The end of a life......

             .....and another tale from 40k


          Unberialble pain. Flashes of images flew before her eyes. A man in black, bladed tools, and explosions. All crashed into reality as she opened her eyes. Her throut hurt as she took her first counsions breath. She looked around ,what appered to be an operating room, to see bladed tools hanging on a nearby wall, freshly used. She could not remember were she was or 'who' she was for that madder. As she tryed to put her left hand to her head it stoped. she was straped down to a table. The straps were at her wrists, legs, waist and neck. Fear took her as she strugled to get free. Finally her left hand got free with a rip. But before she went to free her other hand she saw it. Her hand was not her hand anymore. It was five long bladed,segmented claws one shorter for a thumb. The blades were attached to a metal box that had replaced her palm. Tears burst into her eyes and she sceamed. But all that came out was a loud sceaching metalec blurt hurting her throut. She quicky freed her neck with a swipe of her claw and looked at herself. She wore a small blood covered white tunik over her chest and waist the rest was naked. Every bit of skin visalbe had metal, wires or hydrolics sticking out of scared flesh. She looked to her other arm to see the hand was normal but her forarm had a pivot moter on it attached to a chain blade resting agenst her elbow. The chain blade reved up at her emotions, spun around and cut her arm free. Her heart rate and breathing increased and she heard a metalic wessing. She finally freed her self and fell to the floor. Another faraway explosion. The act of walking was much more difficult than she remembered for her legs did not respond like they should at first. Finally she stood strait and walked forward a little, the sound of the moters in her knees humming. The chain blade returned to its origanal position. She spyed some cloths in a heap ahead of her and she went to them hoping to cover up her horred body. As she walked she saw somthing out of the corner of her left eye. It was a person. She recoiled back and looked at the person. It was a peace of sheet polished metal handing from the ceiling and the person she was looking at was herself. The brown haired women saw why her throut hurt and why she could not sceam. She had no mouth. A grilled metal mask was over her mouth and nose connected to her cheeks and her throut whitch had been replaced by a metalec tube. It was to much. she put her shaking right hand agenst her face.

           "What! how are you awake?" asked a metalic voice behind her.

        The women, starteled, turned to see a black robed man standing in a door way.
This man for what ever reson infuated her. An exlpotion coused dust to fall from the ceilling. A image of the man flashed before her. She was looking up at him and the man had a bladed tool in his hand. The tool slowly desended towards her body and then pain. 'HIM! HE DID THIS TO ME!' The women relised.

           "Get back on the table now. I your master commands you." The man said waving his hand at the table.

        The chain blade spun up again and fell into the ready position. The claws spread a little and she strood forward.

            "What are you doing. NO STOP STAY AWAY!" The man yelled as he tryed to flee.

         The women cought him with her claw. It bit into his shoulder as the claws bent like normal fingers. Blood and oil alike bled from the mans shoulder wound as he sceamed. The women lifted him up one handed.

            "No! Stop I created you I'm you master obay me!" The man ordered but it just made the women more angry. She jammed the spinning chain blade into his back and sawed the man from gut to head. She let him drop with a strange sence of self satisfaction. She put her normal hand to her collor bone strangly expecting something to be there but was not. It was supossed to be something important but she could not remember. She returned to the cloths and found them to be a perfect fit. They were a slevles work shirt, some grey work overalls and brown soiled work boots. She had left the overalls tied at the waist because the shirt was hard enought to get on with the chain blade and claw. As she finished up she felt something in her right pocket poke her. She reached in and pulled out, on a golden chain, a gold two headed eagle madalian. Her head begain to hurt at her mind tryed to remember. 'This.... thing is ...important' she strugled to remember. 'It belongs to...' When she relised it she fell to her knees as all her memories came flooding back. The barrior had broken. 'It my father Aquila' she thought crying. Everything came back. How the city fell to chaos forces after a 2 mounth siege, how her and her parents got seperated, how the chaos slave band caught her in the sewers and her name. Mira, Mira Stomburg after her grandmother. She cluched the Aquila tightly and pressed it to her forehead. 'why? why? WHY?' she thought.

          Shouting and gun fire could be heard from the door way.
          "Hold your ground you cowardly dogs!" Yelled a mans voice.

         Mira looked to see a chaos renigade standing in the door way looking at the man in black.
   
        "You survitor slave. What happened to the doctor?"

        Out of instinct and rage Mira jumped up and ran her claw through the mans heart and bysipricated (cut in half at the waist) him with her chain blade. The man fell to the ground in a heep. Mira put the Aquila around her neck and walked out of the operating room. She imediatly bumbed into several more renigades, poorly armed, who backed away from her bloody form.

        "Isn't that one of the Doc's freaks?" asked one of the soldier.

        None could respond as Mira cut the four of them down. After dispaching them Mira walked down the hall, of what looked like a palace of grand dicore, until she came to a T intersection. One going forward and one to the right. To the right was the sound of heavy bolter fire. Mira looked down the corridor to see the backs of three renigades in a machine gun nest fireing down the corridor. Mira no longer cared for her safty. Only the exstermination of those that did this to her. She reved up her chain blade, flexed her claw hand and walked towards the men. One turned to see her.

         "Hay its one of the Doc's monsters. Lets through her out there she'll do some damage." The man said to the others.

         Mira lounged at the man and cut a 45 degree angle down his chest with the chain blade. The others stood less of a chance as the were eviserated. Mira did not care if they were dead she still cut and cut and cut. All the while he fathers Aquila glowed brightly even if there was no light it still glowed like a small star. Mira slached till someone strong grabed her wrists from behind and hoisted her off her feet. She tryed to break free but could not the man was too strong. The man took her down the hall the renigages were fireing down. She saw stunned imperial guardsmen part in front of her as the man took her past. The Aquila still glowing. As the man walked Mira looked around her to see guards men smashing chaos status and ripping chaos banners down. Mira spyed in a door way a commisar overseeing some guards men toppel book shelves onto a fire being feed by a guardsmen with a flamer. Finally the man came to a set of double doors which two guardsmen opened for him. Light came through hurting Miras eyes. She went blind for a moment. The man set her down and pushed her forward. Mira impacted a railing as her eye begain to clear.

            Mira looked out to see her city. Burned and scared. A city once proud and powerful now in runes. Mira looked down to see regiment after regiment of imperial guard tanks rolling through the streets. Miras eyes watered. She could not beleave it. After so long her home was liberated. It was all finaly free. Mira looked to the only building you can see from anywhere in the city. The Imperial palace. Her knees nerly buckeled and she had to use the railing to catch herself. Flying high appone the tallest towers was proudly distplayed Imperial colors once again.

              "Butiful is it not." Said a bomming voice beside her.

         Mira had fogotin about the man who brought her here. She turned to look at him and to thank him. If she still had a jaw it would have hit the floor. Standing before her was no man but an holy Astartes. A Space Marine. The Marine was in all black armor with white trim. A metal hand was painted on his right shoulder. Mira back away a little. She had heard storys of these leagens but had never seen one. The Marine took his helmet off. His face was bald and spit down the middle. One flesh the other metal. Mira could barly control her self and her hand shot to her Aquila and griped it tightly.

             "You are a curosity to me little one." The marine said, his cybernetic eye spinning slowly to get focuse. "My intruments show no taint of an evil machine spirit in you and you killing heritics your supposed masters. Most importantly you hold that Aquila like a mother pretecting her child and yet it does not burn you. Tell me what is you name?"

           Mira cringed when she tryed to speak. All she got out was a metalic squek. The marine smiled. "Well I gess it rude to ask someone their name without introdusing youself. I'am Tech Marine Corbin Hightan of the Iron Hands." Corbin said politly. Mira tryed to respond again feeling she should so's not to anger him. But yet again all that came out was a squek. Corbin rubbed his chin with his right hand, Mira noticed it was cybernetic as well.

           "Hold still." Corbin said as he pulled out a small tool from his belt. Mira dared not to disobey. She heard what space marines could do and did not wish to anger him. "Tilt you head back." Corbin ordered. Mira did so and Corbin leaned in and put the tool agenst Miras throut. Mira felt heat and electricity go through her body as Corbin worked. "Try now" Corbin said as he put the tool back in his belt. Mira coughed and tryed again to speak. Her voice was far from human. It was raspy, metalec, and bland but final she said "T...h...a...n...k...y...o...u" Mira felt tears in her eye agen at hearing her offle voice.

          "Stop you crying girl." Corbin said forcfuly "There is nothing wrong with the sound a machine makes. Now what is you name?"

          "M...I...R...A" Mira strugled pain running through her neck and mouth.

          "Well 'Mira' you are quite the oddity." Corbin said stepping closer."You showed uncommen strenth and valor. Mental fortitde, strngth of heart, and the will to survive. Most in you situation are ether dead, crazy, a traitor, or a servent of the Emperor. Whitch are you?" Corbin said putting his right hand on his bolt pistle. Mira looked Corbin in the eyes and was overwelmed. She fell to her knees and hugged his left leg crying.

          "Get up welp. You work for a brother of the Iron Hands now I will have no weakness among my subordinates."

          Mira could not beleave what she just heard. Mira stood up and wiped her tears but she could not look him in the eyes again. She was so overjoyed that she could live. Not only that but searve a living legend. Her, a monster was chousen to be a Space Marines servent. It trully was an hournor.

           "You old life ends hear Mira. Your new one begins now."