Operation: Pacifica,  Stealth Landing
by Fleet Commander Samhain, Doberman Empire


 The DTT Stalker cruised soundlessly through the cold, blue depths
  of the Pacific.  Leagues above the submarine floated the strange island
  dubbed "Pacifica."  Inside her pressurized body, crew and passengers were
  preparing for action.



...




 Samhain headed down the long, narrow corridor running the length of
  the DSRV _Stalker_, ducking each time as he went past one of the numerous
  bulkheads along the way.  He'd just finished checking and rechecking his own
  personal gear, and was now on the way to launch bay #6, where he was to meet
  with the rest of his branch of the Chosen of Khorne.  He hummed a dark,
  brooding hymn as he made his way, preparing himself for the bloodbath they
  were about to unleash upon the followers of Slaanesh, Lord of Depravity.
  Today would be a good day, and there would be much glory brought to Lord
  Khorne.


 He paused to crank open the door to bay #6, stepped through the
  immense pressure bulkhead, and found himself amongst the 10th Company of the
  Chosen of Khorne.  They all paused briefly from their preparations to
  silently salute their commanding officer as he entered, then quickly resumed
  the task before them.  Samhain saw their progress and was greatly pleased;
  they would be ready for their assault landing ahead of schedule.  He stepped
  over to a comm panel and called the bridge.  "Roth," came the gravelly voice
  from the other end.  "Yes, Captain, this is Samhain.  Looks like we'll be
  ready ahead of schedule--launch the sensobuoy."  "Copy, Samhain, launching
  the sensobuoy now.  Good luck, and may you bring great glory to Lord
  Khorne!"  "Thank you, Captain.  Samhain out."


 Knowing the sensobouy would be on the surface soon, Samhain set
  about securing his gear in the various storage compartments on his Neptune
  Class Battlesuit.


...




 It was a good thing the Stingray normally housed in Bay #6 was out
  on mine patrol, because the 10th Division of Khorne, once completely suited
  in their battlearmor, was in fairly close company.  At long last, though,
  they were ready.  They all had the most recent b'harniscope, IR, and UV
  images of Pacifica Bay on their helmet displays for study. They carefully
  examined every aspect of their target while the air slowly hissed out of the
  bay and water flowed in around them, pretecting the delicate silence that
  acted as the advance sumbarine force's greatest defense.  Nearly 10 minutes
  later, they were finally submerged in the bay.  Samhain gently jetted
  upwards and activated the latches manually, opening the doors to expose the
  cold waters of the Pacific.  Almost as one, the Chosen engaged their
  compressed water jets and moved out of the bay, headed for the bay in the
  center of Pacifica.



...




 The group of battlesuit-clad Chosen rose rapidly to the surface,
  their environmentally controlled suits not needing to adjust to the changing
  pressure.  A few rays of morning daylight twinkled in the bay above them,
  contrasting sharply with the darkness cast by the island floating around it.
  A long, dark shadow moved across the group, causing them all to look around
  them rapidly and check all their sensors, but nothing was there.  Whatever
  it was, it was already gone.



...


 Just before reaching the surface, Samhain linked to the sensobouy
  floating in the bay.  He panned it along their selected section of
  shoreline, and, seeing nothing threatening, motioned for the rest of the
  Company to engage their stealth units and follow him up the shoreline into
  the spongin city.  The group rapidly made its way down the silent city
  streets and towards the heights standing sentinel over the strait giving
  entrance to Pacifica's large bay.  The trip went by quickly, and before they
  knew it they found themselves standing at the base of the heights, looking
  up at the cannon enplacements high above them.


 Samhain launched a grappling hook upwards from his B'harnpoon.  At
  his feet, a thick metal cable, capable of supporting the weight of the
  battlesuits, uncoiled rapidly as the hook traced its path upwards.  The hook
  snagged firmly on the first try, and soon Samhain and 2 others were on their
  way up.



...




 Samhain climbed over the edge of the cliff top into the spongin
  military fortress.  Thank Khorne they were foolish enough have scalable
  cliffs *inside* the island, because the outer ones sure as hell weren't.  He
  helped the other two up, and they headed for the gunnery center.



...



 Samhain motioned one of his men to the other side of the door, one
  to hang back for fire support in a crunch.  He then opened the door and
  stepped in.  Before they could utter a prayer to their pathetic Lard, all 4
  spongin in the room were pinned to the wall by miniature harpoons straight
  through their gullets.  After he and his man stepping back out of the
  center, sure now that the big guns would not fire on the invading
  hovercraft, he simply locked the door and it shut.



...




 The 10th Division looked upwards as their 3 comrades in arms came
  sliding down the metal cable.  Rejoined, they headed for the outskirts of
  the base to wait for the fun.



...




 Thunderous booms echoed across Pacifica Bay.  Spongin roused from
  sleep everywhere, wondering what was going on.  When the explosions started,
  they knew they were under attack.


 In the fortified sections, the spongin ran for the command center
  and stood, puzzled at the locked door, while death rained down upon the city
  below and hovercraft after hovercraft zoomed into the bay.


 When shells from the _Iowa_'s deck guns demolished the guns and
  command center, the spongin died, still baffled by the locked door.



...




 Samhain listened to the whine of the approaching hovercraft from
  the spongin suburbs, where he and the 10th Company had waited for the
  assault to begin in earnest.  "Blood for Khorne!"  he cried into the
  Communicator.  "Blood for the Blood God!" cried the rest of the group,
  charging into the city.


 Huge, ceramic blades extended from the arms of their Neptune class
  battlesuits, the Chosen of Khorne spilled great amounts of spongin blood as
  they went on a rampage, fighting their way towards the sandy beaches along
  the bay.  They stood in a line, side by side, and marched down the streets
  towards the sea, red, black, and bronze armor flashing in the first full
  rays of morning sun.  Blood and gore flowed together into great pools,
  filling the boot prints they left behind them.


 Humming a glorious battle hymn to the Blood God they marched,
  slashing and gutting spongie after countless spongie.  Suddenly, there was a
  tremendous flash before them and towering columns of flame reached for the
  sky.  Trails of flame danced in dazzling patterns, engulfing everything in
  their paths.  The 10th Company paused briefly where it was, the flames
  reaching around them and licking their battlesuits but doing no damage to
  speak of.  Then, almost as suddenly as it had come, the flame started to
  flicker out, revealing their comrades in arms on the beach before them, the
  black, red, and bronze banner of the Blood God Khorne flapping in the gentle
  morning breeze and Prince Sheridan Iscarius standing before them in all of
  his armor and glory.


 Samhain approached the Daemon Prince and bowed before him.
  "Greetings, Prince Sheridan Iscarius, and welcome to Pacifica, where the
  blood spills and pools for the Glory of Khorne!"


 Sheridan Smiled broadly and paused to stomp flat the skull of a
  spongin miraculously still alive.


        "We need to get there," intoned Commander Iscarius as he
  pointed to the east, across Pacifica, towards where the Lyran Fortress
  waited for the Jihaddi, "We leave in three minutes!"


"Stealth Landing"
Copyright 1996
David R. Hibbs