It turned out to be quite a long night before I finally went to sleep. On the outskirts of the city I had seen fire fights start and end with no one making any progress. A few lonely patrols had made their way past the building, but I had not dared to take any shots. Here was an ideal ambush site, and also my base of operations. I would not have it compromised for the death of a small patrol. Around three o'clock I had gone to sleep in the room with Vicker. She seemed so peaceful when she was sleeping. Had I been from another regiment I would immediately have submitted myself to her command. I had to work to remember that she was a cultist and not my superior officer. I had chuckled a little bit when I found out that this was the first time I saw a heretic sleep. When I woke up a grey light shone through the window in the hallway. I carefully listened for any alarming sounds, but found none. I lifted my head from my improvised pillow which consisted of my helmet and my shirt. My jacket had been my blanket for the night since I did not have one at the moment. I quickly checked the room, and found my weapons where I had left them. If Vicker had tried to do anything I would have woken up since I slept very lightly. Though it had been a nightmare earlier I thought it would be useful now if anyone ever came to visit us. When I looked over to her I saw that she was fast asleep. I lifted my arm as silently as possible and checked my watch. The dials showed me that it was half past eight in the morning.
"Time to get up." I thought and pulled the jacket off me. The cold air immediately attacked my exposed skin where my shirt would have covered it, but there now was nothing. The cold did not bother me that much in fact. I had seen so much worse cold than this when we had been stationed at some desolate, frozen planet to cause trouble for the Tau. It hadn't been a very successful guerrilla campaign, but we had managed to disable a few tanks, eliminate a few patrols and officers, and of course delivered intelligence back to HQ which had been a lunar class vessel up in space. The Tau had thought that a cloaking device could hide them from the sight of the Emperor, but they had been proven so devastatingly wrong. I smiled a little when thought back to the time on Beroghast. All that time lying still in waiting and observing. When fighting had come we had almost begged for Vicker to take us with her. No one would be begging her for anything anymore however. The sight of her tore me out of the memories. To think that I had served so willingly under a traitor and a heretic felt like a direct blow to my pride. For years I had taken orders from my most hated enemy. Rage ran rampant through my mind as I thought about what she could have put us through for her dark gods. In my mind I started analyzing every unexplained ambush from the forces of Chaos we had been victims of. Could they have been her orchestrations? Could all my dead comrades be her sacrifices to the evils we had all been fighting? That trail of thought went away when I heard my stomach rumble. I did not feel very hungry, but it would be smart of me to eat something none the less. I quickly checked the pockets on my tactical vest for any small nutrient bars. I quickly found two corn-based bars that could be described as edible if you had plenty of water in the vicinity. I only had a few mouthfuls, and that would not be enough to last me and Vickers more than a day.
"Priority one: Get water." I thought and sighed. It was raining outside so an option was to put mugs and different containers up on the roof, but that would be visible from the air. However I doubted that anyone would want to check out something like that and I had seen plenty of mugs and pots that I could gather water in, but when I was to go and gather them then I would be very visible. I had no wish to be visited by a large squad of cultists or a Valkyrie with a bolter. I wanted to survive this, and then I had to be careful. For now however I would go with the mugs. I stood up and carefully made my way out of the office. I stopped for a few seconds and listened for footsteps. I wanted to be as sure as possible that there were no-one in the building with me. The only things I heard was the dulled explosions from the front and various machines working somewhere in the city. What they were for I did not know, but they were probably tanks or some foul machinery of chaos. I slung my rifle onto my back and walked over to the office next to mine. I walked in and did a quick overview. There were no traps or artefacts that I could see. On the desk table which was like every other desk in the building I saw my prize: A cup. There was nothing special about it. It was gray and dull like my uniform, but being of that colour it was very hard to spot when just flying past or overhead. I walked over to it and grabbed it. The porcelain felt cold to my fingers, but I did not bother. I could not transport many of them at the time though. They would clatter against each other and cause one hell of a racket. I pulled out of the office and closed the door behind me before I moved on to the next one. There I found another cup of the same colour. Both were without markings or insignias of any kind. I found two more cups before I walked over to the staircase. Two of the cups were hanging from the hooks for grenades and two others were in a pocket. They made little sound as I walked into the darkness of the stairwell. It was as oppressing as it had been yesterday, but now I did not have the threat of heretics hanging over my head. I stopped and listened again. One could never be too sure. In here even the sound of the warmachines were muted or at least dampened. I had no idea how high this building was, but I hoped that it wasn't too tall. Slowly I started my ascension to the roof. I had to walk eleven stories before I reached the door leading out on the roof. It had been locked, but some attention from the stock of my rifle solved that problem. It cracked open and I changed the grip on my rifle so I held it normally again. I raised the barrel and placed it in the small gap between the door and the doorframe. My eyes fell on the gray skies and I could see a burst of 20mm shells fly into the air towards a target I could not see. I looked onto the roofs next to mine. If there were any lookouts or snipers I would have to kill them before they saw me. My earplug crackled a little as it made faint contact with a transmitter far away. No understandable noise came through so I turned the sound down until it was barely audible. If there came any orders I would like to hear them. My roof was flat and tiled like the roofs around. The door opened slowly as I pushed it with my barrel. More and more of the city revealed itself to me and so did the battlefield. Even though it was far away I could see a thin line of trenches. Shooting had died down, but I was in no doubt that the line still belonged to the Imperium. The Aquila flew high on banners along it making sure to show the heretics that they faced a righteous force. Once again I turned my focus to the roofs. The door was halfway open when I jerked to a halt. On a roof across the street there stood a soldier in a uniform like mine, but with a foul red colour on it. His back was turned, but he was looking around.
"A lookout" I thought and closed the door quickly and got my scope out. Out of strategic reasons I considered not killing him, but a single thought returned to my mind. "Suffer not the heretic to live" My mind was made up and I mounted the scope. There would be no hope for the enemy guardsman at this range. I raised my barrel took up position behind the door. My breathing was quick, but I slowed it down. I would need to be calm. I only had one shot. "3, 2, 1!" I whispered before I pushed the door open and took aim. The enemy was halfway turned and I could see his rifle. He too had a scope mounted, but it was designed for longer range than mine. He barely managed to turn around before his chest was pierced twice on each side. He could not make a single sound as he fell down dead with a low thud. As quickly as I could I pulled the cups out from pockets and off hooks before I placed them all on the floor with space in between. I did not want them to look organized or anything. I rushed back in through my door and listened for activity from the other building. The shots had probably not caused much of a fuss among the enemy for no sounds of alarm came from anywhere. No noises came from below either so I was safe for the moment.
A minute later I was back in the office with Vicker. She was still asleep, but I would end that. The peaceful look on her face vanished as my boot connected with her stomach. It wasn't hard or especially forceful, but it still left her gasping for air. "Good morning sergeant!" I said ceremoniously with bitterness. I sat on the desk and waited while she fought to regain her breath. Her hair got ruffled up and her skin had a bright red as she coughed and coughed. There were no windows behind us and the door was closed so I was confident that no one would hear her. I got my canteen out and unscrewed the cork. She would at least get something to drink. When she finally calmed down I pulled her up into a sitting position against the desk. She looked angrily at me until I held up. She knew better than to resist. I lifted the canteen and poured carefully into her mouth so that no drop was spilled. "We have to save as much water as we can. Drink only of you absolutely need to." I said and tried to not sound friendly. It still felt a little unusual being so harsh to her, but I would get used to it. She drank eagerly what little water I gave her. I gave her two mouthfuls, a rough estimation, and I would give her more later.
"What is the situation then?" She asked when I lifted the canteen away from her lips.
"Not a concern of yours." I replied coolly. She got a poker-face on. She wanted to know, and was a little bit insulted, but knew well enough to keep her mouth shut. "Can I trust you to stay quiet in here for a little while? I have to go outside and check the situation." I said plainly and took a mouthful of water. I felt a little disgusted as I felt the wet canteen on my mouth. "Sharing water with a heretic." I scoffed and drank. I wished I had wiped off her saliva, but now it was too late. I cleaned it after I was done drinking and screwed the cap back on.
"I am sure I can stay here. Is there any entertainment for me here though?" She asked back. I wasn't sure if she was mocking me or asking honestly. I had a response ready. She had been in here with Slaaneshi cultists and I would turn that on her. I turned around and sat down so we sat face to face,
"I think that a servant of pleasure and ecstasy can... entertain... herself." I said, trying to sound as insulting as possible. Judging by the look on her face I was successful. "Anyways... I am headed out, and you would do well to stay here without causing any trouble."
"Understood... Sir," Vicker replied with a smile on her face. The "Sir" had made a slight tingle pass through me, but I quickly shrugged it off.
"More of her games!" I thought and stood up. "Temptation will not work on me heretic." I said and walked over to the door, feeling a little sure that she would stay here.
I closed the door behind me as she slowly sang "Goodbye," in a very creepy way. I tried to remain unnerved by it, but it was hard. To have my commander change in such a drastic way over the course of twenty-four hours was really strange and unsettling. She was meant to be a leader of and a good example for the men fighting for the Imperium, but she had betrayed all of it in a heartbeat. She had become the lowly beast that she had sworn to fight until her dying breath for the honour of the Emperor. I would not fail like her. I sent a quick look out of the window to see if there was anyone outside either patrolling or keeping a lookout. I saw no one on the street and I spent the next minute checking the surrounding buildings through the scope of my rifle. There was nothing to be found, but I did a second check just to be sure. In the meantime I was the only man in this city who was still fighting for the Emperor, and I wanted to remain alive at least. The damage one man could do was immense if he played his cards right and had the Emperor with him. I had the Emperor on my side that I was sure of. I quickly walked down the hall and down the staircase. A dead cultist lay on the ground where I had shot him dead yesterday. He hadn't noticed me since he had been too busy sticking himself with a foul injection of some sort. The syringe lay smashed on the floor. The street outside was quiet and I snuck out of the front door. I crouched down along the wall and looked both ways. Tiretracks was the only thing that betrayed the presence of a military force in the area. I could not hear the artillery down here so there was nothing disturbing my listening. I checked the safety on my rifle with my finger and it was off. When nothing could either be heard or seen, I started moving down the street along the wall. My progress was slow and I was always looking around. I was headed for Garland square. There were some tall buildings that we had fortified and I could easily sow confusion among the enemy there. It would be even better if I could find a squad of traitor guardsmen, get on the floor below them and start shooting at cultists or chaos marines below. The ensuing firefight would be most satisfying. Also if there were any mines or explosives I could scavenge, I would be very happy. They were perhaps the most effective weapon I could get. My lasrifle wasn't strong enough to pierce the armour of Chaos Marines, but an explosion could possibly buy me enough time to slip away. In the distance I heard the rumbling of an engine, but it was faint. I stopped and listened if it was getting closer, but it seemed to stay in the distance so I kept walking. I reached Garland square without any hostile encounters, and I had steeled myself for what I would have to face there. The Valkyrie still lay where it had been shot down and the shell of the machine of war was now scorched and smoking. I hid behind some debris and parts of a the building next to me that had been shot out. The square was really big, and now that I saw it in its entirety a I felt a little proud for my squad. Fifteen guardsmen and guardswomen had held off an enemy with superior numbers and denied them access to the square which had been a centre of mobilization, transport and resupplying when the fighting was restricted to the city. Many groups of cultists were scurrying about with cashes or pieces of metal and loaded them up in chimaeras that forces of Chaos had captured and converted. The closest group was no less than sixty metres away from me, and I had hit smaller targets that had been at the same distance, but I did not even raise my rifle. My plan to head up into the buildings would be much more effective. A head on assault would only let the enemy know I was here, and they would start a small manhunt to get me. I put my rifle on my back and pulled Vikers pistol out. It would be much easier to use in close quarters. When the band of cultists turned their back on me, I leaped from my hiding-place and ran through the closest door and took cover. No alarm was raised, and It did not look as if I was spotted. The architecture here looked to be the same as the building I had made my base in. I snuck over to the stairs and walked up them. I would have to get at least up ten stories to get a good enough overlook over the square. I did not bother with walking silently, but I wasn't barging up either. The cultists and traitor guardsmen would probably be used to some activity. The walk was long and I heard some indistinct chatter when I passed the seventh floor. The door was a little open and I looked in. A squad of traitor guardsmen in red and cultists in purple. They looked to be too heavily armed for me to take on, but I would leave them a small present none the less. I pulled a piece of thin wire and tied it around the banister and the lower hinge and fastened the grenade to it by the hinge. When anyone passed through this door they would soon pass on and hopefully take a few friends along with them. When I was done I kept walking and listened for the explosion, but it did not come. When I reached the ninth floor, I saw that there was another squad inside, and they were busy picking apart a bolter. Luckily the crew had managed to spend all the ammo. Now though they lay dead at the other end of the corridor in a pile alongside the other men that had fallen in defence of this floor. The enemies here were traitor guardsmen only and were thus a priority target for me. There is no worse crime than to turn your back on the Emperor, and only the most morally degraded individuals would be able to do it. I made a grenade-trap again and walked up another floor when I was done and after checking that the hall was clear, I walked in. There were no marks of battle here, but I would fix that soon enough. I fastened the scope properly now, and walked down the hall. I stopped approximately when the bolter was below me, kneeled and supported my rifle on the windowsill. I scanned each and every target down on the ground to see if there were any markings of an officer, but there cultists all looked just as ragged ad filthy or delicately dressed. This would indeed take some patience.
After kneeling and observing for the better part of an hour I had seen many cultists come and go and traitor guardsmen had come on patrol. Rage had seared through me when I lay my eyes upon them, but after a while I found that there was one with More jewellery and finer clothing than the rest of them, and he seemed to be giving out orders. As I aimed my rifle at him, I started whispering a chant I had been taught when I was just a recruit.
"My armour is contempt, my shield disgust, my sword hatred! In the Emperor's name! Let none survive!" I exhaled and pulled the trigger. My shot went straight through the torso of the cultist, and another shot followed quickly and the cultist fell to the ground with blood pouring out onto his fine gown. Shouts of confusion ensued and the cultists below looked unsure about what was happening, but when I shot another one there was no question about what was going on. The cultists fired whatever crude weapons they had at me and it did not take long before I heard screams of wounded soldiers below. They returned fire within seconds and the firefight had started. The cultists dispersed and took cover where it could be found and as they ran their steps were haunted by lasfire from the traitors below me. I was about to start laughing when a stray burst of lasfire hit just a metre to my left. I threw myself down as an explosion below rocked the staircase and dust was blown down the hall. I grinned when I heard the pained screams of the unlucky enemy. I got back up on my feet and looked down. Quite a few cultists were sitting ducks and I would not let a chance go by to lessen the power that Chaos held over this city. I raised my rifle and took aim. My shot would blend in with the rest that was pouring down on the cultists. I prioritized those with long range weapons and when I found my first target I heard a second explosion, but this one was further down the stairway. My shot went through his chest right where his neck began. His comrade jumped away and landed flat on his back. I quickly aimed at him and fired a burst. Two of the shots hit him, but the third missed him with at least twenty centimetres. I was a fairly accurate marksman, and quite a few of the cultists got to experience that before I took the scope off and headed towards the staircase. Movement in one of the streets to the right caught my eye. At least thirty men dressed in red armour came marching with their weapons in hand and immediately opened fire on the cultists. They were flanked and out-manned, but they managed to flock together and head into a large office-building on the left. They took up defensive positions there and returned fire. However they were no match for the organized assault of the traitor guardsmen. At least that is what I thought. When the first squad of guardsmen, they couldn't have been more than fifteen, came to the front of the building and was about to enter, a band of cultists jumped up in the windows of the first floor and fired shotguns at them. A few had been lying outside and had faked that they were dead, but they too jumped up and fired their weapons and the squad was annihilated. The cultists retreated back into the building and the assault stopped. I was a little intrigued by the sudden ingenuity and resilience of the cultists, and almost felt like putting my scope back on and help them out a little, but that might give me away. The firefight dragged on, and no end was in sight.
I checked my watch and the time was a quarter to two. Even through it was always nice watching your enemy fight itself, but after sitting still for an hour up there, I was getting a little bored of it. Another squad of guardsmen and a rather large group of cultists had joined in on the fighting, but they were only exchanging fire and neither side advanced. The squads in this building had headed out onto the streets and gotten involved in fighting there so I had an escape route, but I wouldn't leave until I was absolutely sure that I would not be seen. That would only serve to make the enemy more united against me since they could blame the fighting today on me. I was a little surprised that no one had come to stop the fighting, but let it go on. I wondered if this was normal within the forces of Chaos, but then how were they able to organize themselves against us if they were constantly fighting each other? Their forces had to be truly immense, or better trained than what I had thought. The fighting took a turn when the traitor guardsmen fired a rocket-launcher into the building and stormed forwards with grenades. They managed to throw a few into the building, but most of the chargers were shot down like the sick dogs they were, but the cultists were surprised and caught off guard so they weren't as well prepared for the second charge that went along the flank farthest away from me. The charge actually got inside the building, and a third charge came after a minute and the first floor was secured. Now was my time to get away. I ran to the staircase and went down as fast as I could. I jumped over the holes my grenades had made, and the stairs creaked dangerously and seemed to give way when I landed too hard on a step. There was no stopping however and I kept running down in the darkness.
I reached the first floor and ran into cover there with my rifle ready. I hadn't taken the time to scavenge anything, but I would have the opportunity to do that tomorrow too or perhaps later today. I looked outside and saw that everyone was busy with the fighting which had intensified. The view wasn't as good down here, but there was definitely a very large group of cultists on the opposite side of the square and they were thrashing the traitor guardsmen. A few of the traitor guardsmen had retreated to the fountain and were set up there. A rocket flew through the air and tore a air of cultists to shreds, and that was probably my best chance to get away. I bolted out of the door and followed the wall for five metres before I threw myself around the corner, over the debris and into cover. The sound of battle was echoing in the square, and I could hear the sound of another rocket hitting its target. Pained and ecstatic screams followed in its wake. I had no wish to watch further and I laid down on the ground and crawled away. There was more than enough chaos here for the moment. I hoped that Vicker hadn't gotten loose or anything. I put as much distance between me and the battlefield as I felt necessary before I stood up and jogged quickly back to my base.