-XV-
Squad Extus broke cover as they made through the street filled with debris and corpses.
"Apparently civilians got caught in a firefight." observed Rexus hefting his heavy flamer in one hand as he strode casually.
The giant flame weapon required two hands to properly aim but he was able to carry it with no hindrance to his pace.
As they strode forward they spotted several grots which in turn spotted them. Grots dropped their loots and ran as fast as they can disappearing at the corner of the street.
"Damned little monsters, looting everything they can get their disgusting hands on." said Horatus.
Iulius checked his auspex "We got incoming, four signatures from east." reported to Apothecary
"Hide in that building well see what they're upto." said Ioras.
They moved into the building and waited. A minute later four Orks appeared from the nearby street and moved towards their fallen Ork brethren.
Squad stayed still not giving away their position, the Orks was oblivious to their presence.
"'Ere dey are" one of the Orks said pointing to the corpses.
"Dey wantin all da lootin an fightin to demselvez, now dey re dead." laughed the other one.
Then they started ripping off the teeth of their fallen kin.
"What in the Emperor's name?" whispered Horatus as they watched this gruesome mutilation that they couldn't grasp.
Ioras looked at Deciaci and signalled towards Orks with his head. Deciaci in return nodded and broke cover in silence.
He sneaked towards the busy Orks and had his combat knife in one hand and bolt pistol in the other.
Deciaci used the debris of broken columns and gothic gargoyles to hide his presence.
The Orks was unable to smell his scent with all the dead around. The air was thick with the smell of dust and blood.
He moved towards one of the greenskins and just as he was moving closer one of the nearby gargoyles atop a building decided to fall down.
It crashed into the street and made a huge noise which Orks turned instinctively towards.
They saw Deciaci creeping about but he was upon them nonetheless.
He stabbed nearest Ork in the face then lobbed his body onto the next one.
Ork body hit the other and both went down.
The third Ork did not had the time to grab his choppa and instead used his dirty knife he was using to cut off Ork teeth, to fight the marine.
Deciaci slashed at his wrist and the knife fell down but the Ork launched himself at the marine hoping to slam him to the ground.
But Deciaci was faster and moved sideways to dodge the incoming Ork body. He slashed his combat knife along the Ork's body and his momentum did all the work of cutting his throat from one side to the other. Ork fell choking on his own blood.
As the downed Ork was getting up the last one pulled out a slugga and aimed towards Deciaci.
Deciaci plunged his knife sideways into the slugga's trigger and the Ork was unable to pull it. Then he slammed the butt of the bolt pistol into his adversaries neck.
The Ork staggered as the blow took his breath. Deciaci freed his knife and finished the Ork with a knife through the brain.
The last Ork was up and ready. He was bellowing orkish threats at Deciaci as he took his choppa and slammed it around to show that he means business.
"Iz gonna kill ya gud humie." Ork said and started to circle Deciaci.
A knife came out of his eye and the Ork gurgled for a moment.
Julius kicked the Ork at his back as he pulled out his knife and sheathing it.
"Thanks brother." said Deciaci out of nothing but courtesy.
"Don't mention it." said Julius as he looked over the Ork corpses "efficient" he commented.
Deciaci nodded.
Iulius reported all clear and they moved.
"The rich plaza should be past these habs." said Ioras checking his maps and cross-referencing with the aerial recon images the Thunderhawk sent them.
They came upon a wide road with sandbags and military equipment set around. Although the road was ready for defending with stubber autoguns in place there was no guardsmen manning them. Ammunition scattered around and left to looting.
"Those little green Orks did found this place yet aparently." said Horatus.
"Why is this road left undefended?" asked Achagon.
"Imperial guard must have ran off." said Iulius.
Just as they were commenting on the scene before them a large group of guardsmen came in running through a breech in the road's side wall.
Marine force was left in a tide of guardsmen running for their lives.
Ioras looked at the guardsmen running all around him in quick pace and detected a sergeant with his improved eyes.
He grabbed them man "What is going on here? Answer now." he asked in a commanding voice.
Man looked over his shoulder not certain if to get scared from the giant holding his neck in a grip of the things following them.
"Orks" he said "many Orks, we were overrun." said sergeant breathing heavy.
"Your uniforms even didn't get dirty, how were you overrun?" pointed out Ioras.
Sergeant looked uncertain and didn't answer.
"Cowards." Ioras said and turned to his back where the majority of guardsmen already passed him and running along the road.
He set his outer vox unit to maximum and shouted "In the name of the Emperor, stand your ground!" his commanding voice stopped the closest
guardsmen in their place. More from fear than loyalty.
He took out his bolt pistol and shot one of the distant guardsmen that was still running away.
The round rang loud and he shouted again in full vox volume "Stand or die!"
Some guardsmen were stopped by the imminent threat of death but the ones in the front was too away to care. They deem themselves safe from the Space Marine's pistol.
"Like hell if I would." shouted the guardsmen in the front of the group still running away.
Achagon scaled a barricade in one leap and balanced his sniper rifle on his arm as he aimed. The shot blew the mocking guardsmen's head off and showered the nearby guardsmen with his blood.
The entire group came to a halt.
Ioras turned towards the sergeant still in his grip, the man lolled like a doll in his angry grip.
"Where are the Orks, speak now!" he shouted his vox still turned on.
The man was dazed from the shout and Ioras lowered the voice of his vox caster.
"Where are they?" he asked again.
"They're right behind us." said quickly.
"Julius, Horatus, to me." he ordered and two marines moved towards him.
"Julius take left, Horatus right, make this guardsmen man the stubbers and the barricades, make them ready for the coming Orks." he ordered.
Two marines took off to the sides of the road and ordered at the guardsmen to man the road.
Guardsmen started to man the positions uncertainly. They're still not convinced but the threat of death kept them in place.
"Arm yourselves, man the stubbers, NOW!" shoted Ioras with full vox volume.
The uncertain guardsmen hurried double time to grab whatever guns they can get, thankfully there were many lasguns laid around to arm the guardsmen that left their requisitioned armament back at their initial post. The others were already at the sandbags and some manned the stubbers and checked its ammo.
There was no heavy weapons around "This must be a lightly defended position before." pointed out Rexus.
"Still they deserted it." said Iulius.
"Stay near me and make these man hold here." Ioras said to the guardsmen sergeant.
"B-but I'm not their commanding offi..." the man stuttered but Ioras cut in "I don't care. Just do as I bid."
"Y-yes, lord." replied sergeant before grabbing a lasgun himself.
Ioras vox silently through his armor so that the guardsmen would not hear "Iulius move to the back and don't waste your ammo if not necessary, provide covering fire if you have to."
"Julius, Horatus keep those man in line."
"Achagon don't engage until you see a special target, like flamer units or other Ork contraptions."
"Cussax, Herean, Fextus, Deciaci at front keep those Orks out of the sandbags."
The entire squad returned their affirmatives with the silent marine to marine helmet vox.
To the guardsmen the marines was just standing in silence and moving about on their own accords.
Several man pissed themselves when a loud "WAAAGH" was heard in a distance.
"How many Orks?" asked Ioras to the sergeant.
"At least twenty, lord." said the man quickly.
"We have fifty guardsmen." pointed out Ioras.
The implication was that the guardsmen would run from an enemy they outnumbered two to one.
Sergeant looked embarrassed and didn't say anything.
"Name and regiment?" asked Ioras.
Sergeant felt like getting hit in the face, he expected some kind of reprimand or mock regarding their failure in courage.
"Yes?" Ioras said looking ahead at the breach.
Sergeant locked his feet and stood to attention "Echtesia Palace Guard, 1st regiment, Sergeant David Eder, sir" he shouted trying to force some courage into his voice.
"At ease." replied Ioras, he knew about the basic drills of the guardsmen for he fought alongside them on several occasions.
Ioras still looked ahead at the breach in the mile long rockrete wall that followed this road and assessed it as their best choice for a crossing.
They would need to use the breach if they wanted to quickly scale the wall, otherwise it was too high to climb it. And they didn't had rockets or melta to tear a hole in it. Even if they had it would be unwise to use their weapons so uselessly.
"How many Orks, Iulius" Ioras asked the devastator with internal vox he wasn't going to depend on the guard sergeant's numbers.
"Auspex is fuzzy, the signals are blending, at least thirty, lord." Iulius reported back.
"We move after we deal with this." voxed Ioras to his command.
The marines was ready but the guardsmen were clearly scared.
"Today you guardsmen prove your worth to the Emperor of mankind." shouted Ioras with his outside vox speaker.
He was no orator but he heard Galieo do this many times both to marines and guardsmen on different occasions.
Guardsmen seem to stood taller when hearing his voice over the shouts of Orks and gunfire in the distance.
The first Orks appeared through the breach and the morale of the guardsmen once again fell. The sight of the enemy made several whimper and release their bowels.
The marines stood unfazed by the growing numbers of Orks. A dozen Orks appeared so far but more was following behind.
Ioras shouted "Guardsmen fire all guns!" and a hail of crackling lasbolts and stubber rounds started pounding the Ork position. Several greenskins went down, while others scattered around to minimize casualties.
The fire was only minor effective but Ioras decided to start the combat soon so that the guardsmen would get caught up in combat and overcome their fear through anger.
"Hatred is the fire that purifies darkness!" shouted Ioras quoting Codex Astartes
"Carry the Emperor wraith as your torch and burn thine enemies with it." he kept shouting these quotes he heard from Galieo a hundred times on mass prayers.
The guardsmen had got caught in battlelust and fired on after another dropping Orks in a hail of fire.
Marines didn't spent their ammo on the oncoming Orks and cut down those who got too close to the sandbags with melee weapons.
Herean, Fextus and Deciaci was able to kill the Orks that actually manage to the defensive line.
But as they finish the first wave more Orks started to come. Some twenty Orks were at the breach clampering over it.
Guardsmen reloaded and fired at will. Ioras did not know their drills and didn't cared either, he was sure the Extus could handle themselves even without the guardsmen. But a wall of laser fire and flesh was the tactical way to preserve their ammo and health without getting into firefights.
Besides these Orks were the lowest of the low, the ones they've been called boys, he knew that the bigger ones called Nobz ruled over the weaker smaller Orks and he spotted no Nobz among the rabble of Ork boyz coming their way.
He watched as the Orks get cut down by laser fire but this time several more managed to reach the sandline. The guard fire was not enough to stop them.
Some ten guardsmen at the front tried to prevent the Orks from scaling the sandbags with their bayonets and knifes. Several Orks managed to jump inside the sandbags but brutally cut down by the marines waiting for them. The rest was not able to scale the sandbags and fell back then get shot at least a dozen times by the guardsmen that overthrew them.
Guardsmen regained their self respect and fight more eagerly now that they have seen that the marines can kill Orks in numbers even in close range.
Ioras counted thirty-five Ork boyz at the third wave that just revealed at the breach. He hoped that this was the last for the guards would not be able to hold anymore and he would need to fully fledge his squad into combat.
Stubber fire shoot down several Orks but more marched on. These Orks were moving tightly packed so that each Ork would take more hits before dying. This allowed them to get closer than the last bunch.
Achagon trained his sniper on the ork mob for targets but the Orks were staying close, not letting him see through.
"Lord, they're concealing something." he reported to Ioras.
"Okay, shoot if you spot anything out of place."
"Affirmative."
Orks moved closer and closer, they started charging forwards and started to dissipate revealing what is in the middle.
"Grenades!" shouted Achagon over the vox but he was too late.
Ork stikk bomma boys lobbed their grenades over the sandbags and among the guardsmen.
Several explosions erupted around the defensive line. One of the bomb had landed near Deciaci and exploded near his feet. The nearby guardsmen was ripped apart but he was unfazed by the explosive. His holy armour kept him secure against alien contraptions.
The Orks managed to reach the sandbags and scaled it unopposed with the guardsmen in disarray. They started killing humans as they stood around dazed or wandered aimlessly. Some of the guards were sitting near sandbags and cried in rejection of their deaths.
Marines on the other hand was a blur of melee. They had their chainsword in hand and bolt pistols in the other.
They shot several Orks before they could make over the sandbags. And dispatched the ones that manage to scale it with chainswords. The roar of chainswords and butchering noise of saw teeth filled the air.
Cussax and Deciaci was manage to hold the middle line in unison. Cussax fired at the Orks coming with burst from his boltgun and Deciaci killed those who manage to charge at them. However the number of Orks was too much for the sides, Fextus and Herean was hard pressed against the Orks that scale the defenses and kill the guardsmen around them.
Rexus took the initiative and moved towards Fextus' position, then engaged his heavy flamer holding it both hands. He unleashed an immense fire column at the Orks. He cooked two guardsmen in the process but managed to get the weight off Fextus' shoulders.
Herean was fighting three Ork at the same time. He landed his chainsword onto an Orks head and started sawing through it. The chainsword growled and its motors puffed out smoke as it chewed through Ork skull and brain. He shot the second in the neck with his bolt gun and deflected the third one's choppa with the barrel of the pistol. The Ork raised his slugga and took two shots point blank at the Herean's chest but they bounced off harmlessly. Herean then pull out his chainsword and swung it to saw through the Ork's neck. The teeth get hold of the Ork meat and in a gory display sawed his neck off. Ork's head lolled as its remaining neck held it in place as the body hit the ground.
Four Orks slammed into Herean and dropped him. One raised his choppa to land a killing blow but his head exploded before he could land the blow.
Ioras was among the Orks in a blink. His chainsword sawed one wrist and in a one full motion cut another's neck off. His bolt pistol rang in close range to blow the lungs of the next Ork.
He slammed his narthecium's reductor into the neck of the last Ork. The reductor was designed to suck up Space Marine gene-seed when a brother is fallen. But in this instance it sucked the torn flesh and the part of the aort vein that feed the brain. He pulled the reductor back and put it in reverse.
The reductor spat out the meat and vein it previously sucked in a fleshy noise through the tube designed to cut through marine flesh to get to the gene-seed.
The Ork fell down holding his neck but Ioras finished him off with his bolt pistol shoot through the head, damned Orks was resilient to damage and he wasn't taking any chances.
Just as more Orks manage to scale the barricade Achagon managed to find his target. Stikk bommas were preparing for a new wave of grenades but Achagon rained on their parade.
He shot a round that found its way into the bag of grenades. The explosion ripped Orks apart that were right near the skikk bommas. The ones scaling the barricade
fell forward as the shockwave reached them. Guardsmen who still managed to fight used their bayonets to dispatch the Orks while marine cut them down with chainswords.
In the next minute the combat was totally over. Ioras looked at the casualties and saw that many guardsmen were laying dead all around. There were many dismembered corpses from the grenade blasts. The Palace Guard did not looked like an elite unit who can handle real combat.
Horatus march besides Ioras and voxed silently "There are guardsmen cuddled near sandbags crying."
"I assume they're an honor unit and never seen any real combat." replied Ioras checking his narthecium and cleaning it of Ork flesh. His entire right vambrace was red with Ork blood.
The Palace guard had no medics and no one was rushing to patch the bleeding guardsmen. At least five guardsmen bled to death on the ground while others just wandered around aimlessly and cried with their head covered with their arms hugging themselves.
"Sergeant." shouted Ioras and the battered guard sergeant jumped over a dead guard to get to the Apothecary.
"Yes, lord?" he asked, his voice clearly angry at the marines for forcing these poor man to fight and die.
"Get your man together." he ordered.
When sergeant stood his ground for a second he turned him helmet towards the sergeant and looked at him with his eye lenses.
Sergeant didn't return the stare and broke off to check on every guardsmen that can get up on their feet.
The marine group gathered as the guardsmen formed a battered squad.
"Where is your command?" Ioras asked the sergeant.
Sergeant pointed ahead.
"You will lead us to the command unit." said Ioras.
"Lord, we got incoming." said Iulius holding out his auspex.
"More Orks?" Ioras was immediately alerted.
"No, I don't think so, these are more distinct. And they have vehicles, probably tanks." he replied.
Achagon voxes in "Lord Ioras, I see guard units moving towards us from the road. They have Leman Russ tanks."
"Sergeant, do we got enemy guardsmen on this rock?" Ioras asked the guard sergeant.
"Sir?" sergeant was puzzled.
"Do we have traitors on this planet? Only Orks?"
"Only Orks."
"We wait and see who those are." he said to Iulius.
"They'll be here in two." informed Iulius.
Two chimeras came to a halt end of the barricade. There was smoke rising from the still burning Ork corpses from the explosion and dead laid all around.
Guardsman sat around in a grim mood, looking with dead eyes to the incoming group of armour.
Two squads of veterans dismounted fully armed and armoured. They stood at a parade formation in front of their chimeras. Chimeras parted sideways and the Leman Russ tank in the middle pulled till it stopped behind the line of veteran guardsmen standing at attention their rifles held at their chests.
The hatch of the Leman Russ opened an a tank officer revealed himself.
"Who leads this unit?" the officer shouted at the guardsmen.
They didn't get up but looked at one another calmly.
"I said who leads this unit, answer me!" officer shouted again.
"I am." a voice said next to him, the officer felt the cold touch of a bolt pistol barrel at his neck.
He wasn't able to turn his head, his face turn white from his imminent possible death. Someone actually climbed upon the tank without anyone noticing and manage to take the tank officer hostage.
"W-who are y-you, I-I am an Imperial o-officer and y-you are in violati..." officer stuttered uncontrollably as he tried to threaten the figure who had a gun to his head.
"Shut up and tell me your name and regiment." voice ordered.
Veterans turned towards the tank officer but the ragtag group of guardsmen also stood up and came near the veterans. Not even his own veterans was in a hurry to aid their officer and free him from his assailant figure.
"Answer me, now." the voice commanded and the monstrous vox voice made the officer piss in his pants, his overblown self confidence evaporating.
"Echtesia Palace Guard, 1st regiment, Tank Officer Brad Marco" the officer shouted trembling.
"Are you loyal to the Emperor?" asked the figure pushing the bolt pistol into his neck.
"I-I am, I am" shouted the officer.
The pressure of the bolt pistol was gone and the figure moved towards the tank turret's barrel to make himself shown.
It was a Space Marine in light blue power armour a big strange drill device on his right arm and an old bolt pistol at his other hand.
"Are you the commanding officer of this guard unit?" asked the marine.
Officer was shaking and couldn't answer.
Then marine turned towards the veteran guardsmen and shouted "Who leads this guard unit?".
"I do." a voice came from behind the marine.
Marine turned and saw that the hatch of the second Leman Russ was opened and a guardsmen with over-decorated uniform stood there.
"Who do I address?" asked the marine.
"This is our planet, I think the courtesy of introduction is preserved for the visitors first." said the voice.
Marine moved several steps towards the second tank and the veteran guard raised their guns pointing at the marine. Even the Leman Russ turret turned towards the marine in a threatening move.
"These guns aren't much courteous." the marine said holstering his bolt pistol.
"They're just being over protective, considering you were threatening my officer a second ago I think it seems reasonable." pointed out the guardsmen.
"Fine. I am Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Spears Chapter by the Emperor will. Ioras is my name." Ioras introduced himself.
The guardsmen took of his cap and his face is revealed "I am Agathe Ferdinand Echnisia of House Echnisia, Colonel of Echtesia Palace Guards and Daughter of my house." said the guardswomen.
She had a beautiful but strong face. Ioras thought that she was in her thirties, his medical expertise would say thirty two. She had one side of her head shaved as a guard issue haircut but the other side had long beautiful blonde hair.
Ioras took off his helm and looked directly at her.
"I'm sorry m'lady. I did not notice that you were..." said Ioras
"What? A woman?" she quipped
"A royalty." Ioras concluded
"What happened here?" asked Agathe.
The guard sergeant David and his men was right beside the veterans and listened intently at the conversation. If Ioras told the lady about their cowardly desertion it would mean summary execution for them all. Their eyes grew large as they anticipated the explanation.
"We were marching towards the rich districts as we came upon this ragtag group of guard unit, sergeant David here explained to us that Orks ambushed them and caused many casualties so they retreated back to this position. We seen fit to aid them until the Ork threat was contained." explained Ioras with his half truths.
But Agathe spent her entire teen years in Imperial politics with assassinations, lying and scheming as daily events so she saw right through the beautiful political explanation that basicly said that the guards were fleeing and Marines made them fight the Orks.
Ioras realised that she knew the truth from her eyes with his superhuman astartes eye sight that was able to pick up even the slightest change in facial expression.
"Very well. Lord Ioras, I thank you for participating in the Imperial effort to defend our world." said Agathe.
"What is the current situation? We are somewhat outdated with the maps." said Ioras.
"Orks are hitting us from everywhere possible, we even had reports of Orks in the sewers. Lion Warriors are not able to contain it wholly so we called in extra guard units to protect the hive. They were successful so far." said Agathe.
"I assume you are not alone here, Lord Ioras." she said courteously.
Ioras blink clicked a rune and the Squad Extus revealed themselves.
Half of the squad was in a position where they could easily cut down the veteran units with heavy fire and other half was at the back of the convoy able to disable to tank crews in a moments notice.
Agathe was impressed. "Whoever these marines are they weren't ass overblown as Lion Warriors" she thought to herself. They understood the strength and weaknesses of their enemies and devise strategies rather than charging in glorious idiocy which is the most common Lion Warriors tactic she witnessed.
"We appreciate if you can provide us with recent maps to the hive. We need to get to Lion Warriors command." said Ioras bowing slightly.
She was also impressed with this marine who has self confidence and intelligence far above anything she seen in Lion Warriors. Due to her family's close relations with the Lion Warriors Chapter she had this impressions that Space Marines are just dumb powerful warriors with no courtesy and cleverness to what they do. She thought that they were basicly super soldiers with no depth to them. But this Ioras showed more than just dumb strength.
"I take it you're here to help us?" she asked.
"As you can see we aren't an army, m'lady." replied Ioras.
"You're welcome anyhow. Echtesia needs all the help she can get." she said with a solemn mood.
Ioras could clearly see from her tired face and exhausted posture that she was coordinating her forces against the Orks for days with no rest in sight.
She looked over to the barricade and eyed the Ork dead.
"You killed many Orks." she said.
"We did but we paid it with guardsmen lives." Ioras replied.
"I thank you again Lord Ioras for your assistance, we are desperate at this moment for a breath from this Ork menace." she said smiling as best as she could with her tired face.
"Emperor's Spears are glad to help you m'lady, call me Ioras." Ioras said as calmly as ever.
"My communications officer will provide you with the maps you need but the Lion Warriors command is deep inside the combat zone, we can't help you get there, Ioras" she said.
"We can manage on our own, maps are an appreciated gift, m'lady." Ioras said bowing his head again.
In the next five minutes Ioras and the squad had the maps on their helmet displays and Iulius was manage to recalibrate the auspex using the communications officer's frequency. Now they were ready for Echtesia.
"Fare well Ioras" she said as they parted.
"Emperor Protect you m'lady." replied Ioras and the two Imperial forces parted ways. One going towards the hive and its safety, the other into the combat zone and the dangers of Ork invasion.