Kwentong Barbero

I'm an avid reader of Black Library (http://www.blacklibrary.com/) novels. It's a UK-based publishing house that releases written materials (books, graphic novels, and references) relevant to the Warhammer system of games.

They recently set a project for a new book of short story compilations which will highlight this faction in the world of Warhammer 40,000, the Space Marines. Rules and regulations can be found HERE. Basically, the contest winners will have their short stories be included on the published anthology which will be entitled "Heroes of the Space Marines".

Personally, I've been playing/painting Space Marines (particularly the Dark Angels Chapter) for like four years now so I think it's time (as a writer - or at least a barely aspiring one) for me to write a story about them not just to aim on winning the contest but basically just to enjoy the narrative side of the miniature painting (scale modelling) hobby.

A Dark Angels Scout Sniper that I've assembled and painted arduously (albeit lovingly)
*halos kasing laki lang ng piso yung black "base" nya (for size comparison)

Anyway, the contest primarily needs a submission of no more than 500 word synopsis and a 500-1000 word writing sample. They will notify those people whose synopses piqued their interest and then that's the only time the chosen will start writing down their 7000 word-limit short stories.

Of course, non-players of Warhammer and people that are unaware of its backgrounds would find the story having too much jargons (and even gibberish at most) but I hope those who could "dig" it would enjoy. Here are my submissions...

*****

The Dark Champion of Garman Four (A Synopsis)
by OBI

The story follows the account of Brother-Captain Harko who is sent to Garman Four in the head of his Doom Eagles strike force to heed a call for aid by surviving local militiamen. These Space Marines eventually learn that a charismatic demagogue (former Marshal of the House, Sebastian Jai) has usurped the seat of the agri-world’s sovereign, leading his exponentially growing revolutionists to annihilate oppositions, and plans on carrying his tyranny to the neighboring colonies of the planet’s inhabited moon.

Sebastian Jai is aged and frail for battle but fighting under his command and has been a brilliant executor of his overwhelming coup is a mysterious man only referred to as Vicious, Champion of the Marshal. Brother-Captain Harko knows that to quash the rebellion, he has to subjugate the Champion and eventually the tyrant, Jai.

Despite squads of Doom Eagles and remnants of the planetary militia besieging the Citadel of the Faith – the planet’s seat of power – the rebel forces are able to hold them at bay through sheer advantage of superior numbers. In the face of heavy losses, the Doom Eagles finally carry the fight by the gates of the Citadel. It is here that the tides shift again as a new enemy reveals itself to stall the Imperial siege – the foes’ distinctively scaled power armor identifies them as traitorous Space Marines of the Alpha Legion.

In the heat of the battle, an overwhelming Dark Angels contingent arrives, striking deep into the heart of the Citadel and seemingly heeding no attention to the outcome of the ongoing clash upon the Citadel’s perimeters. The rebel defenses are crushed by a swift Ravenwing raid while the rest of their monastic brethren methodically pour inside the Citadel, scouring its interior.

A Dark Angel Master eventually comes face to face with Vicious and a duel ensues that results on the latter’s captivity. With that, the entire Dark Angels contingent just as quickly leaves the battle for the Doom Eagles to finish. With Sebastian Jai never heard of again since the Doom Eagles assaulted the Citadel gates and his Champion spirited by the Dark Angels, the remaining traitor Space Marines, including the entire rebellion, ultimately fall prey to the wrath of the Imperial forces.

An epilogue describes a cavern in the Rock where a Librarian confirms to an Interrogator-Chaplain that the man in his rack – Vicious – is not amongst their Fallen (but is suggested as an agent of the Alpha Legion).

On another scene, inside the bridge of a star cruiser leaving the Garman System, Sebastian Jai’s body is slowly warping into a hulking masculine frame. He laughs as he wears the last piece of his antiquated power armor… a dark jade shoulder pad, bearing the tattered winged-blade insignia of the Dark Angels.

*****

…excerpt from "The Dark Champion of Garman Four"
by OBI (my Writing Sample)

"Devastator squads, maintain fire on the defense platforms! Squads Udrih and Gallema, on me!"

Brother-Captain Midas Harko and his Doom Eagles clambered fluidly out of their Rhino transports, pouring more holy bolter rounds to the general direction of the Citadel gates. It was the last bastion of the traitorous rebel forces and the Space Marines would stop at nothing to put their tyrannical leader Marshal Sebastian Jai to justice.

Bodies fell dead incessantly upon the bulwarks set around the perimeter walls and more dived for cover as the Space Marines fearlessly assailed the rebels, slowly creeping up towards a small gap in the enemy formation. Destructive lascannon volleys from the Doom Eagles' firing line of devastator squads covered the advance while remnants of the planetary militia who were still loyal to the Emperor acted as diversions, continuously harassing the rebellions' flanks. Only the hulking presence of the Marshal's champion, Vicious, and his unfaltering heretical litanies held the morale of the rebel band together.

"Smite the blind so they shall see... annihilate the servants of the False Emperor!"

Timing a very short moment of reprieve from the rain of Imperial ammunitions, the Champion barked a command of retaliation. Those remaining functional autocannon emplacements opened fire anew. In addition to salvos of lasbeams, fragmentation projectiles, artillery shells, and all the other firepower the rebels could muster, the battlefield became a cacophony of utter destruction.

Most of the shots bounced harmlessly off and did no more than chipped the ceramite power armor of the Space Marines. However, some high powered and, less often, lucky shots zeroed in on their armor's unprotected areas and inflicted disabling damages to their already enhanced physiology. Worst, a few Space Marines died through sheer concentration of enemy rounds.

Still, it only made the Doom Eagles' Apothecarion compliment busier while Brother-Captain Harko and his squad continued undeterred with their headlong charge against the wave of the enemy's desperate but destructive last stand.

---

"It is time, Marshal Jai. It shall be as agreed."

The former Marshal of the Planetary House and murderer of the ruling sovereign, Sebastian Jai, smirked at the reminder. Far below the balcony, the swirling battle between his rebels and the Doom Eagles was in deathly high pitch. Indeed, the Space Marines were gaining against his defenses and sooner or later, they could breach the gates and storm the Citadel itself lest their contingency plan would be executed soon.

The old Marshal turned to face the towering figure which cast an ominous shadow upon him and said in a crackled voice, "Very well. Send in the transport and good riddance to this festering planet."

The man nodded with a sinister grin.

"Moran, see the Marshal to his transport. Drachma, Vicious has sent the word. Bolster his forces and be rid of the Imperial taint for once!" He commanded this without turning to look at the two equally massive men stationed behind him. Instead, he took the place of the Marshal on the observation platform, considering the battle below. It was fast turning into a massacre.

"At last, we shall reveal ourselves," he whispered to himself.

Kwentong Barbero

I'm an avid reader of Black Library (http://www.blacklibrary.com/) novels. It's a UK-based publishing house that releases written materials (books, graphic novels, and references) relevant to the Warhammer system of games.

They recently set a project for a new book of short story compilations which will highlight this faction in the world of Warhammer 40,000, the Space Marines. Rules and regulations can be found HERE. Basically, the contest winners will have their short stories be included on the published anthology which will be entitled "Heroes of the Space Marines".

Personally, I've been playing/painting Space Marines (particularly the Dark Angels Chapter) for like four years now so I think it's time (as a writer - or at least a barely aspiring one) for me to write a story about them not just to aim on winning the contest but basically just to enjoy the narrative side of the miniature painting (scale modelling) hobby.

A Dark Angels Scout Sniper that I've assembled and painted arduously (albeit lovingly)
*halos kasing laki lang ng piso yung black "base" nya (for size comparison)

Anyway, the contest primarily needs a submission of no more than 500 word synopsis and a 500-1000 word writing sample. They will notify those people whose synopses piqued their interest and then that's the only time the chosen will start writing down their 7000 word-limit short stories.

Of course, non-players of Warhammer and people that are unaware of its backgrounds would find the story having too much jargons (and even gibberish at most) but I hope those who could "dig" it would enjoy. Here are my submissions...

*****

The Dark Champion of Garman Four (A Synopsis)
by OBI

The story follows the account of Brother-Captain Harko who is sent to Garman Four in the head of his Doom Eagles strike force to heed a call for aid by surviving local militiamen. These Space Marines eventually learn that a charismatic demagogue (former Marshal of the House, Sebastian Jai) has usurped the seat of the agri-world’s sovereign, leading his exponentially growing revolutionists to annihilate oppositions, and plans on carrying his tyranny to the neighboring colonies of the planet’s inhabited moon.

Sebastian Jai is aged and frail for battle but fighting under his command and has been a brilliant executor of his overwhelming coup is a mysterious man only referred to as Vicious, Champion of the Marshal. Brother-Captain Harko knows that to quash the rebellion, he has to subjugate the Champion and eventually the tyrant, Jai.

Despite squads of Doom Eagles and remnants of the planetary militia besieging the Citadel of the Faith – the planet’s seat of power – the rebel forces are able to hold them at bay through sheer advantage of superior numbers. In the face of heavy losses, the Doom Eagles finally carry the fight by the gates of the Citadel. It is here that the tides shift again as a new enemy reveals itself to stall the Imperial siege – the foes’ distinctively scaled power armor identifies them as traitorous Space Marines of the Alpha Legion.

In the heat of the battle, an overwhelming Dark Angels contingent arrives, striking deep into the heart of the Citadel and seemingly heeding no attention to the outcome of the ongoing clash upon the Citadel’s perimeters. The rebel defenses are crushed by a swift Ravenwing raid while the rest of their monastic brethren methodically pour inside the Citadel, scouring its interior.

A Dark Angel Master eventually comes face to face with Vicious and a duel ensues that results on the latter’s captivity. With that, the entire Dark Angels contingent just as quickly leaves the battle for the Doom Eagles to finish. With Sebastian Jai never heard of again since the Doom Eagles assaulted the Citadel gates and his Champion spirited by the Dark Angels, the remaining traitor Space Marines, including the entire rebellion, ultimately fall prey to the wrath of the Imperial forces.

An epilogue describes a cavern in the Rock where a Librarian confirms to an Interrogator-Chaplain that the man in his rack – Vicious – is not amongst their Fallen (but is suggested as an agent of the Alpha Legion).

On another scene, inside the bridge of a star cruiser leaving the Garman System, Sebastian Jai’s body is slowly warping into a hulking masculine frame. He laughs as he wears the last piece of his antiquated power armor… a dark jade shoulder pad, bearing the tattered winged-blade insignia of the Dark Angels.

*****

…excerpt from "The Dark Champion of Garman Four"
by OBI (my Writing Sample)

"Devastator squads, maintain fire on the defense platforms! Squads Udrih and Gallema, on me!"

Brother-Captain Midas Harko and his Doom Eagles clambered fluidly out of their Rhino transports, pouring more holy bolter rounds to the general direction of the Citadel gates. It was the last bastion of the traitorous rebel forces and the Space Marines would stop at nothing to put their tyrannical leader Marshal Sebastian Jai to justice.

Bodies fell dead incessantly upon the bulwarks set around the perimeter walls and more dived for cover as the Space Marines fearlessly assailed the rebels, slowly creeping up towards a small gap in the enemy formation. Destructive lascannon volleys from the Doom Eagles' firing line of devastator squads covered the advance while remnants of the planetary militia who were still loyal to the Emperor acted as diversions, continuously harassing the rebellions' flanks. Only the hulking presence of the Marshal's champion, Vicious, and his unfaltering heretical litanies held the morale of the rebel band together.

"Smite the blind so they shall see... annihilate the servants of the False Emperor!"

Timing a very short moment of reprieve from the rain of Imperial ammunitions, the Champion barked a command of retaliation. Those remaining functional autocannon emplacements opened fire anew. In addition to salvos of lasbeams, fragmentation projectiles, artillery shells, and all the other firepower the rebels could muster, the battlefield became a cacophony of utter destruction.

Most of the shots bounced harmlessly off and did no more than chipped the ceramite power armor of the Space Marines. However, some high powered and, less often, lucky shots zeroed in on their armor's unprotected areas and inflicted disabling damages to their already enhanced physiology. Worst, a few Space Marines died through sheer concentration of enemy rounds.

Still, it only made the Doom Eagles' Apothecarion compliment busier while Brother-Captain Harko and his squad continued undeterred with their headlong charge against the wave of the enemy's desperate but destructive last stand.

---

"It is time, Marshal Jai. It shall be as agreed."

The former Marshal of the Planetary House and murderer of the ruling sovereign, Sebastian Jai, smirked at the reminder. Far below the balcony, the swirling battle between his rebels and the Doom Eagles was in deathly high pitch. Indeed, the Space Marines were gaining against his defenses and sooner or later, they could breach the gates and storm the Citadel itself lest their contingency plan would be executed soon.

The old Marshal turned to face the towering figure which cast an ominous shadow upon him and said in a crackled voice, "Very well. Send in the transport and good riddance to this festering planet."

The man nodded with a sinister grin.

"Moran, see the Marshal to his transport. Drachma, Vicious has sent the word. Bolster his forces and be rid of the Imperial taint for once!" He commanded this without turning to look at the two equally massive men stationed behind him. Instead, he took the place of the Marshal on the observation platform, considering the battle below. It was fast turning into a massacre.

"At last, we shall reveal ourselves," he whispered to himself.