The Fall of Victory Bay

by JHMLYNDALE

Summary: To safeguard their chapter's secrets the Space Marines of the Blood Ravens Chapter attack the stronghold of the First Kronos Regiment of the Imperial Guard.

Note: Personally in Dawn of War: Dark Crusade I played the Imperial Guard to victory on Kronos. But we do know that was canonically a win for the Blood Ravens as Dawn of War II had Sergeant Avitus growling and grumbling about having lost friends in the attack on Victory Bay and the Blood Ravens had a heavy bolter called The Purge of Victory Bay. In addition there were items of wargear in DoW II: Retribution whose descriptions mention Alexander's death in that battle, such as The Hand of the Governor Militant.

On the other hand just because Lukas Alexander died in the defence of Victory Bay that doesn't mean he hadn't done a lot before then. Just because we know Captain Davian Thule lost his eye when the Blood Ravens planted the bomb in the Necron catacombs that doesn't mean the Space Marines did anything else. Why spend the lives of their battle-brothers when the lives of loyal Guardsmen can be spent instead? Why help with the fight against enemies of the Imperium when you can allow the First Kronos Regiment to be weakened by their efforts and then strike.

(And yes, Taldeer escaping and then the Vindicare Assassin faltering when he sees her face is a reference to Love Can Bloom. They can run around for a while together even if we know from the Eldar Campaign for Dawn of War II: Retribution that eventually Taldeer will fall into the hands of the Blood Ravens and their demon-worshipping Chapter Master and Chief Librarian keeps her soulstone as a trophy. Which is creepy, so I prefer to consider the small amusement that can be drawn from learning (when he appeared in that game) that her brother was an Eldar Ranger and so by falling for an Assassin Taldeer was falling for someone who, like her brother, was a sneaky fellow with a sniper gun.)

---

The scene around him would have been desolate even had he not known what terrors lurked below. The dryness of the sand beneath his boots and the heat beating down on him as he stood looking around would have been enough to make Lukas Alexander feel that Kronos' central desert was no place for men to linger. That he did know what laid beneath them and what his men were working on made this feeling a firm conviction. The undying horror of the Necron had risen amongst these dunes and ground-penetrating Auspex had revealed the writhing mass of tunnels they had risen from. Now the task was to prevent this.

Against most other foes mining the tunnel exits to bury them would have been enough, but Necron did not eat or breathe or tire and even if it took decades to dig themselves out that delay would be insignificant to them. It needed a more permanent solution if Kronos was to become a valued planet to the Imperium of Man once more and that solution was far more difficult thanks to the lack of cooperation of other Imperial forces in the system. The strength of the Imperial Guard was the courage of its men to face unspeakable horrors of the Warp and of the foul Xenos and their heretical technology that lacked the blessings of the Adeptus Mechanicus. But more practically speaking the strength was in the power of their vehicles and of the Guardsmen's discipline to use the Emperor's gifts of lasgun and plasma gun and grenade launcher in unison and overcome whatever sorceries or xenotech shielded the foe from righteous retribution.

Some of the tunnels the Auspex had shown were very wide but Alexander was still not inclined to try taking LemanRuss tanks or Chimera APCs down into them and though the tunnels would funnel the flames Necron metal was far less vulnerable to the 'breath' of a Hellhound flamer-vehicle than flesh would be. And burning up the air would affect his Guardsmen since, unlike the Necrons, they had lungs and a need to breathe. To make matters worse they would have to sweep all the tunnels to avoid being ambushed from behind so he would have to split his men into smaller groups moving through narrow passageways around blind corners.

Alexander had faith in his men. They had proven their skills at street fighting with the eradication of the Tau and the reclaiming of the city of Asharis but the close quarters there had been to their advantage. Whatever technosorcery the Tau used in place of the consecrated gifts of the Techpriests it did work distressingly well in punching plasma through Guardsman-issue body armour and the body beneath at longer ranges than lasguns could effectively reply. But fighting street-to-street, building-to-building, and room-to-room the lasguns were able to pierce Tau body armour and the Tau had no stomach and no skill for bayonet work.

Here they would need room for enough Guardsmen to concentrate their firepower to overcome the resistance of something even tougher than a Tau Battlesuit, or than a Chaos Marine such as they had fought in the Deimos Peninsular. As that room was unlikely to be available they might take losses that would be heavy even by Imperial Guard standards. There were two solutions and both were in the hands of other Imperial servants who were ignoring Alexander's requests. It was no surprise that the Blood Raven Space Marines were choosing to not reply to this just as they had refused to cooperate in any other of the battles but he had hoped the Imperial Navy would be more useful now the only forces in orbit were them and the Blood Raven Battle Barge Litany of Fury.

Throughout the campaign the Navy's assistance had been restricted to shooting down long-range enemy flights. This had always been useful and had been understandable at first as there had been vessels of Chaos and a substantial Tau fleet present, and both would have tried to gain advantage if the Imperial ships had begun moving to provide fire-support. It had been fortunate the situation had not been made worse by Ork or Eldar vessels. But the Orks had arrived by crashing and the Eldar starship had remained skulking well outside orbit to use their Webway technology rather than honest shuttles and drop-pods to send its Xenos cargo to ground.

The Chaos vessels had withdrawn after the taking of the blighted Deimos Peninsular but until more recently there had still been the Tau. There were not enough of those Xenos ships to prevent the Imperial Navy from providing orbital fire-support but they had used the, seemingly valid, excuse that while engaged in combat manoeuvring they could not shoot with great precision. Alexander had decided to forego 'aid' that might strike his men instead even if he suspected the Tau would not have moved too far from above Asharis and thus would not have caused that many problems for the Imperial ships if they were firing on the Ork. With fighting building to building, wishing to retake the city relatively intact, and that the Tau were defending the skies above with what could almost be termed courage if Xenos could truly feel such a virtue Alexander was more sanguine about the lack of assistance in Asharis itself though.

A different problem had presented itself amongst the snow and ice and against the Eldar. The Tau fleet had withdrawn after the reconquest of Asharis and its return to proper hands so there was nothing to prevent the use of orbital fire-support. Nothing that was aside from the original mission. Before they were charged with returning Kronos to the Imperium they had come here in pursuit of Farseer Taldeer to capture or kill her for her actions on Lorn V. With as little as orbital fire would leave to identify it would be very hard to tell if they had achieved either. So rather than risk ambiguity that the Eldar's deceitful nature might be able to exploit Alexander had decided to not test the Imperial Navy's willingness to help there.

It did seem they would have failed that test though. The solution to the Necron problem that would place the fewest of Alexander's men in danger would be for the Techpriests to bless them with a ground-penetrating missile and the Imperial Navy to drop this from orbit into the heart of these tunnels. With the gratitude the Adepts of Mars felt for the chance to examine the great Hellstorm Cannon they had not seemed unwilling to play their part. Nothing but excuses had come from the Imperial Navy Admiral safely in orbit though.

And it also seemed the Eldar were attempting deceit even without the ambiguity. To escape the Emperor's Justice there was little those debased Xenos would not do and so Alexander was unconvinced the female Eldar in the cells back in Victory Bay was the true Taldeer. Eldar were not honourable. Seeking to delay enemy forces so more of your people could escape was something a human would do. Feeling you owed it to them because your leadership was what led them to this defeat was something a human would feel. But Eldar were not honourable and they were deceitful cowards. It was unlikely that Taldeer would be willing to make that sacrifice and far more likely they would sacrifice one of their soldiers to make it appear she had, just as they would sacrifice a soldier to their blasphemous war god to awaken the Avatar of it.

As Alexander continued to look out at the desert he noticed a Guardsman approaching. Seeing the state of undress of the man he wished, not for the first time, that high rank did not bring with it the requirement to maintain proper uniform. At least the thickness of the cloth did prevent sweat stains appearing and it insulated him as well against the heat of the sun as it did against his own body heat escaping. Judging from the relative pallor of the Guardsman, turning to red-pink rather than to tan, this was one of those from within the Field Command rather than one that had been setting charges or walking patrols.

"Sir!" said the Guardsman, coming to attention and saluting. "News of the Space Marines, sir."

"Good," Alexander replied, allowing some of his frustration to seep into his voice. "Has Captain Thule finally agreed to cooperate against the Necrons?"

"No sir!" exclaimed the Guardsman. "They have attacked Victory Bay. Sir."

Alexander froze for a moment. He had been sending messages to the Blood Ravens outlining the tactical situation here but that suddenly seemed unwise. Space Marines would have had far less trouble in the narrow passageways since, as large as they were, their bolters and heavy bolters and larger plasma guns gave them more concentrated firepower and their size and armour would make hand-to-hand combat with Necrons less suicidal. His Guardsmen could have cleared the broader tunnels with the Emperor's finest protecting their flanks. But Captain Thule appeared to decided the important thing about the information Alexander had supplied was not the progress of the operation against the Necron but how many Guardsmen were involved in that rather than being able to return to Victory Bay. It had been a gamble to deploy so many of his reserves but with the Tau, and the Ork, and the Eldar, and Chaos, and soon… Emperor willing… the Necron defeated it had not seemed like much of a gamble.

When he learned Space Marines had landed to the north of Victory Bay Alexander had been cautiously optimistic. The forces required to retake a planet for the Imperium of Man were very different from those required to hunt a single Eldar Farseer and her followers. It had been anticipated that Taldeer would be heavily escorted as the Eldar valued their psychic witches but reinforcements would still be very welcome. Back on Lorn V where Taldeer had betrayed them, and they had betrayed her as she deserved, the Imperial Guard and the Ultramarines had managed to work smoothly together. None but Space Marines could have held out when the shuttle carrying the crew of the Titan had been shot down.

But here Captain Thule had been less cooperative and as the scale of his orders became clear it also became clear they were incompatible with Alexander's. At first it seemed like they could cooperate. The Blood Ravens wished to search for relics and carry out a Purge and Alexander had no interest in their relics and agreed that purging the planet of all those that had collaborated with the Tau was needed. However Thule had insisted that the First Kronos Regiment withdraw rather than their forces work together to secure the planet for the Imperium and for the Blood Ravens' search.

If that was not conflict enough there was also the matter of those loyal Imperial citizens who had kept the secrets. Alexander wanted to hold them up as an example of people who had remained strong and who had not betrayed their faith in the Emperor to seek advantage with their Tau overlords. Thule though wanted to reward that loyalty with death, to purge them to ensure the secrets they had held died with them. Alexander fully agreed that often innocents must die so others might live but this seemed counter-productive to his orders from Segmentum Command as well as ungrateful.

The most loyal Imperial citizens were the ones he wanted to preserve and as well as killing them, and denying him his examples to hold up, the Blood Ravens would have to kill those that had known them and might suspect they had known something. And kill all those that had known the people that had known the people. And so on through the heart of the loyalist communities that would be the foundation of Alexander's rule as Governor-Militant. The only citizens of Kronos that would be safe from that purge would be those too untrusted by their fellow Men or too tainted by Xeno heresy to have even suspected the hidden relics, and those would be purged for their treason.

It did seem the Blood Ravens wanted the First Kronos Regiment to withdraw so there were no witnesses to their deeds. So the actions of the Space Marines might not only be in opposition to Alexander's orders from Segmentum Command but it was possible that if their purge went too far they were planning to usurp the role of His Majesty's Most Holy Inquisition whose blessed duty it was to judge and conduct Exterminatus.

"Did the…" Alexander started to ask, then he checked himself. "I expect that means the Imperial Navy declined to shoot down Space Marine craft?"

"Yes, sir," confirmed the Guardsman.

Alexander nodded. That was no surprise with how the Admiral had whined about the size of The Litany of Fury. "Return to the Field Command," he told the Guardsman and then, as the man scampered off, he turned to his waiting Kasrkin bodyguards. "You," Alexander continued, "go find Commissar Gebbet and tell him to meet me at the Field Command. And you, go check the Valkyries and have them discreetly prepared for takeoff."

The two Kasrkins saluted and loped off, their boots making less impression in the sand than the Guardsman's despite the extra weight of their full combat armour and backpack-fed hellguns. That would have been simpler if they had used commbeads or helmet systems to open a vox channel but what was transmitted could be intercepted and Alexander did not want to take the risk. Accompanied by the rest of his Bodyguard Alexander strode down the dune. At first it appeared he was heading the wrong way as there was nothing visible ahead of him. A trained eye though would notice the dunes ahead of him were too regular to be natural and were actually low berms piled up around the flat rockcrete bunker of the Field Command to serve as an outer line of defence and protect it from direct fire.

Alexander made his way through one of the gaps an enemy would be funnelled through if they did not want to outline themselves against the sky for the Guardsmen firing from within the Field Command. At the moment those firing slits were blocked by gauzy cloth to keep the sand out but let some light in and as Alexander entered the bunker the Guardsmen within gave him some concerned looks. They seemed reassured though when he did not order the cloths to be torn down. Despite those cloths and the mat just within the door sand still crunched under Alexander's boots as he crossed to the tactical table.

Accompanied by the Kasrkin Commissar Gebbet bustled down the short ramp from the level of the sand outside to the level of the door and floor within the semi-sunken Field Command. With a nod Alexander beckoned him over. "Draw the privacy curtain," Alexander ordered, "and tell us what we know."

As the Kasrkins drew the curtain and took up positions outside to discourage eavesdroppers the vox specialist fiddled with the table and with a mutter of the correct litanies of activation managed to bring up a hologram of Victory Bay. Commissar Gebbet's eyebrow rose at this sight as he'd been only told to come to the Field Command rather than why, and then he glowered as he saw the symbols being displayed near one side of this miniature cityscape. The vox specialist flinched at the glower and then visibly reminded himself that it was unlikely, despite his expression, that Gebbet was about to execute him.

"The Blood Ravens landed here," the vox specialist reported, highlighting a spot as the hologram zoomed out and scrolled to show this. "Then they advanced along this route." A line grew from the spot and towards Victory Bay as the hologram zoomed and scrolled back in. "A patrol went to meet them and request their intentions, but contact was lost with that patrol when they made contact…"

"Why was this not reported sooner?" Gebbet demanded.

"I don't kno…" the vox specialist began uselessly replying.

Alexander waved them to silence. "Judgement call," he said. "Some officers would report this immediately, some would try to find out what the Blood Ravens wanted first as that would have been our first question. And is my first question."

"They continued to this location," said the vox specialist, once he was sure he should resume, "where they appear to be consolidating a position for a landing and drop zone. Beacons have been erected and some of the Space Marines are digging in."

"And that also guards that road into the city," Alexander nodded, considering his deployments. The only real problem seemed to be Fifth Company. They were far from being his best troops and their position near the western ford and the bridge could be vital to hold.

"I may have to motivate those cowards," sneered Gebbet, tapping the holo and showing he had followed either Alexander's thoughts or his eyes.

"I don't want any 'accidents'," Alexander replied.

"If you lend me that Ogryn Bonehead squad," said Gebbet, with almost a smile, "that should be difficult for them to arrange."

-====xxxx====−

Around him his Blood Ravens and the few Servitors they had managed to bring busied themselves with the preparations and for the moment Captain Davian Thule had the leisure to think. Lukas Alexander had seemed a good man and his loyalty to the Imperium and to his orders was something Thule could respect. It was unfortunate that this respect had, perhaps, led him to be too honest in return about the planned scope of the purge and why they could not work together. The orders from Azaria Kyras had been very clear however. In his role as Chief Librarian he had discovered the existence of the Relics and in his role as Chapter Master he had judged that those being discovered by outsiders would cast doubt upon the Chapter. So these needed to be safeguarded and preserved from the sight of those without the wisdom to adequately interpret them. All other considerations were irrelevant.

"Captain Thule," a voice said that Thule recognised as being one of the brothers onboard the Litany of Fury transmitting a message to his bionics. "A flight of Valkyries from the central desert has been detected, but we have no firing solution."

"Understood," Thule replied, not managing to keep all his annoyance out of his voice.

Had he known of the prize that existed in Pavonis he might have struck for it. The Adeptus Mechanicus were powerful and had been pleased with the discovery of the Hellstorm cannon in Victory Bay. They would be less pleased by an invasion of Victory Bay even if, as Thule planned, no damage was done to that vast cannon in the battle. Securing a spaceport control system built in the Dark Age of Technology, even one tainted by the Xeno technology of the Tau, would have been a counterbalance to that displeasure and more important it would have denied Alexander its guidance and let the Litany of Fury destroy him in mid-flight.

Alexander's death would be a loss to the Imperium but he did need to be killed or defeated. That he was skilled and courageous enough to be a loss also made him too dangerous to leave free to act. Conquering Victory Bay without him there to command its defence would be easier but though weakened Alexander would still have the spaceport and city of Pavonis and the city of Asharis, the latter the capital under the Tau, from which he might have rallied to a long and even more bloody defence. Better to give him the time to rush back to his stronghold, Thule thought, and trap him in this last stand rather than deny him that chance and risk him gathering his forces from across Kronos for a more measured counter-attack.

-====xxxx====−

This had been a fairly short and very fast flight with some extremely sudden turns as course data was fed from the ancient cogitators in Pavonis to those on the Valkyries. Weapons fire had not streaked from the sky to smash them from it though and Alexander felt suspicious about this. With as little as he expected the Imperial Navy would be willing to hamper the Space Marines their Battle Barge could have attempted a blanket barrage even if it could not target the Valkyries more precisely thanks to the Pavonis systems.

"Coming in for landing, sir," reported the Valkyrie pilot.

"Good," Alexander replied.

There was a jolt through the thin padding of his seat and a slight screech from outside as metal skids met rockcrete pavement. The Valkyrie rocked slightly on its shock-absorbers and a thin line of daylight appeared and grew around the rear hatch as that lowered into a ramp. It was not the most comfortable landing but if the pilot had set them down as gently as a baby's first kiss then he would have volunteered to provide an example for Gebbet. Speed rather than comfort was the important thing here and that the interior of the Valkyrie had become even noisier was also good. The pilot was keeping the engines hot enough that the reduction in throttle had less effect than their noise now being able to enter the open rear hatch.

Alexander strode down the ramp in the wake of his Kasrkin bodyguard, disdaining to notice the noise of those engines or of those on the other Valkyrie landing nearby or on the rest of the flight continuing on with what few extra troops could be carried. As these troops fanned out around him he glanced towards the second Valkyrie as its metal protested the sudden shift of weight caused by the Ogryn lumbering down its ramp. The whole craft rocked slightly on its landing gear as shock-absorbers flexed with the disembarkation of the abhumans.

The Boneheads were actually smarter than most of their kin. The "bone" in their name did not mean their skulls were even thicker than normal but was an acronym for the augmetics that their primitive minds had been judged worthy of being aided with. With this B.O.N.E. to help their already marginally superior brains these Ogryn had enough intelligence to understand the concept of only hitting some rather than all of the Fifth Company Guardsmen. Though even without that all Ogryn understood the concept of only hitting when the Commissar told them to.

As Commissar Gebbet descended the ramp, and the Ogryn Boneheads gave the impression of giant mice guarding a cat, huge but fearful of the smaller creature, the Commander of the Fifth Company approached Alexander. He was a very nervous looking man as he knew he had more to fear from his own troops than he did from almost any enemy. The only consolation for him was that if they did face one of the enemies he feared more than them his men would also be more frightened and would shoot him long before there was any risk of him being captured.

"General, I mean Governor-Militant, welcome…" the commander began, saluting.

"Thank you," interrupted Alexander, stopping the flow of pleasantries. "You hold a crucial position here, I want to say we are all counting on you."

"I…" the commander almost squeaked. For a moment he looked like a trapped rat, twitching slightly as he considered excuses, and then he relaxed as he accepted there was no way to escape. If he tried to put up a good defence then either the Blood Ravens would kill him or his own men would so they could surrender. But if he surrendered fast enough to avoid those fates then he was sure he would be executed after a fairly brief court martial. "We will…" he said weakly, clearing his throat and trying to put some conviction into his voice, "we will fight as long as possible, sir."

Alexander almost felt sorry for him, but only almost. Had he been a better officer he'd have been granted a better command or managed to whip these soldiers into shape in the time he had been given. "Commissar Gebbet and his… entourage will be remaining here," Alexander informed the commander, "to ensure it is as 'long' as possible rather than as 'short' as possible."

The commander looked as if he wanted to take offence like most officers might at aspersions being cast on the fighting spirit of his men. Unfortunately as well as that being unwise with your commanding officer there was the fact Alexander was right and Gebbet was needed. In any case the presence of the Regimental Commissar would give his men something else to focus their anger on and so there might be a chance to desert. But that was a very slim chance as he was sure Gebbet would be keeping a close eye on him and expect him to be near him the whole time.

"Gather your men," Alexander said.

With a nod and a salute the commander scurried off and within a short time he had managed to line his Guardsmen up in what passed for parade formation for the Fifth Company. The looming presence of the Ogryn Boneheads and the Kasrkin standing casually holding their hellguns that could shred Guardsman body armour kept their attitudes politely attentive during Alexander's speech. This was only brief as he saw no need to waste words or time here when if anything would motivate them it would be deeds rather than words.

"…Fifth Company, this is the moment of truth," Alexander concluded. "You will not fear. You will not falter. You will not give a single step to the enemy."

To his carefully hidden relief that was enough provocation to draw one of the Fifth Company fainthearts into a protest despite the Ogryn and Kasrkins and Gebbet having his laspistol ready in his hand.

"But sir…" the Guardsman started to say.

Then Gebbet shot him in the face, performing a motivating deed, and ending his sentence along with his life. A carefully suppressed ripple went through the watching lines of Guardsmen as they each reacted and then tried to hide their reaction to this execution. The Ogryn looked disappointed there wasn't going to be a fight but the Kasrkins' body language didn't shift in the slightest.

"If you will not serve in combat," Gebbet proclaimed, sneering down at the corpse, "then you will serve on the firing line!"

This was a fine end to the speechifying so, along with his Kasrkin bodyguard, Alexander boarded his Valkyrie again for the short hop up the northern shore of the river to his main command post. He had another speech to give and he was not sure about the opening sentence he had decided on. Still brooding over this he left the Valkyrie to enter the building, barely noticing as its engines spooled up again and it rose to travel to a more secure landing park. Inside his vox specialists set up the general broadcast that all his Guardsmen and any Space Marines listening to this standard channel would be able to hear.

Alexander cleared his throat and decided that as the Blood Ravens were placing their Chapter above their wider responsibility they deserved to be referred to in the way he had chosen. He activated the vox pickup and began to speak. "Enemies of the Imperium, hear me," he declared. "You have come here to die. The Immortal Emperor is with us and we are invincible. His soldiers will strike you down. His war machines will crush you under their treads. His mighty guns will bring the very sky crashing down upon you. You cannot win. The Emperor has given us His greatest weapon to wield. So make yourselves ready. We are the First Kronos Regiment and today is our Victory Day."

-====xxxx====−

Around Captain Thule there was some muttering amongst the Space Marines that had troubled to listen to the broadcast. Few of them, with the exception of the infamous Sergeant Avitus, looked happy at the idea of killing Guardsmen. In fact none of them looked happy aside from him. They were determined and they were resolute they would overcome this opposition but that was different from the eagerness to kill that was always on Avitus' face but seemed to have redoubled as they approached Victory Bay. His anger towards and contempt for Guardsmen armoured him against any doubt whether the good of the Chapter and that of the Imperium were in conflict and made him eager for death to be the solution rather than diplomacy.

"General Alexander," Thule responded on the same channel, deliberately calling him that rather than Governor-Militant as granting him that title would also be to grant that Segmentum Command could legitimately appoint him as such. "This is your last chance. We purge this world under the authority of the Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens. Withdraw your forces to orbit and our conflict can still end peacefully."

"I have the utmost respect for the Emperor's Space Marines and their millennia of service, Captain Thule," responded Alexander after a pause, emphasising that they were the servants of the Emperor, "but my orders are explicit and come directly from Segmentum Command. I cannot withdraw."

"Then the time for talk is over," Thule replied in a resigned voice. He was not surprised this attempt had failed and had it succeeded then he'd have been inclined to condemn Alexander as a traitor to his orders rather than be pleased. Cutting the vox channel Thule turned to a waiting Scout Marine. "Report," he said.

"There is a Guard base to the north, sir," replied the Scout. "Protecting a possible ford."

"Then that is our first target," Thule nodded.

With a faint whir of power armour servos a Space Marine, many purity seals and marks of honourable battle showing his centuries of service, turned slightly to look at Captain Thule. "Do you think we can cross the river that way?" Sergeant Tarkus asked, his bald brow creasing in thought.

"No," Thule replied, his respect for this venerable warrior showing in his willingness to explain. "But I think they can if they hold both sides and I think it unwise to leave those troops at our backs as we advance."

Leaving behind the Servitors and those battle-brothers unfortunate enough to have chosen to guard them as they continued their work the rest of the Blood Ravens cautiously headed north. The Alchemical and Genetic enhancements the Emperor had blessed them with made them imposing figures even without the benefit of their power armour. Despite the extra bulk this added and the bright red and white and black pauldrons of their Chapter heraldry the Tactical and Devastator Marines managed to move with remarkable stealth through the ruins to remain unseen.

As they moved down onto the shoreline of the river they could see two heavy bolter turrets on the rise ahead. Those posed a threat as the rocket-boosted high calibre explosive rounds those four guns would fire could pierce even Space Marines' blessed armour. "Missiles," Thule muttered on the short-range channel.

Devastator Marines moved forward, their size and strength allowing them to carry launchers that the Imperial Guard or most Xenos would have to mount on a vehicle instead. They aimed and with the coordination born of many battles the missiles streaked out and into the two turrets. Rockcrete splintered as the penetrator warheads sliced through it and then the turrets popped off their bases as the missiles and the ammunition within detonated. Fragments of metal and rockcrete were still falling as the Space Marines surged forward.

-====xxxx====−

The commander of the First Company glanced out through the firing slit of the Infantry Command. His eyes confirmed what his ears and the display had already told him and he turned back to the vox pickup. "Both turrets to the east of my base are gone," he reported, "attack imminent."

"First Company! Hold the enemy back," Alexander replied, "no matter the cost."

'Easy for him to say,'

the commander thought. But keeping that out of his voice he replied, "We won't let you down, sir"

Huge Red-Armoured figures reached the top of the slope and lasgun fire began to sparkle off them. They seemed to almost ignore this but as the heavy bolters on the turrets within the base and mounted on top of the listening post added their efforts to those of the Guardsmen even Space Marines had to show some caution. The commander watched their advance for a few moments longer as bolter fire streaked back from the treasonous giants and his men exploded or chunks were smashed from the rockcrete of his buildings.

"Now," the commander ordered on his company command channel.

To the south of his base was a tall flat partially collapsed structure and explosions walked their way through the Space Marines as the Grenadiers positioned on top of that responded. The walls were a good twenty-feet high so they were shielded from direct return fire but their grenade launchers could lob grenades up in high plunging arcs. Unfortunately Space Marines were almost as far away as it was possible to be from being the unarmoured or lightly-armoured targets those fragmentation grenades were designed to shred.

But the commander knew that and knew this attack would be little more than a diversion. Most of his men were holding the line between the turrets and the listening post or were within the buildings but he did have another group. With a whine of over-revved engines and a clatter of tracks his Chimera APCs streaked down the road, hoping to take advantage of the confusion the Space Marines might feel while being battered by grenade blasts and hoping that those armed with missile launchers would be towards the front where they could strike turrets and buildings.

Sparks flew up from the pavement as the Chimeras as they skidded to a stop, their turrets whining as they brought their multilasers on target and red light began to stab out from them at the Blood Ravens. Doors at their rear clanged down and Guardsmen charged down the ramps these formed. There were fewer men onboard each APC than they could hold but the Commander had concentrated those men he had with plasma guns into this assault. Blobs of super-heated matter began streak in at the Space Marines as these Guardsmen added that to the attack on the Blood Raven's rear and flanks.

-====xxxx====−

The whine and clatter had given sufficient warning for instincts honed by decades of battle, and a Space Marine with only that much experience was still considered a novice. Thule had to admit it was a well-executed counter-attack and that the multilasers and plasma guns were a threat. Despite that, and the continued annoyance of the grenade blasts that had made it slightly harder to hear the whine and clatter, this was far too weak. Thule looked at the flat topped structure and nodded.

"Assault Marines," Thule ordered, verbally and over vox, "target Grenadiers."

"As you command," came the reply, an instant later plumes of fire and smoke streaked up into the sky.

The path the Assault Marines took was similar to that the grenades had been taking down at the Space Marines. But rather than fist sized chunks of explosive and metal that did little more than scratch paint on Blood Raven armour these were each seven foot of armoured and enhanced super-soldier. Some Guardsmen staggered back as the Assault Marines landed, others were fortunate enough to be far enough from the impact, and others still were unfortunate enough to vanish with a crunch and add the red of their blood to the red of the paint of the Space Marine boots.

Motors shrieked to full speed and the teeth of the chainswords in the Assault Marines' hands blurred. Against those weapons wielded by such opponents most Guardsmen would have as little chance with bayonets as their body armour would to repel a round from the bolt pistols in the Assault Marines other hands. These had even less chance though as their grenade launchers were shorter and heavier than the standard lasgun which gave them less reach and made it clumsier to use the bayonet attached to them.

The screech of chainswords and the bark of bolt pistols failed to be joined by the screams of dying Guardsmen as they were dying too fast to scream in pain. Thule looked ahead of his main group. The power generators he could see were tempting but it was likely the backup power in the turrets would last too long even if there were not cables to feed power from elsewhere. Thule nodded again and gave his orders, the lack of cover would hurt the Guardsmen far more than it would his battle-brothers and further delay was unacceptable.

With a snarl that rivalled his heavy bolter Avitus and the other similarly armed Devastator Marines surged to their feet and began sweeping the Guardsmen with sustained fire. Fragments of pavement and of Guardsman began leaping into the air as the explosive shells blew the latter apart and smashed craters in the former. As Avitus savoured this carnage and came as close to smiling as he could other Devastator Marines took more careful aim. Missiles streaked out from their launchers and into the turrets and listening post.

Meanwhile Tarkus and his Tactical Marines were acting as rear-guard. Their flamers were shorter ranged than the plasma guns or multilasers but each belch of Promethium prevented the Guardsman from moving into that piece of cover to outflank the Blood Ravens. Bolter fire was suppressing the Guardsmen but neither that nor the Space Marines own plasma guns were affecting the Chimeras much. Spots of armour on the vehicles were glowing red but their thick glacis plates were managing to resist. On the other hand this did seem enough to have discouraged the APCs from advancing to closer range where the Blood Ravens would find it easier to aim for the driver's viewport or the barrel of the Multilaser or other vulnerable spots.

-====xxxx====−

A trickle of sweat ran down the Chimera commander's face. That plasma fire might not be penetrating but degree by degree it was heating the armour and warming the inside of his vehicle. He was finding it hard to believe that these Space Marines could find cover sufficient to both hide them and protect them from his Multilaser. Perhaps it had not been so bad that the Chaos forces had held the Imperial Guard in such contempt if being treated as a serious threat made these so much more difficult targets compared with waves of heretic Cultists or battle-crazed Berserkers charging across open desecrated ground.

The turret motors whined as it traversed and the multilaser spat more coherent light at the fleeting glimpse of a Blood Raven the gunner had. The commander glanced up towards the blank metal of the Chimera's roof. He wished they had not been so short of heavy bolters on this deployment that they'd removed the hull-mounted ones from vehicles like his. Whether they would be better used in turrets or with heavy weapon teams he didn't care. Right now he wanted the extra firepower to smash the Blood Ravens and especially with what they had seen was above them.

Hull-mounted heavy bolters would not be able to traverse or elevate far enough themselves but if they were engaging the Space Marines ahead of the Chimeras then they could afford to already have one or two turrets aimed at the path the Assault Marines might follow. It was hard to not be distracted when every second that passed you expected to hear a clang of boots on your hull and know a melta-bomb would be planted and detonate within seconds. And every scrap of attention that was used to watch for those Space Marines was unable to be used to aim for the ones on the ground.

-====xxxx====−

Thule took a deep breath as he also took in the situation. "Assault Marines," he ordered, their chainswords and bolter pistols having finished their work, "jump onto the roofs of the Infantry Commands. Devastator Marines, advance onto the raised area and clear our rear. Flamers, advance."

Obediently the Marines with the heavy weapons began jogging across and towards the collapsed section that formed a ramp up. Lasgun bolts sparkled around them and struck small craters from their ceramite armour but then the Assault Marines' jetpacks drove them in a low, almost horizontal, arc as they almost fell onto their targets. Rockcrete crunched under their boots and they stooped and reached for their belts. Blood Ravens believed in tactical flexibility so the Assault and Tactical Marines had swapped grenades so both had most of what they normally carried and a few of the others' standard issue.

Frag-grenades were flung in through the firing slits to detonate almost at once within. The lasgun fire slackened as Guardsmen were killed or injured or just shocked and the Devastator Marines continued on their way less hampered. For several seconds the Assault Marines remained crouching on the roofs, ready to throw another grenade in if needed, but then they jumped clear as the chosen Tactical Marines got within range. Flamers ignited and flame licked around the buildings to burn at anyone too close to the firing slits. A pause to advance a little and then another gout of flame from closer range, less of which burned the outside of the buildings and more of which gushed in through those firing slits and fill the inside of them.

The Devastator Marines reached their positions. Even with their size there was still some cover to be found behind the raised walls around this rectangular thing and they were far harder targets than Assault Marines in mid-air. Avitus chuckled to himself as he hoisted his heavy bolter up and aimed at some Guardsmen whose chosen cover was no protection against shells coming down at them from this angle. Then he caressed the trigger to send a long stream of bolter rounds down to shred them and watch them come apart.

Multilaser fire and a few plasma bolts came back up at the Devastator Marines as the Guardsmen on foot or within the Chimeras reacted. Missiles streaked down to punch through the thinner top armour of the APCs and the Tactical Marines took advantage of the distraction to charge. Bolter and heavy bolter fire soon finished the Guardsmen and one Chimera's multilaser exploded from a plasma gun hit a moment before the rest of it exploded from missile hits. The smell of burning Promethium and flesh from the Chimeras' fuel tanks and crews joined that already in the air from the use and results of the Flamers.

The Blood Ravens swept on across the ruins of the base and the scattered corpses and pieces of what were once Guardsmen. Avitus barely managed to restrain himself from kicking a helmeted head that had been blasted free when the torso it had been attached to was blown apart. He was unable to restrain his feral smile of satisfaction and would have been unwilling even if he had been able. His village had been terrorised by corrupt Guardsmen when he was young and centuries of service as a Space Marine, and of sometimes fighting alongside the Imperial Guard, had not been enough to ease that grudge.

A turret set to guard the south-west approach exploded as missiles struck it from behind, from within the area it was supposed to protect. A second and final turret to the west of the base followed suit and then as a melta-bomb blasted a door into molten fragments and a Flamer hosed the inside of the Tactica Control the fight was over. Pleased with the lack of casualties Thule and his men continued on their way.

-====xxxx====−

The vox operator turned to Alexander. "Sir, first company is gone," he reported.

"Acknowledged," Alexander growled.

His expression remained impassive but his thoughts were full of curses directed at the Tau as well as the Space Marines. During the former's foul residence here they had not troubled to keep the shipping channel dredged and sandbanks and even small islands with trees had formed and grown. This had left a path he'd needed to protect and he'd been unable to have first company withdraw. He'd hoped they would be dug in strongly enough the Blood Ravens would feel it not worth the time or possible losses to eliminate them rather than just leave forces to pin them in position. But that had only been a very faint hope with how disinclined Space Marines were to leave any possible obstacle for later.

"Are the turrets along the northern shore operational?" Alexander asked, looking to a metaphorically hovering Techpriest.

"The Omnissiah continues to bless us," grated the Techpriest, showing his voice had been replaced even if his legs had not, "we have assuaged the Machine Spirits of those turrets with the appropriate programming to allow them to fire without conflict upon Space Marines."

"Very well," Alexander nodded, deciding that he would take that as a 'yes'.

-====xxxx====−

The Scout Marines moved across the river, finding what few spots there were in the silt that were solid enough to support their boots. Even there their boots sank deep through the more liquid upper layer and they were being considerably slowed and hampered. Moving faster to give less time to sink in might have been easier but would have been less stealthy. Many Scout Marines were acolytes and wished for the day when they would become full battle brothers and earn their power armour but they were glad here they were not wearing that extra weight.

This did not seem like a suitable path and as the opposite shore came within sight this was confirmed. A few gestures and sub-vocal exchanges over low-power vox channels ended with an unfortunate heavy weapon team's death. The Guardsmen had been peering out over their sandbags and across the river and there was a tiny chance they might have seen the scouts and begun wasting heavy bolter shells in their general direction. The leader of the Scout Marines lowered his goggles and zoomed in on the fortifications, his own enhanced sight being improved by the blessings of the technology and allowing him to see and mark each of the missile and heavy bolter turrets ahead and estimate more precisely the thickness of the wall behind them.

As each piece of Imperial Guard hindrance was noted and assessed he reported this to Captain Thule until he finished his report and nodded as he heard Thule's voice acknowledging this and ordering them back. Almost silently the Scout Marines returned, taking a different path and resisting the temptation to tread where they had already found the footing was firmer. It was unlikely they had been observed in their advance but you did not live to see centuries of battle or to earn your full brotherhood if you took needless risks.

-====xxxx====−

Thule was not surprised or disappointed by the Scout's report as it had been no more than he'd expected. General Alexander would have needed to be very foolish to not have defences on the other side of the river and he'd proven himself far from being a fool. They would have to move along the river to the bridge or another crossing point, or rather they would have to move west as moving along the river-shore itself would leave them too exposed. Back amongst the ruined buildings the Space Marines cautiously advanced until they reached a large area that had been cleared of this cover. Thule frowned slightly as he saw this. He was not sure what purpose this served but he was sure it was nothing that would be good for them.

"Excellent," Avitus commented, looking far more approving, "this will give my heavy bolter a fine field of fire."

"I doubt they went to that trouble to cause you convenience," said Tarkus, used to his comrade's focus on how to better kill things,

"Hah, then let them try to inconvenience me," Avitus scoffed, "the cowards will just fall all the sooner."

The cleared area was broad enough to cause trouble circling around it to north or south and as little sense as it made to walk into a obvious trap it made even less to leave this trap unsprung to hamper a retreat or, far more likely, the movement of their reinforcements. Thule and the other Blood Ravens moved out of the ruins and began to walk across the bare ground and pavement. To their utter lack of surprise heavy bolter shells began streaking in at them from the south as a concealed heavy weapons team revealed itself and with a distinctive 'chuffing' grenade launchers began raining their ordinance down at the Space Marines from atop a C-shaped building to the north.

"Pathetic," Avitus sneered, ignoring his battle-brother who had fallen as a heavy bolter shell pierced his boot and detonated within. Whether that Space Marine with his suddenly missing lower leg and his augmetics struggling to stem the flow of blood from the mangled thigh and knee would have shared Avitus' assessment was irrelevant to him as he swung his heavy bolter around as if it weighed nothing. Avitus triggered it and the stream of rocket-boosted shells began smashing chunks out of the wall around the top of the building the Guardsmen had thought provided some protection.

As the fragments of rockcrete began falling to the ground and other Devastator Marines followed Avitus' lead Tarkus reached for his belt. The heavy weapons team were well hidden but not well enough to fool his old experienced eyes. They were also well back in the ruins but Space Marine muscles and power armour could throw that far and that accurately. His arm blurred and a few seconds later there was an explosion as the frag grenade landed precisely on top of the team. Even Guardsman armour would have given some protection to its wearer against that but the stream of heavy bolter rounds faltered.

Tarkus and some Tactical Marines began charging to take advantage of the respite and now they no longer had to be concerned about the heavy weapon team shooting them in mid-air the Assault Marines back amongst the ruins in cover triggered their jetpacks to repeat their earlier massacre of Grenadiers. As the Assault Marines landed Avitus and the other Devastator Marines ceased fire and looked for another target now. There seemed none as there were no clear lines of sight to suppress the heavy weapon team and the Tactical Marines were managing that anyway with their normal bolters.

Thule frowned as he also looked around. He did not agree with Avitus that the ambush was 'pathetic'. He knew how much trouble these Guardsmen would have caused a foe that was less resistant to the grenades, or could not leap into close combat with the Grenadiers, or could not throw a grenade far enough to so swiftly wound or kill the dug-in heavy weapon team. But his instincts were warning him there was more to this cleared ground than simply giving the heavy bolter and grenade launchers better targets.

-====xxxx====−

Wind speed, atmospheric pressure, barrel temperatures, estimated positions, and other values flowed into the cogitator in the Listening Post and through its holy programming to bless the watching Guardsman with the information he required. He muttered the litany of sharing as he fed the data to the other cogitators this one was coordinating and then reached to flick a switch and open a channel to the main headquarters.

"Firing solution plotted, sir," the Guardsman reported.

"Good," replied Alexander. There was a click and a light on the Guardsman's console shifted to show the next words were coming over a general broadcast. "Now you will see what it means to face the Imperial Guard," Alexander continued. "Artillery, open fire!"

Outside the Listening Post stood a line of five Basilisk self-propelled guns. The barrel on one twitched as its cogitator made a tiny final adjustment then the loaders and the Guardsmen who had been passing shells hand to hand from the stores turned away and knelt to place their hands on their helmets over their ears. On each Basilisk's vox a signal-light clicked to glow on and the gunner triggered the Earthshaker cannon. Waves of almost visible sound rippled out from them as they spoke in unison and from the north there was an echo as the sound of the five stationed there reached this battery.

The barrels moved back along their buffers from where they had been driven and as they returned to firing position the gunners worked at the breeches and the loaders came forward with another shell. A few lingering wisps of propellant gas escaped as the gunners opened the breeches and the loaders slammed the shell home before the breeches were closed again. The barrels shifted again as the cogitators recognised the cannons had been reloaded and that they needed to adjust for the next shot. Even with the width of the treads, the mats spread beneath them, and how much of the recoil the buffers had absorbed the Earthshaker cannons had still driven the Basilisks a little down into the soft ground. This island was little more than a thin layer of grass over river silt and barely less treacherous to try to build on or deploy vehicles on than the sandbank they'd had so much trouble coming along to reach it.

There was a brief pause as the cogitator in the listening post again coordinated the two batteries and then the signal-lights glowed again and a second salvo was triggered on its way.

-====xxxx====−

Shells screamed in from the sky and blanketed the cleared area again. More paving stones shattered to send fragments in all directions with body breaking force as the explosive rounds blasted more craters while above them the fragmentation rounds popped to form overlapping circles of shrapnel and small explosive sub-munitions. Anything within that area would have been killed or seriously injured. Which was why Davian Thule and his men were watching this from back in the ruins. Thule allowed himself a slight smile.

"Fire first, General," Thule muttered, "gloat later."

He knew he was being a little unfair to Alexander, that the purpose was likely more to bolster the morale of the Guardsmen rather than to gloat, but whatever reason Alexander had for the general transmission it had been more than adequate warning. The Blood Ravens had been expecting there was more to this trap and Space Marines were schooled to instant obedience and reaction. Thule glanced to one side as he saw a whisper of movement and relaxed from his minute tensing as he recognised this as one of his Scout Marines returning.

"The south end of the bridge is heavily fortified," the Scout Marine reported, with a very slight nod of obeisance.

"I would expect no less," replied Thule, waiting for the more detailed report he expected was coming.

"Missile and heavy bolter turrets," the Scout Marine continued, fulfilling Thule's expectations, "supplemented by more of their heavy bolter equipped heavy weapon teams. Also from the smell of promethium they have some vehicles idling on the bridge… and from the disturbed ground they have mines laid."

"Our Whirlwinds, when they arrive," commented Tarkus, "could drive the heavy weapon teams back under cover or slay them. And fire concussion rounds to trigger the mines harmlessly."

Thule nodded to this. A city was not the best place to take tanks or artillery but he did hope the armoured column would arrive soon. There was a limit to the firepower even a Space Marine could carry. "Unfortunately they would have to enter the range of those Basilisks to do so," he said, "and we cannot assume these Guardsman are incompetent enough to not backtrace their rockets as I am sure you have already done to their shells."

"Seems to be two batteries of five," Tarkus replied, handing over a dataslate with the estimated positions already marked.

Thule nodded again. Predator tanks and Whirlwind artillery vehicles were both based on the Rhino APC chassis and though the Predators' extra armour would allow them to withstand the shells the Whirlwind design was more concerned with fitting in as many reloads for the rocket launcher as possible. Even with the Predators there was still the danger that a lucky hit by the Guardsmen might damage a track and there was the further problem that there were not enough Whirlwinds in the column to win an artillery duel against ten Basilisks. So they would have to deny the First Kronos Regiment their artillery support to be able to use their own.

"This battery seems to be in mid-river," commented Thule, tapping the dataslate, "so there must be a way onto that island and perhaps that way is from this bank and continues on."

-====xxxx====−

Snug behind his sandbags the Guardsman looked to the south. He'd heard Governor-Militant Alexander's transmission and heard the rumble of artillery and the explosions and been glad these Space Marines had got what they deserved. How they could betray the Imperium of Man was something he couldn't understand. Sure there were the Traitor Legions but those had, Emperor be blessed, made their choice so long ago and before the full Divinity of His Imperial Majesty and the Golden Throne became apparent. There were whispers that the Emperor had made that choice for them so they could pass his Holy Test or, as they did, fail and serve as an example of how even the Holiest could fall if their hearts were not kept pure by the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchs.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw a slight flash of red and he tensed behind the firing grips of his heavy bolter. There was another flash of red and he recognised this as being a giant in crimson armour charging from one shell crater to another. A missile streaked in from another direction and blew a chunk of rockcrete from the base of a turret. The Guardsman swung his heavy bolter around on its turret and smacked his loader on the back of the helmet to break his daze and return his attention to ensuring there were no twists or kinks in the feed of bolter shells.

"We're under fire," the Guardsman reported over the vox as the turret cogitator reacted and the heavy bolter turret traversed.

"Third Company!" replied Alexander over a general channel. "Hold the line! The Emperor demands it!"

The loader gave a nod and assured there was nothing to jam the weapon the Guardsman began pumping heavy bolter shells downrange as the turret and its neighbour began to spark with impacts. Normally the feel of his heavy bolter's recoil gave him a sense of power and almost made him feel sorry for what he was firing at but it was less reassuring this time. As much firepower as this gave him it was hard to forget that what he needed to use on a tripod and with at least one comrade to help carry from place to place and keep fed with shells was something a lone Space Marine could carry.

To his relief the ruins at the edge of the kill-zone suddenly erupted and a moment later he heard the thunder of the Earthshaker cannon that had fired those shells that had outpaced the sound. One Space Marine became visible as a wall collapsed and he lost its cover and tried to avoid it landing on him. The Guardsman triggered a long burst. Whether the Blood Raven fell under that fire or had dived back into cover the Guardsman was not sure but he hoped the former and that more artillery fire was on the way to flush more out and give him another chance.

-====xxxx====−

Thule also heard the explosions to the north and hoped his battle brothers would not take too many losses in keeping the Imperial Guard's attention. He'd taken most of his Blood Ravens to skirt those defences. Even if they could only disable one of the Basilisk batteries then that would afford the Whirlwinds more chance to survive long enough to be effective. Ahead he saw a Scout Marine examining something.

"What have you found?" Thule asked.

"I am not sure," the Scout Marine said. "Seems to be a vox laser and a cable leading from it to something."

"Can you tap it?" Thule replied.

"I am no Techmarine, sir" the Scout Marine warned, "but I do have something that might work."

Reaching into a pouch the Scout Marine withdrew a probe and attached its umbilical to a dataslate. Then carefully he wrapped the probe around the cable and activated it. The probe seemed almost to squirm as it worked through the various ways it had of reading what was being transmitted, whether electrical or optical or otherwise. For a brief moment the dataslate lit up with information and then that blanked.

-====xxxx====−

"Governor," a Techpriest whined as his mechadendrites pecked at the control console, "the Omnissiah has warned us of a blasphemy!"

"Of what nature, Techpriest?" asked Alexander rather more calmly.

"The enemy attempted to share in his blessings of sight," the Techpriest said, "those that allow us to guide the aerial wrath his…"

"Inform my men of where this occurred," interrupted Alexander, wishing not for the first time that Techpriests were more succinct. "Fire control, initiate strafing run on those coordinates."

-====xxxx====−

"Move!" Thule roared. Even from that glimpse he had recognised it as being targeting data.

The other Blood Ravens who had not seen the dataslate did not know why Captain Thule was ordering them to scatter. But they did not need to know to obey and it was fortunate they had that discipline as they had barely got clear before Valkyries screamed overhead. Bombs and cannon fire pounded where the Space Marines had been before the Valkyries dropped back down into prepared hidden nooks in the ruins.

"Artillery and air-strikes," Thule commented. "General Alexander has prepared well."

The Scout Marine had moved away a little but he returned. "Another one of those," he reported, touching his ear as another Scout reported to him. "And another one over there. They seem all to be aiming their commlasers towards the same point." Thule nodded and they cautiously moved ahead. They did not get far through the ruins before Scout Marine gestured and they halted while he crept forward. After a brief examination he again returned. "Another one, and again aiming towards the same point."

"It appears in solving the one problem," Thule commented, "we shall have to solve the other."

-====xxxx====−

Awareness suddenly returned to Taldeer's mind as she dissolved the barriers of illusion around her innermost self. These had hidden her from the Mon'keigh's clumsy probes to give her the appearance of being drugged into submission but something had caught her attention now. From outside her cell faint sounds like a disturbed insect nest reached her slender pointed ears but the noise was almost irrelevant to the psychic agitation she could sense. Whatever was happening there was also perhaps opportunity while their primitive minds were so overwhelmed by the strain of having to do more than their usual unthinking routine.

Very cautiously she reached out with her mind to learn more. The Mon'keigh 'Sanctioned Psykers' were pathetic crippled things but for all the cruelties that had been done to them in the cause of making them 'safe' they might still sense it if she was too clumsy. Of course that was not the difference between moving with stealth and moving normally, more the difference between moving normally and moving like an Avatar of Khaine that shook the ground and left footprints of fire behind it. She smiled as wisps of thought revealed the cause of the agitation.

Taldeer had always been amused by the Mon'keigh being so often divided against themselves. That it had happened again here on Kronos was fresh amusement and that they were now openly fighting made this even more entertaining. The more of each other they slaughtered the better, both as a good thing in itself and as it would afford her a greater distraction. Outside her cell she could feel the tiny minds of the supposed guards wavering over what to do and she gently began to steer them towards fear and escape. Increasing their fear that at any instant a Space Marine might burst through the nearest door and slaughter them.

A frown of annoyance came to Taldeer's face as this backfired. To her surprise the fear rebounded off a core of stubbornness and was turned into determination to remain at their post and to die standing and be worthy of the regiment.

-====xxxx====−

By their estimates they were almost directly south of the island where one Basilisk battery was stationed and so close to where there might be a sandbank or ford leading to this. Thule did not feel any surprise though as he looked ahead and saw this was also where the base the vox-lasers and cables had led them to was. A pair of heavy bolter armed turrets were visible and beyond them were the sheds of Mechanised Commands. What vehicles could have been housed, maintained, or assembled in those Thule did not know but they were valuable enough facilities there could be heavy defences.

"Devastator Marines," Thule ordered, "take out those turrets, half missiles load only."

Brief replies came back across the vox channels and missiles streaked out towards and into the turrets. Metal and rockcrete tore apart under the impacts and the explosions of warheads and ammunition. As flames and smoke licked up from what little could burn within the turrets that had not been already almost instantly consumed there was the rumble of an engine and the clank of tracks on pavement. The tall boxy form of a Leman Russ clattered forward, sponson-mounted heavy bolters twitching to either side of its high hull.

Before those weapons or its hull-mounted heavy bolter or the battlecannon in the tank's turret could find a target the other half of the Devastator Marine salvo smashed into it. They had enough launchers to keep half back to strike at the counter-attack, and judging from the state of the turrets Thule wondered if they'd even needed half to destroy them. One sponson and the glacis plate of the Leman Russ crumpled and it was stopped literally in its tracks as fragments of those scattered in all directions and its engine stalled as its drivetrain jammed. Despite being immobilised and having lost two of its three heavy bolters the tank was still relatively intact so a quartet of Assault Marines triggered their jetpacks to jump onto it with melta-bombs.

Thule reacted but knew that by the time he could order them back they'd have already finished and be jumping back anyway. Or, as it turned out, to have paid the price for their impetuosity. Three streams of heavy bolter shells met them in mid-air and tracked them down onto the Leman Russ. The thick armour of the tank was merely further dented but even Space Marines could not withstand the fire of paired heavy bolters directed at them individually and with that much accuracy. One Assault Marine came apart in mid-air, two barely survived to land on the Leman Russ and then be shattered, and the fourth was knocked from the Leman Russ' hull as one stream re-targeted and blew his arm off at the shoulder.

With a rumble and clatter that made that the Leman Russ had produced seem feeble by comparison a Baneblade advanced, continuing to lay down fire from the dual-heavy bolters in its sponsons and the turret mounted into its glacis plate. Even centuries of experience could not stop Thule's lips tightening slightly in irritation at facing this degree of opposition.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander nodded as the report came in of the enemy position and estimated numbers. He cursed mentally as he realised the engagement at the bridge was a diversion and that this attack might be the main thrust. He'd thought it the other way around, that scouting forces had found the links to the air-support fire-control base while they were probing for a way to outflank his forces. Instead it seemed these Blood Ravens were fighting like Eldar with misdirection and trickery and had been looking for the flank even before they tested the strength of the more direct route.

"Second Mechanised Company!" Alexander snapped, pushing the vox-button with a little more force than necessary. "The enemy is at your doorstep! Push them back, damn it!"

-====xxxx====−

The Baneblade commander smiled to himself as he heard the order. Only the elite got to crew one of these beauties and the elite of the elite to command one. He intended to do more than just push them back, he intended to do what the General had said and crush them under his treads. Their fancy armour hadn't done them much good against heavy bolters and would do them even less good when they had a super-heavy tank parked on their head.

"Chimeras and infantry, keep back," the Baneblade commander ordered, "give us cover fire to keep the gnats from jumping onboard."

As acknowledgements came back the Baneblade advanced, its hull booming with the missile strikes battering at the incredibly thick and tough armour and with the report of its three dual heavy bolters shredding the cover the traitors were using. For now the Lascannon turrets were inactive but the main turret was traversing and adding the firepower of the co-axial cannon to the heavy bolters' efforts. The Baneblade commander scanned the perimeter through his firing scopes and tried to see if there was anything worth blessing with the main cannon or lobbing a low velocity round from the Demolisher cannon towards. There seemed a group or at least some cover that was worth breaking up.

"Slew us twenty degrees left," the Baneblade commander ordered, "one round, Demolisher cannon, target designated."

-====xxxx====−

Despite the shock even the Emperor's finest warriors felt at seeing a Baneblade Thule had kept firm command and unless lesser soldiers there had been no panic and no hesitation in their obedience. They were Space Marines, they were Blood Ravens, and even though some of them were dead or wounded they were superior not only in their physical prowess and their blessed armour but also in their training.

The disabled Leman Russ was beginning to smoke but showing uncommon bravery for Guardsmen the crew had not yet bailed out. The surviving heavy bolter was sending brief bursts of shells as above it the turret traversed to fire the tanks battle cannon at whatever had drawn the Guardsmen's attention. More shells were being thrown out through the hatch on the side with the shattered sponson than were being fired though. It was unlikely this effort would let these men survive but they seemed to think it worth trusting the safeties on the impact fuses, or have these explode outside, than risk them exploding within as whatever fire was causing the smoke caused them to overheat and cook off.

Thule allowed himself a tiny nod of satisfaction as he saw the Baneblade begin to rotate on its tracks. It had been a risk telling some battle-brothers to make themselves obvious but this commander had taken the bait. There was a cough and a blurred shape spewed from the short broad barrel of the Demolisher Cannon to let it live up to its name. The Blood Ravens that had been within the area of ruins that had just been demolished had scattered as soon as the Baneblade began to turn though and as its flank came towards them a coordinated salvo of missiles met it from a group of Devastator Marines.

The Baneblade's front armour was too thick to easily pierce and even against the thinner side armour it had taken that salvo striking the same spot simultaneously to break through. The super-heavy tank ground to a halt as the warheads ripped through the armour over them and at its track and the wheels within it. Thule focussed his enhanced sight and thought the damage looked severe enough they would have to cut away the mangled plates and probably replace at least one axle as well as the wheels they had linked to. Certainly it was not something that could be repaired without a recovery vehicle.

"Move!" Thule ordered.

The Blood Ravens broke cover and charged, a few of them hesitating long enough to throw smoke grenades and those equipped with flamers taking the time to squirt a quick burst at anything that looked flammable. Smoke drifted across the battlefield to block both visual and infra-red sights and the efficiency of the Space Marines' power armour served them in good stead as it produced so little waste heat. Even with this cover though they were still glad as they circled it that the Baneblade's Lascannon were in turrets and the dual heavy bolters in the sponsons beneath. The other way around could have been painful as it would have given the more dangerous, to them, heavy bolters a wider firing arc.

-====xxxx====−

Taldeer reconsidered her approach and pondered if her contempt for these Guardsmen had led her into the wrong approach. These might be so lacking in courage as to need Commissars to keep them fighting but that was in part because these Mon'keigh did not realise how worthless they were. They still valued their lives despite their deaths being so little loss even to their fellow 'humans' and them being so easily replaced by their 'Imperium'. Like all brute creatures they did not want to die but they did, sometimes, press forward despite this and despite their weapons and armour being barely more than sticks and leather.

Focussing the fraction of her psionic power she dared use Taldeer tried again and this time to work with this unexpected stubbornness rather than against it. If these fools wished to die well then that should be encouraged, rather than make them fear for themselves make them fear for those they felt their shallow primitive version of friendship towards. Make them fear that without their help those 'friends' might be killed by the Blood Ravens and persuade them that, despite the preposterous nature of the lie, one more lasgun might make a difference and save those 'friends' from that fate.

She smiled as she felt their thoughts align into the pattern she desired. The cell door was almost soundproof but with her mental tendrils extending into them it was easy to hear their conversation almost before they had it. Before their primitive thoughts and feelings distilled down into their even more primitive language.

"Got to help them," one Guardsman muttered.

"Got to guard the Eldar," his more stubborn or less imaginative comrade replied.

"Frak the Eldar," the first Guardsman spat.

"Interesting idea…" said the other, with a smile Taldeer could almost see in her mind's eye along with visions that proved it was stubbornness rather than lack of imagination. Nausea surged up through her at the concept and it was difficult to prevent that leaking through the psychic connection and betraying its existence.

-====xxxx====−

Crouching in his foxhole the third company officer glanced at his vox operator as the man stiffened and his motion caused the aerials on his backpack vox to wobble slightly in reaction. "Second company's Baneblade has been disabled, sir," the vox operator reported, "still firing but immobilised."

The officer nodded and hid his shock. If one of the Imperial Guard's mightiest machines could be damaged like that then what chance did mere flesh and blood have against these Space Marine bastards. Though if they had enough of their traitors there to do that then there must be fewer of them here trying to force the bridge than he had thought. The officer began giving orders.

A minute or two passed and then lasgun fire sheeted out from the Imperial Guard positions as they switched to full-auto and each Guardsman burned through a powerpack in almost unaimed suppressive fire. With this for cover Chimeras clanked forward, multilasers adding their own crimson bolts to the barrage as they moved towards craters large enough to give them some protection. The lasgun powerpacks ran dry and the Guardsmen, with a great deal of reluctance, charged forward to join the Chimeras or take cover closer to the line of the ruins.

As they ran they clicked out the spent powerpacks and replaced them with fresh, but unfortunately as they ran the Chimeras exploded from missile hits and bolter and heavy bolter fire began carving holes in their advance. Whether the Space Marines had been suppressed by the combined firepower but able to respond when this had slackened to only the multilasers or whether they had simply been waiting for the Guardsmen to move the officer did not know. Then as a bolter shell detonated within his torso and spread it across a wide area he found himself unable to ever know.

Alexander's voice crackled from the backpack vox, audible thanks to the speakers activating when the operator's headphones were torn away along with his head. "Third Company! Maintain position!"

-====xxxx====−

Smoke still enveloped the Baneblade and as the Chimera held position outside this screen and the attention of its commander focussed on trying to see through it to provide the ordered cover-fire he failed to notice movement to one side. Missiles streaked in as Devastator Marines popped up from behind a tumbled wall and triggered their launchers in one smooth motion. The Chimera's turret lifted briefly on its rollers from the force of the explosion and the rear door popped off as those within were incinerated.

The Baneblade commander took a quick guess and his mighty tank's main turret swivelled to fire its main gun towards his estimate of where the backtrack of the missiles would cross cover. This was accurate enough the explosion pelted the Blood Raven's with debris but their armour prevented them from being bruised and battered as less well protected troops would be. Small chunks of rockcrete bounced off them without leaving a mark and their helmets protected them even from the dust getting in their eyes or lungs.

As these Devastator Marines moved back there was a rising whine and then Assault Marines leapt forward and this time, with the Baneblade's sight impaired, managed to reach and plant melta-bombs on the Leman Russ. They did not linger though as they knew the Leman Russ crew would have heard their landing and the Baneblade would therefore know where to direct more fire. A burst of heavy bolter fire cut through the air behind them, a moment too late to intercept them, as they leapt away. The melta-bombs detonated and even with most of the fire coming out the open hatch through which the shells had been being tossed, and even without those being inside the Leman Russ to explode, thin streaks of flame still leaked between hull plates as they were forced apart.

Lasgun beams crackled out from the Guardsmen at the shadows of the moving Space Marines. They managed to score a few hits but without the ability to concentrate their fire on a single target these did nothing more than scorch some paint and shallow pits and grooves in the ceramite protecting their foe. The bolter and heavy bolter fire they received in return was far more dangerous to them as even a near miss could sting their uncovered faces with pebbles and it was hard to aim when your friend beside you was hit and splattered across you.

Gradually the Guardsmen withdrew from their more exposed firing positions and back to the greater protection of the base buildings. They feared Commissar Gebbet's judgement as the holy technology of the Baneblade was far less expendable than their lives. But surviving long enough to face that judgement rather than being picked off by bolter fire felt the better idea to them as their numbers dwindled and they found themselves completely or mostly surrounded by corpses.

-====xxxx====−

Taldeer cursed to herself as she felt the first Guardsman start to ponder the suggestion of his more perverted colleague. She could easily kill them both but without her Ghosthelm to mask her spirit in the Warp the use of that much power might be noticed. Denied the option of granting them a swifter death than they deserved she instead began to more subtly try to divert their minds away from brute carnality. They had their pitiful version of duty and honour and the first one had already suggested leaving to help the others of their kind.

"You want to frak a Xeno while our friends are dying?" asked the first Guardsman with contempt, as Taldeer's manipulation steered his thoughts back to that route.

"Could be our last chance to frak anything," replied the second one in a reasonable tone.

That argument seemed valid and for a moment the first Guardsman wavered again, but then Taldeer found a fear in his mind and amplified and brought it to the fore. "You do know they have teeth down there?" he asked, taking his friend by surprise.

"If she bit it then…" the second Guardsman began to reply, after a moment to get over the shock.

"Then you'd kill her…" said the first Guardsman, "but you'd still have an augmetic dick. You want to get it bit off just to have an excuse to kill one more Eldar?"

"No," the second Guardsman mused, "and… even if you're wrong about the teeth, or we buggered her instead, you're right about us not having time."

To Taldeer's relief she heard footsteps moving away. As these were mere Imperial Guardsmen she doubted this was some trick of them pretending to move but she risked the tendril of extra power and confirmed they were leaving.

"Bugger her?" the first Guardsman asked as they got almost too far away for Taldeer to hear them. "You want Xenos crap on your dick?"

"We do have those cleaning kits," chuckled the second Guardsman, "you know… the ones for scrubbing out weapon barrels before you get ready to shoot…"

As the voices and laughter faded into the distance Taldeer was glad that the Mon'keigh were so unimaginative in this regard. Even those that had been touched by Slaneesh, the God of Pleasure born from the Eldar's superior imagination, were still only pale imitations of the Eldar in that as in so many other ways. Which was a shame as there were few races that would more deserve to birth a new god and a new Eye of Terror… or Eye of Terra… on their origin world. Taldeer's bonds fell away from her and she crossed to the door to reach into its lock with her telekinesis and control over psychic lightning. Under her ministrations circuits fused and overloaded, while still appearing intact to diagnostics, and the physical bolts slid back.

She slipped out into the corridor and began moving silently along it. Around her the currents of Mon'keigh moving through their base and their thoughts through their minds flowed and she let herself move with these currents and become almost indiscernible. She was not important, not out of place, she belonged to the patterns they could see and so was not worth noticing. The sounds of battle, their preparations to fight, those were what were important and needed their attention rather than her. Gracefully she slipped around the hurrying Imperial Guard personnel as they almost collided with her so invisible to them had she become.

-====xxxx====−

Efficiently the Blood Ravens worked their way from building to building. The narrowness of the firing slits on them did help protect the Guardsmen within but also hampered their vision. A squirt of flame through a slit to open the way for grenades to be thrown inside or. where the Space Marines disdained subtlety, simply levelling the building as missiles punched from launchers and through the rockcrete dealt with most of the base. The Field Command at the centre was tougher though and Captain Thule exhaled in realisation as he heard a distinctive sound.

"Scatter," Thule commanded.

As surprised as his Blood Ravens were by this, working their way as they had been towards better firing positions, they responded with the swiftness of their intense training and decades, or even centuries, of experience. This was not swift enough for some though as they were still caught beneath the airstrike Thule had heard. The power armour of the Astartes was very tough so though this strike cratered the pavement, and a few stray bombs knocked chunks off the Field Command, almost all the battle brothers were uninjured. Thule's gaze passed in assessment over those few that had taken direct enough hits that they had fallen and had not yet risen and was glad that most of them appeared only injured.

As the Valkyries streaked away and back into their nooks between the ruins Thule waved his chainsword in an encouraging manner. "Forward," he roared.

Thule knew the dust in the air and the effects of the airstrike around and partially on top of them would hamper the Guardsmen for a moment. A few lasgun bolts flicked out to meet the charging Blood Ravens but then an Assault Marine, moving with more grace than the ungainly appearance his jetpack gave him on the ground, lobbed a melta bomb at the door and turned it into molten fragments. Barely waiting for these fragments to land a Tactical Marine charged in and triggered his flamer. A normal soldier would have burnt himself badly filling that interior so flame gushed out of rather than into the firing slits, or choked as all the oxygen inside was consumed, but as many enemies of the Imperium had learned Space Marines were far from normal.

Something inside the Field Command exploded and its roof started to sag as it burned and the Tactical Marine walked steadily backwards out the way he'd come. Seeing the resistance had been ended the Apocatheries moved forward to recover the geneseed of the fallen and Thule began to reorganise his men between continuing to distract the Baneblade and heading north towards the Ford. Neither of these tasks took long and the Space Marines vanished into the smoke and fog, leaving ruin and corpses behind them.

-====xxxx====−

Taldeer took a deep calming breath as she approached the armoury where the Mon'keigh had taken her Witchblade and armour and shuriken pistol. She knew she was going to have to discard subtlety as if you were walking down a corridor that only led one place even these primitives would be hard to convince that she was going elsewhere. That and the fight ahead were not what troubled her though. Her farsight had failed her and the other Eldar and led to their defeat and her imprisonment so she doubted whether she was worthy to bear those weapons and wear that regalia again.

But she did not want to be captured again when there was no distraction to be gained from it and when she had proven how simple it was for her to escape the level of imprisonment they had confined her with. Even if General Alexander defeated this attack on his base and it was him that recaptured her it would be far harder to escape, and if it was the Blood Ravens who became her captor then that difficulty would double or more. For the good of the Eldar she had been willing to sacrifice herself but she was not willing to sacrifice herself for nothing. She opened her mind and let more power flow into and through it as she reached out to touch the minds ahead of her.

-====xxxx====−

It took some self-control and the knowledge that the Techpriests would be displeased if he punched the console, even if he took off the power-fist on that hand, to keep Alexander's hands still as the icons went dark. Another company of loyal Guardsmen had been consumed by the fanaticism of these Space Marines and they had done further damage to his defensive plans.

"The enemy has knocked out Second Company's fire control system," Alexander growled. "Our air support is gone."

"Can we shift control?" one of his aides asked.

"The Omnissiah's blessings are not infinite," replied a Techpriest reproachfully. "Any alternative system would be vulnerable to jamming or false data."

"We may have to risk that…" Alexander began to say, but he broke off as he noticed the shift in the nearby Sanctioned Psyker's expression. "What have you sensed?" he asked instead.

"A sudden flare of psychic power," the Psyker quavered in reply.

"A Space Marine Librarian?" Alexander frowned.

"No, a different feel," said the Psyker, "not human, and this came from within the base."

"The Farseer," Alexander hissed, making the title into a curse. For a moment further words jammed against his irritation with himself. That he'd doubted it was truly Taldeer had meant he'd not wasted many guards on her and, having dismissed the prisoner as a probable fraud, it had not occurred to him that she might have the ability to use the attack as a diversion for an escape. "This is Governor Alexander," he said, making an effort and keeping his voice professional as he pushed a vox button, "check the cells, make sure the Xenos Witch is still there."

-====xxxx====−

A Guardsman collapsed to his knees, raking his fingers across his face and eyes as nightmares rose to engulf him, and his suffering ending with a crunch as Taldeer took advantage of his state to snap his neck with one precise kick to the side of it. Another fought through the visions assailing him and managed to slowly and shakily begin to raise his lasgun. Taldeer extended a twitch of telekinesis and a stylus flew up from the armoury desk and impaled itself through that Guardsman's left eye and into his brain. A faint smile of amusement crossed the Farseer's face as she considered how fortunate it was that these Mon'keigh did not have as small a brain as they did minds or that would have been a very difficult shot.

His hands clawed a third Guardsman launched himself towards Taldeer, driven into madness as an escape from his psychic torment. Dispassionately she drove her fist into the front of his neck and crushed his windpipe. Ignoring him as he collapsed to slowly suffocate she moved to the desk where the fourth and final of her opponents sat frozen and staring at nothing. Taldeer nodded at the success of that mental assault and decided that giving the sense of a lurking danger that would devour them if they betrayed their existence by moving might be worth trying on even those opponents where that was not their private fear. She reached down and took the code-keys from the Guardsman and frowned as her hand brushed his sidearm.

That might have been better. As primitive as their weapons were if she had killed a stray Guardsman on her way to retrieve her own weapons then she would not have needed to use as much psychic power to assail these Mon'keigh minds and guide her blows. But it was too late to regret that choice now so she swiftly snapped the seated Guardsman's neck and moved to retrieve her things. It was no surprise to her that these were stored in such disarray but she ignored that annoyance as she stripped off the crude prison suit and replaced it with the superior garb of her under-armour and boots. What annoyance she was not willing to ignore however was that the sensual pleasure she felt as this moulded to and supported her body had been slightly shared by the Guardsman who had not yet had the courtesy to finish dying and had watched her change. With a shudder of disgust at the Mon'keigh being so debauched as to be able to feel this pleasure despite the fact he was dying Taldeer crushed his skull under her boot-heel and regretted that she had given that creature a final sight he had so enjoyed.

Although it was unworthy of carrying it Taldeer loaded the rest of her armour into a bag as she knew she needed to move and could not afford to take the time to dress further. Slinging the bag across her shoulders she took the comforting weight of her Witchblade in one hand and Shuriken Pistol in the other. Despite the fact she was now armed her Farsight was good enough, even with how she doubted her judgement, to see what would happen if she abandoned rather than redoubled her caution. Carefully and quickly she moved, her body acting while her mind reached out ahead of her into her path and her future to help her avoid the men she was sure General Alexander had sent. Even his Psykers and their meagre powers crippled further to near-impotence in the name of 'safety' and 'control' would have sensed her escape by now.

-====xxxx====−

"More disturbed ground ahead," reported the Space Marine Scout. "Both from tracked vehicles and their attempt to hide mines in that disturbance."

"We'll have to push ahead," Thule replied, "our battle-brothers are still under the fire of those Basilisks."

The Space Marines advanced, threading between the mines as their positions were highlighted on their helmet lenses or directly into their augmented sight, and were soon approaching the ford. Heavy Bolter shells streaked towards them as a dug-in team of Guardsmen made the mistake of opening fire and thus advance the time of their deaths. A blizzard of return fire smothered the area and shredded the Guardsmen with its own shrapnel and the chunks and slivers of rockcrete the explosions propelled from the ruins they had tried to use as cover.

As the Blood Ravens moved on and into the water Thule nodded to himself. This was very muddy as it seemed to have been churned up severely and there was not enough left of the river bed to support their own Holy vehicles. There was barely enough support for it to be better than quicksand and for his Space Marines to be able to walk across it with the weight of their power armour, despite how their over-size boots spread that weight.

-====xxxx====−

With a slight sigh at how little General Alexander would like this the Guard Sergeant triggered his vox. "Sir, the cell is empty," he reported. "No sign of the guards and no immediate signs of struggle."

"Very well Sergeant," Alexander acknowledged and ordered, "search the area for less immediate signs and then report back to the command centre."

"Yes sir," the Sergeant replied, setting to directing the Guardsmen to work.

Alexander turned from the vox console and towards one of his aides. "We cannot let her escape," he growled, "tell the Vindicare temple to find and eliminate her."

"It shall be done," nodded the aide, moving off to pass on the orders.

"And get hold of the duty roster," Alexander continued to another aide. "If she didn't kill her guards to get out of her cell then they will wish she had."

As that second aide nodded and set to work Alexander turned back away towards the vox console and shifted a setting from internal to external communications. His troops on the ground had reported a Space Marine armour column and there was only one way to stop it reaching Victory Bay. But the first step to having it taken out from orbit would be for the damned Imperial Navy in their fancy ships to stop ignoring his communications. Which was likely why they were ignoring him.

-====xxxx====−

The sound of the heavy weapons team being obliterated had not been subtle and for a moment the Sergeant in charge considered slewing the Basilisks around. They still had their hull mounted heavy bolters, unlike the Chimeras, so they could provide some useful firepower. However their orders to keep the Earthshaker cannons firing as long as possible were clear and although their mounts had enough traverse for minor adjustments slewing the Basilisks would take them off target. Instead the Sergeant ordered the drivers and the men who had been carrying shells to replenish the shot lockers onboard the self-propelled guns to redeploy. Without the drivers the Basilisks couldn't move and without being replenished their cannons would soon run dry, but as the Sergeant saw the huge figures of the Space Marines wading towards them it seemed unlikely that would matter.

A stir went through the firing line as other Guardsmen saw the foe and their aura of confidence and near invulnerability. The Sergeant glanced left and right along the line and forced a confident chuckle from his throat before he spoke. "Remember lads," he said reassuringly, "these are no tougher than some of what we've killed. On my order…"

-====xxxx====−

Thule could see movement ahead and they were close enough to see the flash of the muzzles as well as hear the thunder of each barrage. These Guardsmen were either well disciplined to be keeping those steady salvoes going or incompetent to not notice the danger they were in personally. He knew which Avitus would suggest but Thule had enough respect for General Alexander and what he and his men had accomplished to think it discipline. There was a shout from the small muddy island and a volley of lasgun fire crackled out in a fan that converged on one battle brother.

The Space Marine fell and Thule could see that the heraldic skull mounted on the centre of his chestplate had ablated away along with most of the ceramite armour beneath it. Individual lasgun hits might be little threat but several aimed accurately for the same spot was another matter. There was another shout and another volley and another battle brother fell although these hits were less well coordinated with the slightly more hurried aim. If they simply continued wading towards them they would be amongst the Guardsmen before they took heavy losses but Thule rejected the idea of simple determination and of even light losses.

"Devastators," Thule ordered, "suppress them. Assault Marines, at them!"

Heavy bolter muzzles swung onto target as the Devastator Marines tried to brace themselves as best they could against the slippery river bed. To add to their problems they were having to carry those weapons a little high to keep the muzzles clear of the water so their grip on them was rather awkward. They were Blood Ravens though and they had an order to carry out, and they would not fail. High calibre explosive rounds began streaking out from their guns to smash at the Guardsmen's' cover and try to force them to hunker down further.

The Blood Ravens' enhanced muscles and the motors of their power armour strained against the unusual direction of the recoil and they needed their enhanced reflexes and sense of balance to keep their footing. Their battle brothers with the missile launchers had fewer problems as they blasted craters from the lip of the slope with high explosive and rained some shrapnel down on the Guardsmen with fragmentation warheads set to explode in the air above them. These weapons were carried over the shoulder and so their normal position was well clear of the water. That they caused less recoil as well only made it even simpler for those Space Marines.

Standard bolter fire and a few hissing bolts of plasma, leaving steam in their wake as the river boiled beneath their path, joined the barrage from the Tactical Marines as the whine of turbines from the Assault Marines' jet packs reached its height. If anything they were having greater trouble than the heavy bolter armed Devastator Marines as their feet were a little stuck in the mud and the water was very close to the exhaust of their jet packs. The incoming lasgun fire from the Guardsmen had already faltered a little with the counterfire but then it almost ceased as a large cloud of steam and mist erupted from around the Assault Marines as they streaked into the sky.

Whether it was fear of that attack or the concealment the cloud provided as it billowed out across the Space Marines was unclear but if it was the former the Guardsmen soon overcame this as there was another shout and another volley. This was not as well aimed as the previous volleys as the Guardsmen could not see their target as well and were less inclined to take as much time to aim with bolter and heavy bolter shells impacting around them. The Blood Raven staggered but did not fall as some lasgun shots wasted themselves in misses and the rest peppered him with individual craters rather than being concentrated on a single spot.

-====xxxx====−

Glancing around the Space Marine triggered another burst from his flamer and was glad to see his target catch fire rather than only burning for as long as he held the stream of flame on target. They were running out of things to burn for heat sources and to provide warm concealing smoke and though the Baneblade was severely lamed it was not dead. Avoiding the arc of fire of the Demolisher cannon was not hard as it was almost fixed forward but the heavy bolters were more of a problem.

Thankfully neither the sponson mounts nor the turret set into the glacis plate could aim very far to the rear but with how the wind was blowing and how the debris was distributed they could not remain in that blind spot. They needed to keep moving and avoid getting bunched enough together to make a good target for the main turret guns. The Baneblade crew had already tried a few shots from those and from the Lascannon in the secondary turrets on the roofs of the sponsons. As much as the Space Marine would like to blame that on panic he was sure those had been part of a methodical pattern.

While the flamer Marines could keep the smoke going the other Blood Ravens could use that for cover to keep up a pitter-patter of bolter rounds against the Baneblade's incredible armour. That would not harm the tank but it would its crew if they attempted to leave its protection and try to unjam the track. This was probably too badly damaged to be repaired without a recovery vehicle but Captain Thule had decided they couldn't assume that and risk having a Baneblade trundle north and catch them while fording the river.

-====xxxx====−

The Assault Marines crashed down but unlike Ork Stormboyz they did not aim directly for their targets. They had proved they could crush the relatively frail bodies of the Guardsman beneath their boots but that made poor footing. Better where the enemy was less crowded together and there was clear space to aim for to allow them a moment or two of extra life and land near them to 'merely' scatter them with the impact and jet wash. Chainswords whined as their teeth blurred into motion and the Assault Marines began laying about themselves, Imperial Guard issue body armour and uniforms parting under this attack along with the flesh beneath even though the Blood Ravens were only using a fraction of their strength to drive their weapons into their comparatively diminutive and unarmoured foes.

"Fall back!" the Sergeant ordered before triggering his vox. "Listening post, turrets… fire…"

What other orders he might have given were cut short as a bolt pistol barked and the centre of his chest was blown out through his back. Seeing this an element of panic entered the Guardsmen's retreat and rather than alternate retreat and turning to provide cover fire for the others to retreat and provide cover fire in their turn they began all running at once. Freed of the small concern they'd felt about incoming lasgun fire the Assault Marines began treating this as if they were at the firing range. Carefully aimed single shots cracked out with each streak of propellant ending in the back of a Guardsman to let the 'small' calibre bolter shell explode within him.

A scant few seconds later the muzzles of the twin heavy bolters in the turret on the listening post dipped slightly as the turret finished traversing. Two streams of heavy bolter shells erupted from those muzzles but with their decades of experience the Assault Marines had moved in the moment between those settling on target and the guns firing. They went to ground although there was not much cover, less for people the size of Space Marines, and even less for Assault Marines with their jet packs jutting up from their backs and making them larger targets when prone. One Assault Marine cursed as a heavy bolter shell smashed into his jetpack and it exploded to drive him deeper into the mud. The others continued to fire at the retreating Guardsmen though.

The nearby missile turrets had also traversed and with a clicking as their ammunition feeds switched these began launching. Their target was not the Assault Marines however. Instead they returned the favour the missile launcher armed Devastator Marines had done for the Guardsmen. Fragmentation warheads burst over the slope down to the water and blanketed where the other Blood Ravens were wading or had begun to climb onto the tiny island. A few of them staggered as shrapnel found the softer joints between their ceramite plates but the counter fire was almost instant. Missiles with penetrator warheads streaked back and through metal and rockcrete to explode within the offending turrets.

Having barely waited for those missiles to pass above them the Assault Marines moved to get out of the line of fire of their battle brothers with heavier ranged weapons. To one side of them the turrets came apart with the explosion of the warheads and their own missiles and ahead of them was their chosen cover, the open backs of the Basilisks. Some of the gunners and loaders stuck to their task and tried to get off one more round from the Earthshaker cannon while others snatched up their lasguns to try to defend themselves. Neither did any good as the Blood Ravens reached them before they could fire the cannon and shrugged off the few lasgun hits they suffered. As some compensation for being grounded the Assault Marine whose jet pack had been blown off found himself able to easier run and jump into his chosen Basilisk without that weight and managed to slaughter the Guardsmen within before his battle brother caught up to assist.

There was not enough room inside the listening post for all the Guardsmen so some had to huddle around it. To make matters worse for them the heavy bolter turret had stopped firing. The targeting cogitator had fixed its simple-minded attention on the Assault Marines and although it was smart enough to have ceased fire as they got too close to the Basilisks it was not smart enough to have switched targets. The Guardsmen began triggering full-auto lasgun fire towards the oncoming Space Marines as they doubted they would survive long enough for ammunition to become a problem. And so it proved as before the cogitator could be overridden and the turret add its firepower a blizzard of heavy bolter and bolter swept across the listening post to kill all the Guardsmen outside it and splatter its rockcrete and metal with blood and fragments of flesh.

For a moment the listening post almost looked worthy of the Ruinous Powers, and Khone in particular, with how it had been decorated but then missiles smacked into the viscera adorned building. The turret on its roof exploded from direct hits and this and the missile impacts on the main part of the building caused that roof to collapse and block some of the firing slits. Thule had retained some of his flamer armed battle brothers and these trotted forward and filled both the collapsed and non-collapsed firing slits with fire. With how stunned the Guardsmen within would have been by the explosion of the turret ammunition and the roof collapse this was probably a needless precaution but it ensured they remained quiet while other Tactical Marines lobbed Frag Grenades in to guarantee nothing survived.

Across the island the Assault Marines jogged clear of the Basilisks before those self-propelled guns exploded. There had still been enough ammunition and fuel onboard them to make a satisfying boom as the melta bombs they had planted set these off. Thule nodded, slightly, with satisfaction as at least now they had halfway dealt with the problem of Alexander's artillery support and were halfway across the river. The second battery and gaining the northern shore might not be as simple as taking this island had been but he had planned for that.

-====xxxx====−

"…Sir, confirm no response from the island battery," the vox operator reported, "or from the listening post."

"Understood," Alexander replied, turning away to think.

Losing those Basilisks was a blow and it was scant consolation that there was no need for the listening post to be operational to coordinate both batteries if only one battery was left. His men were well trained, and this had been anticipated, so the other battery should be able to continue firing under their own control. Alexander did wish though that he had more information and especially about how many Space Marines had been involved in that thrust. Had all or most of those that had destroyed second company been involved or had some been deployed back to engaging third company to try to force the bridge?

"Sir," said a voice that Alexander realised with some surprise was an auspex rather than vox operator, "we are tracking something from the Litany of Fury."

Alexander gave the screen a glance and saw the trace extending down from orbit towards Victory Bay. "Tell the vehicles at the north end of the bridge to prepare to move out," he said, pointing to one vox-man, "and you," he continued, pointing at another, "get me the Admiral!"

-====xxxx====−

In orbit there was a muted and decorous chime. Feeling certain his superior had heard this in the quietness of the bridge but obliged to report it the Navy vox-chief took a breath. "My Lord Admiral," he said, "Governor Alexander is hailing us."

"Ignore it," the Admiral replied, to nobody's surprise.

A few moments passed and another chime broke the near-silence, no less muted and decorous but of a subtly different tone. Again feeling obliged to report it the vox-chief spoke. "My Lord Admiral," he said once more, "the Litany of Fury is hailing us."

"Ignore it," nodded the Admiral. He was very determined to remain neutral in this.

When the Litany of Fury had arrived that had been a surprise and a reminder, both of which had been unpleasant. A Battle Barge would need a Battleship or one of the more powerful classes of Battlecruiser to defeat and deploying such a vessel showed how serious the Blood Ravens were about this campaign. He'd tried to warn General Alexander but the ground-hugger had proved impervious to the hints about the implications of how much the Space Marines might be prepared to do and how much less it would be possible for the Imperial Navy to do if it came to Imperial fighting Imperial.

There had often been concern in the fleet about how the Space Marine Chapters skirted or passed the edge of what they were allowed. Their starships were meant to be restricted to those necessary to support their boarding and ground operations. But the line between defensive and offensive armament could be a fuzzy one. How much firepower and armour and how few Space Marines could an Assault Transport carry before it became more 'assault' than 'transport'? Or in the case of a Battle Barge should they be allowed a ship that heavily armed even if so many of its guns were designated as bombardment cannon? Especially since those still had the range and the ability to be used in ship-to-ship combat.

The Imperial Navy would fight if attacked or sufficiently provoked but for any advantage to come of this in the long dispute about the strength of Space Marine fleets the Blood Ravens would have to be the aggressors in space as well as on the ground. This would have to be clear cut so the deaths of replaceable crew and the destruction or damaging or irreplaceable and holy technology would not be wasted. Frankly though the Admiral would prefer it to not come down to that as even if they would gain an advantage in the argument he would far rather die, if die he must, fighting Xenos or Heretics.

-====xxxx====−

Thule was not pleased that the commander of the Litany of Fury was being ignored. If they could get some commitment from the Imperial Navy either way then they'd know how much the Battle Barge could assist or not assist. He was confident that General Alexander had concealed his positions well enough that even if the Litany of Fury took position above Victory Bay, and used her mighty engines to keep herself aloft despite that requiring her to orbit lower and slower than gravity demanded, most would not be visible to her lenses and auspices. And making sure of this was not worth enough to risk the Litany of Fury having to smash the Navy vessels into scrap.

This latest assault had cost them some battle brothers. Space Marines were hard to kill but the Guardsmen had managed this in a few cases, had disabled others, and some of those still on their feet, and able to continue the advance, were walking wounded. They'd been fortunate to avoid losing anyone to heavy bolter hits but enough fragmentation warheads would find the softer joints on their armour and even if those did not penetrate to injure the battle brother within they could jam up or damage those joints. A few slight squeals as they moved on betrayed those small pieces of metal being forced out or armour joints not moving as smoothly.

Approaching the northern shore two heavy weapon teams with heavy bolters were brave, or foolish enough, to reveal themselves by opening fire. Even with the rate at which those weapons fired they were unable to send many rounds off at the Blood Ravens though before the gunners fell. To see the Space Marines they had needed to expose themselves slightly and that was enough for the Space Marine Scout Snipers. There was what sounded like a single crack as the two supersonic rounds and their sonic booms passed over the Space Marines, the snipers taking advantage that they, on the island, had that line of sight over their battle brothers, in the water, to the Guardsmen, on the opposite bank.

The two gunners fell back, decapitated by the impacts that had torn their heads and helmets apart, and the heavy bolters swung. Despite the shock of their friends' demise and the knowledge that it would be exposing themselves to the same fate it would only have taken a moment for the loaders, who had been keeping the ammunition belts from twisting, to seize the firing grips and bring the heavy bolters back on target to reopen fire. That moment was something they'd not get though as Tactical Marines rushed forward and grenade explosions erupted within the gun pits.

A few bolter shots rang out as these Blood Ravens followed up their grenades and finished off any surviving Guardsmen. Thule noted this but his attention was more on what he could see ahead. There was a raised walled platform and jutting up from it against the sky were the barrels of the five remaining Basilisks. That position looked like one the Guardsmen would be able to defend well so Thule triggered his vox and ordered a slight adjustment.

-====xxxx====−

"Liberators!" Alexander's voice crackled in the commbead, "The enemy has made it to the northern shore! Redeploy to drive them back."

"Yes sir," the commander of third company replied from his position at the north end of the bridge before shifting to the local net. "Sentinels, move to scout. Leman Russ, support them. Hellhound, hold position and cover the bridge."

As the acknowledgements came back to him from those vehicles the commander looked down the bridge. The flames from the Hellhound would scorch the road surface but better that than holes being punched in it by Lascannon or blasted from it by high-explosive shells. Keeping the Hellhound here also meant it was not in amongst ruins from which it could be outflanked so the enemy could shoot at its more vulnerable fuel tanks. Though with the sort of missiles Space Marines could carry that last might not matter as even with how thick the front armour on a Hellhound was they might just shoot through it rather than needing to outflank.

-====xxxx====−

A slight but rising whistling began to tint the air as the Guardsmen continued to fire down at the Blood Ravens and take full advantage of their position. The height of the platform gave them a firing angle that made what cover the Space Marines could find less effective and while the walls around the platform edges lasted they were providing some protection against the return fire. That the walls were being chipped away by the sheer volume of bolter fire and having holes smashed in them by missiles, and that the Space Marines barely needed cover against lasgun fire thanks to their ceramite armour, was a little disheartening but the Guardsmen were pleased they were at least only slowly losing.

"Keep at it men," a Sergeant said encouragingly, "we're holding them here, so the Basilisks can keep firing and you heard Governor Alexander. We're the anvil and a hammer will be on its way once our forces redeploy."

"Yes, sarge," replied one Guardsman, triggering another lasgun shot and giving a quick thin smile of satisfaction as he saw this knock another chunk off a battered looking Space Marine's pauldron. Of course that was less satisfying than if the enemy was a normal and unarmoured human as that would have blown his arm off. He frowned slightly. "But what's that noise?"

"Noise?" the Sergeant repeated, looking around and then glancing up. "Emperor on Earth, you men there… scatter!"

With reactions honed by the combat they'd seen on Kronos, and on Lorn V before that, the Guardmen reacted. A trail of fire swelled in the sky as they moved and then the Blood Raven Drop Pod smashed into a Basilisk. The thick barrel of the Earthshaker cannon crumpled and twisted back to almost wrap around the Drop Pod with the impact and the sturdy Chimera chassis on which the Basilisk was based bent and the sides of the open back folded apart. There was a moment of quiet and then the sides of the Drop Pod exploded out and down and the Sergeant realised this was worse than he'd thought. At least there would have been some chance had it been a squad of Space Marines to down one or two with concentrated lasgun fire.

"I am come to destroy you," the Dreadnought declared, pushing itself free of the Drop Pod like a rather square and very deadly chick emerging from an egg.

The Dreadnought triggered the flamer on its left arm, 'only' incinerating one Guardsman but clearing itself a path as it stomped on its short legs down from the wrecked Basilisk and towards that vehicle's neighbour. Lasguns cracked but the impacts did not even scorch the Dreadnought's paint as it approached and reached out with its stubby right arm. Its claws closed around the barrel of the Earthshaker cannon and it rotated clockwise at its waist joint to rip this free before smashing it down like a club on some Guardsmen who were trying to get in close enough to it to stuff grenades in its joints.

Bone and body armour crunched and, seeing this and knowing he would soon be dead, the Sergeant felt a strange calm take him as he triggered his vox and made his report that the position was lost and why. Then he charged to take the tiny chance that he could inflict some damage and face the Emperor's Judgement with a clear heart that he had done his utmost. The Dreadnought shuffled around on its short legs to bring its lower body more in line with its rotated upper half. Then that upper half twisted some more and the Sergeant had a instant to realise he was looking straight down the barrel of its flamer before heat and pain took him.

-====xxxx====−

The Sentinels sped their bounding progress towards the position of the Basilisk battery. It was doubtful they could save any of the Guardsmen or, more importantly, any of the self-propelled guns but there was a chance they could shoot up at the Dreadnought while it was silhouetted against the sky on top of that platform rather than hidden against these ruins. Unfortunately in their haste to reach one foe before it could become hidden they failed to consider if that was the only threat.

There was a sound like an unsilenced engine revving up as explosions merged into those before and after them. Intermixed with this noise was a pinging of metal punching through metal and a Sentinel fell over with holes riddling one side of its body and more than a few exit holes on the other side where the shot had passed completely through. Muzzle smoke drifted from the Assault Cannon of the Hellfire Dreadnought as it began moving towards a new firing position. This cannon was intended more for use against infantry but with how thin a Sentinel's armour was, and how well protected some infantry were, it had sufficed.

Reacting to this the other Sentinel's pilot had steered his machine into a retreat, moving sideways and forcing the Hellfire Dreadnought to rotate at its waist to track it as it advanced. The Dreadnought that had been the Sentinels' target had finished smashing the Basilisks and had begun to clank down the ramp while the Assault Marines that had jumped up onto the platform finished any survivors. Things were looking poor for the surviving Sentinel but there was a sudden blur of something past it followed by the boom as the sound caught up with the supersonic projectile.

Although this shot glanced off the thick angled armour of the descending Dreadnought the force of the impact still partially spun it around and its right arm went limp. The Hellfire Dreadnought rotated away from tracking the Sentinel and flame rippled across one side of it as it launched missiles from several of its tubes towards where the shot had come from. These again were more for anti-infantry use but the Space Marine entombed within and controlling the Hellfire Dreadnought hoped the shrapnel might jam a track on the Leman Russ that had revealed itself. At the least the buffeting of the explosions and any debris they threw up might interfere with the aim of the next shot.

With the pressure taken off it the Sentinel swivelled. Seeing this the Dreadnought raked its left claw through the rubble at its feet and brought a piece of the Hellfire Dreadnought's Drop Pod up as an improvised shield. The Sentinel fired and this shield glowed a fine cherry red as the anti-armour Lascannon nearly burned through it, despite this being the heat shield from the bottom of the pod. Then another blur and boom and those already stressed heat tiles shattered under the impact of the battlecannon shot smashing through them. Fortunately for the Dreadnought this slowed the shot enough for it to do little further damage and even more fortunate the Devastator Marines had got into position.

Anti-armour missiles streaked in and spent themselves against the Leman Russ' glacis plate. With a crunch of gears and a lurch it shifted into reverse and began to back away, the heavy bolters in its sponsons firing but not the hull mounted one. Destroying that weapon was a mixed blessing as although it was useful the missile might have been more useful had it exploded against the glacis plate rather than clipping the heavy bolter barrel and detonating prematurely.

The Sentinel had switched targets and though it was still trying to retreat its pilot wanted to snap off a second shot first, and begrudged every second it took his Lascannon to recharge for that shot. Finally the indicator showed ready but he cursed as the Lascannon bolt just barely missed the Hellfire Dreadnought. With the weapons it mounted and their need for ammunition space and its intended role as fire-support it was a lot less heavily armoured than a normal Dreadnought and that could have hurt it a lot. It would be unwise though to linger and try again.

Then the ruins to one side of the retreating Sentinel almost exploded into rockcrete dust and fragments as a second Dreadnought smashed through them and swung its right claw-fist in an overarm arc into the side of the Imperial Guard walker. Thin armour crumpled in and around this fist as the Sentinel was smashed to the ground by the blow. Its long legs twitched as the machine died and before it could be seen if the pilot had survived where his vehicle had not the Dreadnought had rotated back to bring its left arm to point at the smashed cockpit body. Fire gushed from the underslung flamer and in through viewslits and breathing slits and where gaps had been opened between the fragile armour plates by them crumpling and tearing free of their rivets. The Sentinel and its overbold pilot began to burn.

-====xxxx====−

Taldeer paused in the shadow of some ruins. The flow of events around her showed that, as expected, her absence had been noted but she felt she had come far enough to afford the delay to don her witchbone. Mon'keigh were notoriously slow of foot as well as of mind so by the time they tracked and followed, if either was within their power, she should still have enough of a lead and if she was to fight then some armour between her and the foe would be welcome. Swiftly she dressed, only pausing to curse the Mon'Keigh and their destructiveness as she found the damage to her Ghosthelm and its straps meant it kept slipping.

Without that to mask her spirit she could not afford to use as much power lest she attract the attention of denizens of the Warp. This was a disadvantage but not an insurmountable one, she decided, as she fastened that helmet to her belt and resumed moving north stealthily. She needed to consider what course to take once she was free of this pitiful city and its infestation of warring primitives. Continuing north would be towards the Space Marines. This was a direction Taldeer would rather avoid as one of the last places she'd wish to approach would be one of their fortress monasteries.

There might be a certain elegance in going there for precisely that reason, that it would be somewhere she'd wish to avoid and so this would be unexpected, but Taldeer thought not. There would also be little point in trying to traverse the continent back to North Vandea. Without the gates to connect them to the Wraithship there was no escape there and, unlike heading north, trying rejoining the other Eldar fugitives was something they'd expect.

Perhaps the city and spaceport of Pavonis though? Even the Mon'keigh's supposed marvels of their 'Dark Age of Technology' were painfully pitiful and there was little the naive infants of the Tau could have done to improve this 'marvel' during their occupation of this planet. But the spaceport control system might serve to contact The Vision of Lililth and to be able to guide it to where it could aid her and the other Eldar to escape. It had worked to aid Alexander against the other primitives so it might work as well against Imperial 'technology' as it had with it.

Her mind dancing along visions of the future, both the immediate future of escape from the city and the more distant future of escape from the planet, Taldeer continued on. Her Eldar speed and grace made her fast and almost invisible but those visions blurred her awareness of her surroundings by a tiny degree. And that degree was just enough to let her fail to sense the small knot of programmed purpose that had followed her steps. The lack of emotions and single-minded focus gave little to sense and barely more even when this had faltered towards normal thoughts and feelings as the Vindicare Assassin saw her face.

-====xxxx====−

North of the bridge the Guardsmen heavy weapon teams were shifting position, with a lot of cursing as they tried to lift the weapons without stripping them down as far as was normal for moving them. These weighed enough normally but with tripods and gun-shields still attached and this weight being taken by only those that could get a grip rather than spread across the team they were having to use a lot of effort. Other Guardsmen also strained as they tried to carry more ammunition or power packs at once rather than making two or three trips or to carry sandbags that were already filled rather than empty ones to fill as the sandbag walls were rebuilt.

As pleased as the commander of third company was with the effort his men were putting in he was annoyed, though not surprised, by the loss of the Sentinels. He would have preferred them to scout and engage and retreat but they had accomplished the first two of those tasks so he knew what was plodding in this direction. And so knew that he had to shift those guns to cover that approach. In a way, and as unfortunate as discovering it had been for the Sentinels, it suited their weapons better to be facing Dreadnoughts and so he tried to draw some comfort from that.

-====xxxx====−

Thule nodded as his Scout Marines reported, even though this report was over a vox channel and those battle brothers could not see the gesture. The Guardsmen ahead at the north end of the bridge that separated them from their other battle brothers had guns that were almost worthy of the term 'heavy weapons'. These Autocannon and Lascannon were less dangerous to his Space Marines as they were slower firing than Heavy Bolters but they did have enough punch to damage the Dreadnoughts, if only just barely in the case of the Autocannon.

They had only just been blessed with this extra firepower and already one had been damaged and the Hellfire Dreadnought been fortunate to avoid the Sentinel's Lascannon. It would be an insult to the honoured fallen within their sarcophagi to take too much care with their deployment as that would be denying their right to face their foes and crush them in battle. But Thule did not wish to be denied their presence in the later and likely more difficult engagements as they approached General Alexander's central headquarters.

"We are approaching the bridge from the south," a voice sounded in Thule's ear.

Thule paused a moment until he recognised the voice and the vox channel it had come in on and then, with a very slight shift in his lips that could be interpreted as some sort of smile, he began giving orders.

-====xxxx====−

The Baneblade commander was getting frustrated. The smoke was blocking their eyesight and visual-range auspex and it was warm enough to be interfering with the thermal-range as well and make it far harder to tell what was a Space Marine and what was a fire or the glowing remains of one. Bolter rounds had continued to ping off their armour like hail on a metal roof and that would have been an annoying enough sound even without the extra annoyance of those preventing them getting outside to assess and try to fix the damage to the track. Or if not fix it at least clear it enough that they could grind metal to move a short distance to a better position where they could do more good and have more support.

Suddenly the Baneblade rocked and a pair of almost white hot spots appeared on the wall of the crew compartment. One crewman scrambled back away from those, reacting far too late, and nearly tripped into another. Ignoring them as they disentangled themselves the Commander tapped the Gunner. "Traverse and Fire!" he ordered.

As the main turret turned the Commander cursed silently. Those were Lascannon hits and since it appeared a dual mount and had almost penetrated their armour, despite its thickness and that the smoke around them would have absorbed some of the energy, he thought he knew what they were facing now. The crew compartment was already quite warm but it was edging towards being hot as the metal radiated the heat and the environmental systems struggled to dump that heat into the outside air. With a boom, and a clang from the ejected shell casing, the main cannon fired but the Commander doubted it would have hit anything.

The Baneblade rocked again and this seemed to have been a single glancing hit along the right flank from the long streak of red hot metal that appeared. The heavy bolter gunner on that side screamed as his weapon's ammunition cooked off and he was hit by fragments despite those shells being in a protective case. That sponson was disabled but the Lascannon turret above it was still operational and that returned fire. Again the Commander doubted that would have struck anything and their armour was weakening and the crew compartment now edging towards being uncomfortably hot.

−====xxxx====−

The Predator tanks continued to move and trigger Lascannon bolts towards their target. Back in the days of glory when he still walked amongst men the Emperor had given his Space Marines the finest technology and training and they continued to have the advantage millennia later. Even a Baneblade would not withstand their weapons and the accuracy with which they could aim them for long. Though these Blood Ravens were not blind to the fact that this was much simpler thanks to their target being stationary and them only having to allow for their own movement while aiming for a known position.

To the east of the Baneblade's slow death the Blood Raven Whirlwinds took position and the box-launchers mounted on top of them swivelled and elevated. Rockets arced up and began raining down on the Imperial Guard defences at the southern end of the bridge. Their lack of overhead cover forced the heavy bolter teams to retreat and the rocket impacts and shrapnel and pressure from the airbursts began detonating some of the mines. Behind this barrage the Space Marines advanced. It had been known back even to the mists of ancient Terra that if you did not take casualties from your own barrage you were not following it closely enough. This however did not apply as much to Space Marines as they could be almost within the sort of barrage that would kill most of their foes and their armour would shrug it off.

Taking advantage of the lack of heavy bolter fire from the heavy weapon teams and that there was no risk of further Basilisk fire the Devastator Marines moved closer together and took careful aim for concentrated missile fire. Almost simultaneously most of the turrets at the southern end of the bridge exploded and the Blood Ravens continued their advance as their Whirlwinds shifted aim to the northern end.

-====xxxx====−

The third company commander cursed as his men in the open were cut down by the rain of steel. It was supposed to be the Imperial Guard who shattered the enemy's sky rather than this being done to them. The losses reported at the southern end of the bridge were heavy and now they were forcing his men here at the northern end out of position as well. Some of the heavy weapon teams were trying to burrow under their sandbags but more were retreating into the Infantry Commands and leaving their heavy weapons.

They would still be able to fight, there were lasguns on racks and bolters and plasma guns on swivel-mounts they would be able to shoot out the firing slits, and this was better than had they remained outside and died. But they would not be able to fight as well as if they'd been able to remain outside without dying. If these were not Space Marines, however misguided, they were facing the Commander would have some hope they'd make a mistake in their timing, cease their barrage too soon, and give his men time to get back to their Autocannon and Lascannon. It seemed unlikely the Blood Ravens would make such an error though.

"Hellhound," the Commander ordered, "move onto the bridge."

As that flamethrower tank's commander acknowledged the order and his vehicle clanked into motion the Commander was pleased to see the Leman Russ reversing into position to bolster the defences against the thrust from the west. With that, the turrets, and whatever heavy weapon teams could dash back into position they would bleed these Blood Ravens, even if the lack of artillery and air support meant defeat was so much more certain.

-====xxxx====−

Flames started to flicker around the Baneblade and as its hatches opened orange light reflected from them, showing that there were fires inside as well. Its crew began to bail out and stagger away, fighting for breath and weakened by the heat inside their tank, and Sergeant Avitus sneered. He watched their pitiful efforts to flee and let them get too far from their tank to be able to use it as cover and then hefted his heavy bolter. These Guardsmen were unarmed, aside from a sidearm at the Baneblade commander's waist, and there were wounded Blood Ravens who would be able to watch them as prisoners since their wounds prevented them from advancing with their battle brothers. But knowing he did not have to spill this blood made it all the sweeter to spill it.

"If you can't stand the heat," Avitus called, triggering his heavy bolter with what passed for a smile for him, "then get out of the tank!"

The stream of heavy calibre explosive shells played across the Baneblade crew, blowing them apart as they attempted to stay together to support each other and keep each other on their feet and moving. As little use as it would have done them they did not even have the meagre protection of the body armour their Infantry cousins wore to diminish the effects of this assault. While Avitus savoured the sight of arms and legs and torsos being reduced to fine red mist the Predator crews kept their minds on the general situation. Behind them, as they began moving towards the bridge, there was a crump of detonating ammunition. One Lascannon turret on the Baneblade popped off and the flames and smoke from it increased vastly.

-====xxxx====−

"Sir, we've lost the disabled Baneblade and third company are under heavy attack at both ends of the bridge," Alexander's aide reported.

"Understood," nodded Alexander.

He did not trust his expression and he needed to look at these displays anyway so he turned from his aide towards the tactical hologram. Inside Alexander cursed the Imperial Navy for not having destroyed that armoured column or intercepted those Drop Pods. He'd even have been willing to settle for them not engaging those directly. A few landslides triggered by orbital bombardment or their bombers would have forced the Blood Raven armour onto a longer route and it would not have taken much interference to send the Drop Pods off course and Dreadnoughts were not known for being fleet of foot.

Forcing those thoughts down Alexander looked at rather than simply in the direction of the display. To his further annoyance this was of little more use than his cursing of the Imperial Navy as the hologram told him nothing he had not already suspected or known. The Blood Ravens would defeat third company if they were not reinforced but there was nothing Alexander could send to reinforce them. Those forces he could trust were needed where they were to protect vital routes or structures and those he could not trust could, by definition, not be trusted to advance.

"Get me Commissar Gebbet," Alexander snapped, his professional tone slipping slightly, as he turned away from the displays. He knew the answer he would get but he felt he should still ask and make sure.

-====xxxx====−

As the barrage shifted north a few brave Guardsmen made a dash towards where they had left their heavy bolters, and an even smaller number of those Guardsmen managed to make it. The survivors checked over their weapons for any shrapnel stuck where it could jam them and as much as they cursed the weight of these when carrying them they were grateful they were built so solidly that it would take a direct hit to even topple them off their tripods. Heavy Bolter and lasgun fire began to spit at the advancing Space Marines to join that coming from the firing slits and heavy bolter turret of the fortified Listening Post.

With a grumble of engines the three Chimeras that had been blocking the entrance to the bridge line-abreast moved forward and apart to take positions next to the shattered turrets. Their own turrets whined and brought their multilasers to bear. These were not much heavier than the lasguns or hellguns that Imperial Guard infantry carried but they were far faster firing and could maintain that rate without overheating or running out of power. The Devastator Space Marines were running a little short of missiles and the near constant stream of red laser bolts from the Chimeras made it even harder to get within flamer or grenade range to deal with the gunpits or the listening post. Although the bolter and plasma gun fire was slowly chipping away at the rockcrete of the latter and more swiftly destroying the sandbags of the former this was close to stalemate.

Then it suddenly shifted as the reason the Devastator Marines had not used some of their depleted stock of missiles arrived. A three sided box of light appeared in afterimages in the air as four Lascannon cored almost all the way through a single unfortunate Chimera. The other two began to reverse but the second Predator fired and also used both sponson mounts and the twin-mount in its turret to draw a similar box of light and have the same devastating effect. As the Space Marines charged the first Predator fired again. This time it only used its turret Lascannon to destroy the third and final Chimera while its sponson mounts fired out to either side to eradicate a pair of gunpits as the sand in their sandbags exploded into something hotter than if it had just been spewed from a volcano.

The Space Marine's charged and this advance masked the Predator's fire, but the shock of the sudden eradication of their APCs and the loss of their multilasers seemed to have been enough to throw the Imperial Guard defenders off balance for that vital moment. Flamers belched into gunpits and turned Guardmen into living torches, unless they were fortunate enough to breath in at the 'wrong' moment and scorch their lungs for a more instant death. Fragmentation grenades designed to be effective even against Orks who regarded the loss of a limb as a reason to fight rather than a reason to die turned other gunpits into holes filled with minced flesh.

Taking advantage of the gap the Predator had opened in the centre by 'sniping' the two gunpits with its Lascannon a squad of Blood Ravens charged up the centre behind a cone of fire from their flamers. This seemed to confuse the cogitator controlling the listening post's heavy bolter turret as it failed to target them and then, as they got close enough the flames reached the building, the fire from the Guardsmen within also faltered. More grenades were primed and sent in through the firing slits while a quick hop and slap attached a melta bomb to the turret.

With a bright flash the melta bomb detonated and melted through the armour to destroy the mechanisms within while a more muted flash and crump heralded the inside of the listening post being decorated with the blood and bone of the Guardsmen inside. The Predators began to advance while the Blood Ravens moved about snapping off single shots from their bolters or drawing combat knives to administer the Emperor's Mercy to any wounded that were lingering on their way to death.

-====xxxx====−

The Battlecannon of the Leman Russ spoke with a boom and a pile of rubble and a stub of standing wall scattered across a far wider area and provided less cover for the advancing Space Marines. As the tank moved the sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters flapped left and right like the fins on the side of a fish, releasing short bursts of fire along paths the Blood Ravens might be advancing by. The tank commander felt rather uneasy as around his vehicle missiles from the Whirlwinds and a few from the Hellfire Dreadnought continued to blanket the area.

Fragmentation warheads were no great threat to the armour of his tank but there was a chance a track could be jammed by one of those fragments and the constant explosions were denying him both infantry support and the ability to stick his head out the top hatch. The Guardsmen's lasguns might be of limited use against these Space Marines but no tanker with any sense wanted to be in an urban environment without being surrounded by extra pairs of eyes. Especially since the same power armour that made small arms so ineffective also allowed the Blood Ravens to carry such heavy missiles.

His tank rocked on its suspension as another salvo of missiles landed around and on top of it. The Leman Russ Commander let out a reflexive breath of relief as the tracks kept turning rather than grinding to a halt. A slight twitch from the main turret to adjust traverse and elevation and the Battlecannon spoke again. There was a brief glimpse of red through the hole this shot smashed in a wall before the Hellfire Dreadnought shifted position and the unsupported section of wall above the hole collapsed down into it, this and the dust of the collapse blocking the view.

A Lascannon bolt streaked past one end of that section of wall as a Heavy Weapon team tried to anticipate the Hellfire Dreadnought's movements. This proved misjudged as the Space Marine walker did not emerge into that line of fire and this shot drew the attention of a Blood Raven sniper. The gunner flew backwards from the impact of the heavy calibre round and then a moment later so did the 'loader' whose job it was to monitor and change the power packs. Taking a guess from the direction the Guardsmen were being propelled the Leman Russ commander snapped orders down into the bowels of his tank.

The port sponson heavy bolter traversed and elevated slightly and sent a stream of self-propelled shells towards where the commander had thought the sniper was shooting from. More fragments of wall scattered under the impacts and explosions but wall seemed to be all they had hit. The commander cursed as he saw the heavy weapons team was unavenged and returned to staring at his scopes and hoping to not see a missile team or a Space Marine with a melta bomb only when it was already too late.

-====xxxx====−

With a scraping of metal the Predator nosed forward and pushed the hulk of a Chimera aside. The Space Marine tank continued forward with, unlike the Leman Russ, plenty of infantry in support. This seemed almost unnecessary as there was little prospect of being outflanked while crossing a bridge but extra eyes were even more useful when they were enhanced by their own modifications and by the helmet systems. Keeping a careful watch for any planted explosives or signs the bridge had been rigged to collapse the Blood Ravens advanced and as they did a whine began to rise above the general murmur of battle.

They had enough time to recognise this whine as being the shriek of a vastly over revved engine before the Hellhound charged down the bridge to meet them. Whether the driver was doing it deliberately or simply could not keep control with how violently he was trying to accelerate it was unclear but as it charged it slewed from side to side. Sparks and debris flew as the Hellhound bounced off the sides of the bridge in an almost unpredictable manner. Even Space Marine experience and training and the superior targeting systems they used could not completely compensate for this motion and the linked Lascannon in the Predator's turret almost missed.

A long channel was gouged along one flank of the Hellhound as armour-plate was vaporised by the glancing blow. The Imperial Guard vehicle began leaving a trail of flame behind it as fuel leaked from a ruptured tank and ignited on the red-hot metal, but did not slow as somehow the tracks on that side escaped damage. That was only a short respite however as the sponson-mounted Lascannon of the Predator discharged and their slightly converging beams burned into either side of the Hellhound. It slewed as the tracks on the previously undamaged side shattered. Whatever sparks were created by the dragging of the ruined wheels and the underbelly of the vehicle against the road were lost in the flames as both fuel-tanks gushed promethium and this ignited.

With the speed it had been going it took long enough for the Hellhound to slide sideways to a halt for the turret on top of it to traverse and point down the bridge. More flame spewed from the heavy-flamer towards the Blood Ravens for a few brief seconds and widened the area that was on fire before the Hellhound exploded and released all its Promethium to flood burning across the width of the bridge and drip down into the river below. A thick pall of smoke blocked the view as the tars in the road surface also began to burn under this encouragement.

-====xxxx====−

Commissar Gebbet glowered about him as he replied to the voice in his comm-bead. "Had to deal with a faintheart," he reported to General Alexander, "though he provided a fine example when the Bonehead hit him."

"Third company are under heavy attack…" Alexander began.

"Yes," interrupted Gebbet, taking advantage of being almost the only person on the planet who could do that, "I can see the smoke." He glanced at some of the attitudes on display by the Guardsmen. "And so can Fifth Company, so might need another example soon."

"Can you do more than make them hold position?" Alexander asked, certain of the answer.

"I doubt it," admitted Gebbet. "Ogryn and Commissars instil fear in the men but Space Marines have a certain reputation. Especially when they have already advanced this far."

"Good fortune to you then," Alexander said, adding after a moment. "Go in His Light."

"The Emperor protects," responded Gebbet before cutting the vox channel. After a pause his eye fixed on one Guardsman in particular. "You there!" he snapped. "Why are you not at your duties?"

"I was just…" the Guardsman began to explain.

That explanation was cut short as Gebbet sent a shot from his laspistol neatly between the Guardsman's eyes, careful to aim low enough to not damage the front of the helmet as that might yet serve the Imperium protecting a more worthy head. Commissar laspistols had a distinctive sound to ensure the lessons they dispensed did not go unnoticed and to Gebbet's satisfaction this field-execution had drawn attention.

"Mark this well, men," Gebbet proclaimed, looking around and meeting the eyes of several Guardsmen in turn, "if you are not doing your duty you are no aid. And if you are no aid you are a liability to be removed."

-====xxxx====−

Looking towards where his men had immolated themselves the commander of third company was not pleased. Hellhound crews were often pyromaniacs and eager to use their vehicles' weapon but he would have preferred this Hellhound in particular to stay back in cover and in position to flame the Space Marines as they advanced. At least their death had blocked the bridge for however long the flames would last and that smoke looked too thick for lascannon to fire through. On the other hand although it would block or scatter coherent light it would pose far less barrier to shot and shell.

With a nod to himself the commander ordered the Leman Russ to move to begin firing down the length of the bridge. It was unlikely this was going to be a prolonged engagement so that tank crew might as well fire a few rounds blind as have those rounds still unfired in their racks. The bridge was wide but not so wide there was not a good chance they'd even hit something. And even firing blind they had a far better chance against a Predator's front armour than the few heavy weapon teams who had managed to remain outside and survive. It made sense therefore to leave them waiting to deal with the Dreadnoughts they might be able to damage.

Trackmetal clanked on pavement as the Leman Russ carefully reversed into position. The driver was being cautious to not reverse over any of the dug in heavy weapon teams and to not expose his vehicle's vulnerable rear armour and engine too badly. Watching this progress the commander suddenly realised that was not the only clanking of tracks on paving. He turned just in time to see the Predator charge out of the flames, the smoke swirling into a contrail behind it, and looking blackened enough to almost appear to be from a different Chapter. A few splashes behind it showed its sudden movement across the scorched section of bridge had caused some rockcrete to crack away and fall.

The cogitators controlling the fixed turrets were immune to surprise and long bursts of heavy bolter fire began glancing off or exploding against the Predator's armour. This did little more than cause a display of ineffectiveness and the Blood Ravens seemed to ignore the light and sound of the impacts as their tank's turret made a slight adjustment and its twin lascannon discharged. Although not as weak as its rear armour the flank armour of the Leman Russ was unable to withstand this strike. The sponson on that side seemed to have taken the brunt though and by being more thoroughly destroyed had reduced how far the damage had pierced into the main compartment of the Imperial Guard tank.

Atop the damaged tank its turret began to traverse away from covering against the Dreadnoughts and towards the Predator to return fire. It was unfortunate that the tank commander, like the company commander, had assumed the bridge was blocked. He'd left his battlecannon pointed towards what seemed the greater threat and before the turret got more than a third of the way around the sponson-mounted lascannon on the Predator added their wounds to those his vehicle had already suffered. The bolts sliced deep through the already damaged armour and the Leman Russ exploded as its ammunition went up.

"Re-target the turrets to cover the bridge," the company commander ordered into his vox before raising his voice. "With me!" he shouted, charging and hoping enough of his men would follow.

The situation was bad but as effective as that Blood Raven tank had been against theirs that was at the cost of it being more vulnerable to infantry. It had no Space Marines around it to protect it and the four lascannon that had dispatched the Leman Russ were not as fast firing as the heavy bolters that might have been mounted in the sponsons and could not fire flechette or shrapnel rounds like the cannon that might have been in the turret. So without the danger of the turrets' ricocheting heavy bolter shells there was a chance they might survive to reach it and then face the separate problem of whether they could actually kill a tank crew made up of Space Marines.

-====xxxx====−

"Brave," Thule muttered as he saw this attack displayed on the dataslate's screen. Activating his vox he gave the appropriate orders.

-====xxxx====−

To one side of the cleared space, not far off where the Leman Russ' battlecannon had been pointing, a ruined building sprayed outwards into debris and dust as the Hellfire Dreadnought ploughed through its comparatively fragile wall. Seeing this the Guardsmen began to falter in their charge and some of them wish they'd not done as good a job of clearing the space of cover that enemies might use. The Hellfire Dreadnought's chunky upper body swivelled to its left and slightly back before twisting towards its right as it activated its missile launcher.

None of the missiles were launched with great speed as the range was so close, but some barely moved as fast as a normal human could throw a grenade while others were nearly as swift as if that grenade had been thrown by a Space Marine or a Grenade Launcher. Explosions rippled down the line of fire as the slower missiles landed and exploded sooner and closer and that line of fire swept across an arc with the Hellfire Dreadnoughts turn. The Guardsmen scattered under this attack. Some tried to retreat out of range or stay ahead of the line of fire. Others dove to the pavement to try to keep below the shrapnel hissing through the air and hoped a missile wouldn't land on or too close to them. And a few kept charging with their commander and trusted in luck and the Emperor's blessings to preserve them.

Glancing around the commander tried to ignore the blood tricking down into his boot where trousers and the flesh beneath had been cut by hot metal. He was glad that wound did not seem serious and that the pain in his upper chest was from his body armour being driven back into him with bruising force rather than another shard of metal having embedded itself in him rather than it. Blood and gratitude were both distractions though and he focussed on how the momentum and the numbers of the charge had been stolen by the Hellfire Dreadnought's attack.

The heavy weapon teams were responding though and an autocannon sent a slug to carom skywards off the sloped armour of the Blood Raven walker. That seemed to draw the attention of the Space Marine implanted within it and the Hellfire Dreadnought twitched back. With a whine and clatter the barrels of its assault cannon spun up to speed and stubbly legs pounded the pavement as it begun to advance with a roar of shots blending into each other to beat a path ahead of itself with bursts of shot and shell.

As if seeing the sandbags and heavy weapon team shredded by this was not demoralising enough a whistling whine started to build. An instant later as the Guardsmen began to recognise this noise the barrage from the Whirlwinds arrived to demonstrate what it had been. Far larger explosions than the Hellfire Dreadnought had created blanketed the area in one coordinated salvo. Glancing around again the commander was surprised to still be alive and unsurprised to see his charge had been broken.

"Retreat!" the commander ordered, matching his own actions to his orders. He cursed as he jog-trotted back towards the buildings and saw the Hellfire Dreadnought turn and bring its assault cannon to bear. With another roar it tore one flank of his group apart, the heavy slugs and shells reducing men to scattered fragments, their blood driven from them by the impacts to blend together in a fine mist in the air.

Taking advantage of this costly distraction a Lascannon team managed to line up a shot. The bolt of coherent light stabbed out into the Hellfire Dreadnought to cause it to stagger as this pierced the comparatively thin armour and its missile launcher exploded. Unfortunately for the Imperial Guard that this did look so spectacular and the missile launcher was so completely destroyed was because those that created and built the Hellfire Dreadnought had not been particularly stupid. Far better for the launcher to shatter along deliberately weak joints and channel the explosion of the warheads and fuel outwards than this be contained and perhaps endanger the Space Marine within the main body.

Even more unfortunate for that Lascannon team personally though were the streams of bolter and heavy bolter shells that streaked in from the edges of the cleared area at them. Their sandbags could have taken a few hits but this far overwhelmed them. The only reason the few sandbags that remained intact did not topple in to bury the mangled corpses the team had been reduced to was that the Lascannon power packs exploded and drove them outwards instead. There was no time for the commander to mourn their loss though as the clanking doubled with the arrival of a normal Dreadnought advancing while the Hellfire Dreadnought began to retreat.

Then the second Dreadnought arrived and the commander hissed in exasperation as he saw autocannon slugs begin to spark off its armour as well as from that of the first. And that there were too few of these and no lascannon bolts. "Heavy weapon teams, concentrate fire on the first Dreadnought," he ordered.

The autocannon teams that were already firing swivelled their weapons on their tripods and although the other heavy weapon teams were understandably reluctant to draw any attention to themselves, after seeing the fate of those that had fired, at least some of them dredged up some courage. The Dreadnought almost staggered back as the pinging of autocannon slugs against it increased and a couple of lascannon hits sublimated glowing craters out of its armour. Unfortunately for the heavy weapon teams their reluctance proved very justified. More bolter and heavy bolter fire swamped each team in turn, aided by the assault cannon of the Hellfire Dreadnought as it regained the cover at the edge of the cleared area and began moving from firing position to position between quick bursts.

Meanwhile the Predator was not remaining idle. One Imperial Guard turret had already been destroyed and now it turned its attentions to another. Rockcrete tended to not melt or burn but the skill of the tank crew was more than sufficient, especially at this range, to strike the metal of the actual turret rather than the base. Lascannon far more powerful than anything the unenhanced muscles of an Imperial Guard 'heavy' weapons team could carry blazed, the four gaping channels they carved through the turret almost leaving more holes than metal. An underwhelming explosion heralded the cooking off of the few heavy bolter shells close enough to be overheated without being vaporised before they could explode.

As the Predator pivoted on its tracks to allow its sponson mounts to bear on its next target the lead Dreadnought reached the infantry command. The trail of blood and flame it had left behind showed it had taken a slightly meandering path to allow it to either walk on the Guardsmen or kill them with fist or fire if they tried to scatter and avoid this. It rested its right hand-claw on top of building and the rockcrete crunched under this as desperate lasgun fire from inside the building flashed harmlessly against it. With its right hand-claw braced for balance the Dreadnought bent and crouched a little to bring its left arm down and into line. Or rather to bring the flamer slung under that arm into line. Fire gouted from that nozzle into the firing slit and some leaked out of the others as the Dreadnought triggered a long stream to turn the inside of the Infantry Command into an inferno.

The other Dreadnought clanked off to one side to more awkwardly do the same to another building. Its right arm was still limp as the damage was too great for its self-repair systems and there were no Techmarines or servitors close enough, even if they could afford the risk of removing the armour to gain access for repairs. The Predator meanwhile finished off the turrets and the lasgun fire from within the buildings began to slacken as the Guardsmen saw the fate of others and the more craven, or sensible, tried to find a safer place than near the firing slits. With all the heavy weapon teams killed by bolter and heavy bolter and assault cannon fire and all the turrets destroyed by the Predator it did not take long for the Dreadnoughts to methodically clank around, ignoring the remaining lasgun fire, to flame each building in turn and collapse them with punches to their roofs and walls.

-====xxxx====−

The Guardsman knew he was dying and that this was slow and painful. He had been "lucky" enough to have only been barely touched by the edge of the flamer cone and be badly burnt rather than more instantly killed. Things were becoming dark and cold but through that haze he could see the Space Marines moving around and that some were in the white armour of Apocatharies. He wanted to avenge the death of his friends, and those in the company he'd not particularly liked, but if it was one of those that approached then he'd accept medical treatment, even if that treatment was simply the Emperor's Blessing to end his suffering.

But if it was a 'normal' Space Marine… one of those whose business was only killing rather than also working to heal… then that would be another matter. Pain streaked through the Guardsman as he shifted position a little. Even where it was not pressing into burns directly or that pressure pulling cloth or straps tighter across his wounded flesh the edges of what he was lying on were not comfortable. He concentrated on his breathing and keeping unconsciousness at bay until he knew how would be the best way to die. But hoped this knowledge would come soon.

-====xxxx====−

Thule looked around at the scattered corpses and pieces of same. One reasonably whole Guardsman had his officer's insignia intact and Thule felt a slight pang that they'd not been able to take this company commander alive. He was confident the Dreadnoughts' flamers would have swept all life from the rooms behind the firing slits before they collapsed the buildings. There were perhaps survivors buried in the tunnels the Imperial Guard habitually constructed to link their structures but their fate was of no concern. If they were trapped then being entombed was a suitable fate for their cowardice in retreating down there rather than travelling through the tunnels to where they could continue to fight, and if they could free themselves then they had shown they were craven enough they would continue to flee.

As he moved to join the Scout Marine Thule glanced at the hulking form of a Dreadnought and wondered if he was being unfair. There was a chance that some had intended to reposition rather than retreat but the tunnels had become too crowded, or there had been too much hindrance by cowards, for them to reach another building before that was also destroyed. It seemed unlikely the remnants of this company would be any threat even if they made the attempt, but Thule had not survived centuries of battle by taking needless risks. He'd not survived it by timidity either as there were risks worth taking but this was not one of them.

"Plant some sensors on the debris," Thule ordered, "if any Guardsmen dig themselves out then I want to know."

"As you command," the Scout Marine replied, nodding to his subordinate who nodded back and, accompanied by a servo skull, moved to begin that task.

"That is an impressive trench," Thule commented, looking up and down it and at the depth and width of it, "it is on the scale of some of the immense primitive earthworks I have seen images of."

"And there is an additional problem," said the Scout Marine, kneeling and picking something up.

Thule held out his hand and looked at what had been dropped into it. "These pebbles seem to have been fused together," he frowned, "melted into a single mass by some great heat…"

With that Thule's voice trailed off and he looked over his shoulder at the Predator looming there with its four powerful Lascannon. Or perhaps not so powerful by comparison, Thule thought, as he tossed the pebble-mass away and pulled out his dataslate. He had a strong suspicion about what might be at one end of this trench and be responsible for it but, just as they had the time to plant sensors, they also had the time for him to check the map and confirm this.

-====xxxx====−

His usual sneer firmly in place Avitus advanced along the bridge. There were still some small fires but nothing worthy to bar the passage of one of the Emperor's Angels of Death. It was only a shame that those fires had taken so long to die down and had denied him the chance to introduce these Guardsmen to the firepower of his Heavy Bolter. Avitus' sneer shifted slightly into as close to a smile as it could come as he looked with satisfaction at the result of his battle brothers' deeds. Such was the fate of those that opposed them whether they were heretic, xenos, or presumed to think they knew better then the Blood Ravens what the Emperor willed.

One battle brother, almost a friend after decades of fighting alongside each other, was approaching a Guardsman who was still twitching a little. This was a disappointment and Avitus resolved to speak to that younger Space Marine and remind him that mercy was unworthy of them. Killing the Guardsman would be to grant him a swifter death than the traitor deserved. Though at least it appeared this death would be delivered by fist or boot or blade rather than wasting a bolter round on the task. Any other explanation for why the other Blood Raven was getting so close to the Guardsman, such as wanting to see how bad his wounds were or to at least say something before killing him, was anathema to Avitus and had no place in his thoughts.

The wounded Guardsman suddenly lurched up to appear to be conducting an indecent act as his arms wrapped around the Space Marine's thighs and his face almost went into the Blood Raven's crotch. This appearance was only brief though as an instant later an explosion shredded the Guardsman and, despite his power armour, most of the lower half of the Space Marine. Rage burned through Avitus to throb in the veins at his temples as he saw this. He knew the powerpacks of their pitiful lasguns could be used as makeshift explosives but, judging from the explosion, that was either several or more likely, considering the wrecked weapon nearby, a Lascannon powerpack. With a roar Avitus swung his heavy bolter into firing position and began squeezing single shots off into every Guardsman who looked relatively intact.

-====xxxx====−

Thule had whirled at the explosion but he could see the Apocathary was already moving to recover the fallen battle-brother's geneseed so there were no orders to be given there. He could also see the Guardsmen exploding as high calibre explosive rounds blew them apart. There would be no dissuading Avitus from his messy self-appointed task so trying to speak to him would be almost as useless as wasting the time to watch him go about this. Thule turned away and back to his dataslate and the Scout Marine. They'd confirmed the trench had been burned through the ground rather than dug and also confirmed what had done this.

"Without a great diversion there is no way around this," Thule commented, zooming the scale of the map out considerably and still not bringing the far end of the trench onto the screen. "So we shall have to use caution."

As he began giving orders and preparing his men for the advance Thule absently noted that the single fire heavy bolter shots had dwindled and then stopped. With most Blood Ravens a small part of his mind would have wondered if this was due to a lack of targets or because their battle-lust had been sated. As it was Avitus the question did not arise though as Thule knew it could only be a lack of targets. It could not even be a lack of ammunition as that would merely have replaced the noise of a heavy bolter with that of power armoured fists and feet crushing flesh.

-====xxxx====−

Commissar Gebbet looked at the Guardsmen of the Fifth Company and then at his Ogryn as they also looked at those Guardsmen. Had he been a vain man he might have drawn some satisfaction from the reactions of the Guardsmen and how relieved they seemed to 'only' be under the gaze of huge, tusked, and heavy muscled Abhumans. But that they were as intimidated by him as by the Ogryn was something he took as a matter of course and that this scum did need to be so greatly intimidated was an annoyance.

Movement on the far side of the trench showed the Blood Ravens were preparing to approach. This was also apparent to the Fifth Company and their nervousness and their looking between the foe and those forcing them to face that foe became more frequent and even less well hidden. Gebbet toyed with whether to shoot one or two of them but decided they were too close to contact with the Space Marines for that to be wise.

"On my order open fire," Gebbet snapped, "and try to co-ordinate it. Remember, we have defeated members of the accursed Traitor Legions and these misguided Space Marines are no better armoured. You will fight to the last and you will not shame Governor Alexander."

"Hrm," an Ogryn nodded to himself before peering from beneath his heavy brow at the nearest Guardsmen. "You not fail boss, or you get hit, then hat-boss shoot what left after that."

Despite their fear of Gebbet and the Ogryn the Guardsmen could not stop themselves from glancing to each other. These Space Marines might be no better armoured but, even if Gebbet didn't care, the men of Fifth Company were well aware of their lack of the heavy weapons that had been useful on the Deimos Peninsular. Very well aware of the losses that were taken there despite those heavy weapons and having Chimeras and Leman Russes in support. And aware also of how many of the dead had survived Deimos but had been judged to have been corrupted and been executed by Gebbet and his ilk.

Gebbet watched as more Space Marines became visible and also the waddling form of a Dreadnought. He bestowed a look of disdain in that walker's direction as although Sentinels might have the armour of ration tins they did at least have a bit more of a spring to their step. Trusting the Ogryn to keep the Guardsmen from panicking and pre-empting the order Gebbet waited to judge the moment when it appeared the Blood Ravens had advanced far enough.

"Fire!" Gebbet ordered, startling some of the tenser and more cowardly Guardsmen, "Keep them back! Keep them pinned!" Lasgun fire began to crackle out in a distressingly uncoordinated and poorly aimed manner and Gebbet noted faces and names for later discipline as he opened a vox channel. "General Alexander," he muttered, "we have sufficient." Closing that vox channel he raised his voice again. "Now men, witness the power the Emperor has granted us!"

-====xxxx====−

"On my command, fire the Titan cannon!" Alexander ordered.

The Techpriests began pressing their buttons and reciting their litanies of activation, the latter being accompanied by a rumbling and a whine of rising power audible within Alexander's command post despite the distance and soundproofing. Someone foolish enough to be standing in the trench would have been closer to deafened by this and seen a slight glow building deep within the massive barrels, and someone not quite as foolish standing at a greater distance would have seen the eyes of the skull on the top of the great gun begin to glow brighter.

"Fire!" Alexander said, trusting his ears that the rumbling and whining had reached their maximum and also trusting the power display he'd insisted on being given.

Five brilliant yellow beams, each of them as wide as a tank, scoured down the trench. Groundwater that had gathered in the bottom of this turned to incredibly superheated steam and rock and dirt burnt and vaporised. Once the area immediately in front of the muzzles had been dug away the trench had grown outwards with each test firing and now it extended yet further as the Hellstorm cannon unleashed its full fury. The combined effect of this and the earlier weaker blasts was enough that the trench was beginning to measurably become shallower as the planet curved down away from the straight line of the beams.

"Begin recharge! I want that gun firing again," Alexander demanded, making the Techpriests wonder what the General thought it was they were already doing.

-====xxxx====−

Thule had felt the rumbling through his boot soles as well as in the air and he had warned his men of the need for instant retreat if thus ordered. Even knowing the reason for this it had still gone against the grain for Space Marines but they had obeyed and the blessings of their enhanced physiology and of their armour had let them move back up the side of the trench as easily as if it had been level ground. The Dreadnought they had needed to bring to ensure the attack looked genuine had more trouble with this however. The edge of one vast yellow beam had barely grazed it but it had still vanished like a holopic as its substance sublimated away almost instantly to leave only a memory.

Subduing his pang of grief for the loss of the honoured fallen within that holy machine, and the unworthy thought that it would have been better to have lost the already wounded machine, Thule shouted and waved his chainsword. "Charge!"

-====xxxx====−

Some Guardsmen were peering into the steam and smoke but others had their hands cupped over their eyes and were making noises of pain. The light of the tiny fraction of the beams' power that had been absorbed and re-radiated had been brilliant and worse still had been the cloud of vaporised water and rock. Even those Guardsmen who'd had the sense to shield and close their eyes had suffered painful scalding across their exposed flesh. Their comrades though had been dazzled by the light and then, before they could recover their wits, had the damage to their sight compounded as their eyeballs were dried out and scorched by the heat. A few were even worse off as they had inhaled at the wrong moment and were coughing through burnt throats, fighting for air as their injured airways swelled.

"Stop your complaining and take up your weapons again!" Gebbet snapped, gesturing with his laspistol. "You do not need your eyes to pull a trigger! Let your faith guide you… or if your faith is insufficient then switch to full-auto."

There was a ripple of movement as Guardsman who had dropped their lasguns in their pain picked them up again or had them handed to them by their friends who could still see. Gebbet frowned at the slow progress of this and at the sight of a corpsman trotting forward to coddle some of them with medical treatment. It was doubtful any of them would survive this but it was annoying that by placing himself in greater danger and lessening his chances that man was also proving himself, marginally, more worthy of living.

"Hurry!" demanded Gebbet. "Most of you will find your sight will return, and if it does not then you will receive augmentic eyes if you serve the Emperor well."

A few Guardsmen were still being pointed in the right direction and the corpsman had just clapped an inhaler mask over another patient's nose and mouth when forms began to appear through the haze. The inhaler was not very sanitary after having just been used on a few of his comrades but the Guardsman's coughing eased as the pain and swelling was reduced. With a nod of thanks the Guardsman feebly pushed the inhaler away and turned to blindly point his lasgun, a comrade reaching out one hand and adjusting the aim slightly.

Rather than retreat the corpsman started moving towards another patient as Gebbet judged the moment again. "Fire!"

-====xxxx====−

Alexander wished the Emperor in his aspect as the Omnissiah had blessed the Space Marine armour a little less. They could ignore the residual heat in the trench and in the mist in the air and could almost ignore the lasgun fire rather than having to advance more slowly from cover to cover. So they could get back into the trench sooner and advance, or retreat from it, much faster. He didn't know how many they had lost to the firing of the great gun but even if, as seemed unlikely, the Blood Ravens had been unaware of the danger before they had seen it now and be more ready to react.

At least their vehicles could not simply cross the trench if they were to advance on the main base. The ruins to the west of where Alexander stood staring at his tactical map were strong enough and closely packed enough to block anything larger than infantry. They would have to travel along the trench to go around those ruins and that would give an opportunity to strip the Blood Raven infantry of their even more heavily armoured support. Of course that opportunity could only be taken if the Hellstorm Cannon was ready to fire at the right time. Alexander looked across at the Techpriests where they were still performing their rituals to allow another blast to be unleashed.

"Can we fire just one barrel?" Alexander asked, making a litany falter at the interruption. "Fire them in sequence more often?" he continued, ignoring that the Techpriests seemed to be trying to ignore him. "Or not fire them at full power, and so allow a shorter recharge time?"

The highest ranking Techpriest turned and what remained of the flesh of his face to form an expression showed his opinion of those suggestions. It was not the concern of those outside the Adeptus Mechanicus to consider how the blessings of the Omnissiah should be used. To think he had the insight to even offer suggestions was offensive arrogance on General Alexander's part. And to suggest altering how a Hellstorm Cannon fired, changing the cannon's most holy sequence, would have been blasphemy even coming from a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus with all the knowledge and insight that senior Techpriest would possess.

"The recharging proceeds," reported the Techpriest, his voice even flatter than could be accounted for by it coming from a vocoder rather than vocal cords.

-====xxxx====−

"Typical Guardsmen," sneered Avitus as he saw how wild and inaccurate the lasgun fire coming down into the trench at them was.

"Their comrades were more accurate," Tarkus calmly pointed out.

"Pah!" Avitus scoffed, his contempt armour against any contradiction to it.

Thule had heard the exchange between those two veteran Sergeants and thought Tarkus had the better point. The vox chatter they'd intercepted had suggested these were not reliable troops but this was a very noticeable difference. There was a whistle and the ridge ahead of them erupted as the Whirlwinds dropped a close barrage along it. For a moment even Space Marine eyes could not see through the dust and debris this threw up into the air but as this settled they could see that some of the Guardsmen had broken and were stumbling away.

"Hah," scoffed Avitus, "their fear is so great it robs them even of the ability to run away."

"Or perhaps it is that they have no blessings of the Emperor on their eyes," Tarkus said more calmly, "not helmet filters over them, and so had already been blinded or nearly so."

"That is no excuse," sneered Avitus.

Again Thule felt it was likely Tarkus was right. This would explain the inaccurate fire and although a Space Marine would pass that test it would be a test of his courage to be surrounded by explosions and screams while unable to see. They would soon find out though. "Up the slope, brothers," Thule ordered, "take full advantage."

-====xxxx====−

"You! Will! Hold!" Gebbet snarled, spacing each word for emphasis as his laspistol cracked and its bolt burnt through the neck of a Guardsman, entering and leaving just above his body armour.

Alongside Gebbet a little way back from the lip of the slope, behind the few sandbags Fifth Company had managed to fill and stack, most of his Ogryn were forming a wall of flesh. The butt of one of their Ripper guns came down and crushed the helmet and skull of a Guardsman as he came within that abhuman's long reach. Seeing this Gebbet frowned. Some of the Guardsmen had received gentler treatment as the Ogryn were being nicer to those they thought could not see rather than striking them all with the same force. Niceness was not a trait of the Commissariat though and, if they survived, Gebbet was well able to remember faces and make his own judgement whether the blinded were worthy of being spared rather than executed.

"Form ranks," ordered Gebbet, emphasising the order with a sweep of his chainsword, "here, now!"

The Ogryn added their own emphasis by contributing with helpful shoves, again being gentler with those who couldn't see as well, though even a gentle shove from them was quite a shove. A ragged firing line comprising of some of those who had retreated and of some of the troops Gebbet had held back was still forming up as suddenly frag grenades shredded most of those Guardsmen who had remained in position and firing. It was unlikely the lasguns of those either spared for now or executed around him would have made any difference to that defence but Gebbet felt a twinge of anger.

Too often it was the good soldiers who kept to their duty that were slain while the cowards fled fast enough to escape. Which was one reason he was proud to be a Commissar and to have the duty to correct this injustice. To ensure they died as those they had abandoned had died and to use the death of the cowards to encourage the others. One Ogryn had found himself on the front line and, unlike the cowards, had been unwilling to retreat. Now he lunged and for a moment his great muscles pitted themselves against power armour and the enhanced physique within as he wrestled a Space Marine. The exertion forced small trickles of blood from him through the many cuts the frag grenades had inflicted but then these trickles vanished into the greater gore as a bolter round exploded within his huge ribcage.

This was almost as unwelcome to Gebbet as to the dead and dying Guardsmen, and the Space Marine, who were splashed with viscera though not as unwelcome as it was to the Ogryn whose guts those were. No reminder had been necessary of the power of Space Marine weapons, the accuracy with which they could use them, or the practice and experience that let two work together to give the angle for the one not wrestling the Ogryn to take the shot. But that the Ogryn's demise had provided that reminder and further damaged what little will to fight Gebbet and the other Ogryn had managed to instil in the Fifth Company cowards was an annoyance. Gebbet knew the main surge was about to come and there was no time for any more field executions, and they'd not be as dramatic as an exploding Ogryn anyway. He glowered towards the edge of the ramp and drew a deep breath.

"On my command," Gebbet growled, "wait… wait…" He saw movement. "Fire!"

-====xxxx====−

The better coordinated nature of the lasgun barrage that met them as they came into sight was an unpleasant surprise to some of the Blood Ravens, especially those who staggered as luck or skill made their armour take more hits. Some unlucky Guardsmen who had recovered enough wits after the grenades to begin to retreat did more than stagger as their far weaker armour was pierced by the fire from their comrades, only some of who had the excuse of still not being able to see well. Other Guardsmen in Gebbet's firing line were simply too scared of him and of the Blood Ravens to have the ability to aim past those who had held their ground to the last.

Bolter rounds streaked back at the line of Guardsmen, the report of those weapons mingled with the crunching of fists and boots and bolter butts against any of the survivors near the lip who were showing signs of life. The lasgun fire became less uniform as Guardsmen died or froze in shock to cease firing or fearfully switched to full auto in the vain hope that would shield them. Then things became even worse as the Devastator Marines with heavy bolters reached the lip of the slope, braced themselves, and opened fire. Against this target they lived up to their name.

Single shots or short bursts from normal Bolters had produced fearful enough results but the long streams of even heavier calibre rounds were truly devastating as they slammed into the centre of the firing line and through the weak sandbag wall and Gebbet and the Ogryn. As the Space Marines pivoted to shift their aim and the cone of fire widened Guardsman began throwing themselves to the pavement, carefully placing their lasguns at arm's length, and then putting their hands on the back of their helmets as they lay on their faces.

"Leave the cowards," Thule ordered, adding a moment later, "for now."

Some Guardsmen within an Infantry Command were still firing with unabated enthusiasm, given a sense of safety by the walls around them and the Plasma Gun that was mounted within their bunker. This proved a false sense though as missiles from the launcher armed Devastator Marines smashed into the rockcrete and levelled it. Seeing this took even more heart from those Guardsmen still trying to fight and as more of them died or followed the example of their squadmates in lying flat on the ground the balance of firepower shifted even more overwhelmingly in the Blood Ravens' favour. Soon the only members of Fifth Company that were alive were those that had surrendered with greater or lesser speed.

Thule gave one group of prostate Guardsmen a glower that was nearly a quarter as disdainful as the expression that habitually adorned Avitus' face. He'd noticed Guardsmen glancing down as if being spoken to or falling as if verbal persuasion had failed and someone had pulled their legs out from under them. They deserved some credit for needing to be persuaded or felled, though that was lessened by them being persuaded or not getting back up. But that group of Guardsmen had deviated from the general cowardice in the opposite direction.

Their squadmate who had been continuing to fight, and therefore drawing return fire in their direction, had been ignoring their words and too far away to grab. He now lay dead and that his corpse was relatively intact showed it had not been hit by a bolter shell and allowed the lasgun wounds to be seen. So this group of Guardsmen had therefore volunteered, Thule decided, to be the first of these cowards he would use once he found a purpose low enough to honour them with.

-====xxxx====−

The Guardsman tried to concentrate on the rockcrete paving, to distract himself counting the grains in it rather than listen to or be tempted to look at what was happening. He knew it was childish to feel as if not being able to see them would make them less able to see him but if there was any chance that watching might make them notice him then he did not want to take it. Through his fear he heard heavy footsteps approach and pause and then felt a far less than gentle tapping on his helmet. He raised his head a little to see a huge red toecap and his gaze followed that boot up to the heavy bolter muzzle that had tapped him. For a long moment all he could focus on was looking down that muzzle it and on the smell of propellants and explosives lingering around it, but his eyes shifted to the even more frightening face of the helmetless Space Marine as the pitiless looking giant spoke.

"Tell me why I should not turn you into a smear for your cowardice," Avitus almost purred, coming close to happiness at the sight of a Guardsman grovelling at his feet. "Why I should not be considering if you are more worth a round from my heavy bolter or the pitiful effort it would require to crush you under my boot."

"In…I…" the Guardsman started before coughing to clear some of the fear clogging his throat and trying again. "Information! And…"

"If you attempt to tell me that you are not a coward," Avitus interrupted, "that you simply did not wish to fight other soldiers of the Imperium, then I shall put an end to you and find someone who would not waste my time. Now speak!"

-====xxxx====−

Thule looked down at the corpses in the centre of the firing line. Although he had seen far worse from Orks or Chaos, where the dismembering and intermingling of the bodies would have been deliberate and decorative, this scene was still rather messy. Thule nodded very slightly to himself as he saw the sash tied around the waist of one human, rather than Ogryn, sized corpse. The hat had come off that man's head when most of his upper chest was blown apart and he fell and, with the damage from the bolter round, there was not much left of his uniform, but there was enough.

As he watched his men moving to gather and keep watch on the unwanted prisoners Thule opened a general broadcast channel. "Commissar Gebbet has fallen, General," Thule said simply, "and your soldiers are in open revolt. Surely you can see the end is at hand."

There were long moments of nothing but static in reply before Alexander spoke. "The blood of the Emperor's servants is on your hands, Space Marine!"

This response was no surprise to Thule as, unlike the defenders here, General Alexander and most of his men were not craven. But even if he could not have expected Alexander to offer to negotiate there was a slight chance that making the broadcast might affect his Guardsmen's morale and plant the idea of revolt in their minds. Thule doubted it would make any difference but there was enough truth in Alexander's accusation for it to be uncomfortable and if he could avoid killing Guardsmen who had fought long enough to prove their worth then Thule would prefer to not have that blood on his hands as well.

Though, Thule mused, the same was not true of all his Space Marines. Alexander's reply had been unsurprising but what was a surprise was that Avitus was carrying a Guardsman across rather than having taken the chance to kill him. One power-armoured hand was clamped on the back of the Guardsman's neck to propel and support him as Avitus moved, the Guardsman's feet only just doing more than scrape the ground and his face going a little purple. Avitus released his grip and the Guardsman dropped down onto his knees almost at Thule's feet and remained there a moment gasping for breath.

"Tell the Captain what you told me," Avitus demanded impatiently, interrupting this recovery and adding, "scum."

The Guardsman looked up, his face fading from the purple caused by the pressure on his neck and back towards the paleness of fear, and started to speak. Thule nodded to the information and asked questions and began giving orders to exploit this new intelligence. It was possible this Guardsman was mistaken or had been deceived but far less possible that he was lying with Avitus looming over him. And almost impossible that Avitus' random choice, as he confirmed it was, from among these cowards would have fallen on one with the wit and the bravery to attempt a deception.

-====xxxx====−

The Leman Russ commander looked to the east where the sound of fighting had died down and then glanced north past the fortified listening post at the second of the two tanks under his command. He would have preferred to deploy further forward, close enough to the ramp down into the trench that there would have been a chance to put a shot into the belly of an enemy Predator as it came up over the edge or, though the battlecannon were not designed as mortars, try to drop explosive shells down into the trench. Even if both those ideas failed six heavy bolters and explosive or flechette rounds from the two battlecannon would have been considerable firepower, even against Space Marines, when concentrated across the width of that ramp.

But there would have been a serious drawback to deploying there. It would have left his two Leman Russes surrounded by the frakwits-of-fifth rather than the more reliable troops that had been stationed here. His thoughts broke off as his reflexes sent him dropping down into his tank's turret and buttoning down the hatch even as his conscious mind realised he'd heard a whistling and what that was. The Leman Russ began shaking from the blasts as Whirlwind rockets exploded around it and sent pieces of their fragmentation warheads to ping off the tank's armour.

On a personal level the Leman Russ commander was glad those were not anti-armour rockets but as ineffective as those warheads were against his vehicle he knew they were far more effective against less well armoured or unarmoured targets such as the Guardsmen and what they were supposed to be guarding. He hoped that any Guardsmen in the open had managed to get to cover but pragmatically speaking his concern should be more for the other vulnerable targets. Suddenly the Leman Russ rocked severely and showed his concern had been borne out. That was the explosion of one of the Thermoplasma generators that fed the great gun.

Cursing he reached for the vox to open a channel to report this. Nine more explosions like that and Hellstorm cannon would have no power.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander's face tightened as he heard the report in his commbead. "Understood," he growled before turning his glare on the rest of the occupants of the headquarters. "The Titan cannon power grid is under attack. Redirect fire to protect it and initiate repairs."

The senior Techpriest was sure the Techpriest who had been granted the honour of remaining amongst those blessed generators, rather than having to be surrounded by the flesh of this headquarters, would already be attempting repairs. His life would be greatly endangered by this effort but what was one life compared with the honour of serving the machine god in such a way? Nonetheless he twittered in binary, the personal language of his order, over his inbuilt vox and received a twitter in return that confirmed the Techpriest was acting as befitted a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Meanwhile the command staff was wondering what fire they could redirect. They had been trying to organise an air strike despite the Space Marine jamming and the loss of the sensors and the command post that had been coordinating the information from those and the Valkyries in their attacks. So far they had had less luck with that then they'd had with backplotting the barrages to give the positions of the Whirlwinds. They knew where the rockets were coming from but there was no artillery in range for counter-battery fire and, without being able to coordinate the Valkyries, nothing else they could strike with.

"I will ease the machine's pain," the Techpriest near the generators reported, after another twitter of binary from the senior Techpriest told him to speak Gothic and use a channel that Alexander could hear.

"Just keep it online, Techpriest," Alexander replied, using a channel that all the troops deployed there could hear. "Protect those generators men."

-====xxxx====−

'Protect those generators…'

the Leman Russ commander thought rather for General Alexander to order than for it to be done. To engage and destroy the Whirlwinds would require his tanks to get through the rest of the Space Marines. Even if they didn't have the tanks of their own that would not have been very possible, and even less so with the fragmentation warheads raining down on them. Urban environments were death on armoured vehicles and if you couldn't stick your head out the turret hatch, or have infantry support, to look out for ambushes without you, or them, being shredded then "death on" was understating it.

"Alpha-Beta," the Leman Russ commander ordered, opening a vox channel to the other tank, imaginatively designated Beta to his tank's Alpha, and hoping that neither the Blood Ravens nor General Alexander were monitoring this local command channel. "Hold position."

"Beta-Alpha, acknowledged," the other tank commander replied, adding after a pause, "though the General…"

"Alpha-Beta, we can't protect them if we're destroyed," interrupted the Leman Russ commander. "Terrain."

"Beta-Alpha. Terrain, aye," agreed the other commander. "Holding position. Ready to engage."

Praising the Emperor for subordinates who were experienced and intelligent enough to see the obvious, or obedient enough to not argue, the Leman Russ commander tried to remind himself what else he had to praise the Emperor for. From their positions they had a reasonable line of sight and the three heavy bolters in each tank plus the twin-mount in the listening post should hamper even Space Marine missile teams. Though the listening post's heavy bolters didn't quite compensate for how much wider a front they had to cover than if they had been at the ramp.

Making matters worse was that missile teams were not the only, or even greater, threat. A reasonable line of sight could work both ways and here it would help the Space Marine Predators as well. From fragments of vox chatter it seemed those were lascannon heavy rather than having any heavy bolters so it would be even more crucial to try to get the first shot against them. Which meant 'shot' was what they needed to have loaded rather than the shell or flechette that would have been better against the Blood Raven infantry. Even if the Predators did nothing but be present they'd already hampered the defence against the rest of the Blood Raven forces.

Around him his tank rocked under a barrage and the Leman Russ commander realised the Space Marines must have spotters. Despite how concentrated this was it did little harm to the tanks themselves, other than further scratching away the remains of their paint, but inside them the crews were thrown around a little in their seats or staggered slightly where they stood. It took only moments after the rocking stopped for the Leman Russ commander to recover and look back through his scope but that was just in time to see a blaze of Lascannon fire slice into the other Leman Russ.

It looked as if both Predators had aimed for the same target and one or both had used their sponson as well as turret mounts. An explosion ripped through the other tank as ammunition and fuel ignited from direct hits or from the heat bleeding from the holes burned into the armour and what it had failed to protect. Some of this explosion spewed out through the holes that had triggered it but there was enough force contained inside the tank to pop its hatches open and launch a heavy bolter from one sponson to skid across the pavement as its mountings gave way.

The Leman Russ commander had not taken the few seconds to watch this though. Where the Lascannon bolts had ended in the death of the other tank and its crew was not as important, for now, as where they had come from. Motors whined as the turret basket traversed to settle the sights of the battlecannon on one of the Predators that had so devastatingly revealed itself. Having been given permission in advance the gunner triggered the shot and the Leman Russ bucked slightly as it sent this to slam into the front of the Space Marine tank. Its glacis plate visibly buckled and one of the Lascannon barrels projecting from its turret was smashed in two as the shot, or a fragment of it, glanced up and through it.

"Move!" the Leman Russ commander ordered "Reload!"

His crew responded and their tank lurched into motion, the driver rightly placing speed over smoothness. The gunner pulled open the breech of the battlecannon, letting the propellant casing fall to the floor of the Leman Russ with a clang as the loader pulled another shot from the ammunition rack. A single Lascannon bolt streaked in at them as the Predator began to reverse. There'd not been enough time for that weapon to recharge so this showed at least one sponson mount had not been used to kill the other Leman Russ. Even Space Marines were affected by having their tank hit so hard though and with their target now a moving one they only managed a grazing hit along one side. There was still an unhappy grinding noise however as metal heated and warped and something began catching on the tracks or wheels behind the red-hot streak that had appeared.

"She wants to turn," the driver reported as he tried to anticipate each catch and each jolt as the track on that side was slowed before pushing free again.

"Keep her steady," replied the Leman Russ commander.

"Trying," the driver muttered, a little impatiently.

"Loaded," said the loader.

The Leman Russ commander nodded. "Fire."

As their tank and the Predator moved the gunner had been keeping his sights on the Blood Raven vehicle, the turret basket rotating with him and the commander and the loader within it as the loader shoved the fresh round into the open breech and closed it. Their second shot followed the command to fire so closely the word and the boom of the battlecannon almost merged into one long sound. But this came just as the track hitched again and the Leman Russ slewed slightly anti-clockwise before the driver compensated with a muffled swear word.

This was enough to force a miss and the shot streaked past the damaged Predator harmlessly. The other Predator had managed to turn and compensate for the Leman Russ' motion. For an instant brilliant coherent light joined the two vehicles as the Space Marines fired all four lascannon into the side of the Imperial Guard tank. This was not as immediately fatal as the combined firepower of both Blood Raven tanks had been but the bolts still pierced the armour and passed through the sponson-gunner on that side and the loader. They exploded and the inside of the Leman Russ was filled with a fine red mist of steam that used to be their blood and fluids. Visible through that mist small flames began to appear as the heat that had bled from the hits ignited detritus and oil and lubricant.

With a grimace the Leman Russ commander wiped some of the red away from his face and spat to clear his mouth of more of the same. He knew seconds were vital but he couldn't stop himself from doing that before he could speak. "Out," he ordered, "now!"

Glad for the order and more than ready to obey it the surviving members of his crew moved. The commander dealt with the turret hatch for himself and the gunner while the other sponson-gunner popped the hatch on the undamaged side. Outside they paused a moment, reluctant to leave the cover of their tank even knowing it was also a target, and then began running. There was still a whistling in the air but it looked as if the Whirlwinds had shifted their targets towards the surviving generators and this, and the lack of heavy bolters on the Predators, made the run less suicidal. A Scout Marine sniper rifle cracked, the muzzle report echoing the sonic boom that followed the heavy calibre round as it killed the surviving sponson-gunner with near as much thoroughness as the lascannon had his crewmate.

To their right as they ran the damaged Predator turned now there was less risk of another hit on its glacis plate. Its Blood Raven crew could not be certain that all the Imperial Guard tankers had bailed out, that they had not left someone alive or 'only' dying rather than dead to fire one last shot, but they wished to finish this. The turn brought both sponson-mounted lascannons to bear and they fired, the surviving turret cannon remaining inert. The risk of taking another hit was acceptable as it was unlikely the Leman Russ was not empty, but the risk that lascannon had been damaged by the destruction of its neighbour was too high for it to be used until they could properly examine it. As the Leman Russ commander and what remained of his crew filed in through the armoured door into the listening post, and the heavy bolter turret mounted on it sent questing streams of shells to try to find the Space Marine snipers and spotters, behind them those lascannon hits, or the spreading flames, made their tank explode.

-====xxxx====−

With the ease of experience Thule suppressed a curse at the news of the damage to the Predator. Killing two enemy tanks for damage to one of your own was acceptable to some, but not to His Immortal Majesty's Space Marines and not when the hardest fighting was undoubtedly still ahead. It had been tempting to leave the job to the Whirlwinds, but if even one generator survived then they might still be able to fire the cannon and Thule had respect for the skill of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Even had they destroyed all ten it was by no means certain they'd be destroyed with enough thoroughness to prevent a Techpriest from rebuilding one or more with the debris from them and the others and the appropriate prayers to their 'Omnissiah '.

So they needed to eliminate all enemy forces near those generators and ensure all were destroyed and there was no attempt at repair. Thule opened a channel and ordered the damaged Predator to pull back. He was not sure that damaged front armour could even be trusted against heavy bolter fire, such as might strike it if that listening post switched targets. Thule continued giving orders and his Blood Ravens obeyed.

The undamaged Predator swivelled on its tracks, its turret counter-rotating to remain on target, and unleashed all four of its lascannon again. The two in its turret sliced through the heavy bolter turret to send it bouncing down the side of the listening post as its ammunition exploded and dislodged it from its, now, damaged mountings. Meanwhile the two sponson mounts had aimed lower and for the nearest firing slit. The lascannon bolts did not pass through it but the rockcrete of the 'frame' shattered as it superheated and expanded and as water trapped in tiny cracks in it burst into steam.

Against a Dreadnought lasgun fire was utterly ineffective and heavy bolter fire only barely so. It had been a tiny risk but it had also been a needless one so it was only now the defensive fire was silenced that this mighty machine began to clank forward. The edges of the firing slit had crumbled where the lascannon bolts had struck but as the Dreadnought got closer some lasgun fire began to play out at it as Guardsmen began to recover from the shock of the two strikes or were replaced by those who had been further from them. In response the Dreadnought's left arm came up and it triggered the underslung flamer as it continued to advance.

At that range most of the flame would not even reach the listening post, let alone go into the firing slit, but advancing behind a cone of flame did hamper the Guardsmen's aim. And like the flames of the Hellhound on the bridge as little barrier as it would pose to bullets and shot it did further weaken the lasgun fire. With one last belch of fire the Dreadnought spun at its waist with enough speed that its limply hanging right arm came up and the armoured forearm slammed into the side of the listening post. More rockcrete crumbled away as the Dreadnought turned back and bent and pushed one finger-claw into the firing slit, and then heaved up with its left arm as it straightened.

There was another crunch but the thick roof of the listening post proved stronger than what connected it to the walls. The Dreadnought lifted the roof as the damaged pillars gave way and the previously undamaged pillars cracked so it pivoted on them. With their fortification turned into a fairly low wall around them and a mass of rockcrete being held above them by the looming Blood Raven walker the Guardsmen began to scatter like bugs from under a rock. Some looked to be trying to escape, others to simply seek better cover to continue to fight, and the Dreadnought could do little about this as its flamer was on the arm holding up the roof. But while the Guardsmen had been preoccupied with the Dreadnought the Tactical Marines had advanced and bolter fire streaked out to shred the Guardsmen that had exposed themselves to this fire.

Then the Dreadnought dumped the roof back down with a billow of rockcrete dust. This landed somewhat askew as the pillars crumbled further and a muffled and truncated scream from inside the wrecked listening post revealed the slab had crushed at least one of those within. For a moment the Dreadnought considered and examined things with the centuries of experience of the Blood Raven within it until it saw a gap of sufficient size. Carefully, and with remarkable precision for such a clumsy looking machine, the Dreadnought aligned the nozzle of its flamer and then filled whatever remained of the room inside the listening post with fire.

"Predators," Thule ordered, pausing as he saw what he was hoping for, "finish off the remaining generators."

The tank commanders acknowledged and began firing at long range at the few that remained. Against any sort of serious armour their bolts would have been too attenuated at that distance. The unarmoured and stationary targets of the generators were easier to destroy however and exploded with sufficient force that keeping well away from them was wise. Thule did not watch this as he was busy with another task. The pause had been from seeing the fallen red-robed figure of the Techpriest. Some members of the Adeptus Mechanicus could be very hard to kill, their augmetics sufficient in quantity and quality that even a head shot might not prevent those from standing the body back up to carry out a pre-ordained task.

Fortunately Thule had plenty of spare clips for his bolt pistol so he did not have to restrict himself to a single shot. He walked rounds down from the head and along the Techpriest's spine, nearly blowing him in two, and then for good measure slashed away the mechadendrites and the Techpriest's arms and legs with his chainsword. If this Techpriest could get back up from that and begin repairing the generators then he deserved to.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander watched the last of the indicators go dark and opened a general channel. "The power grid is gone," he growled, "But, the Emperor is still with us. Give them hell, men!"

Dark feelings bubbled to the surface of his mind. By no stretch of the imagination could he have called Commissar Gebbet a friend, but he had been a trusted comrade and losing him weakened the Imperium. Alexander looked again at the disposition of his forces. The intent had been to bleed any invader with repeated engagements and artillery and air strikes. How much they were managing to bleed the Blood Ravens though was something he was unsure of. Were he to signal surrender and this to be accepted then that would save the lives of his remaining men, something that would not be true if the invaders had been Orks or Necron and something worse than death if they had been Chaos.

But that would mean the lives already spent had been wasted and would allow the Blood Ravens, with some justification, to say he had realised his mistake and submitted to their will. They could still win this and still fulfil their orders from Segmentum Command. Or at least force the Blood Ravens to see this through to the bloody end without anything to use to muddy the matter of their guilt.

-====xxxx====−

The Fifth Company Guardsmen had been chivvied to their feet, though their lasguns were still on the pavement where they'd placed them in surrender. Thule looked at them as they tried to glance around without meeting the eyes, or helmet lenses, of any of his Blood Ravens. If any amusement was to be found in this situation then perhaps it was in the extra care they took to not look at Avitus.

"Guardsmen," Thule started, "I am sure you surrendered because you felt General Alexander's actions were in error. That you felt the Emperor's Space Marines had the greater authority and claim to your obedience. That it was not to preserve your worthless lives that you flung yourself to the ground and grovelled." As Thule spoke the Guardsmen began to look even more nervous. "So now," Thule continued, "I call on you to obey our authority in persuading General Alexander of that error." Somehow the Guardsmen managed to look even more nervous. "Pick up your weapons," Thule concluded.

Most of the Guardsmen began moving towards where they had left their lasguns, but a few hesitated with indecision. Almost instantly Avitus swung the muzzle of his heavy bolter up to bear on them, his expression showing how much he would welcome the excuse to squeeze the trigger. Not being quite such a single-minded killing machine the Hellfire Dreadnought was a moment slower in its reactions but a little more dramatic as with a whine of the motor and a clicking of gears the barrels of its Assault Cannon spun up to speed.

This helped the lingering Guardsmen to start moving. They did not want to fight but as much as they had been scared of Commissar Gebbet and his Ogryn that paled compared with how much they feared the Space Marines and especially that psychotic bastard. If there was a chance in a thousand, or ten thousand, or more, that they could survive 'persuading General Alexander' that was more chance than it looked like he'd give them.

-====xxxx====−

Careful to not raise the camouflage net too high or move it too noticeably the Guardsman peered over his sandbags and through the ruins. A look of disdain came to his face as he saw Guardsmen with red cloth tied to their arms or helmets as makeshift ID moving towards the main base rather than the much larger power armoured forms he'd expected. He peered through his amplivisor and had much less of a surprise as he recognised some of the faces.

"Filth Company," the leader of the heavy weapon teams muttered, deliberately mispronouncing 'Fifth'.

"Open fire?" the heavy bolter gunner beside him asked, one hand reaching to cock the clumsy weapon.

His commander considered it for a moment and then shook his head and opened a vox channel. "All teams," he ordered, "fire on my mark only. Repeat, my mark."

"Why?" the heavy bolter gunner asked, in a reasonable tone. "If they're alive and moving that way then they're working with the Space Marines."

"Even if they are traitors I'd prefer to not kill them," replied the leader of the heavy weapon teams. "Especially since they'll not get far… and we can use them as bait."

With that he pointed towards where the first of the Blood Ravens were beginning to follow. The heavy bolter gunner got a predatory smile and drew back the slider of his weapon to ready it. Unlike his commander he'd have preferred to kill rather than to not kill the traitors, but he had much less objection if this was passing up the easy kills in order to get the better ones.

-====xxxx====−

Long experience made the Blood Ravens suspicious of how well this advance was going, then those suspicions were justified as heavy bolter fire streaked in from their northern flank. Some Space Marines fell as shells penetrated their armour and exploded within, though only a few as most of their battle-brothers 'fell' to near instantly seek cover rather than from being hit. Others did not fall at all and instead rose as the Assault Marines triggered their jetpacks to jump into the midst of the heavy bolter teams that had revealed themselves.

The Guardsmen died quickly as they tried to use their bayonets to fend off armoured giants armed with chainswords. They'd known as well as General Alexander had that being deployed here meant no line of retreat, but knew even better than him how much more effective firing across the line of advance in an enfilade would be. And knew that, without the support they lacked, revealing themselves by opening fire was suicidal. Their duty had been clear however so they fought with determination as every second meant more heavy bolter shells fired that might kill an enemy.

-====xxxx====−

The remnants of Fifth Company plunged forward as they heard the heavy bolter fire and the screaming of chainswords and Guardsmen behind them, They emerged from the ruins onto a broad flat area of pavement and their rush carried them on a short distance. A heavy bolter turret swivelled towards them but worse than that were the two Leman Russes ahead of them. Worst of all though was what those two tanks were flanking. They'd laughed at the drama of declaring 'eleven barrels of hell' and sneered that it was easy to be so overconfident when not having to face the foe with nothing but a lasgun and some body armour. But they were not laughing or sneering as they look down those eleven barrels and at the broad looming form of the waiting Baneblade.

Fourteen heavy bolters opened fire, the tanks disdaining to use their heavier weapons for now, and Fifth Company's ranks were further and messily depleted as they tried to scrabble for whatever cover there was or retreat back towards the edge of the ruins. Then their already dreadful day became even worse as with its distinctive whistling a Whirlwind barrage arrived. The tanks and turret shrugged these fragmentation warheads aside but the shrapnel sliced into Fifth Company whether they were standing or sprawling as the rockets rained down on them.

-====xxxx====−

Thule advanced through the ruins. He was not certain what it was he had ordered the Whirlwinds to fire at, but if Fifth Company were engaged then dropping rockets ahead of and on them would hit Alexander's loyal troops as well. Some of the treacherous Guardsmen came into sight falling back towards the ruins and as they saw the advancing Space Marines they looked unsure if it would be worse to continue to retreat or to return to the attack. Then a huge explosion smashed one of the sections of still standing wall.

A few more of Fifth Company fell as fragments of rockcrete struck them. The remains of the falling wall also buried one Blood Raven. His battle brothers shifted these remains aside, even their enhanced and power armour assisted muscles straining as they lifted one particularly large chunk, and the Space Marine emerged rather dusty and scraped but otherwise unharmed. He and those that had assisted him took cover, in part using the debris they'd just shifted, as heavy bolter fire streaked past them or blew smaller craters in what they were sheltering behind.

Thule continued to move forward and peered out from his own cover at what had produced that explosion and those heavy bolter shells. Despite how the sounds had overlapped he'd been certain he'd heard a muzzle report as well as the explosion, and so the latter had been the result of a cannon rather than a placed charge. Though he'd expected to see a nearby cannon of some sort it was still annoying to see a Baneblade with a Leman Russ either side of it. He had hoped the heavy bolters he'd heard respond to Fifth Company had been from heavy weapon teams, who the barrage would have affected, rather than those tanks and that turret, which it would not.

Even discounting the Hellhound skulking behind the other vehicles, to use its flamer it would have to come well within missile range, this still posed a considerable obstacle.

-====xxxx====−

The two Predators and the two Dreadnoughts advanced slowly along the trench. This was even slower than the walkers' lumbering pace would account for as they were having to move carefully so they could protect each other's damaged armour. One Predator was almost unscathed but the other had its damaged glacis plate, the Dreadnought its damaged shoulder armour, and the relatively weakly armoured Hellfire Dreadnought no longer had a missile launcher to absorb a hit to that side of it. Some mist still lingered in the trench from the firing of the Hellstorm cannon but this was nowhere near thick enough to obscure the shape of a heavy bolter turret at the top of a ramp to the south as it traversed and the barrels depressed.

Explosive shells from the turret began exploding against the undamaged Predator's glacis plate, but only briefly as the Predator's own turret swivelled and sent bolts from its twin Lascannon slicing through rather than merely against its target. The nearest of the Tactical Marines escorting it had taken cover behind the tank from the heavy bolter fire but they reacted just as fast to this ending as they had to it starting. Helmets shifted as they looked for any surge of Guardsmen to meet with their own bolters, but none appeared at the top of the ramp.

The remains of the turret that had been visible, and had opened fire, were on the far side of the ramp leading up to their right and south. There was likely on the near side as well, but the lines of sight and of fire were masked by the ridge along the edge of the trench. To see or destroy that they'd have to come more level with the ramp and to get to the ramp leading north, that their battle brothers could see from the ruins, would require them to go past this ramp. They were not sure what was lurking around that corner and, although they were Blood Ravens and confident of victory against whatever it was, they decided to halt long enough to report this.

-====xxxx====−

Missiles streaked in to destroy the heavy bolter turret that, unlike the tanks, had the misfortune to be within range of the ruins. The Baneblade and Leman Russes were still holding position further away and to get a good shot at them the missile launcher armed Devastator Marines would have to emerge from that cover. They would succeed but the corpses of Fifth Company showed how easy it was to sweep the pavement with heavy bolter fire so even Blood Ravens would take heavy losses in such an attack. Or acceptable losses if the Imperial Guard tanks were distracted by Predators attacking from the south.

Thule listened to the vox report and realised that ramp would lead up into the area north of the ford. Judging by how many Guardsmen would normally be deployed to support the turrets that had dissuaded him from that route and to guard the buildings his Scout Marines had reported this was a threat. Even if General Alexander had recalled most of those Guardsmen back to his main base there could easily still be enough there to hamper the armour group, and especially if they attacked them in the rear while forming their part of the pincer against the Baneblade and Leman Russes. And that was assuming there were only Guardsmen rather than anything heavier amongst those buildings.

One of the many advantages his Blood Ravens had though was their speed of response. An Imperial Guard Heavy Weapons team needed time to unbolt pieces of their weapon from each other and distribute those amongst themselves so they could carry it, and then more time to do the reverse and set their weapon up again once they had moved. Thule's Devastator Marines simply had to move and brace themselves and fire. Given even scant warning he was confident he could shift enough firepower from front to rear to deal with an impending attack.

Thule gave his orders. Most of the Blood Ravens began filtering back through the ruins to circle around to join the armour group. There would be a brief period of vulnerability while they were moving but once they'd regrouped those remaining in the ruins should be able to give enough warning if the Leman Russes or the Baneblade began moving towards the ramp. Then the reinforced armour group would just have to smash far enough into the buildings south of the trench and north of the river to give the same breathing space against an attack from that direction. Thule decided he would judge how much further than that minimum to go once he had seen what resistance they faced and what exactly the buildings in that area were.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander looked at the holomap and the red icon that had replaced the heavy bolter turret. He knew his forces near that were on alert but he did wish he could fire the Hellstorm Cannon and kill the Blood Ravens he knew must be in the trench. He looked closer as he estimated times and distances, and an idea began to form, but his thoughts were interrupted.

"The Mars Pattern Commands are in danger, General," complained the senior Techpriest, "both of them. You must preserve them."

"I know my duty, Techpriest," Alexander replied, not keeping his irritation at the demand out of his voice.

"We have granted you some of our greatest technologies in those," said the Techpriest, not satisfied with the reply, "and the Baneblades they can assemble…"

"And my men will die to protect those gifts of the Omnissiah," Alexander interrupted. "But if they are to die they also need to win or the Blood Ravens can walk over and past their corpses to do whatever they wish."

-====xxxx====−

Its turret already aimed towards the estimated position of the second heavy bolter turret the Predator jolted forward as fast as a tank could accelerate, which was fast enough the Space Marines had been wise to move to either side and avoid the dirt spraying back off its tracks. The heavy bolter turret had also been pre-aimed but its cogitator barely managed to open fire to pepper the Predator with, to it, harmless explosions before Lascannon burned through it. As the Imperial Guard structure exploded rockets from the Whirlwinds whistled in to plaster the area at the top of the ramp.

Blood Ravens surged forward past the Predator and up the ramp to use the rockcrete bases of the ruined turrets as cover. As they moved heavy bolter shells streaked past them from a heavily fortified listening post set further back and lasgun fire began to crackle from its firing slits. More lasgun fire joined this from a nearby Mechanised Command, but there were no heavy weapon teams visible and those weapons were very difficult for Guardsmen to use from within their structures. The Dreadnought stomped its way up the slope to take advantage of this lack of firepower that could affect it, the flamer slung under its working arm hissing in anticipation as the Hellfire Dreadnought followed and used its heavier armoured brother for cover.

The Dreadnought continued on towards the Mechanised Command to fill it with fire while the Hellfire Dreadnought hung back and, along with the Tactical Marines, engaged in suppressive fire against the firing slits of the listening post. The shells from their bolters and its assault cannon did not much more than chip the rockcrete but it was hard to aim with impacts and explosions in your face. Though it was perhaps too good a deterrent as an ill-judged desperate charge of Guardsmen would have been better targets for their weapons and worthy of the assault cannon being toggled up to maximum rate fire. Meanwhile the first Devastator Marines were joining their less heavily armed and less heavily encumbered battle brothers…

-====xxxx====−

Alexander listened to the reports, and the screams, coming across the vox channels into his commbead and tried to keep his anger from both his face and his thoughts. Another Mechanised Command had been lost, the fuel and ammunition stored in it not reacting well to the heat that had leaked past the armoured doors from the rooms the flamer had directly affected. And now another Listening Post had reported missile impacts in the brief moments before it went silent. He regretted their loss but there was a chance to avenge them in how much firepower had been directed their way.

That must be most of the remaining Space Marines and now he knew where they were he could kill them. One finger traced a path on the holomap and Alexander opened a channel to the forces stationed in the area between trench and river. "This is Alexander," he ordered, "begin falling back towards the east."

"But the Mars Pattern Command!" the senior Techpriest protested.

Alexander ignored this as he switched channels and continued giving orders to those and other forces. Hearing those and realising the shape of them the Techpriest protested further, but to as little avail as before.

-====xxxx====−

There was a rumble as the engines of the Imperial Guard armoured vehicles revved up. They had been barely ticking over as little more than that was needed to run the generators that fed their other systems but now they had been ordered to move. Shells from their previously unused Battlecannon exploded at the edge of the ruins as the Leman Russes advanced, heavy bolters continuing to fire. The Hellhound moved to take position between them and slightly behind so their heavier armour could take any missile strikes.

Meanwhile with an even deeper grumbling and clanking of tracks on pavement the Baneblade pivoted and began moving towards the ramp. The Space Marines had just enough time to see this before the Hellhound entered range of its flamer and laid a line of fire and smoke along the edge of the ruins. This blocked their sight though they could still easily hear the sound of engines and tracks over the continued barrage from the Leman Russes, and the screams from some of the few remaining members of Fifth Company as their lesser armour let them be wounded or die under this. Even the Blood Ravens were having to be careful despite how much closer an explosion, or the flames from the Hellhound, would have to be to harm them.

-====xxxx====−

The Predators moved up the ramp to the south and out of the trench. If it were the Leman Russes that were being sent against them then there would have been some advantage to holding position to fire at their weaker side armour as they came down into the trench. But the Baneblade was far broader and not much taller than the Leman Russ and thus had greater stability when firing to its side. And even if that commander had decided against using his main gun while going down a ramp he still had the co-axial cannon in its main turret and a Lascannon turret that could bear, and those could inflict severe damage if they targeted the Predator with the already damaged glacis plate.

Better it seemed to retreat a little and have the support of some missile launcher armed Devastator Marines as well as a chance at the Baneblade's belly armour as it came up from the trench again and over the lip of the ramp. Thule organised the rearguard for this as the rest of his Blood Ravens continued on with levelling these buildings and chasing the retreating Guardsmen.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander hoped the machine spirit of that auspex gained the reward it deserved as with its last fading effort it transmitted the images of the Predators' retreat. He had hoped for this and the Blood Raven's to remain confident in their ability to react to any threat. The senior Techpriest did not share Alexander's happiness as the holomap showed the destruction of a Mars Pattern Command. The destruction of such holy technology seemed utterly reprehensible to him as he lacked the Space Marines' practical turn of mind that felt it better destroyed than risk its doors opening to reveal a, at least, partially functional Baneblade that had been being assembled or undergoing maintenance within.

"Group 1, keep your engines and your weapons loud," Alexander commander, hoping the vox channels were secure. "Group 2, move fast."

-====xxxx====−

Although it was going steadily as flamers, either the Dreadnought's or those carried by some Tactical Marines, cleared each building Thule was not pleased with the speed of the advance. Had the missile launcher armed Devastator Marines or the Predators not been required as rearguard against the Baneblade then their firepower could have levelled some of those buildings and sped this. But Thule was not sure if they wanted to move faster as he was beginning to become suspicious of the Guardsmen's retreat. It seemed more and more that they might be pulling the Blood Ravens forward rather than the Blood Ravens pushing them back.

It would fit Imperial Guard tactical doctrine to draw an enemy into pursuit and onto the strong static defences they were so good at erecting. This would work better however against Orks with their eagerness to fight or Chaos with their even more mindless bloodlust. Against Space Marines with the wit to recognise the danger, and the good sense to feel you gained more honour by victory than by refusing to retreat and being defeated, this tactic was less effective. Thule decided they would halt their advance soon and then begin falling back. They'd already cut a deep enough swathe for the breathing and manoeuvring room they'd needed. If the Guardsmen pursued in an attempt to lure them into resuming their advance then all the better as the further the Guardsmen pursued the further they'd be from whatever surprise they had planned.

-====xxxx====−

The Leman Russ commander looked at the dataslate and the auspex readings displayed on it. The over confident bastards were still coming so it looked like, despite their much vaunted reputation, they hadn't realised there was another ramp up from the trench into this area. And despite how they had been blessed with enhanced hearing the gunfire and engine noise of the Hellhounds and the Leman Russes near the line of the ruins, and the rumbling of the Baneblade near the bottom of the other ramp, had blotted out the sound of his two tanks moving. They'd had to move quite fast to get down into the trench and up that second ramp in time to be in position, out of easy sight and with their engines only ticking over, before the Space Marines came within sight or earshot. But they'd managed.

A similar set of auspex readings were displayed on the dataslate belonging the commander of what Alexander had designated 'Group two'. He glanced to either side of him and gave a slight smile of satisfaction at the surprise they were about to spring and what the Blood Ravens now faced. "Now!" he ordered.

With suddenness that even caught Space Marines off-guard the detachment of Kasrkin popped out of hiding and unleashed their hellguns. These elite troops had earned the right to those more powerful and faster firing weapons and their experience told in how well coordinated and aimed this volley was. Blood Ravens fell, short lines of craters from three bolt bursts criss-crossing their power armour and where the ceramite was thinner or those lines met piercing it. Plasma fire also streaked in at the nearest Space Marines from Kasrkin who had been granted such weapons.

Meanwhile the more normal Guardsmen began to make their own contribution. There was not a vast amount of room to play with, and the buildings blocked some lines of fire, but they had been positioned to either flank to take advantage of the long range and low muzzle velocity their Grenade launchers possessed. They could not see the Blood Ravens but they knew roughly where to aim for and, although they more often fired on a flatter more direct trajectory, how to arc their grenades up over the buildings and cover that would block return fire. The effect of the frag grenades against power armour would be minimal but every scrap of damage and confusion was worth it.

The Group Two commander nodded as he saw the Space Marines taking cover, more against the hellgun and plasma gun fire than the grenades raining down on them, and gave his second commands. "Leman Russes, lasguns," he said across the vox, "advance."

Engines roared and rockcrete crunched as one tank driver misjudged the turn slightly and grazed the edge of what his vehicle had been hidden behind. As that driver was being suitably cursed at by his commander, and by the sponson gunner who had needed to quickly pivot his heavy bolter to prevent it being ripped away, the two turrets swivelled smoothly. The two battlecannon fired simultaneously enough their reports overlapped into a single echoing boom as one sounded the echo of the other. Shells streaked past or over the Kasrkin and two areas of cover were torn apart by high explosive.

As the Leman Russes advanced, sponson-mounted heavy bolters swivelling and questing to tear any missile armed Space Marine apart before they could fire, inside each vehicle the loaders worked to reload the battlecannon. Guardsmen began filtering forward through the buildings to either side, more than some of them regretting they were not armed with grenade launchers and not the ones holding position to continue the covering fire. Those weapons were heavier and grenades more of an awkward burden than lasguns and lasgun powerpacks. Compared with facing Space Marines though those seemed minor drawbacks.

-====xxxx====−

"Fall back men," Thule ordered, continuing to speak and give more detailed instructions.

From what cover they could find that the battlecannon of a Leman Russ would not too easily smash the heavy bolter armed Devastator Marines began a counterfire against the enemy infantry. This was not joined by assault cannon fire from the Hellfire Dreadnought as it, and the more standard Dreadnought, would be too vulnerable to battlecannon. Against infantry or light vehicles their assault cannon and flamer would be very effective but the only weapon they had that would affect a Leman Russ was if the Dreadnought punched it. And it only had one fist and against two tanks with clear lines of fire it would be shot apart before it could get that close.

A grenade volley smothered a Space Marine and the combined effect was enough to daze him. Staggering slightly he misjudged how good his cover was and hellgun fire from a group of Kasrkin slammed into him to stagger him further. Somehow he kept his feet but just before he reached cover a Kasrkin fired a plasma bolt that burned through his pauldron and nearly severed the Space Marine's arm. With his augmetics this was not as severe for him as it would have been for a lesser mortal and nowhere near as severe as what the return fire did to that Kasrkin. To take the shot he had needed to expose himself and a burst of heavy bolter fire messily blew him in half before he could retreat or fire a second.

Thule did not want to weaken the rearguard with a Baneblade threatening it, and he was sure as soon as he redeployed any forces that the super-heavy tank's hesitation would end, but he needed Predator Lascannon or Devastator Marine missiles to meet these Leman Russes. They needed to regroup and consolidate and shorten their reaction time to be able to concentrate firepower on each threat in turn.

-====xxxx====−

With a frown hidden beneath his helmet the Tactical Marine peered past the smoke and flames. He was right, there was a change in the noise of the engines. The three Imperial Guard vehicles were reversing away, though as they were reversing that meant their weapons were still pointed towards the ruins. The Tactical Marine ducked as he saw a heavy bolter twitch. A spray of heavy bolter shells streaked by over his head or exploded against the other side of the pile of debris that used to be a wall and was still solid enough to shelter him.

He might be well over two metres worth of crimson power armour but he could still keep his head down well enough to move a little to one side without being shot at again. From this fresh vantage point he continued to watch, and opened a vox channel to report, as the Hellhound continued to reverse and up the ramp towards the Imperial Guard's main base. Both Leman Russes though stopped and turned on their tracks to face south before moving forwards towards the ramp down into the trench the Baneblade had already passed down.

-====xxxx====−

Taking the chance of snipers the Baneblade commander had popped his turret hatch to stand with his upper body outside. He looked down at the Guardsmen who'd been sent to support him and, not for the first time, wondered at the attitude of the tankers who looked down on the infantry in more than this literal sense. As crunchy as they were more eyes to spot approaching threats and more guns to shoot foes with missile launchers and meltas and limpet mines were both things he favoured rather than held in contempt. He expected the Space Marines left in the ruins would have seen and reported the movement of the Leman Russes, and that those left at the top of the slope would be preparing for an assault.

He dropped back down through the hatch. "Fire the Demolisher Cannon, ahead now!"

With a noise more like a huge drum than the bark of higher velocity cannons the Demolisher Cannon lobbed its almost dustbin shaped charge the very short distance to explode just past the lip of the slope. Then the Baneblade accelerated forward while the first Leman Russ was still only at the top of the other slope. It would only have taken a minute or two or three for the smaller tanks to join it, but the Blood Ravens would have known that as well. If they'd expected to have that short extra time then going now would give the incredibly slender chance anyone ever had of catching Space Marines by surprise.

This risk of moving without the extra support paid off. As the Baneblade surged over the edge of the slope there was a Predator ahead of them, but it was reversing and its commander was looking to the rear… likely to give directions to his driver… rather than facing the slope where his weapons were still pointed. The Space Marine's head snapped around and the turret twitched under him as his gunner, sensibly not waiting to be told, adjusted their aim. Before those lascannon, or the ones in the sponson mounts, could fire the less powerful lascannon of the Baneblade's small secondary turrets sent bolts to melt into the Predator's glacis plate.

Although these were well aimed, striking close to each other, they were not enough to do more than weaken that armour and by the time they recharged the Blood Raven tank would have fired its own lascannon. Even against a Baneblade those four could do serious damage, destroying the glacis-mounted heavy bolter turret or the Demolisher cannon, shattering a track, or simply melting deep into the glacis plate to weaken it just as had been done to them. Unfortunately for the Space Marines the lascannon were far from being the Baneblade's main weapon.

With a boom that made the sound of Leman Russ battlecannon sound like a handgun by comparison the Baneblade's main cannon fired. Its barrel was nearly as long as the Predator, the range was close, and the smaller tank's armour had been 'prepared' to receive the armour piercing shot. The front of the Predator seemed to implode as the shot smashed through the weakened armour and down the full length of the tank and out of its rear, sending the door it still had there from being built on a Rhino APC chassis spinning away as its hinges shattered. There was a dull crump of exploding fuel and lascannon capacitors but that explosion only added insult to injury as the tank and its crew were already dead.

A missile streaked in to explode against the Baneblade, destroy one set of headlights, and draw the twin heavy bolters of that side's sponson mount to sweep the area that had come from. The other side's sponson mount and the glacis-mounted turret joined in this and with a deeper drum note the Demolisher Cannon sent another dustbin-charge to explode behind a ridge of debris.

"Armour piercing?" the Baneblade main-gun loader asked. "Explosive? Flechette?"

"Not yet," replied the Baneblade commander, peering through his scope. "Gunner, be ready on the co-ax if a Dreadnought shows itself. Lasgunners, the same."

This was another risk but he trusted the speed his people could work with and that whatever round seemed appropriate would be loaded almost before he finished giving the order. There was not much chance the Space Marines, unlike Orks, would show themselves in a mass suitable for a Flechette round and at this short range the Demolisher Cannon was better suited to delivering explosives to clear the ruins, that were valuable buildings until the Blood Raven visited. So it was most likely they'd need to load AP. but against the Dreadnoughts the lascannon and co-axial autocannon, itself as large as some tank's main weapon, would suffice.

With a scream of "Liberators!" audible even above the sound of the Baneblade's engine and the report of its heavy bolters as they laid down fire the Guardsmen charged up the ramp and into cover around the mighty tank. A slight rumbling and clanking from behind heralded the approach of the two Leman Russes towards resuming their flanking positions on the Baneblade…

-====xxxx====−

Thule could feel the Blood Ravens being squeezed and the momentum of this battle beginning to go against them. They had disabled one Leman Russ to the east as he had retained some missile launcher armed Devastator Marines despite how great a threat a Baneblade was. The other Leman Russ was still advancing though and the Guardsmen and Kasrkin were being even more methodical in smothering every patch of cover from where missiles might be fired with lasgun and hellgun bolts. A boom from further back and an explosion to one side of the Blood Raven's line of retreat showed the disabled Leman Russ was attempting indirect fire.

The problem was that he would need several Devastator Marines with missiles here so they could not all be suppressed and he would need several back with what had been the rearguard to have any chance at enough concentrated fire to destroy or disable a Baneblade. A situation worsened by the loss of the Predator and that there was very little time before that Baneblade would be reinforced. There was little doubt in Thule's mind that they would still win this engagement and reduce Guardsmen and Kasrkin to corpses, and their war machines to blazing hulks rather than those crushing them under their treads, as General Alexander had boasted and threatened. But this victory would perhaps come at too great a cost to allow them to carry through against Alexander's main base.

"Ready to provide fire-support," a voice said into Thule's ear across a vox channel.

For a moment Thule felt mild relief. If the Guardsmen were driven into shelter by a bombardment then, even if the Kasrkin were less hampered, they might be able to disable the second Leman Russ to the east and be able to concentrate against the western threat. Then that relief shifted as he realised that had not been the voice of the Whirlwind commander…

-====xxxx====−

The Baneblade was advancing slowly. On a self-preserving level they wanted to avoid any surprises and ensure the Space Marines were truly being driven back rather than lurking in ambush. On a tactical level this would give enough time for one Leman Russ that might have joined it to instead take the longer path along the trench and around to replace the disabled tank. Splitting your firepower invited defeat in detail but it seemed better to keep both attacks strong. Peering through his scope the Baneblade commander saw a pile of suspicious rubble and gave the commands for direction and range.

With its drum note the Demolisher Cannon lobbed another charge and spread that pile into dangerously fast flying chunks and fragments. The Baneblade commander did not see any other effect so it appeared to have been wasted, but they could afford to be free with the use of their weapons since they were fully stocked and so close to resupply. Then he recoiled from his scope as the world outside turned white.

Light shone from the scope eyepiece and in through the other vision slits and a few pinprick gaps in the armour to trace lines through the dust thrown up as the Baneblade shook like a rowboat in a hurricane. The air inside grew stifling with heat and the smell of burning as the shaking continued and worsened.

-====xxxx====−

Thule kept his eyes tightly closed and his face buried in the ground. Even so, and even with his blessed augmetics aiding his eyes, he could still see the change in light as the Litany of Fury finally played a direct part. There had been a risk in this as though the main batteries on the Litany of Fury were just as long ranged as the weapons on the Imperial Navy ships skulking in orbit above Victory Bay the Bombardment Cannons were not. Better accuracy demanded that the Battle Barge also be directly overhead and at closer than maximum range for its Orbital Bombardment and this would bring it deep into the weapons range of the Imperial Navy ships.

Their commander had seemed afraid to become involved in this fight but it was unlikely that would extend to retreating without resistance. That would more certainly invite an inquiry that could lead to his execution for cowardice. And if he had any degree of competence at his disposal he'd know, or be told, that if the Litany of Fury closed in far enough she would be able to use her Bombardment Cannon to supplement her ship-to-ship weaponry. So if they could not retreat without opening fire and holding position would let more firepower be directed their way then there were only two choices.

Fortunately for them they had taken the correct choice and held their fire and their positions and allowed the Litany of Fury to bull her way in amongst them. The great Battle Barge's shields had been down to show they intended no hostility against those ships, but a particularly stupid or arrogant Admiral might have seen this as an opportunity. Thought a salvo blocked 'only' by the Litany of Fury's incredibly thick armour could give his ships the advantage and allow him to claim a 'great victory' against such an overwhelming opponent. But if that thought had occurred to this Admiral then he'd had the sense to reject it and know what the Blood Ravens would do to him if even one Space Marine survived to carry the tale of that treachery back to the chapter.

Most of the bombardment had been concentrated to the west as there was the Baneblade and to the east they had to be careful of the Hellstorm Cannon. Thule raised his head as the ground stopped shaking and observed the results with satisfaction. The scene was a lot richer in burning soil and rockcrete and a lot poorer in living Guardsmen and Kasrkin, or even recognisable corpses of them. One scattered group of partially melted lumps of metal was probably what remained of the lead Leman Russ. The advantage was the Blood Ravens again, though in his twin-hearts Thule had never thought they'd lost it.

-====xxxx====−

As far away as the bombardment had been the command post had shaken and there'd been a visible flicker of change in the light coming in through the firing slits as swathes of position icons turned red on Alexander's holomap. Years of training and experience that had made him worthy of being appointed a Governor-Militant could not prevent him from cursing as he saw the bulk of his remaining forces in Victory Bay and the core of all his forces across Kronos wiped away. These had been his reserves, his veterans that had been pulled back for rest and recuperation, but now they were gone. Even if the Space Marines vanished in the very next instant Alexander still had almost nothing left now to react to surprises or special threats.

"Get me the…no, don't bother," Alexander said, cutting himself off. "I expect the Admiral will ignore the vox, again, or only say something that will further cloud my judgement with anger." The command staff glanced at each other as they tried to avoid drawing Alexander's attention. He took a deep calming breath and tapped the holomap. "Have the Baneblade and any other survivors, if there are any, which I doubt, fall back into the main base."

That order given Alexander's shoulder slumped as for the first time he started to truly doubt they could win this. Even if they wiped out all the Blood Ravens on the ground they had already taken heavy losses and if the Imperial Navy had not prevented that Battle Barge from one Orbital Bombardment it was unlikely they'd prevent it from a second or a third or more. There was an irony that they had one of the most powerful weapons know to the Imperium in the shape of the Hellstorm Cannon but no way to aim it into orbit and now, even if they could aim it, no way to power it and reply to the bombardment.

-====xxxx====−

Peering across to the east past the area of near molten rockcrete Thule saw a few straggling survivors retreating further that way. They could just be forting up or there could be another route back to their main base that way. The latter seemed possible with the strength of the attack the Blood Ravens had faced from that direction. This was something they would have to pursue and discover. And even if it had been safe to leave that area uninvestigated it would not have been safe to leave it unpurged. Its proximity to the Hellstorm cannon meant it had been unable to be cleansed by orbital fire with as much thoroughness so it would have to be cleared on the ground.

The problem was that even Space Marine boots would find the ground to either side of them overly hot still. They would have to wait a few minutes for it to cool unless they wanted to send the Dreadnoughts and Predator across it unsupported, which was something Thule certainly did not. This would give what remained of Alexander's forces a chance to break contact though and either flee further or attempt another surprise.

-====xxxx====−

A thumping of damage loosened tracks slapping against the dirt ramp forewarned the Space Marines in the ruins of something's approach. As the thumping shifted to clanking they saw a smoking and scorched Baneblade start to cross the pavement. Around and behind it a few Guardsmen staggered along supporting each other. With one mind the Blood Ravens charged to try to take advantage of the wounded weakened state of these foes. The Baneblade halted and slowly pivoted on its tracks as the Guardsmen continued on. Its main turret appeared jammed as its cannons were not quite on the same alignment as its hull but it was able to open fire with the glacis-mounted twin bolter turret and one of the heavy bolters in a sponson mount.

There was a drum noise and a charge blurred from the Demolisher cannon to blow a large crater in the pavement and send a couple of Blood Ravens bouncing away to lie still. Even if their power armour had not been pierced by shrapnel and debris the concussion would have left them severely wounded and their augmentics fighting against internal bleeding. Their battle brothers had more urgent concern than them though and took advantage of the fresh crater as a source of cover. The Guardsmen had reached the ramp to laboriously make their way up it as the Baneblade shifted into reverse to keep its heavy bolters firing and try to suppress the Blood Ravens in their new hole.

A missile streaked from one of the few Devastator Marines Thule had left in the ruins but what damage it did to the Baneblade was hard to see amongst all the damage it was already carrying. Bolter fire pecked away at the Guardsmen but even though each hit caused one of them to be dismembered messily they seemed so dazed as to almost not notice these extra casualties. But as little effect as their fire was having the Blood Ravens kept it up until the Imperial Guard forces reached the top of the ramp and passed out of range.

-====xxxx====−

As they resumed their advance to the east Thule and his Blood Ravens passed the burning wreck of a Leman Russ that had been far enough away from a Bombardment Cannon impact to still be partially intact. Alexander's men appeared to have abandoned these buildings and there was some wisdom in this. Normally those might have been linked to the main base with tunnels that would provide a safe line of retreat to allow them to fire a few volleys and fall back. Here though there was the trench cutting past to the north and Thule was sure that was deeper than Imperial Guard tunnels normally ran.

Nonetheless even if any Guardsmen left in these buildings would be isolated, and so had likely been withdrawn, and even if Alexander would be unable to send men through tunnels to buildings in Thule's rear to attack it precautions were still wise. Each building received a squirt of flamer fire and where possible was being levelled. The Dreadnought's working fist did good work of demolition and the crew of the damaged Predator had managed to ensure its surviving turret lascannon would not explode when fired, and thus were back to having three lascannon rather than two.

A large explosion surprised them and Thule realised the wrecked tank had not been the one they had disabled. It had seemed too far forward so it appeared a third Leman Russ had joined the eastern attack and advanced far enough to be caught in the bombardment. That the disabled tank had escaped that fate had only delayed the inevitable though as Devastator Marines worked their way around and missiles pierced its thinner side armour from both flanks. Thule muttered a very brief prayer in respect for the tank crew that had remained to fire their guns rather than retreat.

No other opposition presented itself save for a few turrets that were easy prey with how much cover the wrecked buildings provided. Methodically the Devastator Marines worked their way into range and used their own missiles to destroy the missile turrets, allowing the Predator to then rumble forward and snipe the heavy bolter turrets with its lascannon. This was slower work than if the Predator could simply advance and do it all and Thule hoped they could afford the missiles and this extra time more than they could afford further damage to that tank's glacis plate.

It was always difficult to decide whether to put the damaged more expendable unit or the undamaged more capable unit in danger. The latter might have more chance to survive but in cold calculation, and as much as Thule grieved for his fallen battle brothers, this tank would have been less of a loss. The difference in firepower was marginal now they had their third lascannon working but they were having to take those extra precautions against another hit on its glacis.

Leaving the buildings behind them collapsed or aflame or both the Blood Ravens made their way down the second ramp Thule had suspected. He glanced to his right at the vast muzzles of the Hellstorm cannon this ramp was right next to and then led the way back west. Thule carefully climbed the ramp back up from the trench to the area of pavement and looking ahead he could see heraldry banners in the crater and bolter shells slashing across to the east. Their battle brothers there were still discouraging the foe from trying to reclaim that pavement, and while the Imperial Guard remained where they were it would be much harder for them to engage Thule's forces as they filtered up the ramp.

This breathing space to regroup would be most welcome though as Thule knew from the reports the Baneblade had survived, though heavily damaged, and could see the ramp ahead had heavy bolter and missile turrets either side. And aside from the crater the Baneblade had so thoughtfully provided there was little cover for Devastator Marines so the Predator might have to risk missile hits to engage those turrets.

-====xxxx====−

He'd needed to struggle with heat twisted catches but the Baneblade commander had managed to get his turret hatch open and was once more standing with his upper body out of it. This time it was to supervise and chivvy his crew as they worked to unjam and examine things with a speed and lack of ceremony the Techpriests would consider disrespectful to the machine. Some of the hatches had been hard enough to open it was uncertain they could be properly closed again, but that seemed a lesser risk to him and his crew than leaving them stuck.

If these Space Marines decided to drop rockets on them they wanted to get inside fast, if their tank's armour was pierced and it started to burn they wanted to get back outside even faster. And that the hatches would be easier for the enemy to open was less relevant as these were Space Marines, not Orks or Tyranids, so they were far more likely to use a missile or clamp a melta-bomb on than to try to swarm inside. The Baneblade commander touched his ear and glanced back towards the Hellhound as the voice of that vehicle's commander sounded in his commbead.

"No, keep back a little," the Baneblade commander replied over the vox, "we're damaged but can still take more hits that you. Just be ready to move forward and cover this ramp with flame when they try to get up it."

Even with the distance between their two vehicles the look of disappointment on the Hellhound commander's face was clear. The Baneblade commander ignored this and dropped back down into his tank to speak to the crewman who, amongst his other duties, ran the vox. "Cogitators know what they're doing?" he asked.

"Checked and double checked," nodded the voxman.

The Baneblade commander nodded. Those were fairly standard settings. The crossfire of heavy bolter turrets against enemy missile teams, though in this case the 'team' consisted of a single Space Marine, and the missile turrets to destroy the enemy vehicles. Best to make sure though. He turned and looked down towards the front of the tank and the gunner for the Demolisher cannon realised he was being looked at.

"Propellant and elevation set," the gunner reported, "charge loaded, can drop one down to bottom of the ramp any time."

"Good," the Baneblade commander replied, with another nod. He wasn't sure what else he could do.

"Sir, General Alexander is calling…" the voxman said, drawing his commander's attention back to him and away from his thoughts.

The Baneblade commander tapped his ear and the voxman fed the transmission to that commbead. A slow smile began to spread across his face as he listened to what Alexander had to say and he began to feel like they had a tiny chance of throwing back at least one assault.

-====xxxx====−

Climbing the wall of the ruin exposed him more to sniper or artillery fire, but the Scout Marine was confident the Imperial Guard didn't have any of the former. As to the latter, although his unpowered armour was thinner and less all-encompassing than power armour, he knew it would take a pretty close hit and some pretty poor luck for it to be serious or fatal. In some ways there was more danger in the fall if he was knocked from his perch by the blast than in the shrapnel or debris.

Below and to one side of him Thule nodded as the Scout Marine reported what he could see from level with the first terrace. It did seem the Baneblade main turret was jammed as it was still not quite in line with the ramp and the direction the Baneblade was pointing. That was good news but what was less good was all the activity around the vehicles and the mutually supporting fields of fire they were setting up between troops and vehicles and turrets. This level of competence was unsurprising for what was probably General Alexander's last organised defensive line but this was not a situation where the lack of surprise made things any easier.

He had one damaged Predator, one damaged Dreadnought, one damaged Hellfire Dreadnought, and Space Marines that despite their enhancements and armour were beginning to tire and were carrying wounds to themselves or their armour but not carrying as much ammunition as Thule would prefer. They needed a chink to exploit and briefly Thule considered calling on his Assault Marines again to force that open with more melta bombs or slaughtering of Guardsmen at close range. But this would be something they'd expect and be ready to direct fire into the sky against. However now the Litany of Fury was overhead there was an alternative.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander was a little happier. The Baneblade commander had done fine work organising the forces he'd had, more than enough to earn a commendation if any of them survived this, but there had been a vulnerability. The approach up the ramp on foot had been well covered but not all Space Marines relied on their feet to get around. Actually, Alexander thought with a brief flash of amusement, very few of them did as most had power armour that could likely carry them even if their augmented legs failed them.

But whether they were walking with their legs or their armour they had been covered against and now he had deployed heavy weapon teams with autocannon and heavy bolters it would not matter if they instead took to the skies on jetpacks. It was unlikely his teams could shoot enough of those in mid-air to prevent themselves from taking heavy losses as the Assault Marines landed and began their killing, but more likely they'd shoot enough to make the attack a failure.

-====xxxx====−

The air seemed charged for a moment and then with a crackle of energy and a thump of displaced air the Blood Raven Terminators teleported in to land on top of the Baneblade. This was very precise work that had required the direct observations from the Scout Marine but the danger of materialising embedded within the tank had been so swiftly dismissed as to almost not occur to these elite Space Marines. Energy crackled again as those armed with 'only' twin-barrelled Storm Bolters, vehicle mounted for normal humans and a pistol for them in their bulky armour, activated their power fists and began tearing at the Baneblade with them.

Meanwhile the other Terminators turned to aim down with the heavier weapons that had been mounted over the right hand and forearm of their armour. Fire washed down around the Baneblade from the heavy flamers while those with assault cannons aimed for the more distant targets. Terminator assault cannons were not very effective against vehicles or buildings as they were relatively low calibre, but they made up for this against infantry with their range and high muzzle velocity and very high rate of fire. Standing where they were atop the Baneblade they had line of fire down at the heavy weapon teams and over the few sandbags those Guardsmen had managed to set up.

In a scant few seconds the nearer heavy weapon teams had been turned into burning corpses and the rest had been shredded by high-velocity slugs.

-====xxxx====−

His tank had rocked with the sudden weight and from the few words mixed with the screaming in his commbead the Baneblade commander knew the cause. "Hellhound," he snapped, as orange light shone in from the flames appearing around them, "burn these ticks off us."

A great gout of flame that made the combined efforts of the Terminator heavy flamers seem trifling by comparison engulfed the upper part of the Baneblade. For long seconds the Hellhound spewed fire across its larger ally but as they cut this stream it was disconcerting for the Hellhound crew to see the Terminators had ignored this. The only effect seemed to have been to hamper the heavily fortified listening posts either side of the next ramp up in their efforts to use their heavy bolters. And even now the Terminators were not hidden in the flames they seemed to be ignoring the heavy bolter shells as well.

The missile turrets halfway across the terrace and those to either side of the ramp were not firing as their ordinance was more likely to damage the Baneblade, but as the Baneblade commander considered whether to override their cogitators he cursed as he realised the listening posts were not the only source of heavy bolter fire. The simple minds of the heavy bolter turrets had detected the Terminators and that they were engaging friendly forces and so were the closest enemies. This thinking was good most of the time but here it meant they were not covering the main enemy force.

"Override those cogitators," the Baneblade commander ordered, "get those heavy bolter turrets pointed back the right way."

"Sir," replied the voxman. It took a moment for his fingers to start tapping at the commands though as he thought they were pointed the right way as they were shooting at the things that were trying to kill him. And the order he'd been anticipating was to override the missile turret cogitators and get more rather than less firepower pointed this way. "Yes sir."

The heavy bolter turrets started to traverse but even without the voxman's hesitation it would have been too late, and if not too late almost certainly too little, to stop the Assault Marines. They blazed into the sky and crashed down precisely where they needed to be to slap melta-bombs against the metal of the turrets to either side of the ramp. Then as those four turrets exploded the Assault Marines ducked to use the rockcrete bases for cover and take advantage of how those channelled the explosion upwards.

Seeing this the Hellhound commander saw both the threat and the opportunity. They could jump or charge across and do to his vehicle what they'd just done to the turrets, but they might be more vulnerable to being burned than those hugely armoured Terminators were. "Driver, reverse. Turret, traverse left and burn the southern group."

As the Hellhound backed towards the support of the listening posts its turret settled on that group and flame engulfed them. The Hellhound commander was not sure if that had any effect though or if the lee of the rockcrete base had been enough, with their power armour, to protect them. There was a slight pinging and the crewman behind the trigger of the flamer frowned.

"Losing some pressure to the flamer, sir," the crewman reported.

"Can we still reach them for another squirt?" asked the Hellhound commander.

"Should do," the crewman nodded.

"Then do," nodded the Hellhound commander back.

The crewman pulled the trigger, had the brief satisfaction of seeing more flame wash towards the Assault Marines, and then the Hellhound exploded. The pinging and pressure loss had been their vulnerable flamer fuel tanks being pierced by assault cannon slugs and as they'd reversed they put themselves into a puddle of their own flamer fuel. Fire had streaked back up the trickles of fuel as the puddle was ignited and into those tanks to release the Hellhounds entire supply in one spectacular instant.

Meanwhile the Baneblade commander knew his tank was being shredded. The lascannons were gone, ripped out of their mountings in the secondary turrets, and the heavy bolters in the sponsons were only still there because the Terminators could not reach down that far. Now they had finished using their heavy flamers on the heavy weapon teams it would not be long before they turned their attention to tearing open the already weakened hatches to use those on his crew. If they did not act now they'd never have the chance to act.

"On my mark… forward, ready on main gun, and be ready to turn," the Baneblade commander said, giving a second for people to be ready, "Mark!"

-====xxxx====−

The Terminators jumped off as the Baneblade's engine howled up in protest and it accelerated forward and to the top of the ramp. One track threw up a shower of sparks as it was suddenly slowed to try to slew the mass of the tank around to bring the main gun to bear. Thule thought he heard the squealing metal of track links snapping and thought he saw power fist finger marks on the barrel of the Baneblade's cannon. Before he could be certain, and before they could see if that gun barrel was sufficiently crumpled to backfire rather than fire, the Predator Lascannon and massed missile fire from his Devastator Marines struck.

As well as only being partway through its turn the Baneblade was only partway over the lip of the ramp so some of this fire struck its underside rather than its far stronger glacis plate. Its armour was pierced and flame spouted out through those holes from internal explosions. Hatches opened, though a slight thumping noise showed one had been jammed again, and a few of the crew managed to bail out as their tank slid to a stop. This availed them nothing though as to reach safety they would have to get past the Assault Marines and Terminators. Bolt pistols and Storm Bolters barked single shots and Assault Cannons hummed bursts of slugs and the survivors of the Baneblade crew survived no longer.

-====xxxx====−

The cogitators controlling the missile turrets halfway across the terrace realised that the Terminators no longer too close to a friendly vehicle. They could neither know nor care that this was because the friendly vehicle had both moved and then been destroyed. They simply knew that there was no longer something within that radius around their targets that they should avoid shooting at. Missiles streaked from the turrets, and found nothing as with another crackle the Terminators vanished and reappeared next to one of the listening posts to surround it.

Assault cannon barrels were too long for them to be used at such close range but that did not matter as the other Terminators fired their Storm Bolters and Heavy Flamers through the firing slits into the interior of the listening post. The turret atop it twitched for a moment or two as it reverted to cogitator control with the death of the Guardsmen but one Terminator swung his power fist in an overhead overhand blow into it. Even a Terminator was not quite tall enough to reach but his boot had been just small enough for him to shove it, with a crunch of rockcrete, into the firing slit to climb and get the extra height.

The missile turrets and the heavy bolter turret on the other listening post started to traverse but seeing this the Assault Marines charged from their cover next to the wrecked turrets either side of the slope. For a moment they were vulnerable but as the listening post heavy bolters began to turn back again the Predator popped up over the crest of the ramp to snap bolts from all three Lascannon into that structure. That turret was exploded and sliced away but the Predator had to hurriedly reverse.

Near what looked like the final ramp was yet another pair of missile turrets and the Blood Raven tank was far enough back those could depress enough to try to acquire it as a target. A few missiles exploded against the lip of the ramp as the Predator's movement drew their paths into the pavement but with only lasgun fire to endure the Assault Marines had more luck hitting their targets. Once more melta-bombs were slapped onto metal and those turrets exploded as the Terminators lumbered with a deceptive lack of grace across to use their Heavy Flamers and Storm Bolters to finish the job the Predator had begun.

-====xxxx====−

Alexander could feel everything slipping away from him. Almost the only weapons he had left were verbal so he decided to use them. "These Space Marines are gripped by madness men!" he declaimed over an open channel. "They fight against the Emperor's holy will!"

To Alexander's satisfaction Thule was peeved enough by this to cut in. "I will not be called a traitor, General!"

"You haven't silenced me yet, Blood Raven," Alexander replied and taunted.

With that he cut the channel and gathered his honour guard Kasrkin and remaining Guardsmen to head out and meet the foe. With as many loyal servants of the Emperor as these Space Marines had slaughtered there were few enough of his forces remaining that he no longer needed the command post's displays and staff to command them. And the command post's staff no longer had the excuse of manning those displays to avoid joining him in direct combat.

-====xxxx====−

The Terminators and Assault Marines were at the base of the bank and wall, either side of the bottom of the final ramp, where it would be hard for the Imperial Guard to hit them with anything that would do them any harm. As the Predator had discovered though there was a line of fire against the top of the ramp the hulk of the Baneblade now partially blocked. But Blood Ravens feared defeat more than they feared death and Thule decided the losses would be acceptable to end this. He gave his orders and, now there was no longer the threat of a Demolisher cannon charge being dropped on them as they massed at the bottom of the ramp or being engulfed in Hellhound flame as they reached the top of the ramp, he and his battle brothers charged.

A mass of crimson power armour surged over the lip of the slope and onto the terrace. Missiles streaked to meet them from the turrets the Predator had retreated from but the cogitators' programming betrayed them. They took a moment to alter their launcher feed queues as they detected infantry rather than a vehicle as the threat. This meant however there was that brief delay in them firing and that rather than launching armour-piercing missiles, that would have killed any Blood Raven they struck, they launched fragmentation missiles.

The Blood Ravens' missiles were far more effective. As some of them staggered from the blast and the pinging of shrapnel off their armour, and one even took enough blast and shrapnel to tumble back down the ramp, exhaust trails led from the Devastator Marines missile launchers to thoroughly obliterated turrets. With a roar of its engine and a clatter of its tracks the Predator overtook the rest of the Blood Ravens to lead the way up the final ramp, the Dreadnoughts waddling close behind it, and the Space Marines 'infantry' falling in behind the cover of this spearhead.

As the Predator came over the rise of the ramp though they found themselves looking down the barrel of an Earthshaker cannon. Basilisks were not designed for anti-tank work but they were designed to send shells high into the air to crash down on a distant foe, and high muzzle velocity was something that anti-tank cannon and long-distance artillery had in common. At this close range the shell easily smashed through the Predator's damaged glacis plate, the armoured tip of the anti-fortification round piercing this as it would have rockcrete, and exploded within.

Stepping to one side and pivoting as it advanced the Hellfire Dreadnought levelled its assault cannon and shredded the Basilisk with a sustained burst. Or rather shredded the upper portions and the gunner and loader where they stood and tried to reload and retarget. The sturdy Chimera Hull that had been modified with an open back and to carry the Earthshaker cannon resisted the slugs somewhat better, though that was almost a disadvantage when this more intact armour trapped the explosion of one of the Basilisk's shells inside it and around the driver and heavy-bolter gunner.

This all took only moments but as the Hellfire Dreadnought's assault cannon spun down after the burst a lascannon armed heavy weapon team managed to put a bolt into it. Through luck or skill this was well aimed and sliced through the walker's upper leg to topple it rather than striking it where even a Hellfire Dreadnought's comparatively weak armour would have better resisted. Seeing the Devastator Marines charging up the ramp the heavy weapon team hurriedly swivelled their weapon away from their fallen target and towards those. Muzzles swung towards each other but the lascannon team managed to get off a second shot before a heavy bolter was triggered. The lascannon had not fully recharged but this was still enough to pierce power armour breast and back plates and the Space Marine between them.

'I… I… didn't

hate him!' Avitus thought. 'Therefore he was a friend!' With a screaming roar of rage he pulled the trigger of his heavy bolter and kept it pulled until not much remained of that heavy weapon team other than a smear and scattered fragments of flesh and metal.

While Avitus spent his time on this the Dreadnought clanked to one side to use its flamer on a group of buildings. They seemed empty as there was no weapons fire coming from them but they were still a threat to be neutralised. There could be Guardsmen within holding their fire or they could be reoccupied by retreating forces or through whatever tunnels linked them to other buildings.

Thule glanced around as he reached the top of the ramp, the Terminators surrounding him, and tried to assess where the greatest threats were. "There," he pointed, "let us finish this!"

The Terminators lumbered into a charge, forming a wall ahead of Thule and the length of their armoured legs letting them move faster than the speed of their stride would suggest. That much weight of armour and weapons could not charge unnoticed though and their target scowled back at them.

"Concentrate fire, men," Alexander ordered, raising his arm and the plasma gun mounted on the back of his right gauntlet.

Despite being able to anticipate his own order Alexander's plasma bolt was not the first to be fired. At least one plasma gun armed Kasrkin managed to aim and fire before him though individual weapons fire was lost in the mass of the barrage. Plasma and Hellgun and Lasgun fire slashed across from Alexander's group into the lead Terminators, but appeared to barely slow them. On the other hand even if they'd 'only' been armed with Storm Bolters their return fire would do more than slow Alexander's men. This would normally be suicide to order against Space Marines, but they were going to die anyway and these were Terminators.

"Charge!" Alexander ordered, "get in close and surround them, and stab them in the joints."

The Kasrkin and the Guardsmen obeyed and bravely made the attempt but the Terminators were far more nimble than their appearance suggested. Ribcages were flattened as Terminators turned and slapped the backs of their power fists into merely human chests. Spines and skulls shattered as the long barrels of assault cannons were swept like quarterstaffs. Kasrkin or Guardsmen who thought their comrade had distracted a Terminator and tried to stab their bayonet home found another Terminator was protecting its battle brother's flank. The huge Blood Ravens laid about themselves like men fighting rats, except these 'rats' could not even bloody them with their 'bites'.

As the Terminators finished the last of this group of his men Alexander and Thule finally came face to face for the first time. Surrender didn't cross Alexander's mind and neither did demanding it cross Thule's. His greater height and the power sword he carried gave Thule a significant advantage in reach and Alexander had to jump back slightly to avoid the first testing swing. If he could get in close enough then he was confident the power fists he wore would let him harm Thule through his armour but the problem was getting that close.

Unfortunately for Alexander this was just as obvious to Thule and he used the stamina his augmetics and power armour gave him to keep up a relentless attack, trusting Alexander would far quicker tire and give him an opening in his fatigue. Time after time Alexander had to dodge back to avoid a sword sweep or to one side to avoid a thrust and found his attempts to dart forward to punch or grapple spoiled by Thule's next attack. Eventually Thule's tactic bore fruit as he lured Alexander into throwing a straight right punch and then, as Alexander's arm extended, Thule swept his power sword across in a short horizontal twitch.

This neatly clipped the plasma gun mounted on that gauntlet, but though Thule's blow had been so precise and the safety systems of the plasma gun prevented too great a leak or explosion this still burned the gauntlet and Alexander's arm severely. Taking advantage of Alexander hesitating for a moment in pain and surprise Thule toggled off the energy field around his power sword and brought the bare metal flat of it into Alexander's side. Carapace armour and ribs crunched despite how Thule was holding back and Alexander fell.

"Yield now, General," Thule demanded, reactivating the energy field of his power sword. He doubted Alexander would cooperate, even at this point, but the tiny chance that he could be persuaded to order his forces in the other provinces to stand down was worth the effort.

"Never!" Alexander coughed, lurching up to throw a left-hook.

Thule's training brought his power sword smoothly across to parry. Its energy field and that around Alexander's power fist met and briefly merged before the power fist overloaded and exploded, shredding itself and most of Alexander's left arm and sending fragments slicing into the right side of Thule's face. Alexander collapsed, even his determination to keep fighting being overcome by what had happened to his left arm added to the pain from his burnt right arm and from inside him where the effort of that blow had driven fragments of his broken ribs into his organs.

Alexander coughed blood as Thule looked down at him, the Blood Raven disdaining to do more than close his right eye against the blood flowing down that side of his face as his enhanced body slowed that bleeding. "Now…" Alexander began, dissolving into another fit of coughing and vomiting a small pool of red before he could continue. "Now you have silenced me Blood Raven, may the Emperor judge you as you deserve."

"So I also pray," Thule replied calmly.

There seemed nothing else to say and no reason to hang on so, with one final wracking cough, Alexander let go and surrendered himself to death.

-====xxxx====−

The Kasrkin Sergeant had seen the fight and Governor-Militant Alexander's heroic end. He could also see the rest of the base being levelled or having flame pumped into the firing slits. Once those bastard Space Marines turned their attention this way they'd have won. Unless… there was one way to deny them a complete victory and perhaps kill a few more of the accursed scum. The Kasrkin Sergeant turned to the nearby Techpriest.

"We can't allow the Titan cannon to fall into their hands. Overload the core!" the Kasrkin Sergeant demanded.

The Techpriest was awed at the blasphemy of the suggestion, but possessing this would give these Space Marines too much of the Omnissiah's blessings and too much to bargain with the Adeptus Mechanicus with. The Kasrkin Sergeant had turned away again as the Blood Ravens began firing in this direction and the Techpriest made his decision and hurried across and to the access point for the great gun's machine spirit.

"For the Emperor!" the Techpriest cried as he overrode dozens of safety systems and cross-circuited other systems into a feedback loop.

Behind him bolter shells and assault cannon slugs tore through the Kasrkin trying to buy him seconds at the cost of their lives. But as swiftly as they were being slain it was not swiftly enough as the explosion began to unstoppably build.

-====xxxx====−

Even with only one good eye Thule could see the Techpriest was doing something and that the expressions of the Kasrkin protecting him were determined but fatalistic. The combination was… concerning… so Thule opened a general channel. "Retreat!" he ordered.

Instantly the Blood Ravens turned, or at least began backing away, towards the ramp they had just stormed. The Dreadnought waddled over to the fallen Hellfire Dreadnought and clamped its hand-claw onto it. Metal creaked as the Dreadnought tightened its grip and helped its fallen brother up and then to totter to and down the ramp. Tarkus took the time on his way past to tear open one of the Predator hatches and look inside. Seeing that Thule had noticed this Tarkus looked to him and shook his head. Even Space Marine tank crews had limits to what they could survive.

A conduit atop the Hellstorm cannon ruptured and spewed its contents into the sky. Metres thick armour that had protected the great gun both while it was attached to a Titan and while it was buried bulged with the force of the explosions it was trapping within as those built on each other and triggered fresh ones. The ground began to shake with the violence of the Hellstorm cannon's self-immolation as its own power was turned against it, causing the more heavily damaged Imperial Guard buildings to collapse.

"Here!" Thule snapped, gesturing to either side of him as he reached the bottom of the ramp.

There was not much room in the lee of the wall and rampart but somehow the Blood Ravens managed to fit, despite the bulk of the Terminators and of the two wounded Dreadnoughts. One explosion followed another with increasing frequency until they reached a crescendo with a massive rumbling boom that made the previous explosions sound like pops a wave of dust swept over them. The light from this explosion was dazzling even to Space Marines as it reflected back from this dust and the ruins slightly below them. A chunk of solid armour plate that looked larger than a Baneblade span by overhead to vanish into the haze with a crunch.

Smaller explosions continued to sound but Thule ignored them as he worked on learning the status of his other forces. There was the temporary base south of the river, the Whirlwinds, and a few small groups of wounded and though they were further away from this they might not be as well sheltered. Thule's datapad lit up as he requested and was granted a view of what the Litany of Fury could see from overhead. It looked like the earth each side of the Hellstorm Cannon had absorbed much of the force, though the width of this between where the remains of the great gun burned and the river had been greatly narrowed.

"What now?" Tarkus asked.

"Any survivors of Fifth Company are traitors," Thule replied, "they shall be executed. All other Guardsmen shall be judged and those worthy shall be sent back to Segmentum Command."

"Why waste the time?" sneered Avitus. "If they were worthy they would have died before defeat."

"Because they fought to the last," Thule said, losing patience with Avitus. Blessed might be the mind too small for doubt, and a open mind like a fortress with its gates unlocked and unbarred, but that not make him less irritating. "And because it is an Order, Sergeant."

-====xxxx====−

Aftermath 1:

Across the sands of Kronos' central desert the activity continued. Despite events in Victory Bay the officers here knew that the Necron were a great threat and the network of bombs still needed to be laid. They also knew that if, with that justification, they continued to follow their last orders then that was safer than doing something more inspired that could draw the attention of the Blood Ravens or of a court martial and the Commissariat. A temporary capital had been set up in Asharis but even that had simply been following Alexander's emergency plans and the command staff there were ready to follow and help implement orders but not to risk giving them.

From one of the tunnel entrances the Imperial Guard had not yet mined huge red armoured figures emerged. Thule blinked, or rather winked, as he emerged into the bright sun from the dimness of underground. The Apocathary had removed all the pieces of Alexander's power fist that had embedded themselves in his flesh and bone but the dressings had been extensive enough to cover his right eye as well as most of the right side of his face. Those dressings were now soaked with blood to the extent of appearing almost the same colour as his power armour.

Thule had known he would be hampered by the loss of half his peripheral vision, but he was not going to send his men into those catacombs without him. And so facing the Necron Lord he had been a hair too slow parrying a blow coming in at his right and, though he'd slowed it, this had struck the already wounded side of his face. Better though to almost certainly need a replacement eye than to be accused of needing replacement courage, or needing to replace more fallen battle brothers.

They did not have long so they continued across the desert, its harsh terrain holding no fears for them and seeming almost homely in its resemblance to their recruiting and training world of Calderis. Even with Space Marine speed and stamina they had barely gone a few kilometres though before deep underground a circuit closed and the powerful bomb they had planted detonated. As deep as it was its effects would still have been noticed on the surface were it not for those being hidden in the detonation of all the bombs the Imperial Guard had laid or were still trying to lay.

Alexander, and his Techpriest advisors, had been far more concerned with ensuring the detonation signal could not be jammed and would reach all the charges and that these would all go off than they had been with preventing someone else triggering them. Now his men paid for that lack of paranoia as the Blood Ravens destroyed both the Necrons and the vast majority of the remainder of Alexander's forces. Far overhead the Litany of Fury monitored these explosions and, as gunships launched from her bays to pick Thule's party, the Techmarines began plotting what charges would need to be laid to compensate for having detonated the incomplete pattern.

Aftermath 2:

The Techpriest boarded the Imperial Navy shuttle, almost allowing an expression to come to his face as he noticed all the abuses that had been piled on this gift of the Omnissiah . Its systems still worked but its machine spirit must be constantly aching with how they only 'worked' rather than worked perfectly. Settling himself down on the seat provided, though as a servant of the machine god he could have simply clamped himself to a bulkhead with magnetics and mechadendrites, he looked at the prize he had obtained.

It had been scorched by plasma and there was still some flesh to be cleaned out from inside it, just as he had already cleaned the remnants of the armoured cloth away from around it. He was not sure which he found the more distasteful. The weak flesh or the fact this gift of the Omnissiah had not been used and displayed in all its glorious bare metal. But this would serve someone well. The end of one mechadendrite split to send finer manipulators snaking inside to clean and repair while even finer sub-manipulators from another mechadendrite began engraving the history of this blessed technology on it. This had been the Hand of the Governor-Militant and so from now forth that was how this power fist would be known.