THE CORR CAMPAIGN
Chapter 01. - The Long Night
The huge, white-marble Reclusiam Chapel was bathed in a soft glow from the beautifully ornamented lead glass in its upper dome.
Dust swirled slowly in the air, and the divine silence of the Emperor himself filled the Chapel, creating an atmosphere of calm safety.
Validus was kneeling. Deeply lost in prayer on the cold stone floor, here in the Guardian Angels Inner sanctum.
While the Chapters true Chaptermaster, the ancient dreadnaught Metatron, was slumbering in the Chamber of Angels, it fell upon Validus to be first ranking Master of the Chapter. – In such times he often found himself in the Chapel, praying for his men, his Chapter, his home, and all of mankind.
Right now he was praying for himself, and for his family who he had not seen in the last seven decades. – He seriously doubted that those of them that now lived even knew he existed, but he prayed for them nonetheless, whispering the word out into the silence like the softest hint of a breeze.
“Revered father on Terra.
I pray that you ensure to take care of those who are of my blood.
Keep them pure, and out of harms way.
Oh Emperor, my Lord, I pray to thee;
Make me an instrument of thine protection.
Where there is darkness, let me bring light;
Where there are enemies, let me bring; thine vengeance;
Where there is wrongdoing, thine justice;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is strife, peace;
Where there is doubt, faith.
Revered Father, grant that I may not so much seek;
to be understood as to understand,
to be comforted as to comfort,
to be protected as to protect,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in war that we bring peace,
it is in serving humanity that we ensure eternal life.”
Validus paused for a second as footsteps lightly echoed of the beautifully decorated mosaic floor. – One of his Brothers was striding with slow, measured steps towards him from behind.
Validus did not get up or turn to see who it was, instead he continued his prayer, hastening slightly as he concluded with the Chapters standard prayer;
"Oh Emperor I pray to thee,
Grant me the Wisdom to know what is right,
the Courage to choose it,
and the Strength to uphold it".
The footsteps had already fallen silent behind him, and Validus, still not making overdue haste, opened his eyes, looked up to the ancient statue of the Emperor in his full, ornamented battle gear, and bowed his head in respect.
“Emperor Protects!” he said in a low voice, and then without further delay, he got to his feet, brushed of his wide white and blue monks robes and turned to face whoever was waiting behind him.
There, in a pool of soft light and swirling dust, stood Master Chaplain Teneo, his head bowed down slightly in respect to the acting Master of the Chapter.
The hood of his black robe was over his head, hiding the old mans face, his arms resting inside the wide sleeves of his monastic robe.
Chaplain Teneo stood in utter silence, waiting for Validus to finish his prayer, and the Master of the Chapter regarded him for a short moment before speaking in hushed tones. “What is it Brother Teneo?” asked Validus, looking at his old friend.
Chaplain Teneo looked up at last, his soft blue eyes meeting those of Validus. “There are matters that require your attention.” The old Chaplain simply stated, before turning to respectfully leave the Chapel. – Further conversation could be carried out in a place less holy than this.
+ + + +
The control center of the Chapters massive ground based headquarters was as busy as ever when Commander Validus followed Teneo onto the bridge.
This was the greatest monastery the Chapter had. Located on the fourth planet of the Icar V system. Ultima Prime was their home, and the titanic Astartes Monastery; Hand of the Guardian was the Chapters greatest fortress, even outmatching the enormous Ramilies Class Starfort the Chapter had active in the Tyranid wars along the Eastern Galactic rim.
The Hand of the Guardian took up most of a mountain, supplemented by the systems capital city; Rubicon, and stretching several kilometers below ground. The Chapter Monastery was the most stable base of the Chapter, and held all sorts of accommodations necessary to keep the Chapter active. – Among these was the command bridge. A wide, beautiful room carved out of white marble, adorned with a breathtaking light setting, decorated with relief’s and huge riveted pillars. The roof was a light filled dome stretching out above the room, portraying a beautiful star map of the galaxy, the divine home of humanity – the Imperium. Around the dome where gold lined frescoes of humanities history, the story of the Emperor, the Astartes Legions and the Chapter.
Below the beautiful roof, the floor was laid out in a mosaic of the Chapters symbol; the Guardian Angel, and the enigmatic lemniscate of the Chapter.
To either side, the room was filled with a vast amphitheatre of computer terminals, busy serfs and servitors, as well as a few white robed Space Marine officers.
The room always reminded Commander Validus more of a basilica than a command bridge, and if it hadn’t been for the vast computer terminals, and stressed out serfs, it may well have been one.
As Validus followed the Chapters Master Chaplain to the right terminal, nothing changed on the Command Bridge. A few serfs looked up from their work, and a couple of the Chapter officers greeted them as they walked past, but the huge command room was under orders to continue their vital work rather than acknowledging commanding officers.
Following Teneo up to the huge monitors on the front wall, Validus, as always noted the huge black and gold letters high above the room’s center view screen. The letters read; “CAPITULUS PATRIA NOSTRA” – “The Chapter, our fatherland”.
The Chapter motto was an important reminder to all members of the Chapter. It was there for them to remember what and who they fought for. The Chapter may well be their fatherland, but the Chapter was part of humanity, and that was really what they fought to protect. – Wherever the Chapter went would be their homeland. Wherever they went, they would bring humanity, and in so doing, the legacy of their undying father; the Imperium.
The motto was a constant and important reminder of Humanity, the Emperor, the Chapters duty as well as history. And so the motto was visible on every bridge and command deck within the Chapter.
Teneo stopped in front of one of the many computer terminals, and Commander Validus took up a place next to him.
Most of the serfs where busy with the consoles, but one of them soon got up and walked over to the master of the Chapter to present him with the data slate holding a transcript of the latest message that had come in via the Astropathic network.
The Serf bowed deeply to the two masters of the Chapter before taking two steps back, awaiting further command. Validus dismissed him with a quick nod of his head, and the Serf bowed again before returning to his duties.
Validus took a quick curious look at Teneo before turning to the data slate, but the old Chaplain gave no hint as to what this was about.
Looking at the green screen of the portable data slate, Validus noted that it held a genoseal, needing his genetic imprint to unlock and decipher. It was not unusual for Astropathic communication, and Validus let the little computer take a small sample of his blood, knowing that only his living dna could unlock the code.
The little machine came to life as it analyzed his blood, before finally accepting the dna code and unlocking the message:
- - - - - - - - - -
From: Colonel Heinrich Sürgen Gustav Krogh.
Iron Eyes Imperial Guard Regiment.
To: Master of the Guardian Angels. Adeptus Astartes Chapter.
Sender: Astropath Hemadi Archon #DD395te7.
Location: Corr, Jarred´s Belt System. Segmentum Tempestus.
Relayer(s): Astropath: Nimo Jed #FC332xc19, Astropath: Reday Way #X9V5.
Receiver: Astropath: Janice Werrus #GA12ic5.
Sending Date: 1.185.5.41.
Code type: B42.
Thought of the day:
+ + + Never Fear to use the Biggest Gun! + + +
Subject:
Corr System in need of Astartes Presence.
Good day to you Commander!
I hope this message finds you in good health...
My regiment; the Iron Eyes, is currently stationed on the Planet; Corr, within the Jarred´s Belt system. Segmentum Tempestus.
Corr is a small and seemingly unimportant planet within the Imperium, but as with most planets, it is part of a greater network that serves the whole.
The planet is an important mining and supplies planet, as well as home to more than 67 000 000 human souls.
When we where first stationed here, there was some unrest, mystical disappearances, dangerous rumors and a bit of piracy. Things had gotten out of hand, and the local Arbites forces had lost control. Quick reaction from my regiment, coupled with harsh execution of the Emperors justice quickly put an end to the civil unrest however, and we soon reestablished the Emperors peace.
Through further investigation we have uncovered that there was some reason for concern among the civilian public, as well as among the military.
A couple of weeks after the regiments arrival, our forces where attacked by huge metallic skeleton-like creatures that are capable of withstanding almost all of our weapons. – We have now identified these creatures as the xenos race; Necrontyr.
We are slowly learning how to fight them, a lesson dearly paid for in blood. – Too much blood, and our resources are diminishing...
Several minor outposts have fallen, and we have met the enemy in open battle, but despite our efforts, we have seen more loss than victory, and the enemy’s strength has been growing, while our own has been leeched away due to their resilience and other unforeseen circumstances.
A general evacuation of the planet has been enacted, and we herby request your Chapters aid in defeating the enemy of mankind.
The Inquisitorial presence has asked me to relay the following message:
“We know it is much to ask, but we ask for at least two Companies with Orbital strike capability, and the Emperor forgive us; a Strike Cruiser with Cyclonic Torpedoes. – If we can not win, we cannot afford for the enemy to do so either.”
Hopefully, with your help, we can win this war, and my worst fears will not come to pass. – If you do not heed our call, I fear the Jarred’s Belt system may well be lost.
Details of the System, Planet and what we have learned of the enemy so far, is enclosed within this message in case your Librarium does not hold the necessary information.
The Emperor willing, we will see your strength soon.
Your Loyal Servant of the Emperor:
Judge Heinrich Sürgen Gustav Krogh of the Iron Eyes.
- - - - - - - - - -
Commander Validus lifted his eyes from the text on the data slate and looked at Teneo. He handed the old Chaplain the data slate, and the respected mentor accepted it without a word, turning it to read the words of the small glowing screen.
As usual, the old mans face was calm and kind in a rugged sort of way. But as he read, the Chaplains eyes narrowed, and he seemed to grow increasingly worried as he read the message.
Finally he looked up at Validus, his eyes serious and hard.
“This is a serious decision to make” he said, studying the Chapter Commander.
“A relocation of two Companies could seriously shift the balance of other war zones within the Imperium. Especially considering the increasing strength of the Hive Fleets, and the rumored Eldar sightings within our own system.”
“I know.” Validus said, looking around him at the busy command center of the Chapter. Everyone there was hard at work directing and aiding the Chapters war effort, most of it along the Eastern Galactic rim.
A shift of Companies from Ultima Segmentum would weaken the Imperiums defense against the Tyranid Hive Fleets, but an Inquisitorial request was hard to disregard. -
This was hardly his call to make. He would need the Chapter Master and the wisdom of the old ones for this decision. – He would need the Arch Angels.
“I believe it is time to awaken the Chamber of Angels once more.” Validus said, looking at Teneo for support.
Master Chaplain Teneo was an old and wise man. For more than four hundred years he had been with the Chapter, yet for all his years, he was nothing compared to the ancient Arch Angels. – The old and venerable Dreadnoughts.
The old man locked eyes with Validus and gave a short nod.
“I believe you are right” he said. “I believe you are right”.
+ + + +
The Fleet of the 7th Company glided soundlessly through space, the glimmering backdrop of stars hardly betraying the presence of the six, black warships moving through the dark emptiness.
The currents of the Warp had spirited the Company away to their destination quicker than anticipated, and all six ships had come through the Immaterium without problems. In only 17 days, as opposed to the expected 30-day travel time, the Immaterium had seen them transported from the Maelstrom Sector to Segmentum Tempestus, and the 7th Company had arrived at the Jarred´s belt system little more than eight days ago. Currently the fleet was closing on Corr, the ships of the convoy moving through space in a spearhead formation. – Estimated time of orbital establishment around Corr was no more than 12 minutes.
Onboard the bridge of the Strike Cruiser; Fortitude, Captain Durus Venator was busy relaying orders to his Officers.
The Fleet would establish an orbital fortress defense around the planet, while the Storm-Chaser scouted out the perimeter, setting up listening stations and establishing the Company satellite network in orbit.
This was all routine, and the company would use the orbiting fleet as their main headquarters for as long as they where here. Later the 5th Company would arrive and further strengthen the presence of the Strike Force.
In the hangar bay of the Fortitude, most of the Company was busy preparing themselves for insertion. There where no reported battles going on at this time, so Captain Venator had informed Judge Krogh that he would insert a scout force in the region of the planet that had the latest reports of Necron sightings. In hope of learning more about the enemy the scout force would then sweep through the area looking for possible enemy hideouts. In the meanwhile the Company nco., Chaplain Ektasiel would travel to the Imperial Headquarters in the Planetary Capital; Hells Deep, to discuss tactics further with the Judge. Once the Company had established itself securely, Captain Venator would join them.
Venator cursed inwardly that he couldn’t scout out the area with the satellite network. -
The majority of the planets habitable regions where located in a deep chasm, and the area in question had great overhanging mountainous areas, cliffs and caves that would hinder an effective satellite sweep. – Even Thunderhawks would be hard to employ for fighting operations within the chasm, so the Company would have to rely heavily on manpower.
In all respects he had hoped the Judges forces would have scouted out the areas already, but the Imperial Guard and PDF forces had been stretched thin enough already. Much of their strength tied up in babysitting the Capital and the Starport.
Every day would see more civilians trying to get on a transport of the planet.
The Captain couldn’t really blame them. If the Necrons had indeed been gaining ground, the rumors of sightings alone would be enough to create widespread panic.
It was indeed admirable that the Judge was keeping the peace as much as he did, but Captain Venator didn’t much like to think of what means the Judge was likely using to keep that peace.
Chaplain Ektasiel stopped in front of the Captain. The Chaplains head was clean-shaven, his grim face and piercing blue eyes showing extreme faith and determination. “The Sergeants report that my force is ready Captain. Three Thunderhawks are standing by for insertion. They report all systems are go.”
The Captain studied the Chaplain for a few moments more before clasping his hands behind his back and giving a slight nod. “Good! Proceed to the launch bay. We will have established orbit in approximately three minutes. Stand by for launch, and carry out your orders. I will join you in a few hours.
May you go with Wisdom, Courage and Strength”.
“For Humanity!” the Chaplain said.
“For Humanity.” the Captain replied, seeing the Chaplain walk away.
+ + + +
Two Thunderhawks swooped along the canyon-edges of the Great Chasm. One Thunderhawk had already proceeded to Hells Deep, and the remaining two where currently under way to the initial drop site for a recon sweep.
The thundering engines of the war-machines retro burners echoed of the canyon walls as the Thunderhawks slowed their pace, gun-run wings going active as the vtol engines roared into life, setting the Thunderhawks softly down in an obscuring cloud of dark, brown dust.
The front ramps of the Thunderhawks slowly opened, and two Rhinos rolled out, followed shortly by a Land Speeder Tornado, swooping out and over the area to scout it out. Three Attack bikes roared as they speed along the dusty ground, and already scouts where moving into covering positions at the front, and along the left flank of the force. Finally a team of battle brothers moved out to secure the right flank before the Thunderhawk engines roared to life again, lifting them into the sky and away from the ground force.
The Thunderhawks would withdraw to Hells Deep, where they would stay until called in for extraction or support.
Sergeant Egadius was onboard one of the Rhinos, looking at a monitor that gave him feedback about his forces current position and formation.
Searching this area would take all day. Possibly more, so Egadius had no intention of wasting time...
With a mere thought, he opened the communication frequency to his men, the black carapace of his body coupling his nerve system directly to his power armours systems, and the armour relaying the orders to the Rhinos communication equipment, that in turn sent the message to all his allied troops within thirty clicks.
“This is two. I want a quick, flawless dispersal. Team three and four, advance on the front flanks. Team eight; make a recon sweep on the front. Team six; form up a rear guard. The rest of you on me.
All units, report back on our security situation.”
Sergeant Egadius sat back waiting for the replies. It wasn’t long before all units had reported back green.
“All right, that’s a go. Follow in cover formation and advance by numbers.
Scouts, secure the perimeter on our advance. Once we reach the destination mark, roll out and form up a sweeping pattern. – Lets do this by the numbers men, by the numbers...”
Almost as one, the ground force set out at a slow pace, the Rhino’s kicking up dust as they rolled of, while the lone Land Speeder flew off of up ahead, functioning as semi air-cover. To either side, and to the rear Marines where advancing on foot.
As they moved away, the Marines where enveloped in the thick dust, and by the time the dust had settled once more, they where gone.
+ + + +
Almost seven hours had gone by now, and the Marine search team had come to a halt for the moment. All day they had been searching the canyon floor and side-walls. So far, all they had seen was sand, dust and rock. No wonder nobody lived out here.
Egadius quietly cursed to himself for being placed on this mission. This was a job for the vast numbers of the Imperial Guard, not for the might of the Adeptus Astartes. -
As soon as he had thought it, he regretted it. He should know better. The Astartes existed to do what others could not, and right now, this was it. His duty to mankind came first, and he should not think himself better than others of humanity. This had been told to him by the Chapters Chaplains hundreds of times, and he should know by now. He quietly reprimanded himself, and swore that he would spend a day of meditation and study in the Chapel once he got back.
Evening was quickly approaching when they finally came upon a small area with trees. Sergeant Egadius figured this would be a good place to stop and regroup, so he ordered an all out halt. The Scouts had taken up position on flanking hills to secure the area, and the recon battle force, still in a search pattern, had stopped in its tracks. Even the Land Speeder had come in for a breather, and the small but deadly skimmer was hovering a little to the right of the command wagon.
Sergeant Egadius was just about to order a disembarkment and shuffle what troops where walking and who where driving, when his vox sparked to life.
“This is Corr Command at Hells Deep. Come in Recon One, do you read?”
Egadius activated the vox caster to reply. “This is Recon One, over.”
The vox sparked for a couple of seconds before the reply came back.
“Recon One, we have lost contact with one of our Imperial strike forces. Our last positions call-in marked them as being close to your area. We believe something could be wrong, and we where hoping that you could check up on them. Over.”
Sergeant Egadius contemplated the request for a couple of seconds before answering. - “Corr Command, we will report back if we see them, but we will not go of mission for a search, over.”
The vox fell into silence, and it remained silent for almost half a minute this time. Sergeant Egadius was just about to relay his message again when the vox sparked into life a new. This time it was a gruff voice filled with authority that came online.
“This is Judge Krogh of Corr Command. I have spoken with your Captain, and he has agreed that your force should make a sweep of the area to locate our missing unit. Over.”
Sergeant Egadius checked his code readings to verify the casters id, and found them to be correct. If the Judge in charge of planetary defense, and the Company Captain thought this search was important enough for the search teams attention, then he was not about to disagree. Once more he activated his vox caster: “Affirmative! We will commence search for an Imperial Guard Battle Force in this region. Recon One out.”
Sergeant Egadius sighed, took a look at the rest of his team within the Rhino, and was about to relay his orders to the Company when the vox came alive again. This time it was the left flanking, sniper scout team. “Two, this is three. We have an advancing column of what appears to be Imperial Sentinels advancing on our position. The Sentinels are being followed by a dust cloud that would signify advancing Armoured Cavalry. Should we engage sir?”
Sergeant Egadius activated his vox caster relaying his answer to the waiting sniper squad. “Negative! They are on our side, I say again; Do NOT engage!”
“Confirmed Sir, we will stand dow...”
The rest of the message was abruptly cut of, as the telltale booms of cannons firing could be heard in the distance. A second later they where followed by a major explosion, and the typical hiss of lascannon fire..
Sergeant Egadius felt the gears of the Rhino kick into motion, and the vehicle shaking viciously as the driver of the vehicle maneuvered it into cover. In the meanwhile, five lights on the sergeants hud display turned from green to red in rapid succession, indicating his squads reports of enemy contact. One of the Rhino icons flashed red, then went black, indicating it had been demolished. Another explosion rocked the ground, and several Marine icons went black to, others flashing red to indicate wounded Marines.
“Disembark!” Sergeant Egadius yelled at his men. “Disembark!”
The back door of the Rhino fell open as the sergeant opened a vox channel to the rest of the force. “Engage the enemy! Return fire! I say again; Return Fire!”
+ + + +
Brother Otis was pulling himself out of the burning Rhino wreck.
He had gone through this same procedure just a moment ago, crawling out behind the rest of his squad. Their Rhino had taken a direct hit from a ordinance shell, vaporizing the front engine-block and instantly killing the augmented driver-servant.
The squad was still evacuating and regrouping when another ordinance shell had struck home in their midst, throwing them into the air and scattering them like rag dolls. Otis had only been saved because he was still partly inside the Rhino, and the shockwave had thrown him back inside.
Now his system was flushed with adrenalin, and his two hearts where beating franticly, the automated systems in his suit injecting him with painkillers and bio-chems to normalize his body functions.
Otis pulled himself clear and crouched low behind the Rhino wreck, picking up the missile launcher in front of his feet.
His squad was scattered, and hud feedback of his helmet told him that his squad was out of commission. – Most of them where seriously injured and unconscious, others where dead. Otis thanked the Emperor for the might of their power armour, without it there would have been nothing left.
He shook his head to pull himself together and noted movement in the corner of his eye. Two attack bikes where speeding of down the dusty plain, another stood unmanned a few meters away, its dusty front crushed, the heavy bolter at its side mangled.
Otis noted that his own armour didn’t look to good either, and the suit reported a number of structural breaches, as well as dead servo fibers. His right auto reactive shoulder plate was crushed, and the usually white armour was covered in sot and dirt. Luckily the bio-feedback of his suit only showed minor cuts and bruises on his body, as well as a broken arm. He had been lucky!
Otis noted that he didn’t hear anything though. The auto senses of his suit hadn’t had time to shut down fast enough, and his hearing had been over stressed. He was deaf, at least for now.
He looked around again, noting las-fire and missiles flying through the air to his left, but no active brother Marines close by. Otis started pulling the battle brothers of his squad into cover. – He would have to wait here until backup arrived.
On a rocky hill not to far from Otis a small team of scouts maneuvered into position.
The scouts took up covering positions among the scattered trees, noting two advancing Sentinels around a hundred meters to their left. The Sentinels where being followed by a slow moving Chimera apc, and the rocky hillside would give the scouts a perfect vantage-point to take the Sentinels down. Four sniper scopes took the war-walkers in, and with practiced ease, the scouts fired their weapons almost simultaneously.
Down below, one of the Sentinels wavered to its left, as the pilot suddenly took a bullet to the gut, another bullet splattering his brain throughout the insides of the Sentinel Cockpit. The Final two bullets hit the Sentinels fuel tank igniting the promethium, and causing the Sentinel to go up in a ball of flame.
The Second Sentinel stopped in its tracks surprised at the sudden blast close by, its pilot franticly searching for targets and finding them. The scouts ducked for cover as the Sentinels weapons opened fire, bathing the small copse of trees in a rain of energy. Only the scout sergeant who had been in the background wasn’t fast enough to avoid the projectiles, and took a direct hit to the chest. The energy bolt exploded off the carapace armour of his chest and threw him backwards off the cliff face at his back.
Down below, Sergeant Egadius and his squad came to a halt as the scout sergeant plummeted down in the middle of their squad, throwing up dust as he hit the ground hard. The scout sergeant opened his eyes and looked up at a surprised sergeant Egadius. He tried to sit up straight, but found he had no strength. Coughing up blood, he fell back with a sigh, his eyes closing for the last time.
On the right flank another ordinance shell clipped the rock shelf of a cliff, bathing the advancing Marines in a hail of rocks. Yet another shell hit home in their midst, and threw quite a few of them into the air. The squad sergeant had already ordered the squad to advance in dispersed formation however, so the losses where few. Still, the shockwave was enough to halt their advance and throw them out of position, weakening their defensive formation.
In the middle of the battlefield, a squad of aps scouts where advancing on the traitorous Imperial Guardsmen, bolters trained and ready.
They came to a halt, and opened up on the enemy. Multi purpose bolter shells throwing up dust as they laid down a torrent of covering fire.
One of the Marines hoisted a missile-launcher and fired at one of the two Sentinels in front of them. The missile struck a rock outcropping just in front of one Sentinel, blowing the small boulder to peaces and showering the Sentinel in fist sized rocks. The front windows of the Sentinel shattered and several large dents appeared on its armour, as well as the pilot’s helmet. Still, the sentinel remained an active threat as the pilot struggled to regain control in his shattered cockpit.
Its companion opened fire on the advancing aps scouts, and several scouts fell to its outburst, still, the scouts weren’t about to let that stop them, and they dug down, opening fire at it. The Sentinel seeing that the scouts where still advancing, and not in any hurry to suffer the same fate as his companion, its pilot backed the Sentinel away behind part of the cliff face, so that it was no longer a viable target.
On the left flank of the battlefield, Sergeant Egadius was leading his squad in cover of a cliffy hillside. They had to reach the right flank and team up with the forces there if they where to have any chance of stopping the enemy advance. Already much of his search team was down, having been unprepared for the surprising artillery fire. They where being slaughtered.
Egadius moved along to the right, his Rhino transport moving away in the opposite direction to cut of the enemy’s rout of advancement on the left flank. The Rhino would cover up the cliff walls, obscure the area with smoke and try to hold the enemy back until reinforcements arrived.
Egadius had already contacted Hells Deep, and the three Thunderhawks there where currently under way to the battle site, one of them holding Chaplain Ektasiel and his retinue of assault Marines. Still, Egadius knew the Hawks themselves wouldn’t be of much help in the closed confines of the chasm. The battle was simply to close to risk using missiles or bombs, and maneuvering the Thunderhawks at the attack speed needed for the targeters in this terrain was to risky.
Another explosion rocked the cliffwalls behind them. Sand and stone raining down from the sky, and Egadius noted that the explosion was followed by his hud display indicating his sniper squad had been neutralized.
Yet more explosions could be heard at a distance, and several icons flashed red on the sergeants hud, indicating that his right flank was falling.
The aps scouts at the front where falling back from the sentinel they had shattered just moments ago. Another ordinance shell had struck their area, rending them with shrapnel and dirt. Most of them had fallen, and the two sentinels at the front where advancing again.
A loud whistle indicated another incoming shell, and the scouts could see it impacting further up to the right, hitting close to the Marine forces right flank, but the scouts had no idea how many Marines had been hit, as the area was hidden by a cliff wall and obscured in smoke, dirt and dust.
The Sentinels moved up to the left, rounding a corner, and several Guardsmen where advancing close by them when the recon forces Land speeder Tornado swooped in fast, over a hilltop, closing ground and opening up on the Guardsmen.
The scouts lent them their strength, giving the Land speeder some covering fire while Auto-cannon shells where shredding Guardsmen apart. The Heavy bolter of the Land speeder spitting fire at the Guardsmen, and bolter shells exploding in their midst.
To the scouts right, two attack bikes where arriving, but one of them was clearly damaged, its gunner hanging limply from the side, and as the two bikes pulled up to the higher plateau, the damaged bike crashed and came to a halt. Its driver finally loosing consciousness.
The remaining bike opened fire on the advancing Guardsmen, slaughtering them with bolter fire, and forcing them into a wild dash for cover.
On the left flank a missile came hurtling into the damaged sentinel, crushing its pilot as the missile detonated inside the vehicles cockpit.
Among the echoing canyon walls, the roaring engines of Thunderhawks could be heard at a distance.
+ + + +
Steep rocky walls climbed hundreds of meters to either side as the three Thunderhawks out of Hells Deep sped along like shooting bullets towards their target.
The Thunderhawk holding a small force of assault Marines was shuddering violently as the pilots’ struggled to keep her steady in the turbulent side passages of the Great Chasm.
Chaplain Ektasiel braced himself as the Thunderhawk suddenly dropped over twenty meters to avoid a rocky overhang.
The squad had been securely strapped into their harness seats just a few minutes ago, but now they where at the front of the hawk, readying themselves for drop insertion.
The plan was to deepstrike within enemy lines to disrupt their forces, then proceed to destroy their mobility and heavy support.
The Thunderhawk shuddered forcefully again, and Chaplain Ektasiel was thankful for the magnetic couplings on his armoured boots, as well as the servo engines that fought to keep him steady and balanced in the violent hull.
As he secured his jump pack, one of the pilots came online in his ear.
“E.t.a. to destination, two minutes. Be advised that the drop zone is hot, so we will be coming in low and hard. The battle is to close for us to soften up the l.z. at this speed, so we will drop you off, then double back for supporting manouvers. -
Stand by for green light!”
Ektasiel acknowledged the pilots message, and signaled thumbs up to his men. They in turn gave thumbs up to Ektasiel and he smiled under his skull helmet, feeling proud to serve with such brave men.
He opened the com-link to his men. “Let us pray!” he said, his voice gruff:
“Almighty Father, whose command is over all humanity.
Keep me true to thy will, and keep me guarded against dishonesty in purpose and deed, helping me to live in such a way that I can face my fellow Marines and thee without shame or fear.
I pray to thee;
Protect my Chapter.
Give me the will to do the work of a Marine and to accept my share of responsibilities with vigour and enthusiasm.
Grant me the courage to be proficient in my daily performance.
Keep me loyal and faithful to my superiors and to the duties the Imperium and my Chapter have entrusted me with.
Help me to wear my armour with dignity, and let it remind me daily of the protection of humanity which I must uphold.
If I am inclined to doubt, steady my faith; if I am tempted, make me strong to resist; if I should fail in my endeavour, give me courage to try again.
In nomine Patris, et Humanis, et Spiritus Sancti!
Chaplain Ektasiel finished the prayer, his men echoing his words.
Finally he looked up to his men and gave them a saluting nod, then the green light for drop came on and the Thunderhawks rear ramp fell open.
Without doubt or hesitation the battle brothers jumped into open air and plummeted towards the ground, Thunderhawk’s shooting by above them, as the ground raced closer.
+ + + +
The aps scouts where advancing again, the Land speeders frantic dance giving them the distraction they would need.
As they advanced, the scouts noticed a chimera closing fast on the Land Speeder, and moved into position to fire. The Land speeder saw the enemy transport to late however, and as the pilot pulled up to make an evasive turn, several lasgun shots ricocheted off the Land speeders undercarriage. The energy dispersed by the lasgun’s where hardly dangerous to the skimmer, but a score of plasma bolts came swooping out of the Chimeras interior as the Guardsmen disembarked.
The blue plasma bolts hit the skimmer, impacting heavily on its undercarriage and melting away several of the anti gravitic stabilators. The Land speeder zigzagged across the sky, wildly out of control as its pilot desperately tried to keep it airborne.
The attack bike to the right of the aps squad started moving along to the left, when the hissing energy beams of a sentinels las-weapons suddenly struck out towards it, burning through the front of the bike and into its large engineblock. The bikes fuel tank ignited, and the riders where thrown off as the bikes promethium supply exploded.
Brother Julius of the aps scouts found himself flying through the air, his side burning with pain, and for a moment he thought the bikes explosion had hit him. He calculated that the bike had been to far away however, and instead realized that another ordinance shell had hit his squad. Strange how he hadn’t noticed the impact he thought, then he hit the ground hard and everything disappeared.
Sergeant Egadius rounded a rocky corner and found that only a large fence of some sort obscured a clear firing lane to the enemy. His squad moved up behind him, finding the mangled and destroyed Rhino of team five to their left. One man was remaining, having pulled his battle brother to safety; ensuring that no gene-seed would be lost.
Egadius’s team moved up to his position, and the lone Marine nodded to them in salute, indicating the firing-lane to their right.
A massive explosion rocked the ground further up ahead, and the Marines noting that the three Thunderhawks out of Hells Deep shot by, flying low. Their massive forms hardly more than a blur in the sky as the thunder of their engines filled the canyon.
The squad of Marines stepped out of cover and advanced towards the enemy.
+ + + +
Chaplain Ektasiel maneuvered himself towards the left flank of the battlefield, the assault squad tight on his tail as they glided through the air.
The enemy didn’t have as heavy a defense on the left flank, and it seemed it would be the safest landing zone, so this is where they would go.
As Ektasiel came in towards the area, he noticed a Rhino blocking the enemy’s rout of advance. It was covered in smoke, and its storm bolter was firing blindly at an advancing sentinel, the war walker returned fire, but hit nothing.
Behind the Sentinel was a Chimera. The apc seemed to have stopped for the moment, so Chaplain Ektasiel fired his retroes and targeted the Sentinel, firing his plasma pistol as he fell. Two energy bolts shot out of his mastercrafted plasma pistol, detonating like small suns inside the sentinels’ cockpit and bringing it to a halt.
The Chaplain ignited the afterburners of his jump pack again, bringing him higher into the air and around to the right as his squad came in for a landing down below.
The Chimera tried to back away, as the squad of incoming assault Marines opened fire. Six plasma bolts came hurtling into its engine block, melting it and detonating its fuel in an instant.
Chaplain Ektasiel came in for a landing on the other side of a nearby hilltop just as the front of the Chimera exploded. What was left of its crew came running out of the burning wreck, and the Chaplain was mildly surprised when two plasma bolts shot towards him under the hail of red energy beams of las weapons. His armour took the punishment however, the las weapon impacts where not even showing on his black armour, but the plasma bolts where another thing. He felt one of them kick into him as it impacted, overloading the auto reactive energy shield of his rosarius field-generator.
The other plasma bolt hit him clearly in the chest, and the old Chaplain took two steps backwards from the impact as the chest eagle of his armour melted. Temperature readings went sky high within his armour before the suits coolant system returned the artificial atmosphere of the suits interior to normal.
Ektasiel felt the auto injectors and auto-med systems of his armour treating him with painkillers, adrenalin, coolant gel and other combat drugs.
He bent his head looking down at the melted eagle of his armour, then slowly, menacingly, he lifted his head again. The gaze of his coal black lenses took in the guardsmen that had stopped flat footed in surprise at the Chaplains survival. -
His lenses flashed blue as the armour switched to targeting view, and the furious Chaplain angrily started striding towards the men in front of him.
The scared guardsmen turned tail and ran for cover behind the smoking Chimera, running straight into the buzzing chain swords of Ektasiels assault squad.
+ + + +
On the right flank of the battlefield, a shell had impacted close to the remaining squad of Marines, rending them with shrapnel and fire. The squad had been thrown aside, and they where now pretty much combat inefficient. With to many heavily wounded, they where unable to move, and the only one left unscathed was brother Medes.
The lone battle brother pulled one of his companions into cover from a hail of energy projectiles coming their way. Another explosion detonated nearby, shaking the Marines to the core of their bones, and Brother Medes gritted his teeth, feeling sand and dirt raining down all around him. His auto senses had blocked out the ear shattering sound of the explosion, and was just now reactivating his hearing input.
For a moment silence engulfed the battlefield, and the hail of projectiles stopped, as the area was covered in a dust filled smokescreen.
The enemy was momentarily in disarray as the entire battle group turned and advanced on the right flank. Obviously they where going to make a run for it through the weakened battle line on the Marines flank. They where probably afraid the Thunderhawks would come around for an effective air strike, and there was nothing Medes could do to stop them. Still, the enemy was distracted with the pullout, and the hardened Marine wasn’t about to let this chance escape him. He may not be able to stop them, but he would stand defiant against the onrush of heretical Scum.
Medes got to his feet, checked his bolter and stepped out of cover, straight in front of a team of Guardsmen that where running out flat towards his position.
He opened up on them as the surprised Guardsmen scrambled for cover. Bolter shells tearing into the Guardsmen, felling them on the spot.
Medes activated the external vox caster of his suit. The mechanical sound of the suits speaker’s enhancing and distorting his voice slightly; “Lay down your weapons and receive the Emperors judgment traitors! Resistance is futile! We will hunt you down...”
Another salvo of bolter rounds felled a Guardsman as Medes advanced on the enemy. But this was a fight he could not win. A single Marine against the might of an entire Imperial Battle force? Still, Medes kept moving towards the Guardsmen.
The red crosshairs of his hud indicated another target lock, and Medes with practiced ease, employing ammo preservation drills, threw another round at the Guardsman. Then, suddenly, like in slow motion; he saw a missile speeding towards him. The smoke trailing behind it forming small spirals as it fled through the air. A number of tanks and Guardsmen where advancing behind it.
He saw it to late however, and the missile went straight through Medes’s armour and embedded itself in his torso. -
Medes grunted in annoyance as the missiles force sent him almost a meter back, rocking on his heel while servos fought to keep him upright.
Medes growled, feeling anger well up in him. The missile had penetrated his chest, and he was obviously dead, but not just yet.
He took two stumbling steps towards the shocked Guardsmen, his armour feeling heavy as lead due to the crushed black carapace and ribcage of his chest. The nervo-link to his suit was severed, and he was carrying the entire suit by his own strength.
With a snarl of defiance, Medes ran into the midst of the shocked Guardsmen, throwing himself into their midst as the missile inside his body detonated, ripping him apart and shredding the guardsmen with plassteel shrapnell.
+ + + +
Sergeant Garro lead his assault Marines into the fray as a squad of guardsmen came around the corner of their burning Chimera. Bolter rounds tore into them. Plasma burst melted the head of one man. Another was melded to his carapace armour, and
Sergeant Garro finished the poor man with an overhead chop to the neck as the he fell screaming to the ground.
Some of the Guardsmen struggled to get out knives and bayonet’s, others turned to flee as they where cut down in a horror show of blood and gore. Whirring chain swords cut through the Guardsmen’s armour like tissue paper.
Garro saw one man coming at him with a power fist, but before the man could reach him, one of the other Assault Marines planted a bolter round in the mans head, causing it to explode into bloody pulp.
Garro saw another guardsman come rushing at him from the side, and without even thinking about it, Garro’s mind went into hyper-time. Everything around him slowed down. In slow motion he turned towards to rushing man at his side; lobbed the mans leg off at the thigh., and as the man fell, Garro caught glimpse of the guardsman’s knife. In it he could see the reflection of a new squad of Guardsmen running over the hill behind him to the right. It was all as clear as if he was studying the scene playing out in slow motion on a gigantic mirror. Garro could see one of the Guardsmen throwing himself of the steep hillside, a power sword held out to cut the assault sergeant down from behind.
Casually Garro lifted his sword, blocking the other mans thrust, all the while turning towards the hillside behind him and showing upwards. The flying guardsman was impaled on Garros powersword, sliding heavily all the way down to the sword shaft before Garro threw him to the ground, cutting the mans torso in half in the process. The rest of his squad followed suit against the new attackers, the former squad lying in pools of their own blood among the brown sand.
Finally time kicked in again and Garro rushed towards the new squad of Gurdsmen, throwing a grenade overhead up and onto the plateau above.
+ + + +
Chaplain Ektasiel was furious. These heretics had the nerve to attack him and then run away? They where not only heretics, they where cowards…
He started walking towards the burning Chimera the fleeing guardsmen had used as cover, when he noticed movement to his left.
A squad of guardsmen where rushing up a hill close by. A grenade came dropping over the side of the hill and detonated among the onrush of guardsmen.
The Chaplain was just about to turn and face them, when something impacted heavily on his helmet, snapping his head forward and overloading the rosarius force-field.
The Chaplain felt the back of his helmet crack, and his eye lenses shattering, as he stumbled and fell to one knee. – A dull explosion could be heard overhead, but the old Chaplains ears where already ringing.
Sitting on one knee, and leaning heavily on his Crosius, the Chaplain looked more like he was in prayer than as if he was hurt.
Slowly he got up from his sitting position, and the surprised guardsmen rushing at him halted at a distance. Ektasiel dizzily turned to face them, then glanced to his right to see the missile launcher crew that had sent a missile into the back of his helmet.
Thanks to the Rosarius forcefield, the missile had ricocheted of the helmet, and now the missile launcher crew stood awed as the lone Marine looked at them, his skull mask reflecting an angered God of Death that had only been slightly annoyed by the missiles impact.
Ektasiel knew otherwise though, he could feel the nausea and dizziness welling up in him. The back of his head was wet, and darkness shrouded his vision as he tried to take a step towards the guardsmen. He fell heavily, stiff like a tree to the ground, whirling up dust as he hit.
Ektasiel was hardly conscious, but he could hear the cheers and relived laughter of the guardsmen nearby, that turned to follow their advancing armoured column. What really grabbed the Chaplains attention however, was a small squad of Ogryns rushing at him from up ahead. But before they ever reached him, everything turned dark.
+ + + +
Sergeant Egadius halted his teams’ advance for a moment as the Thunderhawk air support patched through a message to his telemetric communications equipment.
Egadius already knew that the Assault Marine team had struck deep into the enemy lines on the left flank, but was uncertain of their status, or the role the Thunderhawks would play in this battle. The only thing they could really do now, was to pick up what was left of the Marines and evacuate them.
“Ground leader, this is Thunder one. We are coming in on your station. Inbound hot. Requesting permission to lay down an air-strike on enemy position, over.”
Egadius almost panicked at the prospect of an air-strike from the Thunderhawks heavy weapons in their scattered position, and quickly activated his vox caster.
“Negative! I say again, Negative! The enemy is pulling out and we do not have the resources for visual confirmation. We have been getting torn up down here, and are currently in an extremely vulnerable position.
Our situation is critical, and we cannot risk loosing gene-seed to an air-strike.
Do you copy? Over,”
The vox sparked into life almost immediately.
“Copy that ground leader. Where do you want us? Over”
Egadius looked around him, seeing little, but hearing engines up ahead and off to the right. The enemy was pulling out. Still, their forces where vastly superior to what remained of the Marines. It didn’t matter. The ground force would try to take as many traitors with them as possible while waiting for the Thunderhawks.
“We are running low on everything we got. We need to return to base. Re-group, re-arm and track down the enemy before we can strike.
We need a medivac on this location. Come down on my signal and prepare for pick-up.” Egadius closed the vox channel feeling utterly exhausted at his company’s loss.
“Copy that Ground Leader. We will be coming in ASAP. Hold in there and cover our backs on the landing zone. Thunder one out”.
Egadius turned to his squad and signaled for them to move out. The small team advanced along the destroyed Rhino along their left, firing their bolters into the dust up ahead as the enemy moved towards the right flank of the battlefield. The heretical Guardsmen where trying to withdraw along the open route through the Marines decimated flanking battle line.
The teams bolters spat fire, and the air filled with bolter shells. Unfortunately the guardsmen where to obscured in the dust and smoke that followed in their tanks wake for the Marines to accurately hit anything at this distance. Especially while moving.
The only viable target was a sentinel moving away on a hilltop to their right, and one of the Marines targeted it with a missile launcher. The Marines missile sped out towards the Sentinel, clipping its leg but doing no real damage. The Sentinel turned to face them and returned fire as it walked backwards. The Sentinels projectiles hit one of the Marines in the head before it disappeared back into the dust. The Marines head snapped back, and he fell to the ground unmoving.
Another missile was launched at the enemy tank column, but it was impossible to say if it did any damage through the thick dustcloud up ahead.
The teams Rhino reported in. It was currently advancing on their position. The assault Marines had taken down most of the heavy resistance on the left flank, and its presence was no longer needed in that area. If the team halted their advance, the Rhino would pick them up, and it could carry them towards the right flank, buying them an opportunity to halt the enemies retreat, or at least kill some of the traitors before they disappeared.
Egadius stopped. Holding up a hand to indicate for his team to do the same.
With practiced ease, the team spread out to form a protective perimeter.
“Switch to infra-view.” Egadius ordered, and took a moment as his mind adjusted to interpreting the heat signals around him. A small window in his hud-screen still showed the battleground in regular view.
What he saw up ahead through his heat vision shook his senses, and he could feel a huge dose of adrenalin dumping into his system as the turret of an advancing Leman Russ targeted them.
He got to his feet and screamed at his team, urging them to scatter, but it was to late.
The Leman Russ Demolisher Cannon fired at them, lobbing an ordinance shell into the back of the squad.
The team of Marines was thrown away as the shell detonated, throwing some of them into the rocky mountainside, lifting others clear of the ground, somersaulting their bodies through the air before they landed heavily in the sand again.
Egadius landed flat on the ground, the impact knocking the air out of him as he hit the ground with a crack, turning his vision black for a moment. He was seeing stars and his ears where ringing.
It suddenly occurred to him that the ringing wasn’t due to the blast after all, and saw in the helmet display of his suit, that the temperature of his energy pack was rising to critical. Egadius hastily commanded the emergency release of his energy source, the backpack falling of as the suits systems switched to internal reserves for power.
He quickly turned to pick up the pack, seeing that it was shattered due to a major shard of metal embedded in the middle of it.
Hefting the power pack in one arm, Egadius swung around and threw the pack as high into the air and away as he could. Employing all his strength in the throw.
Stunned by a sudden pain to his chest, he fell to the ground and covered his head as the pack flew threw the air in a fine arch, before detonating like a small sun overhead.
+ + + +
Spinning on his knees, Sergeant Garro turned around to face a guardsman just as the bloodied soldier leaped at him. The guardsman threw his weight at the Marine sergeant, but found himself unable to even budge the furious giant.
Garro’s left hand snapped out, its crushing grip closing around the guardsman’s neck as he lifted the poor wretch of the ground.
The guardsman struggled to get loose, kicking the Marine repeatedly in the groin and thighs, but Garro simply held him at arms length, squising the life out of the traitor as he closed his fingers tighter together. The sergeant felt nothing but pity for this poor Heretic that had turned away from the light of the Imperium. No doubt out of greed for his own profit.
“Do you see this?” he asked the man in his grip, showing the orange shoulder guard of his right shoulder towards the man to let him have a better look at the Chapter insignia.
“This is the mark of the Guardian Angels, Scum!”
The sergeants’ voice was gruff and angry.
“We are the Guardians of humanity, but when you turned your back on the Imperium you sold your soul to Chaos. Without your soul, you are no longer human… -
But you may still repent. Admit your sins, and I shall give you the Emperors peace.”
Garro loosened his grip slightly to let the traitor speak, but it was to no avail.
The mans eyes rolled back in his skull as he summoned his strength and pat at the Marines helmeted face. Garro felt his lip dipping in a sneer of contempt at the traitors defiance, and with a twitch of his wrist, he snapped the mans neck like a dry twig.
The guardsman fell limp, and Garro threw him to the bloodied ground, turning to take in the scene around him.
His battle brothers where hacking the traitors to peaces, while the guardsmen’s weapons barely scratched the white paint of their armour.
Garro walked with determination towards a new man, firing his gun as he went.
He crushed the skull of his next opponent, smashing his fist clear through the mans face, and the sickening sound of bones breaking filled the air as Garro’s boot imploded the chest of yet another man that lay sprawling on the ground.
+ + + +
Further down the battlefield, Egadius’s Rhino finally reached its squads position, and found it filled with wounded Marines.
The Rhino came to a halt just as the column of enemy vehicles rolled of a couple of hundred meters ahead. The Rhino opened fire on the closest target, its storm bolter spitting fire at the advancing column.
Guardsmen on foot scrambled aside, using the advancing vehicles as cover.
One of the guardsmen took to courage however, and ran up to a firing position. Getting down on one knee the Guardsman braced himself as he sent a missile streaking towards the Rhino.
The missile went wide and instead of the Rhino, it hit a rocky outcropping to the vehicles side, showering the apc in huge rocks and debris, punching its bolter to the side, damaging the weapons mechanics and locking it in a sideways position.
Another missile struck home on the Rhinos front almost simultaneously, but luckily burned of, detonating on the Rhinos reactive armour, bathing the Rhinos front in a massive explosion.
Up ahead the Guardsmen got to their feet and kept moving.
Obviously they thought the Rhino was destroyed, and for the moment its crew was not about to disagree.
+ + + +
Sergeant Garro took a quick look around. The smoking ruin of the Chimera in front was smeared with blood, and the ground was littered with corpses.
One of his men was down; the mans own plasma pistol had detonated, melting a large part of the Marines arm away in the process. Garro’s squad-monitoring indicated that the man was hurt and unconscious, but not in any immediate danger.
The small team of assault Marines where regrouping, and Garro was worried about Chaplain Ektasiel. The old Chaplain was nowhere to be seen, and his bioreadings indicated that he was out cold and badly injured.
They where clearly fighting the enemys waneguard now, so the enemy wouldn’t be giving them much more tim. The assault squad activated their jump packs again, jumping clear of the slaughter zone and over the burning Chimera up ahead.
The squad cleared the hilltop to their right and got a clear view of what lay behind. -
The enemy was pulling out on the right flank. Most of them where already on the move, but close by, a squad of Ogryns where rushing towards their position.
Chaplain Ektasiel was laying sprawled out on the ground, and the Crosius of his office lay like a golden beacon at the Chaplains side.
The Ogryns would pose a threat to the Chaplain if they reached his position, so Garro steered his jump pack in that direction, opening fire at the Ogryns on his decent.
Four plasma bolts and a score of bolter rounds tore into the Ogryns, but the huge creatures where tough as nails, and only one of them went down to the onslaught of projectiles.
Sergeant Garro landed on the run, and charged at the Ogryns, his squad right at his side. – As they charged into the enemy lines, Garros sword came alive with power, ripping through another Ogryn, while the rest of his squad advanced on them, chain swords buzzing and hacking away large chunks of meat.
An Ogryn grabbed one of the Marines by the head, shaking him viciously and throwing him almost ten meters into the air. As the Marine fell, the afterburners of his jump pack came alive to stabilize his fall before hitting the ground.
Garro stepped in and killed yet another of the Giants, its guts sprayed out in a fountain of gore, covering his armour and helmet in a thick layer of blood and viscera.
Immediately his helmet switched to infra view in order for the Marine to see through the thick layer of blood that covered his visor optics.
In the upper right corner of his hud, a small vid-window came alive as the suit automatically activated the camera view, seeing the battlefield through the camera at the side of the helmet. Another window popped up to give Garro a satellite view of the Battlefield.
Finally, the Chapters satellite-network had come online.
Maybe the Thunderhawks could make a gun-run after all, but in all reality; Garro knew it was to late.
The Ogryns started falling back, and Garro wisely ordered his squad to let them go as one last ordinance shell detonated between them and the Ogryns, obscuring the Marines view as the enemy fell back into the dust.
+ + + +
on the far end of the Battlefield, the last of the Leman Russ tanks rolled off into one of the side tunnels branching of from the Great Chasm.
The rocky cliffs overhead of them where to dense for the Marines Thunderhawks to do any damage through, and the branching chasm tunnel was to narrow for the flying behemoths to follow them in.
The Guardsmen where safe, and as the last of the infantry pulled into safety, a Leman Russ with its turret backwards, elevated its cannon and fired at the rocky overhang to the columns rear, causing an avalanche and cutting of all chances the marines may have had to follow them in.
A couple of seconds later, the first Thunderhawk came in overhead of the battlefield. Its vtol engines spitting out blue flames to soften its decent.
Down below, the remaining Marines of Egadius’s squad were pulling their casualties to safety as the massive flyers came down on their position.
The first Thunderhawk held a med-bay, and several apothecaries took to the battlefield as the flyer landed, its front hatch dropping and releasing a medical rhino as well as several medical servo skulls and Servants.
The Thunderhawks had landed in a rough triangular pattern, forming up a perimeter defense, and what remained of the ground forces squads pulled themselves together to strengthen the perimeter.
The Assault Marines had already flown out to secure the crashed Land Speeder, and com-net reported another Thunderhawk with Tech-Adepts, mech-servants and rescue vehicles was on its way from the Fortitude. – The Company Strike-Cruiser standing by for emergency medical operations while attempting to track the traitorous guardsmen through the satellite network – Unfortunately it seemed something was interfering with the satellites transmitter relays.
+ + + +
Egadius looked up at the rapidly darkening sky as the medical-fitted Thunderhawk took of and lifted into the air. Soon it was nothing more than a shooting star against the dark sky.
This was going to be a long night for the Chapter.
