Nathaniel woke with a start. He looked over to the door of his tent and listened. The slightest thunk from outside, the noise was that of heavy footsteps, not just one set at least three sets.
The footsteps were far to heavy sounding to belong to any of his men.
He reached under his foldup bed and grasped his laspistol, he aimed it at the door while with the other hand he fumbled around in the dark for his chainsword.
Suddenly the tent's door slowly began to open, the hand was dark and barely visible but already he could see it was far too large to be a human's hand.
"Orks!" He roared before he fired off three shots from his laspistol.
The shots illuminated the tent and struck the large hand at the tent door several times.
Following this was a muffled roar from outside, then the large form of the Ork that had been sneaking in came tearing through the door, a large axe covered in blood held high. It charged and he fired off several more shots, they barely seemed to phase his attacker.
The ork was soon upon him and the sheer force of the beast sent him and his bed flying through the other side of the tent wall. He rolled on the grass but clenched his grip on his pistol.
Outside he could now hear screams and roars of other men fighting off their attackers.
His own assailant was towering over him now, the axe coming down toward him, he rolled to the side and continued to roll even after the axe had landed in the ground where he had moments before been lying.
The ork rounded on Nathaniel who was now on his front, he forced himself up, he turned towards the Ork just as it swung the blunt side of the axe at him, the blow hit him in the face, breaking his nose immediately, the blow was followed by a sudden and violent kick from the Ork.
He stumbled and cried out, the wind had been knocked out of him and he lay bleary eyed on his back, his face covered in blood.
Nathaniel desperately tried to force his body back away from the Ork.
The beast stamped down on his chest, causing him to cry out in pain and wheeze.
The Ork looked down at him, its eyes full of malice, hatred and what chilled him the most; Joy.
it raised its axe once again and swung down.
It happened so fast, but the Ork was suddenly thrown to its side before its swing could land, Grenn wrestled it as he lay on top of it, he raised his own combat knife and drove it into the Ork's throat, blood sprayed from the wound and it screamed out in pain and anger.
Another Sergeant ran over to Nathaniel and dragged him up.
"Nathaniel? Sergeant Nathaniel?" The man's voice seemed distant.
"Yes Gunny" Nathaniel coughed back.
"Dariel!" Phelps yelled, "Get Sergeant Nathaniel to the Command building"
A younger looking guardsman with Dark hair grabbed Nathaniel and began to help him away from the fallen Ork.
Distant and echoing cries of pain and roars of Orks became more and more distant as Nathaniel took each step.
"Sergeant? Can you hear me?" Dariel waved his hand in front of Nathaniel's face.
Nathaniel's vision began to blur and darken; he fell to the floor and passed out.
"Barak!" Phelps yelled, Barak looked over and Phelps pointed out one of the last Orks who were now fleeing the camp.
Barak aimed his plasma weapon and fired.
The blue salvo illuminated the immediate area and zoomed after the Ork, it struck the beast in the back, sending it slumping to the floor.
"Is that the last of them?" Petyr yelled out, still scanning the area with his lasgun.
"Agh!" A scream from a couple of tents over answered Petyr's question, the guardsmen all ran towards the source of the sound.
They ran past three ripped up tents before they found the source.
A larger Ork with a sparky claw infused with its arm was stood over several Guardsmen bodies, their corpses covered in violent looking gashes and their faced covered in blood.
The Ork turned towards them and snarled.
Barak fired his plasma gun, the blast struck the beast in the chest, causing it to stagger back with its chest aflame.
"Satchel charges!" Phelps yelled, the plasma had lit several of the crude looking explosive devices upon the Ork's chest.
The Ork realised the danger and laughed, it ran towards Barak laughing all the while.
Barak fired again and this time the blast caused the Ork to explode, the explosives on the Ork's body all exploded in unison and sent Barak flying backwards.
A large smoke cloud rose from the explosion and blocked Barak from Phelps' vision.
"Barak!?" Phelps cried out into the smoke before running towards where he thought Barak may have gone, Petyr followed.
Barak lay on his back, his plasma gun was still in his hand, four metres behind him.
As well as his arm from the elbow down being separated, his leg had a load of shrapnel peppered into it and his entire front was covered in blackened soot, his face was contorted in pain and his eyes remained closed.
"Barak.." Phelps mumbled as he walked towards Barak's ruined body.
"Throne of Terra…" Petyr swore and stood still, dumbstruck. Petyr and the Gunnery Sergeant had seen their fair share of injuries, and many men had been killed in the squad, but Barak had always been there.
Barak coughed up a gulp of dirty blood and pitifully cried out.
Phelps cradled Barak's head and looked up at Petyr.
"Call a medic"
"Sergeant…"
"CALL A MEDIC" Phelps roared.
Petyr sprinted towards the command building, leaving Phelps with Barak.
Barak coughed out again, his escaping breath painful and strained.
"You're alright Barak, you're alright" Phelps was reassuring himself just as much as he was the ruined man before him.
Nathaniel reluctantly opened his eyes, a bright light caused him to squint and hold his hand up.
"The sergeant is awake" A voice to his right said.
"ugh" Nathaniel groaned as he twisted on the bed to see who was speaking.
Walking towards him was Commissar Yoren's personal Medic, an aging man who most called 'doc' but his actual name was Frastus Nillion.
"Sergeant Nathaniel Hersem" He softly pushed Nathaniel back into a prone position before moving the light, "How are you feeling?"
"Like a Leman Russ just ran me over" Nathaniel felt up his nose tenderly, it had a bandage over it and still ached.
"Well I'm afraid you'll feel like that for some time" Frastus made a note on a clip board, "But you will be able to return to your squad tomorrow"
"How long have I been out?" Nathaniel yelled out as Frastus began to leave the room.
"Seventeen hours" Frastus disappeared from the room.
Co-Ronal had just finished his latest augmentation process. This human could use more augmentation he thought to himself.
The Medic Frastus had worked on the guardsman through the night, after he was stabilised he had immediately been sent to Co-Rolan's quarters for an augmented arm.
The man known as Barak still had not woken and Co-Rolan wondered if he ever would.
"Tech priest" Doctor Frastus' voice came in from the door.
"Yes Doctor Frastus?" Co-Rolan tilted his head when he spoke.
"Commissar Yoren has ordered our presence in his office"
"Lead on, Doctor" Co-Rolan abandoned his patient and followed the Medic out of the room.
When Frastus and Co-Rolan entered Yoren's office, they saw they were not the only one's who had been summoned.
In the room also stood Sergeant Grenn of Second squad, Gunnery Sergeant Phelps of first squad, Sergeant Vern of Fourth squad, Sergeant Debra of 7th squad and the elderly form of Priest Haradal. Commissar Yoren sat at his desk and stood when they entered.
"Now that we're all here, we must discuss the events of yesterday night" Yoren said in a stern tone, "How is it these Orks bypassed out security?"
"I checked the bodies of the Orks" Grenn spoke up, "They wore camouflage like uniforms, and the loose metallic pieces of their gear had been covered in a rubber like substance to stop them making noise"
"You're telling me these Orks infiltrated into the perimeter and silently took out our units?"
"Until Sergeant Nathaniel raised the alarm, Yes sir" Grenn nodded.
"Is it possible there are more Orks in the town already? Waiting for the sun to go down before striking?" Doctor Frastus asked.
"Implying these Alien beasts harbor intelligence in their minds is near heretical" Priest Haradal shook his head angrily.
"Orks are meant to be simple" Phelps shook his head, "If they are starting to show this level of tactic and planning then perhaps my squad's findings the other night can be confirmed"
Yoren grimaced.
"First squad found a medium sized force accompanied by a Warboss last night" He informed the rest of them, "One of his squad members put forward the idea that this is a vanguard force softening us for a larger force to come"
"How large is this vanguard?" Sergeant Vern asked.
"Forty to fifty infantry, light vehicles" Phelps replied.
"We need our armour" Vern said.
Co-Ronal perked up.
"This is true" His augmented voice caused everyone to suddenly look at him, "The omnissiah provides us with these wonderful machines, we must make use of them"
"As you already know, Tech Priest" Yoren growled, "Our armoured division is held up East of here in the town of Pirpryt"
"I could take a chimera up there and try to link up with them" Vern suggested.
"I could accompany the Sergeant" Co-Ronal said with a tone that sounded hopeful.
"Do you think that's the best course of action?" Phelps snorted, "We're undermanned as it is, and you want to take one of our last remaining Chimera's and an entire squad?"
"I will only take ten of my men" Vern said defensively, "And if I succeed and return with our armour division then it will definitely be worth it"
The Commissar pondered his options for a moment.
"We will struggle to survive against this vanguard force without our tanks, let alone another larger force after that" Vern insisted.
"Very well" Yoren finally said, "But you will take five members of your squad and the Tech Priest here north, attempt to link up with them and tell them of our situation"
"I thank you, Lord" Vern saluted, "I will set off immediately"
Vern walked quickly out of the room, Co-Rolan right behind him.
Yoren turned to Phelps, "Gunnery Sergeant, I hear your man Barak will survive"
"Yes, the Doctor was just telling me" Phelps smiled, "He's a lucky guy our Barak"
"He'll receive a medal or two for the acts of bravery he has committed in the recent days, you can be sure of that"
"Let's just hope he's back in shape by the time these Orks arrive" Phelps grimaced.
"It was nearly too expensive to save him you know. Augments aren't the cheapest thing in the world"
"Well I assure you he is worth it" Phelps said defensively.
"Everyone is dismissed" Yoren said loudly turning away from Phelps, "Prepare your squads, and make sure you're vigilant for more of these Orks who are infiltrating"
The Sergeants gave their salutes and exited the room.
Sergeant Vern walked over with Co-Rolan to his twenty-man squad and looked amongst them.
"The following lot are coming with me on a mission North of the city" He yelled, they all listened in anticipation, "Dab, Mikey, Herax, Urta, Lyra, you're up"
The four men and the woman who had been named stood up and started grabbing their weapons and gear.
Lyra carried a melta gun and was the first to walk up to Sergeant Vern. Her dirty face had a determined smile upon it, and a piece of her hair hung over her forehead from under her helmet.
"Where we goin Sarge?" Her low gothic accent always made Vern smile.
"We're heading North of here to Pirpryt, we need to link up with our armoured division"
"We've been waiting on them for a while eh?" Herax walked up behind Lyra.
Soon all the soldiers who had been called on were gathered, and Vern led them towards where the company kept the Chimeras.
The detachment had only three remaining Chimera class transports remaining. They had originally come to New Lettucin with six of the sturdy vehicles as well as a Hellhound and a Sentinel lifter unit. The patrols that had been sent out often took a Chimera with them for supporting fire and to cover more ground. One such patrol had discovered a small Ork artillery emplacement less than ten miles from New Lettucin's border, the emplacement was soon reported to have fired on the city of Venesqua which was another seven miles west. The city of Venesqua had fallen to the Orks and it was estimated that more than six hundred Imperial Guardsmen died. In light of this news the Commissar had committed two Chimera's with their respective squads, the hellhound and the sentinel to eliminate the Ork post.
The exact story was never properly relayed as none of the men who set out returned, but judging from the frantic radio messages the Commissar received it seemed that the emplacement had gotten reinforcements and the force he had sent were utterly destroyed.
The third missing one was lost while out on Patrol as were 5th squad led by Sergeant Quinn.
Vern recalled the dangers of heading out into the open plains with these vehicles and grimaced as he noticed the battle damage on their remaining three.
Stood next to the least damaged Chimera was Co-Ronal and a man who Vern recognised.
"Harlem" Vern smiled.
Harlem turned to Vern and grinned.
"Sergeant Vern, it's been too long my friend" Harlem shook Vern's hand.
"We saw each other last week you bastard" Vern laughed.
"For us that may as well of been a lifetime" Harlem winked, "We've got the beauty ready for you" He beckoned the sergeant towards the Chimera.
Vern followed, as did the rest of his squad.
Harlem ventured inside the Chimera and turned back to Vern.
"All six side mounted weapons working, the multi laser on the front is a bit stiff but it can still throw out shots all the same"
"And the tracks? What speed we looking at?" Lyra piped up.
"Not a thing to worry there my lady" Harlem walked back out of the Chimera, "Checked the links myself, and Co roram here can vouch.
"Co-Rolan" Co-Rolan corrected him.
"Right" Harlem rolled his eyes, "I understand that Co-Ronan here is going with you also?"
"That's right" Vern regarded the tech-priest with a questioning look.
Co-Rolan returned his gaze with a symphony of clicks and whirrs originating from his neck.
"You driving, Sergeant?" Harlem asked.
"Of course I am, Harlem" Vern said with heavy sarcasm, "Who're you giving me?"
"I'm giving you two of my best my good man" Harlem grinned again, "Flair is your driver and Gaius will be operating the rest"
Harlem turned and whistled with his fingers before yelling; "FLAIR, GAIUS, GET OUT HERE!"
Two men in hastily worn uniforms ran out from behind another Chimera, both holding bags loosely in their hands and helmets in the other.
Flair had scraggly ginger hair and was quite skinny, his uniform barely fitting him and the name FLAIR marked on it was barely visible from the dirt.
Gaius was the polar opposite of Flair, he had bulging muscles that were visible due to his uniforms sleeves being ripped, he was bald and had a large scar down the side of his face.
Vern looked them both up and down before looking back at the Chimera.
"When are we going?"
"Whenever you are wanting to, Sergeant" Flair replied,
"Let's get a move on then," Vern said before stepping inside the Chimera, his squad following him in.
"So eager to go, Sergeant?" Harlem joked sadly, knowing full well the risks his friend was taking.
"Better than sitting around here doing the work of Servitors and waiting for the Orks to come" Vern winked.
"See you when you get back" Harlem laughed. Flair and Gaius walked through the middle of the Chimera and into their positions, moments later the back door slowly closed. Harlem sighed.
Jericus followed the outgoing Chimera with his turret, watching the smoke rise from where the tracks tore along the dirt path that ran between the fields. Jericus often tried to imagine this place back in its prime. The dirt road wouldn't have been a dirt road at all, it would have been solid concrete with vehicles and people operating through it at all hours. The dugout he was currently occupying with the other nineteen men of second squad was probably someone's hab-unit. Where they ate their meals, washed their clothes, joked with friends.
He leaned his chin above the trigger of the high-powered weapon and sighed.
"What's wrong" Conroy half asked, not looking up from his book.
"Nothing" Jericus lied.
"Nothing is supposed to be quiet" Conroy said.
Jericus ignored Conroy and looked at the other men in the trench with them.
All of them were dirty and were almost indistinguishable from the next man. It was certain aspects of them that made them recognisable.
O'Donnel had his hefty Flamer weapon, that he often complained about having to carry around.
Darniel had his spiked helm, a helmet he'd found by the side of the road after an engagement that the Orks had stuck a spike on top of. He often joked that he was actually part of the Krieg regiments.
Most of the other men he didn't actually know by name, sad as it was to say in squads like this men were easily and often replaced and there wasn't much time to become acquainted.
Conroy was the closest thing Jericus had to a friend in this squad, and even he was an ass.
Conroy didn't speak much about his life before the Guard, but what he had mentioned one drunken evening was that he hadn't joined out of choice. Jericus did not repeat this to anyone else, as he did not wish for Conroy to hate him.
Jericus spotted their sergeant, Sergeant Grenn. The man was as ever speaking and laughing with members of the squad, his eyes were tired yet lively and as ever his mouth twisted into a grin.
"Conroy" Jericus said again.
"What, Jericus?" Conroy said with as much enthusiasm as a man would have for his situation.
"If Sergeant Vern does bring back our armoured unit" Jericus recited what Sergeant Grenn had told them all earlier, "Do you think we'll still have to sit out in this trench and stay on watch?"
"Of course we will you fool" Conroy shook his head, "You think the Orks are just gonna think; hmm, I guess we'd better not go there coz dey haz tanks?"
"Well our tanks are pretty powerful" Jericus said embarrassed.
"The Orks ain't gonna think that, Jericus. They're gonna think: ooh, they have tanks, they look like a good fight. Cos that's the only thing Orks give a shit about, Jericus, Fighting. They'll go for whatever looks like the funnest thing to fight"
Jericus looked down avoiding eye contact with Conroy.
"So in conclusion, yes Jericus, we will have to continue watching from our trench" Conroy said angrily before looking back down to his book.
Jericus sat in silence for the next hour.
It was Arashi who woke Nathaniel the next day. Arashi was Nathaniel's squad's flamer operator and one of the longest surviving members of the team.
"Sergeant Nathaniel sir" His high gothic accent was always a welcome sound to Nathaniel.
Nathaniel looked up at him through bleary eyes; he could only see Arashi's black hair and clean face properly.
"What is it Arashi?"
"Doc says you're able to leave the ward now, the squad is waiting"
"Who is left after the attack?" Nathaniel said with dread, realising that he had not even thought to ask Grenn the day prior.
"We lost Ramiro, Horn and Jermat" Arashi said sadly, "Also Trevor and Eli are injured"
"How badly?"
"Trevor took a slugga round to the chest and Eli lost three fingers and suffered a terrible head wound" Arashi grimaced.
Nathaniel forced himself up.
"Where is my gear?"
"Right here, sir" Arashi held up the neatly folded pile of Nathaniel's filthy uniform.
Nathaniel saluted and shooed Arashi away, he then stood and changed into his gear. Upon putting the top piece on, he realised that there was still smears of blood down the front from his fight with the Ork.
He kept envisioning the incident over and over. The large shape of the beast ripping through his tent, his pistol doing virtually nothing to the creature's tough build, and finally the vicious strike the Ork had used against him. If it had had the sense to swing the weapon the other way he wouldn't have been sitting in this room smelling his own blood off of his clothes. He would be rotting out in one of the fields with the rest of the dead.
He walked from the room, nodding at the rest of the wounded housed in the ward as he left.
Outside he saw the tents that had housed his squad half repaired, most of the tents that had been attacked had only sustained minor rips and tears, whereas the crater where one of the Orks had supposedly exploded had left several tents irreparable.
The remainder of his squad stood sentinel waiting, Arashi with them holding his flamer.
"R-ight" Nathaniel said shakily, "We're going to be heading back to our position to the south, it seems that we can no longer stay next to the company HQ, all positions must be covered"
The gathered men nodded.
"Pack up the tents, no need for us all to freeze to death at night down there"
"Permission to speak, sergeant?" One of the men said.
"Granted, Ravio"
"Some of our tents were destroyed in the attack, sir"
"Some of you will have to double up, four men per tent rather than two, we're lucky to have tents at all." Nathaniel replied, "Anything else?"
Ravio sullenly looked at the floor muttering.
"Move out" Nathaniel said.
"MOVE OUT!" Arashi echoed louder, the men began running over to the tents.
That night Yoren enjoyed a glass of whisky alone in his office. He sat sleepily in his chair and began to drift off.
Just as he fell into a slumber, the door to his office slammed open, awaking him with a start.
"What in the name of the Emperor-"
"Commissar Yoren" The newcomer was one of his command squad, his vox bearer Cromwell.
"What is it, Cromwell?" Yoren replied angrily.
"Second squad have reported incoming aircraft, east of Town"
Yoren got up immediately, put on his cap and grabbed his bolt pistol. He shoved past Cromwell and descended the stairs.
"Put out the word to all squads to extinguish any and all lights on their persons, no torches no lamp packs no nothing"
Grenn poised his magnoculars at the sky and watched. He could see three pairs of flashing lights, each a different colour and pattern of flashing moving quickly across the horizon.
"Are they coming our way, Sergeant?" Jericus' voice asked shakily.
"Shut up, Jericus!" Conroy hissed.
"I can't tell" Grenn replied.
"Well you'd better start telling, Sergeant Grenn" Yoren's gruff voice made Grenn turn around suddenly.
"Commissar" He held out his magnoculars.
Yoren took the magnoculars and held them up towards the flashing lights.
"I reckon they're Dakkajets, sir" Grenn said.
"They're not fast enough to be Dakkajets" Yoren said grimly. He followed the lights until he realised they were turning.
"They're turning"
The entirety of second squad squinted and held their rifles tighter. Jericus lowered his head and pointed the turret slightly higher.
It was just a moment, but one of the Ork planes sparked for whatever reason, and it illuminated just enough of it for Yoren to see.
"Burna Bommerz" He lowered his magnoculars, his eyes still looking up at the incoming squadron.
"Men to cover!" Grenn yelled.
"Commissar!" Yoren turned to see his full command squad, Frastus, Cromwell, the aged plasma gunner; Remi and the standard bearer without his standard; Jonn, "We have to get to cover!" it was Remi speaking.
Yoren nodded and jogged down to them, he grabbed Cromwell's vox piece at once.
"Attention all squads, we have Burna bommerz inbound, dim all lights and stand ready at your posts, this could be the Orks' attack force"
"Third squad confirmed" Nathaniel's voice rattled back.
"In position, Sir" Debra's voice was clearer.
"We'll hold the line sir" Phelps' voice was doubtful.
"And us, sir" Grenn didn't speak over the radio.
Yoren and his command squad hurried over to cover and waited, they could hear the engines of the planes now, and the mad cackling of the pyro maniacal pilots.