Elaine and her fireteam advanced beside Monyka, protecting the right flank of the Imperial Guard's advance to the best of their abilities. As lasbolts zipped past their ears, the Psyker engaged a barrier of faith and Psychic might, while Nat and Saoirse laid down covering fire, hellgun and lascarbine barking in unison.

A nightmarish fusillade of autoguns and lasguns from the Severan and the Servants of Darkness beside them welcomed the girls, Monyka channeling all her inner strength and fighting the Perils of the Warp to ensure that her team-mates got into cover. When they reached a shell crater occupied by the enemy, Yuri's ferocity came out.

Her repaired blade unsheathed, the Darcsen jumped into the battle, drawing first blood as her wide swing slit the throat of the first man. The Power Sword she'd been gifted flashed next, its field crackling to life and shearing through the flak vest, clothes and body of the Severan trooper. She split him in half with a roar, her golden Aquila pendant flashing for a moment with a glint of light.

Nat jumped in next, peering down the scope of her carbine and firing, the snap-pop of an angry scarlet beam cutting through the air filling the other's ears. Saoirse lifted the hellgun onto the edge of their impromptu foxhole and fired blindly, suppressing the enemy as, to their left, Leman Russ Battle Tanks rolled forward in a diagonal formation.

Their 132mm battle cannons roared to life, heavy bolters mounted in the front and sponsons raking the enemy trench lines with armor piercing explosives. Two Chimeras rolled forward, one of them armed with an autocannon, swept the area with heavy fire. The commander, on top of the turret, switched to the shielded heavy stubber and opened up as well.

A squad of Death Korps troops disgorged from the transport as the second one, with a multi-las, swept in from the right to provide suppressing fire. The enemy camp lay much farther ahead and the Superheavy Mortars they were using were really taking chunks out of the force. Monyka herself heard the thunder-crack of one of the mortars and looked up.

Noticing the shell, she huffed and cocked her hand back, charging a burst of psychic lightning. When she shot it out, she felt a surge of pain in her skull. The blade of electrified air struck and cut the shell in half above the formation, the detonation that followed causing dust and debris to kick up all around them, shrapnel striking the floor.

She knelt, grabbing her head as whispers started playing in her mind. The sounds of the gunfire around her seemed to fade. The whispers grew louder in the firefight's stead, slowly turning into voices, then into distant screams. She fought the Perils, focusing her mind on a prayer in High Gothic, whispering it to herself.

A hand clasped her shoulder, a familiar, warm presence. She gasped, jolting out of the darkness and vision to the screams of gunfire. She saw Saoirse staring at her, a smile on her face. The Kasrkin then gave her a pat on the shoulder, ducked as a rocket screamed overhead and struck a Chimera's track. Saoirse and Nat both poked out and lit the rocket-man up, turning him to mist.

Monyka breathed a sigh, clasping her hand around her pendant, before she stood up and charged her psychic shield again. The Death Korps soldiers, now under its cover, pushed forward as a recovery vehicle rolled in to get the damaged Chimera(whose gunner and commander were still firing at the enemy) out of the line of fire.

Nat turned to Monyka, then told her, "Sao just told me she saw you going through one of your…" she bit back the words, hesitating, then asked, "You okay, Mony?"

"I'll live," She smiled, then paused as she caught one of the other rockets. The Leman Russ beside her fired its cannon, an HE shell cratering the enemy's defensive position which allowed the Death Korps and Elaine to push into the area. Above them, a pair of Valkyrie Dropships fired their missile tubes, striking across the field before lifting off and dodging enemy anti-air fire.

One of the two Valkyrie gunships took several flak round shrapnel bursts, her engine flaring and exploding. She careened to the right and struck the ground, fuel lines rupturing. One of the Aeronautica crew managed to get out and drag her comrade out while the Medicae surged toward her. She grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the fuel lines with it.

Thankfully, both the crew survived and the vehicle was recoverable, though the annoyance of Flak ripping away their air-cover meant that both sides were back to fighting long-distance and close quarters. Obviously, air assets overhead, namely fighters, were still fighting, engaged in dogfights. It was terrifying for some, inspiring for others.

On the ground, as the officer cadre advanced, blades and weapons clashed. Matt was now focused on fighting the enemy, his blade singing with every swipe and slash against the enemy horde ahead. His power sword cut a man's arm off before he put the barrel of his bolt pistol against his chest and squeezed the trigger.

Gore washed over the trench ahead and onto his gun. He pushed the corpse down onto his buddies and let Elaine, who now joined them on this side, lay into the ones pinned below the corpse with her lasgun. Her fireteam moved up with them, while the Kasrkin force seemed to be doing leaps over the enemy's defenses.

Matt quipped to Colin, "Remind me to thank Mony for that intercept!" before waving forward the Baneblade. The Eleven Barrels of Hell opened up as the heavy armored vehicle began to move forward, lasers, heavy bolters and assault guns filling the air ahead with explosive hellfire. Infantry advanced not far behind it, more Gallians and Imperial Guard.

A pair of Death Korps jumped over the enemy's cover next, one taking a lasbolt to the chest and dropping dead while the other hefted his flamer and immediately let it loose. It belched a tongue of sickly-sweet-smelling golden flames that the man swept left to right like he was dousing a bunch of disrespectful dogs.

The flame belch burned marked skin off the bone, lasgun rounds ripping into any enemy behind them that tried to join the defense. The Calamity Raven, clad in their jet-black uniforms, pushed through the flames, one of their snipers taking a shot at the Krieger and nailing his tank. The following explosion washed him and a few Cadians in burning Promethium…

Though even in all of that, the man managed to draw his pistol, facing the Sniper that set him and his comrades ablaze and shoot him in the head, surprising the enemy troops. Ferocious, angry and focused, the silent comrades of the Death Korps soldier pushed past him, bayonets glowing in the flame, only to be doused in red by the blood of the enemies they struck down.

Bullets zipped by their ears as Squad Seven and the rest of the Third Regiment moved forward. Lynn and Karl, in their infinite wisdom, aided in pulling the wounded back while Rosie and the rest of the Shock Troopers surged forward, a surprising fury welling in their chests for every casualty. Picking up a lasgun from a fallen Cadian, Rosie stopped atop the lip of a trench, aimed down into the formation of Severan, Imperials and Blood Pact and, without hesitation, switched the weapon to fully automatic.

Lasbolts raked the ground ahead, piercing through the flak armor, steel plate and the bodies of the enemies. The headache-inducing symbols on the Blood Pact's armors, uniforms and even those carved into their flesh boiled away. Stick and pineapple grenades flew overhead, explosives shaking the ground as the fence of the enemy compound came into view, several dozen feet away still.

The False Imperials and their supporting elements intensified their own fire, guns and mortars raining hell down upon the Imperial Guard and their allies. Alicia aimed and fired all rounds from her magazine, fear welling with each shot as an enemy with a chain-axe charged at her, revving the weapon with a manic grin. The axe itself had gore and viscera in its teeth already.

The final round in the magazine nailed him in the skull, causing him to drop dead. Beside her, Susie jumped in and kicked the melee weapon aside before looking at Alicia. The girl nodded, dropped her spent magazine, then took cover and slammed a new one home before pulling on the bolt handle. Beside them, Marina jumped in as well, followed by Edy, Homer, Juno and a few others.

Alicia spoke, "Guess we always wind up working together somehow, huh?!"

Edy grinned and said, "Always, Sarge!" before chopping a hand to her head in salute. She ducked, however, when a Sniper bullet zipped right over her head. Marina, armed with her new rifle, replied. She snapped off a shot and nailed the enemy shooter, before Edy said, "Thanks! Bastards nearly clipped my hair!"

"That's your main priority?!" Juno demanded. Lynn and Karl jumped in as well, with Alicia rolling her eyes and showing everyone to be quiet and follow along. The others laughed awkwardly, but ducked only as the hellfire of enemy rounds zipping over their heads woke them up from that moment of levity.

Hellguns screamed yet again, Amy's assault force of Kasrkin raining hell into the enemy formation as several Korps officers and Grenadiers followed them in. A plasma bolt struck the forward mount of a False Imp light tank, melting the mortar barrel on the right and spearing a crewman with super-hot alloys and exploding rivets.

When the crew bailed, grabbing their pistols, the Colonel of the Death Korps put them down with her own pistol, executing each with a headshot as she lead the charge forth. Drawing her own chainsword, she revved the weapon's blade and met the first of the Severan Dominate troops jumping out with power Gladiuses to intercept her.

With fury in her eyes, she parried and deflected the thrust of the officer, then with a thrust forward and all her momentum behind her, she drove the adamantine chain-teeth deep into the man's insides, hearing his screams turn to snarls and gargles as his insides were torn to shreds. Beside her, a Grenadier swept the area with burning-hot promethium.

A rifleman beside them drew a krak grenade and threw it at a piece of Blood Pact armor, an old tank model named 'STeG-4'. A wheeled light tank that was the product of the Forge World of Urdesh in the Sabbat Worlds, it had become a modern mainstay of local Planetary Defense Forces who were too poor to afford the more dangerous vehicles.

It also exploded nice and pretty when a Krak Grenade ripped the light armor asunder, causing the agile tank to blossom into a flower of shrapnel and steel. She withdrew her chainsword from the corpse and swept high, feeling teeth snag metal plate and shear clean through it. A False Imp shocktrooper was ripped in twain from crotch to forehead by the blade.

She saw Matt join her, stating, "Voxcast calls from the North-West! Encrypted!" before casting a glance over at the rocky hills near the base. Flashes of scarlet and gunfire appeared from amongst the forests and jagged rocks. He spoke, "Looks like either the Tanith and the Valhallans swung around from the East, or we have-"

All sides paused, eyes widening as they saw a flashing azure light. A flicker at first, the flame began to burn brighter and brighter until a beam of cleansing flame shot forth from the mountaintop. It lanced forward and struck the ammunition depot and one of the two super-heavy mortars dead center, causing it to flash-boil and explode.

The entire base was lit ablaze, chain detonations causing fires across the bay and staggering the defenders. However, that only seemed to spur the False Imperials and their wretched allies to fight harder. Matt whispered, "A Blue Flame…" partially hopeful that that was a familiar face. He squelched that thought, however, watching Alicia join them, firing her rifle.

He witnessed the glow again, though it was faint. He also noticed that the girl had taken a few shots, her uniform bearing tiny stains of blood. Beside her, her comrades seemed emboldened by her presence, much like the Darcsen Volunteers covering that specific flank. With lever-action and bolt-action rifles, plus whatever they could scrounge off the False Imps, they fought on.

"I wonder if that was Corporal Gunther," Whispered Stern as she gazed up at the area where the energy blast had come from. The scent of burning cordite and flesh filled their nostrils as the fires seemed to be spreading. The second superheavy mortar began to retreat, its heavy tracks cracking the very soil underneath as Calamity Raven and other enemy troops focused on protecting it with their lives.

The intensified fighting saw the 3rd, 1st Youth and the Kriegers push forward with the support of their comrades covering the flanks. It was a wide advance to destroy the enemy Forward Base near Dillsburg. They pushed into the fire, trying to chase down the enemy superheavy, but were stalled, fighting for each foot of burning concrete and twisted steel.

Urged forward by calls to rally under the Commissars and Imperial Priests with the Death Korps, the trio of Regiments and their supporting units cut down swathes of enemy forces, though no strangers to losing members of their own. When the enemy had finally fallen back, most of the Imperial Guard and Militia units had surrounded and even occupied the remnants of the base.

And they'd gotten away with the Mortar.

Matt swore to himself, whispering, "That Mortar will be a problem later down the line, unless our airpower can track it," before turning to Colin and stating, "Get on the Vox and warn any and all allied units about a potential enemy heavy mortar being deployed to engage us. Tell all frontline units to be prepared…" only to get a nod from his Commissar. He whispered, "Emperor-willing, we'll catch it-" only to pause as the drone of engines echoed overhead.

He gasped, looking up at the sight of a squadron of enemy fighters. Severan vehicles bearing their accursed red paintjobs and marks. One of them aimed its autocannons at the squadron, with Matt barely able to utter out an order before… Two bolt pistol rounds ripped through the air and struck the engine of the leading jet, causing it to careen left and strike the ground.

The other fighters scrambled the moment anti-air fire lit them up, turning about and engaging afterburners to attempt to escape. A distant cheer echoed in some Emperor-forsaken accent, before the entire group paused and turned to see the new arrivals. Isara smiled, waving at the group as she cradled a rifle and the man beside her was grinning, boasting to his commissar about the shot.

The Commissar, though impressed, retained his professionalism as they walked forward. The man took his cap off and pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, before he clicked his heels together and smirked a little as he saw Matt and Colin approach. He spoke to them, "Colonel, Commissar Major," and they all snapped salutes at each-other.

"Commissar," Colin spoke, taking his own cap off. He blinked, looking at the unit markings on the shoulders of the soldiers, then he snorted and smiled, looking at Matt. He added, "It's them. The Numberless Legion," before crossing his arms to his chest. Amy waved to the team's orange-haired member, who waved back, while the other staff members greeted each-other properly.

Matt, who now recognized Rimmy, smirked and shook his head, "And here we thought you all went down fighting on one of the other planets… Good to see you, sir. You and your raggedy regiment," before he extended a hand. One which Rimmy quickly gripped and shook, nodding to the Colonel.

"Good to know our Whiteshields are still kickin' ass, too," Rimmy replied.

"Did you shoot down that plane, sir?" Matt then asked, noting the fact his bolt pistol still had smoke coming out of the barrel. Rimmy grinned, to which Matt snorted, then loudly began to laugh. He said, "The Emperor's blessed your aim, sir! I guess the rumors are true, the XXth scant needs anti-air with you around!"

"Heheh," Rimmy gave a nod, "Hey, Isara. Go on," and he tilted his head. Isara nodded in thanks, then walked up to Matt and smiled. He then told them, "Best to keep her near. She's a smart kid from what we've seen. Even rigged us a nice little lightshow up there," and giving the girl a wink. Matt looked at Isara, who smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sir, we should probably depart. The 442nd isn't exactly looking forward to being harassed by the Gallian military again," Digby spoke rather openly, looking at them. The Cadians all blinked and paused, to which Rimmy nodded.

The strangely-accented man said to them, "Right, well, it's our cue to leave. We'll keep tabs on you guys as we fight, but be ready… The Imps and their pals are planning something big. There's no reason they'd have wanted the Dillsburg Bridgehead otherwise," before he rallied his officers. He then told them, "The Emperor keep you all in his watch."

"You, too, sir," Matt replied, the two saluting each-other one last time. As the groups reunited and regrouped to depart the hellscape of this crater-filled battlefield, they met in the middle, nearby the forest where the first superheavy shell had landed. It wasn't long after, then, that the Voxcast and wireless radio systems picked up a spine-chilling call

ALL ALLIED UNITS, CODE VERMILLION, THE ATTACK ON DILLSBURG WAS A RUSE! THE NORTHERN FRONT IS UNDERSTRENGTH AND UNDER ATTACK!


Back at Kasr Creed

The Imperial Kasr was home to more than just reserve troops and the wounded. It had become a small island of the Imperial Faith in the middle of this rather Feudal, odd planet. Within, soldiers belonging to the Logistics and Defense Companies continued their patrols while the Kasr's small, but important convent of Sisters provided prayers and healing for all.

Darcsen Civilians had been streaming in even after the allied armies had departed for Dillsburg, with Cadian Lieutenants and the Sisters taking them in. Among them was a surprising influx of parentless youth. Orphaned children came to be cared for in what was pretty much a new Imperial Orphanage. A small Schola.

The Sisters were capable teachers, while some Commissarial staff had become part of that teaching routine as well. Thus, enclosed within the ferrocrete walls, both underground and within the convent itself, children now learned of the light of the Emperor among other things. The Sisters themselves remained quite active in the role of caretakers, too.

One of the Sisters, a younger initiate by the name of Galatira, watched the youths as they worked on their homework, smiling a little as she sat guard in the classroom, her power blade sheathed in its scabbard. Though generally most sisters were encouraged to go with cloth instead of steel and ceramite for daily activities, she was on guard duty for the day.

Sharing a duty such as that with the Cadians also meant exchanging pleasantries with them. The youthful of the world were respectful for the most part, too. And she couldn't help but respect them back, considering just what they'd undergone moments ago. Much like the locals, they had an iron will, to undergo the loss of their home planet and come out ready to fight the enemy.

When her change of shift came, she was to walk outside and to their own barracks and change. However, when the ground began to rumble. Shadows soon covered the ground, dozens of them, causing the woman to look up. She gasped as red-marked Marauder bombers flew in squadrons of six each, bomb bays opening…

Anti-air artillery raked the skies, the puffs of black smoke denoting flak rippling up above. Hydra batteries mounted atop the walls of the defensive structure that was Kasr Creed lit the heavens ablaze. The Sister ran back inside, meanwhile, entering the classroom just as the Air Raid sirens began to blare and barking, "GET THE CHILDREN TO SAFETY!" as she grabbed her bolter.

The Sister that was teaching nodded, urging the children to the cover of the underground shelters built within the place. A lot of the Kasr itself, named after the Cadian Fortress Cities of old, was built underground in an ever-expanding project by the Mechanicus's builders present with the Regiment. Their own Lightning fighters and other strike craft dived to intercept the enemy's bomber fleet just as the first ground-splitting explosives began to rain on the Kasr and, presumably, on Randgriz.

The enemy's final strike had begun. One final gambit for victory…

They'd be met by steel and faith.