the story