Bridge of Death
"Dammit! Who was responsible for scouting this area?" says captain Hartmann.
The captain, five of his lieutenants and commissar Kurz are standing on a small elevation over-viewing the march of the entire 13th company of the 2th Bergheim regiment through the Acheron valley, a particular volatile example of the hellish landscape typically found on Arae IV. The whole cavalcade has come to a halt despite artillery fire occasionally raining from the smoke filled sky on them.
"With respect, sir, lava flows like this can form in mere minutes" remarks one of the officers.
"I don't care for that, lieutenant. If we don't move out of this position immediately, this failure will cost us the entire company. Where are our pioneers?"
"Again, all specialist troops including pioneers and their equipment where on the 'Spear Of Het', sir. We don't know what happened to them" Hartmann starts swearing uninhibitedly. The officers are visibly concerned, as usually bad things happen when the captain looses his temper.
"Sir, with sector 10 to our south and mount Krolys north our only option is retreat"
"Retreat cannot be an option under no circumstance lieutenant Petersen. Our mission is securing the Hormaeus highlands as a bridgehead before tomorrow, which is critical to the success of the entire campaign! If you want to retreat, you might as well surrender to our enemy, which I would rather call defection."
The officers are puzzled, as they rarely witness commissar Kurz speaking. Most actually don't now what he is doing in their company anyway, as it seems that he is usually not engaging in disciplinary duties.
"As the commissar said, we will fulfill our mission" says captain Hartmann now with a fiery gaze. "Hand me the vox-amplifier , I have to hold a motivational speech!"
"Soldiers of Bergheim, I see doubt in your eyes. But doubt is the first step to damnation as you should behold your orders with nothing else than faith! Only this way the emperor protects our every step until we finally prevail. I cannot tolerate any disobedience. Every further defiance of orders will immediately result in a death penalty. Move on!"
Captain Hartmann deactivates the vox-amplifier.
"Place wardens every 30 yards. Every man who's not moving forward or steps out of line is free to be executed." The lieutenants are frozen in shock.
"That part about defiance of orders includes you, gentlemen. I suggest immediate action" says the captain with a disturbingly calm voice.
Only after Petersen's head explodes from a very quick shot out of Hartmann's laspistol, the remaining officers are quick to move out and start to bark orders at their men. Several more decapitations later the march slowly continues. The screams from the front echo through the valley as the first lines are being pushed into hot, melting lava with the force of a bulldozer. At first the burning liquid is eating the men without any trace, but after some moments a small bank is being formed by scorched bones and flesh. As more and more lines of men follow, the flow is divided by a bridge of death. Every once in a while a part is giving in, but the gaps are quickly filling naturally.
Captain Hartmann and commissar Kurz are the last to transverse the obstacle.
"I'm curious, captain. How did you know this 'maneuver' would work?"
"I've seen it before Kurz. 14 years ago we were fighting tyranid xenos in similar environment. They succeeded with the same approach in lower numbers. I realized I've got more than enough resources today to adapt the tactic."
M41.580 2th Bergheim Regiment - 13th Company
Daily Casualty Report
Overview:
total losses: 163 (51%)
environmental hazards: 85 (27%)
enemy fire: 46 (14%)
disciplinary measures: 24 (8%)
miscellaneous: 8 (3%)