Meeting in the burning light of morning, the Colonel had gathered up a squadron of soldiers in a sort of 'honor guard', if one could even call it that, to greet the incoming Gallian general and his staff. They stood at the base of the hill that they were utilizing as a FOB for the local area in the Badlands, watching as a string of Halftracks, tanks and armored vehicles appeared. Some of the vehicles were casemate-style tank destroyers with short barrels and bearing the flags of the Royal Guard.

Huh. Matt looked to Colin, to see the boy's reaction. He was surprised, but seemed somewhat joyous to see the development. Amy and Ace sat behind him, whispering and cracking a few jokes here and there, their weaponry holstered. The convoy of a dozen vehicles veered to the right, the two main vehicles, halftracks staffed by Regular Army forces and Royal Guard, halted at the front of the procession.

Exiting the Royal vehicle, Princess Cordelia, dressed in a light-blue uniform of the Army and with strands of silver hair running down her shoulders, stepped out first, under escort of the commander of the Royal Guard and general Siegfried. The Colonel smiled upon seeing the older man of the Siegfried house, nodding and snapping a quick salute to him, before turning to the Regular Army's halftrack.

The rotund son-of-a-bitch that was General Damon stepped out next, barely fitting his fat ass through the side door to join the procession. Following him, a less-than-pleased Major Audrey Gassenarl followed. General Siegfried started, but Damon interrupted him and demanded "What the hell are you and your kids doing all the way in the Badlands, you moron!?"

Matt rolled his eyes, murmuring to himself "By the Emperor, I forgot how annoying your voice is..." before turning to acknowledge General Siegfried and nodding.

"Good to see you, Colonel." Remarked the man, a smile on his face.

"Likewise, sir. And you as well, Your Highness." He answered kindly, "My Commissar tells me you've listened quite intently to the stories of our War Heroes."

"That, I have." Cordelia smiled.

"Don't ignore me, you brat!" Damon snarled. The Colonel looked to him, a glare in his eyes that immediately got the fat fuck to back off for a bit. The Colonel sighed deeply, then showed them to follow, dismissing the procession of Guardsmen back to their posts. The group climbed up the winding paths of the hill, with Cordelia taking to Colin's side, the two engaging in small-talk.

The Colonel spoke, his voice harsh, rough, to the Major and the Idiot General, "My forces and I have diverted here, with support from sections of the Third Regiment of Militia, to deal with an enemy presence. These hills, these tall spires are not what they seem. I am certain that if I were to tell you to visit Dig Site Primaris and that temple of the Valkyrians, you'd see their sibling standing at Dig Site Secundus."

"That black pillar?" Audrey raised a brow, "What would be so special about it?"

"Went through the area, have you?" The boy remarked.

"I had to visit and pay my respects to my deities, of course." The blonde scoffed, "... What is so important about that pillar, Colonel?"

"In our battles with the enemy, it was struck... Something vile awoke from below." He stated, glaring at the two of them, "One fifth of our Regiment was wiped to contain it, including the officers of a Darcsen Auxiliary Force that had volunteered to join us..." And he glared at Audrey especially now, stating "If I hear one ill word about the Darcsen and the men that sacrificed themselves so these creatures would not attack you after we and the Eastern Imperial army were killed... I will forego the pleasantries of our alliance and let Colin shoot you himself."

"How dare-" Audrey growled as the Commissar wore a somewhat devious smirk.

"Major." Cordelia shot a glare at the woman that shut her up, before turning to the Colonel and asking "What kind of monsters have you fought that could've caused the deaths of over a thousand of yours?"

"We have the reports and photographs... What I must ask of all of you is that you do not disseminate these anywhere else." The Colonel stated as they reached the hill's summit, where a few of their Enginseers were tending to their combat vehicles and the Skitarii were intent on maintaining a secure perimeter. He stopped in front of the entrance to the camp, then stated "For this reason, I'm asking only General Siegfried, the Princess and her Royal Guard escort to join us."

"WHAT?!" Damon balked.

"You cannot hide things from the Regular army, Colonel! We're supposed to be cooperating!" Gassenarl snapped.

"That's true, but as I've told the reporter, Ellet, this would cause a mass panic if it got out. And to be quite honest, I do not trust much of the Regular officer cadre with tying their own boot laces, much less to keep a secret of this magnitude. The Militia, on the other hand?" Matt shot back rather calmly, garnering a few chuckles out of his officers and one out of Siegfried and Cordelia.

Despite much protest from the two present Regulars, the Colonel had taken only his officers, general Siegfried and Princess Cordelia into the impromptu command center of the Badlands base. To say that their reactions showed fright was an understatement. Cordelia had read the reports and looked over the photographic evidence with eyes so wide, you could see the dark-blue within them.

General Siegfried had stated at one point that he wouldn't believe it if he didn't read the files and see the black-and-white pictures of humans clashing with robotic, skeletal machines with his own two eyes. He looked to the Colonel, then stated "I hope you buried the lot of them deep enough that they can't crawl their way out of their tombs again."

"Major Ryan did." The colonel smiled sadly, "Took a jury-rigged Melta bomb down into the tomb. Blasted the entire thing apart to the point that only chunks of that pillar remained outside."

"And you diverted here because... All of these hills..." Cordelia realized, horrified.

"Contain such pillars. And possibly, tombs." Colin nodded, "We will leave a detachment to guard these hills, of course. Just so that no detonations or assaults may occur to raise the Necron again."

The General looked between the Princess and the boy, before sighing and nodding. They'd departed with Damon, forsaking his expedition to find out what the hell the Cadians were doing and his chance to berate them to maintain the secrecy of the Necron. The General agreed to deploy his own division to assist the Garrison of Cadians what would be left behind.

Two days after the battle against the Necron, Elaine and her scouting unit had been sent forth aboard Salamanders. Following them in were the avian-like Sentinel walkers, moving at high speed to keep up pace with the open-topped Salamanders. The lightly-armored transport vics could house a total of six Guardsmen with all equipment, including the driver. Their next objective lay around 200 kilometers away from the site of the new Forward Operations Base in the sector. Some of those aboard had been burial detail for their lost friends and the enemy's own.

For some reason, Elaine always felt like she was really the one discovering random shit on this planet. To be fair, it was a scout's job to discover shit, but that usually involved it trying to kill them when spotted. When the Colonel had told her to scout Sector Five-Three on the map, which was all just open desert, she didn't know what to think. Still, she did it, because the Colonel hadn't been wrong so far about gut feelings. Plus, there were scattered reports of thunderstorms in this area, what with the new clouds that blanketed the Desert

She'd taken Alvin and his sister this time around, both of whom had lost half their squad in the battle against the Necron. The Cadians mourned the losses, but they would pay their respects to their comrades who fell in the defense of this world by fighting and killing whatever else deigned themselves fit to try and kill them. It was the Guards' way. Hold the Line.

Elaine shifted in her seat, standing up to look back at the advancing convoy of about five scout vics and five Sentinels. She hummed, then leaned against the side of the vehicle and stared out. She spoke, "You two alright?" to Yrine and Alvin.

"As fine as can be, considering..." Alvin sighed, rubbing his face, "Emperor forgive me, how did that happen?"

"The Witch." Yrine replied, "When her beam originally missed whatever she aimed for, it struck the pylon."

Alvin looked to her, a raised brow, "Did you tell the Colonel?"

"Forgot. Too busy burying what little remained of Keegan." She shook her head, leaning back into the padded seat. Elaine sighed. She knew how the poor kid felt. One ofher own had died just before the Necron started their arduous march of death and destruction. Yrine sighed, then shook her head and said "Eh, we'll vox him when we return... Plus, it was an honest mistake."

"Ya defending the enemy now, sis?" The man raised a brow.

Yrine shrugged "Not defense. Basic observation."

"Eh, fair, but still-"

"Shut it!" Elaine barked, "Listen!"

Artillery thundered in the distance. High-caliber. Earthshakers. Yrine and Alvin stood up, looking ahead. Plumes of black smoke billowed into the dark clouds that had settled above much of the desert. Cresting over the ridgeline, they were greeted by a lunar landscape laying in the valley below. Thousands of craters from artillery pockmarked the sand, tens of AFVs belonging to Severan troops down for the count amongst them. Two lines of trenches sat, opposite each-other in the valley itself, one intricately built, layered in defenses and with bunkers, while the other was ramshackle, damaged by pinpoint shellfire from over 200 heavy guns that Elaine had now just seen, almost a kilometer behind the main line.

The Vox on their Salamander crackled to life. Elaine dropped back into her seat, then took the mic. A cold, steely voice echoed through the mike, "Identify."

The codes... She somewhat recognized them. They were Imperial Guard codes, just, not that used. She flicked the com on, thumbed the button on her mike and spoke "This is Lieutenant Elaine Maaran, of the Cadian 13th Mixed Regiment. To whom am I speaking?"

"... Approach at angle 075 on compass." The voice replied. It was muffled by what sounded like fabric, or leather.

"Give me a second... Who the hell is this?" Elaine demanded, "We had issues two days ago and I'd rather not get my people killed over trusting someone random."

"... Delta, Kilo, Zero-Six-Six. Contact your superiors and bring them here as well, then join us. The enemy is going to attempt a breakthrough." The Voice, a male, clearly, replied calmly. Elaine's heart fluttered, then sank as she remembered the codes. She looked to a fear-stricken Yrine and Alvin, then flicked through the com channels as the rest of the scouting Convoy joined them.

... The Colonel had heard the call. Delta Kilo Zero-Six-Six. She smiled blatantly, deviously as their tanks, still wounded by the engagement with the enemy, rolled ever-forward. Squad 7 and Landzaat's squad had also joined them in the deployment to that grid area. Isara half wanted to ask him why he was smiling, especially like that, as she watched him from the hatch of the Edelweiss. Still, she didn't dare question anything.

The man had taken the Macharius Super Heavy that they'd brought along in the stead of his Baneblade. The Hammer of Faith was undergoing repairs under the watch of the Techpriesthood back at base, where they were left with a garrison of Cadian and Tallarn forces. The only one riding atop the tank beside Matt, who was hanging out of the hatch, was Captain Al-Ahab. She, too, smiled deviously upon hearing the codes.

Linking up with Elaine's Scout convoy, the vehicles then descended down into the Valley under fire. Largo poked out from the top of their half-track, looking at the landscape of death and craters, then said "That looks straight out of the First Europan War." in a mumble. Rosie peeked out too, looking through a pair of binocs at the octagonal bunkers that lay as the base of security around the meters-deep trench network ahead.

She couldn't see the soldiers.

As the team approached the rearmost line, the command bunker sector, they were greeted by soldiers who rode horses, or creatures like horses, covered with gas masks and desert-tan tarps. Each hauled several pounds of equipment in pouches and in the form of the soldiers that sat atop them. Faceless sans for a leather gas mask that linked to a side filter, clad in the same color of greatcoats and armors, wielding lances tipped by what looked like shaped charge explosives.

The 'hooves' of the horses clacked against the sand below. The seemingly empty, opaque glass holes through which the soldiers stared at them shifted toward the Colonel and the rest of the command units of the Convoy. The Colonel bowed respectfully to the soldiers, before exiting the Macharius Vulcan Bearer of Wrath, his weapons clipped to his belt. From the largest bunker of the complex emerged three more Guardsmen, one of these a man clad in more intricate uniform, but still wearing a mask.

He stared at them with a smile that scared the Gallians and even some of his own. Everybody in the Cadian 13th knew of the Lieutenant's double-heritage from both Krieg and Cadian blood. The man that approached, a Death Korps Colonel and clearly, a veteran above all else, stopped to face the boy. Matt's face then turned into this emotionless stone-wall as he brought up his right hand and placed it to his chest, a signature Death Korps salute.

The Krieger Colonel responded in kind, as did his guards. He... No, she then spoke "We thought ourselves alone."

"As did we, until a few days ago. Greetings to you, warriors of Krieg." Matt replied.

"To you as well, children of Cadia." She stated, turning to the Gallians and saying "And to... I would presume... Your allies."

"Yes." Matt motioned to Captain Varrot and said "This is Captain Eleanor Varrot, of the Gallian Third Militia Regiment, alongside the rest of her officer Cadre." And the Captain approached and saluted, staring at her fellow commander with fear. The two empty sockets of the Krieg Colonel's helmet and mask peered at her, sizing her up as it seemed, before humming.

"A pleasure to meet you." Captain Varrot nodded.

"Likewise..." The Krieger hummed, "I am Colonel Maria Stern, of the Krieg Sixty-Sixth Infantry Regiment. You and your soldiers will provide us with aid in halting these traitors, yes?"

"Yes. It's why Colonel Telos brought us along, I feel." The Captain replied. She watched as a platoon of Death Korps soldiers marched down into the trenches from the main bunker complex. Colonel Stern urged them to follow her with a single motion of her hand. The Officers complied, leaving their staff and soldiers outside. Yrine and Alvin also followed with Elaine and the Colonel into the complex.

Below the meters-thick ferocrete walls, where the ground shook and shuddered as the Regiment's Earthshaker battery lit the enemy's position up, a maze of tunnels that were barely big enough to accomodate two people going side-by-side and lit by strung-up chem-lamps was now being treaded by the staff of the Allied Forces. It was a two-way traffic tunnel, with soldiers from the Korps moving to take their positions, while the officers were moving to one of the rooms.

Taking a right at the room, the team was met by a combination of both the rudimentary wood tables and simple maps and a series of Auspex and cogitator terminals lined up neatly against the back wall, under occupation of the masked Tech-Priests of the Korps. A small group of the Krops' Regimental officers had also formed up around the table. The Colonels, Captains and Lieutenants approached them, with Stern nodding the saluting men and women at ease.

"Hmm," Matt looked around, "Your numbers are less than standard for a Krieg Regiment of this size." He observed.

"We are at one tenth of our Regiment. The rest of it may well have been lost to the damnable Warp." She returned, "Still, ten thousand of us should be plenty enough to slaughter those heretics... And with yours, we should be able to finally repulse those traitors from the Spinward Front." And she approached the table. They were clearly defending something, lest they wouldn't stick themselves so close to the Battlefield in itself and in this Valley.

"Is there any particular reason you elected this place for your base of operation?" Matt inquired. Maria pulled out an image taken by one of their Tech-Priests' drones and set it onto the table. Embedded deep within the cliffs here, just behind the compound, from the looks of the area the woman was pointing at, were the marks of battle, followed by what looked to be... Whatever it was, it was blurry, but the Colonel's eyes widened the moment he made it out.

"What is it?" Alicia asked.

"Something the matter, Colonel?" Welkin asked as he saw the boy pick up the photograph.

He looked to his officers, then waved Colin, Amy and Ace over so they could see it too. All three went bug-eyed at the blurry image upon realizing what it was, with Matt stating, "Strategic Value:Absolute... It's a weapon."

"What?!" The Gallians balked.

Matt looked to Maria and asked "May I and my officers see it?" only to, moments later, be escorted by a Tech-Priest Engineseer of the Kriegers toward the rearmost point of the Valley. Hidden by the aeons of sand and the dune seas, as well as by the shade of the massive cliff faces, a camp of Enginseers and Tech-Priest Magi worked on the device ahead. A multi-barrel Cannon the width of a Baneblade and the length of two of the Superheavies. It bore six barrels that could fire a hellish wave of energy that could easily wipe an army off the face of the planet.

"By the Emperor..." Murmured Matt

"What... Is that?" Isara asked from beside him.

"... A Hellstorm Cannon." The Colonel said, smirking, "A Hellstorm Cannon from an Imperator Titan. One of the most powerful weapons the Imperium has. It could literally turn the tide of this war if we got it working." then he paused, hearing a faint droning up above. He looked to the Death Korps, noticing that they had Hydras raised high to meet an oncoming threat, before looking to the Death Korps soldiers present.

Autocannons fired and the sky lit. From the clouds came scarlet-colored craft bearing the Dominate's symbols on their bodies, their wings sprawled out and mounted with heavy weaponry. Matt gasped, then called out "LIGHTNING FIGHTERS! UP HIGH!" drawing his bolt pistol and watching as the Anti-Air Cannons of the Hydra batteries tore the sky asunder with high-caliber fire, all the while Isara and the Gallians stared up at the weapons with awe. Six Lightnings, four Thunderbolts and a Marauder flew in, under the hellfire of the AA Guns.

The enemy had received air support.