Lasgun fire laced checkerboard patterns across the thick bark of the tree Edy had taken cover besides. The hook-like beak of one of their newly-acquainted enemies' masks flashed as the muzzle of the enemy gun lit the night. She swore to herself as she ducked back behind the tree, praying to whatever was listening up there that the bastards wouldn't be able to punch through this thick a trunk. Turning to her left, she saw Rosie poking out from behind a low stone wall next to the road they and their vehicles had been stuck on since the Ambush started, then asked "What the hell did we do to piss off these guys!?"

"Being friends with the kids, I'd assume!" Rosie laughed, shouldering her SMG and firing. Shards of wood splintered off the trunk the bastard that was keeping Edy pinned was hiding behind. She dropped her empty magazine and slapped in a fresh one, locking the bolt into place with a slap. She waved two Cadian kids forward while Edy opened up, providing the suppressing fire needed.

The kids, Elaine and some of her squad, bounded over to Rosie, running and gunning. Elaine slid into position beside Rosie, shouldering her lasgun and stating "Auspex speaks of more coming our way!"

"You see anything when you went to scout?! Artillery, mortars, whatever the hell they're shelling us with!?" Rosie barked, before ducking as another explosion flashed in front of them, sending specks of dust and shards of stone into their faces and their cover. Elaine shook her head. They'd had to retreat when the first shots started flying and they'd damn near lost their new Vox Operator. Speaking of...

She turned to the girl and waved to her. She was hidden behind the carcass of a fallen tree that was covered with moss, but she took off under covering fire from her squad and joined Elaine, flat on her belly, next to Rosie and Edy, before stating, "Vox channels are still jammed! We can't get through to either the rest of the Third Regiment or our own two forces!"

"Let us pray the Death Korps and our men notice our tardiness and send for us, then! Else, I feel we'll be long gone!" Elaine quipped. She scoped in an Imperial soldier and snapped off a shot, before watching as another one of the masked Blood Pact soldiers had their head splattered clean across the snow below. She traced the las-bolt to where it'd come from and saw Marina, armed with a Lasgun. She smirked.

Then she ducked as a laser bolt singed her helmet.

"Mother fu-!" Largo was cut off as a Krak Missile exploded inches from him, splintering the belly of a tree and sending pieces of shrapnel flying around. One eviscerated the gut of one of the other Cadian Lieutenants, causing the kid to literally and figuratively lose his guts. The only thing deafening his blood-curdling screams was the sound of the heavy bolters of the Baneblade firing into the tree-line. Largo yelled out, "MEDIC! We got a kid that was hit bad over here!" as the Mortar Lancers, Yoko and Jan, lobbed shells into the dark of the forest ahead.

Like clockwork, Mina had come out to help the guy. She gasped, eyes wide, as she watched the boy struggling to keep himself 'whole' to some degree. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him behind cover as las-bolts flew over their heads. Behind said cover, a bush and another mossy stone wall, the girl went to work in trying to sow the kid back together.

She watched as a Medicae joined her, tossing aside his leather gloves and putting his hands into the boy's innards. He looked to her, then yelled "That Ragnaid thing! Do you have any!?"

She rapidly nodded, pulling a hose off her medical pack and handing it to the man. He squeezed on the nozzle and watched as the restorative blue mist worked its magic on somewhat sealing the wound. He nodded to her, then ordered, "Bottom left of my pack! Sewing kit! We gotta close this wound and drag his ass into the Baneblade if we want him to survive!"

Another Cadian kid took a lasbolt right between the eyes, followed by a second who took three bullets. Both dropped, though the latter was alive and fighting off shock as she crawled toward the Medicae and the low wall. She poked her gun up over and opened fire blindly on full auto, before stating "Keep working on him! He's gonna need you more than me!" and tilting her head to the kid whose gut wound was currently being sown by the Medicae. Mina must've instinctively gone to try and help her, but she was a strong girl. And a perceptive one.

"FUCK!" Nat cursed from farther along the line as she dipped behind cover, feeling her shoulder. A rifle round had punctured the armor plate somehow, but did little in the way of damage outside of breaking the strap. Monyka, meanwhile, focused on keeping a barrier up around a few more of the wounded, which Gina and Fina had dragged here and were tending to. Saoirse angrily fired her weapon on full auto, her azure eyes glistening with hatred as she singed tree, shrub and foe alike. Yuri, meanwhile, had her knife and her sidearm drawn, her blade still broken from the engagement with the Necron.

She shuddered, then continued to plink at the enemy with 9mm. She did manage to nail a couple of the hook-nosed beak helmet folks, as well as a Severan trooper who had seemed more bloody than usual. Perhaps it was just her eyes playing tricks in the night, but God-Emperor damn was that man redder than what she'd normally come to expect from them.

"If this isn't fucked I don't know what is!" Jane complained from beside her before she tore open a bandage with her teeth and wrapped it around a hole in her thigh. She lifted her SMG and fired the whole magazine, "FUCK OFF AND GIVE US A BREAK, YOU BASTARDS! WE ALREADY WASTED ENOUGH AMMO BATTLING YOUR SOUTHERN THRUST!" and she gasped as a beam scratched the corner of her right eye. Grabbing onto it, she swore, then cried through the pain, "AND I JUST REDID THAT EYELINER! BASTARDS!"

"Emperor above, girl, quit whining and keep firing!" Monyka growled, watching lasbolts dissipate off her barrier.

"You alright over there, Mony?" Nat asked as she slid in a fresh charge pack, her three other empty ones sat by her side on the torn trunk of a tree. The girl nodded, a bead of sweat running down from her brow as she maintained her focus on the barrier. Nat nodded, offering a smile, before she gasped and cried "DUCK! MORTAR BARRAGE!" as the next whistling of shells echoed around them.

The wash of explosions pricked at their skin, shrapnel flying off or embedding itself into flak jackets and the plates, causing no real physical damage to anyone else and dirt kicking up, caking the wounded and the still-standing in it. Susie and Homer, two of the team's blondes and ones that Mony and the others were partially familiar with, ran up with boxes of ammo slung under their arms, in their hands and on their backs.

Homer fished out a pair of magazines from his box and handed them to Jane and Freesia, who had been silent so far, focusing on taking out whatever she saw running at them through the woods. He said to the ladies, his voice low, "We'll be back with more ammo... Sorry again, Susie."

"It's fine, Homer," The blonde with a pink bow smiled at the boy. She pulled one of the boxes from under her armpits and opened it, revealing two stacks of Charge Packs. She handed a couple to Nat, who offered the girl a thumbs up before turning back to engage. A las-round slammed into her helmet and made her head snap back. She damn near died there.

A yelp later and Yuri was already all over the girl. She picked her up, then yelled "Nat! Nat, are you okay?!" as she saw the las-bolt had left a deep gorge on the right side of the helmet, one that was still smoldering from the hit. The pink-haired shock trooper, meanwhile, blinked, her vision blurry after the whiplash she'd received. As it cleared and her ears ceased ringing, or at least subsided just enough for her to hear, she heard Yuri pleading and also saw her.

The pink girl blushed, noticing the distance between their faces, then pushed Yuri off and said "Dammit, Yuri, I'm fine!" before clawing at her helmet's straps. She released it, assessed the damage and felt that side of her head. Thankful she didn't feel a burn mark, she tossed the helmet aside and slid back into cover, before looking to the Darcsen Fencer that'd come to check up on her, a blush on her face... Nat blushed too, averting her gaze, before stating, "Seriously! I'm fine! Maybe a bit shaken!"

She murmured a 'Thanks for the worries' that went unheard as Yuri contently returned to her spot and continued to fire. She then looked back, to see another section of the Command Platoon coming up. Heavy weapon teams were still a big part of the Mixed Regiment's supporting force. They were a dime a dozen in numbers, but would be invaluable now. Especially those being urged forth by Colin, who was atop the Baneblade, firing his pistol and waving his sword menacingly at the foe, while Amy and her Kasrkin were Emperor-knew-where.

The first three-man team set down the tripod, mounted the autocannon onto it and loaded the ammunition in under two seconds as bullets sparked off the plate shield. The gunner took position behind the weapon, looking down the weapon's specialized sights and switching them to thermal, before calling out to his team, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" loud enough for, at least, the others to hear. While Gina and Fina ducked in cover and shielded their wounded, the others did their best to stay as low as possible or duck.

The cannonade began. Spent casings from the forty-millimeter autocannon fell, embedding themselves into the thinning layer of snow. Flakes of said snow were kicked up by the muzzle flash of the massive gun and frag rounds hammered into the enemy line, killing two and three-man groups of enemies and illuminating the silhouettes of others, which gave a clear sight picture to the Guardsmen and the Baneblade's heavy bolters. Following that up, a heavy Las-Cannon whirred and purred before a beam of deep teal lit the area ahead, slamming into an enemy light tank.

"ENEMY ARMOR!" Edy called out from the front, "LIGHT TANKS AND SEVERAN LEMAN RUSSES, COMING IN!"

... Oh, this wasn't gonna be easy, was it?

"FALL BACK! GET BEHIND OUR OWN TANKS!" Largo barked, hoisting his AT lance and firing blindly into the line.

In the cave where Matt and Isara had taken to hiding, the young man was already donning his armor again. The sound of the firefight was distant, but it echoed all the way over here, meaning that the troops had met the enemy face to face. He dared peek as the girl put on her damp clothes too, before seeing her stumble. He gasped, turning and managing to keep her on her feet. Worriedly, he asked "Are you well?"

"My ankle..." The girl winced, "I think I twisted it when we fell..."

"Damn..." The boy murmured, "Sit down. I'll find my medical kit and see if I can't get something for the swelling."

She nodded, watching the boy as he searched his backpack for the kit itself. He fished it out of the rearmost pocket, set the pack aside and took a knee, looking over the bruised ankle. He hummed, then said, relief in his voice palpable, "It's just sprained... And not bad enough to cause any damage. By morning, you should be on your feet. Still, take this."

He produced a pack of white pills, each in its own, separate plastic film. Pressing down on one of them, he plopped it out of its container, handed it to the girl, then handed her his canteen. Calmly, he explained, "Should help with the pain... We'll need to haul ass and meet with the others. They're without tanks or other forms of support and..." He felt his vox bead in his ear. It crackled with static and popped with white noise... He sighed, "Yeah, Vox is off. They must be jamming us."

"That's not good," The girl remarked. She took the pills without complaint, swigging the pill she was handed down with a good gullet of water, the girl hummed. She handed the canteen back to the boy, then looked over the remaining kit she had to don. Matt had turned away to let her finish getting dressed and kitted up. Once she was done, she'd cleared her throat.

The boy wordlessly moved up to her and tried to help her up, but a single whine told him she was still in no position to move. Sighing, the boy gently set her back down and murmured to himself, "At least you aren't almost completely naked..."

She blushed, smiling at him. He sighed, then blushed too and said "It was... Distracting..."

"I understand," She said and left it at that, listening to the distant fusillades as they filtered into and bounced around the walls of the cave. She looked over to him, then asked him, "Matt... I know this should have been asked beforehand and no offense to your religion, peoples and all, but... Why did you help us? Why even risk taking shots for a country you knew nothing about? For a people you knew nothing about? Especially since we don't share what seems to be the most important thing to you and your men:your faith... Or, we don't share it yet, I guess..."

Matt leaned back, letting out a deep sigh as the memories of their first few days flooded back to him. He stared at the mouth of the cave, hand instinctively sat by the holster of his sidearm, then he began, "Our first day was a confusing mess... When we first arrived in Gallia... Hell, on this planet... Our forces were scattered. I and half my command company awoke in the midst of forestry, while the rest of our forces had been scattered in a radius of several miles around us... Thank the Emperor, our Voxcasters still worked... At first we had reports of troops gathering gear, of our auspex seemingly malfunctioning, then came the disbelief we were alive as we met up... Then, came the reports of engagements."

"Small sections and platoons were being met with an unknown infantry force, clad in steel plate armors and resembling those of feudal worlds, carrying automatic slug-throwers. They fired without provocation upon us," The Colonel explained, "We were met with a single scouting vehicle and a dozen men of theirs in our muster spot... Where Elaine first led you and your brother and Alicia. They engaged us after we'd tried to talk to them. And then there was Bruhl and Elaine's reports... I trust Phoenix's eyes. She's the sharpest scout we have in our Regiment. It's why I always send her forward. When she reported the killing of civilians and the attack on a village like yours? Well..."

Isara smiled at him, "I understand... And how come Elaine didn't fire on us?"

"Because she saw the good Sergeant Melchiott was helping her fellow Town Watchmen defend your fleeing civilians," Matt replied, then laughed, "To think where that would lead..."

"Lucky us, huh..."

"Yeah..."

The two looked at the dying embers of the fire that the good Colonel had set up. They still flickered among the ashes, dimming as the light in the cave began to fade. Matt had turned to tell her they should prepare to move, while Isara had wanted to thank him properly for saving her, but when the two caught each-other's gaze, they locked eyes and froze, unable to speak. Neither was aware of why the other had stopped.

They stared at one-another for but a moment as both their hearts audibly skipped one beat each. In the dim light, both looked to one-another as if they were the only two people left on this planet. Their cheeks tinged red, the two leaned forward slowly, toward one another. They felt the heat in their cheeks and their hearts both raced, rattling like machine guns. The closer they got to one another, the more dim the light went, until, finally, a gust of wind returned the cave to darkness... Followed by a footstep.

Both of them staggered, Isara's breath hitching in her throat. Both turned toward the cave entrance, to see two silhouettes standing there. Isara wanted to call out to the two soldiers, both clad in long overcoats, figuring they could've been Krieg, but Matt covered her mouth with one gloved hand, his other clasping his pistol out of instinct. Low grunts spoken in a language the boy didn't recognize at first told him that these men weren't Cadians, of course. But once one turned his head to face his comrade and the hook-nosed silhouette of the mask he wore appeared, he knew...

Drawing his pistol in a flash, the man put two las-bolts clean through their skulls. Even before the two corpses dropped, a pair of grenades flew in. Matt gasped, jumping onto Isara as the first frag went off. He felt shrapnel pinging off his carapace plate as the girl yelped, followed by the second detonation. Ears still ringing, the boy straightened up, stood to his feet and watched as two more East Imp troopers stepped in, SMGs raised. The good Colonel wasted no time, pelting them with multiple laser shots and dropping them.

"How's the ankle?" He asked, eyes still locked down the sights of his pistol.

"F-Fine..." The girl stuttered. Matt looked down, right into her deep blue eyes, then gasped and stood up. He apologized with a single word, watching as the girl got up while he covered the door. The anti-inflammatory pills did a good bit to reduce both pain and the swelling, but the girl would still be hobbling a bit. He waited for her to get close, wrapped his free hand around her waist and helped her walk forward.

As they exited, the light of early morning reflected off the ever-thinning, melting snow below their feet. The four corpses were quickly moved aside through the proper use of the Colonel's boots and the two sought a way to climb up from here and re-link with their Regiment. They found it, in the form of a set of slopes and a ladder that they took to climbing, before they clambered to the top of the other side. The two hobbled forward, listening to the gunfire to guide themselves.

A rustle of bushes to their right and Matt immediately trained his pistol that way. Two blue uniforms appeared from behind the shrubs, followed by two familiar faces, both of them smiling upon sighting the Colonel. Alicia immediately took to Isara's other side and asked "Take it your fall was as good as ours?"

"Fell into a river and sprained my ankle on the way down... If it hadn't been for Matt..." Isara smiled, "I'm glad to see you're both okay."

"Same here, Is," Welkin nodded. He looked to the Colonel and the two men smiled at one another, before continuing their advance. The four met the defending Cadians and Gallians further inland, with Rosie being the first to notice them in the clearing. She grinned, then cried out to Largo and pointed at them. Two Cadian Medicae and Fina went to check on them, helping Isara toward the tank.

"Boss! It's good to see the four of ya! We actually thought you were done for!" Rosie called out, ducking as a round sparked off the forward plate of the Baneblade.

"We don't die that easily, corporal Stark!" Matt remarked sternly, though bearing a smile. He called out, "Majors Markath, Mkvenner and Harkon, on me!"

Colin slid out of cover, firing his handgun toward the surrounding enemy forces as their image finally grew clear, sun on their backs. He approached Matt, holstered his pistol for a moment and placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, saying "By the Emperor, are we glad to see you, sir. Had half a mind to take command myself after seeing that blast knock you off your feet."

"Good thing you don't need to," Matt placed a hand on the man's forearm and squeezed. Amy and Ace came up next, both smirking.

"Took ya a while, chief," The Hellgunner noted.

Ace nodded, "Bit too much if you ask me, but hey... A Colonel arrives exactly when he's supposed to, eh?"

"That is correct, my good supply corps officer," Matt nodded, "Now, I need a status report ASAP."

"Thirty dead, a couple dozen wounded, sir. A fifth of the wounded are critical and need immediate surgeries," Colin reported, tilting his head to the right as a bullet snapped past his ear and struck a tree.

"Both us and the Gallians are low on ammo and we can't exactly take up a supply run," Ace added, "Only the tanks are still half-stocked, so if we wanna push any sorta offensive action..."

"Our Vox's also offline, so that's a problem," Amy noted rather urgently, "Can't raise anyone outside like six or seven feet radius, even with my microbead."

"Damn, so no call for reinforcements," Matt swore, "Alright. Amy, take a team of your Kasrkin and Elaine's scouts and move to the right. I want us to get eyes on that jammer... If you do, have your plasma gunners turn that damn thing to slag. Colin, you keep up the morale and rally our teams with the Lieutenant and his troops, form a cohesive perimeter. Get the rest of your Commissar Cadets up, hand them any gun and turn them into infantry for the moment too. Ace, ration ammunition as best as you can. Only those who really need bullets get bullets, only those who really need charge packs get them... I'll mount up on the Hammer and start laying down cannon fire... Amy, in fact, the moment you find the enemy's base... Let me know through Vox. I wanna level it myself, Emperor damn them... Move it, people! The Emperor ain't paying us by the hour!"

"Yessir!" The three chorused and ran to their jobs.

"... They pay us?" Amy quipped in a whisper as she and Ace ran to the other side, while Colin had already begun mounting the more appropriate defensive. Matt nodded approvingly, then turned to the Edelweiss, to see Isara hanging out of the driver's hatch and readying herself to mount up. The two gave each-other a quick smile, before both jumped into their respective armored vehicles.

"Sir!" Cried the crew chief of the Baneblade as the Imp Tanks' shells began to bounce and strike the hull, shaking the vehicle, "By the Emperor, we're glad to see you! Vox's been dead! We can barely talk to one another in here, let alone outside! We had to shut the girl off to preserve fuel and auxiliary batteries are nearly out of juice, since our sponsons had to be used in defense!"

"Worry yourself not, captain. Just get the girl moving..." The man replied, closing the hatch. The vehicle's insides echoed with a deep, monstrous rumble as the turbine engine of the tank began its slow, roaring awakening. Cogitator and auspex systems kicked in first, followed by the Vox that brimmed with static. Outside, an explosion shook the hull. Matt swore, feeling the reverb and the shockwave as it travelled through the hull. "Enemy mortars are still up?"

"Sir, we didn't get a chance to ident their location yet..." The crew chief reported as the gunners loaded fresh ammunition into breeches and into their side-mounted and coaxial weaponry. Matt sighed, peeking through the vision slits of his cupola and watching as the enemy's gunfire intensified. Damn them, they must've figured the commanding crews were back. He saw the silhouettes of two Leman Russ-class tanks rolling forward, with at least three dozen fresh Infantry squads behind them.

"Gunner... Traverse to two-seventy on our axis. Armor piercing load on the first Leman Russ."

He felt the turret begin its turn and heard the electric motor whirr to life. The gun turned, tracked and locked onto the enemy vehicle. Matt ordered calmly, "Fire at will," and the first shell flew. The acrid smoke of cordite filled the turret as the empty shell casing ejected into the basket with a loud, almost deafening clang, just as the shell struck the Russ right down the middle. A geyser of fire and smoke erupted as the dead tank veered off to the left, slamming into its compatriot and knocking it off course before its turret was flung high into the sky thanks to the overpressure.

The other tank managed to retain its original course, if only barely. Its main gun, a Vanquisher cannon, turned to greet the Colonel's tank.

It fired.

"BRACE!" The Colonel yelled.

And the round went wide, ramming into the cliff face after tearing through a bunch of trees behind them.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Colonel ordered the gun to track the other tank. Moments later, the next tungsten-core AP Shell left the barrel of the Baneblade's main gun and vivisected the second tank. Following up, counter-battery fire rained onto the East Imp, Severan and Blood Pact forces, mortars raining down from the barrel of the Edelweiss. He smirked, watching as the enemy's forces scattered. Colin's reworked defense began its work too.

If anything, with the added firepower, the teams managed to stabilize their situation and halt the enemy's advance. Still, there was an overwhelmingly large number of enemies in this ambush and more Krak and Frag missiles flew from their hidden launchers, weapons which Marina was working on taking out. The Colonel and Lieutenant had both witnessed Marina's handiwork as an Officer was dropped with a headshot, followed by one of his subordinates and a heavy weapon gunner.

In the distance, the thump of plasma detonations rumbled. Static crackled at first over the myriad vox channels the Cadians were utilizing, followed by a high-pitched scream of white noise, then, by voices. Strings of codes streamed over the data-links between the Regimental forces as Matt pumped his fist up into his cupola joyfully, calling out "All units! System-wide traffic has been restored, courtesy of Major Mkvenner and her troops! Any unit on this net, this is the Cadian 13th's First Company, requesting aid, immediate, in the Kloden wildwoods! Enemy ambush force has greeted us in full!"

The dozens of voices filtered out until but one was left. A female voice that Matt was familiar with at this point stated, "Thank the Emperor. We've arrived in time... Colonel, this is Stern. Our forces come to assist, alongside a company of your tanks... Stand fast."

"Happy to hear your voice, Maria!" Matt replied, grinning, "ALRIGHT, ALL REGIMENT UNITS! PRESS THE ADVANTAGE THE MOMENT THE KRIEGERS COME IN! KILL THESE SINFUL TRAITORS AS YOU MEET THEM!"

... Outside, Alicia watched as the tan coat-clad soldiers of the Death Korps streamed in, their Lucius No. 98 Lasguns shining like the rising sun as they engaged. Their sword bayonets affixed and led by their officer cadre of Watchmasters and Lieutenants, the Death Korps poured into the flank of the enemy advance. She caught sight of the first kill by bayonet, watching as the leading Korps Quartermaster plunged her carbine's bladed tip into the side of an East Imperial, pinning him to a tree and firing three shots into his side that splattered melted bone, lungs and boiling blood over the trunk, before she kicked the corpse off to the side and killed another.

Maria led from the front also, wielding a Chain-Sword this time, slashing two Blood Pact troopers with the serrated teeth of her weapon, before urging her men and women forward. Largo and Rosie laughed heartily, as did Jane, before Sergeant Potter hollered "I never thought I'd be glad to see you gas-mask wearing bastards! Welcome to the fight, lads!"

"COME ON, THEN!" Rosie stood to her feet, her SMG in hand and a grin on her face, "SHOCK TROOPERS! LET'S SHOW THE KORPS WHAT WE GOT!"

"With'em, Scouts! FIX YOUR BAYONETS!" Alicia stood up too, drawing her long blade and sliding it to the front of her rifle. The Cadian tanks also disgorged squads of Shock Troops, their Lasguns and Flamers belching hot fire into the lines of the enemy. Those that could stood to their feet, fixing bayonets. Among them were Susie, Freesia and Juno, who was wounded in her gut but had the fighting spirit to charge headlong.

Jane, Wendy and Vyse led the troops beside Rosie, their Sub Machine Guns chattering and their faces twisted into bloodthirsty smiles as they finally took the advantage. With a wet snap, Alicia broke the neck of an East Imp as she and her girls and boys ran over the top. Plasma filled the air with ozone as a beam fired by an Executioner scorched an enemy Anti-Tank position, while a Hellhound Chimera rolled forward, its flamers belching hot promethium into the enemy's makeshift sandbag nests.

Death Korps flamer operators pushed up next. A row of three let loose with their Lucius-pattern weapons, washing the main entrance of the enemy base in the hellish flames of the weapon. Alicia stopped only as she saw Marina slide down, Lasgun in hand, to rejoin the team. The sniper nodded, then looked to Ilven as he was being tended. He waved at her to keep the Lasgun and continue the advance.

General Radi jaeger watched the advancing force of Cadians and Gallians, now reinforced, pushing through their lines. He sighed, then smiled and said "Clever of them to blast the jammer... Let's move our troops. We've done enough damage, I think... 'Till next time, Telos." And he turned to his liaison to the Severan troops, who nodded. Ordering a general retreat of all forces that'd set up for the ambush turned out to be quite messy.

The Death Korps had maintained their advance, with the Death Riders being among the leading causes of deaths among the Severan and the Blood Pact, while the retreating East Imperial troops were being shot in the back, gunned down by heavy bolters or the likes. Alicia was among those who actually witnessed their Krieg Commissar use that power fist to pulverize a man with a single punch, before raising her bolt pistol and firing into the crowd.

That the enemy even managed to retreat that day was a show of mercy by the Imperial Guard, or perhaps a message to the enemy. Elements of the Third Regiment, including Faldio's squad, had come to help retrieve the Sevens and the commanding company of the Cadian Thirteenth. This battle, to many, had christened the nickname that would henceforth have the Gallian Seventh Platoon be known.

The Lucky Sevens.

From aboard a Halftrack, Irene watched as the Cadians and Gallians cheered and laughed with one-another while the Convoy rolled ever forward. She'd been stuck trying to figure out what happened with them and the commanders before she joined up with the Death Korps. The Cadians roared into song, a War Cant in High Gothic, as they called their variation of ancient script. One that a Cadian had been kind enough to translate the title of. 'Stand Up and Fight'. An old war song sung in varied forms and with varied lyrics across the Imperium's many Guard regiments, but always under the same message:Don't Tread on the Guard... Not unless you want the hardest fight yet.

She looked over the scarred hull of the Cadian command tank once, then stopped as she saw the tired Colonel sat atop, hanging out of the cupola. Black bags under his eyes betrayed his tiredness, while his face otherwise was proud, smiling as he sang. They'd counted over six hundred enemy dead for a few dozen of their own. Among the enemy's dead was also this new group, the Blood Pact. He'd called for an investigation or some letters to be sent to ask the Tanith about this new enemy.

She wondered for a moment what the young man was pondering as she wrote reports of the Woodland Snare. Heh, she smirked. That was a good title for the thing, now that she thought of it. A whole night's fight against an enemy probably twice their strength and the kids and Lucky Sevens came out on top. She looked to the left of her, in the cabin of the Halftrack, as she heard Rosie starting to mumble the song too, with Largo and a few others close beside her doing the same.

That was before the whole Seventh Platoon exploded into song too. It was to the tune of the old Edinburgh Song 'Come Out Ye Black'n'Tans', the woman soon found out. A rapid-pace variation thereof, but it was that song. She chuckled, listening the troopers chorusing it, while the Death Korps marched wordlessly beside the convoy, their faces obscured by their gas masks.

Matt stared at the road ahead even hours later, as the intermixed convoy of Imperial and Gallian vehicles rolled forward, out of the suffocating rows of trees upon trees that made up Kloden itself, out into the rolling hills and fields of Gallia and toward their bases. The Sun shone in the sky as the tension of the day slowly faded from the mind of the man. The fights, the snowstorm, the rescue of Isara and the defense alongside his Lost Battalion, all had been brutal, but they still walked away, alive, if wounded.

His mind turned to Isara, as hers turned to him. Both thought for a moment of the hours they stayed in that cave, waiting for daybreak and her wounds to heal. They sat aboard their vehicles now, the forest and that little ordeal left behind for them to get home. Still, both their minds wandered for a moment over what was going to happen before those Blood Pact soldiers had stepped in. That single moment of silence, of looking into each-other's eyes as the dim light of the fire faded and their hearts and minds raced.

Both blushed, Matt nearly falling ass-first back into the tank as he stumbled, while Isara nearly turned the wheels of the tank, embarrassed. Ellet had noticed the Colonel's stumble and knew something must've happened between the two, seeing as the groups had spoken about how the Colonel, Isara, Welkin and Alicia had found their way back to camp.

Ah, young love. Such a fun thing to write in her memoirs, she thought proudly.