The slabs of thick armour boiled and hissed as they melted away. Ork artisanry, if indeed it could be called that, was nothing like the refined gothic armour of Imperial Titans. Yet, as the troopers set a second melta charge, Hartmann was forced to admit that there was a certain brute strength in that simplicity. Normally a single melta charge would be sufficient to burn through any type of armour but the Orks bolted together so much scrap on top of more scrap that the charge fizzled out. Well they were expecting this.
Hartmann fought down the urge to shiver because of the rain and examined his squad. Veterans of the first platoon, the Shahbaz, named after the mighty falcons of Elysia, were spread out on the wet surface of the Gargant's head. Quiet, methodical, professional. They were just as brash and loud as any guardsman on their off time, but they knew how to leave all of their jokes and rivalries behind on the Valkyrie and replaced them with cold, practised efficiency. That was the mark of a true guardsman, not the shiny parade uniforms, the unflinching loyalty or the ability to clear a trench line in under a minute. No, it was that jaded attitude developed over a lifetime of war and peril that made a soldier.
The second charge went off. Hartmann checked his wrist watch. It's been two minutes since they landed. In another three minutes the second squad of veterans would land to reinforce him. In another five Zal herself would make the drop. Dangerous, irresponsible, predictable. He gritted his teeth. No he wouldn't let his worries overtake his mind, not now.
"Breach clear." Said sergeant Raam, gesturing two of his troops to move into the sizzling hole of metal and iron. Hartmann gripped his bolt pistol and followed the first trooper taking point.
—-
Eshu wasn't quite sure if he was alive. He probably wasn't dead since he wasn't seeing the Emperor or his eight holy sons. All he was seeing was black. He remembered falling from the sky, desperately punching all the control buttons at his belt and then…? Oh, right.
Eshu pulled himself up and surfaced from the small puddle in which he landed. His visor was muddy, filled with filthy water, in fact he was thoroughly soaked. Eshu coughed and took off his visor. He was surrounded by piles of scrap, dirt and water, which accumulated into a substantial pond where he landed. Looks like the orks didn't bother digging canals for rainwater. Now where was his- Something pulled him down. Eshu squirmed and reached for his chainsword but realised that it wasn't an ork.
"Congrats on your first real drop sir!" Puffed Kamran, pulling them both into cover as shots rang across the field. "Back home we celebrated that with a bottle of Araks."
"I'll think I'll enjoy it later." Muttered Eshu getting out his chainsword and checking his bolt pistol.
"Let's try to keep you alive then, eh?" Grinned the jolly trooper and took his grav-chute off putting it in a pile of scrap. Eshu wanted to object but realised that moving with it was going to be bothersome. By the time he was done taking it off, Kamran was poking his head over the top of the pile. Eshu risked a glance as well.
The battlefield was lit up with sporadic machine gun and las fire. He could see more and more little lights, troopers, descending from the night sky every second. In the distance he saw the giant silhouette of the Gargant, obscured by darkness and rain. Shouts, mainly in brutish Ork tongue filled the air and Eshu could see multiple shadows moving towards them.
"Alright," Mused Kamran, "We just need to pick off any greenies that come our way."
"Shouldn't we regroup with the squad?" Asked Eshu, revving his Chainsword. The buzzing sound calmed him, reassured him.
Kamran shook his head and started aiming: "No, they're in the next hole over to the left. Besides, our target is right behind us."
Eshu turned and saw a tower with a comically large gun atop it. Somehow he managed to land right next to it. Lucky him.
"Alright I'll shoot them, you cut down any that get into our comfy foxhole. You alright with that sir?"
Eshu nodded and got into his duel stance. It was hard to find solid footing amidst the rain water, mud and scrap. Kamran started firing. One las round, two, three. In response a feral scream and a volley of gunshots that wildly missed their mark. They made Eshu flinch. Remember your training, he told himself. A Commissar has no fear, no weakness. And yet, despite his mind reciting mantras upon mantras of doctrine, they rang hollow in the middle of an actual battle. He has fought before, he even killed before, as part of training, though he practically erased that memory from his mind. It was nothing compared to this, this hell. What did his teachers see in him, to recommend him to the Commissariat? He wasn't Hero of the Imperium material he was jus-
"At your six!" He heard a shout. Eshu turned, nearly slipping on mud, and saw a hulking mass jumping over the pile of scrap. It was difficult to see its features, but it was massive, easily towering over Eshu. Armed with some sort of axe, it yelled something in that brutish Orkish tongue and jumped at Eshu. Eshu screamed and jumped back. The Ork landed with a splash and charged him in the span of two seconds. Eshu tried dodging again but this time he slipped, falling right before the axe swooped his head off, and was greeted by the murky depths of the pond again. He kicked the legs of the xenos, in a vain attempt to make him fall as well. Instead it only propelled Eshu away from his assailant and he felt the scrap under the water scratch and tear at his body. He rolled and got up, using his chainsword. The Ork had seemingly tried to hit him while he was down but missed and was a few metres away from him. The alien screamed and charged again. Eshu felt the pile of scrap right behind him. He couldn't dodge back and moving to the side again would take too much time. So he tried to parry.
Commanded by muscle memory more than thought, Eshu took a traditional stance, one leg forward, one to the side. The ork's movements were simple to predict, he was going for another horizontal swipe. Eshu held his sword down to the ground until the last moment before moving it in a plough stance, placing the blade between him and the blow. Sparks flew, chainsword howled and steel sang as the metal teeth met cold steel. Eshu stood his ground, though he nearly buckled from the impact of the strike. With the sparks of the chainsword he could see the face of his assailant. It was alien, a head as big as his chest and filled with fangs, small red eyes without irises, greenish flesh under which a veritable arsenal of muscles was laid bare. No wonder Eshu nearly collapsed from one blow.
The Ork muttered something and went for another blow, vertical this time. Eshu moved his blade to an ox stance, placing it above his head. Another cry of steel. Eshu felt the force of the strike go through his entire body and instinctively bend on one knee to withstand the force of the blow. This is a bad position to be in, his instinct told him, one kick from the ork and you'll be down. Do something! Eshu found a sure footing and plunged forward. The ork wasn't expecting it, in fact Eshu's brain wasn't expecting it, he was acting on pure muscle memory. He leapt forward and to the left, letting the axe fall to his side. The chainsword struck forward, biting into the Ork's torso. A normal blade would've left a cut and not much else. A chainsword however, revved into action by the machine spirit, plunged its teeth into green flesh and started chewing at a terrifying pace. The Ork yelped and tried moving away but Eshu, half crouched, kept on plunging forward into the ork's center of mass. The chainsword gnawed at alien flesh and with another plunge, separated the ork's right side and arm from the rest of the body. Eshu regained his footing, pivoted, and brought down the chainsword in a sweeping motion, separating the Ork from his head. He stood there for a moment, covered in mud and alien remains, trying to understand what just happened.
"Good job, Sir! Your first Ork boy!" He heard Kamran.
"That was a boy?" Eshu asked, breathing heavily.
Kamran chuckled without glancing back: "Yeah a normal ork trooper, you know? Their bosses are a tad bigger. Better get ready, I see another bunch heading our way."
Eshu grimaced and got into a stance.
—
The last of the orks fell with a satisfying thumb. Hartmann surveyed the deck through the iron sights of his bolt pistol searching for any survivors. Not the orks, who were too big and brutish to even consider hiding, but rather their Greenskin cousins, Gretchins, usually used for precise manual labour that the orks themselves couldn't be bothered with. He spotted a single one trying to make its way to an air duct. Small, with long ears and a disproportionate body. Sometimes Hartmann wondered how such physically different species could be related. Then he remembered that he didn't really care. Breath in, aim, pull the trigger. The shot rang through the command deck and the gretchin's body exploded in several chunks. Hartmann allowed himself a small grin. Despite his years, he still had an eye for detail.
"That's the last of them." Noted Raam, surveying the scene.
About a dozen ork corpses, scattered around the levers and control panels of the Gargant. None of them were seriously armed, not by ork standards anyway. Simple knives and pistols, no armor or anything eccentric he would've expected from a Mek. They weren't big ones either. Hartmann glanced back at Raam who evidently came to the same conclusion and activated his micro bead.
"This is One, bridge is secure, no contact with Alpha target, repeat bridge is secure, over."
The rest of the Shahbaz were spread throughout the deck, locking down any possible entrance. They were two dozen in total, heavily armed with hellguns and meltas; venerable weapons, designed to cut through tanks. Now they seemed overqualified for the job. He heard noises at the top and checked his watch. Zal. Right on time. A few seconds later the colonel appeared in the breach created by the Shahbaz. She was dressed in her usual coat, face obscured by regiment standard visor and helmet. The two Plasma pistols, Alkonost and Sirin, hung comfortably at her belt, emanating dim blue light.
"He's not here?" Asked Farrah, taking off the visor and inspecting the bodies of orks.
"Only small fry ma'am, nothing resembling an Ork boss."
Farrah cursed and activated her own comms: "This is Command. Alpha target is on the loose. Repeat, Alpha target is on the loose."
She sighed and looked at the window of the command deck, the supposed eye of the Gargant. From here one could easily see the entire construction yard, a sea of las fire.
"He might still be inside the Gargant." Noted Hartmann, reloading his bolt pistol.
"If we're lucky." Answered Farrah grimly. "If not, one of the squads out there is going to be in trouble."
—
Eshu was tired. He had cut down about seven orks at this point, coming closer to death each time. After ork number eight he decided that he might just do that, if it meant getting a bit of rest. Luckily for him and Kamran, their little pond was now defended by more troopers, Chalsi's entire squad in fact. Eshu didn't remember when they got in, must've been around the time of ork number six, or was it five? In any case, he allowed himself a momentary rest, putting his back against the pile of scrap and closing his eyes. He was soaked to the bone and yet he was also thirsty. Human bodies made no sense sometimes.
Something landed in his arms: "Here, drink some."
He opened his eyes. A trooper was standing next to him, holding a Lasgun in her hands.
"Relax sir, it's just water. You need it after that performance." She nodded at the flask that she threw in his hands.
Eshu opened it and gulped down. It was simple water, a bit warm. And it was the best thing he drank in the past week.
"Performance?" He asked after a few gulps.
Elaheh chuckled at pointed at the ork corpses: "Well yeah, Kamran already told everyone how you slaughtered about two dozen orks."
Eshu looked at Kamran, who was taking a break at the top of the scrap pile. Seeing Eshu stare he gave a thumbs up.
"Pretty sure there were no more than eight." Eshu answered, taking another sip.
Elaheh smiled and tapped him on the back: "Modest and an expert swordsman! We really got lucky with you, sir!"
Eshu tried to smile back. He got about halfway there and handed back the flask. "I thought you'd be blowing up the tower."
Elaheh pouted and tapped her bandolier: "I wish! But Mirza's squad got there first. So we're stuck there until they're done."
Eshu looked at the gun tower. It was about twenty meters tall and he could see las-fire illuminating its base.
"Lucky them." He muttered.
"Yeah," Answered Elaheh, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice, "They get the fun part of the mission. We get to sit in the mud and cover their asses."
"Feel free to submit a complaint after the mission, trooper." Eshu turned and saw Chalsi jumping into the pond, bulky hellgun in hand. How did she move so fast with it?
"Doing alright Cadet?" She asked, inspecting him.
"Still breathing."
She nodded and turned towards the rest of the squad. "Alright, stay alert. Command said that the Ork boss is loose."
Eshu blinked: "what?"
"You didn't hear?"
Eshu pointed to his head: "My earpiece got waterlogged during the fighting. Only hearing static now." Normally every officer was equipped with short range communication micro beads, usually put in helmets. Eshu however had to contend with his cap.
Chalsi nodded absentmindedly, seemingly planning how to position her squad: "In any case we should be ready for any nasty surprise, so Elaheh, get that demolition charge prepped. Niktos I need someone to watch our flanks, Kamran-"
She stopped mid-sentence. Eshu glanced in the direction of Kamran and froze. The trooper, who was making his way down to the pond, stopped mid track. His Lasgun hit the floor as he put both of his hands to his neck, seemingly trying to get something out. He opened his mouth, but Kamran couldn't scream. Because a piece of ork ammunition was poking out of his throat. Before anyone could react it activated. In a second Kamran was gone in the flash of the explosion, the shockwave throwing everyone back. Eshu's mind dimly noted that chunks of Kamran would probably be scattered all around the pond now. He wished he didn't think about that.
Chalsi was the first on her feet, moving into cover: "Everybody down! Anyone have visual contact?"
"I didn't see anything!" Yelled Niktos in response.
"Well it didn't come out of bloody nowhere!" Chalsi answered, scoping the battlefield through her hellgun.
Eshu felt weak at his knees, his heart pounding, cold running down his spine. He put his back against the scrap pile and looked at the sky trying not to panic. Dammit, he was supposed to boost morale, but he just couldn't- he wasn't a true commissar and this was a… He saw a glint of light in the air above him. Like a discharge of lightning but localised at a single point. It only lasted a second but from it he saw something drop. Another explosive, falling right on top of Elaheh, who was still frozen in place.
Eshu didn't have time to think. Instead he surged forward, tackling the trooper and jumping into the pond. A second later the munition exploded behind him, scratching his back but too high in the air to touch them. He moved back, letting Elaheh breathe.
"I saw it!" He yelled to Chalsi, trying to get his tired legs to move. "It appeared in thin air!"
"What?"
"Like it was teleported or something!"
Chalsi stood dumbfounded, then cursed and started moving. "Everyone move! Get to the tower!"
"But we need to get Kam's dog tags!" Protested Elaheh.
"Later! Move!" Eshu blinked. He didn't realize that he was the one who said that, drilled Commissar instincts reasserting themselves over him. Still it worked. Elaheh picked up her Lasgun and started moving. Eshu started following her but he stopped mid way as he saw another blink in the corner of his eye and this time some sort of a bizarre whistling sound. Seconds later, the pile of scrap that Kamran was using, exploded and rained down metal. Elaheh yelped and fell. Eshu felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder and went down on one knee. He was bleeding, but he could still move his arm. A glancing hit. Elaheh wasn't so lucky, Eshu shuddered as he saw a long protruding scrap piece stuck in her chest.
A voice behind him spoke: "Yuz just had to come 'ere den I was field testing!"
A guttural voice, speaking in broken Low Gothic, with distinct alien sounds. An Ork. Eshu turned and saw the monster standing at an incline, now visible through the path cleared by the explosion. He wasn't much bigger than an average ork but he was clad in armor, painted in a bright garish yellow which made him stand a head taller than his peers. His face was covered with an iron mask imitating an ork's face, his left hand was covered in a crab like metal claw. On his shoulders he held a heavy piece of machinery with huge, spinning blades at the front and numerous whirring, grinding cogs and other wires sticking out from the casing. The blades made a whistling sound as they spun, as if it was some sort of a reactor.
The Big Mek tapped the contraption and aimed it at Eshu. He was going to say something but an explosion to their left interrupted him. The gun tower went down, plummeting in a spiral of flames and smoke. Mirza was successful.
"Now dat's not funny, yuz know how long that took me to-"
The Mek got interrupted again, as a bright discharge of las fire hit him in the face. Chalsi, now on top of another pile, was shooting her hellgun while yelling: "Sixteen located Alpha target! Repeat Sixteen located Alpha-"
The Big Mek pressed a trigger on his device and the blades started glowing with light. The whistling sound reached a pitch, the casing thumbed and in a few seconds the air above Chalsi started glowing. The sergeant reacted quickly, Jumping back and tucking before the explosion. Eshu lost sight of her. Instead the Ork got assailed by a barrage of Las fire coming from all over. The rest of Chalsi squad trying to bring it down. The Ork just laughed, and pressed the trigger again, which produced more agonizing screams. Of course, if a Hellgun, a las weapon needing an entire backpack to supply it with energy, couldn't pierce his armor, regular lasguns had no chance. A chainsword wouldn't do much either, designed to rip into flesh, not steel. If Eshu had a power sword he could do something but he was useless here-
A gurgle made him turn. Elaheh, down on the ground. She pointed at him, then at her demolition charge, then at the Ork. Eshu felt a cold shiver running down his spine. He was so tired. He stood up anyway and rushed to Elaheh, trying to wordlessly pull off the explosives. The bandolier was heavy, filled with wires and explosive material, arranged into bricks. Eshu took it under his shoulder.
"I'll try getting close but how do I activate-" Elaheh gripped his hand with both of hers. They were bloody, filled with calluses but now weak. He felt a metal object in his hands. Elaheh's eyes closed, her hands slowly fell back onto the muddy ground. Eshu looked at his own palm: he held a detonator, prepped and active. Eshu wanted to say something, a prayer for both her soul and Kamran's, a word of thanks to the troopers he barely knew. Instead he could only nod, grab her dog tags, and stand back up.
The Big Mek was ignoring him, still being hit by sporadic las-fire. Unperturbed, the ork continued operating his contraption, laughing madly, leaving smoldering craters with each explosion. Eshu could see that it was devastating the Elysians. Bodies of troopers were laying around the piles of scrap. He couldn't lose any more time.
Eshu took a breath and started running. He wasn't a Hero of the Imperium, he wasn't even a Commissar, but he knew what a true hero would do in this instance. Charging the beast he put the bandolier in his right hand, gripping it tightly. He made his way across the waters, now darkened by human and alien blood. An explosion. He Jumped across the remains of the pile that belonged to Kamran. An explosion. He made his way up the incline towards the ork who was still laughing madly and ignoring Eshu. An explosion. He tossed the bandolier. It landed in between the whirling blades of the esoteric ork gun. The Mek stopped and looked at it:
"Wut the-"
Eshu pressed the trigger.
An explosion.
The Ork disappeared in a sea of heat and light. A normal demolition charge was powerful enough to take out a tank, if placed correctly. Combined with the ammunition stock inside the Mek gun it produced an explosion that threw Eshu backwards, making him land hard in the mud. He got up, tired, bruised, probably with a few broken ribs, but triumphant. He had done it, finally something he could be proud-
"Wuz that supposed to hurt!?"
Eshu's smile froze. The Ork boss made his way out of the smoke, akin to the stained glass depictions of the Archtraitor that Eshu had seen in the Schola. The explosion had taken out a part of his armor and a big chunk of his right arm. His gun was now silent, inoperable. His armor was scorched by explosion marks and soot. His face mask flew off revealing a green face covered in scars.
He pointed his metal claw at Eshu: "Yuz broke mah Shokk gun. You'll pay for dat."
Eshu breathed heavily. He was already winded before the Mek attack. After getting bruised and wounded he was panting. After making his heroic dash, he was breathless. He looked around. If Chalsi's squad had any survivors they were too wounded to make a move. He could run away. He could hide until reinforcements arrived, he could flee. He did his duty. But he wouldn't be able to look in the mirror if he did that.
Eshu pulled out his chainsword and his bolt pistol. He was exhausted but now that the mek's face was in the open he could do something. Besides the ork had lost an arm, he could fight a one armed foe. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The shot bounced off the Ork's claw, who put it in front of his face and started walking towards the Cadet. Eshu fired again. A miss. Another shot. It glanced off the armor. Two more. Two misses. Eshu hissed and threw his bolt pistol to the ground. He was never a good shot. If he had more time, he would've contemplated how he should've gone to the range more often. But the Mek was on him. His metal claw sizzled with energy as it went for Eshu's throat.
Eshu dodged to the side as the claw hit the ground. It sliced through piles of scrap like butter, making a sizzling sound. A power weapon. Of course. Eshu took a schlussel stance; feet spaced evenly apart, one hand on the sword handle near the guard and the other at the bottom of the sword. The flat part of the chainsword on his arm. The claw, emitting a disruptor field, could rend his own blade apart if they met. Parrying wasn't an option.
The Mek went for a wide swipe. Eshu jumped back, feeling the tingle of the claw's power near his chest. Then he planted his feet and plunged forward, using his blade like a lance, aiming for the head. He touched the neck guard of the ork which produced sparks and made the alien curse in that guttural tongue of his. But it wasn't a killing blow. The Mek brought his claw back for another swipe. Eshu dropped, letting himself fall into the mud as the claw passed right above his chin. A few millimeters and it would've been sliced off. He rolled and got out of the way. The mud got in his eyes. Frantically he got up and wiped it off. Only to see the claw barreling towards him. Eshu couldn't dodge, and put his chainsword up instinctively. It held. For a moment.
With a screeching sound, the claw barreled through the sword cutting it in two. It didn't stop there. Eshu felt a sharp, profound pain in his right arm. The ork kicked him with the back side of the claw and Eshu fell again. He tried getting up. He failed. The Ork laughed and picked up something from the ground. It was his right arm.
"Think I'll keep dis humie. Not like you'll be uzing it."
He turned towards Eshu and lifted an armored boot. Eshu closed his eyes. He did his best, and his best wasn't enough.
Not a Commissar.
Not a hero.
A light. Heat. The ork screamed in guttural pain and Eshu heard his body falling. He opened his eyes and saw a sentinel standing in the distance, its multi-melta hot from firing. Content, he decided to take a rest.