The transmission made its last grinding noise, then gave way, shaking the Eleanore and her occupants to the core. For a million years the tank lay quite, then smashed down on its roof. At least it seemed like that long to Haesus. The two gunners dragged the sergeant off of him, then collapsed on the sandy floor. Despite his suit's coolant system, Haesus felt hot and was panting. He took off his helmet and dropped it to the floor. "Ouch" a muffled voice said. Haesus rolled over next to the sergeant. Felix slid out from under the T-bar. The crash bar had struck his helmet and left a large dent in the back of it. The rest of the marines took off their helmets and waited, listening to the sound of battle." Haesus stood looking at Eleanore. Her right track was gone, scattered across the drifting sand. Her turret was four hundred yards away, splintered from an ork rocket. Pnuematic oils still oozed from triangular mess. The roof of the vehicle had been all but torn completely off. Dents riddled her armor where small arms fire had tore into the metallic skin. Laying smashed into the sand was the right sponson. The marine felt pressure on his shoulder pad. He could hear Malachai speak in his raspy voice. "Were gonna see what we can do with her. Not much left. Broke all the teeth off the pinion gear. The rotors are fractured. I dont think the targeting computer will ever breath life again." Sighing, Haesus ran his hand down Eleanore's armored body. "Dont worry, she'll be as good as new when were done with her." Malachai smiled. Sand whirled around the two figures as the thunderhawk's engines screamed to life. "We'd better get going. Those accursed aliens could launch a second wave at any moment." yelled the techmarine. Feeling the cool air on the rock, Haesus took off his power armor. His robe slid on easily and he sat down in front of his computer. Felix had been demoted to gunner while he finished his hours in the Tank Sim. punching in access codes, Haesus brought up the days battle on video. Text scrolled down the right side of the monitor, allowing him to read commentary and orders while watching the footage. In light of Felix' bad driving skills, they had promoted Haesus to driver. Not that it mattered since Eleanore was dead. Fast forwarding through the deployment, he leaned back to watch thunderhawks and drop pods land on the planet's surface. Like ants, marines formed a wall along the northern ridge of the map, creating a halfmoon of protection. though their position looked down into a valley, the firezone was blocked by thick vegitation. Tank columns raced forward. For over five hours they changed formations. Echelon left, full abreast, full astern, broken x pattern. Finally, the moment of truth. The ork attack came with blistering speed. Though the forest canopy blocked most of ork vehicles from sight, an occasional warbuggy or looted demolisher would blast through a clearing. The orks burst through the tree line in a v formation. Gun trucks with cannons on them formed the front line. Five columns thick, maybe forty trucks to a column. The last two columns of gun trucks had zzap guns on them. He watched the Dark Angel's line rush forward to counter attack. Zooming in on Eleanore, he could see the large rock that Felix ineptly crashed into. It slowed them down by three gears easily. The new rhino behind them swerved, then lurched forward. It couldnt have been more than thirty yards ahead of Eleanore when it was struck. The live action recorder caught everything. Eleanore slammed into the vehicle, then bounced off the side, heading north east. Ork rounds bounced from her armor. A trail of smoke struck out from a battle wagon, leading just ahead of Eleanore. It struck the front right side of her turret, blowing it high into the air. Soon after, she rammed a lone eldar craft. Haesus paused for a moment. The attack had been almost pure ork. He rewound the video and zoomed out again. The a few eldar ships were pressing westward, towards the city. They cleared the cliffs with ease, but were wiped out by a squad of devistators defending the city. All with the exception of one who turned north. Obviously their plan had been to press the marine vehicles against the orks and expose their lightly armored engines. But why would the eldar only send a hand ful of units. The marine chewed his thumbnail as he stared intently at the screen. He watched the footage again, this time zooming in on the eldar craft. Lascannons brushed against the tanks. Their engines blew smoke, then smashed into the sand. Except the last. Lascannons raked its flank and sparks erupted from its turret. Magnifying the image as far as it could reach, he watched the driver. Again, shots raked against the craft. Sparks exploded from the turret. The driver tapped his headset. He tapped it again, then a third time. Their communications had been destroyed. They didnt know the other tanks were down until it was too late. Haesus rewound the records once more and zoomed out. His finger rested on the power button. He froze and stared at the screen one last time. His eyes widened and his pupils dialated. Directly east, before the hills that ended in sheer cliffs, in a patch of white dunes, just north of a crystal blue lake hovered half a grav-tank. Haesus bolted down the hall with with the crystal tight in his hand. Watchers jumped out of the way as he ran by. Sliding across the carved stone floor on his bare feet, the marine banged on a stone door while still in motion. Haesus turned his hips and started running back to the Grand Masters room. Eriquil opened the door and looked at him with puzzled eyes. Gasping for air, Haesus handed over the glowing blue crystal. Eriquil raised his eye brows with a questioning look, then let the young marine in. "Look to the east, in the sand dunes. Magnify it times... one thousand" Haesus said, straining to remember the details. The grand master typed in the command on his keyboard. Eriquils face turned from a grimace to a scowl. Clearely displayed was a grav-tank flying through an opening in the ground. Some sort of subterranian base no doubt. "When did you discover this?" Eriquil asked. "Just now sir. I brought it straight to you." "Go back to your dorm, I need to call a meeting of the inner circle. They will be pleased to learn of this." Plucking the crystal from it's bed, the grand master made hast to the council room. Haesus' wrist ban beeped, causing him to look down at it. +++Report to Malachai+++ It was simple enough. If Malachai wanted to see someone, it was probably in his shop. Haesus took his time walking to the destination. He didnt want to rush down there just to learn they were going to smelt Eleanore and use her for spare bolter parts. It wasn't right. When he arrived at Malachai's shop, he took a deep breath and prepared for the worst. Barely waiting for the plasteel door to slide up, Haesus stepped inside. He was almost taken back by what he saw. New armor plates had been fixed in place around her. A brand new turret was being locked into place. Not just a new turret, but from the newer rhinos. Her old sponsons lay on the ground as new ones were being forged by servitors. "we're refitting her with lascannons. Didn't think you would mind, seeing as how your down by one person and whathaveyou" Malachai croaked. "Tore out the old targeting and RSR computer. They weren't compatible with the new turret anyway. Dont worry about the power plant or tranny either. I replaced the drive shafts with universal ballcups. Much stronger and more flexible for diverse terrain." "But...but" Haesus stammered. "Oh dont worry about her spirit, he should be here any minute." As the techmarine finished his sentance, a withered old techpreist shuffled into the room. Slowly, he began to bless the tank, asking forgiveness from its injured spirit. "I thought you didn't approve of the new technology" the young marine managed to whisper. "Bah. I never said I didn't approve of it boy. I said I didn't trust it. Old Jebediah put together the bucket of bolts you slammed into." The old marine paused for a moment in thought. "Dont think anything that old coot's built has ever passed inspection, letalone the rigours of battle" Malachai chuckled. He let out a sigh, staring of into the distance, remembering some old faded memory. The tech priest cleared his throat loudly, tearing Malachai out of his trance. A mechanical voice filled the room. It sounded like metal bars hammering together. "That is all I can do. The machine spirit was deeply offended by itS abuse in battle." Sparks flew from the techpriest mouth speaker as it continued to speak. "If it will not return, then let it rest in peace and be troubled no more." "Thank you, Tech Priest Gerahue. Your services are deeply appreciated" Malachai told him. |
IRONWING By ( Brother Gideon ) |
FABLES OF THE UNFORGIVEN |
