Chapter 3 - Deep Desert Assault
Sergeant Belthor Limanowitz's patrol had been leap-frogging sand dune to sand dune in hopes of avoiding the murderous claws of the Slaaneshi daemonettes. With each change in position, at least one unfortunate soul was caught by the daemons and torn to pieces in a gruesomely sexual fashion.
"How the fuck are those daemons turning this bloodbath into an orgy?" Uriel panted as he and his squad leapt behind the next dune. Kade shrugged, then grimaced as he watched one of his battle brother's severed arm get used as an instrument of pleasure for a daemonette. Hurriedly, Kade shot the offending daemonette and sighed in relief when it collapsed, a sickeningly pleasured sneer forever frozen on its face. "I mean, I always thought if I had to face a daemon, I would want it to be Slaaneshi," Uriel continued as he haphazardly threw bullets down-range "but now I feel like Nurgle cultists would be more appealing!"
Kade elbowed his friend into silence as Commissar Garth Bellaire slid into cover beside them. "Get on that Vox and call for reinforcements! We're getting pushed back too far into the desert!" the Commissar demanded as he shot off daemon heads one after the other with his pistol. Uriel shouted coordinates and requests for help into the Vox, but only received static in response.
"Damn thing needs to be inspected by a tech priest!" growled Bellaire, "Get to the next dune! I'll cover you!"
Kade and his squad made no delay in following Bellaire's orders. As they scrambled backwards, they fired random shots at the seemingly endless cluster of enemies. In his haste, Kade's foot got caught in a ditch, bringing the terrified man to the ground. Much of the platoon had already fallen back beyond his position and the daemons were drawing ever closer. Ankle unusable, Kade resigned himself to reciting the Litany of Forgiveness and pleading the Emperor to prevent his corpse from being used for any heinous sexual acts. Mid-prayer, Kade was lifted from the ground; he squeezed his eyes shut and tensed, expecting to feel a razor-sharp scythe through his torso at any moment. Yet, all he felt was a dull pain in his ankle as his feet were drug across the ground. He snapped his eyes open when he heard Commissar Bellaire's voice
"Guardsman! Snap out of it and move! The Emperor does not need to guide you to the afterlife just yet!" The Commissar had picked up Kade and was now directing him towards a crater where the rest of the platoon had already established a firing line. As Kade collapsed into the relative safety of the crater, the Commissar turned to address the panic-stricken troops.
"Men of the Imperium! We will withdraw no further! Here is where we will make a stand against these heathens who dare disgrace the Emperor's land with their presence! We will smite them with our bullets, slice them with our bayonets, and blind them with our courage and devotion to the Emperor! I FEAR NO EVIL!"
The few survivors of the patrol steeled themselves and joined the Commissar in the Death Incantation, "I FEAR NO DEATH, FOR THE EMPEROR COMES WITH ME!" Bayonets and spirits raised, the 2nd militia company was ready for the onslaught of daemonettes.
But the assault never came.
Perplexed, the men squinted into the dust of the desert. "Over there! Did we get reinforcements?" someone gasped as heads turned toward the sound of gunfire. However, the weaponry did not sound like the familiar rattle of autoguns, or any of the Imperium's weapons for that matter. Instead, the air was filled with the whining of engines accompanied with strange hisses and sizzling. Everyone looked to the Commissar for guidance, but the man's frigid gaze only seemed to grow colder as he recognized the sound.
"Filthy xenos…" he finally whispered as he stormed over to Uriel. "Do whatever you can to appease the spirit in that Cox caster. We need to get in contact with the city and warn them of an Eldar incursion!" Uriel's face paled as he took the Vox caster from his back and began to recite prayers to the machine. Then Bellaire turned his attention to Belthor, "Sergeant Limanowitz! We need to find a way to get back to the city. A battle against both daemons and Eldar with a contingent of this size is not appropriate! Arrange your men into scouting parties so we may find a way back to the city without drawing the attention of the filth!"
With grim resolve, Sergeant Belthor split up his men and traced out possible routes back to the city. Meanwhile, Kade was devoting his full attention to his twisted ankle. Thankfully, Kade had some medical training as he was originally destined to be a medic of the Guard. He angrily brooded over how he was being forced to use his medical training to prevent his own death in this Emperor-forsaken dust bowl. He almost cried out in frustration when he heard that he, Commissar Bellaire, Sergeant Limanowitz, and six other troopers would be staying back in the crater with Uriel as he tried to radio the city. The rest of the platoon, meanwhile, would be splitting up to go around the apparent battle between the xenos and the daemonettes. The hope was that a warning of the incursion would reach the city one way or another, be it via Vox or word of mouth.
After wrapping his ankle firmly, Kade hobbled over to the edge of the crater where the rest of the squad was silently watching the distant battle. He could tell Sergeant Limanowitz was restless- he did not like the idea of sending his men out into danger in such small parties. However, they all understood that potential sacrifices had to be made in order to ensure the safety of the planet as a whole. In contrast, Commissar Bellaire's unwavering resolve made Kade wonder what types of battles the man had seen in his lifetime. To not even break a sweat as the commotion and swirling dust from battle drew ever closer to the crater... Kade's respect for the man grew with each passing moment.
Kade heard Uriel sigh behind him, "I don't know what more I can do. This damned dust has gotten inside the Vox caster and is keeping it from turning on! No matter how much I try and clean it, the machine spirit still will not be satisfied!" Worried for his friend, Kade turned to see the response from the Commissar who remained emotionless as always. Before the Commissar could respond, Sergeant Limanowitz chimed "Keep trying! If that battle comes any closer, you'll need to change your attention back to your autogun!"
As if on cue, a flash of jetbikes screamed past the crater. The small squad of Imperials could barely make out the brightly colored riders who were wielding deadly looking staffs. They watched as the jetbikes slammed into the ongoing brawl and began stabbing through the daemonettes. Cannons on the underside of the jetbikes tore holes through the bodies of the Slaaneshi daemons who proceeded to fall back towards the crater where the men were hiding. Kade lifted his autogun, preparing to fire if they got too close, but Sergeant Limanowitz waved him down. Coming in from the other direction were strange ships carrying more brightly colored fighters. These warriors leapt off their transports and bounced daemonette to daemonette, balancing on heads and twirling out of the way of frenzied claws. Whenever a group of daemonettes strayed too far from the battle, they would be exterminated swiftly be it from a sword, pistol, or a particularly gruesome sniper rifle. Kade nearly vomited as he witnessed a daemonette explode into corrosive pieces, the shock wave causing any nearby fellows to fall over and writhe in pain from the hot body matter that was thrown at them.
Within a matter of minutes, most of the daemonettes had been slaughtered. The fighters that were bounding from body to body were making their final pirouettes back into their transports. As quickly as this colorful army had arrived, it withdrew. Unfortunately, the rapid retreat was a matter of concern as nobody in Kade's squad knew where the mysterious army had withdrawn to. They intently watched the last couple of fighters in hopes of getting a clue of the rest of the alien army's whereabouts.