Thunder Lions: Initiation Part 2

The Chimera stopped gently in front of the downward slope that lead to the Underhive. As the exit ramp hissed open, the scouts stood and formed up on Brother Nostramus. They exited the transport tank, and gazed down into the dark slum.
They knew well what they had to do. A week ago, word from the local Adeptus Arbites reported seeing signs of Xenos infestation. Scout marines where called from the 6th company to purge Balguar III’s streets of this taint. Even as the galaxy tears itself apart, and the Despoiler assaults Cadia, The Thunder Lions answer the call of their people.
Nostramus pulled back the firing pin on his Storm Bolter. “Alright lads,” he called grimly. “Onward.”
Axton was the first to descend the slope, followed by Aron and Essex, forming a spear head in front of Nostramus. Joël and Wilhelm brought up the rear, ready to provide overwatch.
The Underhive was like an urban mausoleum. Rubbish and cracked concrete littered the dark streets. The buildings looked rundown, as if pillaged and then rebuild over the course of centuries, without care for how it looked when repaired. Some of the remaining street lights flickered, making an obnoxious strobe effect on Axton’s eyes. He activated the shading function on his eye visor.
Multiple street urchins ran in fear of the Marines, as all low lives should in the presents of the Emperor’s Angels. However, Axton noticed something strange about these Underhivers. Many of them wore long, hooded robes, obscuring most of their features. As they scurried away, Axton was able to catch a quick glance at the large, yellow eyes of one of the fleeing low lives. At that, he got a sneaking suspicion about their foe.
The squad followed the general direction of where all the robed hoodlums seemed to scurry. They followed them to what seemed like an abandoned hab complex. At a glance, the structures seem broken and abandoned. However, Wilhelm made a quick scan of the buildings. He saw more of the robed figures darting through windows and sneaking around collapsed walls. Upon the foremost building he could distinctly make out four of the figures hauling something forward, but it was hidden in the debris of the small apartment.
On their approach, the squad was met halfway by a small entourage of the robed under hivers. What they could assume was the leader stepped forward, signaling his fellows to halt. She approached with an air of mystery and foreboding.
“Well met, my lords.” She spoke gently, her face hidden behind her hood. “I am Mother Julia, I speak for my fellows in the dark.”
Nostramus marched up to her, attempting to intimidating her. She was unwavering as he approached.
“Mother Julia,” he barked. “I am Tech-Brother Nostramus, of The Thunder Lions. Governor Boris has told us of Xenos contamination around these parts. We ask you tell us any information you can provide.”
“My people know little of this supposed infestation, I’m afraid my lord. If you ask me, I’d say it was all just a myth.”
Nostramus took a second as the woman spoke, to notice that her teeth seemed sharper then that of a normal human.
“Take off your hood when you’re in the presence of a Space Marine.”
Nostramus demanded. The once calm and collected Mother, was quickly thrown into fluster.
“Um… my lord, I’m afraid…I can’t do that.”
Nostramus was unsurprised, but still frustrated. The scouts could see the rest of the cloaked party shift their arms under their robes, as if unholstering weapons.
“Allow me then.” Nostramus insisted, almost eagerly.
He roughly grabbed the woman’s hood and yanked it back. Her head was long and bulbus, with a slight violet tint to her skin. Two large, pulsating, veins etched her temples, looking more like worms trying to escape her skull. She had narrow, beady, yellow eyes. This left no question, she was a Genestealer Hybrid.
Without hesitating, Mother Julia leaped at the Tech-Brother, her claws bared. With his fist still clamped on the alien’s hood, Nostramus yanked her away, and hoisted her in front of him. She hissed and screamed in his grasp, thick bile sputtering from it’s fanged maw.
With alien speed, her entourage drew their weapons. Three of the seven drew long barreled Auto-guns. Another used two hands to grip a shotgun, a hidden third arm holding a large Stub-pistol. The last three adversaries drew blunt pipes and makeshift cudgels, moving to charge Nostramus.
The aliens opened fire, seemingly uncaring for their comrade in the grasp of the armored giant. Nostramus quickly pulled the hybrid in front of his body, using her as a living shield. Bullets and shotgun blasts where pelted into her, tearing her to a deep red pulp. Many shots missed his shield and bounced off his armor, merely scraping the gold paint off his shoulder plate.    
Axton and the other scouts also opened fire. Aron and Essex ran to Nostramuse’s right flank. Aron fired his shotgun, blowing the legs out from under two of the charging hybrids. Essex drew his knife and sword. He quickly took his knife by the blade and threw it at one of the charging mutants. The blade flew through the air, burring itself in the shoulder of the last one. It charged on, undeterred.
“I’ll take this one.” Essex insisted, raising his sword to Aron.
Aron noded and turned his fire on the other mutants. Essex charged the mutant, a battle cry barely contained in his throat. The mutant raised both its hulking clubs, attempting to crush Essex in one powerful blow. Essex feigned to the right, using the superior range of his sword to stab the monstrosity in its exposed side.
The creature roared, swinging it’s arm to the side, knocking Essex in the side of the head. Essex followed through with the motion, pulling the blade horizontally as he was knocked aside. The flesh tore easily, splitting the creatures side wide open. Thick blood oozed, and entrails hung loosely from the creatures exposed ribs.
The creature panted in a combination of anger and pain. Essex recovered from his fall, and took full advantage of his opponent’s injury. He swung upward, digging his blade into the mutant’s arm as it tried desperately to stop its bleeding. With a single fluid movement, Essex raised his fist and struck down on the other end of the beast’s limb, breaking it away just above the elbow.
The half breed let out another scream of pain. Essex grimaced at the disgusting sounds of the chapters old enemy, but relished in making the hivemind suffer. He seized the mutant by the neck, grabbed the knife that was still buried in its shoulder, and quickly drew a deep fissure across its chest. The screams finally stopped when he dragged the blade across the mutant’s heart. Essex pulled his knife from the abominations chest, letting it drop to the broken pavement. He wiped away the reeking blood and re-sheathed his knife.
Axton, Wilhelm and Joël ran to cover behind the wall of an adjacent building; firing Bolt shells into four gunner mutants at the entrance to the hab block. The gunners also ran to cover behind two wrecked automobiles; their fire spread across six targets.
Nostramus threw aside his bloodied shield, and leveled his Storm Bolter. There was no time for finesse. He simply depressed the trigger, and let the bolts fly. A deluge of gunfire flooded its way down range, tearing apart the broken automobiles the mutants where hiding behind.
The scouts wasted no time finishing them off. Axton an Joël finished off the two gunners on the left. With a pin-point shot, Wilhelm was able to shoot off the sidearm hand of the shotgunner; before it was finished off by Aron. Essex leaped at the last standing mutant, finishing it with a decapitating slash from his sword.
With that, the entrance was cleared. Wilhelm quickly scanned the apartment once more. The windows came alive with movement. He could see cloaked figures darting through nearly every corridor. Now, the time to cleanse was nigh.