Several things first, before you start reading this story. To those who have me on author alert and see this, if you have not read them yet, then do so now. For to understand this story, The Emperor works in weird ways and Of Wraiths and Bolters, both by the fantastic author he who fell from grace (with the excellent beta and input of Ark C'thuul) have to been read (and in that order mind you!). Yes, I know they are long. The EWWW clocks in at 25 chapters and not quite 120,000 words. OWaB is even longer, with 24 chapters so far and a staggering 195,000 words so far. Still they are both worth the time spent reading them. They are well written, have a nice twisted sense of humour and for Warhammer 40k, they are not that grimdark (which probably is because of the SG-verse). My advice to you is to make yourself a nice hot cup of tea/hot chocolate or even coffee if you must, make yourself comfortable in front of your computer and start reading and prepare yourself for a grand time!
Secondly, I would like to thank he who fell from grace, as it is because of his vast imagination and creation of this universe, that I am writing this side story to his epic, allowing me to fill in some of the gaps and those details in his story which he did not describe. I feel honoured and quite proud too in a way, to announce that YES! THIS STORY HAS BEEN AUTHOR APPROVED!. He even edited a few things, but those are minor.
Anyway, I hope that this story satisfies some of the urges of those who are the avid readers and fans of OWaB and serves as a snack to pass the time until the epic finale is out.
Thirdly, to all readers: Remember, reviews are nice and encourage the author to write more. Also criticism, especially of the constructive kind, is allowed and encouraged. Only, please do not flame, if you do not like the story then either stop reading, or just say so in your review, but then please give a reason for your dislike. Also, I do not dislike anonymous reviews or reviewers who are not registered at , but please remember registering takes two minutes at most, and it gives me the chance to answer your review personally.
That is all, and no enjoy the first chapter of the adventures of Jonathan O'Neill.
Edit: I will up the story rating if it is needed but the first chapter still rates a T. If a later chapter rates an M (as it probably will) the it will be changed, but for now a T.
Chapter 1: Introductions and beginnings
Hanoth had never been an important world before the coming of the Second Imperium of Man. True the Goa'uld had been there, and the planet seemingly had a few Naquadah mines which yielded just enough to keep the Goa'uld interested. There were also a few other mines for several other precious materials such as gold or silver but once again, they yielded just enough to attract the Goa'uld and keep them interested enough in the planet to keep a small garrison there.
This all changed with the coming of the Second Imperium of Man.
After the battle of Bellut a small task force consisting of three Terran Defenders, their fighter complements and a full two regiment of I.G.L. with attached tanks, walkers and artillery pieces had descended upon the planet.
The resultant battle had been over very quickly, the few Jaffa putting up only a token resistance, before being forced to surrender. The double-headed Aquila had been hoisted over the main spire of the fortress-palace from which the Goa'uld had controlled this world, a new garrison installed, along with a few upgrades to the fortress's defensive capability such a new quartet of heavy Lascannon and a dozen medium Lascannon as well as heavy machine-guns such as the M2 Browing mounted on a bipod, grenade launchers and flame turrets. They also installed a new shield pylon in the midst of the fortress giving them even more defensive capabilities.
But this was all standard, as the Imperium regularly fortified taken over fortresses, especially if the planet, as was the case in Hanoth, could easily be classified as a high order Agri-world.
Seeing the potential the world had, the Second Imperium immediately began bringing in machines from Terra to increase the yield of the farms on Hanoth.
That was until the Orilla class Battleship Dread Wolf arrived over Hanoth on its shakedown cruise, to deliver another batch of I-301s to the planet's fortress. On board was the Asgard Asir and he upon entering orbit around the planet used the Dread Wolf's advanced sensor package to do a thorough scan of the planet. What they found astonished them.
Hanoth was a goldmine.
On the southern continent massive deposits of gold, silver, titanium, chrome as well as several large iron deposits and other metals were discovered. But it was on the northern continent that the true prize was found. In the area around the capital city of the planet, the Asgard sensors found more iron in great quantities as well as many other rather important materials. But all of these finds paled to the five massive and great Naquadah veins, each at least as big or even bigger than the one named motherlode, as well as dozens of smaller veins. There were also several big Trinium veins and more importantly several Neutronium veins.
True these new deposits were mostly underground and would have to be accessed via mine shafts which in some cases would reach up to over a mile underground, but the technology for that existed, namely on Terra, and it could be shipped here and installed.
Which is exactly what happened.
Within a few weeks several mines had been opened up and were being driven into the ground.
But not only mines were created, no Hanoth, that had before been classified as a potential high-class Agri-world, was now to be transformed into a mining and forge world of the highest order. The world was now classified as a world that had to be defended at all costs.
Not only because of the abundance of metals to be found there. Not even because of the massive deposits of Naquadah and Trinium that were to be found on the planet, and which already would have elevated the world to one of high status due to the importance of those two metals.
No the find that eclipsed all was the large source of Neutronium to be found on the planet. Neutronium was what made the planet so valuable, as it was the staple building material for human form Replicators. And those would have even without the addition of Necron technology and the terrifying metal named Necrodermis added to their construction been terrible opponents. But now with the fusion of the Necrons and the Replicators and the birth of the Replicon race, any newly constructed human form Replicator would be remade into a Necron immortal, only with the added protection that the Replicator cells offered to explosive weaponry. As such the world of Hanoth was declared a fortress world with a tithe Grade 1, or in the term of the Imperium Exactis Extremis , one that had to be held at all costs.
Within two months the world of Hanoth had undergone a radical transformation. The capital, Trilath City, was ringed by a large defensive wall, just as the other six, soon to be, major cities were. Over two dozen mines had already been driven into the ground and metals were being mined at an astonishing pace. Survivors of evacuated planets that had been lost to the Replicon advance and had thus been subjected to Exterminatus had been shipped to Hanoth, immensely swelling the population and being set to work in the mines. But not only had mines been opened, no foundries and factories producing weapons, ammunition, parts for space ships, fighters and tanks had also been erected to process the mined ore and turn it into everything the Second Imperium needed to keep the war machine up and running. With the help of added Asgard Neutrino Ion generators Adamantium was being made, utilizing the resources at hand. A massive network of high-speed train highways was constructed that connected the cities with each other, and from them poured the processed metal, manufactured parts, weapons, munitions, tanks and harvested food in vast quantities –it was still also classified as a class two Agri-world too- over these newly constructed highways into Trilath City, where a large space port had been constructed, including several vast ring transporters which sent a never ending stream of parts up into orbit where orbital shipyards were being erected, while those docks already built were already hard at work building new ships for the Imperium's fleet, or where new freighters from Hebredia docked to take the newly made weapons, ammunition, tanks and food and distributed it where it was needed in the Imperium.
Of course, with the planet's importance growing, so did the military might sent to keep control of it and keep the planet defended. The main fortress had already been expanded and given more weapons such as heavy Lascannon, medium Lascannon and due to the nature of the threat which were the Replicons, projectile weaponry of all sizes had been added as well and a bigger shield pylon with more power was erected in the fortress's midst to project from overly large siege pieces. But this was not all that happened. Several more fortresses were being constructed, each one bristling with an abundance of deadly weapons and each was given a shield pylon to protect it further. But erecting fortresses was not everything that had happened.
As the planet had been declared a fortress world that had to be held at all costs, the planet had not only been fortified with several new fortresses protecting the cities and mines so vital to the Imperium's war machine, no they were also given massive reinforcements of I.G.L.
Each regiment of I.G.L. is composed of two battalions of infantry and a attached train that is composed of the attached light artillery and light armour pieces which were unofficially classes as the third battalion of the regiment, though of course in reality such a classification was impossible due to the different natures of the attachments being either vehicles or artillery pieces. As such they were classified as 1st to 4th Coy Armour Xth regiment attached, and the 1st to 4th Coy Artillery Xth regiment attached.
Even though the I.G.L is heavily standardized with all infantry regiments having the same layout and added armour and artillery support, the necessities of war had forced the IGL to diversify a bit.
As such the I.G.L. infantry was not only given Lasguns, which had proved only marginally effective against Authen Replicons, but quite effective when employed en masse to literally vaporise and burn away the Necrodermis of Neo Replicons and Immortals, but projectile weapons as well. As such any regiment engaging the Replicon forces was also equipped with P-90s for the standard infantry and scouts, while the elite troops of the 1st company, the grenadier company were equipped with the HK- G36 assault rifle. Snipers discarded their special Long-Las variant and concentrated on heavy sniper rifles instead such as the Barrett M107, though they were equipped with a Laspistol for secondary combat and if a energy weapon was needed. Also the men manning the support weapons: M2 Brownings, tripod mounted Autocannons, grenade launchers, rocket launchers and sometimes Meltas -if they were available- were also generally issued with a secondary Laspistol and projectile pistol, such as Terra made Glocks or Desert Eagles, for close combat if it became necessary. Flamers, normally a staple ingredient of the support weapons given to the I.G.L regiments were discarded in the face of the Replicon foe as the flames were not hot enough to melt the Replicons quickly enough to be effective. In the armour support that each regiment had, the company of Hellhounds was similarly not employed but rather exchanged with Predators whose turret mounted an Autocannon and the traverse pintle mounts Bolters to deal with the nature of the Replicon enemy or alternatively with a Land Raider crusader. Added artillery was by it's nature (being conventional artillery pieces, smaller Railguns firing explosive rounds, multiple grenade/missile launching systems, or over-sized, movable mounted Staff cannons or Multi-Meltas) generally exempted from changes as they all worked rather well against the Replicons. Similarly in the light armour regiments, Sentinels were either equipped with Bolters or Autocannons such as the Cadian model or the Dakara models with their hybrid Imperial Plasmagun/Staff cannon that had proven to be effective enough against the Replicons, both Authen and Neo. Hydras, Whirlwinds and Predator tanks as well as several Land Speeders or Salamanders made up the rest (the Hellhound once again being discarded for it's ineffectiveness). 'Normal' armoured regiments were centred around the Leman Russ and it's variants, with Predators (this time with Lascannon to hunt tanks and to destroy any Necrodermis encountered) and Executioners bringing up the rest. Artillery regiments featured not only the Basilisk tank, but also Vindicator tanks and conventional artillery
Of course regiments being employed against organic enemies possessed the original configuration.
Normally a battalion of infantry is made up of ten companies, each of six platoons with twenty five men in a platoon. The flank companies, the first and tenth are special, with the first company being the Stormtrooper company, being equipped with heavy armour and Hellguns with an underslung grenade launcher attached to them. The Tenth company on the other hand is the light company composed of three platoons of snipers and three platoons of scouts, who in battle are sent forward in a skirmish line to blunt an oncoming attack before retreating and dispersing throughout the other eight line companies as support, while the first company's is similarly dispersed throughout the line to give heavy support and to lead the charge if an enemy position is needed to be taken by storm. Of the lines companies one platoon worth of men is dedicated to support, utilizing Plasmaguns, M2 Brownings, rocket launchers and sweeping sets who are similarly dispersed through their company aiding them where needed. As such a battalion of I.G.L. is tactically extremely versatile and can easily put up a deadly multi-layered resistance to defend a position, as well as easily shift into an attacking role, with the multi-layer command element just as easily allowing them to assemble a force of one platoon to take out an enemy position as well as utilizing a concentrated attack using elements of several companies to create a force that is exactly composed in the way it needs to be to do maximum damage to the enemy position while taking minimal losses themselves, a concept that had evolved by integrating Terran soldiers into the general I.G.L., whose high training and breaking down of tactical decisions down to the platoon level and even beyond was mixed with the tactics of overwhelming mass utilized before by the Imperial Guard in the First Imperium and the first I.G.L. regiments founded and, often as not, by the Jaffa armies who preceded them.
Hanoth was as such an important, but still growing world, awarded with a total worth of forty companies of infantry to man the cities defences, though as the number of cities and inhabitants of the cities was expected to swell, so would the amount of soldiers allocated for their defence, though already plans had been made that each city would raise it's own standing army, though equipped and trained to the standard of the I.G.L. regiments, allowing easy cooperation should reinforcements by the I.G.L. be necessary as well as any easy way to mobilise reserves for the I.G.L. in an eventuality.
A further forty companies were stationed in the total of seven fortresses on the world manning them. But as their tasks were to police and guard the valuable mines, the high speed train tracks and combat roving bandit groups as well as guard and if necessarily defend the fortress of the planet, while those companies deployed to the cities were tasked with putting down riots, guarding and defending the valuable foundries and factories as well as the space port in Trilath City and in the case of an emergency defend the cities, more troops to actively guard against an invasion, something that was both dreaded and expected due to the nature of the resources being found on Hanoth, were needed.
A full dozen regiments of Infantry regiments of I.G.L. with their added armour and artillery support as well as five light armour regiments, four armour regiments and eight artillery regiments were deployed to Hanoth, making it into a truly formidable nut to crack.
This was further accentuated by the arrival of four of the new Aegis Defence Platforms, 400m large cylinders which possessed a central Lance battery, an anti-Replicator weapon and several large and medium Railguns and Lascannon each, as well as a dozen flak batteries. These were towed through hyperspace by several Orilla class Battleships which also brought a new gift to bolster the defences of the world even more, after over two months when two of the very first Type 1 Space Combat Habitat – known to most as Halo Battlestations; Large tubes suspended around the planets equator to act as space dock and combat platform, that had been produced on Mars and Hebredia arrived. Each space station had a total hangars housing eight squadrons of a dozen I-301 fighters within each section of the outer ring, ready to engage enemy fighters at a moments notice. The entire station was half a kilometre high and a kilometre in diameter, boasting a total of eight Lances arranged like compass points on the outer circumference of the ring, allowing three to be brought to bear at any one time In addition the station also had Railguns, Plasma Cannons, P.G.G.s and anti-Replicator weapons, mounted along the dorsal and keel of the ring. Hangar bays are situated in the inner circumference of the ring to prevent them being taken out by a pre-emptive strike holding sixteen squadrons of I-301s with a dozen fighters each. They are an awesome sight to behold and signify the power and might of the Second Imperium of Man
With a further four Aegis Defence Platforms under construction, the fleet of a single Ragnarok class Battleship, the Raven Feeder, its twin Orilla sisters, the Fell Vengeance and the Othala's Revenge as well as their escort fleet numbering fourteen Terran Defenders, Hanoth was a truly fearsome nut to crack.
Unfortunately even while the four Aegis's were still under construction a scouting group of four Dirge class ships arrived in orbit over the fifth planet in the system, an inhospitable rock where nothing existed. Still even such a rock as this would yield resources when the scouting group was picked up by the scanners on the Raven Feeder.
As the Replicon ships prepared to descend to consume the world before them the defensive fleet dropped out of hyperspace and right over the three Dirges that had already begun their descent.
The Raven Feeder immediately opened fire with her Nova Cannon, the massive round vaporizing one Dirge completely. The anti-Replicator weapons mounted in the fleet fired forcing the Necrodermis to show itself, upon which the frontal weapons array of the twin Orilla class Battleships opened up vaporizing the Necrodermis and the following discharge from the anti- Replicator- weapon ending their existence for good.
By a stroke of luck the fourth Dirge class was missed by the incoming Imperial fleet and as the Terran Defenders raced to position themselves to destroy their hated foe, the Dirge ship realized that this system had to hold something valuable that the humans wanted to protected.
Just before a combined salvo of anti- Replicator, Lance and Railgun fire ended it's existence it managed to get a message away.
+++ Found Main Imperial system, heavily defended, seventeen ships of all classes present, Enemy massed around the fourth planet holding shipyards and defensive systems,resources in ab...+++ Message interrupted by destruction of ship.
It didn't matter, the damage was done. Upon hearing that a major system of the Imperium of Man had been found, the Harbinger ordered a part of the fleet totalling nine hundred and thirty ships of which no less than one hundred and thirty were amalgamations of fighters to break off from the main advance and destroy the enemy fleet and consume the planetary system, especially as it was so obviously a resource rich system; not to mention that the destruction of a major shipyard would serve as a mighty blow to the Imperials in this sector.
Commander Lucretius, the Captain of the Raven Feeder, was a human who hailed from one of the technically more advanced worlds, Leantus, and who had served in the planet's defensive fleet as a commander of a small task group of patrol vessels before Leantus had joined the Second Imperium. Upon examination by the representatives of the Second Imperium during their evaluation of the new forces that had to be integrated into the Imperial war machine, he had shown to have an excellent grasp on tactics which lead to him being given command of the Raven Feeder and the entire fleet defending Hanoth. He had of course been made aware of the subspace transmission of the last Dirge class, but was powerless to stop it from being transmitted.
Realizing that he had failed in his task, and that the enemy ships had not been destroyed fast enough he immediately contacted Terra via the Stargate located on Hanoth.
There at the S.G.C. Walter Harriman received the incoming call and directed it into the office of General Landry, who had been equipped with the means of holding a live feed video conference either through the Stargate or via subspace technology.
Coming face to face with the de facto proxy leader of the galaxy and the man whom Supreme Commander O'Neill had entrusted with overseeing the waging of the war against the Replicons, Commander Lucretius inwardly swallowed as only a handful of people possessed more power than the man he was now facing and to whom he had to confess his failure.
Taking in a deep breath Lucretius saluted
"Ave Imperator, Ave Humanatas!"
"The Emperor protects." With this General Landry returned the salute, "Commander Lucretius, what is it that you are reporting?"
"General Landry, today at 1742 hours Standard Imperial time, 247.06 M3, a Replicon scouting force of four Dirge class ships entered the Hanoth system, appearing over the fifth planet in the system. Although the Raven Feeder's sensors immediately picked up the emergence of the enemy vessels and we exited hyperspace mere moments later atop the three ships preparing to descend and consume the planet, we engaged the enemy ships with the Raven Feeder and the two Orilla's Fell Vengeance and Othala's Revenge, destroying the enemy within mere moments with our weapons. Nevertheless our emergence from hyperspace and resulting fleet disposition made it impossible for the escorting fleet to directly attack the fourth Dirge. Only after a short repositioning was this done, the enemy almost immediately succumbing to the overwhelming force utilized. Nevertheless I regret to have to inform that I failed in my task and as a result the enemy ship was able to send a short subspace transmission, presumable to the enemy's main fleet. As a result of the enemy now knowing that the Hanoth contains something extremely valuable to the Imperium, it is my opinion that an invasion is imminent. Considering the strength with which the enemy last assaulted a shipyards of the Imperium and estimating that the enemy will also have noticed the presence of orbital defences around the planet this time the incoming force will probably be much larger. I respectfully request reinforcements, especially at least another Ragnarok class Battleship would do us a world of good allowing us to have a much greater of survival. And although the amount of troops already stationed on the planet's surface is large, I would still request reinforcements to make sure that the mines will not be taken, as with the amount of resources then available to the enemy victory would become much harder."
Landry's face had become increasing harder and more gaunt as he listened to the Commander's report. He knew from consulting the archives about Lucretius's abilities that the man on the screen across him, was both excellent at strategy and tactics and a very honest man. He also knew that if the Commander requested reinforcements then they were more than probably needed, and needed badly especially considering the truth of the words Lucretius had just spoken about the last attack upon a shipyard of the Imperium and the ships moored there, and the decisive defeat the Replicon fleet had suffered there. Another attack on a world housing vital shipyards to the Imperium, also protected at least by one Ragnarok class which had wrought such terrible carnage at Hidaga and with the new orbital defences put up by the Imperium having been detected by the enemy's scouting fleet, practically guaranteed that this time the attacking fleet would be far bigger than last time.
Landry made his decision then.
"Commander, I will gather ships and troops and reinforce you with them, however it may well be, that the enemy fleet will arrive before the reinforcements. Hold out as long as possible and defend Hanoth at all costs. Make the enemy bleed. If possible try and keep the battle as long and as far away from Hanoth itself as long as possible. If the enemy presents you with the opportunity to engage it away from Hanoth, maybe even outside the actual system, then use it. Even if you cannot defeat them, try and engage it in a fighting retreat making it bleed for every kilometre of space it gains. Use every and all opportunities to make them suffer! Those are the only orders I have for you. And when the time comes, destroy them utterly! Let none escape! The Emperor protects!" With this he closed he connection and the Stargate.
Upon been given his orders Lucretius was filled with resolve and began issuing orders to prepare for the coming battle and onslaught that was surely coming. Silently he vowed, that while he lived Hanoth would never fall to the Replicon advance, the Imperium had put too much effort into building up the infrastructure of the planet and it needed the products made on Hanoth desperately. Failure was not an option!
On Terra in the SGC General Landry left his office and stepped into a special elevator accessible only through a door which was made of Adamantium and which could only be opened by presenting a high level security clearance pass. Once in the lift he punched in the number of the level he wanted to descend too, and as it was the deepest most secure level a panel slid open upon which he entered his personal code.
With the code accepted Landry descended into the nerve centre of the Second Imperium of Man, the place where track was kept off all the ships and regiments of the army and navy and where the progress of every single war the Imperium currently waged could be observed.
Stepping out of the elevator, Landry encountered a forcefield where he had thirty seconds to have his retinas scanned after entering a certain area before the automatic weapons opened fire and cut him down. Stepping through after the forcefield engaged he used his pass to open the last set of heavy Adamantium doors.
Entering into the dim gloom of the room, Landry let his eyes adjust to the dark. Looking around he could see two massive tanks, each showing one galaxy in minute detail one showing the Milky Way and the war against the Replicons mainly with a few small side wars added in, while the other showed the Pegasus Irregular galaxy and the latest data-dump from Atlantis about the progress of Expedition, tentative alliances with the locals as well as their intelligence on the Wraith. This second tank was naturally receiving nearly no attention as the Pegasus galaxy while important for the eventual outcome of the war, with the Expedition launched there, there was no actually importance to the immediate war at the moment. A dozen small tanks showed singular systems which were being fought over or where the process of building up their forces was being observed. A half dozen medium sized tanks showed singular sectors and the overall progress of the war in these sectors in the grand scheme. Another half dozen even bigger tanks showed overviews of each Segmentum. Around most of the tanks sometimes just a few, sometimes nearly a dozen people were crowded discussing the progress of the war and how the Replicon advance could be halted and how ships and men were to be deployed. The majority of the people around the tanks were wearing the robes of Imperial tacticians with several other Generals and Admirals thrown into the mix
On the far side a dozen Servitors were plugged into computer consoles which kept track of where every single regiment and ship of the Second Imperium was, the state they were in, as well as how many ships were being constructed, what type they were, how far along they were, as well as receiving every bit of information regarding the production of certain metals, weapons and ammunition on every single world claimed by the Imperium in the Milky Way galaxy.
When Landry entered the room every set of eyes immediately traversed towards him. The assembled personnel knew it was something serious as normally he was sent the reports on the war's progress through a secure connection and then worked out a needed deployment of troops and ships if one was needed, tasking them through the secure connection before receiving the list of regiments and deployments for him to acknowledge and sign off. It was especially serious since on his computer upstairs General hank Landry was also capable of observing the war's progress even allowing him to zoom into a single system or sector or just have a general overview of the situation, always using the data displayed in the holo-tanks being fed to his computer in real time.
"Listen up," Landry began, "I have just received a communication from Commander Lucretius, Captain of the Ragnarok class ship Raven Feeder, and leader of the fleet defending the fortress world of Hanoth. He reports that a Replicon scouting force of four Dirge class ships entered the system. They were subsequently destroyed within less then a minute due to the overwhelming fire power brought against them without a single loss, and yet the Commander reports a failure, for the last Dirge apparently managed to get a subspace transmission off, which could not be blocked. Logic dictates that the Xeno ship reported the fact that Hanoth holds both shipyards and orbital defences, as well as a large fleet to defend it. Factoring in the thought that the Replicons have learned from their defeat at Hidaga, it is safe to assume that a force considerably larger than the one assaulting the shipyards at Hidaga will appear to claim this world and its resources as well as to deprive us of a major shipyards and mining/forge world. Such a loss would surely cripple the war efforts of the Imperium at least in this sector, at most in many more sectors surrounding Hanoth. Commander Lucretius has requested reinforcements both of ships as well as ground troops and I have consented. Which troops are in a good enough shape to fight a Replicon invasion within the next few days while being in the near vicinity as well as not compromising the overall defences of the sector's systems. Most importantly is the fact that Commander Lucretius requested Battleships, especially at least another Ragnarok to bolster his forces. Hanoth is a fortress world that is not allowed to fall!"
After his speech had ended nearly a dozen people, two Generals, an Admiral and the rest tacticians crowded around one of the medium sized tanks bringing up the sector Hanoth was in. Everybody knew of the importance of the task assigned to them. The Servitors clicked and searched the archives for units that could be quickly transferred to the new expected battle zone.
Not even a minute later the servitor on the right announced in its artificial voice. "Search complete. Twenty three regiments of IGL, eleven regiments of light armour, eight regiments of armour and fourteen regiments of artillery have been located within a radius of three hours of hyperspace transit of Hanoth. Twenty seven Terran Defenders, six Orilla and two Ragnarok class Battleships have also been located within the parameters. Displaying location now."
The holo tank showing the Hanoth sector suddenly lit up with a total of eighty new lights in different colours showing the ships and different kinds of troops. Aside them were the dimly lit lights depicting those regiments and ships in too bad a shape to be be redeployed as of now.
The assembled Generals, the Admiral, the tacticians and General Landry himself crowded around the holo-tank and began an animated discussion. It lasted for almost an hour before they had decided on those troops and ships to be redeployed to reinforce Hanoth as well as those who would be shifted to other worlds to still keep them secure.
As General Landry retraced his steps up to his office he clutched the list hard in his hand.
Hanoth would receive reinforcements.
Both Ragnarok class ships, three further Orillas and sixteen Terran Defenders would carry fourteen infantry regiments, seven of light armour and six more of normal armour, as well as a half dozen regiments of artillery. Hanoth was not allowed to fall, though when he thought of the new troop dispositions throughout the sector Landry's gut wrenched, in order to save Hanoth several dozen planets were left with barely any troops, often regiments had been split to allow for better coverage. It was similar with the fleet, compared to any other time the entire sector had the barest minimum of naval coverage left. He just hoped it was worth it.
Arriving in his office he was not surprised to see Walter already waiting for him to give him the list of planets he had to dial to give the various regiments their marching orders.
Looking at the list he blanched, dozens of planets had to be contacted.
P3Y- 267 (Ardesh) 1926 hrs S.I.T. (standard Imperial time) 247.06 M3
As the Stargate whooshed to life on Ardesh, the troops guarding it immediately trained their weapons on the event horizon, ready to repel anything that might come through it. The only thing coming through though, was a transmission which was received in the local headquarters. Here General Aaron Parker, originally a British General who had been transferred to take command of the newly formed 95th regiment of I.G.L., after the battle of Ardesh just a few days before.
The 95th had been formed by the survivors of the Ardesh garrison, those Terran troops sent to reinforce them and an influx of newly trained recruits who had arrived just two days before as had their added armour and artillery support.
Parker had experience commanding men and armour and had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Now he had arrived on Ardesh to take command of the newly formed 95th and form them into a cohesive fighting force and although he was still amazed at the fact of human life outside of Earth, space travel the Stargate and many of the new weapons his new command was equipped with, General Parker knew how to meld soldiers together to a working fighting force. But the orders he now received made him want to scream. The regiment had just been formed and they weren't yet ready to be deployed as a cohesively working, efficient fighting force.
Nonetheless General Landry insisted and what General Landry wanted; he got. Sighing he called for a meeting of his officers.
Assembling in headquarters Parker explained the situation to them, and why they were going to be deployed. "It does not matter that we have been formed only a few days ago, most of the men have already fought the Replicons, and even the new additions are all very well trained, we all know that. The Terran Defenders Anvil and Burning Blade will arrive in roughly four hours to join the Lady Ceras in orbit. Then they will transport us, the 95th as well as the 43rd light armoured to the prearranged assembly point, where the fleet will gather before jumping to Hanoth. Once there we will be directly employed to the surface to guard the approach to the capital of Trilath City, a strategic important location as the Stargate is located there and all the high speed trains carrying everything the planet's other cities produce converge there. Only ten kilometres north-east of the capital there is also a large Naquadah and large iron mine. If the Replicons managed to break through, then Trilath City and it's surroundings will be one of the primary battle zones on the planet. Apparently the Replicons have started to learn and use strategy. In an attack two days ago on a other world an Immortal was seen giving orders, indeed when the Imperium's forces began to push the enemy back, he first counter-attacked and tried a flanking manoeuvre and when that failed withdrew in a defensive line, holding out so long as to construct a craft capable of taking off and escaping. Indeed the enemy commander, and as such we have to see them, not only as elite troops, seems to have learned from the battles they have fought against us. It seems their recent defeats on smaller planets and most importantly on Hidaga have made them realize that just trying to swamp us with numbers will not work any more, not now that our industry is finally starting to produce ever more war material. The question though is where they get these ideas from. Still you've got all the information you need, inform the men and get them ready to be transported into orbit. Dismissed. The Emperor protects!"
"The Emperor protects!" his offices answered Parker enthusiastically and with conviction, though the Terran officers only duly mumbled. This earned them short but intense and poignant stare from the General. He of course knew that many, especially the Terran soldiers and officers were not converts to the Imperial Creed, and as such did not worship the Emperor as a god in flesh sitting upon his Golden Throne, but they still knew, they had been briefed, that at least the new custom be observed so as to not cause any problems with those inhabitants of the galaxy who had converted to worshipping the God Emperor of Mankind.
Captain Leth'drac a former sub-commander of Kronus's forces and commanding officer of the 6th Company 1st battalion, 95th regiment went to his men's billets.
Entering the rooms where his company was billeted, called for attention. Within half a minute the company stood ordered in front of him in their four ranks, the sergeants in front of their platoons, the two lieutenants each in front of the middle of the company wing they commanded. Off to the right the Terran journalist Norman Reign and his crew, whose first live action report about the battle of Ardesh had impacted on Terra like a bomb, were avidly listening in.
"Listen up. The High Command on Holy Terra has decreed, that the 95th regiment is to be moved to the prime world of Hanoth at 2330 hours Imperial Standard Time today, to combat an expected major attack be the Replicon forces on the world of Hanoth. Get your kit ready and cleaned and get ready to move out. You will assemble at 2245 hours I.S.T. on the main plaza to be inspected. There you will also be given ammunition. We are going in expecting to be dropped into the combat zone. That is all. The Emperor protects!"
"The Emperor protects!", the assembled company roared back, giving the Sons of Sol salute, which had been adopted as the Imperial salute.
As the men dispersed, the journalist hurried towards the man he had attached himself to.
Private Jonathan O'Neill had become highly respected by his peers in the company due to the deeds done and the leadership skills he had shown in the battle less than a week ago.
Ever since the journalist had not left his side recording his everyday life and duties as a soldier in the Emperor's I.G.L.
"Private O'Neill why are you being sent into combat again. Wasn't this regiment formed just a few days ago. Are you already fit for battle?" His cameraman behind him already having the camera running and recording.
"Listen, I have been told to cooperate with you by my commanding officer;" O'Neill replied in a rather peeved tone, "so I will. However, what I tell you now, will NOT be recorded, otherwise you can forget any cooperation, orders be damned. Got it?" Nodding frantically Reign signalled his cameraman to stop recording, desperate not to lose access to the person Reign intended to build up into a hero of the Imperium.
Norman Reign was no idiot and when he had reviewed the material of the battle that had happened here not even a week ago, he had been horrified at the gruesomeness of the pictures, the mangled bodies of those unfortunates whom the Replicon had reached, the bodies whose skin and flesh had been flayed away by the Gauss weaponry and more. On the other side he had captured O'Neill in heroic postures as he had crossed the hill leading to the neo Replicon in charge first, leading the charge under lit by the eerie glow of fire illuminating him as he waved the men forwards. Reign understood the power of such pictures and he knew in his gut that Jonathan O'Neill was exactly what the public at home needed, a hero in the making charismatic and handsome. With him as the public face of the war, interest in waging and winning this war would soar and the public would be fired up.
So he nodded and gave the cameraman the signal to turn the camera off.
Seeing the camera and the microphone without power O'Neill lowered his voice and told the journalist. "You are right, we are not yet ready and we need more time. But he said a fortress world. Fortress worlds are worlds so vital to the war effort that the Imperium will fight tooth and nail to keep control of such a planet. Only those worlds which produce vast quantities of vehicles, weapons or ammunition or things such as fuel are made into fortress worlds A massive production of raw materials or food or those worlds holding major shipyards, as well as Earth are classified as fortress worlds, although Earth of course is the centre of the Imperium and the holiest of holies, so this is a rather special case. But nonetheless it means, that the world we are now being sent to, cannot under any circumstances be allowed to fall to the enemy. And the 95th being recently founded, is not only at full strength but also possesses many veterans or at least men who have successfully faced the Replicon horde once before and triumphed. That is why we are sent into battle. They will be stripping every planet in a certain radius of as many troops as possible and ship them to this world. Believe me when I tell you, that the battle a few days ago will be a mere skirmish compared to what is coming. This will be war, total war!"
With that he straightened up and left the journalist and his team stunned and rather fearful behind as he went to get his kit in order and cleaned.
In the headquarters General Parker was looking at the weapons he had been issued with.
As an Imperial general he had been given a choice of weapons to equip himself with, always remembering at the back of his mind what he and the others who had been made Generals had been told that day by that giant of a man, Astartes Stein.
"You are officers of the Second Imperium of Man! As such you will be an example for your men of your regiment and lead from the front showing your men what delivering the Emperor's Wrath to His enemies means! You will not shirk, you will not falter and you will not retreat! Cowards die in shame! Remember you are a manifestation of His will, bringing destruction to His enemies!"
It had been a rather impressive speech and at the end, they were shown what kind of weapons they could choose from. Some had chosen Lightning Claws with integrated Storm Bolters, others a Plasmagun, still others a Chainsword or a Chainaxe. Not Parker. He had decided on twin Bolt pistols and one of the new Vibroswords that had been devised by those now termed tech-priests, the scientists and weapons engineers. The new Vibroswords were fashioned out of folded steel, similarly to an ancient katana, with an Adamantium core and a power cell that lasted years, worked into the sword just above the guard. The blade's edges were coated in thousands of smaller Adamantium teeth as opposed to Chainswords or even Eviscerators whose teeth were far larger and fewer and where brute force was utilised to break through the connections holding the authen Replicon together. The new vibroswords were more elegant and reminded people more of an ancient Katana in their making and of medieval European swords in their form. There the thousands of teeth and the immense speed were utilized to destroy an authen Replicon, to literally saw through them at high speed
Looking upon his polished Bolt pistols and the gleaming Vibrosword which was balanced perfectly and seemed near weightless to him when swung, General Parker slowly caressed the hand guard and the shining steel. This would be the first time that his blade and his Bolt pistols were to be fired in anger and he was apprehensive of the fact. Taking a deep breath he called for his adjutant, Private Harris, an American who had been a radio operator before in his former regiment and who was now the General's personal Vox operator and adjutant.
Harris took off the general's fatigue uniform, and began to put the Carapace armour the general was entitled to wear, on. Of course such a task was possible without help, but with an attendant serving in the ancient role of squire it was faster and added to the status of the General.
After the Carapace armour had been put on, the battle uniform was put on over. Then he pulled on the ammunition belt. There were two of them crossed on his back, each with ten magazines strapped to them. In battle the General could eject the magazines with a simple click on a button, the magazine would eject and he had only to reach behind and slide a new one into the now empty slot. As soon as one was used and taken away the others would slide down and the next one replaced the one just taken. Between the crossing ammunition belt, a scabbard was fixed, gleaming silver with a golden double headed eagle engraved at the top. It held in it the Vibrosword. In battle it would be drawn overhead allowing a downward slice or a parrying stroke as it was drawn. At the side of his legs holsters for the bolt pistols were fixed. Putting on him helmet and micro-bead, General Parker was an Imperial General dressed in his war finery.
Stepping outside he crossed over to the main plaza where the troops, the attached armour as well as the attached artillery were arriving, all already in combat dress and with polished weapons. Several Munitorium trucks had arrived to give the men their ammunition as all expected to immediately be in battle after arriving in-system. Other Munitorium trucks had taken up position behind the attached armour. They would hold the ammunition for resupply once the ammunition they had gone into battle with was exhausted.
General Parker started the inspection with the assembled armour and artillery pieces and their crews as they would require less time. They had also already been supplied with shells and ammunitions for their Autocannons and Bolters. Walking along the lines of parked vehicles and artillery pieces and their crews Parker noticed how shiny and new the machines looked. None had any kill marks inscribed, no battle honours and the crews were all inexperienced. He saw it in their eyes, the fear and trepidation of going into battle against an enemy whose goal was to turn every planet in the universe into a lifeless husk, gorging himself on every life and resource he could find. These crews were nervous, and their eyes showed it. Although they bravely tried to hide it, their insecurity and inexperience showed. Still General Parker nodded seemingly satisfied to encourage the men, but inwardly he wondered how many of his many would die because of their inexperience and how many of them would not live out the campaign.
With a grim sense of satisfaction though, he knew one thing. They would learn to fight and stand against the Replicon horde or they would die. This battle was going to force many in his regiment to grow up and face reality.
Within a quarter of an hour he had finished inspecting the attachments to his regiment and he now started towards his assembled regiments. They stood in four ranks in a company, their sergeants in front of their platoons, the captains in front of their company, each company in numerical order behind the other both battalions next to each other, the two majors and the colonel of each battalion standing several paces in front of their battalion. As he turned to begin the inspection Munitorium aides carrying the ammunition took their place a dozen paces behind the general.
As he walked down the assembled ranks of his regiment, Parker proudly noticed how everything that might shine on the combat uniform was dulled down. Their Lasguns were strapped diagonally on their back, the projectile weapons displayed precisely in their dominant arm (mostly right, but there were some left handed men and women in the regiment too), their combat knife in it's holster strapped to the thigh of their dominant arm for quick deployment. But most important to the general were his men and women's eyes. They spoke of confidence, of knowledge of the horror they were about to face and of their will to be not intimidated by the enemy. True the new recruits showed signs of nervousness, but that was to be expected. The bulk of his command were men who had already faced the Replicon horde and come out alive and victorious and Parker hoped that these more experienced soldiers would provide a backbone for the others in the regiment.
Following the General in a respectful distance came the Munitorium workers with the ammunition. To each soldier two packs and a string of grenades were given, one that contained a dozen power cells for their Lasrifle the other contained a dozen magazines for their rifles. The men broke this pack down and stowed the magazines in the pockets of their flak vest and in their utility belt, to which they also attached their grenades.
After nearly three-quarters of an hour of inspecting and sometimes speaking a few words of reassurance to a trooper who needed it, with a few jokes he shard with his officers and a private conversation with Norman Reign and his team inquiring on their intentions, the Vox on Private Harris's back opened up.
"Attention, this is Vox Operator Sejanus of the Terran Avenger Burning Blade speaking. We have arrived in orbit and are ready to transport the 95th regiment of I.G.L. to ours and the decks of the Terran Avenger Anvil. The Terran Avenger Lady Ceras will take the 43rd light armoured in. Terra Victae!"
Receiving the message Private Harris immediately commed the General who quickly acknowledged the news. Then a bright light engulfed the plaza and the 95th and the 43rd which had been mustering just on the other side of the plaza as well as the Munitorium trucks carrying the precious ammunition vanished.
The only thing remaining on the plaza were the Munitorium aides and the empty crates and the clips for the projectile magazines lying where the men had discarded them.
They would be cleared away later by Servitors.
As the Munitorium workers returned to their billets the plaza was once again empty.
After the ships in orbit had transported the troops to their decks they turned around and jumped into hyperspace. From Ardesh they needed an hour and a half to the assembly point. On board the ships the men prayed they would arrive on time.
The battle to save Hanoth was on!