Speculum Enigmate Chapter 44
Flanking fire pattered upon the brickwork above his head, spraying Persion with brickdust. It was coming from a balcony set across a small square within the Jade Citadel, from a knot of Hybrids using the delicate railing for cover. Persion could see their heads lurking below the fluted metalwork, poking over the top just long enough to let off a volley of las-shots before ducking back. Overhead the red sun was blocked out by the clouds of ash and dust spewing from the battlefield, creating a grim world of twilight where shadows loomed large.
Another shot chipped the stone over his head but Persion didn't duck. The Hybrids were hasty in their shooting and were not taking the time to aim, merely blazing randomly without risking their lives. It wasn't meant to kill him, merely slow him down. Next to him Brother Tanath hefted his mark II bolt rifle and said, "I can take the shot."
"I've got it," Persion replied as he lifted his pistol and let loose a volley. Hefty bolt rounds struck the flimsy metal of the balcony, punching through with ease to detonate on the other side. The Hybrids collapsed with shrapnel buried in their veins while blood and piss began to run off the balcony, dripping onto the mosaic floor. Ruining its splendour with bodily effluents. Persion cared not, He had already turned his back on the site and marched away, Intercessors in tow.
Tanath was sweeping back and forth with his rifle as he asked, "Do we hold here?"
"Negative," Persion replied, "Anyone who can make it to the fallback point is there already. This area belongs to the enemy. We need to regroup."
Over the last hour the defenders of the Jade Citadel had conducted a fighting withdrawal back to the inner courtyards, desperately seeking to regroup and present a coordinated defence. Yet the Genestealers hadn't been prepared to let them go unmolested and had poured over the abandoned wall, trying to overrun the defenders as they fled. It had fallen to the Space Marines to delay them, buying time for the mortals to reach the rendezvous. Persion had slain scores of Genestealers, forcing the enemy to pay in blood for every metre but he was keenly aware it was not enough to stop them. Countless enemies poured through the Jade Citadel, seeking to finish the Imperials. The cult was closing in for the kill.
Persion jogged through the corridors and gardens of the lavish palace, now all ruined and stained by war. He led his new Brothers to the inner courtyard with confident steps, knowing time was of the essence. Soon they reached their destination, a wide-open area in the heart of the Jade Citadel. To call it a courtyard was a joke, for it was nearly a mile wide and half as long. Beyond it lurked the most vital assets of government, the void shield generators and the Governor's personal quarters. The courtyard protected that last bastion, a perfect killing ground any attacker must cross, devoid of cover.
On the far side, the Imperial survivors were setting up their last line of defence behind Sandbagged emplacements, where the mortals lurked clutching their lasrifles and autoguns. Palace guards, Arbites, PDF squads and criminals, all fearfully looking for the first sign of the enemy. Among them heavy weapons loomed, gunners grim-faced as they clung to their autocannons and Heavy Bolters. There were also three tanks, the twin Repulsors: Phobos' Light and Deimos' Shadow and the Punisher on which someone had hastily daubed, 'Reaper'.
Persion jogged nearer and saw Zeax had beaten him to the courtyard. His Devastators presenting their guns to the north, waiting for the fight to begin. With the Sergeant was Marshal Gunnah and little Otlie, looking fierce as always. Persion ran up to them and called, "The enemy is right behind us."
"Then there's no time to waste," Otlie declared, "Get ready to fight men."
Zeax waved his Devastators to prepare as he barked, "Let's do this!"
The nearby mortals swallowed nervously and sweated in fear but Persion paid them no mind as he looked at the girl and said, "Battle is no place for a child."
Otlie's eyes narrowed as she spat, "I won't cower with my mother and that fat Viscount. I will fight and die on my feet, not pissing myself on my knees."
"Ha!" Marshal Gunnah cried loudly, "A child puts these wastrels to shame. Look at yourselves men, a little girl outstrips you in courage!"
The nearby men scowled but their grips tightened, determined not to be shamed. Persion had no words to comfort them so said, "This is it then: our last stand."
Gunnah leaned in and quietly asked, "Your fancy codex have any advice regarding fighting in a last stand?"
Persion muttered, "Yes: Don't get trapped in one."
Persion turned to look over his forces one last time and he saw Brother Aspa leaning out of Phobos' Light and so he asked, "Need something?"
Aspa replied, "Someone to work the turret, the Machine Spirit is proud but it's no match for a Brother's eye."
"I'll do it," Persion said, "Tanath, man Deimos Shadow. Make every shot count."
Hurriedly the Lieutenant stepped through the Repulsor's grav-fields, feeling them buffet him on all sides. He had always loathed these new-fangled machines but right now he was thankful for their stout armour and many guns. He wiggled into the turret and gripped the controls of the las-talon as he stuck his head out of the hatch, nearly bashing his helm on the attached ironhail stubber. The Repulsor also boasted hull-mounted dual-lascannons, storm bolters on either flank and auto-grenade launchers. Such firepower could make a real difference in the coming battle.
Persion could see everything from his elevated position and swept the turret left and right, testing its responses. It was fast and smooth and took only a portion of his attention to operate, the rest spent on assessing the battle. A Transhuman mind could multitask with ease, letting a commander act simultaneously as a gunner without any hint of distraction. Not that there would be much to command. Everyone was here and they knew their roles, there were no reinforcements to be had, no fancy manoeuvres and nowhere else to fallback to. This was where they would make their stand. Persion wondered if he could have done anything else to avoid this fate but knew it was pointless to second-guess himself, they were here and they would fight to the last man.
There was a deep rustle on the far side of the courtyard and then the distant arches exploded with a wall of Genestealers. They leapt from the shadows in teeming multitudes, swarming from every opening in their thousands. They moved as one, a swarm driven by a single will, all racing to reach the Imperials. Persion saw they were a mixture of bloodied curs from the assault on the walls and new, fresh blood without scars. But they all shared the same murderous look in their eyes.
Persion's response was simple, he cried aloud, "Open Fire!" As one the line of Imperial emplacements let rip, sending a screaming torrent of rounds and las into the packed mass of foes. Heavy Bolters thundered, Autocannons spat shells, lascannons blazed brilliantly and missile launchers sent hurtling rockets into the foe. Smaller arms joined the barrage, mowing down enemies in all directions with sheer weight of firepower. Hybrids fell before the onslaught, culled by the hundred and their oozing corpses littered the ground like confetti. They were punched off their feet and blown apart by the barrage, cut down before they drew a drop of blood. Yet this was not a victory, for Persion knew this was but a distraction.
Behind the wall of living shields the Genestealers were hastily setting up their own Heavy Weapons and in under a minute had begun to return fire. Missiles and shells flew over the heads of their comrades, coming to land on the frantic defenders.
Now it was the turn of the Imperials to die. Bodies collapsed over the sandbags, weeping blood as their dead eyes stared upwards into the ashen sky. Weapons fell to the ground from lifeless hands, robbing the defence of vital firepower. Gaping holes were torn in the defence and the Genestealers surged forward.
"Counter-fire!" Persion snarled as he twisted the controls and his turret spun to bear on the Heavy weapons of the foe. A jabbed thumb on the rune saw the las-talon flare, sending pulses of rapid shots across the courtyard. Intended to punch through the skin of light vehicles and aircraft the shots ripped the gunners to shreds, tearing their Heavy Bolter in half. Persion snarled in triumph but now the Genestealers had learned to be wary of the tanks and redirected their fire.
Armour piercing Missiles smashed into the Repulsor, shaking Persion's bones, but the reinforced glacis plate held true. He clung to his controls as the incoming fire doubled, refusing to duck as he twisted and fired again and again, blasting apart heavy weapons left and right. He was joined in this endeavour by the driver Aspa, who fired the hull Lascannons and from Deimos' shadow. Lethal firepower was traded across the square, culling many and leaving strewn corpses piled up on both sides.
Persion fired as fast as he was able as he shouted, "Keep firing, give them everything you've got!" Persion saw the enemy was advancing, with the defender's firepower dwindling the mobs of Hybrids and Purestrains could advance unopposed. They crawled ever nearer, braving the diminishing volleys to close. Persion knew if they got into melee combat it was all over, they would overrun the defence and kill every last loyal soul. Only the Storm Heralds were keeping them at bay, the Astartes standing as unbreakable bulwarks in the midst of battle, keeping the defenders facing forward by their sterling example.
Then a stray frag missile flew into an Autocannon nest and burst, spraying shrapnel in all directions. The gun fell silent and the horde slipped even closer as Persion yelled, "Someone man that sodding gun!" He saw Sergeant Zeax turn towards the position but someone beat him to it. Otlie Bassail vaulted the sandbags and grabbed the blood-soaked handles of the cannon. She planted both feet firmly, bracing her tiny frame with a wide stance as she squeezed the triggers. The Autocannon thundered in response, the barrel jerking to and fro as the small girl wrestled with its ferocious recoil. It hardly mattered; the foe was so densely packed she hit them anyway. Otlie clung to the gun with unshakable resolve as she screamed, "Loaders, get me some Frakking loaders!"
Zeax and Persion paused as they glanced at each other in shared bemusement, then they turned back to the fight and resumed killing. Persion saw the Genestealers were nearly upon the faltering defence and in moments they would pounce. Persion was about to let go the las-talon and reach for the ironhail stubber but then there was a thunderous roar and a hail of rounds blitzed the frontage of the foe.
From the corner of his eye Persion saw Reaper, the Leman Russ Punisher lighting up its assault cannon and heavy bolters in a furious onslaught. Lieutenant Cibbons had waited for the optimal moment, when it was impossible to miss and the Genestealers were slaughtered by his attack. Tongues of flames erupted from every barrel as soaring tracers ploughed into flesh and out the other side. Hybrids were torn in half by the barrage, their tops sheared from their legs by scything rounds while heavy bolter shots blew bodies apart. The packed foe parted before Reaper, blown away like leaves on the wind and Lieutenant Cibbons stuck his head out the hatch to cry, "The Emperor's vengeance is upon you!"
Persion saw the danger too late to warm him. From the back of the enemy horde a sniper shot flared, a single bullet crossing the distance in a heartbeat to blow Cibbon's brains out. The Lieutenant fell back into the interior of the tank, leaving the contents of his skull painted over Reaper's sides. The tank did not stop firing but its shots became diffused and less focused, each gunner firing randomly without direction. Its proud defiance withering without direction.
The Genestealers hissed at the sight and closed over the gaps in their ranks, making for the Imperial's line once more. Persion knew the end was in sight, no matter how many he killed they could not stop all these foes at once. The bulk of the Cult must be present in this assault, bringing their full might to bear on one target. For a mad moment he wished for an Orbiting Strike Cruiser, so he could call down fire to end the enemy along with himself but it was a vain dream. Still he took comfort in the thought that at least they had bled the alien menace badly, robbing it of essential strength. Whatever Imperial retribution was coming would find a drained and spent foe awaiting them.
Persion fired again and again as he yelled, "The end is in sight. Prepare to sell your lives dearly, Brothers!"
"For the Emperor!" Zeax bellowed over the din of battle.
The moment of doom hung over them as the horde closed, but then there was an almighty roar from behind them. Persion's eyes lifted and he saw a monster emerging into the light. A hunch-backed giant that loomed over its lesser kin like a parent over their children. Its black talons were long and razor-sharp and a dripping tongue hung out of a maw filled with fangs. Its head was swollen and bulbous yet it moved with deadly grace and power, lethality oozing out of every pore. The cult let free a cry of welcome and bloodlust as their Patriarch joined them, intending to witness the victory with its own eyes.
However Persion was not daunted, his lips drew back over his teeth as he commanded, "Drivers, point us at that thing and stop for nothing."
The Repulsor lurched under his boots as Tanath called over from his own turret, "We are making a charge?!"
Persion's eyes didn't waver from the Patriarch as he growled, "This day may see our end, but I want to slay that monster before I die."
