Mr D Knight Of the Woo: Thanks for the add. Free free to comment!
Alien26: Thank you, I try lol. Omakes are always fun to write for me too.
Sammy Holzbein: I'm glad you like it! And the Emperor is probably Chuck Norris lol.
Retrebution-TheDarkAngel: Again, thanks man.
Just a few hours later, we halted in a small clearing for a rest. Targren IV's sun was halfway up its way in the sky – which I reckoned was about 1000 hours, even though days on Targren were roughly thirty hours long. Its white brilliance flooded through the canopy and lit up the forest floor with a gentle touch.
I nearly collapsed onto the ground out of sheer exhaustion. I gingerly eased off the vox caster, sighing contentedly as my shoulders felt blessed relief. Off came my helmet. Birds chirped overhead, as if they were laughing at the flakes of dried blood sloughing off my armour vest and fatigues. Finding one of my canteens, I gratefully poured cool water down my throat, then replaced the bottle back into its pouch. I laid on my back on a bed of leaves with my bolter and helmet in easy reach – and something came over me as I looked up.
I marvelled.
How had I never even realised the beauty of this forest? This was a wild...utterly untamed environment – one that I had never seen on Sayre. The trees stretched up into the sky with all their arboreal majesty, crowned with a lush canopy of leaves. And the green! It was everywhere! I had never seen such lurid shades of that colour. The birds were no less exotic, all resplendent in their plumage and their eccentric shapes.
I imagined myself as an old coot on Sayre, telling the children of my many adventures among the stars.
"Pops, tell us of the places you've been!" they would exclaim.
Leaning forward on my cane, I'd look into each of their eyes in turn. "Well, I've once walked in a forest," I would rumble grouchily, to their amazed gasps. Then I would cackle merrily – and I wouldn't know to do.
Yes, that would be the life, I hummed to myself.
Forests were places of magic and knights in Sayrean children's tales. I wondered if I would meet the Mighty Quinn here, or Bimborella among the flowers. Suddenly, something blotted out my vision. Something feathery tickled my nostrils, and a pair of wings fluttered.
A moth! I felt the sneeze building up.
"A...A...Ach –!" I squeezed off the sneeze inside my head, feeling that horribly uncomfortable pressure that always came with such actions. The moth took fright and flew off, jerked off by my sudden movements.
It was odd, I figured. Mighty queer to be thinking about such paltry matters after all the blood and gore of last night. But that, I supposed, was how people stayed sane. For me and Jane, it was fantasising about the future. For Sammo it was his machines. Skylan was no different, bending his mind to plundering corpses for riches.
If war is everywhere, think about anything else! I figured with a grin.
There was a quiet rustle of leaves as someone settled down beside me. It couldn't be Sky; he was busy tucking away his watches into his bum-bag. I heard a muffled oomph as whoever it was collapsed near me.
"Wouldst thou be inclined to tutor me in matters amorous?" That was Helfort, to be sure.
I groaned, "Urgh? Must I?"
"Yes," he replied quickly. We laughed at that, sitting up.
Looking up at the leaves above, I began to give my lecture.
"I'll try. Right, first you gotta talk like us when you're with her," I started, but Helfort cut in.
"What dost thou imply?" he asked, an aggressive edge in his voice.
"You know...Imperial Low Gothic? How 'bout this: talk like her. That way she can understand, you see? It's OK to talk like this to us, cus' we're your buddies. But with Klara, you're out to impress her. Yeah," I finished lamely.
Helfort was silent for a while. Then he said, "How?"
"Umm..." I mused. "Try saying 'you' instead of 'thou' or 'thee' or whatnot."
"Very well, I shall endeavour to –"
"Stop!" I commanded. "Talk normal, you know..."
I honestly didn't know what to do. How could you change how someone spoke? Skylan bumbled into view, and I had a brainwave.
"Ho, Sky, get over here!" I called softly. He turned and head towards us, polishing his shotgun.
"If Sky can understand what you're sayin', Klara can get what you say, yeah?" I whispered quickly to Helfort.
"Dost thou take me for a fool? It is he that cannot speak properly." Jyon crossed his arms irritably.
"Come on, buddy," I cajoled.
"Nay," he replied flatly.
"It'll help you get Klara..." I hinted. That did the trick.
"Very well, sirrah."
"Roight, ya buggers. Ah'rm 'ere, ser what's this shebang goin', eh?" Sky announced, standing over us with his shotgun in hand.
"Sit down, Sky. Jyon here's gonna talk to you for practice." I jerked a thumb at a repulsed Helfort.
"'E kin talk? Didna' know 'e 'ad the brain cells ta' do tha'." Sky crashed down on his arse with an inelegant kick of his heels.
"What dost he say?" asked a confounded Helfort.
"What?" Sky asked me. "What 'e sayin' now, Lister?"
I sighed. Getting them to talk was like getting a cat and dog to communicate. But, as the Emperor had said at the Battle of Nouva Yourk: Adversity makes us men. For some reason I had been paying attention at that particular history lesson. So I tried once more, just like his Majesty had done.
"Jyon, pretend that Sky's Klara. Look, I know it's hard – but try. Sky, you're Klara," I instructed weakly.
Sky grinned. "Ah'rm just that hot, huh?"
He stuck his hands under his combat vest to make a crude parody of breasts. Our combat vest was constructed from two moulded plates that overlapped each other, the top over the bottom. That gave it flexibility for afterwards, when our muscles would grow. Looking at Sergeant Jevarn, I could see it was necessary. His pectorals were huge.
Jyon looked on, aghast. "I wouldst sooner bed mine sister," he remarked.
"No doubt ya'll 'ready 'ave," was Skylan's snide reply.
Success! I exulted mentally. At least they can insult each other properly! Helfort's girl is absolutely gonna love him...
"Alright, that was OK, I suppose," I butted in. "Jyon, give this a shot. Say 'How are you doing today?' to Sky, yeah?"
"How are th...you doing today?" he repeated slowly.
"Great, cheers," Sky snorted. "Screw this. Helfort, ah'rm gonna give ya somethin' magical. These are me 'undred percent success pick-up lines."
Sky stood up with a flourish.
"Number One! You ask 'er: Are you religious? Then she sez: Why? Then ya sez: 'Cus ya the answer to me prayers!"
"That was the stupidest line I've ever had the misfortune to hear. Do you really think they'd be religious?" came an unexpected voice. Jevarn strode past us like a walking mountain. He called over his shoulder, "We move out in two minutes."
"No," muttered Sky savagely. "But tha' ain't the point! Right, 'ow 'bout this 'un. Ya stare at their arse, then say: Ya wearing spacesuit pants? Cus tha' arse is outta this world!"
Helfort gave Sky a look of pure horror – or was it complete confusion? I felt like tearing my ears out.
"That..." I began, licking my lips. "...was absolute turds. I bet they'd kick your arse into orbit."
"Well ya gotta try, huh?" Sky remarked, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Yeah, yeah," I agreed, smiling.
"Hey! I got 'nother one! Ya say: Hot damn! Ya arse is fine...wanna see mine?" he exclaimed.
There was a shocked silence, utter and complete. I think even the birds were gobsmacked with sheer disgust.
"Who..." growled Jyon. "...wishes to see thy misbegotten backside, I know not."
"I thought that was good," Sky shot back.
"You just made that up, didn't you?" I asked. "You're getting desperate, buddy."
"Bull!"
"Form up! Get into line, you little bastards! There's idolaters to kill!" called Jevarn.
With a chorus of groans we got to our feet, pulling on helmets and tucking our effects into our webbing. I felt the familiar, cursed weight of the vox caster settle on my shoulders once more, and readied myself for another eternity of aimless trekking.
…...
To my surprise, we were heading somewhere. Half an hour later, a dirt road began to grow apparent in the distance, like some winding brown snake far away. As usual Squad Blue was strung out in a widely space line, and I was second-last just as last time. The day was quickly proving to be a hot one, and sweat dripped from my helmet. My fatigues sweltered and soaked under the stifling combat vest; this time thankfully not with blood, but with sweat.
To my dismay, my earpiece buzzed with Jevarn's voice.
How am I supposed to fight like this? I griped sullenly.
Jevarn neither knew nor cared. His words blared obliviously through my sound piece with his distinct Terran accent.
"Bravo Two, this is Bravo One, over."
I racked my tired brain for the appropriate response. What was I supposed to say again? Nothing wiped the mind clean like thirty kilometres of hard marching.
"Um...Bravo Two, yeah – roger? Over!" I stammered, slowly recalling my vox lessons.
"Bravo One, inform the rear that the Aquila must fold its wings perpendicular to the road. Out," was his curt reply.
Right. The Aquila must fold its wings...Which formation was that? I really should have paid more attention at tactical training.
Aquila...aquila...folds its wings? Ah!
I turned around, slinging my bolter. Sky looked at me, eyes hidden in darkness under his helmet's rim. I spread my arms wide, then closed them, turning towards the road and gesturing in that direction. He shook his head in confusion.
I realised that I looked like I was having a fit, so I stopped waving my arms about. I figured I might as well speak to him, so I walked up to him.
"Sarge wants us to move facing the road, all closed in-like," I reported.
Sky responded with a grunt. "How's them hor-moans goin'?" he inquired after a pause.
"No change – just less pain. Maybe they're duds," I said hopefully. "You give 'em a try."
"Pfft. Threw 'em all away." Sky waved his hand in a desultory gesture.
"You'd better be right, buddy."
"Urngh. Yeah." He slouched bonelessly. I guess the hike was getting to him as well. He stopped being talkative when he was tired; I had seen it many times during our training.
"Yeah, swing round or something. The road's up yonder," I said, pointing at the dirt trail. He nodded, and I left him to his own devices.
Now for Helfort. Wait – where was he?
I scanned the undergrowth, looking for black armour on camouflage fatigues. I felt my skin crawl. Had some Targrenite knifed him? I gently eased my bolter from my shoulder, feeling for the safety.
Snap.
I whirled backwards, bolter poised to shoot.
"Too slow, initiate. I would have killed you several times over without you realising," Jevarn commented caustically. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sorry sergeant," I apologised.
"You will be," he snapped. His expression softened. "Trust your instincts, boy. They will bring you home safe."
"What home, sergeant?" I said bitterly. "I don't even live on a planet no more, let alone a family."
"You have your squad mates – your brothers. At least, if you survive. Only when you have been blooded with them in battle will you truly be brothers," he mused. "Now, snap to! Wait – I have a task for you, since you have the vox caster."
Not another one, I moaned, but only in my head. I put on my best poker face.
"What'cha need, sergeant?" I asked with false brightness.
He handed me a metal block. I looked at it, bemused. It was smooth everywhere apart from one side, which was pitted with holes spaced at regular intervals. The ubiquitous Imperial Aquila was stamped on one of the broad sides.
"A translator and automated language tutor. Translator's a bit faulty, so actually learn the language. Locals here either speak Anglish Low Gothic or Russtek Low Gothic – or some bastardy of both. I only know a few words of Russtek, that infernal tongue. Your job is to learn it."
"Uh, why? Ain't we just killing them?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. Then I quickly added, "Sergeant."
"As Sergeant Condor said, the fleet is still stuck out-system. Until then, we are stranded with no support...apart from those sky-eyes." He stuck a ham-like hand at the blue sky above. "I want access to the enemies' vox. Imperial Intelligence has contacted locals willing to aid us. However, Imperial Intelligence is the exact opposite of intelligent."
He scratched his nose.
"Our contact – the only one in several hundred miles – this one only speaks Russtek. Also, we are here to win the love of these soon-to-be conquered people. It would do well to put on a semblance of respecting their cultures."
Put on a semblance of respect... For a moment I worried about what was happening on Sayre. But Sayre was countless light years away, and I had my own problems right now.
"S'kay, sergeant," I assured him. "Hang on, how hard is it to learn is this language?"
"Why do you think I didn't bother, initiate?" Jevarn said, eyes a-glitter.
Jovi damn, if he couldn't learn it, how can I?
"Um...ya' know sergeant, Skylan over there looks like a prime candidate for learning Russtek," I wheedled. "Not like little ol' me."
"You have the sound system, boy. Are you questioning me?" he growled menacingly. He advanced slowly.
You see, laziness was all and good, but not when it conflicted with self-preservation. I hurriedly back-pedalled and fell over a log. A protruding stick jabbed me in the seat of my pants.
"Right there you are, sergeant! I totally wanna learn Russtek!"
'As if...' I was really thinking. I shifted a little, trying to dislodge that annoying stick.
"Good. There is a panel on the left side of your vox caster. Open it and plug the device in – they say it plays through the recordings."
I did as I was instructed. But nothing came out of my earpiece.
"Eh sergeant? This contraption ain't working," I complained.
He raised an eyebrow, and bent down to fiddle with the vox caster. I sneaked a glance behind at Sky. He was busy eating out of a tin. As I watched a bit of food dropped out of his mouth and onto the ground. He picked it up and downed it without a second glance.
"There! All set," Jevarn said. He pulled out a scrap of paper. "The instruction manual says to 'Tap earpiece once to begin tutelage' and 'Tap earpiece twice to change to vox channel'. Understood?"
"How 'bout rewind and pause, sergeant?" I queried.
He read the paper again. "The manual says to rewind or fast-forward twist the interference modulator clockwise or anti-clockwise respectively. To pause...you press down on the knob."
Hot damn, they had everything thought out. The interference modulator was a rather useless device. You had to be underwater for it to do its job.
"OK. But how can you tell me what to do if something comes up, sergeant?"
He glared at me. "Keep your eyes wide open, or stick something up your arse. I've heard that helps inattentive soldiers stay awake."
He slid away without a second glance. A few minutes later the line began to move towards the road.
Might as well get started, I groused.
Tap.
…...
A cool female voice filled my left ear as we prepared to cross the dirt road. We had to do it one by one – just in case an enemy patrol came across us and obliterated the entire squad. This way, however, only one of us would die if that happened.
It was not a comforting thought.
We crouched in a ditch twenty metres from the road. Despite the danger, I wasn't paying much attention, instead focusing on my Russtek lessons.
"Welcome to the Automated Language Instructor (Comprehensive Edition). Nomenclature designated for this unit is ALICE. Language selected: Russtek Low Gothic. Commencing. Lesson One. Repeat after me. Ding dong ding ah dong dong."
Russtek Gothic was so...stupid. I couldn't make head or tail of it.
" Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'I surrender'. Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in diplomatic situations."
I tried it, probably butchering the language as I went.
"Lesson Two. Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'Please speak Russtek'. Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in social situations."
Please speak Russtek? Please speak Russtek? I didn't need to say that – the Targrenites had to!
Nevertheless, I did as ALICE told me.
"Lesson Three. Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'Please surrender, mangy cur!' Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in diplomatic situations."
That might come in useful. I repeated it, painfully aware that everything sounded the same in Russtek.
"Go!" I faintly heard Jevarn say. Mogas scrambled out of the ditch and across the road, disappearing into the foliage on the other side.
"Lesson Four. Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'I think your car looks nice'. Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in social situations."
"Go! Go! Go!" Half the squad was across at this point, I suddenly realised. But Russtek was so fascinating, since I figured I was picking it up.
"Lesson Five. Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'Get lost you clap-ridden, impotent transvestite!' Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in social situations."
" Ding dong ding ah dong dong," I repeated faithfully.
"Go! Go!" snapped Jevarn, sending Helfort and Sernax over at thirty second intervals.
"Lesson Six. Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'hello'. Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in social situations."
Now they teach me how to say hello? Isn't that the first thing you're supposed to learn that first for any language? I had learnt 'I surrender' first instead.
In a flash of insight, I figured that the person who had designed this was probably lacking in brain cells, and even more so in the balls department.
"Go!" snapped Jevarn. He was looking at me.
I crawled out of the ditch, rising unsteadily to my feet. The vox caster jiggling and slipped about, obviously not secured properly. I took hold of one the shoulder straps in one hand, and carried my bolter in the other. My boots thumped on the hard-packed ground.
"Lesson Seven, Ding dong ding ah dong dong means 'May I have a lift'. Repeat after me: Ding dong ding ah dong dong. Phrase is useful in –"
ALICE cut off – replaced by Jevarn's voice.
"GET OFF THE ROAD! HOSTILES INCOMING!" he roared across the airwaves.
I looked to my left. There was a cloud of dust rising in the distance, billowing and frothing madly. My mind snapped back to that chase across the desert back on Sayre – the one where we had dragged Alaris along with our tow chains. The pursuing tanks; they had kicked up a cloud just like that...
Then the enormity of the situation dawned on me. Get off the road, you idiot! I yelled to myself. Or was that Jevarn on the radio?
I never knew. I frantically dived back to where I had came from, tumbling into the ditch on top of Skylan. I just hoped that armoured convoy hadn't spotted me. I knew it was hard to see ahead when the vehicle ahead of you was blowing up a dust storm in your windshield. However, I knew all too well that the front vehicle had none of that problem. I prayed to Jovi that the lead driver hadn't spotted me.
I felt an elbow jab me in the leg.
"Ge'roff me, bra," Sky grumbled. I mumbled a 'sorry' and clambered off the red-haired Feckulian.
Jevarn was peering at the approaching brown cloud, scowling all the while.
"What now, sergeant?" I asked nervously. If those tanks or trucks stopped, it was all my fault.
"Prepare for combat. If those are tracked tanks, we'll need to toss our hand-bombs down their hatches. You two have explosives, I recall, no?" he instructed, voice flat.
"In me bum-bag, serge," muttered Sky bashfully. We looked at each other.
"Same," I mumbled. "I'll get them now, kay, sergeant?"
The sergeant stared at us. "Of course not. Why blow up the inside of a tank when you can just hit the outside with your bolter grips? Let your bum-bags keep the grenades. They'll be needing it more than you in a fire-fight. I'd sleep better if your bum-bags stayed well supplied in munitions. I'm sure their responsible bum-bags."
We gaped at him. What was Jevarn smoking? Oh hang on...
Was that sarcasm?
"Um..." Sky began.
"Get your bloody grenades from your bloody bum bags!" our sergeant snarled ferociously, his face a beetroot red. A vein began throbbing at his temple.
We frantically obliged him. I tucked my grenades in my pockets, feeling their weight tug at the waistband of my pants. I was glad Jane's belt was their to hold them out. I touched it for luck, hands shaking just a little.
"Alright, that's a military convoy," Jevarn reported grimly.
"How so, sergeant?" I wished desperately that he was wrong, but my ears said otherwise. There was something about the pitch of those engines that reminded me of the fighting on Sayre.
"Hear that? The noise those engines make – it's low, and it's loud. Military convoys, they usually have to go through some fairly nasty terrain, so they need that sort of motive power to get them around."
My heart sank, my suspicions confirmed.
"We don't have any anti-armour weaponry, so we have to climb on top of those tanks if they stop. The trick is to pull the pin before you jump on the top, and throw it in at the last minute. That way the bastards inside can't throw it back out. If their sides are covered in barbed wire, jump on it with your vest, and let your partner jump on top of you," Jevarn continued, slipping off the safety. "I don't want to force an engagement, but it sounds like they're slowing down."
I suddenly recalled one of the inspirational posters back on the corridors of the Armageddon Knight. It featured a dead Imperial Army private lying face down, bleeding, on a thicket of wickedly sharp razor wire. Muddy brown bootprints covered his entire back, where his comrades had stepped on him and over the wire. The inscription below read: ==SELFLESSLY DID THIS HERO DIE FOR THE GLORY OF MANKIND==. I certainly didn't plan on being that poor martyr. The thought of me lying face down in the dirt and bleeding nearly made me wet my pants.
"Shit," was Sky's comment. "No good."
"Indeed," Jevarn replied dryly. "If you aim for destroy the trucks, lob your grenades into the back compartment. If there are enemy soldiers inside – that is good. If there are volatile materiel or munitions – even better. Initiate Lister, aim for the fuel tanks with your bolter. Inert slugs usually do nothing, but bolter rounds are able to set off fuel."
I readied my bolter, jittery. Jevarn looked over at the other side.
"It is a good thing that you two idiots are here with me. Trigger-happy whelps. Those on the other side at least have some sort of fire discipline," he said flippantly.
I said nothing, tongue-tied with anxiety. This fight was in broad daylight. There was no element of surprise and no shadows to hide in. And I had nothing to urge me on, no cause to fight for. I really had...nothing.
"If these Targrenite idolaters stop and begin searching, we must alert the rest of Squad Blue," the sergeant mused.
"I should've gone over, right?" I asked miserably.
I felt like I was useless. And I was scared to death. Useless coward, a voice sneered at me. Can't fight like a man huh? Can't fight if the enemy can fight back, huh?
And it was true. Back on Sayre, all my fights were on the back of a truck. I was protected by both the truck's heavy armour and its sheer speed. Even when we stormed the Tyrant's citadel we had surprise on our side, with Alaris shielding us. Last night was no different. Half of that Targrenite squad was dead before they even realised what was happening.
You ain't no man, Lister. You ain't got balls. Can't take no hits. Now they got the tanks, they got the trucks. You're useless, and you're gonna die, that evil voice in me continued.
And I believed it.
"Yes. But what is done is done. Castigations come later. Very well, if the enemy is alerted, we start shooting on my mark," Jevarn said calmly. "We yell 'For the Emperor' on my command. That ought to be as unambiguous as a battle cry can get."
We nodded.
Jevarn began to ease into a firing position, but stopped to look at us.
"And keep your thick heads down!" he snapped. "I don't believe in praise, because people always get swollen heads from that. But you two are capable enough – so snap to! Remember your training, follow your instincts and you'll be fine. Keep your heads down, always remember that!"
I was...capable? I felt a surge of pride. What Jevarn had said were the first words of praise he had ever said to me. I took a deep breath.
I can do this. The enemies' gonna shoot at me, and I'm gonna shoot right back. I'm gonna kill them. I can do this!
Off went my safety, my hands shaking a little less now. My mouth was dry.
"I'll look ou' fer ya', Lister bra." Skylan settled next to me, training his shotgun on the road. The convoy was nearly upon us.
"I'll – I'll d-do the same," I stuttered. He grinned at me in reply.
"Knew ya would. That's wha' bruddas are for, hey?" he laughed shakily. I was glad that it wasn't only me who was afraid.
"Silence, now! Let us hope they pass us by," hissed Jevarn.
We shut up immediately. The area was now filled with the roar of mighty traction engines, and well as the softer bass growl of truck engines. I heard them slow, and dwindle to a halt.
"Mighty Jovi, Almighty in Elysia, please see fit to spare my squad and I, for we are all servants to your will," I whispered under my breath.
My fingers clenched my bolter so hard that the joints went white. Sweat rolled down from the brim of my helmet to drip onto the ground. Summoning what courage remained, I poked my head over the top of the ditch.
Th convoy had stopped. Two tanks at the front, sporting revolving turrets with double barrels each. The rest of their armour was smooth and unbroken, with no sponsons. Three trucks sat behind them, with high canvas tenting covering whatever was their cargo. There was a loud beep was one of their horns sounded. I could recognise an angry voice anywhere.
"Ding dong ding ah dong dong!" yelled a truck driver in Russtek, at such a speed at it was gibberish to me.
The hatch of the lead tank popped open, and a man stuck his head out.
"Ding dong ding ah dong dong! Ding dong ding ah dong dong! Give me a second, ding!" I couldn't make sense of any of it.
And so it continued, until I heard the word 'Imperiazi'. I stiffened. That meant us.
"Sergeant, they're talking about us..." I warned.
"Then get ready to duck," he replied curtly.
The yelled conversation ended, the truck driver gunning his engine. The convoy slowly began to move once more, but the lead tank commander stayed in his cupola, gazing thoughtfully at the trees. I breathed a sigh of relief, but kept my eyes firmly on the man.
I saw his hands move, one to his ear and the other gripping the rim of his hatch. Even in the distance, the small smile he gave chilled me to the bone.
A noise started to cut the air.
Whreeeeeee...
Suddenly, inexplicably, the turrets of the two tanks swivelled, one to the left, one to the right. Sky cursed, dropping to the bottom of the ditch.
Then the world turned to hell.
…...
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
I screamed shamelessly as trees exploded around me. Splinters and bits of wood flew through the air. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
I toppled into the ditch, eyes still shut with my hands over my ears to muffle the monstrous booming. There was yelling, gunfire spraying the trees around us. I felt a wet gash across my forehead. I felt something trickle, and suddenly my eyes were filled with red.
Blood! Blood! I was bleeding!
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
I screamed again, huddling in a foetal ball in the ditch. My bolter was forgotten somewhere near me.
I felt a rough hand pull me to my knees. I lashed out, hitting something hard.
Wham!
A stunning blow sent me reeling. The hand hauled me up again. Jevarn's words hammered at my ringing ears.
"Get up, you miserable coward! GET THE FRAK UP!"
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
Jevarn dived down on top of me. I gasped as the air was driven out of me. A splinter pierced the skin right next to my right eye. I clutched it and pulled. One more inch and my eye would have been history.
"GET UP!" he repeated. "What are you – some sodding little girl?"
That did for me. I spat a curse at the sergeant, heaving myself up. My hand closed around my dropped bolter. I brought it up, and planted it it at the lip of the ditch. My lips curled in fury. A red mist of anger settled over my sight.
Nobody – nobody, calls me a little girl.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
Again I ducked, wood shards clattering against my helmet and vest. I cussed ferociously as one wormed its way through a gap and into my neck. I wrenched it out without a second glance, popping back up as soon as the tank salvo had finished.
Fucking nobody calls me a little girl!
Bullets whined and hissed around me, operated by a tank commander manning a machine gun mounted at the lip of his hatch. Jevarn put him down with contempt ease, the fresh corpse draped halfway out of the tank. But Targrenite soldiers were already spilling out of the rear-most truck!
I noticed in a surreal moment of calm that the second-last truck had crashed into the rear of the lead truck. Indignant yells mixed with fearful cries leaked out from the gap between the immobile transports.
Jevarn's stentorian voice rose over the din.
"Give them hell, soldiers of Terra! Sons of the Imperium, who do we fight for?" he roared.
That was our cue.
"For the Emperor!" we howled back.
"I can't hear you! Did I hear mice, or did I hear men?" he snarled.
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" My voice broke, so hard was I shouting.
As if on cue, guns opened up on the other side of the road, sowing carnage among the confused soldiers fresh out from the rearmost truck. I heard the vicious rumble of Sernax's heavy bolter, which cut a swathe through the hapless Targrenites. We cheered mightily, barely ducking as the tanks spat high calibre death in our direction; such was our elation.
"Safeties off, lads!" Jevarn yelled as soon as the latest barrage was over. He pointed at the foremost truck, with the trapped men inside. "Initiate Skylan, blast a hole in the side of the canvas – I'll put a grenade through! Lister, kill the driver. Quickly now!"
"Aye aye, serge!" Sky swept up his shotgun, leaping out of the ditch and fearlessly charging the truck. He had be close to make a large hole with his weapon.
The truck driver spotted him, pointing and sending a slug round at my friend. It kicked up a plume of dust next to his running boots. The man aimed for another, but my sights were already on his head.
The bolter bucked, the man's head exploding milliseconds later. I coughed at the acrid smell of cordite, noting with morbid satisfaction the syrupy brain matter splattered over the truck's windshield. My blood was up now – woe to all in my way!
To my left the sergeant pulled out the pin of his grenade with his teeth. He spat it on the ground, smiling at me.
"Seven marines, six marines, five marines..."
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
Both salvos were aimed at the other side of the road, where most of the squad was concentrated. The tanks had noticed the slaughter going on at the back. Just too late. To their credit, our enemy had hunkered down in the ruins of their truck. They fired ragged, but determined volleys of fire at the other side of the road. Our antics went fairly unnoticed.
Boom!
The thunderous clap of Sky's shotgun snapped my eyes back to him. A hole appeared in the side of the canvas tenting. Desperate hands clawed out of the gap.
"Ding dong ding ah dong dong!" For once, I understood. "I surrender!"
But Skylan didn't. He wouldn't have none of that. Another shot of his churned apart both the hands and more, leaving a spray of blood and gore.
"Three marines, two marines – FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Sky leaped back towards the ditch, legs a-pumping. The grenade flew straight almost straight into the hole, propelled by Jevarn's phenomenal strength.
The truck shook once, mightily. Then it was still. The canvas was already darkening – with blood! I gagged, previous blood lust all but forgotten.
Sky slid back into the ditch, grinning. There was blood on his face.
"Ah' showed 'em!" he exulted. I couldn't help but laugh with him.
"Those tanks are still a threat," our sergeant snapped. "I'll take those hold-outs over there. Start pitching grenades into those tanks."
He motioned towards the Targrenites huddled in the wreckage of the trucks. Things didn't look good for them. Sernax's heavy bolter fire had them pinned, and I could see Helfort and Argeh sneaking up on the position with chainswords. Jevarn began firing on the panicking soldiers, his bolter's percussive roar deafening my already abused ears.
"Ready Lister?" Sky bent his head close to mine. I gathered he was as deaf as me.
"Alright," I replied. I grabbed his arm just as we were about to go up. "Wait. If I die, can you visit Sayre sometime? Her name's Jane Dell. Tell Jane I like – no, love her!"
He looked at me strangely. "Righto, bra. I'll do that."
"Thanks Sky." I clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's do this!"
We cleared the lip of the ditch. My helmet bumped and wobbled as I sprinted towards the second tank. Bullets whined and ricocheted. I yelped as two nicked me in the legs.
"Too steep! Ah' cain't climb it!" Sky shouted frantically.
The tank's sides were too sheer for us to climb. Too smooth to boot. A wall of dull green steel confronted us. Jovi damn! We were sitting ducks!
Sky had a different idea. He slung his shotgun on his shoulder, inching up next to the tank. He put his hands together.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
We painfully stoppered our ears. The percussion made my bones shake and tingle.
I couldn't hear anything. Sky's mouth moved. He gestured. I felt my throat go hoarse, and I realised I was screaming uncontrollably.
Sky made frantically jumping motions. I stared at him in a dazed fugue. He pointed at the side of the tank, and jabbed a finger at his hand.
His hand? My addled mind fizzed and died.
"Jump on me 'ands!" I heard faintly. That was Sky! "Jump on me 'ands! Ah'll push ya up!"
I nodded, understanding.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
Hopefully the tank crew was as deaf as I was. Ske crouched, hands cupped. I slung my bolter and pulled a grenade from my pockets.
I can do this... I thought determinedly.
My fingers closed around the pin.
Do or die. Do or die. Do or die.
Once I pulled that bit of metal, there was no going back. If I messed up, we would both die.
So I pulled.
The pin moved, slipping out of the grenade. My fingers tightened instinctively around the round ball. The world slowed for me.
Sprays of dust exploded around me. Bullets flew.
Seven marines, six marines...
The corpse began to move. Hands tugged and pushed at it from the inside.
Five marines, four marines...
The utter look of trust in Sky's eyes. The way his blood ran down his face, winding and weaving.
Three marines...go! Go!
I felt my legs move, and Sky knelt. A puff of dirt rose from beneath his knee. I jumped.
Boot met palm solidly. Sky heaved, throwing me up into the air. For an instant, I was flying.
"Oomph!" The breath was knocked out of me. I flung the grenade in the hatch as I landed, a perfect slam-dunk. I heard a panicked scream. A plume of shrapnel and viscera was blown out a moment later.
I rose unsteadily to my feet. My bolter was unslung, and I poked it in the hatch. My arms shook as I emptied an entire clip into the steel coffin. Just to make sure.
Skylan cheered. I grinned back, exulting.
Suddenly, the other tank's turret swivelled at me. I stared down the vengeful twin barrels. I saw death, and my legs turned to jelly.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
But something possessed me. Something in me would not, could not let me die. I flung myself backwards off the dead tank. The shells passed inches above. Their path burned lines across my face.
I landed with a painful yell. I had jarred my shoulder, badly. But I savoured the pain. I was alive.
Skylan hustled me to my feet.
"Bloody brilliant, bra!" he yelled. My hearing was returning. "Now let's off tha' other tank!"
I paused to look how the rest of the squad was doing. Sernax's bolter spoke incessantly. Every few seconds a shotgun's signature boom would sound, blasting apart metal and flesh alike. I cried out in dismay as a black vested figure was slammed back – gore erupting from his eye. His chainsword clattered to the ground.
"No!" I cried out without thinking.
Was that Helfort? Helfort! I thought frantically.
I knew that the only chainsword wielding initiates were Argeh and Helfort. To my eternal shame, I prayed for the Hibernian to be spared.
Then the battle whirled me away. Sky tugged at my sleeve.
"There's still that other tank!"
We ducked as a stray bullet bounced off the armour plating. We glanced at each other, laughing. Cheating death was an addictive thing.
I poked my head around the side of the dead tank. With a yelp I jerked back just in time.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
The shells hammered their way into the ground a few feet away. If I had stayed for a second later, my head would have been pulp. Those tank rounds were non-explosive, but they were at least fifteen centimetres wide.
"I'm started to get fair pissed at that tank!" I yelled, after my ears stopped ringing.
Sky looked around the side. He dived back in a mere moment later.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
"Fuckin' motherless son'uve a bitch! Bah Toorett, the guy's got it fer us!" he snarled, his face streaked with soot. He coughed and spat into the dirt.
I picked up a stone and threw it out. The tank immediately fired.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
"The tank's got its bead on us," I remarked acidly. At this point my ears had already gotten used to the dreadful racket. "That ain't fair!"
We were pinned. Trapped between the rear of the dead tank and the wrecked truck that Jevarn had destroyed. I looked up at the cracked windshield and the blood already drying on it. I was glad I couldn't see the headless corpse I had made.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
The bastards in the tank shot again, trying to flush us out. I heard a rumble. Those were engines!
"Tank's movin'!" hissed Skylan. "Git ready!"
We peeked from opposite sides of the tank. I jerked back from my side – the side we had recently vacated. No doubt the Targrenite traction engine would be swarmed by initiates if it went to the other side. I heard a familiar screech.
Whreeee...
"Scram!" I shoved the Feckulian to the opposite side.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
Our tank rocked and shuddered from the fearful barrage. With a scream of tortured metal a piece of plating was ripped off. I stared in shock as it landed a foot away from me, smoking.
"Fuck fuck fuck-fuck-fuck." Whether Sky was praying to his god or just annoyed wasn't clear.
I shot a glance at the fight down the road. It was already dying down. One of us had managed to get into the enemy with his chainsword. I saw a flash of dirty yellow hair. With a relieved grin, I realised Helfort was still alive. Poor Argeh had black hair.
I sidled to the far corner of the tank. This Targrenite tank was shaped like a rectangle, and right now we were on the long side. I coughed as I breathed in smoke. Something was burning up the road.
With a sense of dread I looked around my corner. I tensed ready to duck back. I saw a flash of dull green. That was the back of the tank going into the bushes!
"Whatcha see?" Sky called, reloading his shotgun.
"Those bastard's going into the trees!" I shouted angrily.
"What! Tha' yeller, scum-suckin' tosser!" he roared, spit flying. He shook a fist at the trees. "Come back 'ere, coward!"
"Then let's get them!" I retorted.
That tank had caused enough grief. It needed to die.
We pelted back to our original position, sliding into the ditch. I ignored the sharp pebbles and sticks jabbing me. Fire coursed through my veins.
"Bravo One, this is Br-Lister! Tank on our side! Over!" I yelled into the radio. Stuff protocol!
"Bravo One, roger. Moving to engage. You engage as well. Out."
"Sarge is going after the tank as well!" I reported. Sky nodded.
"We'll make tha' hunk a' junk their coffin, eh?" he grunted.
I noticed he was clutching his side with a hand. He wiped the hand on his pants. They came away bloody.
"Ya'll right there?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
"Didna' notice it before," he replied with some effort. "Me guts ain't 'angin' out, yeah. But it hurts bad, man."
"Shit," I cursed. "Lemme see."
He tried brushing me away weakly. "It ain't nothing. Ain't nothin'," he kept repeating.
I pulled off his armour, and tugged up his shirt. I winced at the sight of it.
The pale skin over his lower side was torn and blackened underneath. Blood oozed from a deep gash near the base of his ribs, on the right side. Something looked...bent under that. A cold, clinical part of my mind figured that something had broken his ribs.
"How?" I shouted over the din of the tank firing. "How dammit?"
"Ah' think...ah' think one of them tanks slugs clipped me," he gasped. "Thought...I...was...fine."
"Well you ain't," I said bitterly, almost sobbing. "Something's broke down there."
He coughed. He spat. The spittle was bloody.
"Gimme one of ya painkillers." His speech dissolved into a fit of coughing. "Comon!"
I wordlessly dug into my bum-bag. He took the vial with a small smile of thanks.
"You-you really shouldn't be moving," I stammered, worried sick. "I can handle this, I hope."
"Piss off!" he snorted, some colour returning to his cheeks. "Ol' Skylan 'ere is as good as new."
He suddenly broke into a fit of coughing. He swore, and I couldn't help but smile. Almost as good as new.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
The tank's gun spoke again, kicking up fountains of dirt near Sernax's position. I watched in horror as the heavy bolter fire stopped. But a moment it started up again from a different place. I grinned. Sernax might have funny ideas, but he was tenacious.
The radio-vox crackled.
"Bravo Two, where the hell are you? The tank's buttoned up – we have to stop it! Over!"
I didn't bother to reply. With a grunt and a heave I helped Skylan up.
"Where to?" he panted. The Feckulian hastily buckled up his armour.
"The noise," I grimly replied. "That thing's dead."
So we readied out weapons, horribly aware how useless they would be against that armoured monstrosity. Jevarn was up ahead, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the frustrated tank crew. He noticed us.
"The vision slit! Fire in the vision slit!" he hollered manically, sweating profusely.
Jovi damn! The vision slit was about two inches wide! You had to be in right front of the tank to even shoot!
Jevarn swore as he tried again. The tank's engine growled and revved. It bucked and jerked forwards restlessly, throwing our sergeant off and threatening to crush him. He rolled away just in time. Sky ran forwards.
"Ah'll git on top and try git the slit!" he yelled over his shoulder.
He wrenched himself up onto a tree, right arm dangling uselessly. He waited for the tank to come by, and dropped heavily onto it.
"Roight ya fuckers! Ya gonna wish yer was never born!" he was screaming incoherently.
Jevarn closed in on me. "We have to stop the tank from moving. Stick a hand bomb in the tracks on the right side – I'll do the other side."
I pointed at Sky as I ran forwards. "We might hurt him!"
Jevarn shook his head. "Initiate Skylan is just a distraction. He's going to get knocked off fairly quickly."
As if to prove the sergeant's point, Sky went flying by a moment later.
"AAAAARRRGGGHH!" he yelled.
He was clinging onto the twin barrels for dear life. The vision slit was located under the turret. I reckoned Sky must have been knocked off when he had tried to climb down.
Shit!
My eyes widened as I saw where the barrels were swinging. Straight into a tree! I shouted a warning, but there was no need.
Sky had noticed too, and dropped just in time. From the cussing that erupted he was probably alive.
The tank's treads loomed ahead of me. Jevarn was ahead, on the other side of the tank.
DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG-DANG!
The tank fired again at my squad mates. I felt something inside my ears pop, and warm trickles ran down from them.
Now completely deaf, I pulled the pin of a grenade. With a vindictive grin I wedged it into the assembly. I dove behind a tree as soon as I had finished.
I felt the explosion rather than heard it. To my dismay, the ground still trembled under my feet.
That bloody tank is still alive? I cursed.
The machine rumbled by a moment later, as if mocking me. It trundled about, searching for us. Regular bursts of cannon fire kept the rest of my squad from coming to our aid. I fired my bolter in hopeless anger.
Jovi cursed piece of adamantium junk! Dead weight! I railed.
Then, suddenly, I had a brainwave. Techmarine Ferros' words came back to me.
"Adamantium is the strongest known substance in the known galaxy. The balance between brittleness to malleability is second to none."
That was it! If I could just jam this damn thing between the tracks, the tank could be stopped!
Without a second thought, I sprang out of cover and charged the tank. I saw the barrels swing around.
On I charged.
The big guns spoke. But my ruined ears heard nothing.
On I charged.
I felt the searing kiss of the shells' infernal flight as they passed over me. I gritted my teeth. I was under their arc of fire now!
Too late, they realised the danger. The tank began to frantically reverse.
Straight into a steep slope!
Normally, that would have posed no problem to the mighty traction engine. But it slowed it down for a second.
And that was all I needed.
With one final leap I was next to the tracks. I felt myself shout as I shoved my bolter into the tracks, barrel first. It stuck.
The tank moved up, or tried to. The bolter bent with an ear-splitting screech that even I could hear. But it held, and the tank was trapped!
I pulled out Jane's pistol with a guttural snarl. Time to finish this!
I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Sky grinned triumphantly and said something to me. His lips moved, but there was no sound. I shook my head, tapping my bleeding ears. He seemed to nod with understanding, brandishing his shotgun and pointing at the vision slit. Jevarn came up behind us, and gestured to Skylan. Even without my ears I could tell what he was saying.
You may do the honours.
Without hesitation Sky jammed the shotgun into the slit. I felt the cannons fire over us one last time in defiance. Then his arms bucked, again and again. I found myself smiling.
Good riddance, you Jovi cursed tank!
I saw Jevarn beckon Helfort over. The sergeant took his chainsword and leapt on top of the tank.
The Hibernian and I locked eyes. I threw him a weary salute and he smiled, streaks of blood decorating his features. He said something, but the words eluded my deaf ears.
A fountain of sparks gouted as the sergeant carved into the tank's closed hatch. I could see from the way his arms strained that it was a mighty effort. After a while, he stood back and drew the chainsword out. He kicked the hatch in. Something sparked off his armour, and he reached in with a ferocious scowl.
He tore a bloodied man out of the tank. Half of his arm had been blown off, and a small pistol dropped from his other hand that was shaking fitfully. The man's mouth moved, babbling. He was pleading for his life.
This time, I had no pity. Here was the men – or one of the men that had conspired to kill us. They had nearly gotten Skylan, damn them.
Jevarn's face hardened, and with a flick Helfort's chainsword was buried in my enemy's chest. I looked away as the man was carved in half. Some things did not bear watching.
I looked back a second later. The sergeant had his chainsword raised in salute. The squad was cheering soundlessly. I sank to my knees, suddenly weary to the bone.
At least the fight was over.
Can I get some pointers if this action scene isn't up to scratch? I hope you all had a happy new year. 100000 words, hell yeah lol! See you next time!