Poul Marlin

"I&apos;m no Space Marine - none of us are - but there&apos;s a line... A line of courage, and brotherhood, and I&apos;ll be damned if I cross it!"

- Private log of Sergeant Poul Marlin, on his decision of turning around and facing a Carnifex.

Poul Marlin was a Sergeant in the 10th Slavok Imperial Guard Regiment. He and his men were involved in the action on the Ice World of Shadrac, and subsequent escape from that planet. During the engagements against the Tyranids on that world, Poul Marlin was rescued by and eventually befriended Skold Greypelt of the Space Wolves Chapter.

Doom on Shadrac
"No more talk like that, men! We&apos;re all getting out of this! The Emperor protects!"

- Poul Marlin, maintaining morale amongst his men.

When the Ice World of Shadrac came under attack of the Tyranids, the 10th Slavok Regiment of the Imperial Guard was deployed to stop them. Their efforts proved unsufficient, and one standard month after their deployment, Poul Marlin gathered the two scores survivors of his regiment and led them in a retreat toward the nearest Imperial outpost. Having lost all contact with their superiors, proceeding on foot through the deadly frost and with their food rations critically low, the Slavok soldiers were demoralized, but Sergeant Marlin kept them going, putting on a facade of optimism to prevent his men despairing and simply sitting down to die.

The Tyranids would not let them go easily however, and the survivors soon found themselves under attack of fast-moving Rippers and Hormagaunts. Poul Marlin led his troops in a running defense, keeping his men moving, and they managed to beat back the small swarm while losing only two of their own. Things still looked grim, however, for the Tyranids had their scent, and the humans would soon have to stop for the night. Marlin gathered his men back to a rocky outcropping, and made them form a half circle. Expecting this to be their last stand, the Slavok soldiers ate their last food and burned their last fuel, waiting for the Tyranids to close in for the kill. When their last fuel burned out, the humans commanded their souls to the Emperor as total darkness fell. but instead of hearing the hisses and chitineous creaks of moving Tyranids, the survivors were deafened by the loud bark of Bolter fire. The bewildered Guardsmen peered into the surrounding darkness, catching glimpses of giants in grey Power Armour slaughtering the Tyranids trough the stroboscopic effect of their Bolter&apos;s muzzle flashes. No Tyranid managed to reach the sheltering humans, and when hours later the sun rose again, the astonished guardsmen could only stare at the slaughterhouse scene surrounding them, the plain littered with blasted, exploded or eviscerated Tyranid bodies. Of their Astartes saviors, there was no sign...

Chasing the Space Wolves
Marlin forced his men and himself to ignore the Astartes&apos; strange behavior: with neither fuel nor food left, they now had to make it to the outpost with all due haste, before the murderous night fell again and froze them all to death. Gathering his men once again, he set out with all possible speed, and the survivors ultimately reached the outpost in the nick of time. Although the forced march would claim three of their numbers, things looked up for the survivors, as the outpost was still intact and provided them with shelter, water and fuel to burn and get warm. Alas, the remaining food stores had rotten away, so food remained a problem for the Slavok men, but much-needed warmth and rest restored some of their morale, and when one of the soldiers reported the presence of functional Chimera APC&apos;s in the outpost, Marlin rejoiced and decided that on the morning they would embark and go out in search of the Astartes they had glimpsed the day before.

The night would prove bitter, however, for one of the famished soldiers chanced to eat the rotten food, and became delusional. In his madness, he severely wounded two of his comrades before running out of the base. Marlin ordered his men to prepare the Chimeras while he went after their crazed fellow soldier. His rescue attempt would prove futile, however, for a Hormagaunt had gotten to the crazed soldier first. Hissing in fury, the Gaunt launched himself at Marlin, but was caught in-flight by a well-aimed Bolter shell, and a bewildered Marlin dazedly turned his gaze from the remains of his would-by killer, to his savior, glimpsing again a gigantic warrior in Power Armour who nodded at him before dissapearing.

Marlin returned to the outpost, and had his men mount up in the Chmeras. THe Three vehicles then set out with their Auspex running, in the hope of finding the Astartes. What they found however, was another swarm of Gaunts, who attempted to overwhelm the Chimeras. This time however, the Guardsmen had enough firepower at their disposal, and they held their own, cutting swathes in the Tyranid creatures, and when suddenly three Astartes bikers shot out of the mists and added their close quarters prowess to the Guardsmen firepower, the swarm was quickly routed. Marlin ordered a full stop, and jumped down of his Chimera to greet and thank the Space Marines, but their leader only barked at him to go away quickly. Dumbfounded, Marlin gazed in the same direction as the other two Astartes, and watched with horros as a Carnifex charged out of the mists: the Gaunts had sacrificed themselves to slow the humans down and allow the larger bioform to join the fray. Marlin mounted his APC again, watching in fascination as the Space Wolves prepared to face the "Screamer-Killer". At first he gave the order to run for it, but the decision rankled him, and moments later he ordered his three APC&apos;s around, and grabbed their last remaining Missile Launcher. Reaching the battle once again, he calmly adjusted his aim, and shot a Krak Missile straight down the Carnifex maw, blasting out the back of the gigantic Tyranid&apos;s skull and killing it instantly.

Last Stand on Shadrac
"Slavok! Slavok! Do or die!"

- War-cry of the 10th Slavok regiment

Marlin introduced himself to the leader of the Space Wolves, who introduced himself as Skold Greypelt. The Slavok soldiers then followed the Space Wolves back to their encampment. To their astonishment, they were treated to a traditional Fenrisian feast, with the Space Marines building a large bonfire and breaking out caskets of Fenrisian Ale. The Space Wolves explained this was a funerary feast for the biker who had been mortally wounded by the Carnifex. When Marlin dared to ask if the Wolves weren&apos;t afraid thet the fire would attract the Tyranids, he was answered with roars of laughter, growls that the Space Wolves feared nothing, and the "assurance" that attracting Tyranids was the whole point of the Wolves presence. Greypelt explained to Marlin the way of the Space Wolves, and explained that while Shadrac was lost, they could still make the Tyranid pay the price for it.

After having feasted, the Wolves and the remaining Guardsmen took up defensive positions, and battle was soon joined, as wave after wave of lesser Tyranid bioforms threw themselves at the stubborn defenders, who slaughtered them in droves with volleys from their Lasguns and Bolters, before cutting those few that managed to reach them to pieces.

Yet the valiant defenders eventually ran out of ammunition, and Greypelt called in his Thunderhawk, upon which the surviving Astartes and Guardsmen hurriedly embarked. As the last valiant defenders departed the doomed world, the critically wounded Space Wolf lay down on his funeral cairn, and with a last shout of defiance, detonated the nuclear weapon that had been buried within it. A cataclysmic explosion that was seen by the survivors from orbit ravaged the surrounding swarms, incinerating thousands of Tyranids and denying their bio-matter to the Hive Mind forever. Shadrac had fallen, but the Hive Mind had paid a hefty prize for it. [[Category:P]] [[Category:M]]