Speculum Enigmate Chapter 32

The Autocannon team was proving hard to dislodge. They were dug-in at the window of a burned out shop, using the low parapet for cover. Persion could just make out the metal screen beyond the protruding barrel and the shadowy figures lurking behind it. Hybrids or native PDF, it was hard to tell at this range and no longer mattered. Anyone not Imperial was attacking them.

Persion ducked as the barrel shifted a fraction of a degree and sure enough a second later a flat crump resounded as the heavy weapon team fired. A fat shell smashed into the pile of broken bricks he was lurking behind, the remains of a blown out house and blew chunks high into the air. With him were the embattled Imperials, the surviving squads and the Arbites. They were harried and worn, their armour dented and chipped and their wounds multiplying. Everywhere they went in this city they were attacked, either by roving packs of Hybrids or desperately confused PDF soldiers. The Space Marines had been in constant battle and their wounds were increasing in number and severity, only their genhanced frames and Memnos' skills were keeping them going.

The Apothecary was hurriedly digging shrapnel out of an Intercessor's leg, blood coating the mechandrites of his Narthecium as he spat, "What's taking so Frakking long?!"
Jediah was crouching near Persion as he stated, "They will get there when they get there."

From behind Marshal Gunnah winced as he yelled, "What was that?" Persion sighed, the mortal's hearing was still defunct, so he waved a hand to keep the man low. Suddenly there was a distant explosion, as a barrage of Earthshaker shells levelled another part of the city. The remote bombardment had been a perennial headache. Anytime he had attempted to stop and regroup the artillery had vectored onto their position. An attempt to direct their circling Thunderhawk onto the artillery had been hastily aborted, driven off by potent anti-air defences and a pair of Lightning interceptors. The gunship had made short work of them but they couldn't risk another encounter, there would be no air-support today. Thus they had been forced to keep moving, pushing ever deeper into the warzone. Persion wasn't lost, Space Marines didn't get lost, but he was painfully aware he had no idea where he was headed or what objectives they would achieve when they got there.

Suddenly his vox clicked twice and Persion nodded to Yones. The pair of them rose as one and threw themselves into the open, racing across the length of the street. There was another dull bang as the gunners fired again but they had not accounted for the sheer acceleration and speed of a Transhuman running flat out. Persion heard a shell whistle by his head, hurtling past so fast even he couldn't see it. Then he dove into the shadow of an alley on the opposite side of the street. He needn't have worried though, for his vox crackled, "Target eliminated."

Persion stuck his head back out of cover and saw Sergeant Gotram climbing out the window, along with two Reivers. Their Phobos armour was caked in brick dust and their knives were wet with blood. Persion was relieved, his feint had drawn the mortal's attention so the infiltrators could close from another direction and flank them. A perfectly executed manoeuvre, as laid down in the Codex Astartes.

However Yones seemed to disagree for he stepped out of cover and grumbled, "You should have let me do that alone."
Persion headed back to his squads as he replied, "And be thought a coward?"

Yones retorted, "You're in command, you can't go heedlessly flinging yourself into danger. You're supposed to be ordering me to risk my neck."
"Lecture me later," Persion grumbled, "We need to move on."

Memnos looked up as they approached and protested, "These wounds need time to heal.""No time," Persion uttered, "Can you walk Brother Reidna?"

The wounded Intercessor lurched drunkenly to his feet and hefted his Bolt rifle as he avowed, "It'll take more than this to stop me!"
"See, he's fit and able," Persion declared, "Let's go."

The party formed up, marching through the desolate streets as the Reivers scouted ahead. Persion saw signs of fighting everywhere, the battle continuing to rage. The PDF and the cult were both hunting them, but they were still fighting each other too. Locked in a battle that was impossible to break off. Persion intended to let them fight it out, better that than have them unite against his force. Beyond that he had little idea what to do next, the Codex Astartes was sadly lacking in guidance for this strategic situation.

Persion felt a breath of air as Jediah stepped closer and whispered, "We need to head underground."
Persion's helm turned fractionally as he asked, "You want to hide from the artillery?"

Jediah corrected him, "I want to find that Patriarch."
Why?" Persion asked.
Jediah explained, "Cults like this are centred upon their progenitor. Kill that monster and they become a headless snake."

Persion shook his head and said, "We can't risk dividing our forces, we need every gun we've got."
"To do what?" Jediah hissed, "Wander about in circles until we run out of ammo and blood?"

Persion sighed, "I'm trying to come up with a plan."
"And while you ponder we will start dying," Jediah accused, "We need to seize the initiative."

Thankfully he was saved from having to answer as Gotram waved them to halt. Persion peered ahead and heard the sounds of fighting raging in a wide plaza. He spent a millisecond comparing his location to his mental map of the city and realised they were at the famous Flesh-markets, Pascum's most notorious feature. The plaza was wide open and ringed by many-storied buildings, making it a deathtrap for anyone caught under those gaping windows. Which it was certainly proving to be.

In the centre of the square a knot of PDF soldiers was dug in around a tank, a Leman Russ Punisher, Persion noted. The mortals weren't alone, they had a squad of Arbites with them, hunkering down behind riot shields. From behind those bulwarks desperate men in brown jackets fired lasrifles upwards, trying to pick off their ambushers. Meanwhile the tank behind them rotated its turret and hammered building fronts with streams of bullets from its shrieking Gatling cannon. It was a robust and tested armoured vehicle but the PDF were trapped in an impossible situation and would be cut down in minutes.

Persion waved the Space Marines to circle the firefight saying, "Quickly, while they're distracted we can go around."
"We're not engaging?" Yones asked in disbelief.

"Who?" Persion countered, "Everybody is shooting us. Let them fight each other, saves us having to do it."
Persion could tell that remark offend the Space Marines' pride but it was Gunnah who snapped loudly, "That's my men dying in there!"

The man may not be able to hear but he could see Persion's intent. The Lieutenant placed a hand on his shoulder, preparing to steer him away. Yet suddenly a new noise arose, a ragged shout of defiance mixed with a multitude of small calibre weapons discharging. Persion's head snapped about and he saw a third force entering the Flesh-markets, a wave of filthy thugs and ruffians pouring into the square. They surged into the battlezone with little thought for coordination or fire-patterns, merely running for the nearest cover as they let rip at the buildings with small-arms. They had little in the way of fire discipline but they made up for it with bulk volume, blasting Hybrids with near-misses and the occasional lucky shot.

Of all the insane things he had seen this day nothing compared to this. Who were these people, Persion wondered, where had they come from? He had no inkling of an answer, then he spied someone familiar: Inquisitor Vevara. The woman was striding into the open area, surrounded by her mismatched retinue and shouting instructions at the mobs following her. Persion had no idea where she had mustered her rag-tag army from but he recognised that she was no servant of the Genestealers. Here at last was someone he could expect to stand with the Space Marines.

"Turn and engage!" Persion yelled, "Break into combat squads and clear those buildings. Zeax, take those two buildings there, Jediah's Reivers, that one and that one. Yones take half your squad and clear that one, I'll take the others and clear that café."

Responding to his orders the Astartes and Primaris wheeled about and charged at the buildings, leaving the Arbites dumbfounded in their wake. Persion had no time to consider the Marshal as he led five Intercessors into a café-building. The next few minutes were a blur of blood-letting as they smote the Hybrids within. It was a vicious close-quarters engagement but the Space Marines drilled urban clearance operations daily and their attack was professional and swift. In the space of a few minutes they turned the café into a morgue, leaving none alive. Persion cut the last Hybrid apart himself, throwing the body out a smashed glassic window that once must have given a panoramic view of the city.

He saw the mortals gathering together in the open space below and left the Intercessors to check the dead as he descended to meet with them. Persion swiftly made his way towards the gathering and saw Inquisitor Vevara standing with Marshal Gunnah, a heavy-set man he didn't recognise and a Lieutenant of the PDF. Her retinue was lounging about, congratulating themselves and Persion started as he saw the Eldar among them, wearing the armour of a Warp Spider. The sight grated on his Hypno-indoctrination, a silhouette his conditioning abhorred. It required a conscious effort not to draw his pistol and shoot the loathed form of the alien, a righteous urge born of ten thousand years of war. Sadly Persion had to restrain himself, but he kept his Friction Axe in hand, ready to use it at the first sign of treachery.

As he closed he heard Vevara saying, "Then your general is a Traitor most foul. Rest assured the Holy Inquisition shall make him pay for this perfidy."
The young PDF officer nodded eagerly and replied, "I am glad you are here my lady. So many conflicting orders, so many rumours. We didn't know what to believe."

Persion strode up to them and barked, "What's this?"
Vevara glanced up at the Space Marine dismissively and said, "Ah there you are, took you long enough. I was just explaining to Lieutenant Cibbons that his previous orders are countermanded by the authority of the God-Emperor's Inquisition."

Persion stared at the young officer and snapped, "Who are you and why should I care? The PDF has been trying to kill me all day."
This Cibbons stammered, "Orders… orders from General Bassail. He blames you for this mess, he says the Imperium betrayed Pascum. But these Arbites were fighting those... those things. I didn't know what to believe."

Vevara overrode him, "Clemas Bassail is in league with traitors and aliens. I have denounced his command authority and as an Inquisitor I demand all true servants of the Golden Throne reject his orders and rally to the banner of Terra. Get on the vox and spread the word."

Cibbons gulped, "Some unit's will listen, but others won't. It's a confusing mess out there."
Persion pressed, "Can you at least keep the artillery off us?"
"For a while," Cibbons informed him, "I can do it, but not for long."
"Then do so," Persion demanded, "I have a Thunderhawk full of ammo waiting to set down, this seems as good a place as any."

The officer scuttled off as the heavy-set man stared up at the Space Marine in disbelief. Persion's helm rotated to stare back and he hissed, "What?"
"Nothing," the man replied, "You're taller than I imagined is all."

Vevara said, "May I introduce citizen Fysk, his friends have agreed to aid us in this battle."
"Us?" Persion growled, "I haven't agreed to work with you."

Vevara replied frostily, "Get over yourself, I have no time to soothe your wounded pride. We both know you're going to join forces with me. Can we skip the banal threats and pointed sniping and get to the part where you come up with a plan?"

Fysk snorted, "That's a woman who's done this dance before."
Persion was annoyed but knew they were right, his forces were outmatched and outgunned, they had to change that fact or die. It stuck in his throat but he needed Vevara and her allies so he said, "Haven't you got a plan?"

Vevara replied, "Yes I did: find the vaunted Space Marines and join forces to defeat the Genestealers."
"Bad plan," Persion muttered, "We won't last another day in this city."
"Then what do you suggest?" Vevara snapped, "Tactics are meant to be the Astartes' forte. Beating impossible odds is what you're built for, so snap to it."

Persion's hearts sank as he realised that everybody was expecting him to have some marvellous plan hidden behind his back. It was unavoidable, he had to find some way to win this war and fast or they were all dead. Yet he knew this mismatched force wouldn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things, not set against two armies. Secretly in the depths of his soul he wished someone else was in charge of this mission and more than anything else he wished Captain Toran was here, instead of him.