Siege of Vraks - Battle for the Gate of Saint Leonis: Veteran Sergeant Culln watched from the lip of a three storey high pile of rubble that had once been part of the Citadel‘s wall. Behind and below him were gathered assault squads from three companies. His own vanguard squad was also close by, each a veteran for at least 100 battles, each equipped as he preferred, each amongst the finest warriors of his Chapter. They had trained for missions such as this daily. The target was a collection of low bunkers dug deep into the cliff face.From here he could see their gun embrasures. All were constructed of thick ferrocrete, resistant to plunging artillery fire but each attacking assault squad had been issued melta-bombs that would quickly demolish such defenses and allow his men access to the degenerate sub-humans awaiting within. All were about to be expunged from the galaxy.As Culln watched the first Thunderhawk roar in low over his position, the heat of his quad-jet’s washed over him as the gunship unloaded its cargo of plasma bombs directly onto the strongpoint. Culln’s photo-chromatic lenses dimmed as the target vanished into a bright burning inferno of super-heated hydrogen that melted rock and sucked the surrounding air into a swirling vortex of dust and smoke. As the inferno burned out, it was time to go. Culln gave the order over his thought-activated comm-link. “For the Chapter! For the Emperor! Attack!” His idling jump generator unit burst into life, twin jet engines propelling him through the air in a single long bound. Behind him his men followed, each battle brother dropping from the sky, jets blazing, weapons in hand, bolt pistols hammering out a wall of micro-explosions. The Battle of St Leonis Gate had begun.As Culln's force launched into the attack, Commander Ortys climbed aboard his command Rhino and ordered the column of armoured vehicles to move up to their departure point, the former Lower Gate. Over the comms-channel he listened to the flight crew of a second Thunderhawk as it approached the Citadel, locked onto the gatehouse bastion and unloaded a salvo of Hellstrike missiles before banking away hard and climbed back towards the Sword of Ordon in orbit above. Flicking channels he noted that the Land Speeder squadrons, his close air cover, were already inbound, on time and on target. Flicking channels again he gave the command for the Whirlwinds to open fire. Shrieking, the Whirlwind missiles screamed overhead, trailing fire, and impacting along the Citadel walls, where the void shields sparked and flashed as they absorbed the energy of the repeated impacts. Ortys held the grab rails inside the command compartment as his Damocles Rhino pitched and jolted violently across the heavily cratered landscape. The road that had once led to the gate was gone now, blasted into broken shards by repeated artillery bombardments, but with their engines gunning hard the Space Marine transports churned through the mud and over rocks towards the position from which to begin their part in the attack.Checking suit camera feeds, the Lord High Commander could see Culln’s men were inside, clearing the strongpoint in bloody hand-to-hand fighting. The comms were garbled, as ever in battle, and no doubt the veteran sergeant had no time for reports Checking Culln's bio-readouts showed him to be under great stress, both heart beats high - no doubt more heathen heretics were being cleansed from the galaxy by the sergeant's powersword.Satisfied that everything was in place, and with the strongpoint now fully engaged and being gradually overrun, it was time for the main column to advance, three Land Raiders leading the way. High Commander Ortys ordered the Land Speeder squadrons into their attack runs, then strode from the Damocles Rhino and up the single line of armoured vehicles to the leading Land Raider He climbed through the side door and into the red-lit gloom within, where his battle brothers stood ready, weapons loaded. He took his place at the forefront of the squad, drew his sword and bolt pistol and ordered the driver to advance, full speed aheadThe huge battle tank lurched forwards, tracks throwing up great clods of earth’ exhausts spilling blue fumes as it powered over the rubble and down onto the remains of the Pilgrim Road One- by-one the vehicles behind followed, gradually gathering speed uphill. Muffled beyond the tank’s armoured walls, the firing had begun. The blasts of sponson-mounted lascannons, the tearing shriek of assault cannons and the thunder of missile impacts - the cacophony of battle was rising.The Red Scorpions’ armoured advance was swift, the leading Land Raiders racing past the strong point where Culln’s force was still engaged within Every weapon the vehicles had was blazing ahead and up the steep rocky slope to their left, hammering the walls and the St Leonis Gate's bastion. The route was a narrow one. It was just a single roadway used by files of pilgrims for millennia. To the left were cliffs up to the Citadel’s ramparts. To the right a near sheer drop to the valley floor. The road rose up the hill steeply, and occasionally became broad steps. Here the Space Marine drivers gunned their engines and thrust their vehicles forward, smashing into the steps, the tracks fighting for grip, then biting and lurching the armoured earners upwards, ancients stones shattering under the Land Raider's seventy tonnes of pressure Bounced and jarred, the Space Marines within held tight as each vehicle surmounted the obstacles, fire and explosions impacting about them, hulls ringing with the hammer-like impact of autocannon shells falling like rain. Then the lead Land Raider was hit, slewing to a grinding halt across the roadway, smoke belching from the engine deck, tongues of orange flame licking skywards. The troop compartment quickly filled with oily smoke. Commander Ortys snapped his helmet into place, engaged the night vision and hit the assault ramp open stud on the wall. Nothing happened. The mechanism was damaged. He pulled open the control panel and disabled the mechanism, breaking the magnetic locks that held the huge armoured assault ramp in place Ordering those beside him to assist, he leaned on the ramp and pushed with ail the might his body and power-assisted armour could manage. Three Space Marines heaved and heaved again as the smoke thickened. Behind the stricken Land Raider, the tank column was stalled, as yet not halfway up the road. The ramp moved, moved again then gave up its resistance and collapsed, smashing down under its own weight High Commander Ortys led his squad out, plunging out from the smoke and fire within to set oft up the road on foot with his men at his side, spreading across the road, boltguns levelled.The second Land Raider rammed the stricken vehicle, driving it to the side of the roadway, then backed up, swerved hard around the knocked out tank and began to move forward again, only to hit a hidden mine which tore away its right track and left it immobilised. Behind, the Razorbacks and Rhinos could go no further. The ramps fell and from the rear of each vehicle disgorged squad after squad, all following their commander uphill, to where the Chapter banner could be seen moving ahead through the thickening flame-streaked gloom.On foot now the Red Scorpions stormed onwards, and from the St Leonis Gate above the enemy spilled out to meet them. Again the dark armoured figures of the Black Brethren od Ayreas led the degenerate hordes of the Chaos gods. Commander Ortys raised his sword and waved all squads forward into the charge, to meet them head-on. The fighting on the roadway and up the steps was savage. Ortys lifted one Chaos Space Marine off his feet and pitched the traitor over the road's edge, down the plunging cliff beyond, then cut a second heretic in two with the arching slash of his powersword. Overhead the Land Speeders were banking and diving, assault cannons tearing into the horde. Behind Ortys came his brothers and the Dreadnoughts. Now they proved their worth, climbing to where the armoured fighting vehicles could not go. Their arrival turned the tide back, driving the enemy before them with withering salvoes of heavy weapons fire. In minutes hundreds of shredded bodies lay strewn across the roadway. The Red Scorpions' advance continued until, under the walls of the gate tower, it paused to regroup. The enemy had withdrawn within and barred the first gate behind them. The High Commander gathered his men around him, including the venerable Dreadnought Chaplain Nalr. They had reached the target. Now to storm the bastion.The enemy might have been driven back but he was not yet beaten. Within the bastion more warriors of Chaos awaited, and at their call were the daemonic legions. The rites had been completed the sacrifices made, now they choose to unleash their allies, tearing a rend into the material universe. The gates opened again and, from a pool of darkness, out they stormed – Bloodletters and Flesh Hounds, great brass Juggernauts of Khorne charging, heads down like demented bulls. With them came hideously deformed Possessed, frenzied Chaos Spawn, and mutants, all the filth of the Warp now came wailing into battle.The fighting ebbed and flowed up and down the wide steps in the shadow of the bastion. Hard-pressed, High Commander Ortys ordered his terminators into battle, and its seconds, with a flash of light they appeared, crackling with energy as they teleported to their master’s aid. Lightning claws tore and raked. Thunderhammers clashed with the warp-twisted brass of Bloodlethers’ swords. Many Red Scorpions fell, cut down, their powered armour little protection from the daemonic power that the enemy wielded. The Chapter standard bearer fell, smashed down then trampled by the goering charge of a Juggernaut, its rider screaming in killing frenzy before a plasma pistol blast tore it crushing back into the Warp. The Venerable Chaplain Narl also fell, toppling backwards and crashing down the steps. Blood was slick across the stones as the Red Scorpions fought with all their might against the inhuman foe. Bolt guns hammered white hot, cutting through the daemonic ranks as the 2nd Company’s Chaplain chanted his liturgies of hate and prayers against corruption, crozius Arcanum held high for all to see. They would not give way.High Commander Ortys fell wounded, but was dragged clear of the melee by an Apothecary, the commander’s helmet and weapons were gone. It seemed his brothers must fall back before the onslaught or be destroyed, then, as victory was slipping away, more reinforcements arrived.His mission at the strongpoint complete, Sergeant Culln and his remaining battle brothers fired their jump packs and swooped into the swirling melee at the gate. They dropped from the sky unlocked for, and smashed into enemy ranks. Culln’s unstoppable charged vanquished the demons and sent their mortal followers fleeing. The Assault Marines remaining melta-charges blew a great hole through the outer gate and the Red Scorpions leapt inside, Culln leading once again.Meanwhile High Commander Ortys shrugged off his Apothecary’s attentions and rejoined the fray, limping but snatching up a fallen chainsword as he went.The battle brothers inside the bastion were clearing it, level by level. There was no mercy for any that remained. Soon the daemon-hunted bastion was in their hands. Blasted and scorched, wounded and bleeding, the Red Scorpions battle brothers sealed the entrances and set up their defence. Most of those brothers that had begun the attack were now at peace with the Emperor, their torn bodies lay strewn along the Pilgrim’s Road and piled against the gatehouse walls were they fought and die. Those that survived pledge to stand and hold against whatever horrors may come – too many battle brothers had died to allow their gains to be lost now. Then, wearly, Ortys climbed to the bastion roof, the tattered Chapter banner in hand and planted it on top, a signal to all that the assault had succeeded. As he did son the first salvoes of the Sword of Ordon’s orbital bombard began to impact on the void shield defences.As High Commander Ortys and his squads were attacking and dying for the St Leonis Gate, so their fellow brothers were fighting their diversionary attack against the Great Gate. Led by Predators and Vindicators they met the enemy’s walking war machine and daemonic engines, exchanging fire and keeping the enemy busy whilst all the time monitoring the main assault’s progress.