Haesus had seen these readings before. Seems like a million times before. Eleanore's Realtime Status Report or RSR never worked right. The crew had personally topped off the fuel tanks and loaded every shell by hand. The machine spirit was getting too old and was starting to make mistakes. The lights dimmed forcing Haesus to look up. Grand Master Eriquil motioned to the revolving holographic image. A red circle appeared and the globe stopped turning. The area within the circle was amplified, showing a small city, maybe six miles across on the map. Haesus' screen blanked out, then the same image flashed up on his monitor. The Grand Master's voice boomed out in the cavernous room. "This is Jamella's Pride. A small colony that was formed when its ship smashed into the planet surface. Though most of it is buried underground, enough defense systems remained on it to keep the colonists within close parameter to it. When threatened, they retreat into its armored hull and weather the attack. Theoretically, it works. But there is something on that ship that has enticed a joint strike force on it. A coalition of Ork and Eldar forces have landed on the other side of the planet it what seems to be a surprise attack." As the commander finished speaking, the globe rotated and amplified showing several landing craft descending to the planet from Eldar Transport Ships. The picture then zoomed in to show the forces deploying on the ground. The image was crystal clear. Ork and Eldar units poured from the dropships like ants from a nest. A few seconds later, the screen blanked out. "That was our reconnaissance craft getting hit by an Eldar Cruiser." Eriquil said. "They know we are here. The strike they are launching needs to move fast, which is why they are using so many vehicles. Though many of the Ork Vehicles are transports, many of them are also gun trucks and battle wagons, as well as looted imperial vehicles. You must put the tortured souls of these machines to rest. An armored company from Mordia is en-route, but they will not arrive for a week. We must hold off the invasion long enough to discover the importance of the downed vessel and pull out." Eriquil pointed towards our platoon. "Kilo Company will suppress the first wave. We believe that the Orks will hit first to soften our lines before the heavier Eldar guns sweep out our armored units. Countering this inferior strategy will be as simple as blunting the vile green skins, then countering the Eldar craft with dispersed units of heavy infantry, rendering their larger weapons worthless." Eriquil kept talking, but Haesus wasn't interested. He zoomed in on the town. Already the townsfolk were rushing towards the ship. Their structures weren't anything to be proud of. Just a few adobe type structures packed around a trapezoid shape. Red sand surrounded the city and covered its dusty roads. The ground was probably scorched by the impact. Trees grew two miles from the edge of town. Stumps remained a little closer to the town, about a mile from it. The greenery looked dense. Thick trunked evergreens grew close together, and there was an elevation difference on the south part of the town. Cliffs, reaching up from the ground and covered in trees. Impassible for the Ork vehicles, but it would pose no threat to Eldar skimmers. The only opening for the Orks lay in the northeast corner. It wouldn't seem tactically sound to put your troops into a bottle neck covered by starship cannons. Not unless you sent a diversion force through the hole, then dropped down from behind. It would take to long to rotate the massive guns to target the fast Eldar craft. Their rear would be vulnerable to a blitz attack. The inner-circle must know of this, perhaps the Eldar are attacking from a different direction thought Haesus. Still, the remote Ork patrols they had defended the ore mines from could prove a deadly enemy if they are in greater numbers. The initiate sighed. The Mordians were supposed to deal with the Orks, but they had to take their forsaken time getting here. Perhaps this is a good thing he thought. Combat experience means honor. Accumulation of honor leads to promotions, and better equipment. "We launch at 0800 hours. Dismissed" Eriquil finished. The marines stood up and strolled out of the room. "Piece of cake" Felix called to Haesus." The loader smirked in response. It all seemed like years ago. Of course, he had only been cramped inside Eleanore for about five hours. The main turret, which featured an Autocannon, was belt fed. The large rounds came from a cubed hopper. Each hopper had about twenty rounds, and each tank could hold twenty hoppers. In addition, it had six hundred rounds of heavy bolter ammunition for each sponson. The sponson gunners lay ready, their arms in slings for support. The gun itself was controlled by a stick with a single button on it. The tank commander controlled the main turret, on his seat in the back of the tank. All the gunners had their eyes in their targeting scopes, scanning the horizon for something to shoot at. For the sixth time command was on the horn, telling them to reposition. Finally came the call. Through a haze of static rang out a crystal clear sentence that supercharged the marine's blood. "Enemy ETA, fifteen minutes, look sharp people." Haesus knelt down and held onto the crash bar. They called it that because it always came loose if the vehicle crashed, even though it was supposed hold the loader in place during maneuvers. Eleanore's diesel power plant thundered as it spun the treads. Feeling inertia pulling him backwards, Haesus leaned forward. The tank bucked and groaned. Felix is so adept, he hit a rock he thought to himself. Remembering his synapse link, the marine switched to driver cam. Everything the that Felix could see, so could he. An ammo counter was in the lower left corner of his vision. It registered 20 rounds in the hopper. A new Predator Annihilator screamed out in front of them. Wait a minute, he though. We were supposed to pull ahead and act as a shield for the heavier units. Felix must have slowed us down when he hit the rock. Haesus watched as the other vehicles pulled out in front of them. So much for the battle honor he thought. Ork gun trucks rounded the base of the hill. The trees were more scattered than Haesus had originally though. Cannons opened fire on the first rank of vehicles. The vehicle in front of them took a round to the side. Armor screeched and buckled as the kinetic energy spread across the Adamantium frame. The impact slowed the tank an entire gear. Slamming down the clutch, the driver downshifted. A second later he hammered the clutch again to gear up. Haesus watched in horror as the sprockets snapped. The transmission audibly gave way. Both tracks jammed up, digging trenches of sand as it slid along the ground. "Evade! Evade!" Haesus could hear his sergeant scream. It was too late. Felix ran them strait forward. Haesus guessed they were in seventh gear as the crash bar flew from his hands. Things seemed to work in slow motion. He could see the initial impact, then his head flew forward, disconnecting his synapse cord. His eyes adjusted to the interior of the vehicle. Teraphus was on his right, his arm tearing the sling off the wall. Eleanore cried in pain as her nose dug into the sand. Haesus fell forward, feeling the weight of the commander on his back. Then time speeded up again. He landed against Felix, pinning the marine against the T-bar. The tank landed back on its tracks and grinded into gear again. The redundant transmission screamed as gears were forced into place. Haesus tried to move, but he was pinned down. When his eyes focused, he could see that the tank commander and the two sponson gunners were piled on top of him. The sergeant was unconscious. With his waist crushed underneath the weight of the other marines, he couldn't get enough leverage to pull himself out. He watched helplessly as Felix leaned forward, accelerating the vehicle. The RPM gauge redlined and the redundant transmission kicked in again, shifting to eighth gear. Ork Vehicles veered to avoid the charging vehicle. Small arms fire rang across the armored structure. Reaching forward, Haesus put his fingers on the T-bar. Felix still jammed the bar down, but at least he could turn it now. The tank trembled then rocked violently. Haesus cut right and grazed an Ork Truck. Eleanore's treads smashed through its side, smashing hapless aliens underneath the grinding metal. Haesus felt taping on his back. A small clicking of metal against metal. His synapse cord was waving around. Looking back he saw sunlight pouring into the vehicle. He followed the white beam up to the top of the tank. Blue sky replaced the turret and ammunition hopper. The marine looked forward fast enough to catch a glimpse of a grav-tank. The craft had been using its vectored engines to strafe sideways, and the crew was un-aware of the marine vehicle approaching. Even through his helmet he could hear the vehicles screaming in pain as they scraped together. Giant gashes were made in Eleanore's roof. The grav-tank didn't fair quite so fortunate, and it collapsed to the ground. In a last ditch effort, Haesus jerked the bar as hard as he could to the left. The vehicle turned sideways and kept sliding. Sand sprayed in through the holes in the top of the vehicle and covered the floor. Catching something hard in her tread Eleanore shuddered. The tank moaned loudly seconds before a pin snapped. With a sound like thunder pieces from the right tread flew through the air. |
IRONWING By ( Brother Gideon ) |
FABLES OF THE UNFORGIVEN |
