Speculum Enigmate Chapter 33
The Thunderhawk 'Starfire' sat in the open ground of the Flesh-market with its engines cooling. The gunship was a burly warrior of the skies, with angled armour and a blunt nose, designed to withstand the inferno of re-entry. Nothing about this craft lent itself to aesthetics, it gave no consideration to beauty or grace but to those who had seen one diving on an attack run she held a magnificence all her own. From the armour-busting lascannons to her underslung heavy bolters, to the proud Turbolaser on her spine, strength and lethality ran through her. For good reason has such gunships been the mainstay of the Adeptus Astartes for ten millennia and her form dazzled the awed crowds.
In the Flesh-markets a throng of people was gathering. There were random units of the PDF, heeding the Inquisitor's call to arms. They were battered and disorganised but they were loyal to the Golden Throne, unlike their erstwhile comrades who yet fought on across the city. There were also the criminal warriors of Fysk's gangs, rubbing shoulders with growing numbers of Arbites. The law-keepers and felons eyed each other warily but kept their guns pointed away, so a fragile truce held for a moment. And there were civilians, hundreds of them. None could say how the fleeing masses had found their way to the Flesh-markets but the siren call of safe harbour drew ever more people and they huddled together in shocked packs, eyes pleading for hope.
In the midst of that crowd Starfire was being unloaded, crates of ammunition and explosives being brought out of the hold by lines of Astartes. The warriors were eager to stock up their meagre reserves and grabbed bolter magazines and grenades with quick hands. Heavy Bolters were replenished and melta bombs were passed out freely. Armour suits were also tended to, their rents and gouges patched up with quick-setting repair paste, leaving grey streaks across their blue colours. The Astartes worked quickly and efficiently, ignoring the crowd of desperate onlookers, yet there was one who was not helping.
In the Thunderhawk's cockpit Persion sat in the pilot's chair and fumed. He had removed his helm, revealing a bitter expression and his lips moved as he muttered imprecations under his breath. Persion had ordered the pilots to assist with the unloading, so he could have some space to himself. So he sat in the reinforced chair, staring out the cockpit windows across the ruined vista of the city. He could see the broken rooftops and billowing towers of smoke and the monument to Reunification, stabbing upwards like a miraculous lone tree left in the burnt remnants of a dead forest. The sight reminded him of his many failures since he had set foot upon this world and he bitterly recounted them. The errors of judgement, the missed opportunities, the losses they had suffered, all adding up to one inescapable conclusion: the Genestealers were winning.
His sulking was interrupted by a scuffle on the ladder leading up to the cockpit and he glanced behind to see Jediah climbing into the small space. He stepped through the hatch and stood behind Persion as he said, "We need to talk."
Persion slumped back into his chair and muttered, "I'm not in the mood."
Jediah leaned over the back of the co-pilot's chair and said, "Your mood is irrelevant, the Inquisitor wants to know your plan."
"Tell her I don't have one," Persion snapped irately.
Jediah retorted, "Then make one."
Persion snorted dismissively, "I wish it was that easy. Everyone is looking at me like I know what I'm doing, but I don't. Toran makes it look easy; he always knows what to do, he never looks uncertain."
Now it was Jediah who sneered, "You're jesting; Toran doesn't know what he's doing half the time either. Do you think he meant to challenge a Primarch to a duel and get punched into a coma? You think he planned to get thrown off a bridge by a thinking machine?"
"Well he's better at appearing confident," Persion sighed, "I keep asking myself what he would do, how would he take a gaggle of mismatched parts and turn it into a fighting force. I've known him as long as Furion and I still don't know how he pulls off half the stuff he does."
Jediah sniffed, "He trusts in his Marines and they trust him. Frankly You're not very good at inspiring trust and you lack his strength of will."
"My thanks," Persion scoffed, "You should consider a career as a councillor."
Jediah ignored that remark as he stated, "I am taking my Reivers and heading underground. We are going to hunt that Patriarch."
Persion sighed, "I thought you might. I suppose there's no point arguing that I need you here?"
"No," Jediah said flatly, "We are packing up our gear and moving out in five minutes."
Persion glanced upwards and commented, "If you take eight Reivers up against a Patriarch you will die."
Jediah didn't look concerned as he replied, "Death or life, either way it would be a fight to enjoy. Goodbye Persion, I probably won't see you again in this life."
He turned to depart but Persion jerked around and said, "How can you do that, be so…. So Jediah about everything?"
Jediah paused at the hatch and replied, "Because I don't try to be someone I'm not. I know who I am and what I can do and I embrace it. You should too."
"What?" Persion asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Jediah replied, "Stop trying to be someone you're not; stop trying to be the Captain. Instead of asking yourself what Toran would do you should be asking; what would Persion do?"
With that Jediah stepped out the hatch and dropped out of sight. Persion sank back into his seat, looking out over the city and taking it all in. He chewed on what Jediah had said and reflected on his mistakes. He realised then that he had been carrying himself all wrong, trying to be diplomatic and inspiring as his Captain was. He was honest enough to admit he was a poor diplomat and strategist, but he took comfort in the fact that in a straight-up battle he had fared well. As a tactical leader he was competent enough. Persion turned his attention upon that, thinking only of tactics. He discarded all thoughts of his allies and their complicated politics. He dropped all thoughts of the wider strategy and galactic ramifications. The crusade and the Chapter weren't here, they couldn't help him. He thought only of the enemy and his forces, of battle and war. He considered their strengths and weaknesses and their environment.
Persion paused as a thought occurred, then he jerked forward and stared out the window. Before him lay the Jade Citadel, its ramparts and domes shimmering under the shimmering void shield. Across from it soared the monument to Reunification, its majestic height piercing the sky. Persion spent a second measuring angles and distances and a plan began to form. It was ridiculous and impossible but it was all he had.
Persion hastily opened his vox and spent a few minutes working on obscure frequencies. His years as a signal cracker paid off as he bypassed a number of security lockouts and sent a coded message. Then he leapt out of his chair and dove down the ladder. He jogged out of the Thunderhawk's open bay, heading towards the waiting officers and the Inquisitor's party. People fell back before him, clearing his path as Persion barked, "Sergeants attend!"
Yones and Zeax wandered over, followed by Memnos who said, "Jediah and the Reivers just departed."
"Forget them," Persion snapped, "I have a plan."
Vevara looked up at him and spoke, "Finally, well out with it."
Persion drew in a slow breath then asked, "First tell me what forces have we added?"
Marshal Gunnah replied in a flat monotone, "A few hundred PDF soldiers, a couple score Arbites and we've still got a punisher tank."
Persion frowned as he asked, "You can hear?"
Gunnah inclined his head to reveal a silver device behind his ear as he said, "The Inquisitor's cogboy had something to patch me up."
From the back Lumix stated, "A crude implant, transmitting vibrations to the inner ear. It was hard to find but…"
"It can wait," Vevara snapped, "What's the plan?"
Persion spread his arms and said, "We can't stay here, this position is untenable. We have no defensive fortifications and no means to launch an offensive. This whole city is filled with enemies, just waiting to crush us. So we will relocate to a better position: the Jade Citadel. Its walls can hold off an army, two in fact. From those walls we can withstand anything the foe throws at us for as long as it takes for our alarm to spread."
"That's your plan?" Zeax scoffed, "Hide behind thick walls until the Crusade sends reinforcements?"
"I'm not done," Persion retorted, "We won't be idle, because our presence will draw the Genestealers out in force. They will amass to break the Citadel open, they have to, nothing else will crack those walls. So While we draw them out Sergeant Yones will take a combat squad of Intercessors to plant explosives underground. Then when they are right where we want them, Yones is going to drop that Monument on their heads."
Heads turned to take in the monument to Reunification and Yones remarked, "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely," Persion declared, "That's seventy thousand tons of solid Ferrocrete. Drop that on a crowd and there won't be anything left of them."
Silence reigned for a moment then Vevara stated, "That is a stupid plan."
"You wanted a tactical plan," Persion countered, "This is it."
Vevara glared at him as she hissed, "I refuse to play any part in this. Your plan has no merit."
"I don't care what you do," Persion growled, "I am issuing an order to move out, you can stay here and die for all I care."
From the back of the meeting the PDF officer, Cibbons, stated, "I wouldn't recommend that. Word is spreading of our presence and the PDF is dividing into loyalists and traitors. These 'Genestealers' are crushing all who resist and the rest of the PDF is already under their control. Soon the traitor general will notice we are here and will direct Earthshakers to level this place. We need to be elsewhere before that happens."
Vevara grimaced but she conceded, "I... I suppose that void shield will keep the artillery off us. The Jade Citadel is as good a place as any to make a last stand."
Persion accepted her answer but then the Warp Spider interjected, "This plan is flawed, it relies on five Mon-Keigh to spring the trap. You are not enough, I shall accompany you to make sure it succeeds."
"We don't need alien filth like you!" Zeax barked angrily.
Yet Yones rolled his eyes and said, "Leave it alone for five minutes. We're fighting two armies and need every gun we can get. One alien doesn't matter when set against thousands."
"Are you going soft?" Memnos growled, "Trust not the alien, Brother."
Yones glared as he stated, "We can argue to the end of time about this or get on with the war. I'm leading the kill-team and I welcome anyone who wants to come along."
"Then we shall all accompany you," Vevara asserted, "My retinue shall join your expedition. It's better than sitting in a Citadel waiting for the enemy to come."
"I'm coming too," Memnos added, "To keep an eye on that alien."
Persion cut off the argument as he snapped, "This isn't a democracy. Yones take half your squad, the Inquisitor's retinue and Memnos and set the explosives. Wait till the moment is right then drop the sky on the enemy's heads."
Yones made the sign of the Cog and said, "Omnnissiah watch over you."
Persion nodded as he said, "Starfire will take off and provide air support. The rest of us will enter the Jade Citadel and draw the genestealers out. From those walls we will rain down fire to shake the world."
Fysk grinned as he quipped, "All those years being kept out of the Jade Citadel, now I get to walk inside like a king. This war is turning out better and better."
Gunnah glared at him but asked, "What of the civilians?""They can come with us," Persion answered, "They will be safer behind those walls than anywhere else. Just keep them out of my way, I won't have time to be coddling mortals when the fighting starts."
Nobody looked happy, but Persion was firm in his resolve. This plan may be foolhardy and reckless but it was all they had. Win or lose he had to try something and he was determined to make the enemy pay for their temerity. No matter what he was certain this would hurt the Genestealers, a full-blown siege was always costly to the attacker. Even if he and his Brothers fell they would weaken the Genestealers significantly, leaving them helpless to resist the reprisal force that would sail from the Chapter once word reached them.
Yet it fell to Sergeant Zeax to point out, "There's one enormous flaw in this plan. The Jade Citadel is in lockdown, they're not letting anyone in or out. How do you propose to get us and hundreds of mortals inside those gates?"
Persion grinned as he replied, "Don't worry, I've already taken care of it."
