Chapter 4
Banesword Obergrad's Fury, 3rd Company Obryx Super Heavy
Hill 414, Mastado Mining Colony
12.03.145.M41
Reaching Hill 414 did not look like it would take too long, and it was not exactly the hardest place to find. Hill 414 had looked like a giant tree stump from a distance, with steep slopes ending in a flat summit. And was under near-constant artillery bombardment. The lights of the barrage guiding the landing forces to the rendezvous. Now it looked more and more like a small mountain as it stood tall over its surroundings, the occasional crash and flash of light illuminating the now-darkening sky.
Long lines of dreary men marched their way through sticky knee-deep mud towards the hill in damaged Auxillian uniforms. Looking out at them, many wore bandages or carried stretchers occupied by those who still lived but could not walk. It certainly didn't look like a relieving force, or a vengeful rescue force, it looked much more like a defeated army.
Erasmus turned his attention away from the sorry lines of Auxillian infantry, noticing as they drew closer to the hill that some of what was left of the Cadian and Bhein Morr armoured regiments were stationed defensively all around. The tanks squatting in their Earthworks, battle cannon barrels providing a silent watch over the long miserable marching band. The Cadian Gaudsmen dug in fox holes around the tanks watched with broken faces as the Super Heavy juggernauts twice the size of the Leman Russ tanks passed by.
"It cant be long now until we get to the base, surely?" Corrke sounded, looking out at the sorry state of affairs through the hole where the destroyed sponson had been, a clear hint of concern in his voice.
Erasmus didn't answer his question directly, but instead stood up on his command chair and pushed open the top hatch. Peering over Remier's Stormlord and the heads of its infantry compliment to get a good view of what lay ahead. The other tank commander had rushed over after the Shadowsword attack. Physically vaulting out of his tank and ordering his infantry detachment to follow, risking his life to ensure the safety of his fellow tankers. He'd already been barrated for that, he was too valuable to die to a stray bullet or lasbolt, but he insisted on taking point in the 'convoy'... Not that it made much difference with only two vehicles.
Sure enough, the silhouettes of two Super Heavies could be seen parked just inside what looked like a makeshift compound with barbed wire fences.
Erasmus let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had half expected the HQ to be completely destroyed, but was pleased to find it not only still stood, other Super Heavies had made it here!
The Honoured Lieutenant dropped down into his seat, closing the hatch after him "Well Corrke, it looks like we're here more or less." Corrke looked around, momentarily looking surprised, before just giving a quick nod and returning to watching the outside pass by the tank through the gaping hole.
Erasmus left the sergant to his devices and switched to internal comms "Revok, take us into the base and park up. We got a lot to clear up."
Erasmus sat uncomfortably on a large sofa. The room he found himself in was a stark contrast to the dull grays, piercing greens and dirty browns of the building beyond. The walls were draped in regal red and deep blue banners, which complimented the ornate wooden furniture with red and gold highlights. There were also glass cabinets, with stained glass art depicting a heroic saintly figure slaying a serpent imposed over what looked like a rather large stash of various exaotic beverages. Erasmus dared not move to take a closer look, and despite the chair he occupied being the highest quality furniture he had sat on in decades, the honoured lieutenant could not find comfort for even a moment.
Barely minutes after arriving he had been called in by a platoon of well-dressed guardsmen and sat here. Scenarios rushed through the honoured lieutenant's head, racking his brain for anything he may have done. Had he offended someone? Should he be looking to escape? A quick glance around showed there were no windows, not surprising, given the importance of the man who owned all the wealth on display in this room, and the length of the walk to get here they must be deep under the mountain.
The honoured lieutenant was not left for much longer to mentally torture himself before a tall figure and several guards strode into the room and Erasmus shot to his feet in attention. The man wore a long overcoat over his shoulders like a cape, an overcoat that was covered in dozens of medals of silver and gold, and a half dozen campaign ribbons comprising a rainbow of colours from purple to orange. Under the overcoat there was an ornate golden chest plate, imposed onto it was a chest-wide Imperial Aquila, and an Order of the Terran Star medal was affixed to the top of its right pinion. The man's expression however did not match the splendor he wore. He was gaunt, and tired looking, with deep shadows under his eyes. His slightly slouched posture and slightly staggered march gave the impression of a man who hadn't slept properly in weeks. But still, the man held himself tall and proud, with all the manner of a man of much higher social standing than Erasmus. The Lieutenant may not even have noticed his more haggard features if it were not for his perfectly pristine and elegantly dressed guards. All were equipped with what appears to be Hell-Guns, Erasmus had seen them before in the hands of Imperial Stormtroopers and knew their deadly potential, he'd personally witnessed one tear of rampaging Ork clean in half with just a few shots to the torso. The guards funneled in, 8 of them, and stood as rigid statues all around the room. Watching vigilantly over their superior, boring looks directly into Erasmus from all angles, to the even greater discomfort of the now sweating Lieutenant. Supreme willpower being all that kept him from breaking his rigid salute by squirming.
The nobleman however didn't even look at Erasmus as he marched across the room in front of him, opened the stained glass cabinet and started rummaging through its contents, muttering to himself. After several seconds he pulled out a dark brown, unmarked bottle and nodded to himself, before swiftly turning and giving a start upon realising he had company.
"Oh! My apologies, good sir, you may be at ease now." The nobleman's voice was flowery and sing-song, but had a hard edge to it likely brought on by battle experience and fatigue. Erasmus blinked twice in surprise, confusion cutting right through his tension. The honoured lieutenant relaxed his posture, a little hesitant, and sat down in an upright position on the large sofa, trying not to make direct eye-contact with the nobel or any of his guards in the room.
The nobel wandered over sat himself down opposite Erasmus, watching intently as he placed the bottle down on the glass table beside him. "I've been awfully distracted as of late, with how… differently, this campaign has gone than I had hoped." He paused for second, looking absently into the ceiling, before fixing the lieutenant in front of him with a stare. "You don't know who I am do you, do you, my boy?", the man spoke again, watching closely with an amused smirk. Erasmus just hardened his expression, still careful not to make eye contact, still expecting this to be some sort of trial; but shook his head.
The nobleman chuckled to himself at the clear discomfort of his lesser officer. "Well, now you do! I'm General Von Hern, Lord-Commander of Battlegroup Bhein Morr." The honoured lieutenant's eyes widened, unable to contain his surprise. A general?! This close to the front!? Words failed him for second as he attempted to splutter out a greeting in turn "I-Im…" but he was cut off by a wave from Von Hern, who now seemed to have fully switched gears to the business at hand "I know who you are Honoured Lieutenant, and this is quite enough banter. I have urgent need of your unit's services and there is much you must know." The sing-song and amused jingle in the general's voice had disappeared completely and the man's face hardened like faramite plate, replaced with the cold and calculating voice of a military leader. One hand reached down the side of his chair and he produced two glasses that he proceeded to fill with the dark beverage as he spoke.
"You have landed into quite possibly the most disastrous battlezone I have had the displeasure of commanding in all my years. I have only two barely combat-worthy armoured regiments, several on-foot infantry regiments, and a few scattered Super Heavies to try and defend a world against an enemy of unknown strength that has taken much of our defences and even now relentlessly shells my HQ." Right on cue, a particularly loud and vicious explosion shook the room, causing the glasses in the cabinet to jingle and dust to be displaced from the ceiling, but it hardly seemed to phase Von Hern who casually brushed to deris off the table before continuing "On top of that, in his infinite wisdom..." Von Hern rolled his eyes and made an annoyed clicking sound with his tongue "Lord Parigar has seen it fit to join this catastrophe personally, and not heed my request to petition the mechanicus for Titan support. Instead he rushes to his death with doomed infantry and misplaced Super Heavies, and expects me to counterattack?!" The general's voice steadily rose to a shout as he went on "And as if to insult me, the navy won't provide direct support. They can land a million troops into a meat grinder, but they can't put a single flyer in the sky or destroy those infernal artillery positions? The fact they even saw merit in that idiot Parigar's plan vexes me…" Von Hern suddenly realised that he probably said too much and stopped, massaging his temples in an attempt to steady himself. Erasmus had no idea what to do, suddenly very unsure exactly what he was there for.
"As I was saying… I need you to take command of the Super Heavies we have. You're the most experienced commander that has arrived in camp and I only now have enough tanks to make a serious effort at counter attacking." Von Hern slammed back the entire contents of his glass, before continuing "I can't afford to wait anymore, you must understand, so you'll be assigned to take down the gun fort near the Southern wall of Master's spire. With its destruction, our HQ won't be under direct threat anymore and we can think about actually completing our objectives… as insane as they may be."
It was then that Erasmus found his voice "Sir, with all due respect, I can't do anything with Obergrad's Fury in its current state. I've lost a Sponson, have a gaping hull breach, and I have no vox communication. I need repairs before I can move out." Von Hern made a face that seemed he was contemplating shooting himself before waving a hand dismissively "You'll get your repairs, I'll have the Tech Adepts see what they can do, but you must be gone within 24 hours." With that he set his empty glass down and stood up to leave "In other news, you'll be working with what's left of our artillery and armoured elements alongside your Super Heavy spearhead… And congratulations on your promotion to Honoured Captain, Erasmus. Dismissed."
The newly promoted Honoured Captain trod his way across the HQ, wrestling with the sucking-mud of Mastado's welcoming storm, clutching the plans for his newest mission in his hands. Mercifully, the storm had now died down, but the sky was growing ever darker. Erasmus was still dazed by what he'd been given, and what he'd been told. Colonel Blackwell had briefed him after the General promoted and dismissed him.
He was expected to take 6 Super Heavies, a few hundred lesser tanks and about half a million men to attempt to take a Macro-Canon battery which was preventing landings closer to the city. The secondary guns from said battery were also pasting the Guard HQ and columns retreating from the doomed counter offensive on Master's Spire. He'd been put slightly at ease when he was told he only had to take direct command of the Super Heavy element, which was made up of the remains of 3rd and 1st Company of his now virtually-destroyed regiment, but he still had so many questions swirling around in his head.
What was he being expected to fight? What about reinforcement? Why was the navy not able to provide air support? Only one thing seemed certain, Erasmus had long days ahead of him.
Barely had he finished his train of thought when he saw a Salamander slide to a halt alongside his tank, and two men jump down into the muddy swamp and begin climbing on his tank. Erasmus could feel red rage rising inside him, his crew did not have time to deal with hitchhikers.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing on my tank!?" The Honoured captain shouted as he ran, as quickly as the mud would allow, to confront the intruders. The two men jumped, one of them physically falling backwards into the mud as he tried to spin around to face the tank commander.
"We're looking for Honoured Lieutenant Sanavich Kor Erasmus! Is that you?" The more senior of the two, who kept his footing, called back as Erasmus struggled his way over to the two machines.
The Honoured Captain was slightly taken-aback that the stranger knew his name, but nodded and gave an 'aye', earning a small grin from the man as he jumped down off the Obergrad's Fury and scooped up his sorry-looking comrade.
"Excuse Karmac here, he's a bit of an idiot, I'm 1st Sergeant Reyn!" He punctuated the introduction with a quick salute "I've been assigned to your company as a forward observer, sir!" The man then stayed at attention, watching carefully for the response from the tank commander. Erasmus gave him a long look, staring deep into Reyn's eyes for several seconds. Only once the sergeant was struggling to keep composure did Erasmus finally speak. "Word of advice sergeant? Next time you so much as touch my tank, or any of my crew members, without my express permission; I'll personally have you hang you from that gun barrel." pointing to the main armament on the Obergrad's Fury Reyn's attitude had now totally changed, thoroughly humiliated by the events that had just unfolded "Yes sir! My apologies, sir!" Karmac snickered, amused by his commanding officers discomfort, but was quickly silenced by the venomous looks both officers gave him. "I wouldn't snicker if I were you, if I catch you trespassing, the same rule applies to you." Erasmus shot as him, Karmac stammered, trying to muster a response, but only managed to give a shaky nod and shrunk down.
"Anyway, now that is out of the way. We have our orders and will set off once repairs to the tanks are done." Both the scouts were surprised by the sudden change of tone, but nodded along. "Be ready to set out at first light, and try to get some rest. I don't want useless worn-out transfers." and without another word, Erasmus climbed aboard his tank, and disappeared from sight.