Another day, another headache. It was all Matias had on his mind as he strolled forward into the center of the camp with the other staff of the Regiments. Another convoy, this time smaller than the one they'd come with in Barious, appeared and stopped right in the middle of the Imperial Guard FOB. From the middle halftrack stepped out the fat tube of lard known as Georg von Damon, right in front of the entire group of the highest-ranking Guard officers around, as well as Captain Varrot. The officers of the cadre looked unimpressed of the fat man.
The second one, however, seemed at least slightly more competent in her poise. She was also more graceful than him. Audrey Gassenarl, still a Major, though seemingly with her wits about her this time and just as pissed-off a look as the Colonel had, led Damon over to meet Stern, Telos and even the other new arrivals. She only paused to actually register the newcomers, eyes wide as she looked at Cain and his officers, as well as at Gaunt and the Ghosts.
"... oh..." She seemed meek now, staring at the towering men flanking Telos, as well as at their officers.
"That'd be major Gassenarl, I presume..." Gaunt spoke in whisper, getting a nod from Cain and one from Matt. As the duet of officers stepped up, Audrey wanted to speak, but Damon butted in.
"So this is what you've been doing?! Playing with Feddies and your own troops?!" The old fat fucker demanded, "Do you even have the faintest idea of what's going on on the Front Line right now, kid?!"
"I've read some of the disconcerting reports," Matt sighed, crossing his arms, "We were here to assist the Third Regiment's little excursion and training with the Federation's Armed Forces, then we would return to assist in the fighting. If you could hold your ground for a while longer, perhaps I would have time to come reinforce your beleaguered, not to mention clearly incapable troops..."
Audrey sighed, rubbing her eyes, then said with ever-the-slightest hint of dismay in his voice, "General, sir... Please. There are guests here, still."
"Right..." Damon growled, then looked to the two Commissars and demanded "Who are you lot anyways? Didn't think these kids could haul more of their own bunch here."
"Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and Commissar Ciaphas Cain," Gaunt spoke, seemingly disregarding any kind of kindness for the cluster of mistakes, fat and poor hygiene that was Damon. Honestly, Gaunt felt revulsion at the simple smell the rotund bastard had. It was doubly worse than the scent that poor Jurgen emanated when around, but at least the Valhallan had an excuse. Gaunt added, "We've received a... 'Brief'... Of your history, general."
The man smirked proudly, "I take it someone babbled about my glorious record of battles, then!"
"You could say that..." Cain sighed, his ears scratched by the fat man's sandpaper voice. He looked to Matt sympathetically, then looked to Claude and Squad E as they seemingly stared at the trainwreck. He added, "Listen, General, much as we'd like to discuss what we're all doing in your country, you don't need to concern yourself, since we're running with the Federation's Armed Forces on an operation against the False Imperial troops."
"Indeed," Voiced Gaunt, "That we met Colonel Telos, Colonel Stern and their Regiments is mere luck to us. However, we will not be staying long. We merely came to enjoy the exercise and some time off from the Front... Though, admittedly, we missed the former by a few hours. We'll be out of your hair within the day," He then shrugged, looking about at their men sharing drinks and food for the second morning in a row.
"That's good to hear, then. One of you lot is too much to handle," Mumbled the fat man, despite being in earshot of all officers, most of which tried to hold back a desire to murder the man...
"And three of you is too much for us, but yet here you stand," Matt replied, causing everyone to halt. Some Guardsmen and Fed troops giggled silently at the comeback. Even Audrey Gassenarl covered her mouth with her clipboard to hide a smile as she looked over at Damon. The fuming Pig-General wanted to retort, but breathed in and out, then stepped away, mumbling something about inspecting the Third Regiment.
Audrey looked as the man stomped away, her smile now visible. Telos smirked too, then said "My, my, Major, harboring any anger toward that man?"
The Gassenarl woman sighed, then answered, "While I admit it is not good to speak ill of the Commander-in-Chief of the Regulars..." and approached Matt, whispering to him and his fellow Guard officers, "Even I grew tired of him after his fifth tirade on the way here. His incompetence, what I gleaned from several reports about Ghirlandaio, served only to expedite the process. Oh, and the bloody smell he has doesn't help."
The group all let out low, quiet laughs. Varrot excused herself, moving to rally the Third Regiment for the inspection, but still wearing a smile on her face. Gaunt hummed, then said "Color me impressed, Major."
"Pardon?" She looked up at him.
"Well, not to be too blunt, major, but the Colonel described you as pretty stuck-up yourself," Cain noted, grinning as he crossed his arms to his chest. Audrey rolled her eyes, then nodded.
"Not to mention the ability to run your mouth..." Murmured Stern from beside Matt.
"I only answer when my faith is spoken ill of," Audrey replied, looking the Cadian square in the eye, "Otherwise, while I admit that the thought of foreign help hurts me to my very core, seeing as I want Gallia to be a nation independent of major powers, some of my troops spoke well of your own quite often. I see no reason why we should not work together, difference in faiths aside," And she looked to Matt.
The Cadian Colonel nodded, "You've certainly changed, major."
"Yes... Colonel, can I speak to you in private while I am still here? I feel we may have started our professional relationship on the wrong foot," Audrey replied, seemingly worried. Matt looked over to the other Guard officers, all of whom nodded before they scattered to move to their own units. Matt only stopped Maria to tell her to ready up her forces for travel back to the proper Front Lines.
Audrey started walking toward the center of Camp, with Matt following as she started, "I understand you fought a Valkyria?"
"Yes," Matt didn't even hesitate. Audrey looked to him, curious, but the boy continued, "Up to a point. Certain events had put us on the same side in Barious... Events I am not at liberty to discuss right now."
"Was she as powerful as the legends say?" Audrey inquired.
"I don't have an idea of the legends, but she was decently powerful, yes," Matt replied as his mind went to the good General Bles, the woman who'd somehow managed to open his eyes to the simple fact they could well have been on the same side, "She cooperated with us to defeat a... Darker... Hostile force that emerged during our confrontation," And then he remembered that one of her shots scraped the top off the Pylon, awakening the enemy. One of their shots that was aimed at them, still, but...
She'd made up for that mistake by helping them and staving off even more casualties...
"I see..." She hummed, "I would say an 'I told you so', but I'm more concerned now, considering she is on the enemy's side."
"I know how you feel," Telos replied, crossing his arms to his breastplate, "We offered them a chance to surrender and end this charade... She actually seemed to have considered it for but a moment."
"Merciful, then?"
"Mhm. Or at least smart enough to know we wouldn't give up."
Matt shook his head with a sigh, "Anything else you took me away for, major? Because I think the good general wished to denigrate me a bit more just by his sheer presence."
Avoiding his gaze for a moment, the woman smirked and shook her head, "There are a few matters... Where did you receive reports from, in regards to the situation on the Front?" And she gazed upon him as he shrugged. He jabbed his thumb back, toward the communication tent of the camp and she nodded, "I take it you know that Dillsburg has been occupied."
"And it acts as a bridgehead for the enemy force, currently, yes," Matt nodded, "Like I told Damon, I'm well aware of the situation even if I and my force are not there... That we didn't answer his demands to come immediately is another matter, however. We sought to rally with the Third Regiment before we came around to assist." And he motioned to the Cadians as they still celebrated the reunion and actually tried to talk to the Federation troops.
Audrey watched the kids talking and laughing with their friends, both new-found and old, before stating, "I see. To be fair to you and your men, you do operate well with them..."
"We've been stuck with each-other for a few months, so it's no surprise," Matt noted. He looked over the horizon, in the distance, at the border city down below, then asked, "I don't believe either your Damon came alone, major. Your division with you?"
"Yes, they set up camp not too far from here... Why?" She seemed concerned as she stared with him at the city ahead. Matt scowled as the whistle of artillery echoed, followed by the distant detonation. The woman gasped, then looked to Matt. He looked back to her, seeing the concern, then nodded. The small city below was a border fortress similar to Ghirlandaio. It was also the crossroad and convergence point for multiple railroads, including ones that led both deeper into Fed territory and into Gallia herself.
"Rally your men, major," Matt ordered, then touched his com bead and said "Colin. Prep the Regiments. We've got a situation in the city."
"We're already prepared, sir. Regular forces coming from the city just confirmed that the enemy has brought two units, division strength, armored. Some of the officers think that this may be an attempt to open a second front..."
"Tanks, then..." He stated loudly enough for Audrey to hear, "Ready the tanks and our own heavy weapons teams. Equip them with Krak grenades and rockets and be ready to engage. This could be Severan-reinforced assaults to try and garner our attention. Major," He looked over to Audrey, who gazed back, then said "We're going to need to support each-other here. Can I count on your assistance?"
"If I can count on yours," She replied.
"Okay... Go get your men, join us in the city the moment you can."
She nodded, then ran toward the convoy they'd arrived with. Damon stepped up to her as she removed the radio's transmitter from one of the halftracks and asked "What the hell are you doing, major?! We have to return to the Front Line!" before she glared at him, causing him to stagger. Dialing in the frequency of her Division, she readied herself to summon them. With the code established, she called out.
"All units of the Tenth Armored, this is Major Gassenarl. Your orders are to converge on the border city of Utrecht immediately. Enemy forces have begun an assault, possibly to attempt to take control of the city's railroads, and have brought about armored divisions. Prepare for urban warfare, I repeat, prepare for URBAN Warfare! Major Gassenarl, out," She ordered, then set the mic back into place and said to Damon, "Sorry, sir. This is a more pressing matter right now."
"Very well..." Damon nodded rapidly, fully aware he wasn't getting her to step off, "Get them the hell out of our land, major. We'll talk when we're back in Randgriz..." And he scrambled into the rearmost vehicle of the convoy. She scoffed at the coward and watched as her own Division's armored and mechanized forces, the most elite of the Regular army, came in to support their allies.
She and the Colonel didn't see eye to eye the few times they met, but she was not going to scoff at the idea of others giving themselves for Gallia so her own may live. She had to admit, the Colonel, his soldiers and allies had also shown proficiency in fighting and a very big willingness to cooperate with them. Same for the Federation forces here, all of which seemed to mount up and ready themselves to assist.
Utrecht was not a big city, but it was not tiny by any means either. Split into the market and industrial district, the latter of which included the rail station that was the gateway of the north-western Empire to the rest of Western Europa, the city now saw two divisions' worth of Imperial troops pouring into it. The Civilians hid in their homes while the Imp artillery seemed to halt. They clearly wanted the place whole.
Matt led the counterattack on foot this time, followed by heavy weapons teams and the Kasrkin, Amy beside him and Colin. Blades sang as they met the advance elements of the Imperial Army. The armors of the False Imps were stained scarlet by the blood of civilians and the local city guards as they charged forward, a maddened horde, strange, sickening runes on their chest plates and armors.
Matt's power sword met the first man's neck and his pistol rang through the streets. He growled at the bastards before him, then said "They bear vile markings! What are they?!"
Gaunt, a man famed for his proficiency with his melee weaponry and bolt pistol, practically danced around the enemy's own blades and bullets as he cut into them. He saw the markings, the blood, everything and his mind raced as he answered, "They are very familiar to me and my men!" before plunging his blade into the heart of an officer and calling out to his own via Vox "Colm!"
"I see'em! Fething Blood Pact!" Corbec returned.
"You're kidding..." Claude noted in their part of town, watching as East Imp and bloody-looking Leman Russ tanks rolled forward down the streets. He watched las-fire from their mobilizing comrades. The tan greatcoats and ancient-looking Lasguns of the Death Korps greeted his sight as they advanced through the line, with Squad 7 close behind them.
"Lieutenant!" Matt called over Vox, "Divvy up the troops! We're going to need to secure every inch of this city! Show them no mercy!"
As the tanks and infantry of the two sides met on the wide main boulevard, the roar of cannons echoed and lasguns wailed, filling the air with the scent of burning ozone and a blinding wall of red light. Death Korps troops moved in concert with the Cadian troops, while Gallian troops began to stream in with light tanks and their own infantry and armored personnel carriers.
Regular infantry took position beside Alicia and her team, with the lieutenant of the platoon asking, "Where are we needed!?"
"We don't know yet! This is a downright mess!" Alicia replied.
"Bollocks!" The man growled, lining up a shot on and pausing to watch as a hook-nosed mask flew off the scarred face of one of the enemy soldiers. A Krieg Officer punched the man clean in the face, knocking the mask off and sending the enemy trooper sprawling across the floor before he put a lasbolt through the back of his head. The Death Korps officer then ran up to Alicia and the Regular.
"Your forces will be needed in the Market area. I and my company will secure the main boulevard," He stated.
Alicia nodded, "How many enemies? And what the hell are they?"
"Our Great Foe," Replied the officer, motioning to his troopers as they moved in with Leman Russes behind them, "The False Imperials fight in the Market. Go."
Alicia didn't know what that meant, but she agreed. The Gallian forces, alongside the Federation Rangers, had redirected to fight within the Market Square, where an actual Imperial company marched forward, firing indiscriminately into the City guards and the civilians that had taken up arms. The Gallian infantry, regular and Militia alike, poured in. Sergeant Melchiott led their boys and girls from the front, rifle at the ready.
Following them in, Squad E had already joined up, with Raz at the forefront of the assault, his own Federation-made SMG chattering. He wore a grin on his face as he taunted them, "Come on, you bastards! I got enough lead for all of you!"
Rosie watched from Alicia's right as she and her squad of Shock Troops prepared to go forth and take the breach. She stared at the man as he dropped the empty stick magazine and slapped in a fresh one, before her gaze swept up toward a building. There, she saw the glint of a scope coming from a window as the light of the sun broke through one of the clouds.
She gasped, then jumped out of cover without saying a word. Elbow-charging into Raz just as a rifle rung out in the crowd, she'd managed to pin the guy down to the floor. He groaned, then barked, "What the hell was that, you crazy redhead!? Are you trying to get me ki-huh!?" and froze as he saw the wound in her gut. A Sniper-caliber round punched into it. He swore, "Shit! Hang on!" before he dragged her into cover behind a wall.
"Watch your back next time, Darkie..." She managed to utter out, putting pressure on her wound, "It's not bad..."
"Like hell it isn't! It hit you right in the gut!" He stated, then shouted back, "MEDIC!"
"So?" She said through gritted teeth, then groaned and said "Ragnaid. Right pouch on my belt..."
He saw two medics run toward them. One was a Gallian blonde, whom he smirked at, before turning to Rosie and taking out the Ragnaid from her med pouch as another round scraped the corner his face had been near not too long ago. A black-haired woman followed the medics, pressing her back against the wall, near the corner where the bullet ricocheted. She took a knee, poking only her left eye out and pushing the hair that was covering it out of the way. A crack-snap and the girl ducked back into cover.
She racked the bolt of her sniper, dropped onto her side and scoped in the target. Another round snapped over her head, narrowly missing and embedding itself into the road below as her own rifle cracked and popped. A muffled, wet thunk came to them as the girl chambered the next round and stood to her feet. She nodded to Raz and Rosie, the latter of which grinning ear to ear as she was being looked over, then surged forward, took a knee behind a fruit stand and snapped off another round that killed an officer commanding from the top of his tank.
Following her in, a pair of Cadian kids that had detached themselves from the advancing Imperial unit hoisted a tube rocket launcher with a shield and optics. One of them loaded and readied the AT rocket, while the other aimed. With a loud yell of "Backblast clear! Send it!" the loader covered her ears as her comrade squeezed the heavy trigger of the launcher. A blast of fire and smoke puffed out of the back of the weapon as the propellant ignited, before the tandem warhead missile lanced forward, leaving a contrail of smoke behind it and slamming clean into the front of the Imp tank.
It caught flame, a geyser of blue-orange fire spewing out from the open turret hatch and incinerating the corpse of the Imp commander. The snap-crackle of another sniper echoed from behind Marina, then a Long-Las's angry beam cut to her left. She looked to see the Federation sniper from Squad E and the shooter from the Tanith First, Hlaine Larkin, coming in.
Their kills dropped dead ahead of her, a Lancer and an officer, respectively, the latter of which had his skull blown clean open by the intricately-designed Long-Las wielded by the sniper. Larkin stepped up and said, "I saw those shots, Gallian. Not bad," before poking out and snapping off a hotshot round that tore through two Blood Pact-looking fuckers and killed both.
"Thanks," Marina replied, scoping in another officer, "We should divvy up. Too many snipers in one place."
"Agreed," Nodded the Federation girl, Kai, Marina remembered her. She stepped off, toward the building where the enemy sniper had been. Hlaine nodded to Marina, a grin on his face as he patted her on the shoulder, before he and another Tanith scout ran for a three-story house with a clothing shop on its first floor. She hummed, then scoped in another officer and killed him, a headshot. She reloaded her rifle with a three-round stripper clip, before dipping back into cover as automatic fire washed over her head and punctured the wood to her left.
She heart the response fire, more specifically, Rosie and Raz's. Flecks of stone plinked off steel plate armor ahead. Imp troopers took cover behind a the other side of the building where Kai had positioned herself. Marina had a clear sight on them. She racked the bolt, scoped their heads in and let loose just as Rosie and Raz let loose another pair of bursts. Both Imps' metal helmets were flung off their heads as they collapsed.
"Holy shit... I thought Kai and Larks were good," Murmured Raz, watching as Marina changed position, moving up with the rest of the squad.
"That's Marina Wulfstan for ya," Smirked Rosie, "Now, c'mon, you lunatic. We gotta push with'em."
"You in any shape to do that, redhead?" He asked.
She patted her stomach, "Good as new," and she smirked. Sure, her wound still burned and hurt like a bitch, but may Brigitte Stark be damned if she was ever gonna let a small little hole poked into her gut stop her from defending her home. Raz grinned, then chuckled and shook his head as he took to her side with his own platoon of Shock Troops. The two moved forward, toward the opening that Marina and her fellow snipers were widening by the moment, only to link up with Alicia and the others as they advanced down the next boulevard over.
On the main boulevard, the Imperial Guard pushed from cover to cover. Abandoned civilian cars and vehicles were overturned or destroyed by the advancing tanks and several Blood Pact Leman Russes slowly rolled forward, their Heavy Bolters raking the area around them. A Vanquisher of the Cadians' let loose a shell and one of the leading tanks careened over to the other side, missing a track and with a burning hole right in its chest.
Matt and his troops pushed from house to house, lasguns, bolt pistols and Stub-guns meeting the enemy's own weaponry. Across the street from them, behind a pair of overturned vehicles, Colin and Amy poured fire down into the line as they and the Commissar cadets led a combined company of Death Korps and Cadians into battle, the latter of which with the female Commissar of the Krieg in tow.
"Colonel. This is Audrey... We're in the city and advancing. Sorry it took us so long to link up again." Audrey reported. Indeed, Matt watched as the bulk of the Gallian Division's tanks rolled up the main boulevard, alongside the Edelweiss, Hafen and the Imperial Guard's armored fighting vehicles. They'd, from the reports he heard, takne a bit of damage coming into the city just behind them, when a flanking unit of Lancers and shock troops struck them from the left side. They repelled the enemy and had caused heavy casualties, with the loss of half of one of their armor companies.
Matt had to give it to Audrey, she knew how to fight.
Thunderclap echoed as two Gallian tanks fired their short 75s. On the other side of the road, Cain and his comrades watched as Audrey led the advance. She had divided her troops in two, one side providing cover for the advance against the false imps, while another was driving up the main boulevard alongside the Leman Russes of the Imperial Guard.
He watched as Edelweiss let loose a single shell into the enemy line and a Severan Dominate Leman Russ's forward las-cannon exploded, followed by the tank catching fire as its ammunition ignited inside. A squad of Krieg Grenadiers then advanced from behind the Gallian tank, hoisting heir Hellguns and Plasma rifles and opening up. Beams of scarlet and whitish-blue seared skin and bone, tearing armor and melting steel plate off the bodies of both Severan and the foul warp-spawn that were the soldiers of the Blood Pact.
Ibram had filled them in about these bastards. They'd met them in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade and fought them tooth and nail on every battlefield up until recently, when they, too, got pulled into the strange continent of Europa to fight alongside the people of this world against the False Pretenders. He poked out of cover, raising his bolt pistol and blasting two Blood Pact bastards center-mass.
Following him in, a squad of Valhallan troopers knelt and let loose a volley of lasgun fire, with Sulla commanding from close behind, "Tight advance! We're fighting street by street! Ensure what you shoot at is an enemy!"
Cain looked back to his cohort, including Jurgen and Amberley, the latter of which had bloodied her sword earlier today. He nodded to them, then moved to lead the assaulting unit of Valhallans. The 597th's units moved up the next wide road to the right, just a block across from the Cadians. This was a full-on meeting of armored forces and infantry, with civilians caught in the middle.
Gaunt and his Tanith joined them, with Try Again hoisting high his autocannon and letting loose streams of fifty-caliber fire into the enemy's lines. Audrey, meanwhile, atop her modified Gallian light tank, manned a heavy stubber, as the Imperial Guard called the fifty-cal machine guns acting as the anti-air and anti-infantry defense of any tank. Her vehicle had been heavily modified to include better side-skirts, a better engine and a longer-barrel high-velocity 76mm cannon, meaning a turret at least one and a half times its normal size.
She let loose with the fifty. Thnkthnkhnkhnkhnk. The thing had a slow rate of fire that matched the beat of the marching infantry behind the tank, a combined force of Militia, Cadians and Kriegers, with Captain Varrot and Colonel Stern as the leaders of the assault and major Amy Mkvenner as reinforcement, leading a pack of around twenty hellgun-toting Kasrkin.
Amy called a cry in old Tanith dialect, which, to the surprise of everyone in the ranks of the two other regiments, was answered in kind by the twenty soldiers as they hoisted their weapons and moved ahead of Audrey's tank, letting loose a stream of automatic laser weapon fire that made even their reinforced barrels glow red as they stacked the bodies of East Imps. An enemy anti-tank round, however, burst past them and struck a Gallian light tank clean through, setting it ablaze.
It was pushed aside by dozer-blade-armed Leman Russes. Captain Varrot ordered her side of the unit to divert and assist an embattled Squad 7 and their Federation comrades in Squad E, with the Edelweiss following the order, but not before it launched a high-ex mortar round square into a platoon of advancing, bloodthirsty-looking Severan infantry.
Audrey followed suit, launching a shell that somehow managed to de-track a Leman Russ. She gasped, ducking back into cover as a hotshot lasbolt boiled the air above her. She scowled, then called over com, "All tank commanders, be advised:Sniper in the belltower of the town hall. He damn near took my head off." and switched to the line and asked "How do you do, Colonel?"
"Good enough, major," Matt replied as Colin's voice echoed from afar, a rallying cry in old Tanith dialect yet again, "We're clearing the buildings. Secured multiple civilian families, including Darcsen."
Audrey scoffed for a moment. Darcsen, of course... She sighed, then said "Tell them to get behind our forces. I'll be damned if even one citizen of Gallia dies in this city without a chance to fight back."
"Some are already forming makeshift militia squads, picking up guns from the dead False Imps or outright using tools as weapons. Welcome them without too much fuss, would you?"
She grinned at the quip. He must've been aware of the Family's own disposition toward Darcsen. She spoke, "As long as they can hold a rifle, they will be met with cheers, Colonel. Give'em hell out there."
"You, too. Telos, out."
She poked her head up as she heard the ping of a round hitting the bell in the tower. She looked to her left, to see, atop a roof, a young woman in a Gallian militia uniform, loading a fresh magazine into the GSR she wielded. Audrey traced the con-trail of the hotter round and saw the corpse of the enemy sniper slump over and fall out of the tower, into the crowd of gathered Severan, Imp and whatever the hell other kind of troops those were.
"BAYONETS! FIX BAYONETS!" She heard a Cadian Lieutenant holler, "Bastards, coming in with Chain-axes and melee weapons! Cut them all down!" She cried, rallying her squad up as she stuck a bayonet to the end of her lasgun. She heard the trundle of wheels to her right and saw Death Korps troopers roll up a mounted automatic weapon to greet what she now stared at. A horde of creatures, clad in red robes and plate armor that shined with sickening symbols and crudely-drawn eight-pointed stars. She felt her head, her very soul ache at the sight of the maddened men and women who'd scratched and cut those symbols into both their uniforms and flesh.
Groaning and gritting her teeth, she spun her Fifty Cal to meet the bastards, trying to ignore the pain outright as she head the revving of chainsaw engines. She let off a long burst, the barrel starting to glow as the first two-hundred round box was being expended. Spent casings and links piled onto her turret, falling inside the tank and around it as they rolled forward, their cannons roaring against the tide of screaming madmen.
Bolts of unholy light came from hastily-gathered clouds and struck into the horde of enemy troops. An ethereal, female laugh echoed into the back of her mind as she kept her fingers on the trigger of the heavy machine gun. She watched as two tanks ahead of them, East Imperial light tanks advancing to support the assaulting horde, were struck by that same frightening lightning, then looked to her left. A squad of four advanced, with a Kasrkin, a Darcsen and a pink-haired Cadian escorting a woman clad in robes and wielding a staff.
The woman, a beauty in every aspect of the world, wore a devilish grin, her eyes sparkling with the energy of a thousand suns, a sight that seemed to have staggered even the enemy's advance. She raised her free hand into the sky, a beam of lightning striking down and arching off her body. She pulled her hand back, then called out "Vile spawns of Chaos! In the name of the God-Emperor, WITNESS YOUR DOOM!"
The arching lightning struck the first man in a gathered group, effectively atomizing him and the next three madmen over, causing the others to collapse to the floor, their brains probably burned-out by the streaming energy. Following her in, the Darcsen girl drew throwing knives and her pistol, engaging with the East Imp troops to her left, while the two Cadian girls armed with Lasguns took the bastards advancing from the front.
Automatic weapon fire from East Imp weapons struck nothingness in front of the woman leading the four-girl team as she stepped forth, a sense of dread overtaking even Audrey as she watched her stride forward. It was like the rounds struck the magnetized air around the woman before they simply broke apart at a molecular level. She stared down a charging madman with a chain-ax and only stopped him as he got close. Her eyes shone with power as she stared at him and Audrey almost threw up as she saw him being squeezed to death by a giant, invisible hand.
He popped like a boil moments after the Psyker had focused on him. His mangled corpse fell onto the dirt in front of Audrey's tank. The blonde commander of the armored division asked "W-What the hell are you doing...?"
The girl turned to her and smiled, "Quite simple, major Gassenarl... I will break their minds and burn their bodies!"
Indeed, the woman strode forth, seemingly joined by another of her kind, who emanated just as much of a nightmarish feeling as she did. They seemed to now play off each-other, keeping themselves mindful of the other's power while, behind them, Ciaphas Cain and his soldiers advanced, lasguns firing into the ranks of charging madmen to close the distance.
Ibram Gaunt followed, a shimmering power blade in his hand as he and his men went in, gunning down the enemy's first wave and slamming into the second. Amy also joined, alongside another Tanith soldier, her Hellgun screaming as she and her comrades fought. The Psyker's mental weaponry tore into the lines as they advanced toward their main target on this front:the Town Hall itself.
The first of the Gallian civilians that had come their way returned with weapons in tow. Black, Imperial-style rifles and liberated Lasguns sat side-by-side with pick-axes, hammers, machetes and other blunt and sharp improvised weapons and City Guard standard weaponry. Among these civilians were Darcsen men, women and even teens, joining with the Auxillia troops, now led by a Commissar Cadet into battle. The surviving Darcsen of the Auxillia that had come out of Barious looked hard as nails, so Audrey saw.
Young men and women, armed with lever-action and bolt-action weapons from the last war, donning bits of armor they stole off the East Imps, including helmets and cuirasses and with makeshift Imperial Aquila pendants around their necks. They stared down the scopes and sights of their weapons, crying out the battle cries of their Cadian brethren joyously, pushing each-other and their friends forward, bayonets affixed as the young female Commissar, a blonde with lilac eyes and long hair, led them forth, a smile on her face and her power cutlass raised high.
Militia troopers, both Darcsen and local alike, firing their weapons and aiding those who fell, no matter their face or creed. A Darcsen beside them raised high a Cadian banner from a fallen bearer as she sat atop the Edelweiss. She was a militia girl, engaged to some kid with glasses and black hair among her squad. Beside them, the First, Second and Third squads of the Third Regiment fought, bayonets affixed and calling out to their brethren. Matthew, son of general Siegfried, and his comrades, sat atop the Dragoon, his own tank, as they led the assault with Squad E and the Hafen fighting close to their right.
They were all here to protect Gallia. Her home... And probably theirs, soon enough.
"Requesting armored support on the Railway Road. We're aiming to take the station, but the enemy is dug in," A Krieg officer took the Major's attention. Gunfire echoed in the background of the com, crackling the system with gunfire and static.
"Roger that, major. I'll redirect as many Lemans as I can to help, but they're all stuck dueling Pact armor dead ahead of us."
"We will wait, Colonel. As the Emperor protects..."
She wrapped her hand around the Valkyrian spiral pendant around her neck, watching as every man and woman here covered each-other's backs. Flicking on her own com, she spoke "This is Major Gassenarl. I am redirecting with an armored company of my Division to assist you, major of the Death Korps," and she grit her teeth, ducking back into her tank and ordering, "Prepare, we're flanking and assisting the Death Korps. Take Able Company with us, leave Baker and Charlie to handle the assault here under the command of Captain Varrot."
"Yes, ma'am," Replied her officers.
Several dozen tanks veered to the right, under the cover of their Cadian and Krieg counterparts. Entering the roads leading to the train station, they found the Krieg and Valhallans engaged neck-deep in the enemy's forces, with the train station still far away. As the tanks loaded high-ex anti-infantry rounds, hellfire started pouring into the False Imps', Severan's and Blood Pact's lines.
Aside from the Gallian tanks' own cannonade, the Death Korps had moved mortars and autocannons up to support their advance. An officer belonging to the Krieg troops halted in front of Audrey's tank and said, "You arrived in time," before looking past her tank and watching as a dozen others slammed into the side of the enemy's defenses. He raised a hand and waved his men forward, before climbing atop Audrey's tank and saying, "Charge, Gallian. Let us show these dogs what it means to mess with the Emperor's sons and daughters."
Without hesitation, she nodded, having her driver turn the tank and face the enemy force. She ducked back in, looking to her gunner and nodding as they rolled forward. Lasguns and weapons of the Korps roared around her. The first rank of the Death Korps slammed into the enemy's line with ferocity, bayonets glistening, stained scarlet by the blood and flesh of their enemy. Their officer cut through the lines, a Chainsword in his right hand and a las-pistol in his left.
The enemy's autocannons fired, rounds scraping on and pinging off the hulls of some of the Gallian tanks. Two tanks lost tracks, a third was hit in the driver's vision port and its entire crew was killed by the spalling shells. It rolled forward and crushed two Severan troops under its treads before coming to a full stop. The only man to make it out of the vehicle was the commander, whose legs were completely fucked as he worked to drag himself out of the vehicle.
Two Death Korps troopers climbed aboard and dragged the man out, with a third, a Watchmaster, coming to check on him. A Militia medic, a girl, came running at their behest to get the man back to their lines, while the Krieg troops poured into the enemy's lines. Audrey and her tanks rolled over the first trench-line, advancing on the building, with Cadians now also joining the assault.
She chose to dismount, leaving her tank to the command of another crewman, before taking her short-barrel Gallian rifle out of the tank with her and jumping to join the Guardsmen. The building was a medium-sized combination of office buildings and a large waiting hall with a railyard far in the back, where trains were awaiting to be assigned a rail and route.
Audrey breached the first door with a squad of Cadian troopers and her rifle took the first life. As she entered, she found a second man inside, charging her with an ax. She couldn't raise her weapon fast enough, but the Krieg soldier that had just moved inside put three bolts into the soldier's chest, dropping him dead. A Blood Pact trooper, Audrey figured.
Door to door, face to face, the troops cleared the building, advancing from floor to floor of the four stories the place had, lasguns blaring and blades slashing flesh. Gallian infantry and the scratch companies of Militia had joined the ranks of the Imperial Guard and Audrey's own assault, one of the latter bearing a Gallian flag with her, alongside a handgun. She was a Darcsen, but Audrey nodded to her still. They were comrades in arms.
Kicking in the door to the rooftop, the Guard and co were met by heavy lasfire. One of the Death Korps troopers that'd come with them fell prey to at least a dozen lasgun shots, while a scratch trooper behind him took one single bolt to the head and dropped dead, followed by a dozen more wounded with varying degrees of damage. Fragmentation grenades and even two Krak bombs were thrown onto the roof and a staggering sixteen detonations, two of which shattering parts of the roof, echoed.
Following that, three Kriegers, two Cadians, Audrey and five Gallians, two from the Army and three from the Militia here, ran through the door and emptied their magazines and las-packs into the survivors with little remorse. The echoes of gun fire began to dull down around them as the sun shined through the clouds, an orange light on the horizon. Hanging over the Town Hall and the Rail Station were Gallian flags, with soldiers of all rank and file of the troops protecting them.
Some Imperial troops, those not driven crazy by the Blood Pact, had surrendered and thrown aside their weapons, which the Darcsen volunteers gladly collected to rearm themselves. Several Darcsen scratch companies joined up with their comrades within the Auxillia force of Darcsens among Colonel Telos's and Stern's men. Audrey watched as their own soldiers, of the Army, shook hands with the Guardsmen and nodded to them. If anything, she'd made sure her unit remained the most competent that Gallia's would have. Still...
She gazed over to Matt, who was saying goodbye to Ibram Gaunt and Ciaphas Cain, alongside their regiments and the Federation. He thanked them for their help and both men and their troops seemed humble enough, smiling at the boy. They saluted each-other and then the units dispersed. She sighed, standing up and going to her own men. The casualty list needed to be made.
Matias, meanwhile, looked over to see Squad E's commander, Claude Wallace, talking to the man whom he had come to know as ambassador Townshend. The man looked none too pleased with the situation they were discussing, but seemed cordial enough as he left. He approached Claude, then asked "Something the matter, First Lieutenant?" to which Claude jumped.
"Oh, colonel..." He hummed, "No, sir, nothing."
"The ambassador seemed pretty disappointed with your talk," Matt remarked.
"He wanted us to do a mission here later on in the Summer. I don't know the details, but I said no anyways... We're needed at the Front Line more than here, honestly."
"That's fair. Thank you for your assistance," Matt offered, "I'm sure the Lieutenant and Captain Varrot already said this, but you've proven yourselves able to cooperate," And he eyed Rosie and Raz actually chatting, grinning, laughing and exchanging drinks. Claude nodded as he, too, looked at the Sevens interacting with Squad E, including Isara's exchange of tech ideas with Riley.
"You guys ain't so bad either," Claude offered, "We didn't know there'd be more Guard regiments around, though... Not after what the Commissars told us."
"Yes, well..." Matt smiled, "Neither did we think we'd see some of the greatest of the Imperium's heroes among us."
"They big?" Claude asked.
"Oh, yes. My own commissar and his friend, Amy, are both of Tanith descent, much like most of Colonel-Commissar Gaunt's regiment and Commissar Cain is a very familiar subject to study in the Scholae Progenium, our officer schools. His escapades are many and varied and his fighting prowess, alongside that of the 597th, are second to none," Matt offered, "Ask them of it. I'm sure they'll gladly answer of their campaigns."
Claude chuckled, "Alright then, Colonel. Thanks for having us... You guys and gals take care of our home, alright?"
"We will do so, even after you come back," Matt nodded, "I have developed a liking for Gallia, after all. As I'm sure most of my men have."
"Good to hear... Well, I oughta go say goodbye to Welkin and the others... And drag Kai out of Alicia's baking area," Smirked the boy, garnering a chuckle out of Matt. He nodded and the two bid goodbye to each-other, with Matt turning to say goodbye to Audrey. He found her sitting at a desk in the main hall of the place. Leaning against the door,he watched as she finished up the casualties list. She looked up.
"Ah, Colonel..." She stood up, seemingly sad, "Came to say goodbye?"
"Until we come to assist in repelling the Dillsburg bridgehead," Matt nodded, "How many?" and he tilted his head to the list. She raised three fingers. Three hundred dead in the fighting, of her own division. That stung a bit, but alas, "My condolences."
"You?"
"Two," He replied.
"Dozen, I presume," She laughed sadly.
"Hundred. Two companies got caught by an ambush while clearing a row of houses near the Hall. Rockets, tanks and infantry almost wiped out half of one of them. The other had Hellhound flame tanks, though... Made sure there were no civilians in the area before they torched that row of houses clean," He replied rather dismissively, noticing her expression shift from slight contempt to an apologetic look. He waved it off and said, "You fought well... Both you and your men."
"Thank you. Same to you and yours," She nodded.
"Far outdid Damon, that's for sure," He smirked. She chuckled.
"A very low bar to clear, but do not let him hear I said that, lest I be demoted again."
"My lips are sealed," He nodded, "Anyways... We shall see each-other at Dillsburg, but first, I and my men need to replenish ammo and I need to check on the Sisters of Battle and the Techpriests' work," before offering an extended hand and the proverbial olive branch. She gripped his hand and shook it, nodding as she packed her own kit. The two then left the building together, turned to one-another... And saluted each-other respectfully, in front of the gathered allied units.
Matt and his troops had mounted their transports and tanks and began their long trek back home alongside the wounded Third Regiment. They were joined by Inquisitor Vail and her retinue, of course. The woman waved a sad goodbye to a tired-looking Ciaphas Cain and Gaunt, while the Darcsen Volunteers to the Imperial Guard had been joined by at least two hundred new recruits, all of whom sat atop the Chimeras now, waving to their fellow citizens of Utrecht.
It was going to be a long trip home...