Authors Note: Well expect the battle for the city of Swadia to last another chapter or two. Keep up the reviews.
Brilliant.
That was the only word that could describe the completeness, the sheer perfection of the Mechanicus siege of the hive city of Swadia. Colonel Bradington thought this as he observed the array of trenches and temporary fortresses which surrounded the city.
His regiments tents were set up below the hill he was standing on, the men preparing weapons, armor and ammunition. Running through prebattle checks or praying to the Emperor.
Just the process of surrounding a hive city completely was no easy feat. It had taken days of heavy fighting through the Tau defenses to finally prepare the siege of the massive city. The battle through the heavy brush of the outlying land had been vicious, corpses piled so thoroughly that you could walk without touching the ground.
Many of the Imperial tacticians had been worried that the army would grind ot a stop in this inhospitable battleground. But they hadn't counted on the Mechanicus.
The magos in charge of the Mechancius forces, Magos Sedisvar, had sent nearly another five-thousand warriors to their deaths to break through the Tau lines. The reprocessing centers in the Ordinatus machines had been busy.
The Mechanicus hadn't even blinked at this extravagant waste of manpower, just deployed more troops. Thousands of Tech-Guard and heavy combat servitors of all designs had been marching forth from the Ordinatus crawlers every day. The guns of Mars had rumbled and spoke constantly, laying low hillsides or series of hastily constructed Tau bunkers.
The sheer amount of noise had caused several incidents of eardrum bursting or rupture due to the awful amount of noise produced by the mighty guns mounted on the crawlers.
The land bled from its wounds.
Releasing its lifeblood into the air in a overhanging smog of war. Dust and grit left over from such destruction still drifted through the air heavily blinding men. The oppressive airborne debris wormed its way into everything imaginable.
The many men of the Imperial Guard were always coughing and hacking, trying to clear the dust from their throats. Rebreathers soon became necessary to continue the move to the city, those that didn't comply were soon in the infirmaries. Machines needed constant maintenance to keep the dirt from inner workings and joints, lest they be rendered useless within a few days.
Even with all these set backs, as if the planet was conspiring against the God-Emperor's servants, the combined Guard and Mechanicus forces had rolled onwards.
As the Imperial forces had set up around the Tau held hive city, super heavy artillery pieces had been wheeled into firing pits, ready to unleash death upon the enemy. Hundreds of other batteries were placed into the massive network of overlapping trenches and were also lifted into the huge earthen and metal fortresses which were constructed by Guard engineers. Nearly endless convoys of transport trucks rumbled into the ever expanding siege works, carrying both Guardsmen and supplies.
The time for war was at hand.
The Guard, Space Marine, Battle-Sisters and Adeptus Mechancius forces had readied their forces to storm the gates, and the cruel gods of the universe waited to see the carnage that ensured.
Before the great southeastern gate of Swadia city the forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard assembled. The artillery emplaced in the trenches thumped and rumbled, sending hundreds of shells and rockets into the confines of the city.
Some struck the mighty walls themselves, marking the thick fortifications with scorch marks. The Tau pulse defense turrets and captured Planetary Defense Force wall guns answered the barrage of ordinance with one of their own.
A false dawn was created as shells and tracers lit the sky. Planes rumbled thorugh the air, unleashing their payloads on the city below.
The duel of long range guns steadily escalating was soon to be dwarfed to what would come next. Of the three Ordinatus crawlers the different magos had occupied for their command vehicles only those of Magos Jadinar and Coras had advanced into combat. The third and largest crawler, that of Magos Sedisvar, rumbled forward from the back of the Imperial battle lines.
The massive Nova Cannon mounted on the dull steel chassis of the machine was lowered towards the gates of the hive city.
Deep within the armored heart of the machine gears and servos whined and shifted, along with the noiseless working of hundreds of heavy lifting servitors. The first shell to be fired by the Nova Cannon was hefted into the gaping breach of cannon, its size easily bigger than a Baneblade Super-Heavy Tank.
As the Tau commanders on and around the walls realized the danger they were in desperate evacuation attempts began all along the massive fortifications. Hundreds of troops were rushing off, tripping and falling over eachother.
And that is all they would ever be, attempts.
The Nova Cannon fired with a report that shattered windows and even rocked tanks with the airwaves coming from the steaming muzzle. The shell, aimed by the Magos Sedisvar himself, hit right at the center where the two separate gate doors came together.
The gates and much of the wall around them blew apart in a spectacular explosion of light and sound, sending chunks of super hardened ceramite and rock tumbling to the ground. Many of those rocks crushed Tau troops and vehicles underneath them. The huge explosion vented backwards from the gates and destroyed several large buildings and extra Tau fortifications, killing hundreds more of the Tau defenders.
A breach had been created in the massive walls, and the Imperial commanders were going to use it. The Imperial forces charged towards the massive breach the gun had made, their weapons already firing.
Beneath the dust tinted sky of the planet Yanir all hell broke loose.
Shas'vre Elan fired his pulse rifle at the advancing humans, each shot finding its way into flesh and bone.
When the gates had been destroyed the Shas'vre had been one of the few surviving officers left, leaving him with hundreds of disoriented soldiers. As the first waves of Gue'la had charged into the rubble and body strewn courtyard Elan had set up what men he could into positions to fire upon the enemy.
"Fire! Hold them back! Do not fail your brothers! For the Tau'va!"
Blistering salvos of pulse, las and hard rounds blazed thought the air, weaving a tapestry of death. Missiles spiraled thorugh the air before finding their way into buildings and barricades. Bursts of plasma and gushes of fire scoured the gorund of the courtyard.
Elan ducked behind a piece of the what had once been the gatehouse and exchanged clips, slamming a new one home. To either side of the Shas'vre were dozens of Tau and Gue'vesa firing their respective weapons towards the Imperium's forces. The crackling of small arms fire and chattering of support weaposn sounded all around the Tau commander.
"Shas'vre, I see armor moving up towards our positions, we must fall back!"
He turned towards a crouching Shas'la, rifle clutched in soot stained fingers, "Armor? I have not seen these particular Gue'la use armor much Shas'la."
"Well they have it now Shas'vre and its coming fast!"
Elan poked his head over the lip of the rock, wincing as a flight of grenades flew past his helmet and exploded behind him, causing several new cries of pain to rise into the din of battle. There was indeed dozens of armored vehicles rumbling forward into the smoke filled courtyard, their shapes even more bulky then regular Gue'la tanks.
As the tanks finally emerged into the fire fueled light Elan was surprised at the appearance of the strange machines. Each machine was slightly bigger than a Leman Russ Demolisher and mounted on their grey-steeled hulls were dual Battle Cannons which could swing from side to side or aim up and down. But that wasn't the only armaments that these siege tanks had.
Mounted on the top of the chassis, above the duel Battle Cannons was a stubby siege cannon of some sort and mounted on the sponsons and co-axial turrets were a mix of Heavy-Bolters and rapid cycling Missile-Pods of some sort. The advancing Tech-Guard and Battle Servitors broke rank with perfect precision to allow the rumbling machines to clear the path for them.
One of the leading machines fired its siege cannon with a loud report and a moment later one of his Firewarrior's positions disappeared in a spiral of fire. Pieces of Tau and armor rained down upon his position in a fine drizzle.
"Get some Pulse Cannons or some of the Gue'vesa Rocket Tubes up here!"
The Shas'la had been about to reply when jagged burst of plasma destroyed the upper part of his torso in a searing flash of light. Elan cursed and rose out of cover firing his pulse rifle again towards the enemy with expertly placed shots, aiming though the optics of his helmet. His men were dying even faster now with the Battle Tanks now in the picture.
It was bad.
He spied a group of Gue'vesa with demo-charges, a plan forming in his head. He turned to the Tau around him, all firing towards the Gue'la. One of them had a Rail Rifle, each shot destroying another enemies head or making a hole in their chest the size of a fist.
"Give me covering fire! I don't want a shot coming my way!"
"Yes Shas'vre!"
Elan started to run through the enemy fire towards the Gue'vesa's position. His own soldiers answered the fire with a wave of pulse shots, the weapons sounding oddly distorted due to the enclosed space of the courtyard. After ducking and weaving for several minutes in between chunks of rubble he arrived at his destination.
Most of the human auxiliaries were armed with captured Lasguns or Autorifles and firing in bursts towards the enemy. One of them had a sack of Tube Charges and was hurling them towards the enemy with explosive results. The leader of the men, Autorifle in his hands, turned towards Elan.
" How can we help you Shas'vre?"
Elan, like many Tau officers, had learned how to speak the Gue'la language, to better help the cooperation between the humans and Tau. That training was proving its usefulness now.
"I need your man over there with the explosives to take out those tanks!"
He pointed towards the rumbling vehicles, smashing over debris and corpses with ease. Every few secons another of the tanks cannons fired, sending shells into the dug in Tau forces.
The man had been about to reply when the Battle Servitor appeared.
Its arm shot out towards the nearest Gue'vesa, its hand formed into a wedge. The metal limb punched through the fleeing mans chest, erupting in a burst of gore. It shook the corpse of its limb and was turning towards Elan when the Shas'vre plunged his bonding knife into the machines eye socket.
Elan grunted as he had to force the knife through the things metal encased skull, even as it raised its hand for another strike. As it swung its arm, the Tau ducked, wincing as it snapped a human's neck behind him.
The leader of the Gue'vesa hurried up and shoved his Autorifle into the servitors stomach, emptying his clip into it. The machine came apart under the hail of bullets in a shower of oil, blood and sparks.
Wiping the fluids from his helmet Elan inclined his head towards the man in thanks before hefting his rifle. Looking at the courtyard, its walkways swarming with figures and armor Elan knew that he could not hold for much longer.
Behind him more of his warriors positions disappeared in explosions as they were hit by shells from cannons. He opened the comm link to his embattled forces, " This is it soldiers of the Tau Empire. Give it everything you got!"
In response to his orders the fire coming from his positions increased, even as more troops poured through the breached gates.
This was it, it was now or never.
Captain Bayern felt sick as he rocked back and forth in the back of Half-track. The light field gun mounted on back boomed as it fired shells into the habs around the charging Laotian men. Blowing apart the buildings, and showering the men with stone and body parts.
Bayern had laughed as the Mechanicus had blown open the walls of the hive city, weeks of hard fought battles finally paying off. That laughter had stopped just as abruptly as it had started as he had been ordered to advance into the breach.
Now Bayern, along with the entire Laotian 14th Regiment, fought their way into the hellish maze of the Merchant District. Every street corner of the wealthy area was heavily defended by the Tau. Whether it be entrenched Firewarriros, Kroot and Vespid waiting to ambush or even rebel Humans, fighting in a almost fanatical way.
House to house fighting was the way of the day, the Laotian Regiments having to clear every block the hard way. Fire came at the advancing Guardsmen in a deadly hail, making every man have to move at a slow, hunched over crawl most of the way.
There was accounts on the vox links of Tau Battlesuits entering the fight, even some sort of massive beast that destroyed everything it encountered. Captain Bayern listened to the vox and sighed, wishing he was in that fight.
Around him were the armored companies and support vehicles of the advancing Imperials, Half-tracks, Sentinels, Chimeras, Leman Russ's and much more. All of them were moving forwards in a wave of steel, firing cannons and sponsons, blowing apart buildings and Tau barricades with ease. Bayern himself was in a Half-track, his adjutant Nuls was with him.
Nuls a slightly short man, but compact with muscle due to years of fighting carried his customary Assault Shotgun in his rough hands. Ammo webbing was strung across his waist and chest his gold plate armor visible from underneath the equipment. Nuls also carried a long range vox caster on his back to allow the Captain to talk with almost everyone in the city.
Nuls had been with Bayern for nearly eleven years, nearly half of Bayern's allotted time in the Guard. They were close, close as only men who had fought and cheated death together could be.
"Well Nuls, a nice day for a war huh?"
Nuls turned his head to regard him, "Sir, If I wasn't about to puke out my guts due to this dammed vehicles rocking I might agree."
They both laughed at the joke, the sound out of place in the ruined, fire filled homes of the wealthy and powerful. Above in sky, the color of it brown and black tinged with smoke and dust, flights of Marauders and Lightning's flew. Every few minutes the rumble of dropped bombs or missiles impacting on their targets was heard in the distance. Many of the planes tumbled out of the sky as anti-aircraft fire hit them.
There was still no sign of the Tau air forces, making all the commanders of Laotian regiments worried, but it wasn't there biggest problem right now. Another building was destroyed as a round from a Conqueror pattern Leman Russ hit it dead on. Bayern was getting pretty comfortable with this pattern of meeting building, meet enemy and blowing it up when the first tank exploded.
One of the leading Conqueror tanks, Ork Bane, blew up spectacularly as it was ht by some sort of energy weapon. The next vehicle in line, a recon Sentinel commanded by Sergeant Honen, was the next to be destroyed by a beam of energy.
He heard on the vox net cries of alarm as the tank commanders tried to pinpoint the source of the shooting, when another Conqueror, Metal Head, was blown apart.
"Scramble men! Get into cover! Find a position and hold it!"
Bayern yelled into the vox, as the tanks were being destroyed. He turned to Nuls, "Ready for some action?"
"Was born ready sir." Bayern grinned, eyeing the enemy fire ahead of them.
"Your talking out your ass Nuls."
"No sir, I am just that good."
Both men chuckled again, the tension fizzing out of them. Then the first of pulse rounds started to whip past and both men ducked.
Bayern hurried up to the driver, Pharon Kim, his head lowered to avoid enemy fire.
"Pharon!"
The man, a expression of happiness on his face that completely was at odds with the situation. As he drove he turned towards the captain, steering the vehicle all the while.
" Yes sir?"
"Tell your gunners to target that trading hall to the side of us!"
"Can do sir."
Pharon turned towards the sweaty men in the back of the Half-track and gave them the orders. Bayern keen eyes had spotted the pockmarked and worn down trading hall the enemy was using. Beams of heavy fire were still coming from boarded up and sandbagged windows, hitting tanks and men.
The first shells from the light artillery piece mounted on the Half-tracks rear started to whine into the buildings throwing out plumes of dust, polished wood and fire. All the while the combined might of the 2nd company under Captain Bayern, 8th company under Captain Wollinski and 6th company under Captain Zeydus plowed forwards.
Burned out tanks and transports littered the roadway, creating a scrap yard of Imperial armor. Dozens of bodies, both Laotian and Tau, were scattered about through the area. This scene was one of the less extreme which was being repeated all along the breach the Imperial Guard were trying to secure and hold.
His thoughts were stopped as the vehicle suddenly rocked even more violently then usual, causing Nuls to finally lose the battle against his stomach and retch.
Bayern stumbled over to the side of the vehicle and looked over as men scrambled about on the deck of the machine. Lodged in the side of vehicle was a large piece of metal, no doubt once part of the many buildings that had been leveled. Oil was leaking form the gaping hole in its side and Bayern started to get Nuls, for just one spark would blow the whole machine apart.
"Nuls lets go!"
"Finally sir!"
As they headed towards the side more pulse fire smacked into the Half-track. Crew members were running in all directions, trying ot get off the doomed vehicle. All except Pharon, a expression of anger on his face as he fired his laspistol towards the enemy that dared hurt his vehicle.
They were sprinting towards the side, breath coming in gasps, and jumped. Behind them one of the many pulse rounds hit the spreading stain of oil on the ground. The explosion knocked the fleeing Guardsmen onto the ground, and flung pieces of shrapnel in all directions.
Some of that shrapnel was human bone.
Bayern hit the ground and blacked out for a few seconds. He woke up with a gasp and coughed up some blood that had been collecting in his mouth before dragging his still senseless adjutant to cover. Pieces of metal as lodged into his back and legs, his adjutant's too.
He yanked off the beaten up vox caster from Nuls back and patched himself too the other Captains. A plan was forming in his mind, hopefully it could turn the tide of this battle.
"Bayern here I got a plan."
"Good to hear your still alive Bayern." That was Captain Zeydus, his dry humor easily recognizable.
"Welcome back captain." That would be Wollinski, his brisk manner a trademark of his.
" Good to be back gentleman, I need to move your men and all our armor strengths up to engage the enemy." Bayern said into the vox.
"I'm all for glory but what will you be doing Bayern?" Zeydus asked him over the vox.
"I will split my company and conduct a pincer movement on their dug in positions by moving through the back streets."
"Good plan captain, I'll go with it." Wollinski quipped into the conversation, his vox signal overlaid with small arms fire.
"I'm in too. If there is something Zeydus Mu's company can do, its kill some xenos."
"I'm glad to hear it, the Emperor protects." Bayern signed off the link and opened it to his companies channel.
"Lieutenant Argos?"
"Yes sir?"
"Were going to conduct a pincer movement on the enemy. They have the main streets and a lot of the buildings locked up tight. We are going to negate that advantage. Take Gorh, Inoq, Karsky and Uwel's platoons and head left through that big alleyway. I'll take Jonson, Nev, Lec and Crowes platoons to the right."
"Yes sir."
"Good man, race you to the top."
"Your on, sir."
Bayern signed off and looked around him. Dozens of men were moving forward around him along with the armor support. Nuls was waking up besides him, muttering curses and rubbing his head.
Bayern Hyagu unsheathed his uniyyal blade and freed his laspistol from its holster. He turned and slapped Nuls on the arm.
"Time for war, grab your gun." He and the dazed Nuls headed towards the side street where his sergeants were waiting.
The massive incursion by the Imperial Guard and the Mechanicus was perhaps the worst disaster the city had ever faced. There had been plenty of destructive events in the hive city's history, Rad Storms, bulding collapses, even Power Reactors going critical. But none could compare to the damage the Imperial invasion would create.
The streets were lit with thousands of tracer rounds, the projectiles being exchanged across buildings and streets. Most buildings in the path of the siegers were partly or totally destroyed, many on fire. Bodies, both Tau, Imperial and civilian tumbled out of the ruined buildings, plunging to their deaths as fiery torches.
Like all hive cities int he Imperium the seemingly endless amount of buildings and habs were places so close together only small children could fit inbetween the gaps, and very rarely at that. Many of the buiildings were stacked upon other buildings, still in use or in ruins. These stacked buildings were perhaps one of the biggest deathtraps Colonel Bradington, among other ranking officers of the Laotian armor and Infantry regiments, would ever see.
Hundreds of men were crammed in them fighting for their lives, not only to kill the enemy, but to keep from falling off the precariously perched constructions. Many of those same battlegrounds were collapsing upon themselves as either demo charges, shells from both Imperail and Tau artillery and aircraft fire blew them apart.
Tanks rumbled and fought thorugh the wide marketplaces and meeting centers of the hive. The roadways were either crushed beneath the treads of the fighting machines or flung apart by tank shells. Hundreds of thousands of civilians stampeded in panic throughout the city. Dying in their hundreds every second, the men and women of Swadia were being mowed down like wheat stalks.
Caught in the crossfire between the battling armies the panicked citizens were slaughtered. But this was only some of the carnage that would occur.
The battle for the hive city of Swadia was perhaps the most brutal in the entire war yet. Not because of the appalling casualties that occurred, but the terrible destruction that was the result of the siege. One of perhaps the most famous examples was the battle for the main Ecclesiarchy church, The Temple of The Emperor.
The once peaceful place of worship became a fiercely contested battleground. In the ornamented gardens and the white marble steps of the church, even in the white-washed and golden interior war was waged.
Men of the Laotian 10th and 11th Laotian Regiments, and elements of the 213th Krastern Armored met the enemy in a brutal close combat. Commanded by the legendary war hero, Herk Uy "The Enlightened", the engagement became part of all the differing regiments history for its sheer ferocity.
Herk Uy personally led the charge of nearly one thousand men to capture the toughest part of the Tau defense, his Power Whip in one hand, a golden Aquilla standard in the other. His silver breastplate, blessed by the five Cardinals Palatines themselves, seemed to deflect the shots of the Tau and their allies, allowing him to charge unwounded to fight the Tau up close and personal.
In the melee which occurred due to the charge the great golden statue of Father Peto, first High Priest of the Temple, was toppled by a Tau Ion Cannon. The massive statue, its hand raised to the masses as if in farewell, toppled into the pools of the crater filled gardens, flinging perfectly clear water over the fighitng forces.
The fighting at the Temple would continue for another hour and a half before the Tau forces were finally broken by the death of the Shas'vre leading them. Scenes like this were occurring all across the hive, desperate fights that bellied belief as to the unimaginable indignity and suffering that went into the battles.
Many of those fights, like at the Temple of the Emperor, were won by the Imperium, but many others were not.
At the massive amphitheater in the Upper Habs of Swadia one of the most disastrous losses occurred. Commanded by a Major Raiddisha of the 45th Laotian Armored Regiment, nearly eighty tanks of the 45th and eight hundred Loatian infantry of the 3rd Infantry Regiment were under his command.
They had fought upwards throught the opulence of the Upper Habs before reaching the amphitheater. This amphitheater, once used to entertain the wealthy and elite of the city, had been deemed a key location by Imperial Tacticians in the Imperial Fleet to capture due to its size and great point of view it offered.
The major pushed his men thorugh the sizable houses and apartments in the Upper Habs. His every step dogged by Tau Stealthsuits and Pathfinders, along with Tau allied humans. When Raiddisha finally arrived at the amphitheater he was surprised to find it unguarded. He quickly got his men into the theater and almost desperatley circled up the tanks and got hs men into the protection of armor.
At this point most Guard commander would be ripping their hair out at the stupidity of the major. It was standard doctrine that a commander never halted his armor forces or made them vulnerable by the inability to manuever unless absolutely necessary.
Raiddisha was spooked and needed order confirmations, and in the process of doing that, he made his men vunerable.
The Tau took advantage of the commanders weakness. Kroot swarmed down from the sides and side entrances fo the amphitheater, firing their rifles at the stationary Laotians. Tau Pathfinder squads started to shoot Photon Grenades at the Guardsmen using the launchers slung underneath their Pulse Carbines. Rail Rifle shots zoomed out and sent men flying to the ground, heads gone or neat holes thorugh their bodies.
Hundreds of rebel PDF then filled into the arena, setting up Stubbers and Mortars that began to fire on the Laotian's below. Major Raiddisha was crying pathetically as the enemy swarmed around the hastily firing tanks and men under his command.
Kroot and PDF swarmed over the aiming Leman Russ's, popping open the hatches with well places shots before dropping grenades into the tanks. The dull crumps of detonation sounded all about the major as his men were slaughtered.
His aide was running towards him when a las round entered his neck, traveled down thorugh his ribcage and exited his hip. Raiddisha knew that he had failed, he and his men would pay the price for his failure.
He pulled his service pistol from his holster and aimed at the nearest Kroot.
The Laotain major heard a whining sound behind him and sighed.
Then his upper torso was blasted away with a wave of close round pulse shots.
As the Major Raiddisha Turvi's corpse fell to the ground Shas'ui Kunas'Ka lowered his Burstcannon and reactivated his stealth field.
The Imperial forces were wavering in the face of a determined Tau resistance and the confusion of fighting in the massive hive city of Swadia. In the direct center of the massive breach that the Nova Cannonhad blasted the Mechanicus forces were slowly pushing forward but paying a much to heavy price that would make them stop if they didn't.
To either side of the heavy fighting for the courtyard and the plazas of the city the Imperial Guard was slowly being pushed back for every inch of ground they bought with the lives of their men. There was a general sense of defeat and dismay in the air.
That was until the first drop pods started to scream through the atmosphere.
The 5th company of the Mantis Warriors Chapter came to the aid of the embattled Imperial forces. Librarian Ashok had prepped his entire company back into orbit to the Mantis Warriors Battle Barge, Emperor's Might for the assualt on Swadia. Most Space Marine commanders, once on the ground never returned their forces to orbit unless their objectives were complete.
But Ashok had known to prepare his men for drop pod assault, the city was too winding and complex to try a conventional assault without massive losses. But with teh adcantage of swift and decisive advantage of drop pods it disabled the advantage the Tad had with thier prepared posistions.
His men screamed towards the ground with frightening speed but despite the shaking of the pod Ashok smiled.
Sister Superior Charity swiveled her head in the direction of her objective. The Valkryies carrying the Battle Sisters were flying all around her.
Every few minutes another squad or vehicle of the Sisters was dropped into the LZ to bolster the ever growing ranks of assembling Battle Sisters. She looked up and laughed as her helmet optics picked up the falling drop pods carrying the Space Marines.
"Sister Superior?"
Charity turned to regard Seraphim Lowell, her twin Bolt Pistols clutched in her hands.
"Yes?"
"All our squads report complete readiness."
"Good." A pause, only the whirring of the Valkryies motors interrupting the silence.
"Sister Superior?"
"Yes?"
"So do we advance?"
"Yes, we advance."
The Duaghters of the Emperor marshaled out to destroy the hated xenos.