The clatter of five men who dashed up the stairs filled my ears and stifled the light from above with their shadows. I breathed hard, as I watched sweat become steam and cloud my visor. With a harsh curse that only the Emperor and I would ever share, I jerked my face mask off and let it nestle just above my neck.
Mofor led the charge up the stairs with his powersword swinging energetically from side to side, always he steadied his weapon forward and never would he allow the enemy to surprise him around the corners. It was somewhere around the fifth floor that his hellpistol flared red before he continued our mad, endless charge up level by level, until we paused at the exit doorway to the outer catwalks. I passed the body of an enemy clerk were the fool's blood ran its filthy ichor down the stairs with the consistency of tar.
Jull leaned in and peered just around the corner to spot what the firefight on the other side had become. Our position was relatively unnoticed, but some 100 meters ahead we saw the elements of Othloe, Kerrin and Becks squads holding their own against the enemy who cautiously raised their heads from cover to snap a few lasgun rounds and then hide before the belch of heavy bolters could reply in earnest.
It was the first time I had seen the enemy so visibly. Clad in dark red uniforms with chains to hold their flak breastplates in place, the most disturbing sight were their faces. Somehow they had outlived being only pale to the degree of a putrid color in their flesh, almost lightly green. On each of their shoulders and sometimes carved into their foreheads, we saw the eight pointed star of chaos. I felt a vicious pang of hatred welt up in my chest that went well beyond the training of the Harakoni Warhawks.
These were them. These were the bastards who had gassed 250,000 people trapped in their homes and in the dome cities. They had casually leaving the dead to rot in the streets and buildings as though a mere nuisance.
"You're snarling," Felix said.
I quickly calmed my facial features. I had grown accustomed to wearing the visor all mission that I forgot that my trademark facial expressions were visible, and more then once had gotten me into trouble in the past.
With care, Mofor stepped with a combination of haste and silence towards a nearby stack of metal crates which still bore the mark of the Imperium, though slashed through several times with a smattering of a blooded hand. Jull followed and I was right in toe. My eyes grew distracted a few minutes as I saw something break the clouds above us and saw the distant shapes of Valkyries descend from the sky. The twin birds cast great shadows, which masked the winking sun that descended beyond the western mountain ranges.
One of the Valkyries poised in the air, its weaponry brought to bear against the enemy position. With a shower of heavy laser fire, the enemy braced themselves hard against their cover as the pulses shredded a few of them too close to the Valkyries position to escape the higher angle of the aircraft. Meanwhile, the second Valkyrie had begun to ground itself. Landing gear crept from the lower wing tips and underneath the engine and fuselage.
We kept up the pace, determined not to let the enemy know that they were about to be pinned by a kill team. But before we reached the nearest enemy position, Mofor suddenly ordered us to duck down in a hurry. We obeyed without question, and slammed our knees to the concrete and remained still behind the crates. A few support squads of enemy troopers filed through in a hurry, their focus on the stalemate battle ahead. As they passed us oblivious of the danger, Cowboy turned a smirk to me. I resisted the urge to say something smart.
"This is the second weapons team! We're down to one box of ammo." Our comm-beads cracked to life.
"First team, same situation Lieutenant!"
"Othloe here, we got two clips left for each trooper. What's ETA on Mofor's squad?"
Mofor lifted a finger to his mask and pressed it up slightly, "Mirror rear."
"Understood," sounded a stern, young voice that must have been Becks'. "First squad, give second squad your remaining clips and embark. First team, pack it up. Stormers, give them the last of your grenades and be up the ramp. Ready to go when you are, sergeant."
"Fer a young'un, tha Becks is really shapin' up," Jull stated dryly.
I peeked over the crates to see the situation in full. The first Valkyrie had landed and opened the ramps. Troopers from the first squad were dashing up into the belly of the aircraft and I saw Nelus and the rest of the storm troopers join them. A moment later, there was a cacophony of fragmentation grenades as they ignited near the enemy's position and left the enemy scattered behind the boxes and crates, where the last heavy weapons team was fast to pick them apart, their shells chattering over the ground as smoke tumbled in the wind from the bolter barrels.
Mofor turned to us, "This is the last run. Get your grenades and prepare a Valhalla Rush. Jull and Felix on the left, Cowboy on the right."
"Sir?" I asked.
"Grayson, with Cowboy," Mofor stated.
I slipped my way to the right sight of Mofor after I handed my second to last grenade to Felix, who had used up his during our booby trap below. Sticking my thumb in the pin hole, I felt sweat trickle down my forehead and cheek. My tongue lashed out to lick the droplet off my upper lip as Cowboy glanced at me, "If you got any favors with the boss on the Throne, ask him if he'd get us through this."
"Cowboy, we're the ones doing him the favor," I replied back, and then Mofor gave the word.
The first Valkyrie rouse into the air and began to hover, shooting down on the enemy while the second aircraft began its descent to pick up the remaining troops.
We tossed our grenades and dashed forward, but not while firing. I watched shocked enemy troopers whirl around to find out what tapped them on the shoulder before the primer ignited the blast, which sent a wave of concussive blasts across the enemy's cover. Men screamed and died as the five of us sprinted forth, our boots tearing into the ground and our fingers holding down the triggers of hellguns. We hosed down the enemy who had taken notice of us, while ahead Mofor led our home-or-hell charge with hellpistol blaring and sword carving.
The enemy was caught completely off guard as we pressed through their line, and as my feet fell upon the first step of concrete clear of the crates I knew that we were in the no man's land. Red flashes of light stung the air around us and I felt one slice the side of my leg, but I kept the run going. Not here. This was not the place to die!
My eyes widened as we zipped the final 7 meters between cover and the crates that concealed our allies. But just as we cleared the last steps, Felix puffed his chest out and fell forward, his back armor sizzling black as a round found its mark.
Without hesitation, Cowboy and I turned around and began to fire our reply upon the enemy, while Jull slung his hellgun over his shoulder and reached down, hoisting Felix over his shoulders and continued his slowed run. Meanwhile, the remnants of the second squad and the heavy weapons team were rushing up the ramp. Becks and Kerrin themselves stood at the base, firing at the enemy with their lasguns as Mofor passed them and began his ascent up the ramp.
I dangerously turned my back on the enemy as Cowboy fired a final round and joined suit. Together, we stomped our way up the ramps as a shower of laser fire rifled the area we just stood. As we ran, Becks and Kerrin joined us for the final peg and we threw ourselves into the crowded darkness of the Valkyrie's interior, while the ramp squeezed shut behind us with a hiss.
Once again, the familiar slam of gravity overtook us. Breathing hard, I marched towards Jull and Mofor who stood next to the medic overlooking Felix.
"He'll be okay, he'll be okay," the medic assured Mofor. "He'll need an augmented lung, but he should survive this. All I can do right now is stop the bleeding and give him some painkillers until we return to the ship."
"Do it," Mofor grunted.
Cowboy and Jull breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously before Cowboy turned to me with the biggest grin on his face, "Well, we Felix out, I guess you'll be buying us drinks when we get back, eh Grayson?"
The End