Lord Commander Antioch stood firm but he was sweating profusely and he could hear nothing but his own heartbeat hammering in his chest, he tried to stop his limbs from shaking as he looked to the fog bank and the tens of thousands of red monsters charging from it towards their position. The monsters leading edge was midway between the fog and their front ranks they would crash into their lines in less than ten minutes, it was as surreal as it was horrifying watching a red wave of doom surging for them.
There was nothing to be done until battle was joined, to calm his nerves and to occupy himself he looked through his binoculars at the advancing horde he did this every thirty seconds but it did nothing to calm his nerves. Lord Antioch raised his binoculars again to look upon the warp creatures but this time something ahead of the tide of monsters caught his eye it was moving fast. Lord Antioch tracked the object of interest then zoomed in on the object and to his horror he saw that it was a little boy running for his life.
'Throne of the Emperor!' exclaimed Lord Antioch.
'What is it sire?' asked General Walsenburg who had recovered from feeling ill upon seeing the monsters.
'There is a child running for the city!' cried Lord Antioch, he handed the general the binoculars.
General Walsenburg looked to where the lord commander pointed, he swore under his breath. 'The child will never make it they are gaining on him.'
'He will if I have anything to do with it.' Countered Lord Antioch, he began to frantically look around their position trying to think of a means of extracting the child. 'Send in the armoured fighting vehicles from our flanks they should be able to outpace the warp creatures.'
'Lord I must protest.' Countered General Walsenburg. 'When battle is joined those armoured squadrons will be the only things protecting our flanks we cannot afford to lose a single vehicle before battle is joined, you know this to be true.'
Lord Commander Antioch tried to think of anything that could countermand the generals logic knowing he couldn't he exclaimed. 'Fuck!'
Lord Antioch began pacing back and forward trying to think of a strategy of saving the little boy, he desperately needed a vehicle, then a thought struck him he headed back to his front line. Reaching the hedgehog of eight metre long Sarissa spears he picked his way through them then addressed a lieutenant.
'Lieutenant.' Stated Lord Antioch. 'I need you to get me one of those abandoned conveyances.'
'Sire?' enquired the lieutenant, with a confused look written across his features.
'I need a conveyance now, lieutenant.' Ordered Lord Antioch. 'The faster the better now get it done.'
Lord Antioch made his way back to General Walsenburg and looked again through his binoculars, the child still had a lead on the creatures but he would tire soon.
'I would like to know what you have planned sire.' Enquired General Walsenburg. 'Nothing foolhardy I hope.'
'Would I do anything foolhardy?' asked Lord Antioch.
'You know no other strategy.' Bit back General Walsenburg, trying to keep the reproach from his voice.
Lord Antioch was not able to reply for a conveyance made its way through the ranks of Myrmidon Lancers it came to a stop by the lord commander and the general, it was a sleek sports model the lieutenant was driving and in the rear passenger seats were two lancers still holding their Sarissa's aloft out of the conveyance windows.
This made Lord Commander Antioch both amused and proud, amused as it looked odd but proud as his men were upholding their vow. Once a Myrmidon Lancer stepped onto a battlefield he would only release his grip on his Sarissa in victory or death. Lord Commander Antioch got into the front passenger seat of the conveyance.
'Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?' General Walsenburg put his head through the open window of the conveyance. 'You are our lord commander you are oath sworn protect humanity and you have sworn to hold these gates until Ultio Ultionis reaches Krimisha and what you are going to abandon us to hold the gates without you!'
Lord Antioch pointed in the direction of the fog bank. 'I am oath sworn to protect humanity and down there is perhaps the last living citizen of Cypra Mundi and it is a little boy running from creatures that will tear him apart and feast upon his flesh. If I would not give my life for him then I am not fit to bare the mantle of Lord Commander.' Lord Antioch looked to the occupants of the conveyance who swelled with pride at their lord commanders word. 'Lieutenant if you will.'
The lieutenant grinned like a madman and slapped his boot down the accelerator and the conveyance rocketed forwards nearly fishtailing out of control. Lord Antioch looked at the men charging into almost certain death with him. 'What are your names my brave lancers?'
'Lieutenant Broderick, sire.' Said the officer at the wheel.
'Second lieutenant Soble, sir.'
'Sergeant Brakespur.'
'I suppose you think I have lost my mind and have abandoned my brothers and sisters.' Said Lord Antioch.
'It is madness.' Agreed Lieutenant Broderick, with a grin he then looked to his lord commander. 'The finest kind of madness.'
'That it is.' Grinned the lord commander.
With that Lieutenant Broderick slammed the accelerator to the floor and the conveyance shot away from the Myrmidon lancer warhost and towards the fog bank to save the fleeing child. After several moments of travel the conveyance bucked and veered as if it was getting bogged down in mud, it was only then that Lord Antioch realised that were creatures tearing themselves from the ground here too and they were slowing the conveyance down –not only that they would have to make it back to the safety of their own front line.
Lord Antioch put this from his mind for the moment and he focussed on the dot ahead of the breaking red wave of warp monsters. Lord Antioch saw that there were monsters clawing themselves from the ground near the child they were running out of time.
'Step on it!' roared Lord Antioch. 'We need to get to that child.'
'We are going her top speed, lord.' Replied Lieutenant Broderick.
The next minute seemed to drag on for an eternity all the while they could see the monsters closing in on the fleeing child, then suddenly in front of their conveyance was a red monster rip itself free of the ground right in front of them, that was until Sergeant Brakespur skewered the beast in the chest, the monster shrieked, dropped its black sword then disappeared into nothingness. The conveyance powered forward not slowing for anything.
The conveyance barrelled on and they were close to the child now but so were the monsters and the child was slowing, it would be a race to see who got there first. The child evidently exhausted fell to his knees as if ready to accept his fate but Lord Antioch intervened, with the conveyance passenger door flung wide open he grabbed the child, while Lieutenant Broderick completed a hand break turned. The crying and exhausted child was hauled into the conveyance as it completed a one hundred eighty degree turn.
Lieutenant Broderick stepped on the gas pedal and the conveyance shot away towards the city in the distance, the lord commander stole a glance back and saw an arrowhead formation of Emperors Judgement burst from the fog. Some of the monsters doubled back to fight the Astartes but the great many more were sprinting for the city walls.
Suddenly on the return leg of the journey Lieutenant Broderick was having to dodge the red creatures as they sought to engage them, their Sarissa spears of Second Lieutenant Soble and Sergeant Brakespur were dealing death every few moments. Lord Antioch thought that they might make it back unscathed but that thought only lasted scant moments as an impossibly deep roar resounded across the world. Lord Commander Antioch looked back in time to see the very monster in his dreams tear itself from the fog bank, it was giant crimson monster with great bat wings, a shaggy doggish head sporting two colossal axes for weapons. The beast had haunted him in his dreams and now it had come for his soul.
Lord Commander Antioch nearly lost control of his bladder as the colossal beast flapped its bat wing and took to flight soaring into the air towards the fleeing conveyance. It was now a race against time to see if they could make it to the city walls alive.
