awesome marine

An hour after the battle ended, the river was still dammed with their bodies. The battle had raged, the glut of orks striking upon the lines of the Raven's Guard, forced to fall back again and again and again, for a good five miles, winnowing away the horde.

Now, the corpses clogged the river, black and green melting over one another under the hot noon day sun. A great deal of them were perforated, ruined, torn to shreds, slipping and tearing apart in the fingers of the Astartes as they cleaned the river out, tossing them onto great piles, where the licking tongues of promethium did their work. It was long, tedious, work. But let it not be said that Astartes leave a job undone.

Crossing through the long, yellow stalks came a caravan of gawkers, from the hive, come to the calm after the storm. Some, carefully sifting through the dirt to seek shells left unfound by the techmarines. Others, to simply gaze upon the Astartes, children of the Holy Emperor, all.

One woman however, looked carefully at the pack of marines, with a more careful eye. Her eyes, behind elaborate crystal lenses that beggared her house for a month, settled upon one of the helmetless marines, rising from the muck, gauntlets dripping with blood.

The woman, and her servants holding her coat tails, approached.

"Brother Marine? I say, Brother Marine?"

The armor clad figure turns, halfway reaching for his helmet. Amicable curiosity set upon his heavy features.

"Noble madam," he says, before hesitating a moment, "Memnon?" At her look of astonishment with a hint of fear, he grinned, "I was briefed ma'am. Same as the rest. Do you carry questions from your lord? Assure him, the day has been won. Clean up operations shou-"
"That's not what I'm here for," She interrupted, perhaps, she thinks to herself with a bit of apprehension, a bit too boldly, as the marine's brothers look over at the scene. The marine, furrowing his brow, looked at Memnon, before gazing and nodding back to his cohort.
"Of course madam. I suppose I can spare a few moments for a loyal servant of the Emperor. What is it then?" He reaches down, scraping off orken flesh from his hands, all the while mumbling the Rites of Maintenance.
"What is your name?"
"-nissiah look favorabl- Brother Adept Tullus, milady, -upon my ministrations, take no offence-"
"Indeed, well, Brother Tullus, I was...In admiration of your efforts and was wondering if you might accept a reward."
"ministrations- The Captain will accept all material goods at his judgement, we are not a mercenary band-bugger I always forget this bit-"
"You misunderstand," The Lady stepped forward, looking up at the marine, "This is a gift for YOU."
The marine paused, frowned, looked down. She batted her inch long eyelashes at him. He sighed.
"No."

The servants, as one, stepped back, in involuntary fear.
"N-N-No?" She stepped forward, driving one heel deep in the mud, holding her skirt up with some violence, "Hah, hah, I-I-I do NOT believe you understand QUITE what I am offering here-"
Brother Tullus shook his head, running a gauntlet over his short cropped hair, then frowning as he gazed on it, "Oh but I do. It's not been the first time some dynasty has gotten the idea to augment its gene pool, and believe you me I am ENTIRELY flattered, but it just won't work."
Lady Memnon flustered, stuttered then shouted, "WHY not?"

Brother Tullus, unable to help him self, set his eyes at a crawl to the heavens as he spread his arms, despairing of what passed for nobility these past centuries, "Are you honestly asking this?"

Lady Memnon glanced down, before petulantly muttering something about armor and really how he could let her do the work.
"Do you really want to tackle the physics of this? Sure, in theory, I can take off my tonnes of armor, ignoring the many bionics and enhancements throughout my person and the fact I'm unsure the equipment even works anymore, lay myself down on the ground, and you could hop up and down on me, and it would have all the erotic appeal of a woman humping a pipe set in a ground."

Some titters and giggles erupted from the crowd as she turned crimson, as he continued, "This of course precludes the actually possibility of birthing a child with my modified genes," he waved his hand at her dainty form, "Something I wouldn't wish upon you. Finally, I'm a servant of the Emperor, not some Johnny call boy, and I have REAL work to do," He let his arm drop, as he shook his head, and redonned his helmet, "Call up some hiver, I'm sure he'd be only too glad."

The space marine returned to his comrades, who silently stared back at him, and the unmoving Lady Memnon, frozen with fury and embarrassment.

"Another one?" Intoned Brother Augustine.
"Indeed, Brother. I had to give an impromptu lesson in anatomy," the vox crackled back and forth, to the onlookers it appeared the marines returned to scooping the foul xenos from their river in silence.
"Did you explain the, 'split you like an axe splits a lo-'"
"No, Brother Augustine, I felt I had to be respectful, besides," With a grunt, Tullus heaved a wedged in power klaw out of the mire of bodies, "I didn't have the heart to tell her about me and Francis."

He turned, and saw Brother Francis across the bank, heaving two corpses over his shoulders. They waved to one another happily.

"Emperor's breath," murmured Augustine as he shook his head, "You better not wake us all up again with your caterwauling tonight."
"Maybe you'd like to grab her before she leaves?"
"Nah. Not enough muscle."

Lady Memnon stalked off, her dress trailing mud and ork's blood, leaving the Raven Guard to their dirty work.