Raid on Kastorel-Novem / WARHAMMER 40K LORE

[Music] foreign [Music] chapter one the Orcs And the four SARS sector as the engine wind built to a crescendo around him its space Roar filling the transport compartment so that all Communications were reduced to hand signals Captain sandsted occurled into his cramped seat inside the valkyrie transporter jammed in around him were Guardsmen of the 181st Elysian drop troop regiment each man weighed down with weapons and equipment pouches and packs bulging with ammunition grenades melter charges and rations and liftoff the captain said a brief orison to his Emperor part of his own superstitious routine before battle a relic of his cult imperialis indoctrination as a young conscript the emperor Embraces us at the hour of our death outside the valkyrie it was still dark the first tinge of orange dawn has yet to peek Over the Horizon it was five four one nine nine two m41 Captain Strike Force was part of a deep breeding Force about to drop Into the Heart of orc territory on the planet Castrol novum in the four star sector segmentum tempestas the orc threat to the force our sector had been growing for the past 50 years under that ambitious and power-hungry warlord Garrick hack the self-proclaimed Arch killer and the overfiend of talarax York's usual ragged and independent tribes Clans and warbands that started to unite the Warlords rise was following a pattern familiar to the logist stratigos of the administratum nursing orc warlord emerging from the chaos of the orc tribe's internal Wars and divisions had become dominant first ever his own Clan and then over the surrounding Clans and eventually gaining enough notoriety amongst the Orcs to draw more and more warbands to His Banner when he had gathered enough Orcs unto him a garage hacks increasingly build attacks upon Imperial worlds would gain the momentum of a full LA and when the wire took them then the Orcs would be driven into a frenzy of violence and destruction there would be millions of green skinned aliens descending on the populated systems of the four star sector in an Unstoppable tide of pillaging and bloody war without Mercy warlord Garrick hacks attacks had not officially become a full wire yet but alarmingly the momentum was obviously building behind it captain sandstadt and his Guardsmen of the 181st Elysian drop troop regiment supported by Space Marines of the Raven guard chapter were about to interrupt Garrick hack's momentum by launching a high-speed surgical raid upon Castrol novum they're colonized in M38 uh Castrol Nova was first claimed for the Emperor as a mining Outpost it was rich in phosphorus Mercury sulfur and other useful chemical components from the initial strip mining operations refineries for the chemicals were soon added to reduce the mineral oils bulk before transportation to forged worlds across segmentum tempestas from these Refinery operations manufacturing soon followed are bringing in other materials from surrounding systems to produce more complex chemicals such as mercury chloride sulfates and fulminates for use as explosives to meet the imperium's insatiable demand for Munitions the imperium's expanding chemical production facilities were centralized on a single continent known as idarina with mining operations across the planet's habitable equatorial Zone since first colonization the planet had been the target of several orc raids it its location within Striking Distance of the orc Empire of Octavius and more recently the Advent of wa skullcrack in a neighboring sector amended Castrol novum required a substantial Imperial Guard Garrison station there to protect the world one large raid by orc Pirates caused major disruption to production and resulted in the addition of two orbital defense stations and a squadron of monitor gunships to better deter further orc attacks then suddenly a new orc threat appeared in the four star system in the form of a determined assault by the rising goth warlord Garrick hack a Garrick hacks initial surprise landing and mass enslavement of The Outpost on thoria free as suddenly left Castrol novum's defenses looking inadequate and the four-star sector in deepening Peril following his overwhelming Victory on thoria free more Orcs were drawn to Garrick hack's success and the promise of future conquests and plunder as soon Orcs of every Clan as well as free Buddha War Vans were marching under gallocax Banner Imperial Guard regiments were quickly deployed across the sector to boost Garrison's strengths and to help counter garakak's arrival the majority were sent to reinforce the world of talarax with the plan of turning it into a fortress World strong enough to deter the Orcs Ambitions a talarax it quickly became the Lynch pin of the imperium's defensive strategy to Halt garlic hacks rise but the Imperial Guard commanders had underestimated the speed of Garrick hack's ascent and as yet had failed to recognize that behind his success was a brilliant awk mind a rare orc technical genius known as Mech boss buzzgob also garakak saw the build up of the imperium's forces on talarax as a challenge an invite to a proper scrap that he and his orc boys could not resist pounded by Buzz gobs Fleet and spearheaded by a horde of rickety-clanking war machines including many dreads and several Stompers Galaxy warbands attacked the Fortress of talarax head on the world only fell into war cans after a three-year war in which Millions died but with the imperium's main forces on talarax destroyed as the rest of the sector was now wide open for future orc attacks The Goth warlord eyed the rest of the four star sector with Glee he could now take his pick of the surrounding worlds none of their garrisons could match garakak's large and still growing armies after talarax many new war bans had also United under the new supreme leader they were War bands with names such as black fingers death skulls logracks bad moons zagos Flyboys dagrods kill boys and of course Buzz gobs dreadheads the next planet to face the orc Menace was Castrol novum the orc Invasion began with the destruction of the orbital defense platforms and the capture of the orbital extraction stations circling the gas giant Castrol Decimus all these space stations were later towed into orbit and crashed landed on the planet to be script for the wealth of materials and parts the orc attack on the Castrol system masterminded by met boss Gob himself it targeted the Imperium centralized manufacturing facilities The Garrison regiments planetary Defense Force and hastily raised and trained workers militias are put up a stubborn fight with the 49th terrax guard providing the backbone of the defenses the Orcs paid in blood for Castrol nervum finally breaking the last of the Defenders bastions by the deployment of Buzz gob's free Stompers these Stompers carried heavy Firepower which The Defenders had little answer to the survivors of Castrol Neville's important adeptus mechanics technicians and administratum prefects were evacuated from the last landing pad in the imperium's hands by then many of the planet's refineries and manufactorums had been reduced to rubble and scrap in the fighting no astropathic Communications have been received from the planet since the last evacuation for the past 35 standards years Castrol Neville has been listed as the xenos occupied system despite their defeats across the force our system it had not been all bad news for the imperium's commanders the bloody toll extracted by the Orcs in taking the Fortress world of talarax and then Castrol novum had for now stalled garlic hacks attacks and brought the Imperium enough respite to reorganize and more importantly reinforce the brave sacrifices on talarax and Castrol novum had brought the Imperium some time to bolster the next line of defenses Nas yet the Imperium had not mastered an army capable of delivering an effective counter-attack people retaking any of the Lost planets but the department had searched its local strategic reserves for Imperial Guard regiments to deploy onto Force R itself meanwhile the ecclesiaki had raised huge numbers of frittarius militia and they encouraged the zealous followers of the Red Redemption cult to defend their threatened Shrine world of Magdalene 8. but the respite they had won was only temporary the prospects of wire garakak were still very real the next Imperial controlled system to lie in garakak's path was the hive world of force art itself the sector's primary planet and center of the imperium's power in the sector with a population of over 30 billion Souls forsak could not be allowed to fall perhaps worse still should force awful than the next system in the Orcs path could easily be lysius the Principal planet of the lyceus system was Deliverance the Homeworld and Fortress Monastery of the venerated Raven guard chapter of Space Marines as the Imperium was desperately reinforcing so garakak now proclaiming himself as the arch killer and overthiend of talarax was also building up for his next big assault he wanted forcer his next Invasion would be a war to make talarax look like a mere Skirmish more Orcs were mastering daily [ __ ] for the big battles to come arriving from the Empire of Octavius to join the fighting but as his army grew so did its demands for the material of War all that was delaying garakak's invasion was a problem of the logistics it fell to Mac boss Buzz Gob to meet garakak's Supply demands since its capture a buzz golf had established a manufacturing base on Castrol novum and was now renamed by the orcs's mix slag X shipped to the planet came the loot plunder and scrap of the Orcs previous victories non-garrocax orders millions of tons of junk metal stripped from across the four-star sector was dumped on Castrol Nova to the Orcs Mech slagix was a bonanza warbands were sent to make use of the massive piles of fantastic scrap from which they could build all manner of war machines and weapons and a buzz gob's instructions everything from Sluggers and Shooters to battle fortresses and Stompers were being constructed and shipped to guard attack for the big invasion of forsa as the department worked to defend forcer they were not the only ones watching the progress of garakak and since the fall of cataracts The Raven guard chapter had been aware of the orc advance and had already been keeping a close watch on developments the continued mobilization Of Orcs across the sector meant that the Raven guard were forced to act the potential orc threat to Deliverance could not be ignored Swift action was called for the Raven guard fully mobilized to defend their Homeworld every company within the chapter had been brought up to its full fighting strength those strike forces already on deployment were recalled including Shadow Captain strike Strike Force currently on an extended Mission fighting wire skullcrack even before shrike's battle barges had returned to Deliverance the chapter had begun its operations to forestall garakak's Growing war never the coming years the chapter would begin its operations by dispatching a series of long-range reconnaissance forces deep into the orcal territory of the force our system moving with speed and stealth with the Scout company providing the bulk of the Manpower their first mission would be intelligence gathering operating in darkness and Shadows the scouts had to find out what the Orcs were up to where they were strong where they were weak and discover where their leaders were as well as how many boys each War Boss LED it was their necessary First Step before any offensive action could be taken each of these scouting Shadow forces would have to operate in all held space for a long deployment perhaps years the intelligence gathering phase was placed under the command of temp company Commander Shadow captain corvidai and once the chapter had received corvade's reports its other captains would then plan and execute a series of their trademark lightning attacks these would be targeted to strike at the Orcs weak points the Raven guard wanted to minimize the risk of facing the all chords in open battle that task they would leave to the Imperial Guard regiments which were digging in to defend forcer the time might come for open battle but first they would raid deep into orc territory by stealth and infiltration and then with a series of Swift powerful strikes they would systematically Target and Destroy key orc bases and leaders Squad by squad team by team the black clad Scouts of the Raven guard scattered themselves across the force our sector using their well-honed skills in concealment and observation to infiltrate all held worlds secretly they set up observation posts and surveillance equipment and then vanished before the Orcs knew they had ever arrived the first phase of the operation began as the Raven guards Scouts teams landed upon thoria free Castrol novum and at warlord garakak's current base on talarax even as the Raven guard watched and waited for their moment to attack the Orcs launched an attack upon the viridios system it was a welcome diversion led by one of garakak's lieutenants and black Finger probably as a rebellious attempt to grab some plunder and glory for himself it ended in disaster for the Orcs black fingers vessels were suddenly attacked by an Eldar Fleet where the Eldar came from and why was unknown but the Eldon inflicted a heavy defeat upon blackfinger most of his vessels were left drifting as Hulks and no orc warbands reached viridius's surface and after the battle the surviving orc ships towed the hulks away destined for Castrol novum where they would be crash landed as fresh scrap new spaceships might spring from the wreckage of the old Shadow Captain Corvette Scouts also observed a further development warlord garagax rise to power had not gone unnoticed within the orc held Empire of Octavius a second great warlord arrived at talarax in his converted space hog Ascent by the overfiend of Octavius himself a golgrock was a trusted lieutenant and he arrived to contest garakak's waxing power as seeking to overthrow him and take over the growing wah a gogrock a huge and heavily scarred bad moon veteran of 100 raids and battles arrived ready to do battle with garakak's boys before he could attack warlord garakak are called a parlay of both sides War bosses no one knows what exactly transpired at the meeting of these leaders but it must have ended and garakak issuing a challenge the winner would take all both warbands combining into one huge horde a horde big enough to crush the Punit Defenders of Forza none of the imperiums scribes recorded the result but history shows that garlic must have won his death duel a gograx space Hulk along with its attendant Cruisers rocks and his entire warband estimated it between 3 million and 5 million Orcs in total all fell straight into Garlic's green clawed hands the space Hulk was claimed as garakak's new flagship he was closer to launching his invasion at 705-988 m41 the orcon slot on four stars started the orc Fleet led by the space Hulks and rocks clashed with the imperium's flotilla and orbital defenses in a fleet engagement that lasted days before millions of Orcs descended upon the forlorn Hive world's defensive bastions the ground war and Forza had begun even as the fighting enforcer escalated daily with more and more Orcs Landing the reports that most interested The Raven guard officers came from Castro noven a scout team operating there soon learned that the planet had become garakak's manufacturing base from here the weapons and equipment that would soon see battle enforcer were being shipped in massive quantities they also learned that a single powerful orc Mech boss was directing the operation and he had also began construction on a gargant a huge stomping War Machine the size of a warlord Titan and an important symbol of the wire here was an opportunity for the Raven guard to attack Garrick ax horde without confronting the strength of his warbands if they could disrupt the weapons manufacturing facilities the knock-on effect would slow or stall the invasion of forcer and buy more time to deploy fresh Imperial Guard troops and stabilize the crumbling defenses on Castrol novum The Raven guard also Target the orc leadership it was obvious that garakak was relying heavily upon this Chief Mech killed a met boss and it would be an Irreplaceable loss despite repeated urgent requests for assistance from the Imperial guards commanders at the front on Forza The Raven guard had found their own Target the scouts were recalled and two strike forces were quickly assembled the first would be dispatched to Forza to help on the front line against the tide of greenskins now sweeping from hive City to Hive City Shadow Captain shrike and his Elite assault Talon would lead the first strike force in return for the pledge of shrike's Aid The Raven guard also requested and received assistance the 181st Elysian drop troop regiment was fully equipped trained and already preparing to deploy to forsa instead it was diverted to Aid The Raven guards second deployment the second deployment would be a strike force destined for Castro novum again led by 10th company Shadow captain corvidae and for this Mission the 181st Elysian drop troop regiment newly equipped with Valkyrie transports and vulture gunships would be placed under dies come on between the elite Imperial Guard dropped troops and Shadow Force corvade they would launch a powerful raid upon Castrol known the allegiance part of the mission would be to Target and destroy the Orcs manufacturing facilities especially the gargan construction site The Raven guards primary Mission would be to hunt down and kill MEK boss buzzgob detailed planning for the attack began straight away using information provided by their Scouts the Raven guard identified the center of the Orcs manufacturing facilities on Castrol novum along with the best sites for their own defendable Landing Zone this would have to be well away from the Orcs but the imperium's forces would be completely air mobile so the distance mattered little the planners selected two locations as their base of operations one for the elysians and one for the Space Marines these were both far from the continent occupied by the Orcs Castrol novums inhospitable seven continent had never been populated but strip mining and quarrying for all had taken place and after a closer investigation by The Raven guard Scouts these were found to have been largely looted out by the Orcs And little remained the Orcs had now abandoned them as useless two former mines would now become the raids air bases the Attack Force would make Planet fall in the southern continent Out Of Reach of the Orcs except for any roving orc aircraft and then quickly prepare their aircraft and troops for the drop assault the elysians would need time to get their Valkyries and vultures assembled and ready for battle and get all their fuel and ammunition supplies in place as with the Imperial Navy squadrons they will be adding to the assault's air support time was critical the longer they delayed the attack the greater the chance of Discovery and the Orcs being pre-warned and ready The Raven guard gave the elysians an Imperial Navy just three days and they would have to work night and day to be ready at 406 992-m41 The Raven guard strike Cruiser aragonius and its two escorts the Gladius class on Anthea Primus and anantia second as rendezvous with a Imperial Navy transport Convoy designated ADV 548 the holds of these free armed transports were full of aircraft Valkyries vultures Thunderbolts even a few more ordered bombers all dismantled the entire Elysian 181st drop troop regiment was also embarked along with support personnel and penal laborers the vessels Navigators set course for the Castrol system and battle of the Orcs as instructed by The Raven God Colonel tahoon and his company commanders planned their part of the raid in detail the drawing on their schooling in the tactic and Imperium the ground attack would be a classic hammer and Anvil Assault The Hammer would be the first attack driving the Orcs back onto the awaiting Anvil which would be a strong stop line with heavy weapons in place ready and waiting for the Orcs to be driven into their Killing Fields the hammer was co-named sword force and given to the command of Captain exist his F company is supported by elements of G and H companies would Target the area of orc industry around the gargan construction site their sudden assault supported by vulture and Vendetta gunships should catch the Orcs unawares And Drive them northwards onto the waiting heavy guns of Shield force in the process they would overrun the garden construction site and destroy it with demolition charges and melted meanwhile Shield force would be the Anvil under the command of a veteran Captain sandstad his would be the single largest Elysian deployment it would be this force that engaged and destroyed the majority of the Orcs in their pre-sighted killing zones getting Shield Force into position would be difficult as its transport requirements could not easily be met by the available Valkyries it would mean withdrawing Valkyrie support from other forces in order to get enough drop troops in position in time once on the ground Shield force would be mostly static holding position around its Landing Zone being static made it vulnerable to outflanking Maneuvers from the south it would be protected by sword forces advance and the Orcs coming from the south should already be in disarray after sword forces lightning assault the northern flank would be more problematic orgs coming south in response to the landing Fields it could easily find their way into Shield forces rear areas and attack from behind to avoid this a third force would be deployed a screening flank protection unit codenamed dagger force it would be built around a company under Captain Garrick they would screen shield force with mobile patrols and establish a skirmishing line to intercept divert And Delay any Orcs approaching from the north it was the smallest of the three drop forces but they only had to hold long enough for shield Force to complete its work overall the mission plan was scheduled for two days of combat then a rapid extraction back to base a fourth smaller force would be given the mission of Base security and act as a limited Reserve in case of emergency this force would be under Captain tahoon himself who would not be taken to the battlefield but would be overseeing the battle from the regiment's command post at its base this was because the most complex part of the Elysian operation was their air plan this would be Colonel tahoon's main role in the mission planning and overseeing the schedules for aircraft use the machines and air Crews would be pushed to their limits to keep a constant flow of men and Equipment into the Drop Zones as well as the transport plan there were the close support aircraft to integrate into it a vultures and vendettas which must be given their supporting roles over each Drop Zone all this had to be carefully planned based on fuel consumption to keep at least some support in the Skies over each Drop Zone once the fighting started inevitably the regiment would never have its full aerial power on station at any one time the third part of the plan was the inclusion of Imperial Navy fighter squadrons whose primary task would be keeping the skies clear of any aircraft and flying close escort for the valkyrie formations as they made their way to and from their Drop Zones the Thunderbolts would also have to be figured into the close support schedules finally there was the bomber Squadron they were orders were the regiment's heavy heaters but would be of limited use in Direct close support of ground troops their mission would be to try to interdict the Battle Zone area and hit the Orcs manufacturing facilities they would strike deeper than the other aircraft using the guidance of their single Marauder Vigilant aircraft to find and bomb concentrations of orc manufacturing and pre-identified airfields the bombers would need fighter escorts too the airplane man was highly complex hence the need for the Colonel's full attention he would delegate his senior captains to lead the actual fighting on the ground the 181st drop troop regiment was only operating within the broader plan initiated by The Raven guard before arriving on Castrol novum the chapter had pre-planned the attack in detail and designated the Elysian drop troop as their mission objectives The Raven guard's own forces also had their objectives before offensive operations could begin they would be sending seven Scout teams back onto Castrol Nova these would already be operating in secret when the main attack began once the Orcs had been stirred into action by The elysian's Landings The Raven guard would be airborne in thunderhawks and their strike Cruiser would be racing into position to deploy their drop pod squads during the raid the Raven guards mission was to identify and eliminate the orc warlord's Chief technical specialist their Scouts would be seeking him out once located The Raven guards main strike force would land in mass and attack in the general confusion of the fighting of the Orcs already fully distracted by the elysians The Raven guard would be able to overwhelm the all commanders bodyguards and kill him thus inflicting an Irreplaceable dent in garag hacks Ambitions the second objective had also been pre-identified scared forces had already inerted the location of the Orcs main fuel reserves may form a chemical refinery was now being used as a storage facility for massive amounts of fuel it had also been marked for Destruction and once the battle was in full swing a small orbital insertion force would be dropped from the strike Cruiser the timing would prevent the Orcs being able to react to the attack and give the smaller Force time to defeat the guards and set demolition charges the loss of their main fuel store and should have a crippling effect not only on the Orcs uncash don't know them but it was also prevent the these stockpiles ever reaching the war bands fighting on Forza Shadow Captain corvidai would be the overall commander of the raid and the battlefield commander of the Raven guards main Strike Force whilst Chaplin itet led the orbital assault Force against the fuel dump chapter 2 Drop Zone X Landings Captain excised unclipped himself from the narrow Valkyrie seat into which he was wedged and lurched up hanging onto a grab rail beside the open door through which hammered a fierce blast of rushing air it was swirled around the transport compartment like a tornado the Gunner partially blocking the doorway glanced back at him and gave him a thumbs up a grinning beneath his mirrored visor helmet before turning back to continue scanning the ground rushing past below excised leaned over to estimate the distance to the ground maybe a hundred meters the valkyrie was traveling fast and low the din of its twin engines announcing their rapid approach to drop zone X suddenly the door Gunners heavy Bolter boomed a sharp first its shells winding away towards the ground where a huddle Of Orcs was a grudging exist couldn't tell at this speed we're taking aim skywards Mazzy watched fire came snapping towards the valkyrie one round of ricocheted off the underwing with a bright spark and a metallic ping the door gunner fired another burst back then another as the target receded behind sword force was taking fire already and they hadn't reached the Drop Zone yet it wanted excised in his helmet communicator the pilot announced they were 30 seconds from the Target and almost simultaneously he felt the valkyrie's engines power down as they decelerated for Final Approach he turned back and gave the hand signal for the drop troops inside to stand up there was a bustle of activity as one after another the Guardsman unclipped their seat harnesses and rows weapons in hand in well rehearsed order excised and his men were in the first wave of rock troops about to jump over Drop Zone X named for the captain leading the battle on the ground this small Vanguard Force preceded the main Body by five minutes with the task of clearing any enemy from the immediate Drop Zone area marking the area with auto Direction finding beacons for the following aircraft and deploying the Tactical grounds scanners the scanners would give exist and his air support a quick overview of where the Orcs were and how many there might be just from his approach run excised already suspected there may be more Orcs than his pre-mission intelligence summary had estimated exist jumped from the Valkyries rear ramp at about 100 meters he was the last of his stick to exit and by the time he stepped out into Open Sky the first of his men would already be on the ground even before he exited the valkyrie he could hear the Deep thud thud thud of the door all Gunner's heavy Bolter laying down a suppressing curtain of fire the valkyrie was hovering that but the jet wash from its engines turbulence buffeted the captain as he jumped clear his grav shoot unit activating instantly he had no time to check it or to form the standard cruciform jump position he hit the ground almost before he knew he was Airborne his ingrained muscle memory from countless training jumps meant he didn't tense on impact making for a soft Landing even so the impact adjusted him to the bones and forced all the air from his lungs without thinking he rolled with the impact coming to rest amidst the dusty red Earth instantly he was up in a Crouch unholstering the last pistol and his waist and checking about him before and hitching the grab shoot harness with its quick release buckles and shrugging the bulky backpack off it hit the ground with a thump released from its weight exactly diced was ready to fight the hand-picked Guardsmen of the first wave knew their tasks well they had trained for this Mission a hundred times sergeants assembled their teams and squads about them armored men were scurrying to and fro recovering dropped canisters which they cracked open voxets were checked as one by one the squads reported into their platoon commanders overhead the Valkyries emptied their ammunition magazines the staccato pop pop of multi-lasers was interrupted by the sudden whoosh of Hell strike missile rocket engines igniting the missiles streaked away into the distance impacting in a sudden blossoming orange Fireball then one after another the aircraft banked away engines at full thrust as they climbed clear of any incoming ground fire their transports were returning to base to re-arm refuel and bring the follow-up wave of excised force the captain climbed to the top of a low pile of junk it seemed to be the remain chains of some Machinery now long dismantled and heavily rust encrusted and once on top he pulled out his magnocular scanner and swept it across the Horizon pausing to focus on a distant tall structure the jutted skywards like a skyscraper under construction the half-built gargant was a ramshackle collection of Steel plating scaffolding chains and pulleys and what appeared to the Elysian Captain to be nothing more than accumulated scrap metal it was difficult to believe that given time it would become a massive smoke belching Leviathan of war machine bristling with Weaponry of all kinds turning his scanner to full magnification he could see the smaller figures of workers Orcs or Gretchen again he could not tell and scurrying above over the ungainly edifice he also noted that amongst the building-sized piles of scrap were The Telltale battles of anti-aircraft weaponry the goggin construction site was ringed with them and more would be hidden from view it was his mission to attack and overrun that site in so doing driving the Orcs northwards first he needed the main body of his Strike Force to find his position and jump in then he had to get his squads organized deployed and moving North There Was a Race Against Time to smash the Orcs before they were able to muster more forces exist scrambled back down from the Machinery to where his Vox operator awaited him the first platoon reports beacons are in position and broadcasting sir he reported excised nodded his approval confirm message received and understood get me an update on the ground scanners how long before the calibrations are complete now I want to know as soon as any squad makes first contact with the Enemy Mech boss Gob heard the aircraft approaching from the south they came in fast low and Loud all roaring engines and blazing Shooters it might almost have made him smile if he hadn't already been so angry his mood was already sour he had just finished arguing over an assignment of parts with a mob of blue painted looters they'd found the parts he needed for the rise arm main weapon power coupling including some almost new shiny heavy cabling but they'd also had the affront to up the agreed price due to the quality of the goods the buzzgov it didn't like the death scars few Orcs did he suspected they all worked for skulk Bluetooth the scabby old scrap king of mechlag IX who was busy getting stinking Rich whilst he was busy making the weapons to win warlord Garrick ax war on Forza he had sent the looters away with a warning that he'd have to report them to overseer gragrack if they didn't hand over his parts and gragrack took a dim view of pesky flea bitten death skulls who got in the way of Buzz gob's important work bully boys and no doubt would find them and pull a few ears or limbs off and to teach them a lesson about who they actually worked for still he'd had to make sure the mob had been escorted away otherwise gork knew what their thieving fingers would a light upon before they left after the brief heated exchange the looters had finally handed over the parts in return for crates of ammunition and barrels of fuel a buzz gob's two grot assistance knit knuckle and lunk had struck the parts off the big list of missing bits and now buzzgov needed a Mech to get to work fitting them it was as he was drunkly discussing with his two clever little grots which Mech was currently underworked and needed a new job or a good kick up the rear end whilst at the same time fishing about in his pouch for a smoke and then he heard the first distant wine of a jet engine approaching a growing steadily louder and louder at first he assumed it would be those mad fly boys testing out their latest fighter bomber engine but the single engine had rapidly built into a thunderous din of an Airborne Armada interest peaked he climbed the nearest scaffolding to get a better view of the aircraft's approach his cigar was totally forgotten as buzzgob watched in amazement all the work around him had stopped as Orcs And grots gathered alongside him to gorp 18 aircraft had appeared over the southern Horizon and from them tumbled the tiny figures of humies puny humans falling from the sky like rain all come to think of it like storm boys buzzgop saw then seconds later heard the violent swoosh of two rockets launched from the lead aircraft the missiles streaked towards the gargant arrow straight and fast before smashing into the ground ahead of buzzgob there was an orange flash an explosion and the Gantry swayed violently underneath buzzgov Thick Smoke billowed up quickly followed by a second blast amidst a pile of discarded Parts over which a few groths had been surging all morning Jagged metal and the Seven body parts of several grots flew into the air and landed close by in a bloody steaming mess the smell of cordite powder blood and burned flesh drifted to him I don't know why they're using cordite powder that seems a little bit odd he inhaled deeply it was a smell he loved almost as much as that of old grease oil and exhaust fumes it was a smell all Orcs loved buzzgob grinned it was the smell of battle maybe maybe a couple of hundred years ago the Elysian drop troops had made first Contact the incoming fire was not yet intense but Guardsman Wyatt Orrick heard the snap of rounds as they zipped overhead wildly inaccurate but then he had fought Orcs before and wildly inaccurate is what you'd come to expect it was up close you didn't want to meet one face to face he crawled the further up the pile of Twisted rubble and had once been a wall of some kind his a Katrin mark four sniper rifle in front of him and his head down once he reached it vantage point he stopped flipped down the weapons bipod and settled into a good firing position Somewhere Out There amidst the junkyard lying before him there was at least one enemy he removed the dust cover from the lens of his scope and peered down it slowly methodically surging more rounds fizzed past not close enough to bother him he didn't think the Orcs knew where he was they were were probably just shooting for the hell of it auric watched and waited patient as the hunter from his elevated position he had a good overview he saw a movement to his left and zeroed in in his sight he saw a green skin small and childlike it reminded oroch of a catholian swamp Toad the way it hopped about from one foot to another dodging back and forth me was armed with a pistol crude and by the looks of it barely functional the pistol flashed again and a bullet ricocheted around winding off the scrap piles harmlessly auric aculy awaited motionless next time it hopped out auric fired first the laser blast fizzed briefly a white streak and the Gretchen's head seemed to explode the remaining torso fell hard flailing moments later a second little green skin appeared and or it dropped it too with another clean headshot with its body a landing next to the other a third Gretchen broke cover and ran its weapon discarded as auric placed his side reticule upon the back of its skull a flurry of lazbots flashed from his right and the creature vanished from sight as it fell he clicked open his comms Mike this is Alpha 4-4 we have contact front three enemies down holding position Zeiss sir Alpha 4-4 report enemy contact at their position the comms operator updated the captain as he Strode amongst the junkyard Standing Tall like an officer must the first shots had been fired it wasn't important it's just the briefest of firefights with stray Gretchen not organized resistance get me an ETA for the second wave he demanded of his Vox man who quickly set to flicking switches and dials to find the required comms Channel exist's first wave was in place everything was up and running in minutes his long-range ground scanning units had nothing to report so far no major enemy movement but he still needed to get moving North the second wave inbound ETA are the Drop Zone 90 seconds excised turn to Look Backwards any minute now a flight of Valkyries and supporting Vendetta and vulture gunships would come rushing into view he pulled his heavy jump helmet off to better hear the approaching engines he did not have long to wait preceded by the Thunder of engines the Valkyries soon came racing overhead drop Troopers tumbling out in their wake amidst the drop troops came Sentinels each mounted upon a heavy grab sled that ejected it out of the rear ramp each of the Walkers also mounted a large grab shoot unit on its rear and as it fell The Sentinel righted itself before impacting the ground upon its reinforced leg pistons in a cloud of dust and debris from that dust cloud The Walker reared up to its full height and stalked forwards weapons swiveling they were Gorky awkward-looking Machines of war and lightly armored with a single pilot hidden inside the cockpit's rail cage but each carried a heavy weapon their weapons provided the Infantry platoons with the sort of heavy Firepower Mere Men just could not carry into battle more men and Equipment followed transport after transport sped above them scattering their cargos of Guardsmen and drop canisters before banking away sharply for home the vultures remained on station circling High ready for a call into an attack run over the Vox reports from Platoon and Sentinel squadrons were coming in thick and fast now Captain excised gave his command squad or squatting close by and in cover earthy word to prepare to move out then he issued the order for all platoons to begin the Advance North towards the gargant the Mac boss sent knit knuckle and lank running to summon all the boys they could with Buzz gobs orders to get the dreads still ringing in their large pointy ears as the two grots definitely slid down the Gantry ladder a boscob roared more orders to anybody with an earshot get your gear get moving ebello waving in the direction of the incoming aircraft and the hoomies all around him gorping Orcs were suddenly running grabbing anything they could use as Weapons there was going to be a fight a proper big fight and There Was An Almighty scramble to be first to the battle buzzgov himself set about grabbing and flinging any orc or grot Within Reach in the direction he wanted them to run he lives of the fact that he was stood three stories up on a scaffold gantry below him the bosses and mechs were gathering the boys from within the gargans barely a group of burner boys appeared their cutting tools still glowing red hot from the working within they looked bemused not having yet registered that they were under attack and Mech ran up and quickly appraised them of the situation and landed over there the burner boys needed no second invitation heftying their big Cutters they set off running South amidst the clamor truck engines fired into life and boys and grots leapt to board before racing off weaving through the scrap piles Guardsman Ulrich watched through his powerful scope as the Elysian troops moved out advancing in good order through the ruins he thumbed the scope's power to full and scanned the distant Horizon after his first kills he had changed position as trained now he had climbed to the top of the tallest scrap pile around and carefully dug himself in from here he could cover the whole sector with accurate sniper fire if any green skin poked its head out oric was waiting to shoot it off from his new Vantage Point Oreck saw a Band Of Orcs approaching in a wide track vehicle and it was some form of truck all splattering engine rumbling tracks and big exhausts it seemed to have little suspension and by the way its passengers were Clinging On for Grim life as it bucked and bounced over the uneven ground he counted about 10 other Orcs And a driver with a variety of weapons some seem to just be carrying pieces of pipe as clubs he took careful aim on the drive ever trying to track its erratic movements he squeeze the trigger a single last shot flashed but only impacted on the front of the bouncing truck scorching the metal but doing no serious damage he aimed the game and fired this time the shot missed the old driver's head by inches and again did no damage as the track ground to a halt the Orcs piled out running the driver ducked low in his cab and began to turn around more of auric's shots fizzed into the vehicle but the truck accelerated away at that moment a vulture gunship slid overhead and opened fire with its two large Punisher cannons the Gatling cannons sounded like the tearing of heavy fabric all around the truck the ground erupted great chunks of metal flew up from a cloud of dancing Sparks when the Punisher Cannon stops the truck was a wreck track links and road wheels torn off its engines steaming the driver was nowhere to be seen Nvidia had jumped clear or been caught in the hail of bullets and had disintegrated the presence of the gunships loitering overhead gave Oracle and his Legion compatriots great heart many had fought Orcs before and knew that they were an alien race that lived for battle yes they lacked discipline training and Battlefield tactics but they made up for it with all the aggression and seemingly thick skull belief in their own invincibility in close combat the elysians knew that an orc could easily pull their arms off and would grin whilst doing it they were sadistic brutal and merciless creatures but with the vultures Valkyries and vendettas overhead it was unlikely the usual mob handed Rush of a green-skinned horde would get anywhere near their leading squads as Oreck continued his Vigilant OverWatch he could see more orgs massing to the north at this range it looked like thousands but it was more likely to be hundreds and many of them would be a the little gretching which we're about as dangerous as an armed child as yet he couldn't see any larger war machines and that was a blessing from the emperor if he did his comms channel was ready to call down a missile armed vulture to blast it back into the scrap it was no doubt constructed from when tafrak emerged from the bowels of the gargant his burner still glowing red hot from dissecting steel plating he was bemused even more so than usual protected inside his heavy helmets and face mask he had noticed that work had ceased for the day until just about every other orc had vanished eventually he emerged from the Smoky Darkness inside what would eventually become the gargans engine room blinking into the sunlight and all around Orcs were running about grabbing weapons and shouting in a frenzy of chaotic activity he stood and watched for a minute still none the wiser only when old gorez arrived and pointed out that some dumb humies had landed not far away and there was going to be a scrap did the penny finally drop a tooth Rock and laughed well fighting beat working he immediately started running the crushing weight of his burner and its fuel packs momentarily forgotten as he went he balled for the other boys to join him he ran South through an area they all knew well were parts for the building work had been sorted and stored ahead the sky was infested with aircraft more aircraft and tough Rook had ever seen in one place they were all darting about like stinging insects a tooth Rock and his boys tried to keep up with the crowds Of Orcs And rots now moving in the same direction but the weight of their tools the soon to become weapons and slowed them down a big track loaded down with more whooping boys raced past they were just one of many mobs now heading to the fight two flux boys first encountered the humies at what had once been a Road intersection but the road was just broken Pharaoh Crete now an empty fuel barrels lay scattered everywhere some were still leaking green gunk they started off across the open ground humping it as fast as they could when an aircraft appeared an open fire the ground erupted as rounds impacted about him somehow by gork's luck they missed him but old Mech gorez was killed shredded by the hail of big slugs toughruck Applause to drag go as his body away and wedged it under a tottering pile of fuel barrels close by he wanted to come back and strip the old Mech of his gear and pull his teeth out but if he left his body lying in the open he knew he'd soon find some thieving death skull had looted the body by the time he got back he was still repeatedly kicking Gore as his body deeper into its hiding place when he saw the first aircraft shot down the boys cheered wildly as the smoking trail of a rocket curved skywards it hit the aircraft on its tail boom close to the engine and big chunks flew off in the explosion then for a few seconds the aircraft just hovered and steadily first it pitched sideways as if in slow motion rolling over as the pilot lost control it plunged down and crashed close by crumbling into the ground and throwing up a huge pool of orange dust the crash brought more cries of Joy from the boys and tooth Rock a change Direct action heading straight towards the downed aircraft there was good scrap to be had of it and he had just a tool for the job Captain exist watched the first vulture gunship go down through his magnocular scanner he could clearly see where one of its tail booms had been blasted Away by an explosion and the aircraft pitched sideways into the ground it had been lost in the Gathering mass of Orcs overhead there was little hope of rescuing the pilot and weapons officer on board if the emperor was merciful they would have been killed in the impact rather than left the Orcs the battle that started for real up ahead the firing had grown in intensity the pop of lazgans and the bark of heavy bolters were soon joined by the sudden explosive Crump of mortar rounds Landing he could hear the voxcaster behind him now wedged on the ground chattering with the reports of squad leaders and platoon commanders as they fought the Orcs from excite's position the enemies seemed to be shooting from everywhere shells wind overhead a lot was happening at once the Orcs were arriving in numbers but his airport was starting to thin out overhead his vultured gunships were running low on fuel and ammunition they couldn't loiter close by forever soon they would have to turn for home Captain exist had known his most powerful weapon couldn't operate indefinitely out here but the attack plan included a second wave of gunships that should already be inbound before they started making bombing and strafing runs the aircraft needed the location of exercise forward squads to avoid attacking their own side but to this task that exist now committed himself buzzgob stalked through the orc ranks waving and roaring his boys forwards a missile streaked overhead and exploded just behind him the hot blast wave washed over him in a torrent of flying debris he urged all the boys around him the orc boys were shooting now the rattle of Shooters and Sluggers becoming a cacophony music to his ears a bomb exploded amidst the scrap to his left and a thick metal girder was sent flipping end over n by the blast a splattering and unsuspecting grot as it landed many other bomb landed and then another lobber rounds buzzgob nodded his approval the Hume is obviously had some heavy guns he could do with some himself he thought it briefly occurred to buzzgob to go and fetch the big lugger his stomper but it would take too long to round up the crew Manny would have to quit the field and he'd only just got here things were just heating up nicely which reminded the old big Mech where the hell when Nick knuckle and lunk the little grot said Scamp it away to fetch more boys and his dreads they should be back by now most likely they had found a safe hole and crawled into it stupid puny grotz still he tolerated their cowardice they'd be difficult to replace if they got themselves killed to buzz Gob it seemed all was going well the boys were getting well stuck in a good fight had been what they needed he'd even seen an aircraft get shot down he made a mental note to tell lunk to make sure he got first pickings of the scrap from that wreck the Flyboys would pay well for the engine parts the Orcs And the drop Troopers had been fully engaged for over an hour now at first the aerial Firepower of the gunships had raked the massive Orcs and held back the tide scores of greenskins laid dead amidst the junk and wreckage of the previous battle for Castrol novum under the curtain of heavy fire the Guardsmen had been able to push forwards towards the objective fighting on the run as they made good ground the second wave of gunships had also arrived and quickly unloaded their payloads onto the Orcs adding to the devastation and Carnage being wrought upon them but they had also retired from the battle and were not returned for several hours the drop troops now fought without their heaviest fire support and the battle was turning amidst the rubble and scrap the allegiance forward with just last guns and grenades Captain ex-ice had moved his command post forward temporarily occupying an old bomb crater lying prone at the crater's lip he listened to the Vox chatter the half-built gargan was a lot closer now looming ahead of them and and the orc resistance had slackened after the first air strike from where he was lying the captain could see at least six Orcs And gretching bodies most missing Limbs and heavily burnt scattered upon the ground three Sentinels were just beyond them firing repeatedly with the dramatic whoosh of superheated air as their multi-melters turned another pile of scrap into pools of steaming liquid slag tufrock ran as swiftly as it could around the junkyard he had been on mechlag IX for the past five years earning his teeth carving scrap into useful bits for building trucks battle wagons and dreads before then he'd seen lots of fighting on talarax that's where he'd earned himself the burner and joined a burner boy's mob this was his first real action since that time if you didn't include several brawls ever Squig juice and teeth payments he moved with the greater mob darting from scrap pile to scrap power for cover and trying to get close enough to put his burner to work he had already seen his Target a dread like walking machine that looked like its legs would come off easily he was back in the fight after being forced to abandon his attempt to grab some good plunder off the crashed aircraft because big Mech Buzz Gob had showed up claimed the wreck for himself and ordered them all back into the battle still a tufrog relished the fight the humans were fighting art and giving no quarter and their bombers had been busy twice tough Rook had almost been blasted to Pieces by bombs still for all their bombs and guns the humans weren't very brave or tough without all that aircraft the boys would easily have surrounded them and then killed them all and probably with their bare hands just for the fun of it he made a dash to the cover of the next scrap bar there was already a crowd of boys behind it firing blind over the top the humans return fire was fizzing around them as he ran one last bolt punched a steaming hole in his left bicep it bled but it didn't hurt next he rushed to the smoldering wreck of a truck that had been hit earlier scrambling under his bulky equipment a tough Rock ducked into cover in another hail of lazfire he and several of the boys that had followed his lead lay behind the truck and started shooting back he saw one human shot in the head his helmet flying off and rolling across the ground he took aim at where he thought the Walker would appear next a narrow gap between a scrap pile and a half Fallen wall and waited for his chance the Guardsman auric was in the thick of the fighting running alongside a sentinel as it stalked forwards kicking aside a pile of discarded old tires in the remains auric thought of a rusting vehicle chassis New York's infested the area and every scrap pile and fuel drum could conceal a lurking green skin he dropped to his knees snapped off three rounds said movement up ahead then was up and moving again the Sentinel did not pause to Fire and auric ran to catch up again just as he did the Walker exploded in a shower of Sparks and yellow flames Ark bright a sudden bolt of light had smashed into its right leg cheering through the Pistons and hydraulic cables like a Laz Cannon blast The Sentinel tottered then fell pitching sideways as its right leg gave way under it or to jump back as the Sentinels fuel cell ruptured on impact spilling high grade promethium from behind Ora could see the pilot but suspected he'd be knocked unconscious in the fall it's all about making a dash to rescue him but the slightest spark would ignite the fuel and turn the stricken Walker into an inferno instead auric found himself some cover and watched The Sentinel from there the first orgs to appear wouldn't get their plunder without a fight the first orc to appear wasn't an orc at all but a clanking War Machine ungainly with arms flailing its heavy weapon shooting seemingly at random into the air or it couldn't miss the metal monster filled his sights as he scoped in on it he fired once saw the laser bolt impact without result and took a careful second aim on the vision slit he fired again then again both shots fizzing off the dreadnought's armored front plate then a returning burst of Fire as an aura ducking back into cover the Dreadnought clanked on towards the Fallen Sentinel which lay silent in an expanding pool of its own fuel with a roar of rushing air The Sentinel was engulfed in flames the spark from the orc machine must have just ignited it more Orcs were following their Dreadnought towards oregano reaching into his arm pouch she pulled out a crack grenade flipped off the cap and summed The Detonator button breaking cover he hurled the anti-tank grenade at the orc War Machine then hoisting his sniper rifle turned and ran the grenade detonated with a sharp crack or it didn't look back to see what damage it had done instead he found a new position skidded into the cover and settled behind his sniper rifle again the Orcs were closing in and it seemed reinforcements had arrived they're chanting and Wild shooting was getting closer at last his dreads had arrived they'd taken their time buzzgop thought as he pointed them in the right direction the boys had taken a bit of a pounding but his two grads had finally got the dreads moving and now they were here ready to join the battle killer cans death dreads and even one of his Mega dreads came swaying and stomping through the junk and Rubble all along the Elysian front the advance had now stalled ground down into a series of bloody skirmishes that were costing men but not gaining any ground the elysians had killed a lot of Orcs but there had been a lot to kill and more were still arriving logs were being ferried into the area by trucks and wagons and now their dreadnoughts had join them buzzgob's personal retinue of dreadnoughts had not been far from the gargan site most of the mechs that built and maintained the dreadheads were the same mechs that were now constructing the gargant the dreadnoughts had thick armor and the elysians were not well equipped to meet them on the ground the drop troops relied upon their air support and for now it was gone Captain ex iced was urging Colonel tahoon to send extra airstrikes but the regiment was now fully committed to its planned attacks and just about every aircraft was even engaged in delivering Shield Force to their drop zone or in transit between the Battle Zone and the air base exist was painfully aware the that was one of the main drawbacks of air power over ground power tanks might need fuel and ammunition but once they were in place very little was going to move them aircraft needed Fuel and ammunition too but they couldn't hold ground Captain exists earlier worries about orc numbers so now become more serious the Orcs were still coming and his platoons were being eaten up there were far more Orcs defending this gargant and sword force was equipped to deal with he estimated that they had killed the Orcs at a ratio of maybe three or four to one but he felt as if the initiative on the ground had ebbed away the Orcs were still being reinforced and were starting to counter-attack he could stand and fight and maybe hold out until the gunships returned but even then he wasn't sure he had the Manpower left to wrestle the initiative back and get his men moving to that Garden to gain better he reasoned with himself to look to fall back reorganize and buy some time by giving up some ground that way he could preserve some of his fighting strength and coordinate a second push perhaps a drawing upon the regiment's emergency reserves when the Air transport became available again of course withdrawing wasn't going to sit well with Colonel tehoon or the spaceman Captain for that matter but as the man on the ground it had to be exist's call he was the officer in command here in the right place to make the Tactical decisions he knew he couldn't afford to leave it too long either an orc attack could overrun the sword force and then any withdrawal would become a pal Mal route rather than an organized Retreat his mind made up Captain excised got back on the Vox to issue the fallback orders to his platoon commanders it was time to give up the ground they had won and get some space between his squads and the Orcs sword Force had lost the initiative weight of numbers was beginning to tell for the moment the gargant Was Out Of Reach the drop Troopers began to withdraw as fast as they could some squads remained in place to cover their comrades but Mouse made a rapid withdrawal over the ground they had just fought to take it was ground littered with the detritus of battle smoking and burning wreckage spilled accurate black smoke a small Lake formed by the oil slick from a leaking storage tank was burning Fierce orange Flames that roared 20 feet high casting a dense Cloud into the sky the dead human and orc littered the ground their equipment lying around them many of their lesions were assisting their wounded comrades as they fell back Squad sergeants tried to maintain order barking commands to stick together nobody was to discard any Weaponry this fight may be over but they were just regrouping for a second attack Captain excised himself remained in position watching the men trailing past him dirty and weary he'd seen battle many times before made Retreats before and knew that he had to remain visible and to let the men see his confidence if the withdrawal wasn't to become a route and a defeat he hadn't lost this battle yet just then out of nowhere and with no warning a mortar round landed impacting no more than two meters from the officer the blast lifted him clean off his feet a smoking chunk of shrapnel smashed into the side of his knee his armored knee pad saved his leg from being cut or clean off but the metal had sliced deep through the Flesh and Bone small pieces of shrapnel and also and peppered his right side one piece had smashed his front teeth at and blood was leaking down his chin dazed and bleeding on the ground exist tried to suppress the owl of pain that was Building inside him his knee felt like it was on fire from the inside instinctively he tried to stand but fell and cried out in pain the captain's Vox operator was first to him arriving as another mortar round landed and sprayed them both with more red dirt under Fire he jabbed and ampule of pain-killing chemicals into the captain's neck it took me a second to work and meant he could help the captain up without him passing out the Vox operator yelled for the medic the command squad's medic had been a busy man all day scampering to and fro his medipack all but exhausted of supplies when he arrived on the scene there was little more he could do for his Commander the knee wound was bad it needed surgery to remove the hunk of metal it might cost him the leg after all he helped the Vox operator carry exist and they started moving back the captain was out of action sword Force had lost its commander on the ground Buzz gold wondered where all the humies had gone the fighting seemed to have died down just as his dreads had arrived and started to get in on the action one minute there was lots of DACA flying now it seemed the humans had run off which was disappointing because he'd been hoping to watch the dreads do some serious mangling he walked over to inspect the charred wreckage of one of the humi's funny little Walker dread machines it was just a blackened Hulk with nothing worth salvaging Left Behind the pilot was a hunk of shrunken charred flesh buzzgob and gave the machine a solid kick just to see and his heavy Boot made a big dent in the heat softened metal useless junk buzzgob marched on stepping over and on the bodies of the dead as he went most of his boys and dreads had raced on ahead of him still in Hot Pursuit some malingeras were lurking back here looting notably most of the blue war paint of the deaf skulls he suspected that Mouse had shirk to the real fighting and had just hung around to get the best pickings at the end agrots were also scurrying about Gathering up armfuls of weapons and gear it was then that knit knuckle and lunk reappeared again suspiciously after the shooting had ended the two grots and came running up with expressions of urgency boss there is more humans north of here Nick knuckle blurted lots more and skulks rounded up his boys for the fight Blanc confirmed eagerly more humans meant more fighting that made Buzz Gob pause for Fort the battle wasn't over then if Wiley old skalk was going to fight them there must be some seriously good looting to be done the buzzgov stomped off after his boys he needed to get them moving North now sword forces initial assault upon the gargant landing Zone had started well the elysians had arrived at their Drop Zones and began their Advance initial progress was soon slowed as opposition grew it seemed there were many more Orcs in the area than had been anticipated and this included unusually large numbers of dreadnoughts buzzgobs absolute unquestionable Authority meant the Orcs reacted quickly to the surprise attack they were ready for a fight and gleefully raced to the battle the elysians air power was soon inflicting heavy losses but not enough to Halt the tide of greenskins that was amassing driven on by buzzgob and with the air cover forced to retire to base to rearm and refuel the Orcs pressed their attack overwhelmed by numbers Captain excised was forced to withdraw his assaults had failed it was during that withdrawal that he was critically injured the failure of Sword force was to be the first in a series of events that turned the Elysian surprise attack into a bloody battle for survival the elysians had Disturbed their horn its nest and rapidly found themselves facing vast numbers of Orcs all well-equipped and battle frenzied the gargant objective was never reached and despite a quickly improvised plan for the Imperial Navy's Marauders to vomit the only superficial damage was inflicted chapter 3 Drop Zone G Landing patrolling the northern flank the Taurus all-terrain vehicle swayed vanley as it was lowered to the ground dust and debris flew about wildly as the Valkyries jet wash hammered the ground turning it into a whirlwind of dust and grit that browned out the ground below Captain Carrick braced himself against the shock of Landing with a jerk the magnetic clamps had held the Taurus released and the vehicle plunged maybe only three meters to smash into the ground the vehicle's big suspension coils took the force of the impact as Garrick and his driver Trooper Ardo were held tight by their harnesses Captain Garrick activated his helmet communicator in a burst of static clear he instructed the valkyrie pilot still hovering somewhere in the swirling dust Maelstrom above them the Valkyries engine now changed its twin thrusters kicking in as the sky Talon climbed away from the Drop Zone Trooper Ardo powered up the Taurus its multiple battery packs humming into life gradually the brown out cleared Garrick unclipped his restraining harness and Rose from his rear seat behind the driver about him other vehicles were being landed Mitch swung below its own Transport Aircraft looking further back he could see more sky Talons approaching each with a Taurus slung underneath daggerforce was on the ground Captain Garrick's daggerforce was composed mainly of the 181st regiments a company equipped with Taurus and Taurus venator rapid Pursuit Vehicles they were the regiment's Ford reconnaissance unit able to cover great distances at speed and operate without support far from the regiment's main body their standard Mission profile was to find the enemy and Report today was not a standard Mission Garrick and his men were acting as the regiment's flank protection whilst Shield force was landing and positioning itself for what would be the decisive battle of the raid and Dagger force was to protect their vulnerable right flank the planners knew more orgs were north of the Battle Zone and it was likely they would respond quickly to the attack without daggerforce blocking the way any of those Orcs could easily outflank Shield force and attack it from the rear Captain Garrick and his men were to set up patrols and a skirmish screen to Ambush And Delay any Orcs that tried to move South nears force and a large area to cover hence the need for the fast Vehicles each Squadron had been designated its own Patrol sector and they would be supported by a Detachment of drop Sentinels and a few infantry platoons for extra Firepower garlic himself would overseed the operation from his command vehicle and remain in reserve with his rapid response Force this was a unit held back ready to move in and quickly intercept any enemy moves that the patrols can deal with he also had a flight of free Vendetta gunships on station overhead for when the fighting got heavy Sergeant Leto's number six Squadron formed up into line abreast the free Taurus venitals about 30 meters apart the ground ahead was relatively flat but scattered with debris and rusting junk old tires barrels and unidentifiable scrap in places crumbling power pylons still stood or lulled over on the verge of collapse the advancing all-terrain vehicles took it all easily a rumbling steadily over the debris as each driver carefully guided it around the larger junk behind the driver each turret Gunner scan the Horizon ahead for signs of the enemy from his Gunner's rear seats in the central vehicle letter watched briefly he thought he had seen movement ahead alerted he settled behind the turret's sights and got ready up ahead maybe 400 meters away there was a low pile of scrap where the power pylon had fallen but it was big enough to hide an ambusher the Taurus rolled towards it then it was again little could swear he saw it movement whatever it was it was small and agile six Squadron whole position he ordered and the three Tauros rolled to a halt in line through his sight reticule Leto saw his Target a little green creature maybe a meter tall it was armed with a sidearm of some sort a Gretchen and it was unlikely to be alone enemy contact front 400 yards all stations weapons free he passed on the instruction and then opened fire the twin multi-lases blazed the trail of bright bolts blasting gaping holes in the metal scrap the second Taurus joined in shooting up for the pile of scrap the third Tauros laid on its Laz Cannon and fired the powerful bolt smashed into the scrap sending debris High into the air something in the pile started to burn fiercely outgunned the Gretchen broke covered and ran there was a group of about 10 of the little creatures fleeing away as fast as their spindly legs could carry them Leto adjusted his fire then sent a long bursts fizzing through the mob two or three fell Dead one was set to light its ragged clothing burning the stubbers kept on fleeing through repeated bursts of laser fire then vanished from sight ceasefire ordered Leto satisfied that the enemy had been neutralized it was their first Contact but it hadn't been much of a fight in at least prove the Orcs were here the Gretchen had been Scavenging and were unlucky enough to be in the path of letters Squadron the sergeant ordered his Patrol to move on before adjusting the vehicle's communicator and Reporting the brief Skirmish to Captain Garrick it was difficult to actually see the Orcs although not hard to see where they were Captain Garrick had been tracking the approaching ban for 10 minutes and by the growing dust cloud and the black smoke Trails even at maximum magnification his scanner could not make that much an occasional glimpse of an orc mounted upon a bike or a four-wheel buggy bucking wildly as it closed on his position even as he watched the Orcs were approaching fast he estimated there were maybe 20 or 30 of them at most suddenly rounds whizzed overhead Garrick couldn't believe they had opened fire it was terrifyingly foolish the fire was wildly inaccurate but the Orcs seemed to just fire for the hell of it the captain watched with bewilderment the enemy's ammunition expenditure must be unsustainable and even Orcs couldn't keep up the pointless shooting for long Galax men had orders to hold their fire until the enemy was closer there was no point in wasting ammunition at this range and as a company that operated so far from their own lines and Garrick's men were all well practiced in strict fire discipline despite the lack of return for Garrick was not simply waiting to be attacked he had already called up the Vendetta flight the three gunships had confirmed their coordinates and were inbound weapons primed missile racks full the growl of jet engines grew louder and louder then arriving in a screaming torrent of noise the free gunship swept in low over garage position at drowning out the sound of the approaching orc engines and the Fizz of their wasted bullets flying by after their initial burst of over enthusiasm the Orcs fire had slackened now it was the elysian's turn to respond the three vendettas had locked on to Garrick's Target point and the captain watched as the wing-mounted missile clusters fell away briefly erasing to the ground Lee blast and percussion of the fireball explosions rushed over him the heat stinging his face incendry yellow and orange explosions mushroomed about the Orcs one after another burning intensely then fading into a shrouding cloud of brown dust the vendettas their payloads empty steeply climbed away and vanished into the distant Sky get it waited as the dust cloud slowly dissipated where once there had been the on-rushing orc bikers and Buggies there was now just heat blackened Earth he couldn't see a single orc left their firing had stopped altogether the vendettas had scored a direct hit he ordered one Taurus and to scout forwards and investigate the remaining wreckage whilst the rest of that Squadron was to cover the move from his vantage point it looked at Garrick like the Orcs had been obliterated by the missile strikes such a fierce demonstration of Firepower might teach these Reckless creatures a measure of caution caution however was not a word War Boss zad snark and have encountered it was not in his nature or his blood attack that wizard snark's only order and he always led the way he had seen the humans aircraft far to the South hundreds of them darting around in the sky humans that had fallen from the sky like a gift from Mork it meant one thing a fight the war boss said about rounding up his many of his boys as he could sending bikers racing in all directions to gather them to him ognaz's biker mob were closest to The Landings so they should go first and find out what was happening then come back and let him know Mima knee would gather every biker boy and buggy every truck and every grot he could when ognas got back he'd know if he needed more boys or if he had enough to attack immediately patience was another word Azad snark had never encountered and even if he'd known it he didn't have much with growing frustration zard snark waited and waited but ognas never came back he was only supposed to go and take a quick look then come back but judging by the distant explosions the smoking wreckage and the three human bombers now climbing away High into the sky ognasa gone and got himself blown up perhaps he thought he should have sent someone else after all ognas didn't have the brains of a Squig despite ognace's messy demise the prospect of imminent battle Gladden zard snark's heart around him more of the boys were arriving bikes buggies War tracks and trucks all came racing to his core with more boys clinging to every handheld and grab rail Shooters and Choppers in hand and judging by the Numbers it was time to smash some humies grinning zard snack climbed aboard his huge tracked trike the Beast it was larger than most of the buggies and had a jet engine welded to the back that engine currently sat silent slowly dripping oil and fuel into an expanding puddle he quickly checked the bike's ammo drums were full and then hoisted his huge weight onto the starter pedal the engine roared into life at zard snark and twisted the throttle hard the engine screaming in response straining against its brakes for effect tea pounded on the throttle revving and revving the noise of it got his blood pumping and from behind him the boys cheered their War Boss and answered with their own revving engines a plume of dirty gray fumes enshrouded them zard snark stood in his saddle waved the mob forwards and let go of the brakes the Beast leapt forward violently kicking into the air before smashing back to the ground the twin tracks biting and throwing out great clouds of Earth and grit Stones like bullets the trike accelerated at Breakneck speed bucking wildly from side to side man massively strong zard snark controlled the Beast with ease with just one hand he bellowed into the skies his war cry drowned out but a thunderous din of the engines just behind him as his boys race to keep up Zod snarks Biker Boys headed south towards battle and the world would turn black beneath their Treads the elysians soon realized the first doomed approach had just been a probe a testing of strength now the main body of the evil Sun's warband was coming and their numbers darkened The Horizon with dust and fumes the air thrummed with the cacophony of engine noise like a black thunderstorm approaching the elysians threaded their guns most of the tourist Vehicles were dug in behind cover with only their turrets protruding others waited just behind ready for the order to rush forwards and meet the Orcs in the open to break up their mobs before they could reach the Elysian lines to Captain Garrick the expenditure of his air support so early seemed like a Folly but he had not been able to know that there were so many more talks to follow the display of aerial Firepower had been formidable but not enough to put the Orcs off from another headlong charge Sergeant Leto's sixth Squadron had been recalled from their patrol sweep they had seen the bright explosions in the distance and knew there must be action but it seemed now the enemy were approaching in strength and Captain Garrett had gathered his furthest ranging patrols to support the main line the tauros's low hum became a high-pitched electronic wine as they turned around and bounced back the way they had come swerving and dodging as they went since shooting up the gretching Scavengers Leto had not seen anything of the enemy but now he could see that approaching dust Trails hundreds of them taking the lead he directed his Squadron by the fastest route back a straight line into the thick of the fighting as the Taurus barreled along suddenly gunfire erupted all around a shot cracked off the multi-laser turret just centimeters from Leto's head the comms Channel screamed enemy right and Leto swung the turret hard to face five Orcs on bikes that were closing in then letting fly with their big cannons the all grounds zinged and popped as they flew close by let her return fire with a furious fuselard of laser bolts the Taurus venator under him was traveling flat out over rough ground and his shots flew wild Leto's second vehicle was taking the brunt of the attack two of its rear tires had been shredded and it wasn't returning fire Leto suspected the Gunner had been hit the Third vehicle was further behind still swerving through the wreckage as the war bike swooped ever closer the closest orc biker held a crude grenade some form of explosive Warhead on a short stick Leto could see it as it arced through the air bounced twice then exploded in a dirty gray puff of smoke the force buffeted his Taurus but did no more he tried to lay his sights on the enemy grenade for her but both vehicles were moving too fast and his burst of fire missed again dodging the orc Banker swerved away hard right Leto yelled into the calm and his driver responded swinging the buggy into a wild skidding right turn straight into the path of the Orcs from nowhere an orc rocket skipped across the side panel of the Taurus with a shriek of metal on metal Leto expected the Warhead to detonate and turn his buggy into a fireball but it didn't it just whizzed past flying off to land behind him lost in the junk a dud his driver aimed directly in an oncoming orc trying to Ram him the biker was agile however and swerved his bike round at the last second but at this speed the rider lost control and Leto saw him Smash Head first into a scrap bar and be ejected over his handlebars the bike lace smoking its Wheels spinning uselessly as fast as they had struck the war bikers were gone let her scan the full 360 in his turret but could see no more targets his second vehicle had come to a halt further back it's driver and Gunner both riddled with bullet holes the cab was dubbed in blood a third of six squadrons Vehicles arrived reporting one enemy destroyed by its last Cannon he could see the combat damage on the outside of the Tauros as the dents and scrapes of bullet impacts were all superficial cover me he ordered it's gonna before releasing himself from his harness and climbing down from his own turret he ran back to check the wreckage and confirm the crew of the wrecked vehicle were indeed dead they were not willing to leave the Taurus's plunder for the Orcs Leto fetched a melt a charge from his own stowage said the fuse and dropped it into the stricken Taurus as the two remaining vehicles of six Squadron moved out again the charge detonated in a white hot shower of Sparks leaving the Taurus a burned Twisted Hulk and Captain gaddock's Main Line the Orcs were attacking in force bikes and Buggies swirled round in a thickening Gloom of dust and choking fumes the battlefield was littered with wreckage but his own lines had held just he'd lost a lot of men and equipment in the fight already 19 Tauros had been destroyed the Orcs had paid him blood too but heavy losses just didn't seem to worry them for now there was a low in the shooting the Orcs had sped away no doubt to regroup or to find somewhere else to attack getik's own Tauros was tracking them using data relayed from ground scanners he had positioned on First Landing he redirected free squadrons to Shadow the Orcs whilst he pulled the others together and processed damage reports the fighting here had been heavier than expected the orc Bankers had arrived swiftly but daggerforce had done its job if this Squadron hadn't intercepted these bikers then by now they would have been turning into the rear of Shield forces position in the South still Garrick was concerned his was a light scouting Force designed for hit and run actions instead they had been slugging it out with the Orcs And The attrition was starting to tell his horse wouldn't stand up to much more of this rough treatment in order to conserve it he decided to pull back he would withdraw by bounds one Squadron covering the other as the all-terrain vehicles and Sentinels retreated to give them Breathing Room an open ground between him and the enemy it was open ground into which he could request more air support from his comms report Shield Force were now engaging in a large fight with more Orcs so he assumed sword Force had done its job although he had received no official confirmation of that from the colonel despite his losses the mission seemed to be progressing as planned zod's knock heaved a massive kick into the Beast which sat mutually jet engine still gently steaming the trike's front forks have been sheared off by a laser blast the beast's front wheel was lying somewhere close by and zard snark was Furious Not only was his prized trike damaged but he'd only just reached the battle when he'd been ejected from his roaring Steed by the catastrophic damage the boys had raced on without him and most of the battle had passed him by he walked back to investigate his only victim a skinny Walker machine that the Ripper the huge Buzz blade zard snack wielded in battle had sliced its leg off the vehicle had toppled over which had made zard snart laugh only for his manic laughter to be cut short as his bike suddenly detached from its front wheel and became Airborne as the vehicle flipped over his pride might be heard but not much else now walk Walmart us like the indignity of finding himself sprawling headfirst in the dirt snack pulled out his Slugger pistol and emptied the clip into the wreckage of the human Walker in frustration it didn't help then he stomped off to find a Mech he wanted that track running again now having halted the evil Sons biker warband daggerforce had completed its primary Mission by their actions Captain Garrix men had prevented the Orcs from surrounding Shield Force when the battle at Shield forces Drop Zone turned against the elysians and daggerforce received new orders to break contact with the Orcs And rendezvous with Shield Force at a new location Captain Garrick ordered all units to disengage and escape from the Orcs then to meet up at the Rendezvous point for a Last Stand and hopefully an evacuation each Squad and Squadron had to make its own way the orc bikers gleefully gave Pursuit and there was a running Fighters dagger Force withdrew in a pal-mal Chase from the scrap and wreckage Captain Galax Taurus were the first to reach the Rendezvous point it was the remain of an old Refinery then they quickly set up a new defensive perimeter as Darkness fell so the battle weary stragglers from shieldforce began to arrive Squad by Squad platoon by a platoon upon arrival each Squad was given a new position to hold and by Dawn's light most of the survivors were in place awaiting the inevitable orc Dawn assault chapter 4 Drop Zone T Shield forces battle splashed through a large puddle of oily slime that stained his fatigue trousers black before sliding into position behind a barricade the cover had been hastily built of tires scrap metal and the dropped canisters in which the heavy Bolter team's weapons had landed it wasn't a fortress War by any means but it provided Yano and his loader a good measure of protection he hefted the bulk of his heavy Bolter onto the top of the barricade which creaked under the weapon's weight then lined up the sights com chatter reports were that the Orcs were closing in Jano was expecting contact at any moment his loader Trooper aganis asserted the ammunition belt into the weapon and piled several more ammunition boxes close by Yano hauled the heavy Bolter to his shoulder and took aim bracing himself for the weapon's violent recoil he scanned the skyline for the first sign of the enemy Shield force was now in position the drop had gone well and Yano and the rest of his Squad had gathered the dropped canisters with their weapons and extra ammunition inside before moving into their designated position as yet they hadn't seen any Orcs but the distant Rumble of explosions and Roar of jet engines told them oh that the battle had started if not for shield Force then at least for the main assault by sword Force troopiano's job was to hold and reinforce their position hence the improvised barricade and wait for the Orcs to come sword force would be driving them onto yano's waiting gun Captain sandstadt moved swiftly from one position to the next clambering through the rubble and over the detractors and wreckage he had left his command Squad behind he moved faster on his own lightly equipped with just his last gun across his back he sought out each platoon commander in turn checked his position and defenses and made sure each Squad was well supplied with ammunition and grenades for the coming fight since First Landing his men had been preparing their defenses and reinforcing he had expected the Orcs to react quickly but so far there had been no contacts reported the Ford Sentinel squadrons had probed westwards but as yet it's in the Orcs had been drawn to the sounds of the fighting to the South and this place his grimy oil-stained junkyard a come Shanty Town seemed deserted all the more time to prepare for the battle thought thanks Dad more Valkyries were already inbound carrying hundreds of extra canisters of supplies his only concern was his air support the vulture gunship squadrons were on station ready to strike when the Orcs attacked but their fuel capacity would not allow them to linger close by forever if the orgs didn't come soon they would be forced to return to base leaving fans that without his heaviest Firepower the captain was a veteran of many such battles he trusted that come the fighting the air support wouldn't let him down Shield force was relying upon it and so the mission was relying on it when the fighting got heavy and if the Orcs attacked with heavy armor then it was his best chance of holding this ground scalp ordered his boys to fetch bone mancha the battle had already started and he wasn't about to let all the new loot fall into grack racks and Buzz gob's dirty claws the news had reached him when one of his mobs said skiddy to a halt in their truck and excitedly announced that humans were attacking buzzgob's gargant Scout couldn't care less about the mech bosses gargant except that buzzgov paid well for the parts he needed but skalk wasn't about to save it if the machine got destroyed then they would only make another then that would require even more parts there's no rush to battle Scout didn't want to get his boys chewed up in the thick of the fighting we could leave that to buzz gobs dreads men crack Rags Goths they would no doubt be spoiling for a big scrap he just wanted to be in at the end to make sure his boys were present when the loot was up for grabs there would be the usual horse trading between the bosses and knobs over the best bits but if you could keep them all busy arguing over that his boys could be plundering the other stuff to their hearts content by the time the other bosses realized after loot would already have been claimed and Spirited Away on his own trucks possession was after all all the law and the others could fight him for the gubbins if they felt like it but he guessed after a long fight with the humans nobody would be willing to take on mechlag X scrap King and all his boys feeling satisfied that his plan was suitably cunning and that his loot horde was about to get a lot bigger Scouts and his Runners to get his boys to him he wanted every Groton Squig they could find meanwhile he would send out a few boys and girls to check up on where the humies were before marching into the fight enemy 200 meters 10 o'clock blurted loader aganes into jano's helmet communicator automatically Jano swung the heavy ball to left lined up on the Target and pulled the trigger the baltus spared fiercely each miniature missile round igniting as it left the battle in a whoosh of Fire and Air speeding out towards the target the first rounds flew high and Yano fought the weapons ferocious recoil and to bring the battle down onto the target through his sight the target was a big green orc maybe two meters tall with long muscled arms in which it clutched her massive two-handed ax it was ugly all fangs and scar tissue and then it was gone a second burst of Bolt arounds impacted in a rapid succession of small bright explosions the big orc vanished from sight either a duck door it had disintegrated amongst the baltus shells Miano can tell he waited for more movement there were was known but he let fly a third burst just for good measure the comms reports crackled with more enemy contacts the sound of battle was Rising about him the Pop-Pop of lasgun far the jarring Roar swoosh bang of heavy bolters the Crump of frag grenades and the first skirmishes of a Long Day's fighting to come amidst the reverberation of guns rockets and mortars a new sound distinguished itself above Captain sandstadt's head a high screaming howl as a jet engine blasted low overhead followed by a sudden immense earthquaking series of explosions that sent tanstad staggering then a second Almighty concussion wave swept over him forcing him to the ground bombs impacting and very close too close for his liking he pulled a yellow smoke grenade from his pouch and armed it before rolling it forwards of his position just a few yards away it fizzled as thick ocher raw smelling smoke billowed out the smoke would mark his position for the Air Sport a precaution against another attack run aimed too close for comfort more yellow smoke bombs were bursting into clouds around him as Squad sergeants followed his example through the rapidly thickening yellow Haze fanstadt surveyed the skies for the next he inbound vulture a large black shape suddenly plunged at him growing huge in size and suddenly filling the sky the captain had no time to think he had assumed all the aircraft in the air over this battle would be his own but this was no Valkyrie or vulture or even a thunderbolt the aircraft careened wildly leaving a black smoke trail behind it and at first Vance that thought it had been hit and was going to crash right into them until at the last second the aircraft bucked upwards its shocked like nose rising and something detached itself from the aircraft's wings enemy aircraft he yelled diving for cover but even before he could get the words out the orc fighter bomber had flashed over them a streak of Rusty red a funnel of dense smoke and yellow flame rushed up out of the ground to meet fanstad Earth mushrooming a high into the sky to rain back down over them in a Cascade of Filth smoke and Jagged iron spilling in all directions like the blast of an invisible rocket jet howling above him smashing him back to the ground again a piece of shrapnel wedged into his breastplate another the size of a man's hand whistled just over his shoulder less than a meter from completely decapitating him punch drunk from the bone-jarring blast fanstad crawled then staggered to his feet the Yellow Smoke can save them from friendly fire it had just attracted the orc pilot to them a wave of concussion-induced nausea washed over him making the captain wretch a drop Trooper rushed to his side to support him assuming he was injured miraculously the captain was not seriously harmed the disorientation would soon pass but he ordered that yellow smoke should not be deployed it just tell the Orcs where they were at last a skunk was ready seated high on his swaying frown on top of bone muncher he could clearly see The Columns of smoke in the distance where buzzgov was fighting and the northern Horizon was also smudged with gray there was something going on up there too when his scouting boys returned they'd been shot up laid run smack into a big band of humies to the east all dug in just waiting it occurred to scout that if buzzgold was fighting in the south then these humans weren't actually fighting anybody they were just waiting for what Scout didn't really know or care but it seemed a skulk then it might not be a good idea to just ignore them these lurking humans were up to something he felt it in his bones he knew sneaking gets when he saw him he thought hard The Strain etched on his blue face no he couldn't risk ignoring him instead he would attack this would be scalp's own Battlefield He barked an order to his closest knobs to get the boys moving East and barked for the swaying Squig off to Veer left from behind his barricade trippy Yano continued to scan his Target sector the first few Orcs and put up much of a fight they seem to pull back rather than face the guns which was uncharacteristic of Orcs still at the first Orcs had no doubt gone to fetch help and would soon be back for more as he waited out of nowhere a storm broke about Yano Thunder rolled from the sky as steel rained down every orc must have opened far shells wind and cracked lightning flashed as explosions drummed across the front line hundreds at once as the orc barrage began smoke cumulus rolled across the battlefield miniature tornadoes burst suddenly erupting left right and Center Yano and his loader were showered in dirt once twice then a third time as the air above them fizzed with buzzing shrapner cloying cordite fumes again with the cordite lay thick all about as the Gunner and loader both hug the ground jano's heavy Bolter was tossed from its perch on top of the barricade clattering to the ground nearby now suddenly as it had started the barrage subsided the intensity of the explosion slackening a new noise could be heard after the deafening cacophony of the bombardment there was a roar a chair or a Battle Cry rolling towards them hundreds or thousands of feral voices raised as one getting the cry dim at first but growing louder a lot of Orcs were coming enemy infantry approaching all stations engage at will the order crackled through yano's headset from his command Squad Trooper Yano crawled after his weapon dragged it back into cover and began quickly checking it for damage beside him Trooper aganis it poked his head above the barricade and leveled his last gun a covering Jano as he worked furiously clearing dirt from the firing mechanism to the right another heavy ball to open fire hammering out a stream of shells mechanism cleared Yano heaved his heavy balder back into place and was suddenly confronted by a tidal wave of green aliens before him the ground was packed with Orcs racing towards them all waving axes swords and guns many were covered in blue war paint and Tattoos more and more Orcs hundreds of them came charging towards the barricades firing without conscious effort momentarily the heavy bolters muzzle flash obscured yano's View the tiny blips of Tracer chased each other into the approaching horde instantly a succession of many explosions blossomed amidst the Orcs more guns were firing from the left and right mortar rounds began to land falling steeply onto the Orcs who advanced in ratchets each time more aliens fail as the explosions and heavy bolts of fire swept the ground jano's own heavy Bolter threaded away its Barrel beginning to Glow hot Trooper again is slammed home belt after belt of ammunition each time slapping jano's leg to alert him that the task was complete and there were a dozen lines of Tracer crisscrossing this sector each siding through the orc ranks now the orc charge had become a massive stumbling crawling falling green bodies amidst the Maelstrom raked by explosions the Orcs hesitated and eventually they ran falling back before the merciless onslaught of bolts laser blasts and shells Janos fired after them as the Orcs disappeared review back where there came from until he could see no more targets the medal of his weapons battle had been stained purple by the intense heat Bloom the cooling metal gave a tortured streak as it shrank back into shape next to Janos aganis had dropped down behind the barricade and mysteriously counting ammunition over half their supplies had been used up while the orc charge disintegrated their barrage continued scattered plumes of Earth Rubble metal and Flame spreading across the junkyard in places they started small fires which added to the thickening toxic atmosphere full of harsh smoke and the stench of burning flesh the smog of battle from the front line Captain sandstadt reviewed the damage reports the first serious orc attack had been repulsed by the allegiance potent Firepower but the aliens would be back for more already he could hear the throbbing engines of armored vehicles approaching the first infantry wave had been no more than a scream next would come the full Fury of the Orcs he passed on the order for all units to hold their positions this fight had just started his first attack had been repulsed the humans had some impressive DACA power and a lot of scalp's boys had just been blasted to bits but there was plenty more where they came from Scout wasn't worried the old war boss would attack again and this time would bring up his big guns and battle wagons he'd let the humis have it with everything he'd got he would lead the attack himself from bone mancha it was time to find out if this Squig off was actually worth all the tea from good scrap it had cost him Captain fans that saw the huge Beast a great lizard-like creature at least three stories high two curling tusks twice the size of a man protruding before its flattened pug-nosed face underneath which glistened rows of sharp fangs the size of Swords each of its four footfalls made the ground Tremor as the Beast bellowed in Anger laser blasts railing off its horny hide itself protected by swinging plates of metal armor crudely cut and attached via chains the Squig off rampaged forts head lowered to butt as Orcs men and machines were barged in all directions before it most of the elysians fled falling back to find safety rather than be trampled beneath its elephantine feet he saw one Brave drop Trooper pause to hurl a crack grenade at the Beast seconds before being tossed High by a flick of the creature's Tusk his torso severed from his legs as he landed in a wet spray of Gore on the creature's back was a hoarder again crudely cut from scrap metal in it rode a swaying cheering whooping gaggle of blue painted Orcs each firing frantically bullets spitting in all directions as the Squig off left an indiscriminate trail of Destruction in its wake kneeling fanstadt leveled his last gun and took careful aim he engaged the weapon's auxiliary grenade launcher a narrow tube beneath the lazgans battle he lined up his sights on the creature's left eye and fired in a puff of cordite caught out again cordite isn't used in everything it's not using anything anymore to be honest at all no weapons use chord eyes I don't I don't think so unless they're like 200 years old it's like for muskets and [ __ ] I don't know the crack grenade winged its way straight into the creature's head and detonated on impact the powerful shaped charge was designed to penetrate tank armor but it could not pierce the creature's thick bone skull the explosion left a bloody scar streaked across its face and the creature staggered bellowing in pain now as it swayed violently a few of the Orcs on top were pitched sideways out of the holder falling like flailing rag dolls to crumble on the ground despite its wounds the Squig off did not stop it just charged on like a lumbering Unstoppable Express train behind it more of the beasts followed tropiana saw the Beast coming last belt advised agonis as he pushed the ammunition home slapping the Gunner's leg again ready tribbiano was almost out of ammunition he took aim and stitched a short burst directly into the creature and then again and again it loomed massive above him he couldn't miss then momentarily blinded by an explosion against its skull the creature lurched towards him Yano abandoned his heavy Bolter and dive clear as its great tusks rammed the barricade scattering it in all directions rolled away only for the beast's great fall egg to kick out over the remaining barricade and stamped down hard it was a mercy that Jano could not hear and canus's death scream over the din of battle around him but as the Squig off marched on there was nothing left of his loader except a red smear on the ground unarmed with his firing position overrun dripper yanos headed for the rear it wouldn't be long before this place was swarming with more Orcs And to continue the fight he needed to find a weapon the center of his line had broken the Squig off's Reckless charge had punctured clean through and Mortal vehicles and mobs were now pouring after it vanstad gathered what stragglers he cared about him determined to make a fight of it even as he gave orders for his left and right flank companies to fall back and regroup ready to make a second stand his men had fought hard and bravely as the emperor expected but the Orcs had just been too many and too well equipped with heavy weapons and armored vehicles they had killed hundreds maybe thousands of the aliens but it had not been enough the tide of this battle had turned against him fans that understood that much he must Salvage what he could and regroup for a fresh stand Darkness was approaching as the surviving senior officers of Shield Force gathered in the remains of a burnt out small shack for an orders group Captain sandstad smoked blackened and sallow-eyed from battle fatigue laid out the situation in Blunt terms the company had been badly mauled by repeated orc onslaughts and was now in full Retreat towards the disused refinery site he had chosen as the Rally Point SEA company to the South had borne the brunt of repeated Dreadnought attacks but had held their ground well until the arrival of an orc Stomper air support had inflicted serious damage but had not destroyed the War Machine and that company had also been forced to withdraw again the losses in men and Equipment had been great to the north most of D company were still in good fighting order they had been in combat but here the Orcs had been less numerous and less heavily equipped however the company could not be expected to hold their position now the other companies were in Retreat and so were also forced to fall back too they would be providing the rear guard platoons that would hopefully delay the enemy's Pursuit the news from sword force was bad that assault had failed to break through to the gargant and been overwhelmed scattered survivors were now being picked up as and when Colonel to whom could organize an airlift for them Captain ex-ice had been critically wounded in the fighting the news from the north was better Captain Garrix daggerforce had done its job well and screened their Northern flank thank the emperor for that because without them they would all be surrounded by Orcs right now the survivors of daggerforce had raced to secure the Rendezvous point and were holding it now everybody else should make their way to them tonight there would be no stopping for rest the more men that and could be gathered the better their chances of survival tomorrow each officer gave him a rough head count and the numbers didn't look encouraging over a thousand men had landed in Shield Force after today sandstad thought he had about 400 left how many who could get away would depend on how tomorrow went first they had to regroup and fight off the inevitable orc attacks if they could see the Orcs off then there was still a chance they might all live to fight again another day of the Space Marines fans that knew very little he did know that Scout units were still operating in the area but his authority did not allow him to intervene in their mission the colonel had assured him that the Raven guard had not abandoned the elysians or the mission and they would be available for the evacuation mission that had been hastily organized for tomorrow Colonel Calhoun Was preparing to commit the regiment's reserve company in a fresh drop at first light he would lead that Reserve company himself he reassured his officers that although they were retreating they were still in good shape they still had enough men in air support to beat the aliens the orders grouped complete sandstad wished the empress protection on them all and bid them returned to their companies and platoons he would see them all Adorn for their second stand chapter 5 Wings Of The Raven Strike Force corporate's assault the reverberations of atmospheric re-entry shook the drop pod fiercely As It sped towards the planet inside Chaplin atat and his men could not see their target looming of a larger below them they were locked into their restraining harnesses each of the ten Space Marines stood and bolt upright to attention unable to move despite their powered armor the drop pods descent from the orbital strike Cruiser to The Landing Zone below would take just a few minutes a few minutes of bone-shaking g-forces that would have crushed any lesser man to death but these were no Mere Men each was a Space Marine of the Raven guard chapter a genetically adapted super Warrior made for battle loyal only to their Emperor and merciless to his enemies Chaplin itath a felty drop pod Jarred violently as it adjusted its descent trajectory automated Telemetry data was scrolling across his helmet visor reading directly from the pods on board logist engine The Machine's Spirit was directing them into battle but it was not the machine Spirit there was etaf's concern it was his battle brothers he opened his helmet comms Channel and repeated the first stanza of the Litany of battle to embolden their fighting Hearts before disembarking and bringing a bloody retribution of The Emperor's wrath to the foul xenos that had tainted this world and many others like it across the four-star sector there's our bodies Our armored within adamantium our souls are protected with loyalty as our bolters are charged with death for the emperor's enemies our thoughts are charged with vengeance as our ranks advance so does our devotion for are we not Space Marines are we not the chosen of the emperor his loyal servants unto death the chaplain's command was a small strike force made up of just five drop pods occurring just over 30 battle brothers of the Raven guard but each was a match for many times their number even this small force would be enough to complete their mission to destroy the Orcs main fuel stockpiles their orbital assault and just these few Space Marines could inflict a crippling blow on the Orcs and brother oriath crawled slowly forwards under the abandoned remains of a destroyed vehicle it might once have been a chimera armored troop transport but now most of the vehicle have been looted leaving just the rusting cased metal bones of the chassis the Scout's chameleon cloak adjusted to his cover's coloring and its camouflage changed accordingly hidden by the cloak chameleon-like qualities the Scout was all but invisible as he lays still watching he was tracking Orcs no more than a hundred meters away large mobs of the Rowdy green aliens were tramping northwards each carrying large weapons and draped in a lot of ammunition several smaller Gretchen mobs were trailing behind struggling with larger ammunition crates beyond the green-skinned mob was a group of five dreadnoughts Ram shackle Walkers that swayed and staggered arms waving wildly to the Scout they seemed on the brink of pitch reaching over but always seem to write themselves a brother orath had been silently watching for several hours many Orcs had been traveling along this worn route heading northwards the fighting that had been raging to the South had died down for the first time in hours the air wasn't being buffeted by explosions or the shriek of jet engines and missiles there were still the occasional distant burst of heavy boltifar or the cramp of a mortar shell Landing but it seemed that the battle was all but done the Orcs were now redeploying heading northwards in considerable numbers towards Drop Zone T where more of the Elysian drop troops were in place to meet them brother or decided he had seen enough he should rendezvous with the rest of his Squad and report in to Captain corvade it was obvious that the elysians had dropped Zone X had been defeated the assault plan was failing now those Orcs that had been engaged in the South were moving North to join the battle that drops empty which and that the Elysian Force there was likely to be overwhelmed as well the Scout slowly slid backwards his attention never strained from the Orcs ahead of him as the unruly aliens marched out of sight still arguing amongst themselves during his vigil he counted over 300 alien Warriors at least 20 dreadnought-sized Walkers some large some small and one far larger Walker a stomper that was just in his designated observation area the rest of his scattered Scout Squad would have seen more the Orcs were on the war path in strength once out of sight brother orif Rose slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder and scurried quickly away me summoned his transport it was time to regroup crouching in cover he waited until skimming quietly and low over the ground came the land speeder it hovered briefly as he leapt up gripping the grab rail tight as the speeder accelerated away still keeping close to the ground and to avoid being spotted the land speeder storm was specially adapted for scouting missions one by one it collected the rest of orif's squad from their observation posts their reports confirmed his own the scouts withdrew to safety and flashed their reports back to Captain corvidai's command vehicle ah smash the two big Orcs roared as they met in a flat run forehead to forehead both recoiled from the bone-breaking impact of the flying headbutt uh staggering slightly they glared at each other and then One toppled backwards smashing to the ground groaning and then unconscious laughed out loud his chuckle more of a guttrell Bellow he had won again he was undefeated the Undisputed head-butting champion of Mech slag X as well as its top war boss and the artist orc for light years around the unconscious orc At His Feet started to moan slightly groping its head a crack rag stuck the boot in for good measure To the victor the spoils after all that's two more teeth you owes me he reminded his conquered opponent as he crawled away rubbing his own head a crack rag stomped away was that it was that the best entertainment to be found on this dump of Planet War Boss a grack rag was bored and that made him mean and angry winning head-butting contest was all very well but it was no substitute for a real fight maybe he would take a trip out with a few of his boys and find some mangier death skull rats to beat up crack Rags violent reverie was interrupted when a small grot lies bulging in fear and panting hard it came skittering into the room tongue lolling The Grog was about to collapse with exhaustion grack Greg's two Burly minders stepped towards the Intruder threateningly and the grot shrank back what do you want demanded golag a crack rack's Chief minder as he reached threateningly for the chopper on his belt The Grotto almost passed out with fear m m it's damaged speed out I bite your head off warned gorag yummies lots of them dropping from this it blurted before sinking to its knees in advance that's got crack Rags attention straight away he left to his feet still rubbing his bruised forehead he demanded urgently um um the messenger squirmed on the floor don't kills me your robust is your magnificent tell me where crack it could feel his blood Rising the call of battle and the gargant Met bus Buzz gobs fighting him there's loads and loads of them even skunks fighting him get the boys get the wagons get everything he yelled at garak Mo derry's fighting to be gone move he bellowed into the Mindless faces both immediately sprang away out of the throne room yes crack rack roared his excitement At Last Action the sniveling grot messenger forgotten warbus gragrag a Stroud from the throne room in search of his best armor and biggest shooter as he did one large iron booted foot the squashed the prone messenger flat without the War Boss even noticing as the chaplain-led Strikeforce itath a descended so Shadow Captain Corvette's own force was circling in a formation of seven Thunderhawk gunships awaiting their target the captain himself was seated inside his command vehicle a land Raider Prometheus slung on magnetic hooks beneath its Thunderhawk transporter by the captain the voice of the thunderhawks comms officer spoke into his helmet communicator continue instructed Corvette Scout Squad oriath reports large numbers of Orcs moving northwards including Dreadnought support and at least one large War Machine they are reinforcing against Drop Zone t no confirmed sighting of our primary target relaying all your auger data for that position detail Squad orif to move South and redeploy to their second sector the Prometheus is command screen flickered into life green runes and icons flashed onto the screen as the thunderhawk's own senses swept the ground below and passed the images on it was impressive information narrow replacement for eyes on the ground but it gave Captain corvade an overview of what was happening the sensor sweep was picking up the Orcs movements he keyed in new sector coordinates and the screens flickered and changed again the grainy icons and indistinct blobs showed where the elysians were fighting at Drop Zone T he keyed again and his helmet comes adjusted to the Elysian comms channels he listened in to the faint sounds of their reports and orders they seemed so far away like the distant ghosts of an ancient battle boost that channel he ordered the aircraft's comms operator and the noise suddenly distorted before growing louder the reports were not positive the elysians were heavily engaged and taking losses already at the reported awk reinforcements might be enough to break them Corvette felt frustration rise and push it away cool heads were needed he knew he could be at the Elysian side in minutes but without a positive identification on his Target he would be sacrificing his own mission but now the Guardsmen would have to struggle on alone give me reports on strike force Edith he demanded Telemetry data from orbit says first wave will be making Planet fall in 10 9 8 7 6. two one now the bark of bolters surrounded Chaplin Edith as he Advanced their weapons fire flashing in pre-dawn darkness craziest Arcanum held high above his head to show he was at the fore and for his battle brothers to follow he placed the site reticule of his Auto senses on an orc's face and automatically pulled the trigger out of his bolt pistol three bolts launched and instantly smashed the orc's head like an over ripe fruit its green body collapsing as a twitching Heap on the ground the entire Target area was a massive old pipeworks and storage tanks most of it looked disused but it was difficult to tell with the Orcs fuel barrels they scattered about everywhere in places leaks and pulled into black oily Lakes the chaplain eateth could not tell how deep behind him his squads that spread out deploying from their drop pods as they burst open bolt guns firing the first all guards had been caught by surprise and quickly overwhelmed their torn bodies now littered the area a few of the Gretchen had fled rather than face the implacable divinely inspired Wrath of the Space Marines over the comms the squad sergeants were issuing orders and getting their combat squads into position before the Orcs recovered and counter-attacked it did not take them long more Orcs and mostly in black painted armor a game charging bellowing their beastial war cries itath emptied his bulk pistols magazine into them and then stepped forwards to meet the charge the first orc he met was a big dark-skinned brute its face hidden by an iron armored jaw two large animal horns curved from its helmet a chain ax screamed in its hand the Orcs charge smashed into him trying to use its size to drive Edith back but his armors or Servo actuators responded locking him in place as the Orcs tried to push him over grappling with each other the chaplain's enhanced strength forced the orc backwards as he swung down powerfully with his craziest Arcanum the golden wings of the weapon cracked as its energy field smashed into the orc its helmet buckled and split its skull caving in as blood splattered crosius rose again grievously wounded the orc flailed backwards the teeth of its chain ax biting dick Pinter etf's own armor shards of ceramide and adamantium exploding from the Rend itas swung again and have a clubbing blow that sent a wounded orc boss reeling to its knees blood was pouring from its head wound splashing upon the chaplains or neatly decorated powered armor around him more Orcs were dying under the chain swords and power swords of his assault Brothers the orc gurgled something in its own guttrell language before Edith placed a power armored boot on its forehead and kicked it to the ground it arrived beneath his foot before he drove the crowsies down one last time delivering the coup de gras struggling New York died Chaplin Edith paused briefly to reload his pistol before moving on scouring The Landing Zone Of Orcs one after another the second wave of drop pods was Landing now each crashing into the ground in a plume of dust before disgorging more Raven guard battle brothers combat squads pie gargas and dorica begin setting melter charges he ordered meanwhile in the skies Shadow Captain Corvette was concerned about the situation on the ground his Strike Force had been circling now for hours without any Target location meanwhile the battle was raging all three of the Elysian Drop Zones were engaged whilst his Elite Strike Force was idle it sat ill with the captain that other men should be fighting and dying in the emperor's cause whilst his battle brothers sat impotent still he must have patience their time would come Captain eateth removed his engraved skull-faced helmet and watched as the first melter charge detonated first a sudden bright spark of yellow flashed then the entire fuel storage tank a tall structure at least four stories high exploded the orc fuel detonated in an expanding orange Fireball that raced skywards he felt the heat wash over him then a tower and column of black smoke poured out soon the Dark Cloud had blocked out the sky shrouding the old refinery in a ploying smog itath snapped his helmet back into place as the comms Channel burst into life squadronica reporting second charges in place infused we are withdrawing before detonation their second fuel tank was ready for Destruction elsewhere brother Uriah leveled his sniper rifle on a distant gray smudge of dust on the horizon sighted in and thumbed the magnification to maximum the smudge rushed towards him in the eyepiece and blurred momentarily then refocused he Pan the weapon down onto its source the Scout could see the still small an armored vehicle some form of heavy tank with multiple turrets he didn't recognize it but then again all these org vehicles seem to look different anyway it was black and mounted with horns of some enormous Beast across its radiator behind it followed more Vehicles it could just about make out each of the crews in the hatches and clinging to the sides of each vehicle with more orc tank Riders bouncing along the column continued to grow three four five rickety Vehicles wheels and tracks churning as they all headed north another orc warband was approaching he clicked his Communicator open to report his latest sighting Shadow Captain corvade was faced with a dilemma the situation on the ground was deteriorating as slowly the Elysian drop troops were being overwhelmed and whilst offering Brave resistance it seemed that unless they were evacuated they would be destroyed it cannot sit by and allow this to happen new reports of more Orcs arriving from the south and an armored column of battle wagons and tanks making its way towards the Battle Zone at speed and left him with a hard Choice neon yet located his main target and with every passing minute the mission's importance was being reduced by the situation on the ground to intervene now might mean abandoning any hope of completing that mission but the crisis moment of the battle had come all his instincts told him it was time to act corvade worked quickly near lesions should disengage and fall back to a new location from where they could set up a new defense and then a rapid extraction operation would begin in order for the elysians to have a chance to regroup he needed to buy them some time his strike force would land and place themselves between the elysians and the newly arrived orc armored column fighting a delaying action long enough for the drop troops to pull back and dig in again meanwhile he would dispatch thunderhawks to recover Chaplin ETF Strikeforce and redeploy them to Aid the elysians it was tactical thinking on the fly but Corvette needed to be flexible the battlefield situation was fluid so rigidly adhering to his old plan was Folly in effect his new self-imposed mission was now a rescue operation to save as many Elysian drop troops as he could whilst inflicting as much damage on the Orcs as possible The Raven Guard Captain would use his Scouts on the ground to Target the all column and Harrison whilst he deployed his Strike Force for the Ground Battle the only other Aid he could call upon was from the strike Cruiser they could begin an orbital bombardment of known orc concentrations lending some much-needed heavy Firepower to the drop troops withdrawal without further hesitation it began issuing the necessary orders a brother oriath had the Orcs in his sights and was cleared to open fire it was time for his Observe and Report mission to end and for the killing to begin at 400 meters his sight was filled by each orc as he panned over the lead vehicle they were unaware of his presence the Scout took careful aim selecting the largest of the massive tanks Riders his training taught him to hit the biggest Orcs first as they were invariably the leaders he had waited patiently until the Orcs had moved into his best killing range carefully he squeezed off his first round the silenced barrel of his weapon muffling the sound into an almost polite cough the bolt flashed smacked the surprised orc boss in the side of the head and he tumbled off the side of the vehicle the Olive's surprise it wasn't dead bleeding they all got up again and looking shocked but seemed to be relatively unharmed he took aim again at the day's Target and fire again the second fast hit its squared in the chest punching it off its feet the other Orcs were jeering and laughing whilst looking round for the source of the firing underneath his chameleon cloak orif was just another patch of dirt his third round finished his Target with a clean headshot his work done and brother orif crawled away to change his firing position the other Scout snipers took a steady toll on the Orcs as they Advanced but they soon learned to keep their heads down and use their vehicles as cover still each dead alien now was one less The Raven guide battle brothers would have to kill when they arrived even as orif and his fellow Scouts were working over the armored column with accurate sniper fire from afar the thunderhawks of Strike Force corvade were placing the assault squads and heavy Vehicles directly in the Orcs line of Advance as the Orcs approached the Raven guard positions orif and the other Scouts were recalled to join the main battle line and support it with their and lethally accurate shooting just as Darkness was starting to fall across Castrol Nova The Raven guards ground assault began with the blinding Flash and monstrous shock of Laz Cannon blasts the rapid bark of Thunder fire cannons heavy bolters and the impact of the thunderhawks hellstrike missiles all bursting in Blooms of red yellow and orange that bathed the battlefield in Fierce strobing light the Orcs responded with poorly aimed barrages of mortar rounds and Rockets that traced arcs of red fire across the deepening purple of the sky The Raven guard surged forwards to meet the advancing Orcs shadowy black armored figures against the Twilight their intent was to strike the Vanguard of the orc reinforcement column hard destroying it and stalling that advance and buying the hard-pressed elysians to the north time to regroup and prepare a new defensive position the battle had been quickly planned and executed but each Space Marine knew his task well years of training and experience on battlefields across the segmentum had honed each into a formidable warrior with meticulous coordination provided by Captain Corvette's second in command from his command post inside that his land Raider Prometheus the assault began the Raven guard squads crashed through the junkyard their vehicles in close support just behind firing over their heads as was a customer their Captain was at the front in the Vanguard of the attack and they were moving quickly a barrage of Oak shells fell about them one impacted directly amongst a combat Squad its blast lacing them with shrapnel and blowing two off their feet the veteran brother leading the troops reported he had lost two of his men and without instruction the Apothecary is immediately moved to Aid the stricken Brothers leaving the apothecaries behind to deal with the wounded and dying Shadow captain corvade first over the top of a scrap pile into plain view of the Orcs an undisciplined mob of green skins were gathering around their vehicles the smoke of their heavy weapons for already enshrouding them cover I saw the closest Vehicles battle Cannon fired again the shells screamed straight at him instinctively ducking it whistled just over his head hit the ground skidded across the floor and came to a standstill before suddenly exploding in a gray plume of dirt for the emperor attack attack he ordered and powered the jump generator upon his back into life he sprang forwards whining turbo Jets boosting him through the space between him and the Orcs he aimed directly at the closest green skin both power armored feet smashing into the alien and driving it to the ground as he landed directly on top of it before pounding its skull open with a single strike of his Thunder Hammer around him other assault battle brothers as we're doing the same chain swords and power weapons hacking down as they land in amidst the enemy the Orcs fall back savagely in a whirling confused melee of swords and axes there was no time for reports or tactical planning now and just a bloody Rush of Battle At Close Quarters kill or be killed death was close corvidai could feel its grip upon him but he would not let it take him yet not before he had slaughtered these alien fiends in the emperor's name in the Gathering Gloom warvoss crack rag leapt down from his idling Battle Fortress his boys and knobs were gathered about him weapons in hand hungry for some action up ahead the firing had intensified the big booms of kill cannons and lobbers sounded close stray bolt rounds fizzed past several ricocheted of the battle fortresses a roller and detonated in the air overhead determined not to miss out the war of our Strode towards the sound of the guns showing aside grots and boys as he went trailing behind him were his rednew of knobs and aardboys his best fighters tough Orcs all a bed he saw a truck a big shooter blazing wildly left and right suddenly it turned into a bright Fireball that cast Long Shadows across the darkening Battlefield Figures were moving about in the firelight and bulky figures in big suits of armor Space Marines crack rag beamed a wicked fanged grin here were some real fight then the humans had sent their own art boys come on Lads let's have them come on he broke into a Sprint Naz did his boys and ran headlong at the closest Space Marine it was dark now but it mattered not to brother Scout uriath his sniper rifles sight lit the battlefield in a green tinged light through its lens he could see clearly the hot spots of Space Marine powered armor their subatomic core power packs a glowing brightest of all the Orcs were a dull smudge it was on these that he placed his side reticule and fired from his vantage point he had a good field of fire more and more Orcs were coming there was no shortage of targets he fired again and again not pausing to see if each Target had been killed as more Orcs arrive the fighting intensified more shells shrieked and boomed more blasts tore about them the Orcs were howling their guns were hammering and darkness had come corvidai knew it was time to withdraw his attack had been ferocious and he had personally killed 10 15 20 aliens he had lost count in the swirling hand-to-hand combat his black armor was rent and worn one shoulder pad had been torn Away by a blast but it had saved his life instructing the Scout snipers to cover his withdrawal he ordered all squads to break away from the battle and regroup overhead the thunderhawks were arriving again to evacuate them he knew he was leaving the Orcs in possession of the battlefield but his Swift assault had torn the heart out of this warband battle wagons were burning the bodies of the Dead lit at the ground in all directions he was satisfied that these Orcs were no longer the threat to the allegiance they had been rumbling out of the darkness the land Raider Prometheus arrived he could see the multiple Deep Impact scars of shells on its armored proud door as the ramp dropped he stroded inside followed by his fellow battle brothers he noted that the vehicle's ammunition bins were almost empty back to the evacuation point he ordered the driver and the land Raider jolted violently As It reversed away Gathering speed Corvette immediately went to the command consoles and began to evaluate the cost of his intervention it pained him to leave the bodies of his Fallen Brothers behind but day and the emperor would understand this raid had become a desperate fight and there was no time now for the customary Ceremonies for the fallen and due reverence those must wait until they return to Deliverance now is the time for butcher's work and it was far from over yet War Boss rag picked up the body of a fallen Space Marine grasping it in his power clawed hand he hefted it up to eye level he looked at it closely black armor with white trim the symbol of a beaked flying creature emblazing white upon it he liked it the colors appealed to his goth nature no wonder they had fought so well the humans wore black too it was the color the artist's boy is always used he tossed the body to his closest knob gorag who caught it staggering stick it on my wagon he ordered it was good fighting put him right on the front so every scummy grot and weedy humor can see what we did boss gorag grinned and nodded his agreement it was a worthy prize from a worthy Fair chapter six Elijah's Last Stand the night's Darkness was never quiet Captain Garrick monitoring reports and calmed chatter stood close to his Taurus which was hulled down partially concealed amidst the debris he could hear ferocious shooting off in the distance The Sounds carrying to him from the West for the still night air guard actions sharp firefights that kept the pursuing Orcs at Bay whilst the rest of Shield Force trailed back into the new perimeter every once in a while a vulture gunship would come roaring in low a fleeting black shadow in the sky suddenly illuminated by the muzzle flash of its weapons in a frenzy of shooting and explosions that rumbled and growled in the night Garrick had a gritty Taste of dust and gunpowder why gunpowder in his mouth he was parched and reached for the mebadi walks maybe the Orcs I'll let that one go he was parched and reached for the canteen on his belt a dribbling out the last dregs to wet his lips he rubbed the grit and tiredness from his eyes it would be a long long day when Dawn finally broke it would not take the Orcs long to find them again when they did they would attack it was the only way they knew around him Elysian Troopers crunched through the darkness amongst rubble and smash Machinery each of studying fatigue they were blackened and pale-faced eyes rimmed with red squads have become just an ad hoc collection of stragglers and platoons had been reduced to squads by yesterday's battles sergeants were organizing and distributing the last of the ammunition supplies Valkyries had drops extra canisters of ammunition just before Darkness fell Garrix men had gathered them together but they were all Colonel tahoon could send still it would be enough for one last fight drop Trooper Yano inspected the a Katrin Paden Glasgow he had picked up during his retreat he had prized it from the hands of a dead Trooper the Guardsman had had his helmet and head smashed in by an Orcs heavy club and was lying in a pool of pink and red Gore but Yano needed a weapon after losing his heavy ball done and the last gun was standard issue he'd also relieved the Gory corpse of its spare ammunition Cells Two frag grenades a ration pack and its water Canteen at least now he was ready to fight again on arrival at the Rendezvous point he had been directed to join one of the ad hoc squads being formed and found they were members of c and d company and a medic who had discarded his medical equipment in favor of weapons there were eight of them in all they had been given two new power cells each and sent to man a section of perimeter now Yano was on Century Duty watching The Darkness for any approaching Orcs and trying to stay awake he hadn't slept in over 24 hours he wouldn't be getting any rest for at least another 24 hours either Captain sandstad arrived with the last of his rearguard platoons he had guided the unit back to the perimeter after a series of confused exchanges and foul of skulking Orcs And gretching The platoon was still in good fighting shape 40 men strong and they had done their job of keeping the Orcs back as Dawn began to broach the Horizon with a faint glimmer of orange he had ordered them all back to the new perimeter thamstadt thought he had less than an hour before it was light enough for the Orcs to attack in force climbed back on to his patched up trike the Beast would ride again two Max had spent all night rebuilding the front forks the pair hadn't had any choice zard snark's ultimatum was fixed or he would have pulled their arms off he inspected the work it seemed good he bounced his weight to feel the suspension and granted his satisfaction much to the relief of the two mechs who both backed away relieved to still have all their appendages time to fire it up in a throaty roar the trike's engine sprang to life throwing out a pleasing cloud of dirty smoke zard snark revved it hard and the brakes squealing as they struggled to hold the beast in place yeah just like the old Beast Zod snark was ready to go eager to go yesterday he had missed out on the fighting today would be his day first to round up his boys then at first light he would lead the charge buzzgov climbed into the pulpit of his stomper uh the big lugger around him the grot riggers were preparing the stomper for battle tightening bolts and feeding more ammunition into the shooter Hoppers some burner boys were welding new plates over yesterday's battle damage from missile strikes buzzgob had inspected it and was satisfied it was all superficial Dawn was slowly arriving and buzzgob and surveyed the surrounding scene far below him a boy's mobs were gathering alongside death dreads killer cans and trucks and tracks battle wagons and bikers Scouts boys were here too blue faced with teams of grots dragging cannons and big lovers into place under the lashes of the rant herds behind his stomper the evil Sons biker boys were racing in circles warming up their engines under a thickening cloud of gray smoke from their exhausts he could hear the growing thrum from the rotors of death copters and War copters ferrying more boys to the fight buzzgob reflected safely yesterday had been a good battle they had given the humans a good kick in today would be the real thing a big fight all the boys grouts and mangy squeaks for miles around were here ready for the action far away through the rising exhaust smog buzzgov could just about see the tanks and gantries of the old Refinery where their humies were hiding that was where they would be all heading and as soon as he gave the order he had a plan he would lead the dreadheads and go right scalp would lead his boys left and they'd squish the humans in the middle captain corvade and Chaplin Edith both waited on the Thunderhawk gunship's ramp in the pool of green light cars from the aircraft's interior the entire Raven guard Strike Force had now Consolidated before the thunderhawks had landed at a safe distance for the night they would soon be airborne again his Scout squads have reported that even before first light the Orcs had gathered into a single large horde they had identified the stomper and it seemed to contain the Orcs leader currently there were too many Orcs to risk a direct assault his Space Marines would obey any order he gave but they were a precious resource the emperor's finest then he would not Pitch them into a battle they could not win first he needed the Orcs to disperse from their Master point before committing he was confident that the lure of the elysians would do just that once the Orcs had engaged in battle The Raven guard would attack the stomper would be their primary target destroy that and they would also kill a powerful org War Boss maybe the overall ruler of this blighted planet and despite the heavy losses he could consider this ill-fated Mission at least partially successful corporate eye and Edith agreed that timing the assault would be critical wait too long and the allegiance would be crushed by the orc numbers attacked too soon and the gathered all cord would be too strong even for his battle brothers to deal with but the raving guard everything was in place even their strike Cruiser was in position to launch its orbital bombardment for the time being there was nothing to do but wait for the Orcs to make their move down there it dug out some barricades the tired Guardsmen of the 181st drop troop regiment could hear the distinctive roaring sounds and see the plumes of exhaust smoke thrown up by the approaching bikers behind them was the deeper grinding and clanking sound of heavier Vehicles churning away as the all cord approached Captain sandstad sprinted forwards to get a clearer view of the approaching enemy he leapt over several Fallen pipes and crouched behind another scanner in hand he tracked the Orcs bikers circling to the right and left the first stray org bullets snapped overhead not aimed at him just the usual over eager firing flying high and wild as the first bikers appeared as they were met by a volley of lasgun fire from the Elysian Ford positions at the battle had started sandstad moved back into better cover and began issuing orders to engage then a terrifying barrage started mortar bombs and heavier shells plunging down all about the refinery Steel was buckled and bent as a Gantry took a direct hit and toppled down scattering the drop Troopers who were Sheltering underneath it the orc said let fly with just about every gun they had in response fans that flicked his comms channel to his designated Air Support Officer it was time for the vultures and Thunderbolts to hit back Wing Sergeant sarik eased back on the control stick watching for a break in the smoke and clouds that spread in a heavy Lair just above the ground several orc Vehicles were already burning his Thunderbolt continued to Circle high above the battle now raging below awaiting the core for Aid and a Target grid the pilot didn't have long to wait he rolled the Thunderbolt over into a steep dive the g-forces building as the aircraft plummeted towards the ground zeric felt his grav suit expanding holding the blood in his body in place as it tried to force its way into his extremities the Thunderbolt was accelerating fast so sarik powered down the smoke layer rushed up to meet him the aircraft sweeped through it in a rush of air and cerrick then pulled the nose up hard and leveling out as the target came into view a slight [ __ ] adjusted his weapon targeters as they locked on all weapons armed flashed across his headset thumb the fire switch and the quad Auto cannons howled into Life as a stream of Tracer arched towards the ground locked in his sights was a massive lizard beast bellowing and stomping through the rubble at Point Blank Range saric let fly with everything Auto cannons Lars cannons and all four hell strike missiles ignited under the wings simultaneously launching four large armor-penetrating Warheads instantly hit the creature and exploded the static wrenched back that controls they can powered up again climbing Steep and fast away from the Carnage his strafing it just roared bone muncher crunched the wreckage beneath its heavy Treads still straining at its leash and bellowing suddenly he threw the smoke a jet fighter appeared in a howl of engines and a blaze of fire the darker power was impressive even to warbus skalk as the torrent of shells impacted and ricocheted around him the aircraft flashed overhead so low skalk almost ducked as he was buffeted by its jet wash suddenly the world around him exploded the volley of Hell strike missiles turned the massive Squig off Beast into hunks of flying flesh bone and blood mortally wounded the creature staggered then fell squealing pitifully in pain as it crashed over on its side dead before it hit the ground from Massive Internal wounds the armored harder on its back was torn off by the Fall spilling Orcs in all directions before it came to rest in a mass of splintered metal more Las blasts raked across the bleeding remains of the Beast as a surviving Orcs tried to crawl clear of the wreckage troubaiano saw one old heavily tattooed orc ducked furtively away he tried to get him in his sights before he could snap off a few shots the orc was gone still it lifted the elysian's hearts to see the Thundering creature die in the devastating airstrike and the Orcs around it were already retreating in the face of their accurate steady fire as the formation of Valkyries approached the Orcs turned their guns skywards in a barrage of fire as the first Valkyries made it through but the second Echelon was badly shot up Captain Garrick watched as one aircraft's engine burst into flames and as its drop troops hastily left clear it banked away as streaming flames and smoke until it hit the ground and became an expanding ball of fire seconds later a second aircraft was also shot down the squad trapped inside the transport compartment helpless as the out of control Valkyrie plunged into the ground the surviving flight screamed overhead and from the rear of each aircraft tumbled out a cluster of small figures Colonel tahoon had committed the last of the regiment's reserves the training and replacement company that had formed the air base's security detail but the situation on the ground had forced the Colonel's hand they needed every man that could fight leading the green recruits personally tahoon and almost 200 men had jumped from 18 Valkyries each drop troops plunging grab shoot dive lasted just six seconds before they hit the ground as they did the battle below was already ferocious waves Of Orcs were attacking and being shot down as they stormed the barricades cutting down a legion Guardsmen in turn Shadow Captain Corvette's Thunderhawk was inbound racing low over the surface triple engines at full burn his Target was in sight the picked relay from the thunderhawks augers showed it as a grainy ill-defined image of a Tall Walker the stomper shells were bursting about it but it still screwed forward slow and ungainly fires him to rain off its armor like water as he watched the stomper's head exploded in a burst of light a green energy beam leapt from its eye crackling and fizzing before hitting a storage tank which exploded the residue of old chemicals inside began to burn brightly Target the head he instructed the thunderhawks Gunner unhitched his harness and made his way to the Ford ramp beside Chaplin Edith touchdown in five the Thunderhawk pilot reported man the prowl ramp began to lower on hydraulic Pistons it clanged open just as the thunderhawks landing pads touched the ground and the Space Marines inside burst out the thunderhawks heavy bolters were barking a stream of shells towards the Orcs as corvidai gave the order to advance with him directly towards the stomper left and right more thunderhawks were touching down and disgorging their passengers onto the battlefield alongside them the Transporters were depositing their vehicles and the Raven guard moved forwards behind a blizzard of Bolt Affair there was no headlong rush just a steady Advance squads found out weapons leveled and miss our strict overhead and impacted on the cab of an orc vehicle which slewed out of control and crashed spilling Orcs from the back the enemy's return via was building bullets and shells whizzed snapped and fizzed past a captain corvidai the occasional round ricocheting wildly off his powered armor behind him the thunderhawks lifted off again powering skywards the best form of defense was a strong offense Captain Garrick remembered the ancient proverb from his tactical Imperium schooling his Vehicles had been adding their turret weapons Firepower to the Ring of Defense fire about the allegiance position but it would not be enough to hold more Orcs were coming all the time and even as Colonel tahoon's reinforcements were positioned to bolster the main defense lines Garrick felt that they would not hold out all day climbing into the turret seat of his Taurus he ordered his surviving squadrons to join in at his position he would launch his own rapid counter-attack the next time the Orcs came he would strike and try to cut through them that would stall the assault and if he could get through then he would be able to make Mischief in the Orcs rear area amongst their heavier gun batteries from atop his stomper buzzgob could see the Space Marines and their big black aircraft Landing a new enemy he ordered the stomper to swing right to face the new threat and bring all its weapons to Bear fire all the DACA we got fire he bellowed into the comms tube that connected his observation Gantry with the control room in the head Captain Garrick launched his attack tires squealing as the all-terrain vehicles accelerated and kicked up clods of dirt Gunners opened fire in a fuselage of laser blasts from his turrets seat Sergeant Leto took aim at a group of heavily armed blue-skinned Orcs each carrying some form of heavy weapon there were plenty of targets to aim at as the Taurus began their assault Leto loosed a long burst from his multi-lasers into the Orcs and saw one green skin with a white and blue skull painted on its chest and come apart first its arm was seven then the alien's head and chest exploded in blood the rest of the Orcs scattered ducking away into the closest cover the Torah said formed a line abreast and we're advancing fast at least three vehicles had already been hit the blast of an explosion had flipped one clear into the air it had landed on its roof crashing the crew the volume of orc fire surged around him so many bullets that it seemed the Orcs couldn't miss Leto felt rounds impact on the turrets and then around punctured the turret armor and hit him piercing his right thigh immediately blood started to well up through his jumpsuit and ran down into his boot the pain almost overcame him he howled stifled his scream then almost passed out fighting to stay conscious he was Bare really aware that the Taurus had rolled to a halt in front of him the driver was already dead bouncing along at high speed the orc bikers were shooting frantically in all directions The Howling engines and Roar of Shooters drowned out everything zard snack sort of Rocket zip passed felt the concussion of its near miss it was a wild melee and zard snark loved it amidst the din there was the grunting and screaming Of Orcs And humies dying in the chaos his trike had been hit again the front tire was flat a rubber was peeling away in strips other bits had fallen off too and the beast's jet engine didn't sound good but he just kept going the speeding bikers were proving hard to hit as they swirled around the Rusted wreckage of pipes and Rubble the evil Sun's War Boss had the Ripper powered up and used it to slash wildly at anything within reach bits of machinery and pipe were locked off in a shower of Sparks several humies had also been locked into bits he'd taken one's head clean off and zard snark had laughed hard as it bounced away like a ball Captain carrick's Taurus was wheezing to a halt having taken multiple rounds through it his driver was bleeding badly shell fragments had slashed Garrick's face as well the communications equipment was shot shredded sparking and smoldering a Garrick climbed out staggering bullets were still cracking by he helped his driver Ardo out but the wound looked serious about him Garrett could see more Orcs And Gretchen closing in he drew his last pistol and fired to keep them back still supporting his driver with one arm let's get out of here he reassured the man even though it didn't look like Aldo was going to live long Captain Garrick turned to make his way back the way he had come but found his path was blocked by more glowering Orcs he was already surrounded the orc mob closed in swords axes and pistols in hand Shadow Captain Corvette had withdrawn into his land Raider Prometheus command post the vehicle had caught up with him through the battle outside and he needed to check on all his squads The Raven Guard Ground assault had run into trouble when all dreadnoughts had counter-attacked small ones big ones just about anything that could stagger on legs a Charged headlong into the Raven guards ranks the Space Marines had been forced to withdraw and call in their own air support thunderhawks were even now strafing the Orcs to keep them back they hadn't reached the stomper and it was still out there thundering away with volleys of fire and Blasting its green laser light suddenly the land Raider shook violently beneath him almost wrenching Corvette off his feet the battle tank slewed sideways then a second impact almost lifted the 70-ton vehicle off the ground corvade scrambled to the side exit hit the emergency open button and the land Raider's door exploded out upwards the vehicle was being shaken from side to side leaping through the door covered a looked back a huge Dreadnought at least six meters tall loomed over the Prometheus its massive power claw was raking across the top of the land Raider piercing the top armor and tearing a great gouge through it the huge renord pulled away armored pieces and discarded them helplessly the second tank was being violently demolished Captain sandstadt had climbed to a vantage point on the still smoking ruins of a storage tank clambering up the remains of the ladders to get a clear view all around and Below him the drop Troopers and Orcs were still locked in battle now above him aircraft soared and roared both Elysian and orc are bringing their payloads of rockets and bombs to add to the Raging Inferno of battle below from up here we had a better view of what was happening through the smoke he could still plainly see away to the South the squat shapes of Space Marine Thunderhawk gunships making their attack runs emits the smoke was the distant hazy outline of the orc stomper the space Marine's Landing had mercifully diverted its own Advance Nazi watched through his magnocular scanner a streak of red fire raced from the upper sky and flashed into the ground impacting in a great explosion the space Marine's orbital bombardment the cloud of dust and debris thrown up obscured his view further Closer by the elysians were down to the last of their Manpower squads and platoons had been butchered to a man by the repeated orc charges and overwhelmed by the Orcs heavy Firepower Captain character's a company had been destroyed Garrick himself was lost missing presumed dead his own F company was down to the last 30 or 40 survivors not even a full strength platoon remained the other companies were similarly shredded colonel tahoon was also dead killed fighting off and never charged by the orc bikers that left fanstad in overall command of the regiment which wasn't much of a promotion still around his perimeter the bodies of Orcs had piled up three or four deep in places wrecked and burning orc Vehicles bikes trucks and battle wagons added to the Carnage Captain tanstad had now resigned himself to their defeat and destruction as a last resort he had called in the valkyrie transports to make a last-ditch effort to lift any survivors they could clear from the battlefield it would be a Dangerous Mission almost suicidal as the Valkyries would be vulnerable as they came in to land the entire area was infested with marauding green skins the regiment was beaten though man there was no choice but to make an emergency evacuation back to their base no doubt the Orcs Fighters would pursue them all the way all squads to break contact and withdraw thunderhawks disengage and prepare for extraction to strike Cruiser they were not orders Shadow Captain Corvette had expected to have to give but there was nothing more his depleted Strike Force could do here the elysians had been overrun and his own Force faced the same Prospect unless they got clear now they had failed to destroy the stomper or find the all commanders but to continue a hopeless battle and waste the lives of his brothers would be a greater dishonor than any failure here there was no disgrace or dishonor in giving battle with determination and Valor and expunging hundreds of these Green xenos from the galaxy in the name of the emperor still Captain corvade would have to bear the mark of his failure until he could erase it with a greater Victory he would do long Penance for these two days perhaps he would volunteer for a period of service with the order zenos as a fitting self-imposed exile chapter 7. defeat and withdrawal the end of the Castrol novum raid they rode back in the valkyrie in silence there was nothing left to say and no more orders to give on the outward trip each Valkyrie had been packed with men dropped canisters and extra equipment now the transport compartment seemed empty Captain sandstadt had boarded the last Valkyrie to make the rescue run in the process they had taken a lot of ground fire from the Orcs but the pilot had blasted them clear now it was touch and go if the aircraft would make it back to base at all there were just five other Guardsmen we've kept in sandstad each looked like they had been seriously beaten with their bruised faces and red swollen eyes most were still bleeding from wounds the transport compartment floor was a mess of discarded equipment and blood-soaked bandages fans that himself could feel blood slowly oozing from a shallow wound on his hip where A Shard of shrapnel had skimmed just past him earlier during the battle he'd hardly noticed the wound now it ate but then what muscles didn't after two days in combat he would live which was more than they could save or most of the drop Troopers who had been LED onto Castrol novum Trooper Yano was struck by how empty the air base was now when they had boarded the Valkyries for the attack the place had been a frenzy of activity and noise as thousands of men and hundreds of aircraft made ready for battle now it was almost deserted just a few mute stragglers and the gusting wind whipping across the sand and rock there were a few people left now mostly maintenance Crews and laborers the men who had been part of the regiment support Echelon but even most of these had now been lifted back to the transport in orbit Jano threw down his sweat-soaked helmet and began unstrapping his flak arm as breastplate and pauldrons there were Scorch marks on the breastplate and in one place a huge dent front and center where an orc bullet had hit him squared on but the symphas had stopped it barely he could feel the big bruise on his chest from the impact it should have killed him around him the survivors were doing likewise shedding the heavy equipment some were methodically field stripping their weapons a force of habit to ingrain to stop even at the point of exhaustion other Troopers had simply slumped down and fallen asleep there would be more work to do when the orbital land has returned to lift them back to the transport but it was obvious there weren't enough Guardsmen left to dismantle and reload the equipment in the aircraft that arrived here many of the surviving aircraft would have to be sabotaged Beyond use by the enemy and abandoned the battle was over but Shadow Captain Corvette's work was not complete they still had the evacuation mission to complete his battle brothers had returned to their strike Cruiser but the remaining elysians also had to be lifted clear he had already dispatched the orbital land as to their Air Base to begin the operation the heavy equipment was to be destroyed and left corvade wanted to be away from the system quickly before any orc ships arrived to intercept him he was confident that the strike Cruiser was fast enough to outrun anything the Orcs might pursue them with but the transport vessels would need protecting until they could make their warp jumps of the free transport vessels that had arrived two had already been dispatched empty the remaining vessel would be more than enough for the Imperial Guard survivors the Battle Fortress rumbled to a halt in a screech of breaks the big black clad Goths clambered and jumped down from it searching for an enemy to shoot at before them was a scene of smoking ruin bodies littered the ground humies orc and grots fires were burning out of control somewhere inside one of those fires ammunition was still exploding one loud detonation after another cordite smoke was thick in the air War Boss crack rag inhaled deeply he loved it the place looked good there were few sites as magnificent as a battlefield after a battle flanked by his minders he crunched over the rubble to investigate closer Nazi arrived he had seen the last of the humans aircraft blasting off and racing away it was too late he'd arrived too late for the fight which angered him greatly his Convoy had sped all day to get here but they couldn't make up the time lost in yesterday's fighting surveying the surrounding area it looked like it had been a good scrap he noted with satisfaction the charred fleshy remains of Scout's big Squig off lying dead good with gork's luck uh the crocodile git had got himself killed which would be one problem wouldn't have to deal with when it came to splitting up older loot he turned back to his boys and ordered them back onto the Battle Fortress it was time to find buzzgov and he'd better still be alive or boss garakak uh would make sure they were all dead the buzz Gob was still inspecting the battle damage on a stomper high up on its head he was peering deeply into the burnt out and twisted remains of its weapon The Gaze of gork they called it but the laser had taken a direct hit from one of the whomis big guns and being turned into charge scrap most of the workings had been fused into one big mess of cables and gubbins and its insides were still sparking and glowing red hot he took out his large wrench and began pulling pieces off to see if anything could be saved the rest of big lager had weathered the battle pretty well in places the armored skirts had been torn away and one shot had penetrated through and mangled some of the leg workings including a few grot riggers that had been caught by the explosion their bits were splatter all over the place in there a lot of working bits had shaken loose and the riggers were already busy tightening up bolts before anything vital dropped off they gave up on the laser time for that later first he had to get his boys and Max plundering any scrap that could get their hands on To the victor the spoils and bazgob knew he'd definitely won this battle epilogue as he raid on Castrol novum had been a costly defeat for the Imperium and even for the vaunted Space Marines of the Raven guard there was little of positive value to salvage from the slaughter wrought by the Orcs before the attack the 181st Elysian drop troop regiment had been a well-equipped and trained Imperial Guard force with a good mix of veterans and new recruits the department had rated its combat Readiness as Optimum when it received its orders for transportation to the foursar sector it was that Optimum rating that had seen it selected for the Castrol Nova Mission at the Raven guards request in two days of fighting it had effectively been destroyed very few of the regiments 2100 men and almost none of its equipment including over 100 Valkyrie Airborne carriers and 30 vulture gunships were evacuated from Castrol Nova perhaps as few as 400 Guardsmen returned Department Auditors for the force our sector struck the Regiment of its strength at 548-992 m41 Alicia's next round of conscriptions would see the regiment refounded with fresh Manpower and new equipment provided the 181st drop troop regiment would fight again but it would contain no Veterans of Castrol novum many of the survivors were transferred to the 73rd harkone warhawks as reinforcements The Raven guards plan had failed it had caused Strikeforce Corvette over 70 of its battle brothers their come close but ultimately fail in their primary objective of killing Big Mac buzzgov in some Circles of the segmentum high command the chapter would come in for strong criticism for its failure and the perceived waste of an Imperial Guard drop troop regiment that could have been better employed elsewhere but such voices were to be rapidly silenced when the chapter deployed to foresar itself although some would suggest that the chapters delayed deployment of the war zone to meet garakak's main Force only came about as a result of their failure on Castrol nervum and their need to atone for the heavy losses incurred other commanders argued that perhaps The Raid had not been a complete failure an estimated 6 000 Orcs have been killed in the fighting none of them would now see battle elsewhere manufacturing on the world would be disrupted by the loss of Manpower if nothing else The Raven guard had also destroyed a huge fuel stockpile and this in turn must have had some knock-on effect on the Four Star battles in the end history would show that the damage inflicted would not be enough to save the hive World from being conquered by Garrick ax armies in truth these arguments were merely small compensations to be salvaged from a mission that had gone badly wrong the major mistake had been the underestimating of orc's strength the Raiders had simply not had the manpower to deal with the massive number of Orcs present on Castrol novum it was a failure that a dog the imperium's fight against Garrick act since his first surprise attack it took the fall of foresar and then Magdalene F4 before the administ stratum finally recognized garakak's attacks as a full wa when arguably it had been exactly that since his victory in the talarax war the wheels of the imperium's bureaucracy had been characteristically slow to react for the Orcs The Raid was a brief distraction from the main Battlefield on Forza and if nothing else it signaled the imperium's willingness to go on the offensive and operate deep in all territory even if the risks and losses were great Garrick hacks a growing domain was not secure from the speed and mobility of the spaceman in chapters following the raid Garrick accent one of his own trusted goth War bands to Castrol novum as new guards to replace the losses and to keep a much closer eye on buzzgob at garakaks urging the mech boss would eventually leave his base on mech-slag eggs and take to the battlefield again at the head of the dreadheads buzzgold's dread mob led the invasion and capture of the Magdalene 4 Shrine world skalk Bluetooth and his death skulls also joined buzzgob but only once Scout could completed the task of creating his own dread mob his experiment with Squig offs was consigned to history as a failure in favor of imitating buzzgov's impressive mechanical warband zard snark's Biker Boys would replace their losses and eventually move on to forsa to join the war remember the course of that war zard snark would rise to become one of Garrick hack's most feared War bosses and by the end of the four star Conquest he would be leading an evil Sun's warband that ran to an estimated 50 000 Orcs making him garakak's most powerful evil Sons War Boss crack rag 2 would survive warlord Garrick hacks anger and the raid's destruction and disruption and finally get his wish to see battle on Forza once it was complete he would take command of the gargant naming It crack Rags Mangler the stratagos logis and still have these gargant listed on their inventory of garakak's known forces post script the lessons of the raid on Castrol novum were not quickly learned and after the fall of Magdalene 4 the adaptist ministorum was vehement that their Shrine world should not be allowed to remain in all cans without a fight they use their political influence to insist on an immediate counter-attack the regiment selected for this mission was the 73rd hakone warhawks another newly deployed Optimum rated drop troop regiment but this time the attack was not supported by any Space Marines The Raven guard refused to have any involvement in such a rashly conceived Mission they at least had learned a lesson the warhawks drop on Magdalene 4 was another disaster that drop troop regiment 2 was wiped out for little or no gain they marked the last of the imperium's attempted counter-attacks against Garrick hack the wasting of forces in the piecemeal small actions was ordered to Halt the main effort must be in building up enough Force to Halt the Orcs invasion in defensive battles before any further attempts at re-conquest would be sanctioned the growth of wah garakak the following is a timeline of events from the formation of garrotak's initial horde to its current standing in the force our sector as the 41st Millennium came to an end just prior to the fall of the Acadian gate most beloved and clawed of the administrator might beseech thee but over 70 years the emperor's Divine rule of the force our sector of segmentum tempestas has been threatened and harassed by a growing org menus the arch killer garakak name him what the cruelest of foes may his name be forever cursed even now this Unholy sinus is sit upon the coordinate Throne of the Holy Shrine world of Magdalene 4 blaspheming his name with their foul presence as I write orc foot soldiers are barracked in the ruins of our once a glorious high of cities our faithful citizens are enslaved to his alien will how long must we endure these torments how many more worlds Must Fall before this green fiend soldiery how many loyal citizens must be sacrificed before the enemy's cruel rain is halted send us stoic soldiers of the Imperial Guard send us Legions of the faithful adeptice Aurora's house send us your most revered adepticeystatis and send us your ahead in the emperor's name preserve us your most Faithful Servants a lord Confessor martana javoon petitioned to the master of the administratum 994-999 m41 time iron of events 1709-36m41 agaric hacks golf horde allied with the bad moons of dagrod's killer boys launch a surprise attack on The Outpost world of thoria free and rapidly defeated Garrison and enslave its population 346937 m41 success on Fourier draws more rock warbands to garakak and dagrod's Banners including bad doc Fisk skull Splitters Renegade warband of cyborgs zargos Flyboys blackfingers death skulls and many wandering free Booter bands zero three one nine three nine m41 warlord garakak treacherously attacks his former Ally dagrod slaying dagrod the kill boys joined his warband garakak is now the Undisputed orc leader on thoria 3. 772-945 m41 the department of unitorum responds to the increased awk Threat by deploying five Imperial Guard regiments to talarax turning it into a fortress world two eight nine nine four eight m41 Garlic's enlarged Fleet enters the talarax system and overwhelms the planet's Fleet and orbital defenses Landings begin on talarax itself three four eight nine four eight m41 Landings complete a three-year ground war for possession of talarax begins 60-8951 m41 talarax finally Falls to garakak to celebrate his victory he reinforces the armor on his personal Battle Fortress with masonry taken from talarax's bastions garlic declares himself the overfiend of talarax 064951 m41 with garakak's permission big Mech buzzgob and his dreadheads warband lead an attack on the Imperial industrial world of Castrol novum 723-952 m41 after strong resistance by Castro novums Garrison including the 49th Terex guard the planet is evacuated and Falls MEK boss buzzgob establishes himself on Castro novum turning it into his own manufacturing base it is renamed mixlag X by the Orcs four five three nine six oh m41 blackfinger's death skulls Fleet split from garakak to attack the small Forest world of viridius prime an Eldar Fleet intercepts blackfinger in the viridio system and destroys the org Fleet no Orcs reach varidius 211 966 m41 War Boss gokrock arrived from the orc Empire of atavius to challenge garakak backed by his own large Fleet including a massive spacehog garakak fights gokrog and wins the jewel inheriting his entire horde and Fleet 799-70m41 garlic continues to attract more orc War bands swelling his forces further including log rocks bad moons speed Lord vac rackers Blitz boys nazrags kill Convoy crogs blood ax armored Brigade and nashrax freaks small orc grades across the force our system continue but it is obvious garlic is mustering his forces for his next big invasion 935979 m41 Department immunotorum officials order more Imperial Guard regiments to defend Force our Hive World their lodges predictions make force are the next Target for garakak's conquests 705 988 m41 garakak launches his long expected invasion of force are millions of Orcs Rampage Across The Hive World in a war which will eventually last eight years 541992 m41 raid on Castrol novum a ravenguard strike force in the Elysian 181st drop troop regiment attack garakak's manufacturing base on Castrol novum a two-day battle results in heavy losses to the imperium's forces despite the Raven guards efforts to kill him Mech boss buzzgob survives 296994 m41 Siege of Cesaro Prime Hive on four star ends with a high falling as garakak's overwhelming numbers storm the defenses the 227th mortium regiment is annihilated in the 10-day pitched battle eight seven oh nine nine five m41 on Forza a ravenguard strike force under Shadow Captain shrike counter-attack at the 89th parallel encircling and largely destroying wax scrums Dhaka boys a large blood ax LED warband zero two three nine nine six m41 Big Mac buzzgov launches his own Invasion from Castro novum against the Shrine world of Magdalene 4. his dread heads are aided by scalp Bluetooths and death skulls and more goth warbands sent by garakak The Shrine world is defended by frittatus militia thousands of cultists of the Red Redemption and sisters of Battle of the order of the black Sepulcher 411-996 m41 the fall of forces it is renamed Garlic's world for the Imperial guards High command the loss of the primary Hive world now makes the sector indefensible Imperial Guard forces are redeployed on mass abandoning the four star sector despite Vermont complaints from ecclesiarco Representatives they demand the Imperium defend the Shrine world of Magdalene 4 to the last man eight six six nine six six m41 without Aid Magdalene four Falls to buzzgov and he's immediately claimed by garakak now calling himself the warlord of forcer snake bite warbands of gersks Braves join with garlic emerging from their home planet of OG roller a deep in an area of wilderness space aided by garakak the entire population of the planet migrates to join the war including hundreds of Squig offs four seven six nine nine eight m41 under a diplomatic pressure from the Ecclesia architu rapidly recapture Magdalene 4 the 73rd harkone warhawks are ordered to launch an ill-advised counter-offensive against the Shrine world the attack fails with heavy losses 995 999-41 get attack's ongoing invasions uh officially designated as wah got attack by the administratum got attacks warbands are now estimated at approximately two billion Orcs seems a lot doesn't it his hordes are now all mastering on garakak's world mechlag IX and Magdalene 4. 996 999 m41 more Imperial Guard regiments along with large ecclesiaco forces as well as a demi Legion of Legion titanicus Astra Mana the morning stars are now being deployed to Halt the Orcs Space Marines of the revilas Aurora and deaf Eagles chapter have also arrived the entire Raven guard chapter stands ready to defend their Homeworld Deliverance which Now lies in the predicted path of wah gallahak unfortunately at this point the information Runs Out we do not know the current situation of Deliverance only that it must have defeated garakak's horde at some point shortly after this kdfl the Great Rift emerged and our beloved Imperial Regent Primark Gilman emerged and his primaris Marines were dispatched across the Galaxy we do know from other sources of the Raven guard currently utilizing the new Marines I shall update you further when more information becomes available transmission ends and there we have it another big campaign video more will be coming soon thank you to everybody supporting the channel apologies about the delays I've tried my best this one took a long time to pull together I don't know why it took longer than a normal I'm not sure but anyway it's out now so I hope you do enjoy it thank you to everybody supporting the channel you can see your name scrolling by as I Babble here good little story some of the artwork is amazing it's a shame some of this there's it's a shame that so much stuff that Forge World used to make just isn't available anymore particularly the orgs of the org tanks and everything and a lot of the Space Marine stuff pretty cool pretty cool but yeah lots of nice uh nice nice artwork and imagery and stuff and it's a shame man I really want him to do more of these sort of campaign books like they did with the um the Sabbath world's Crusade one but that was the sort of mostly a reprint of an old book with a few additions like updating it from Dan Abner I want I want more of these campaign books that are in-depth I mean um yeah they're just they're just good fun you know fake history I like fake history the uh tactical imperialis with all its multiple campaign histories and stuff in there it's good stuff anyway this is a this is an interesting one there's a few odd moments again this is like sort of 12 years old this campaign so again some of the numbers are off like all of a sudden they all get tit two billion that's a lot that's a lot of Orcs I mean I'm not saying it's not possible but it seems like that that escalated quickly right um you know the amount of Space Marines that died I guess killing 6 000 Orcs isn't bad is it that's a lot of Orcs but anyway interesting campaign nice little bonus one and I hope you did enjoy it and like I said if you would like to support the channel and the work I do here please consider using the links below become a YouTube member which is probably the easiest thing if it on patreon which I appreciate during one of the tiers there and on subscribe Star as well for those of you who prefer that I really appreciate it I will be back again with more stuff very very soon and uh yeah if you mind giving the video a like subscribe if you're not subscribed let me know in the comments what you thought I'll be back again very very soon with much more stuff as we go on towards the the Christmas time now of 2022 much more stuff coming up yeah don't worry content is coming see you later bye-bye

Channel: ABORDER PRINCE

Views: 509,674

Keywords: warhammer, warhammer audiobook, elysian drop troops, kastore-novem, ork big mek, ork gargent, ork bikes, ork buggy, raven guard chapter, space marine battles, imperial armour 8, ork warlord, imperial guard regiments, ork waaagh, ork religion, ork society, ork meks, imperium of man, emperor of mankind, adaptus astartes, astra militarum, thunderhawk gunship, dreadnoughts 40k, warhammer explained, warhammer lore, warhammer 40k lore, warhammer 40000, warhammer 40k, greenskins

Id: -gwJam_cdd4

Length: 197min 22sec (11842 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 26 2022