Urban Jungle
On the fourth day of the battle, the Sniper ran out of food. On the eighth day, desperate and hungry, he resorted to looting an abandoned market in an attempt to find something, but the Xenos had torched everything inside, as if knowing someone would find it useful. Stomach growling and knees weakening, with no way to communicate with the remaining Imperial forces – if there were any – in the city, and only one hotshot pack left, the Sniper began to seriously consider suicide before deciding to take as many of the Xenos with him as he could.
He wandered outside carefully, checking the corners and keeping low as he dashed to the other side of the street, his vision growing dark from hunger, thirst and sleep deprivation. He leaned on the wall for support and moved to the next turn, hands shaking so much he had to turn the safety of his long-las on lest he shoot himself in the foot. Turning the corner, he broke into a relieved grin. The Emperor must have smiled down on him today.
He raised a hand and began to shakily walk towards the platoon he'd just found, but he only made it three steps before crumbling to the ground and finally letting sleep claim him.
"Name?"
The Sniper managed to stop eating for long enough to answer. "Marksman Iano, sir. 23rd Manrodian Shock Troops."
The captain stared at him through his monocle, the scout-pattern Salamander stowed away inside a collapsed building and hidden underneath an over sized camo-cloak. "The Inferno's?"
"That is the nickname of the regiment, sir, yes." The Sniper found himself engrossed in his meal. It was just dehydrated bean paste, but after three days of operating on an empty stomach it tasted like milk and honey.
The captain rummaged through communications logs that his adjutant had provided "You were reported dead after reporting the existence of an Eldar Warlock on the corner of 4th and Sanguinius. What were your mission parameters?"
"Standard operating procedure for Inferno marksmen, sir. Deploy ahead of the main force on a solo mission to take out targets of opportunity and other VIP's." The Sniper replied in a monotone. "Our dropship landed first, a stealth variant. Then the Xenos air force deployed and-"
"Entire regiment wiped out by three Nightwing interceptors before landing, yes." The Captain mused. "Marksman, I'm going to give you a choice. You can join my platoon, or we can resupply you and send you back out into the city after some rest."
The Sniper's reply was instantaneous. "I'd like to return to the field, sir."
"Of course. Corporal Myr, my adjutant, shall debrief you on the current situation on the planet. I'm afraid it's looking rather-"
A sudden scream interrupted the Captain, and was quickly followed by the Salamander's vox blurting out a message. "Xenos troopers! They're already in the ca-"
A sudden rush of static cut off the rest of the message. The Captain rose to his feet and waved his adjutant forwards, who presented the Sniper with a full backpack. Glancing into it, he found food and water for three days at least and a full medkit, as well as a handful more hotshot packs.
"One last order, Marksman. There is one target that needs to be removed if we are to have any hope of taking the city back?"
"The titan?" The Sniper replied, snapping a fresh hotshot pack into his long-las. The Captain scowled.
"Reports say that the Eldar commander wears blue armor with some kind of anti-gravity device in the form of wings. I want you to find and eliminate this target. Understood?"
The Sniper nodded vigorously, turning to leave. "Yes, Sir."
He dashed out of the Salamander to the scene of Xenos soldiers slaughtering the platoon. Raising his long-las, he snapped off one shot and killed the one in the prettiest armor. It seemed like a safe bet. As the Captain emerged, drawing his chainsword and shouting a challenge, the Sniper took off at a dash through a hole in the enemy lines created by a sudden burst of fire from the Salamander's heavy bolter.
He vanished into the city as the Eldar slaughtered his best chance for respite. At least he had a clear goal now – assassinate the Xenos commander.
The question was, where was he?