Legends of the Smoke Jaguars chapter 197

"You should have told me," Aapo grumbled.

"To bring Tachna was challenge enough," Huacho consoled, "To convey a living-dead was beyond us."

"I am the Eldest, fountainhead of Umbral Flame! The battle rages while I slumber, this shall not be!"

Tachna rejoined, "The battle was well met, the foe caught unawares and yet Orkamemnon could not be bested. Your presence would not tilt the scales of victory."

"Do not question the worth of my arm!" Aapo scolded.

But Vitcos spoke up, "The day is over and the deed is done, night falls upon us all, and terror walks aboard. A guard must be set for the creatures of midnight grow hungry."

He was speaking metaphorically, dawn had passed hours ago. The sun brought no relief for the smoke of battle was heavy in the air and the scents of death were a reek so familiar as to pass uncommented. Coronam was falling, there was no denying it. The weary lines of Guardsmen trudging back towards the river were testament enough. The Purple district was all but lost and far fewer men had made it out than they'd planned for. The Ork's twin assaults had been vicious and well-planned, hitting the defenders on two sides. With the Storm Herald's distracted at the docks the front had collapsed; all the careful schemes of generals made a farce. In desperation the Smoke Jaguars had fallen back on tried and true tactics, namely to assassinate the enemy's leadership. The hunt had fallen short and now all would suffer for it.

Vitcos gazed upon their surroundings and tried to hold despair at bay. With every kilometre they had travelled the buildings had become less opulent, meaner and cheaper. They were on the border betwixt Purple District and Rathaus now, where the term 'Slum' could truly find its meaning. The roofs were lower to the ground, the streets lined with refuse and dead mastiffs rotted in drains. Meanwhile windows were gaping holes, void of glassic, lucky to have a shutter, if that. The smell of millions of humans packed into so small a space was rancid, the uncaring lords of Imperium blind to the woes of their Serviles. Such was the way of mankind, even in their Boscage the Smoke Jaguars knew life was no different. And yet even in the foulest of dens there was hope. Chalk marks on the road showed where children played, clothes hanging between buildings revealed a glimpse of lives lived despite every hardship and smells of cooking showed families yet dwelled nearby. They would still be here when the Orruks rolled in, the rich had evacuated to the western city, all others had been abandoned to the cruel whims of fate.

Vitcos was brought back to the discussion as Aapo said, "We should spread our Prowls wider, seek out the Black Orruk and throw the horde into confusion and dismay."

Huacho shook his helm in disagreement, "The front cannot hold without our strong arm. We alone deny the rout, the Smoke Jaguars must stand shoulder to shoulder with mortal men and lend them hope."

Tachna's irritation was plain, "The Heralds of Storms abandons his troth!"

"Prophecy is a fickle mistress," Huacho rebutted, "Our seers decree had the allies not heeded the shadows of days yet to come then the Orruk would have claimed the dock."

"Prophecy!" Vitcos spat in disdain.

"You take issue with the Seers?" Tachna hissed.

Vitcos crossed his arms, "Chance and will are the levers of the universe, not immutable fate. We choose and we act, thus spake the Ravenlord in the dawn before the Dawning. We must grasp opportunity with both hands and wring its neck. Let us steal forth and make merry mayhem amid the Orruk!"

Huacho's helm hid nothing of his ire, "You mean to ghost past the line and invade the mysterious black carriage?"

Vitcos nodded, "Orkamemnon hides it well, and I would know why. Some great treasure or a terrible weapon lie within, either way I would see it taken from his hands."

"This is folly!" Tahcna spat, "You will be seen!"

"Your Shadow-path is twisted, ours is not. Blazing Shadow Prowl can reach our goal without a single Orruk sniffing our scent."

"I cannot spare a single Prowl," Huacho refuted.

"Then you condemn us to the slow death!" Vitcos snapped.

Tensions were running high but then Aapo rumbled, "You speak from fierce ardour and it credits you well, but your eye is on glory, not duty. Creatures of twin souls are the Smoke Jaguars, light and dark, hope and fear. Today the spirit of the Ravenlord must be dominant: liberator, saviour, bringer of hope. The Smoke Jaguars must stand to the defence of the Imperial Guard, for no others can. It suits us ill to fight in attrition, but the Testimony teaches that the day when angels turn their heads from the cries of children it falls to evil men to take up the banners of war. We are evil, it is in our skin and bones, and yet it is our salvation that we lend our wickedness to a greater purpose!"

Silence reigned at the Eldest's wisdom, for the Dreadnought was right. The Rathaus was the last bastion between the Orruks and the river, the last chance to drain their strength before the inevitable evacuation began. The Smoke Jaguars alone stood to the people's defence, without aid the mortal Guardsmen could not even slow Orkamemnon down. Vitcos hardened his hearts to the civilian casualties, the families hiding behind these thin walls. There would be no salvation for them, they would have to hide as best they could and pray to pass unnoticed. The Sons of Sedaxus had no hope to offer to these wretches, to bleed the Orruk was their only option.

Any further debate was cut short as General Vregust came jogging up the dirty road, his boots stained and his entourage gasping. The mortal man had been directing the fight as best he could, and by the looks of him he had found the task less glorious than he thought. How he had preened when given command of the entire front, now his uniform was dishevelled and his gold-plated lasgun was tarnished by dirt and grease. The laurels of command were proving less glory and more burden than he had ever dreamed.

"There you are!" Vregust called, "I need you to escort me to my new command post!"

"Many are the calls upon our strength, you rank low in our esteem," Huacho growled.

"I am a General of the Astra Militarum, my life is threatened by Ork Kommandos, I demand you escort me to the new command post!"

Vitcos answered with a sneer, "The one near the river, or the one beyond?!"

"You dare?!" Vregust snapped.

Aapo's shadow cast him into insignificance as the Dreadnought intoned, "We have weighed your import and found it scant. The Orruk seek not your head, they know not your name. Walk to your post with assurance that none threaten your life, it is not worth the swing of the executioner's axe. Ten thousand braver Guardsmen than ye cry for deliverance, we stand to their defence."

Vregust looked apocalyptic, "I will report this affront to Lujan when I meet him!"

"Let him stamp his feet and cry," Vitcos sneered.

But Tachna cut in, "Wait, the Herald of Storms returns?"

Vregust blinked, "Why yes... the docks are secure, the threat from that vector has been thwarted. The Storm Heralds redeploy to this front, and I must coordinate them with our remaining units. I am pulling back before the Ork's advance, setting up a new defensive line, while all units below fifty percent strength are being evacuated across the river."

Huacho shifted slightly, scanning vox-frequencies with Transhuman swiftness, "The Stompas move too slowly up Hanged Man Lane, the Orruks miss a step in our swift withdrawal. A moment's respite have we, brief but pure."

Tachna glowered, "The return of the Herald of Storms only delays the inevitable."

"Time was ever our goal," Aapo retorted, "With our strength at arms renewed we can make the Rathaus a palace of slaughter."

But Vitcos sighed, "A meagre one. Our Prowls suffered losses in the ambush, many Kinsmen pass beyond the veil of death. We have not the numbers to stay Orkamemnon's wrath. Let us slip the noose of inaction and roam as a Smoke Jaguar ought!"

Vregust bristled, "Excuse me! What about my escort?!"

All heads turned to him and Hauacho scoffed, "We thought you fled already."

"Are you refusing my orders?!"

"You have no power over us, Servile of the High Lords. Go tend to your charts and tallies of slain heroes, we shall be here, where a leal soul should be."

"I shall make a protest to the Ordo Hereticus for this insult!"

"The heat of your breath could lift a balloon!" Haucho sneered.

Vregrust's face darkened as he turned and stormed off. Vitcos didn't doubt he'd reach the new command post, he was heading away from the Orruk after all. Of greater import were the Storm Heralds, if they returned then the balance of power truly shifted. They could take up the burden of holding the front, allowing the Smoke Jaguars the freedom to roam as they will. Vitcos knew where he was heading, there was only one place in his mind.

"The wind shifts and the forest leaves shake!" Vitcos declared.

"You sense a fulcrum?" Huacho asked.

"The onus of attrition is no longer ours to carry, we are free to act as Sedaxus taught. Blazing Shadow is set upon our path, we follow the road that leads into the heart of Orkamemnon's secrets."

Tachna glared in rebuke, "Again you return to this folly!"

"The odds of you seeing another dawn will be slim," Huacho warned.

"We are the heirs of Deliverance, the children of Corax, none can stay our passing. Did not Teotihuacan once steal past an army of Mortarion's Sons to take the head of Feraam the Plaguemonger? A whisper on the wind shall we be, the suggestion of shadow. No Orruk shall spy us, as we slip into their most secure holdfast."

"This shall be your ending," Huacho cautioned.

"The sun may set on all men, but if I run fast enough the evening shall never overtake me," Vitcos refuted with a grin.

"Then we shall aid you on your hunt," Aapo offered, "A great ruckus shall we make, to draw the Orruk away. At sunset we attack in full vigour, so Blazing Shadow is given a clear road. May this Black Carriage reveal the secrets of victory we need, but know if you fall your names will be spoken in the Stair Abyssal with the highest esteem."

Vitcos bowed his head to the Dreadnought and said, "I troth to bring back revelations, not sorrow. You have not heard the last of Vitcos, the Blazing Shadow is not so easily erased."

Tachna didn't sound convinced, "Take this day to steal your soul for the embrace of eternity. Lie not to your Prowlmates, they deserve to know that you lead them into the jaws of extinction. One journey of the noonday sun have you to prepare, for at dusk you shall behold the Sun-Emperor's face with your lifeless eyes."