Entry 4C
Let Fire Fly and Traitors Die
Cruan
Chunic
2017 hours local…
The sun was almost beneath the horizon as I walked through Chunic, pacing through the town for nearly three hours, thinking, planning, and plotting. My mind was a whirl of details, questions, possible answers, and theories, all colliding together, blending, blurring, and melding into one massive puzzle, too many pieces missing, too many things unconsidered, too many-
I was broken from my thoughts by a hand on the shoulder. I jumped and looked, finding Corporal Benny with a half bemused, half concerned looking on his face.
"You right, lad?" He asked.
"Yeah man," I replied, "just…just thinking."
"No no, don't bullshit me," Benny retorted, shaking a finger, "I know a schemer when I see one." I chuckled a bit, nodding, but staying quiet for a moment, eyes looking down and forward at the ground. "Wanna talk about it?"
"You'll think I'm crazy," I answered, head still partially bowed.
"Try me," Benny looked expectantly at me.
I raised my head, looked him square in the eyes, and said, "I'm coming up with a plan to fuck over the Tau CP." Benny blinked, once, twice, then three more times rapidly. "I've been inside it, seen what they've got."
"When the fuck did you do that?"
"This afternoon."
"Lead with that fucking first! Sit down and talk to me," Benny gestured to a nearby bench and moved over.
"You don't think I'm crazy?"
"Are ye fucking kidding? Whaddya think me and the lads have been trying to work out since we got here?" I laughed aloud, sat down, and opened the flood gates, detailing everything we'd seen, everything we'd heard, to include Adept Xypha's telegraph, and what ideas were going through my head. Benny drank it all it, listening, nodding, stopping for questions, but he consumed every bit of intel we had collected, and every idea I threw at him. I finished, taking a deep breath, then noticed several other Regulars had gathered around, notepads in hand, furiously writing.
"Well lads…can we do it?" Benny asked the assembled group.
"I saw we need a proper plan first, but we can make a go of it," one said.
"Aye, I'm with the lad; we can smash the place," another agreed, a chorus of various agreements echoing in the huddle. I felt my gut tighten with excitement and I gave a wild grin.
"All that you need to do is convince your boys," Benny said. The feeling of excitement changed to trepidation. "And if I may, don't prepare a speech; the best ones come from here," Benny poked my gut and sternum, "and not here," he rapped my head with a knuckle, causing me to chuckle again.
I was silent, thought for a moment, then stood, "Thanks for the advice," I said, and walked off. I didn't think as I went back to the hill-home, just let my mind wander across the events of the past two days. Emperor, it had only been two whole days. The hill-home was dimly lit as I entered, with my team all sitting, waiting for me, in addition to Adept Xypha, Dende and Jovox cleaning their Galvanic rifles nearby.
"Long walk," Hobs greeted simply.
"Yeah, I had some thinking to do," I answered, leaning against the wall, "anything fun and exciting happen here?"
"We got filled in," Geo replied.
"Adept Crede has relayed all the relevant information you gathered; his superiors are debating what to do," Xypha added. I nodded.
"The Regulars want in," I said smiling, "they want to hit the Tau worse than we do."
"You told them?" Irv asked.
"I told Benny and others listened in. They're hungry for payback."
"And what about the Fusiliers?" Eddie asked.
"I've got to do that tomorrow," I answered, the reality of the statement hitting me like a brick. There was silence for a moment before Ranger Dende spoke.
"I believe I speak for the three of us, but these servants of the Omnissiah stand with you," the Skitarius said, Jovox and Xypha nodding.
"You know damn well we're not missin' this," Si said from the opposite side of the room.
"Damn right," Vic said.
"For Penny," Geo said. Weight seemed to come off my shoulders with their support.
"Well then, rest, all of you; we have quite the day tomorrow."
My gut roiled with anxiety when I awoke that morning, seemingly to flip and turn over and over as my eyes opened to dim light through the windows. I stood, did my morning hygiene with what toothpaste and body wipes I had, nicked myself shaving with my bayonet, dressed myself, smoothed out every wrinkle I could, and doing my best to buff my armor and de-stain my uniform.
"You look fine," Vic assured, having awoken just after me. Everyone else was awake and moving as well.
"I know," I replied, "but…"
"You're nervous," Vic stated, standing and coming in front of me, "trust me, you'll always be nervous in front of a crowd, or a new customer, or your first girlfriend."
"How do you know I never dated anyone before I lost my memory?"
"Please, with your mug? You'd be lucky if a servo-skull gave you a second look," we both laughed at the barb; the eager release of nerves and tension. "Listen, here's what you do; get up there and be the most confident person in the room, because you're the most knowledgeable, the most motivated, and, arguably, the most capable person of planning it all out."
"You really think that?" I asked.
"I know it, so did Sarge," Vic said, "did you think he'd get you to corporal if he didn't believe in you?" I shrugged, not knowing what to see. "He did, and so do we; it's why we're willing to follow. All you have to do is convince everyone else."
"Way to make it sound easy," I joked. Vic shrugged.
"Just…just go up there and tell everyone what they need to hear; to get off their asses and get back to work. Maybe not like that, but,"
"Yeah, I got the idea," I sighed, rolling my shoulders.
"Alright, what do you want us to do?" Vic asked.
"Well, first let's find a place where we can get them all together, then round them up, after that it's all up to me."
"Will do; let's get to it!"
Finding a place was fairly easy; at the center of Chunic lay a series of under-hill buildings, garages, storage rooms, and a town meeting hall, which held ample space for the Fusiliers and the Regulars alike. Rounding the people took more time, which only added to my anxiousness.
It was 1000 local time when everyone was assembled, a rumble of curious and idle chatter filling the hall. I leaned back against a wall, one leg planted on the floor, the other bouncing in anticipation and anxiety, biting at my lip as I stared at the crowd before me. The last time I had been in front of a large group of people was when I presented my capstone for my bachelor's degree, and then I hadn't been convincing a whole group of people to infiltrate a Tau command post and blow it to kingdom come. A hand clapped me on the shoulder; Benny had appeared, a grin on his face.
"Planned out your speech?" He asked.
"Got a few points I want to cover, but nothing definitive," I answered, earning a firm nod from Benny.
"Good lad, just let it flow, you'll do fine," he assured me.
"You're the second person to tell me I'll be fine, and yet I somehow don't believe it," I argued.
"Well, let's put it this way," Benny leaned in close, "out of everyone in this building, who had the brass balls to walk into a Tau CP on their lonesome?" I chuckled, shaking my head, not knowing what to say to that. "All you've got to do is convince the rest of your mates to do the same thing, only this time strap bombs to the fuckers' furniture and blow their house sky high."
"You have quite the way with words there, Benny," I chuckled.
"You should see me with the wife," Benny winked, "now, get up there and get us some support for this." I nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the stage.
"Kill it," I heard Vic say from offstage. Some of the chatter died down as I appeared, but most continued to persist.
"Can I have your attention please?" I called, finding my old command voice once more. The rumble faded, leaving a deafening silence in the hall.
"First, thank you all for coming this morning; I know you all have such busy schedules." The joke blessedly landed, causing a decent chuckle in the room, emboldening me to continue. "For those who don't know me, I'm Corporal Ald Russman from 1st Company. Not two days ago, those of us in the Fusiliers all experienced what was most likely the worst day of our lives," Silence fell across the room as I spoke and began to pace across the stage, "we were dropped into the middle of a battle zone with poor information, no support, and a half-assed plan a Gretchin could've seen through. Yet, those of us here made it out alive, thanks to our new friends in the Regulars." The Cruan natives rumbled in acknowledgement.
"Yesterday, by pure chance, myself and three others from 1st Company made several discoveries. First, the Tau CP we were tasked with capturing is a little over two kilometers away," this caused a wave of nervous talk to spread across the Fusiliers, something I had to quash quickly, "second there is a pump station nearly half a kilometer away that leads directly into the Tau CP. Third, the Tau CP is much more developed and heavily fortified than we were told, and finally, that the Tau and their traitor Guardsmen have nothing to protect against infiltrators."
"How the hell do you know?" Challenged someone in the hall.
"Because I, Privates Price, Vickers, and Johnston, all walked amongst them, in their uniforms, and they were none the wiser for it. We saw everything but the inside of their citadel and returned to tell the tale." I took a breath and continued, "All of this to say that, with a proper plan and careful infiltration, we could strike back at the Tau, and they wouldn't see it coming." It was quiet for a moment before chatter erupted again, with some outraged talk mixed in, others with excitement, and others with fear. This is where I had to take control.
"I know what you're all thinking," I bellowed over the din, "why risk our lives any further, why not just wait until we get support, why not just give up?" Quiet once more reigned over the room as I pushed forward, "Here's what the Tau don't have; a healthy dose of paranoia towards traitors and heretics. We walked around in their CP unchallenged by anyone, their ammo dumps and buildings have almost no protection from inside attack, and they leave their warehouses unlocked and unguarded. Not only can we break in, but we can hurt them, badly."
"And how do you propose we do that? We don't have anyone to lead us," someone called.
"Are you a Guardsman, or are you a babe at your mother's tit?" A Regular retorted.
"If you're so confidant, why didn't you do it?" Another Fusilier barked, standing and preparing to square off against the Regular. Others got to their feet and harsh words began to fly between the two units. I had to stop this.
"Enough!" I barked, "We don't need a sergeant or a lieutenant or anyone to tell us how to kill heretics and xenos! All we need is a plan to get this done. We are the Hammer of the Emperor, not the sergeants, not the officers, not the Commissars, we, the Guardsman. We don't need someone to tell us our purpose; we know it! All we require is direction; direction we can damn well give ourselves!" The Fusiliers had quieted down and were listening more intently now.
"The Huntsman is sitting in his comfy CP, not giving us a second thought because he thinks we are scattered, weak, and leaderless, and we are scattered, and we are leaderless, but we are not weak! We, the Freeport Fusiliers, are survivors of Octarius, of the Tyranids, and of the Orks! If he thinks a few traitors who need xenos at their back to fight properly are going to stop us, then he needs to think again!"
I'm not asking you to take on the entire Tau Empire, I'm not asking you to take the whole system; all I'm asking is that you help me drive a bayonet deep into the bastard's belly and gut him like the rat he is! I'm asking you to show everyone who has dismissed us as lost that we are not to be counted out; that the Imperial Guardsman is to be feared, to be respected, and to never, ever, underestimate us, because they won't live to regret it!
So I have one question for all of you: do you have the guts to come out of this hidey-hole and show the Huntsman why it was a mistake to let us live? Cause I don't know about you, but I'm not afraid, I'm not cowering in fear of the spindly Tau; I'm fuckling livid, and I want to watch their Greater Good burn!"
It was quiet for a moment, then a Fusilier stood towards the middle; Corporal Teague, whom I had saved the day we landed, stood tall in the center of the room. All eyes turned to him.
"Well I dunno about you boys…but I feel like making the Tau CP into a giant fireworks show," Teague said simply.
"I'd like to knock in their sodding teeth!" Another Guardsmen said. Similar phrases were echoed across the room, and soon we were of one mindset; we wanted payback. Fueled by the moment, I called a phrase that has followed me since that day.
"Let fire fly and traitors die!" I called.
"LET FIRE FLY AND TRAITORS DIE!" Came the response. My heart thundered in my chest and I stood, proud and triumphant in the moment.
"So boss," someone called, "what's the plan?"
The plan we devised was simple but relied heavily on the Fusiliers successfully infiltrating the Tau CP and remaining undetected. It was as follows:
Over the next two days, Fusiliers would slowly infiltrate the Tau CP, acquiring traitor armor to disguise themselves with and remaining out of sight, out of mind, and out of the way. At the end of the second day, the Regulars would fire up their vehicles and position themselves within striking distance of the CP, waiting for our signal. On the third day, the Fusiliers would spread out through the CP, planting charges on key Tau and traitor infrastructure. The Regulars, queued by our signal, would begin an advance on the Tau CP's airfield, making as much noise as humanly possible.
As the CP prepared for battle, the charges, ignited by one of three wireless detonators, devised by Adept Xypha, would go off, causing as much damage to both the CP and enemy forces as possible. In this confusion, the Fusiliers, now in Imperial kit, would emerge and seize control of the airfield, allowing for friendly forces, in contact with Tech Adept Xypha, to begin landing, which would, in theory give us what we needed to take control of the base. It was a very, very, very, very shaky plan that relied on discretion and deception…but it's what we had.
The next morning, in the pre-dawn hours, I led the first group of twenty Fusiliers to the pump station, through the connecting pipe ways, and into the Tau CP. It was here we encountered the first snag in the plan: the warehouse we had first taken equipment from was now under guard. A quo of guards stood at the front, two at the back, while two pairs prowled either side.
"Well that's a right bother," one of the twenty observed. I nodded in agreement, looking around the area. This particular warehouse stood alone, nestled against this section of the water treatment plant. Another section of the plant blocked any further view, piquing my curiosity.
"Follow me, I wanna take a look at something," I said, and we slipped back inside the darkened treatment plant. We moved through the darkness, taking care to stay on the ground floor as to avoid making noise on the metal catwalks, only moving onto them when we had to. I opened an exterior door and looked out; a row of five separate warehouses appeared in the slowly approaching dawn. Whether or not they held what we needed, I didn't know, but these warehouses were unguarded.
"Jackpot!" Another of the Fusiliers proclaimed.
"We'll see, come on," I beckoned, and we all, as quietly as possible, descended to the ground level and tried the closest of the five. The door was locked shut.
"Oi, Ted, you still-" Began a Fusilier.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I still got it," a fourth said, brushing his compatriot off and approaching the lock. I stepped aside as he knelt, removed a lockpicking kit from his belt, and set to work.
"Ted here can get into anything with his little tool," chuckled a tall Fusilier, the name 'Kitt' stenciled on his flak armor.
"Yeah well I don't need this to get into yer mum's bed," Ted retorted sharply, a click! coming from the lock. Before anyone could clap back, I stepped quickly inside, taking a look around inside.
"Jackpot," I breathed. This warehouse, much larger and more organized than the first, was lined with towering shelves filled with boxes and racks with traitor war gear. Ushering the Fusiliers in, I closed the door behind me and locked it.
Looking around, I found a small key rack that held a series of keys; I took a few a tried them on the door lock, finding two that fit. Stashing them away, I patrolled the room as the twenty Fusiliers scampered about the warehouse, scavenging what armor fit them, and creating an ad-hoc uniform. It took about fifteen minutes, during which time Ted found a separate storage room and, not waiting for me to find the right key, picked the two locks on the door.
"Oooooo, I like this," he said, gazing into the room. I came up behind him, keys in hand, and flicked on the lights; before us lay a secure storage room, in which lay lasguns of all kinds, autoguns, stubbers, Voss pattern grenade launchers, a few RPG-32s, and, more importantly, a secured case labeled "MELTA".
"We love this," I agreed, patting him on the shoulder, "good find." Ted chuckled, then went back to scavenge for gear. I closed the door, found the appropriate key, and locked the door for later. The twenty assembled their gear, dressed, and we slipped out the back door. *HEH*
"Right, what now?" Kitt asked.
"Do me a favor and keep an eye on the warehouses; if we can keep Fusiliers coming through here, we can outfit everyone in no time," I said. 'Aside from that, see what you can learn about how the Gue'vesa go about things; mannerisms, customs, courtesies, habits, etc. It's only going to be two days, but every bit we can learn is vital."
"Right-o, we'll get it done boss," Ted nodded. The twenty turned and crept away in the dawning light, leaving me to skulk away back to Chunic.
*The next two days were filled with sneaking into the Tau CP, equipping the two hundred so Fusiliers with Tau gear, sneaking back out, and doing it all over again. Originally, I led the way, however Vic, Si, and Eddie verbally bludgeoned me into taking a break, which lasted the second day.
While I "rested" (more like stressing the fuck out while doing nothing), Chunic was a maddened flurry of activity; Fusiliers prepared their gear to stow and hide in the CP while the Regulars did preventative maintenance checks and services (PMCS) on their vehicles, fueling them, arming them, and generally making them ready for combat. The Regulars did their own clan battle rituals too, all of which revolved around venerating the Emperor and sharpening their weapons.
On the evening of the second day, the last of the Fusiliers stepped out of the town towards the pump station…
Chunic
1952 Local time….
"Right, make sure you've got everything; we're not making a return trip," Si declared, checking the last batch of fifteen Fusiliers. The fifteen patted themselves down, making sure they had what they needed, before giving Si a firm nod. "Good, let's get after it," Si led the way to the pump station, with Vic trailing behind.
"You sure you don't wanna come with?" He asked me, turning.
"Not yet; I wanna see the Regulars off," I answered. Vic frowned but nodded.
"Alright, we'll see ya in the old plant," he said, turning and following Si.
"See ya there," I called back. I watched them until the seventeen Fusiliers disappeared into the woods, then turned back to Chunic and proceeded to its heart. The hill-homes were deserted and dark, the Fusiliers now lying-in wait in Barr Maol, and the Regulars now reading to move to their rally point, five kilometers from the Tau airfield's gate. I approached the assembled convoy of fourteen vehicles, all assembled in a column. Of the convoy, fifty-six were vehicle crew, whilst thirty-six of the Regulars would ride in the Chimeras. The rest would either ride on top of the various vehicles or proceed on foot to the rally point. And, once more, Benny appeared beside me, hand on my opposite shoulder.
"Good Emperor, you look as tight as the barrel of a Leman Russ," he said, shaking me vigorously, "relax."
"You say that like this couldn't all go wrong in a heartbeat," I responded.
"Oh it can; we could all get bushwhacked by a salvo of Seeker missile guided by a drone, the Huntsman could sniff your lads out to ruin the whole thing, or a bomb could detonate pre-maturely and give us away," Benny turned his face and gave a grin, "but the possibility of success is so, so much more enticing, innit?" I paused…then allowed a similar grin to spread.
"The possibility of kicking the Huntsman's face in does seem almightily tempting," I agreed, nodding.
"That's the spirit," Benny said, nodding with me, the grin turning wicked, "now, get after your boys, we'll be fine."
"I'll see you off all the same," I stated firmly. Benny shrugged.
"Suit yerself, lad," Benny hefted his lasgun and moved off to his Leman Russ. I watched for the next half hour as the Regulars made ready, the sun slipping down below the horizon. At 2100 hours, the lead Leman Russ, the Highland Hooter *HEH!*, rumbled forward, and the Regulars lumbered into the night.
I waited until they left, then stayed for a while, enjoying the encroaching quiet as the rumble of the tanks faded into the distance, then the silence as the noise disappeared from my hearing. I cast a glance around the town in the darkness, then walked off towards the pump station. I enjoyed the silence, the calm before the storm and allowed my mind to drive to simpler times, to, oddly enough, the training on Grunnur, the peaceful moments with my team before we had disrupted the Inquisitors' bust.
I lost track of the trek back to the pump station and the journey through the pipes to the Tau CP. I came back to reality at the top of the ladder, blinking as Si reached a hand down to help me up.
"Take the scenic route?" He asked.
"You know how it is," I replied, taking the extended hand. I pushed up as he pulled back, coming to the top. "How's everything, what do I need to know?"
"Everything is fine, you can breathe," Si reassured me, handing me the bundle that was my assembled Tau gear, "as for things you need to know, where do you wanna start?"
"Anything I can use to blend in," I answered, taking the bundle.
"Auxiliaries do guard shift-change at 0530, Tau do morning roll-call at 0600, chow begins at 0645, workday begins at 0800, lunch at 1230, work-"
"I don't need to know past lunch; what's the activity like between 0645-0800? The Regulars are making their feint at 0715."
"Moderate, I suppose? No one's watching the yard; security within the CP is light, like you said."
"Fire Warriors, Pathfinders, Kroot?"
"The Kroot don't do jack-shite aside from lounging around, Pathfinders have been re-tasked to the siege of Ard Allie, and Fire Warriors have been cooking something up with the Huntsman, or 'Shas-El Uria Guǐ'."
"That's his name? Gui, really?" I asked.
"What do you expect from xenos, their concept of intimidation is funny sounding words," Si replied, shrugging. I stepped out into the night, looking over the lit CP in its inactive state.
"Shift change at 0530?" I looked over the five major guard towers that served as control points.
"Yup…can I finally-"
"Yes, you can backstab someone finally," I said. Si let out a sinister chuckle. "Pick five teams to hit the towers in the morning; you lead one, I take another, wake up is 0400."
"Already got some skulkers in mind," Si agreed, "now, let's sleep; we've got traitors to gut and xenos to burn." I nodded, praying I would be able to sleep. As I picked my way through quiet, smelling, and now cramped space of the treatment plant and found a place to sleep amongst the Fusiliers, my mind wandered to the second lieutenant I had left behind in 2022, to who I had been.
"Brother," he said to me, "you're alright; look around you! You've got all you need!" I looked around in the darkness, at the resting forms of my comrades. I saw Vic and Eddie nearby, talking quietly, their legs bouncing in anxiety. They saw my gaze and gave a thumbs up, smiling through the nerves, and I smiled back. A further look-about revealed Hobs, Irv, and Geo clustered together; Irv looked…quiet as usual, Hobs had a hand on Geo' shoulder, and Geo? Geo looked absolutely murderous. Her eyes fell on me and she nodded; her thoughts firmly planted on tomorrow. "You have this; trust in the people around you, tell them what you need, and they'll get it done."
"Thanks," I whispered to the voice in my head. I closed my eyes to think, but, sleep took me before I could open them again.