"This is Hawker 2, requesting permission for lift off, following patrol pattern Alpha Michaels Bravo."
"Hawker 2, permission granted. Exit via Window 2 North, hold for the Arvus until it lands."
"Thank you tower, we are wings up, heading Window 2 North."
Jasen tilted his head back and looked up at his copilot as the Valkyrie's engines spun up. As the transport began to lift up, he made a kissy face towards her.
"Hey, come on. Remember no fraternization while on duty honey." Vella looked down from her controls and giggled as they waited for the Arvus to land.
"As long as the commissar doesn't know, we can't get in trouble." Jasen looked back into the troop compartment and raised his voice so the two spotters could hear him clearly, "Isn't that right guys?"
"No worries mates, engines are too loud to hear a thing back here!" Herez shouted.
"Yeah just try not to do your martial duties while flying eh? Your flying is rocky enough as is!" Everyone chuckled at Trak's crack at the pilot and copilot.
"You two just keep your eyes on the ground, focus on looking at the ground and leave it to us not to slam into it." Vella watched the Mechanicus Arvus Lighter followed the hanging Christmas light "runway" to a landing pad before throttling up the engines.
"No need to tell me ma'am. I've needed to get outside for a while now anyways. Fresh air sounds real nice right about now." Herez buckled up against one of the door gunners chairs.
"Take deep breaths mate, this is prime Holy Terra air! None of that pilgrim peddler junk!" Trak took a spot on the other door gunner position.
Following their own festive runway, the patrol flew out of the window into the open air as the sun began to set leaving a beautiful sky of colors behind. Everyone took a deep breath and collectively shivered. It was refreshing, invigorating and blessed. Never did any of them think they would even come close to the Sol Sector, let alone Holy Terra itself. All four of them thanked the Emperor, wherever he was, for this unprecedented opportunity. To see Holy Terra before the heresy, before the hives, before the billions of pilgrims, before even the Dark Age of Technology, Jasen purposely flew just a little slower so everyone could take it all in.
As they rose to the first spot, a light drizzle began to pepper the Valkyrie. Dropplets slammed into the outer hull with a wet bang. A rainstorm was forecasted to come in during the night and it seemed to have started early. At their small scale, even this light rain could be a danger. But Jasen and Vella were experienced pilots having flown through both the acid hurricanes of Ulmyar Prime and the raging blizzards of Perkain IV. A bit of "light" rain wasn't going to trouble them.
"Alright, first stop roof top. Lets check in with what those cog boys are doing." Herez pulled out a notepad and a pair of binoculars as the Valkyrie stabilized in the air. A flat portion of the roof was now being turned into a communications array with tin foil dishes being set up by servitors. A cadre of tech priests were going around blessing, anointing and calibrating all kinds of machines while some Skitarii were brought in to help with running wires from the array to the interior of the house. In an effort to combat growing complaints of boredom, Max had been working with Earth Caste engineers and tech priests to link his wifi to whatever machines they had brought in as part of a two part plan. The first was letting outdoor flights which mostly the guard had taken advantage of. The Xenos had their own affairs or civilians to tend to while the Imperial really didn't.
Herez and Trak sat on the ledge of the Valkyrie for a little bit, taking notes of what the cog boys were doing and the types of animals they saw. At one point they debated about trying to use the door guns to shoot down on the passing birds, officially to bring back as food but realistically just for fun. More transports were coming up and down from the second floor windows as the temporary construction lift slowly moved its way up and down the side of the house.
"Think we're done here!" Herez got up and shouted to the pilots, "Lets keep moving. Hopefully we get to see one of those 'doers' the guys at base were talking about."
"I think they're called 'deer' Herez. Jasen, could you be a dear and check in with ATC? I'll move us around." Vella rose the Valkyrie higher into the air as they began their patrol route,
Their route consisted of several rounds around the house at different altitudes and radii. Trying to actually spot anything in the backyard was nearly impossible as the unmowed lawn was overgrown and looked like a forest to the tiny soldiers. And as the sky grew darker and darker, it only became harder.
When the rain finally started to pick up the drizzle turned into the beginnings of a light downpour, Herez had closed his door and was packing up for the day, "Well, that's a day's work done. Can't wait to get back, this giant rain isn't something I miss."
"Tell me about it." Jasen began to message Imperial ATC, "ATC, this is Hawker 2, we're finished out here and heading out to base."
"Affirmative Hakwer 2, we got no available pads on our side so you'll be directed to the Sororitas Chamber. Enter via Window 1 East, landing pad 9."
"Window 1 East, landing pad 9. Got it." Jasen marked down the directions and threw it up to his wife.
"Hey, hey. I think I see something in the grass. Roughly south and uh... 270-ish." Trak moved over as Herez also took a look, "See it mate?"
"Hmm... oh! Got it. Yeah, I'm seeing something down there, don't know what exactly. Probably just a rock or something but we oughta check it out just in case."
Vella looked over and down her controls and met Jasen's smile. Between the two of them, they loved flying in the rain with the sound of water against the hull. Jasen was the first one to open his mouth, "Guess we're going for one more round in the rain."
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"Tower to Azure 1, 2 and 4, you are clear for take off on Window 1 North. Watch the weather and stay in contact."
The pilots heard the directions from Imperial ATC and gave a thumbs up to the Sergeant Omaris who walked back into the troop compartment. As the two Valkyries and single Sky Talon lifted off, Omaris addressed the search and rescue squad.
"Listen up people. Be briefed or be sorry! We just lost a patrol flight, designation Hawker 2. They were supposed to arrive in the Sororitas Chambers five minutes ago. Last check said they were coming in but never arrived. Fell right off the radar. Our mission tonight is to find that Valk and extract any survivors and its black box. Rain is heavy so stay alert. Any questions?"
"No sergeant!" the entire troop compartment shouted as the flyers took off into the rain. The droplets came down hard and heavy, splattering the roof with a constant barrage of sound that caused some troopers to hold on just a little harder.
"Good. We've got some Sentinels with the recon team with us today, a present from command. Parrak, try not to get stepped on this time."
"Sergeant, why do we need Sentinels?" private Parrak asked, his voice the tiniest bit afraid.
"Dunno, if I had to guess this is the first Valk we've lost in a while and they're just covering their bases."
"Think something's out there sarge?"
"Again, dunno. Just shut it Parrak."
Omaris took a spot next to the recently promoted Roan, enjoying the perks of the "heroic actions" he performed in the Battle of the Black Chamber. Roan himself thought it was more of a political statement to try and get on the Eldar's good side. At least getting moved meant he also got a new private closet of a sleeping room and access to flavored corpse starch and recaff that supposedly had actual caff in it. How luxurious.
In the darkness of the waning twilight, the team's three transports zoomed through the choppy weather. The transports were tough workhorses of the guard, but even they were struggling against the rain and wind. The poor Drop Sentinels had it the worse though, clanging and banging against their mag-clamps. All three of the Valkyries flicked on their floodlights while their side doors opened to reveal door guns replaced by more high powered lights. Long white cones swept the overgrown lawn, searching for any sign of a downed Valkyrie.
The wind blew chills into the troop compartments as troops shuttered from the cold. The spotlights went back and forth as the Valkyries moved into a holding pattern around the rough area where Hawker 2 went off the grid. The search and rescue team were getting antsy stuck in the air. Something was sending chills up their spines and it wasn't the weather.
"Think I found something!" one of the spotlights focused on the smoldering wreck of a Valkyrie that blasted a clearing in the ground and partially dug itself in the earth.
"Good work." Omaris moved up and looked over the operator's shoulder as more beams of light danced over the crash site, "Command, this is Omaris. We've found the remains of Hawker 2, moving in now."
"Uhh... gents, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we can't land down there. It'll be like trying to land on a wet forest canopy." one of the pilots called back from the cockpit.
"Just bring us in as close as you, we'll rope down." Omaris prepared everyone's rappelling lines as the guardsmen lined up for descent.
As Roan hooked himself up to the line and got ready to jump, something from the edge of his vision caught his eye. It was a single bright light coming out of the grass- wait no, it was several, no a dozen.
Roan's eyes widened as he realized what was coming.
"AMBUSH!" Roan shouted as a well aimed cluster of rockets slammed into the Valkyrie, tossing guardsmen inside all over. Alarms started blaring as the pilots struggled to regain control. Guardsmen who were already on the line were tossed around like toys on string as one of the engines died, sending the whole flyer into a spin. Roan watched in horror as one of the ropes looped around the top of Valkyrie and prayed that the gut-wrenching squelching sound followed by shuttering mechanical failure wasn't someone getting sucked into the remaining engine. Everyone in the Valkyrie tried to grab onto something as another soldier was thrown out the side and into the darkness with a scream.
The other Valkyrie and the Sky Talon tried to get away, only to be met by rocket fire and AA guns themselves. The cockpit of the other Valk exploded into fire and the entire craft began to nose dive into the ground. Roan only got a glimpse as held on to a handle for dear life as his own Valkyrie slammed into the mud.
"Comone! Voxcommand..."
"...weneda reinfor..."
"Ashurrfore goingdown!"
Roan gasped for air as he finally awoke. Everything was moving in slow motion. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry. Any sort of chattered came through as a garbled mess. Distant voices were shouting quite orders as Roan crawled towards the tilted crash to the side of the Valk that wasn't faced against the ground. He ignored the cries and the bodies inside the Valk, pretending not to see how Parrak's arm was bent the complete wrong way.
But as he created the edge, Roan couldn't ignore the sight of the burning Drop Sentinel, its cockpit burning as it feebily attempted to walk forward. A burning body flung itself out from the top, hurling several feet onto the ground below in a desperate escape. Soon, the Sentinel collapsed face forward and out of view.
Grabbing a lasgun from a dead guardsman slumped up against the side of the transport, Roan watched as Sergeant Omaris fired into the dense grass with the door gun of the downed Hawker 2. The former assault engineer didn't even think, he just acted on instinct as he got to his feet. Find cover. Shoot. Move. Shoot. Reload. Shoot. Move.
He could barely see a thing in the darkness and the rain, blindly firing at the rough origins of the wild gunfire before he slid into an artillery crater with some other guardsmen in it. Critically, a vox operator was among them who was trying to call command, "Command! We've just been engaged by an unknown hostile force! All three transports are down and we have lost Sentinel support! We need immediate reinforcements!"
"Where the hell is all this fire coming from? Where do we shoot?" A private shouted over the sounds of battle as another shell landed nearby, spraying mud and clumps of dirt over everyone.
Roan scanned the battlefield, poking his head above the shell hole and looking for something in the dense darkness.
"Get to Hawker 2!" Roan shouted, "Sergeant Omaris is there! We can use it as a defensive point with its heavy bolter until reinforcements arrive! Move out people!"
With a resounding "yes sir!" The makeshift fireteam clambered out of the crater and began the difficult trek towards Omaris's position. With how wet and muddy the ground had become, trying to run was impossible as the marshy terrain threatened to swallow the soldiers' legs. One man was struck by something that blew his top half clean off in an explosion of gore, leaving only his stumped legs to sink into the mud.
The team continued to take casualties as they marched through the mud. Overhead, more Valkyries flew in alongside Avenger fighters but were soon turned back by concentrated AA fire and rockets; the skies were filled with flak, bullets and explosives alongside the rain.
The team could now see Omaris's face being lit up by gunfire as another Valkyrie full of troops slammed into the ground. Struggling through the last bit of muddy bog and with bullets zipping all around, Roan shouted for everyone to keep moving no matter what.
"Come on! Keep moving! We're almost there! Don't-"
The ground suddenly erupted under the guardsmen. The lot of them were sent flying into the air, some coming back down in pieces. Roan was thrown into a thicket of grass, his back shredded and bleeding as his raw flesh was now exposed to the night air. He wretched in pain as the burning hot shrapnel had torn into his back, sending fire up every nerve ending he had left. He howled in pain as he tried to touch his back, only to be repulsed by the pain until he heard another guardsman.
"Please! Help me!" the man shouted as he was thrown into a muddy puddle along with some others. He watched in horror as the mud swallowed some of the bodies whole, disappearing like sand on a beach.
With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Roan half crawled, half dug his way towards the edge of the puddle as soldiers ran past them. He threw a hand out that the sinking guardsmen desperate grabbed on to.
"Hold on! Don't let go!" Roan's face twisted as he tried to pull the guardsman out. But the mud kept sucking him back in. Even in the darkness, Roan could see the fear and terror on the man's face as he recklessly flailed to free himself.
Tau Hammerheads and Devilfish were now zooming past them, but both soldiers barely noticed as they fired off deeper into the brush. The guardsman was sinking fast, first his chest, then his armpits, then his shoulders.
"Please! Help!" the man cried out as Roan grabbed one arm with both his hands and pulled.
"Hold on! Don't let go!" Roan strained as he was no longer trying to pull him out, but merely stop him from sinking deeper. By this point, the guardsman's neck was already buried under the murky marsh, forced to stick his chin out just for breath.
Suddenly a rain droplet fell on Roan's exposed back. A new, paralyzing pain shot through him as he was forced to let go and scream. Roan flung himself back, rolling while trying to keep his back off the ground in a twisted arch. His eyes filled with tears as his teeth gnashed against one another like hammers. In his demented rolling, he noticed the guardsman's face starting to sink below the surface, frozen in fear.
Summoning the last of his strength, Roan threw himself forward and fished for the man's hands just under the muck. It took every fiber of willpower to ignore the pain spreading all over his back. He found the man's hand but couldn't get a grip. The rain and the mud made it too slippery and Roan was getting weaker.
"Somebody!" he cried out as more reinforcements rushed past him towards the fight, "Somebody help! He's down there!"
Bullets zipped all around him as another explosion sent chunks of dirt slamming into his back sending new bolts of pain up his spine. A pair of Fire Warriors miraculously heard Roan and threw down their guns, diving to the edge of the puddle to try and fish the guardsman out.
"Come on! He's still under the mud!" All three of them tried to push apart the mud, spreading it out and digging with an almost feral drive to rescue a man from a horrifying fate. Roan clawed at the surface, but something was wrong. It was getting harder to see. It must have been the rain but he was also feeling tired. Roan thought that he might have pushed himself a little too hard and he needed a breather. Everything was starting to go a bit fuzzy around the edges. He just needed a second to catch his breath and close his eyes. Just for a second, it wouldn't be for long. Otherwise the commissar might catch him.
As Roan's head slowly began to slump towards the ground, a new sound was heard above the rain. Above the bullets and explosions. And above the roar of engines. A raucous choir formed into a single chaotic voice.
"WAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!"
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"Command! We need more air support! We're getting torn up out here!" Omaris shouted into a voxcaster unit, pressing his body against the floor of Hawker 2 in an attempt to avoid the wild bullets of the Ork shootas.
"Negative! AA fire is ripping apart our birds." Omaris watched as a Sororitas Avenger fighter spun into the ground beyond the grassy canopy, "Advance with the xenos armor to clear a flight corridor."
Omaris cursed, "Understood. Alright guardsmen! Move up with those hover tanks!"
The surviving guardsmen piled up behind the brightly colored Hammerheads and Devilfish, thanking the existence of those fancy Tau shield drones. The Tau tanks were perfect to ignore the rough terrain that Imperial vehicles would have struggled to move in. Gliding over the mud and pushing aside the dense grass, their advanced sensors were able to identify the approximate area that most of the fire was coming from and were now leading the push forward alongside Fire Warriors to slowly encircle the greenskins.
As the combined forces began to advance, the Orks began to retreat, causing cheers as railguns turned greenskins into red mist and meaty paste. Invigorated, the Tau and Imperials rushed forward towards the Ork trenches until something jumped out and ran towards them.
Suddenly, a series of explosions rocked the battleline, one of them blowing open the tank Omaris and his squad were using as cover.
"Bomb squigs! Shot them!" the shower of red beams flung out from the squad, cutting down several of the suicide animals. They began to spread out and look for cover until the ground shook again and a pillar of fire and dirt blasted out of the ground.
"Artillery! Get to ground!" Omaris dove as more shells landed nearby soon followed by storms of suppressive fire. As he wormed his way across the ground, he saw another pair of guardsmen shouting in panic as a bomb squig hopped its way towards them and exploded. The sergeant realized what the Orks were doing, they were trying to force the attackers to stop moving so they could be hunted down piecemeal.
"Command!" Omaris reached for the vox caster's bisected torso, "We NEED air support, we're being ripped apart one by one out here and the xeno armor is going up in flames!"
"Sergeant, every flyer we try to send out gets shot down. We can't send anymore without losing our entire fleet!"
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Sit here and die?" Omaris roared into the reciever.
"Watch and learn mon-keigh." Streaks of alien light zoomed by in the sky as several Orkish emplacements exploded, "This is Star Spinner on station. The hunt begins now."
The Eldar flyers proved no match for the Ork's guns. Their formerly devastating concentrated fire was barely hitting the Eldar's afterimages as run by run, their guns were either destroyed or taken out. The tide of battle was shifting as Fire Warriors and guardsmen could now focus on shooting the bomb squigs. Now, Imperial Command was hailing Omaris and what they said would seal the battle.
"This is Command. Space Marine drop enroute. Gloriana Maxima deploying."
Suddenly, several Astartes-sized drop pods fell from the sky, slamming into the muddy ground before deploying warriors of the Conservators. Bolter and blade rang out across the battlefield, inspiring the mortal foot troopers. With a triumphant roar, they all began to move forward, into the Ork trenches and towards the Kamp.
Being in those trenches was almost reassuring to the guardsmen. A morbid familiarity let them relax a little as they reorganized themselves and avoided the piles of dung all over the place. With the AA now gone, Mechanicus and Sororitas fighters were making attack runs against the heavily fortified Ork stronghold. Valkyries were now landing troops who quickly disembarked and unfurled their standards. Behind them, Sky Talons dropped off a handful of Venators who immediately began firing upon landing. But the biggest arrival was that of the titan.
A fog horn blared out. Gloriana Maxima appeared on the deck of the house with a box in hand. The titan, now covered in many layers of protection, swept its menacing faceplate towards the Ork stronghold. A pair of small but powerful flashlights danced across the battlefield as if searching for prey to hunt. All of the Ork guns turned to face the massive titan, letting the Imperials and the Tau to rush in towards the stronghold.
A dozen banners rose out of the trenches along with a hundred soldiers, each shouting hymns to the Emperor, praise of the Greater Good or any number of warcries. The Orks countered with their own bellowing WAAGGHHH and charged out to meet them. The Guard continued to charge forth, bayonets affixed, while the Tau formed firing lines and blasted into the wave of oncoming Orks. Fighters rushed above them, strafing entire columns and blasting holes into the stronghold's crude walls.
Gloriana Maxima continued its implacable march forward, its multi-layer armor now protecting it against the wild shots of the Orks. Step by step, the ground shook as the titan got closer and closer, blotting out what moonlight there was as it towered over the battle and the kamp.
Inside of the kamp, Space Marines engaged in furious hand to hand melee, the finely wrought blades of the Conservators matching the crude choppas blow for blow.
"Come onz Spoce Mahrineez!" the warboss shouted as he hacked off the arm of a marine, "Itz dat da best yuz got?"
Suddenly, a green rift appeared in the center of the brawl, announced by a massive zapping bang. The figure who walked out was tall and ornately decorated with a cape of metal scales. Tazmun alone exited the portal, his glaive in hand and face undisturbed by the mass of primitives around him.
"Wotz dis? A boney boy wantza scrappin?" the Warboss jeered at Tazmun.
"In accordance with the rules of war, I will give you a single chance to lay down your arms and terminate yourselves, brute." Tazmun idly swatted away a rokkit aimed at him, sending it flying into the air.
"A kowardly boney boy nob? HA!" the Warboss laughed as his mega armor creeked, "Maybe I oughta let me grotz foight ya den!"
"Oh I am no coward." Tazmun spun around a full circle and pointed his glaive at the massive Ork leader, "I am simply a distraction."
"Ov wot?" The Warboss managed to look up in time to see Gloriana Maxima tower over the entire kamp, box in hand. Without a word, the titan tipped the box and one by one, Necrons began to rain from the sky. One by one, they began to land in the mud and pull themselves upright. Some were pulled apart by Orkz, but many more survived and began to overwhelm the Orks on the inside with numbers, tearing into their green hides with necrodermis claws or blasting ashy holes into them.
Outside, the Guard and the Tau cut through the Orks with the help of air support. The greenskin line began to buckle and their forces began to run but didn't make it far. The Warboss opened his mouth to shout at his boyz to get back in the fight but instead his open jaw was filled with Tazmun's glaive.
"So much raw strength. So little brain power." Tazmun withdrew his glaive and decapitated the Warboss where he stood, "Perhaps I should have fought one of your underlings, maybe they would have been wise enough to run."
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The Ork Kommando Longspoda watched the battle from afar on his makeshift scouting post painted hot pink. Through his magnifying glass, he watched how the battle turned and the mega humie appeared. That alone was excitement enough but seeing all of the other forces come out to fight was almost irresistible. Longspoda punched his communication grot who in turn punched the secret code of "1-1-1" into the radio.
"Ey boss, dis is Longspoda. Kamp got krump'd 'n so did Bludgit. Lossa gud foightin' doh. Spoda me sum 'umies, some bigga 'umies, dem pointy ear gitz, dem fishy facez 'n un of 'em bone boy nobz. Wuz also da biggest 'umie gargant I'z eva seen."
"A 'umie gargant? How big?"
"Bigga den at least... ten mega gargantz togeva!"
"Interesting... 'Ow many gitz youz see in towtal?"
"Lotz! Lotz 'n lotz boss! Enuff for a roight proppa scrappin' like youz said!"
The Warlord chuckled as he got off his looted throne and walked out of his personal fortress at the top of the shelves. With a nod, a grot menial blew into a misshapen plastic horn. Below, the green tide that stretched from wall to wall stopped what they were doing and looked up from their continuous shanty town towards their Warlord.
"Listen 'ere boyz!" the Warlord bellowed, "Da word is dat sum ov youz fink dat big scrappin' Iz promised ya ain't coming! Well today'z da day! We'ze got all of dem gitz to fight out 'ere. Humies, pointy ears, fishy faces 'n even dem boney boyz! 'N bess ov all, dere's being a mega-mega-gargant humie for us ta loot! 'Eady ya seelvz boyz! Cause we'ze gonna WAAGGGHHHH!"
A stomping cheer rang out as the entire horde replied with an enthusiastic WAAGGGHH of their own. After so long, their Warlord was finally going to give them the fight they all wanted.
"Rememba ladz, we'ze not made for foightan! We'ze made for WINNING! WAAGGGHHH!" the Warlord raised his massive choppa, Blackhakka and shook it in triumph.
With the crowd below him cheering, the Warboss put a hand across his many trophies, stopping at the one around his neck: a broken Inquisitorial rosette with a massive gash across it. In unison every Nob, Ork and Grot began to chain his name with a stomp that shook the basement.
"EYEBREKKA! EYEBREKKA! EYEBREKKA!"
A/N: Soooo... been a while hasn't it? Lot of life stuff happened between this and the previous chapter on top of holiday stuff. I ran into a hellish writer's block about what to write out next based on my plans until I finally came up with something that got me rolling again. Seriously, for the span of a month nothing I wrote was working. Anyways, here it is, the long awaited introduction to the Orkz and their Warlord, Arzak Eyebrekka.
A HUGE thank you to everyone whose read, reviewed and favorited this story even while I didn't update it and thank you for over 100 followers! I'd love to be able to do an Q&A with everyone at some point so feel free to leave questions and I'll hopefully get to them by the next chapter. I've got something working now so as long as life doesn't pull one under me, I should be able to avoid writer's block. Again, thank you to everyone whose read, reviewed and favorited this fic! The motivation from seeing it is real and its powerful.