The Strong Among Us

Warhammer 40,000

by Steve Lyons, Mark Holmes (Illustrator)

A Warhammer 40,000 story

Blackfire Forge is under siege – but a loyal servant of the Imperium hopes the facility falls, for the true enemy is not at the walls, but within them…

READ IT BECAUSE
Experience a tense and taut story that shows what life is like for loyal Imperial servants in a facility occupied by the enemy, and reveals the strange feeling of wanting an army besieging you to win.

THE STORY
Blackfire Forge is under siege. For seventeen days, faceless warriors have bombarded the walls of the forge, trying to break through its formidable defences and take the facility in the name of their god. Jarrah, a menial in the forge, may not know how to use the weapons that are attacking them, but he knows who built them: he and his fellow workers. For it is not an enemy of aliens or traitors who are at the walls: it is the Death Korps of Krieg, servants of the Imperium. Blackfire Forge has already fallen… and Jarrah prays the Emperor's forces can arrive in time to save him from those who would call themselves his allies.

Written by Steve Lyons

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, War

28 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Steve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three alleged plotters had been dragged away, bloodied, one body left to rot. The informant had snatched at a trailing robe, gibbering, ‘Did I serve you well? Will I be rewarded?’ Dislodged with a sharp kick, he had scampered into a corner to whimper.
When Jarrah had woken again, the informant was dead, his throat slit. This at least reas

An entertaining quick read about Imperial Guard Astra Militarum Death Korps of Krieg sieging Blackfire Forge, an imperial factory producing Earthshaker cannons occupied by Chaos cultists, told from the point of view of Jarrah, a menial worker praying the Emperor's forces can arrive in time to save him.

‘They will,’ said the sallow-faced man with quiet certainty.
‘You said they’ll wait. They’ll wait for months if they have to.’
The older man nodded. ‘The Death Korps of Krieg will break through these walls, we can be sure. It’s just a matter of time. But if half of what we hear is true – about the cultists, about the powers they are trying to raise here – they may be too late.’

Such a shame after seventeen days of siege Jarrah's faith falters and when Death Korps attack he can't distinguish friend from foe anymore...
Shall Jarrah survive or die? Shall he keep his faith or embrace the dark gods worshipped by his heretic captors?

He prayed to the Emperor, begging His understanding.
It wasn’t that he had lost faith. But the Emperor’s soldiers weren’t here. They couldn’t protect him. He had to protect himself until they came and, not being a fighter, he could think of only one way.
Jarrah put his fingertip to his cheek, letting the overgrown nail dig in. He gritted his teeth. He marked his face with the shaky image of an eight-pointed star.

Read this e-short and find it, it's a well written entertaining one if you are into military sci-fi and are in the mood of a quick read while waiting for your turn somewhere, I was at the postal office while reading this and nearly missed my turn when they called my number because I was busy reading it.

Another two men dropped out of his line of sight – Jarrah didn’t know why, what had befallen them – and he stumbled into the space vacated.
And saw them.
Krieg soldiers. Six of them. Little wonder they had been so indistinct from above, as they were clad entirely in black. Just like the cultists. They wore black greatcoats, helmets and plates of flak armour. Jarrah found his gaze riveted to their black masks, whose opaque lenses gave them an eerie semblance of hollow-eyed skulls.
The masked men fought tirelessly. Swarmed by panicky labourers, too confined to use their guns, they fought with knives and fists but struck with terrible, almost rhythmic precision, like the forge’s great, repetitive machines. They cut down their stumbling, inexpert foes in bloody swathes.

And it reminded me I have somewhere on my bookshelves here at home Dead Men Walking, mr. Lyons' full lenght novel about 83rd Krieg Regiment of the Astra Militarum fighting Necrons, waiting to be read since years at last...



They had no fear for their lives. Each of them was content to be blasted to pieces if he could gain an inch of ground.
Nor did they pause to distinguish friend from foe.
There were monsters on both sides of this conflict. Jarrah wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. The Death Korps of Krieg were inhuman killing machines – sent by the Emperor not to save him, but to destroy him.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

One should not tempt the loyal servants of the Emperor by putting a wool over their eyes.
One should definitely not show the devoted warriors of the Death Korps of Krieg on the cover and then tell a story about filthy, heretic non-believers. *agitated gas mask noises*

Imagine my surprise, when instead of the deeds of the lauded descendants of Colonel Jurten's 83rd regiment, I'm made to read of the heresy, of a former citizen of the Emperor's glorious imperium, who gives in to weakness and makes his bed with the vile nest of cultists who worship the blasphemous eight pointed star.

And for what? A paltry concern as pain, suffering, fear of death? One's life is to be sacrificed a hundred times over in glory of the father of all mankind, The eternal Emperor, enshrined upon his Golden throne in Terra; He's whose psychic light illuminates the astronomicon, and he who to this day battles the vile anathemas of chaos, all to wrestle from their thrall, the very soul of humanity. For shame!

It is a matter of grave apostasy that this account ends, not with the faithless vanquished, and the Imperium's forces bringing the light of the Emperor once again to blighted holds. But with the erstwhile silent traitor turning to full heretic and waging war against the righteous armies of mankind. For shame!

This is a matter which needs to be brought to the attention of the Adepta Ministorum, and more aptly to the Ordo Hereticus. An Exterminatus is not out of question, if it means cleansing away the warp infestation that has plagued the very soul of this planet's inhabitants.

Other than that, all in all, a 'meh' read.
Glory be to the Imperium. Cadia Stands. The Emperor Protects.

[Elodie Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely chilling, and a perfect glimpse of the horror of being a normal person caught between two different flavours of nightmare

[Benjamin Ho · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little mislead

I was hoping to read about Krieg, instead I got a heretic’s perspective. No salvation, no hope, that much could’ve been expected, but the protagonist’s cowardice is frustrating and I guess in the end that makes the writing good?

[Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting & short, no surprises at all in the story

[James Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Too short to properly enjoy

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die a hero or live long enough to become the villain...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

A short, fast paced read. I'm always interested in more stories about the Death Korps of Krieg. Would have liked more of them.

[Mk-V (MarkVHun) · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the mirror scene on, it's all an obvoius downhill but still a fine read