Squad 7 and the command company of the First Youth had lagged behind the main force of the convoy as night fell. Ace and Amy had taken the lead, with Colin staying behind only to ensure that his Commissars kept the peace between the newly-introduced Darcsen volunteers and the rest of the Regiment. Indeed, the Darcsen had tagged along purely out of their desire to offer themselves to the ranks of the Guard and their brethren in the Auxillia. Matt had accepted them with wide open arms. He had all the information he needed, all of the people he needed. The Darcsen Corps would become a standard part of their army the moment they made it back home and he could sign the paperwork.
Now, sat atop his tank as it rolled forward alongside the Edelweiss, the young man was in the early stages of falling asleep. Above them, in the darkening sky, the clouds of a storm gathered. A snowstorm, if what the Lieutenant had said was to be believed. A snowstorm in the middle of the Emperor-damned summer. The boy didn't really wanna believe it at first, but here he was, with his command company, marching out back home just as the first flake of snow fell.
He sighed, then grabbed his Vox mic and spoke "All vehicles, halt and prep for the snow. Elaine, take whoever you need and give us a perimeter check."
He had a feeling...
Climbing off of the Hammer of Faith after they'd halted in a small clearing, he watched as Isara brought up the Edelweiss and parked it. She and her brother climbed out, while a platoon of Cadian troopers disembarked, alongside Elaine's own, from Chimera transports and the Gallians, from their Halftracks. The boy ordered his crew off the Superheavy, so they could get some rest too. The Cadian then looked to his favored Scout team, all of whom gave nods to him as they stepped off, clad in long overcoats and with scarves wrapped around their necks.
Several of the Sevens also donned more winterized clothing now, meant to stave off the cold of the upcoming storm. They were in a fairly elevated position in Kloden, but not tall enough for it to be mountainous, like the Diebal area where Elaine had gone to save that Darcsen village. He, too, donned his own overcoat and wrapped a scarf around his neck, watching as even more flakes began to fall.
"Snow in the midst of Summer," Murmured the boy, "I shouldn't be surprised, should I? We're far to the North..."
"Honestly, it's a rarity," Welkin piped up, approaching him, "Doesn't mean we don't get to catch it, though."
Matt chuckled, "Indeed. I doubt it'll stick, though."
"Yeah. How're you feeling, colonel?" He raised a brow.
"I'm decent enough. What about you, Lieutenant?"
"Just fine," The man nodded. The two watched as the snowfall began to intensify. The wind itself picked up quite rapidly, going by how the leaves were being rustled. He hummed, looking over to Isara and Alicia as they talked, while Rosie seemed to be heating up a meal pack with the rest of the squad and some of the Cadian kids, including Amy's own Kasrkin.
"It still awes me that weather like this can happen," Matt added.
"Weather's unpredictable as far North as we are..." Welkin replied, "But yeah, I agree... Something's off about it."
The two hummed, staring over the edge of the road they were travelling on. Below them, there were two things:a small river running perpendicular to the road itself and against the cliffs and a small clearing that led past and over the river via some rickety bridges. Matt hummed, watching as the thin layer of snow began to coat the ground and their vehicles, before asking "Any idea when it may let up?"
"Well, it's a weak storm..." Welkin shrugged, "Listen, Colonel... I have something to ask you. It's been bugging me since Alicia brought it up."
"Go ahead."
"How're you and my sister?"
The question had caught the Colonel as off-balance as one would expect. The young man struggled to suppress the burning he felt in his cheeks, his breath hitching in his throat and causing a hoarse cough. Welkin chuckled, a hint concerned over the fact that Alicia's beliefs may well have been proven true just through that reaction alone. Still, he sighed and said "Listen, Colonel, Isara is old enough to know what she can and can't do. She's also well aware of how life can be, considering her Darcsen heritage."
The Colonel now stared into the eyes of a man, a brother whose concern for his young sister was the most important thing to him. The stare was intense enough that Matt felt well aware of what was coming next. He replied before Welkin could say another thing, "I know, Lieutenant. Don't worry. I don't intend anything harmful toward your sister. We just happen to get along very well... Perhaps more than well," he murmured hopefully.
"I see..." Welkin hummed, then approached the young man. He was about a forehead taller than the boy, but he was clad in way less armor. Still, that didn't matter. He seemed caring enough as an adoptive brother, to the point that even the good Matias Telos knew not to mess with him. He didn't want to harm anyone, especially not Welkin Gunther or his sister. Their regiments had grown fond of one-another through the trials and tribulations of warfare. So Welkin only had one thing to ask. "Can you keep her safe, Matt? I'm not asking this as a Lieutenant talking to a Colonel, I'm asking this as a boy worried for his sister's sake talking to another boy who seems to care for her. Can you promise me that whatever happens, you can keep her safe from harm?"
Taken aback for a moment by the seemingly heartfelt request. He hummed, then nodded, "May I be damned to the ninth circle of Hell if I fail to protect her..."
Welkin nodded, then sighed, his heart and mind more at ease. He smiled, "Well, I think you can call me Welkin, then... If you're alright with me calling you Matt."
"Certainly," Matt smiled. The two shook hands just as two pairs of footsteps came from their right. Both turned to face Alicia and Isara coming in to talk to them. Meanwhile, Marina had plopped herself down not far from them, checking on her bolt-action rifle under the watch of a young Cadian. The guy, at most two years younger than her, despite being part of the 'First Youth', stared from behind his pair of orange-tinted goggles as the tall sharpshooter girl disassembled her armament.
She hummed, knowing full-well she was being stared at. She paused, gasped and stood up, rifle and parts in hand, before calling out "MORTARS!" as a whistle echoed all around them. The first detonation she witnessed knocked the commanders of their little force and Isara down and off the edge. The next shell struck near to the Cadian Superheavy, wounding two Cadian crewmen and a third struck right beside her and the Cadian, knocking both of them off their feet and over the edge.
She grit her teeth, letting the rifle fly out of her hand alongside its parts as she grasped for something solid on the cliff, finding naught but snow. Her fall was broken by a few branches before she managed to land in a pile of snow. Groaning, she stared up at the way she had passed through, pushing herself into a seated position and looking to her left. Knocked out on the floor was the young Cadian officer, his left arm twisted and broken.
She swore, slowly staggering to her feet as gun fire echoed from above them, then checked her wristwatch, to see about half an hour had passed "Damn..." she murmured... Staring up, she saw the cliff face they'd fallen down and the tracers passing through the wood of the railing. Sighing, she felt her body for a weapon and found only her knife. Pulling her own scarf over her face, the girl moved to the Cadian kid, flipping him over and immediately grabbing what little Ragnaid she had, alongside some annoyingly wet, thick sticks and some bandages to make a splint for his arm. She also quickly bandaged his left eye. A small cut above it was bleeding.
As she was doing so, the boy woke up. His hand wrapped around the grip of his las-pistol, a standard-issue for Guard officers, before he met her gaze. The girl nodded to him, showing him to calm down, before stating "Looks like you took the worst of the blast... Can you walk?"
He nodded, "A bit... Discombobulated, but I... I should be fine... Get me up, Gallian."
She nodded, hefting the boy in Flak armor up, before looking around. He hummed, then said "If you don't have a weapon, take my Lasgun... Can't really use it with the broken arm," And he tilted his head toward where the weapon had implanted itself into the snow. The girl walked over to it, stumbling over the snow, before grabbing it by the foregrip. She'd expected something heavy, considering its shape and size, but found it to be more lightweight than the stuff they carried.
"Emperor preserve me..." He murmured, watching the girl shoulder it and look it over. He stepped up to her, then pulled a few charge packs off his belt and said "Slide these into your pouches... Extra ammunition. I don't know how much I have left in that charge pack, since I did not get to change it before we left the city..." then stumbled forward. The girl caught him by the collar.
He nodded, "Thanks... I'm..."
"A bit wobbly," Marina noted, "I get it..." She was too, to be quite honest, though she managed to conceal it better due to the training her father had given her, "C'mon... We have to find a way back up to meet with the others," she offered, readying the lasgun. The soldier nodded and the two began their trek through the thick snow that had somehow gathered during their little naptime. Marina had a Lasgun. Her rifle was gone, but she had what she needed to finish the job and keep the others safe. The Snowstorm would be their cover.
... Meanwhile, Isara stirred. She felt the chilling bite of wind over the top of her head and the warmth of what felt like a campfire, causing her shuddering. She grinded her teeth as she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling, above all else, the jacket draped over her shoulders. She opened her eyes, seeing the cold stone floor of a cave ahead of her. On the walls, a flickering orange light danced, casting shadows upon the rocks on which parts of her own clothing were drying, her shoal included.
She gasped, her cheeks reddening. Turning, she saw Matt sat across from her, left in nothing but a short-sleeved shirt with only his breastplate covering him. He breathed a sigh of relief, then said "Thank the Emperor, Is... You're okay. I thought you'd freeze before I got the fire started..." staring with a pair of worried lilac eyes right into her own dark-blue ones.
The girl slowly straightened up, approaching the fire. She was sat opposite of him and found herself actually covered by his jacket. She hummed, curling herself up and wrapping the jacket tightly around herself as she realized she was uhm... Underdressed. Thankfully she still had the bottom layer on, so that was something, but... "Did... You...?"
"I had to..." He blushed, turning to the clothes, "You fell into the river. Barely caught you in time."
She noticed a mark, a wound on his forehead that was bleeding and gasped, "Are you okay?"
He hummed, then turned to the girl. With a chuckle, he said "When I dived to catch you from out of the water before the current washed you away, I may or may not have slammed my head onto a rock," as he felt the wound. He wiped the blood on his index onto the floor, then added "I'll be fine... Concussions are a common part of Cadian training, so... I'm more worried about you, though."
He was clearly trying not to stare, like the gentleman he seemed to be. She smiled, then stated "I'll be alright. I'm no longer cold, at least."
"Good... Good..." Sighed the boy, rubbing his eyes. She hummed, noticing the somewhat more pale tone his skin had taken. It was probably due to the wound and the cold. Poor boy probably had to have carried her all the way over. She looked to the wound on his head, to see blood dripping down the side of his face. With a sigh, the girl stumbled to her feet, walked up to his backpack and started scouring through it as he sat there, eyes still closed.
She found what she was looking for:a personal medical pack which contained some disinfectant with a strong alcoholic smell, a rag and some bandages. She then walked up to and sat beside him, pouring a bit of the cool alcohol-heavy substance on the rag. She warned, "This may sting a little..." before putting it against the cut. The boy winced, breathing in through gritted teeth.
"I think the pills here are painkillers, right?" She asked, scouring through the pack as she held the cold compress to his head. The boy opened his eyes, to see the girl lifting a pack of white pills with no label. He nodded in answer and she smiled, bandaging the cleaned wound. She popped the cap open, took the boy's canteen and handed it and a pair of pills to him. She said, "This'll help."
"Thanks," He nodded, smiling. Awkwardly, he took the pills and gulped them down with about a fourth of his canteen in one go. He extended the tin to the girl, who took it and reluctantly took a sip, a healthy blush now on her face. Matt didn't know what she was thinking and, frankly, it was probably for the best that he didn't. He, instead, offered, "There should be some ration packs in there too," as soon as he heard the rumble of her stomach.
She coughed, a droplet of water caught in her throat, then nodded rapidly. Matt blushed too, like some lovesick kid, as he finally realized how close she was. The moment she turned back around and handed him a ration bar, they almost bumped into each-other. Stumbling with words that neither could hear from the other, the two popped open the ration bars, surprisingly chocolate ones, and started eating to avoid having to actually engage in a normal convo.
Outside, the storm still raged on, for some reason or other. Never had there been an actual explanation as to why the snow was here, but Matt wasn't sure he wanted to question it. He was stuck with the cutest girl he'd ever seen in his life and less than an hour ago, her brother told him he's fine with them getting to know each-other. If his head wasn't spinning before, it sure was now. Perhaps it was the concussion, or perhaps it was just him being so not-versed in actually liking girls that he felt stupid for even trying to consider the possibility.
Meanwhile, Isara was pretty much in the same boat. Welkin had gone to Matt to talk to him about... Something... She never got to ask what they did talk about before that mortar shell knocked them off their feet, but she figured it must've been something relating to them. Alicia and the others had been giving her looks and smiles every time they saw her going to talk to Matt. She was, however, bad at forming these kinds of relationships. She'd never had any sort of interest in boys before this. Beside the fact many were jerks for the simple fact she was a Darcsen, Matt was... He was as alien to her as she must've been to him.
Ugh... Why is this so awkward? The two thought simultaneously, munching down on the ration bars and blushing.
This was like a bad romcom book or comic.
At least Marina and that young trooper didn't have to deal with this kind of situation. The two trekked on forward through the forest, their feet digging into the snow, thin layers of it coating the girl's hair. The young man, part of the higher officer cadre of the Imperial Guard regiment, had wanted to talk to her. She raised a balled fist, however, showing him to halt. He took a knee beside her, next to a tree, while she scoped in something through the snow.
"You can see through all of this?" Whispered the boy, Las-pistol at the ready. She nodded, showing him to be quiet. Ahead of them, through the snow, they were hearing the creaking of boots. The girl squinted, looking down the notch of the iron-sights. As the first man emerged ahead of her, she squeezed off twice. A lasbolt punched through his skull, melting through the helmet and dropping him to the floor. His comrade dropped next, a conscript cap flying off his head as he got scalped by the shot.
"Patrol," Marina whispered, slowly moving toward the troopers' corpses and past them. She looked down below, at the vanishing bootmarks, then stated, "Only two for now. They're probably searching for the rest of our forces..."
The Trooper seemed almost dumbfound at the sight. The woman had shot them before they even got through the thick of the snowstorm. She'd landed two headshots. May he be damned, she was a crack shooter, wasn't she? He moved up to her side, scanning the area around them as Marina checked the 'ammo count' of her current power cell. Probably still enough for a couple more bastards.
She nodded to him, then showed him to follow. She took to the trail of the enemy's bootmarks, probably in hope of finding the base camp. How so much snow had gathered so suddenly, the soldier didn't know, but it seemed to be inconsequential to the sniper girl as she advanced. The man watched with awe as the girl dropped onto her belly and began to crawl up to a fallen tree.
She listened in as he joined her in the cover, trying to hear movement from the East Imp side. In the distance, despite the howling of winds, gunfire still echoed. Their comrades still fought and fought proudly, clearly. She jumped as she heard the snap-crack of a las-bolt, then turned to see the man had killed a Severan trooper. A very ugly-looking Severan trooper, with nasty wounds and headache-inducing markings plastered over his standard ones.
Marina looked to him, then nodded, "Thanks."
"My pleasure," The boy nodded, "We never got to introduce ourselves. I'm Ilven."
"Marina," She answered.
"Good to meet you. Now, let's go," He stated, "We may still be able to assist our comrades."
"Their camp's that way," Marina pointed in the exact direction the boy had started, "I can hear the movement a mile away," And she pulled the half-empty charge pack from the rifle, replacing it with a fresh one. The two took off on a quick march through the snow, with Marina scouting for the perfect position to perch herself onto. As the time passed and the gunfire drew closer to them, the snowstorm started to pass enough that they had some amount of visibility.
Finding an elevated position, Marina took out her binoculars and settled in between two fallen trees and a standing one while Ilven stood guard farther back. Through the binoculars, the girl could see an East Imp company and a FOB, with about a platoon's worth of Severan infantry, as well as a single tank. Their officers milled about, barking orders at their troops and unaware of the shooter in an elevated position.
Following up on the Severan, there was more troops coming in through the forestry, joining in. The targets they were engaging happened to be Squad 7 and the command corp of the Cadians, shots going to and fro, deafening both sides to the Sniper that had perched herself in a perfect position to shoot. She hummed, thumbing the las-rifle and setting it up for hot-shot.
She eyed one enemy officer in particular, a man clad in a more gold-covered uniform and hauling a battle-axe of some kind. She hummed, focusing her sights on him while others charged forth to meet the allied Cadian-Gallian force. She squeezed and the man's head popped like an ugly zit, spraying blood over the other enemy troopers. Marina soon re-aligned her rifle and snapped off another shot. Another officer, a lieutenant in red armor, dropped, missing his head. Following up, Marina took out a sniper preparing to fire at them from atop one of the base's watchtowers.
Three shots, relocation. She waved to Ilven and showed him to follow. They scrambled over logs and through thickly-packed snow, stopping just behind the enemy's base. An enemy patrol of around a dozen imps was coming back. Marina took them in their sights and squeezed off three shots, dropping three bastards with rounds right between the eyes. She watched as Ilven poked up with his las pistol and fired, scorching a Severan trooper and leaving a nasty gash across the man's chest.
Marina dropped another of the men as they took cover behind trees, snow and just about anything else they could get behind. There was still enough snowfall to cover her and Ilven's relocation to another position, so she took this time to outflank the bastards. She stopped near by a tree as bullets started spraying into the snow near her old position. Their officer was in her sights. His boiled grey matter splattered the snow long before their Sniper got a bead on Marina.
Marina got a bead on said sniper next. Her rifle snapped and cracked, snow boiling around the muzzle as the barrel glowed a harsh red. The round punctured clean through the glass of the scope, practically intensified by the glass, before it punched through the man's right eye and killed him on the spot. She followed up, crawling over to a new position while Ilven moved to distract a second patrol with a grenade and his las-pistol in hand. The girl popped two more with incredible precision before the third managed to zero in on her position and start firing.
Despite the bullets whizzing by Marina's ear, the girl remained composed, zeroing in on the shock trooper sergeant that led the enemy team via his muzzle flashes. Another squeeze of the trigger and a deep hiss as snow melted around the barrel and the man dropped with a muffled crunch of red-and-black snow. A few of the patrol's members had managed to return to the FOB and join the attack on their beleaguered comrades. Marina still had a few more to deal with. The ones that Ilven kept pinned down.
The snowfall seemed to thin ever more now, giving Marina good visibility. Like a lone wolf, she used her positioning and ability to move to knock down several more Imps, among which the officer of the squad moving toward Ilven. The boy kept them pinned with fire from his las pistol, before holstering said pistol and grabbing a frag grenade off his belt. Hefting it with all his might, he tossed it high. With a wide arch, the primed grenade landed between an Imperial Gunner, who was utilizing his LMG to pin Marina down now, and his ammo carrier. The detonation made swift work of them, allowing Marina to now reposition safely.
She knelt behind a fallen tree, scoping in two men who were lined up and now firing at Ilven. She fired, clean through the first one's heart and the second one's head. She quickly redirected her aim toward a Lancer with a mortar lance and shot. The lasbolt hit one of the four mortar rounds on the man's belt, detonating with a daisy-chain reaction that washed the remaining men with shrapnel and forced them out of cover.
With the last five shots in her current charge pack, Marina aligned and fired at each, leaving five more bodies in the snow. Switching out the charge packs again, she approached Ilven and nodded. The boy looked at the smoldering barrel of the weapon, then said "Maybe you should let it cool down for a bit..." before he saw her ram the weapon's tip into the snow, causing steam to form and waft up in front of them as the gun cooled, then murmured, "Or that..." and realized he was gonna have a good ol' prayer to the Machine Spirit on the next maintenance check.
"C'mon," Marina grabbed him by the collar and dashed back to a position from where she could overlook the FOB. She scanned the enemy forces first, then looked for a path around to join in with their squad. She saw it, then looked to him and motioned to that path and said "Go. I'll pick more of them off from over here..." as she pointed out the free path around to him.
"Emperor damn, girl, calm down," The Cadian murmured, "You could get outflanked without me around."
Marina hummed, looking over to her right as she saw movement, then she shook her head, "I'll be fine," then she turned to him. He sighed, well aware that arguing with anyone at this point was counterproductive. He patted her on the shoulder, then nodded before scrambling to reach the path. The girl shouldered the Cadian's weapon, scoping in her first target:A madman with an axe that was charging Edy.
She glared at the man, before snapping off a shot that sent him tumbling to the floor, headless, in front of Edy. The girl gasped, following the faint trail of the shot. She smiled at Marina, then waved. Marina gave a small wave back, before repositioning. Something tracked her from behind. She was acutely aware of it. In fact, she welcomed it. If it moved away, it meant more Imp patrols were coming. She took her position again and aimed.
On the ground, Edy called out "Cadian, coming through!" as she watched Ilven descending, firing his las pistol at the enemy. She said, "Guy looks hurt! We got a medic!?"
"Coming up!" A Cadian Medicae said as he and one of the sisters ran up. He took a knee beside Ilven and asked "Everything running smooth, boss?"
"Very..." Ilven smirked, pulling down his mask. He then looked to Rosie and Largo and called out "One of your snipers is over there, picking off enemy officers and halting patrols!" And he pointed a finger Marina's way. Largo and Rosie were immediately and acutely aware of who this sniper was. Catherine was to their left, having been hit by an enemy counter-sniper in the shoulder.
"Well, shit..." Rosie murmured, firing her SMG from cover, "Talk about luck."
"Good thing Marina's around," Largo nodded, "Now, if only we could find the bossman, sarge and the kids..."
"They'll turn up!" Susie said from next to Catherine as she fired her rifle, "They always do!"
"She's right," Rosie nodded, reloading her SMG, "They always freakin' do."
Even though Rosie would never admit it, she was concerned for all four of them. Even Isara, the little Darkie. She was starting to be quite fond of her and her teammates, no matter their heritage. Sure, she had a bone to pick with Darcsen for very specific and good-in her eyes, at least-reasons. She watched as another Imp, this one wielding a rifle with a bayonet, got shot through the back of the head, dropping dead. Marina was doing work, to nobody's surprise. The squad, meanwhile, needed to keep the enemy distracted.
"Colin!" Amy called out as she took Rosie's side.
"Good to have you back, major! Did you find Elaine, or the Colonel, Sergeant and Lieutenant?" The man asked, firing his bolt pistol indiscriminately into the advancing battalion-strength force. Beside her, Elaine had formed up, lasgun in hand and a bandage over her bleeding eye, while her squad followed suit, hauling Stubbers and lasguns up to join. Otherwise, nobody else came. With a murmured swear in Tanith escaping his lips, Colin reminded himself of where he was, square in the middle of military action, with his people needing a leader.
He called out, "Stop for nothing! Shoot until your barrels glow!"
Indeed, they still had a war to fight. A long battle ahead of them... He gritted his teeth, "And for the Emperor's sake, someone rally a search and rescue party! We cannot move without the officers or corporal Gunther!" then he raised his bolt pistol and fired twice. He didn't want to show weakness to his soldiers. He cared for his friends deeply, the good Commissar did, but he needed to be focused. Let the enemy drown in the vengeful hellfire of the Imperium's guns and of Gallia's troops.
Damn the traitors to hell...