30 minutes later
Castor made it back to his platoons encampment in time where they are to be stay there for further instruction. He doesn't know why the eldar haven't spotted them yet — maybe it has to do with the techpriest' skitarii rangers keeping them at bay for now. As if it appears to be a silent warfare that takes place where both parties are already in engaged in a bloody stalemate.
Castor was back at the encampment where his current platoon was stationed to assault the eldar webway. They were told by the Commissar that once he has given the order to march through the dense forest; we'll be ready to kill the enemy in the emperor's name. The assault will be ready at 1500 hours so I have time to kill. He sits at a tree branch that he climb over to the top for the tree was a Brobdingnagian to him but it didn't detered Castor to ascend above the wood.
I played with the mud in my hands and started molding something native to my homeworld back at hadria. It was a Fyllodracos or what the other smarties would call it a leaf dragon, since it is said that one of the legendary heroes of the Emperor's offspring rode it to battle. To me back when I was still a child, it was cool beast that I wish to ride so I can bring glory to my family. It's such a shame they weren't around to say goodbye to me while I was leaving the my homeworld to go on an expedition.
I regret everything I have done to this day and everything that made me who I am now. I hate it, I hate my life because it has been nothing but facing death and praying to myself that I won't die here. I still pray even when I am still breathing, I hope to have a family when I come back home. I wanna go home. I miss my family, everyone back at the hive.
Castor was on the verge of tears for he has been anxious to this assault. He has endured so much hardships and gain so little in return that made him shunned by the other guard. By the time he had been thinking about his homeworld of hadria, the sculpture he made was finished and it looked exactly like the one he made back in his childhood. It's appearance was never stunning or remarkable but it was enough for satisfy his agony.
Afterall, they are about to attack the eldar webway base by the time his done dawdling with the muddy toy he had been sculpting then this would be his last to enjoy his happiness from home. Despite it being far, far away from his general location. He snuggles it within his arms, never letting it go until his squad mates called out to him from below.
"Cpl. Castor! Where are you? We have to go, we've received new orders that we are going to depart now than later! Cpl. Castor?" Domitian yelled, calling out to Castor at the tip of his lungs. Seeing this, Castor decided to put the figure down and grabbed a nearby vine. He places his feet at the bark of the wooden tree and to the ground — jumping one leap to another until he descends in front of Domitian. Slightly taken aback by Castor's sudden appearance from above; he paced backwards then drops after 2 steps.
"You scared me there, Corporal. I have not been that frighten since the time when, I first saw an ork." Domitian remarks.
"You've been around the guard for 4 months now, correct? Come now, we have to meet up with our squad before the catachans start bickering again on who has the biggest knife." Castor said, giving Domitian a hand to get up.
"Heh, yes it has only been 4 months but I still have much to learn so I can come back home to my family at hadria." Domitian said, pulling the palms of his squadmate and gets back up. He cleans up the dirt in the bottom of his pants.
"You have a family?" Castor asked for he was quite curious to know why a 40 year old man is doing in the guard.
"Ah yes I do have one. I only joined the guard so I can help my wife and children." Domitian said as he finish puffing out the last speck of dirt from his pants.
"For what reason did you join the guard?" Castor asked again, wondering why would he leave his family behind.
"I... had no other choice... I lost my job in the manufactorum due to my clumsiness and it has been hard on my family — feeding off only rations that taste like crotch rot. So I applied to join the guard, got my myself trained to the point of almost breaking my sanity and then I experience my first ork invasion.
Luckily my wife and daughter were safe thanks to the help of the space marines heeding our call. I am still lucky I survive this far after witnessing so many ordeals... Even executing an entire family was more mortifying than facing a greenskin." Domitian said as we head back to our squad while we were walking together.
Even though I resented being in the guard deep down, I still have people like him to relate to. After all, this fight would determine the outpost survival — if we fail this mission then we would lose 2 entire companies. Just this one base alone is more vital than the rest of the other small bases that aren't worth wasting imperial cannon fodders like us. Since the eldar raids have been more frequent on the Ollaneous bunker since we are fighting a foe with centuries of combat experience.
This battle won't be an easy victory since Commissar Janette, Lieutenant Darell and Captain Jordan Majocka are the ones leading this assault. I hope it goes well enough for me to live another 5 hours before biting the dust. While I was thinking about the battle and chatting Domitian about his life back in hadria — we were able to meet up with them just in time to see Czevaks balls face being uppercutted by Sgt. Anya. 'This will take a while to get used to' he anxiously thought to himself.
*****
The cold, breezy sky was clouded in a dark blue tinged of saturation. Bringing with it a heavy rain that creates a dreaded and depressing atmosphere as it pours droplet after droplet until the hard ground of soil turns into mush. Today would be a difficult one since his leman russ tanks would have a hard time traversing the terrain in this opened field of fresh land that would soon be tainted with blood.
Within the tents of the 2nd platoon of the 2nd company, lieutenant Darell was communicating with Commissar Ironfang and Captain Jordan Majocoka via Vox-casters. He had a full platoon of guardsman at the ready and with it 5 chimera transports as well as 1 leman russ tanks. He will meet up with Ironfang when his platoon secure the left flank of the eldar base — while Major Majocka takes the right flank.
Attacking the eldar on both fronts so he we can have a quick victory since reinforcements won't be arriving any time soon. He will anticipate this raid would take at least 1 or 2 weeks, judging from the defense reported from several of the scouts they have ordered to survey the enemy stronghold. So far the reconnaissance have been both successful and unsuccessful. Due to them being so close to eldar territory, it was bound to have many scouts lose their lives from this mission.
A total of 30 dead or missing in action (MIA) have been estimated and only 17 were lucky to come back alive. Some of them barely made it out of the woods with scars that were not of eldar origin but in fact must have been the native wildlife. Lieutenant Darell shook his head out of disgust; he then proceeds to chat with the other commanders in the Vox-caster.
"So we shall attack them in both flanks and then have our basilisk's rain fire upon these vile xenos. If everything goes according to operation Steelgate then we may have control over the entire southern sector." Cpt. Majocka said in a wave of a static and raspy tone.
"Alright, I will proceed as planned and has Col. Trajan given us any new orders?" Lt. Darell said anxiously.
"No. He hasn't — given the strike groups situation, any new orders as far as I can tell would have been informed by us right now." Commissar Ironfang coldly said. "What's wrong Lt? Do you think he may have given the order to retreat, right when we are this close to give the enemy a proper purge?" She added but in a more infuriated voice.
"No, Commissar, I am just concern if we are able ride our chimeras and leman russ tanks to this pouring weather." Lt. Darell spoke in an expressionless face, overseeing the busy guard preparing for combat. They chatted like this for a good 10 minutes, each second that pass made Darell even more anxious.
The many men women all marching, jogging and placing down supplies of ammunition are active and are ready to face the eldar. There were columns of guard marching towards their respective post — all while the rain pours repetitively in the dark cloudy sky of Achilles Primus. He too was also prepared, having only saber for melee combat and a plasma pistol for short-range firepower. If he ever bets his life on rolling a one then he is doomed.
Lt. Darell, tucked in his cap and prepares for battle; he was about to put the Vox-caster down until he hears las-rifles firing in encampment. Dumbfounded, he checks outside what the caused for the guardsmen fire during in times of preparation.
To his utter most surprise, it was an eldar raid. This made many guardsmen to drop what they were doing and fight the many eldar warriors present. There were countless of them — they were too fast to notice for Darell to see and are far more efficient in taking out each and every guardsmen he has control over.
"Lt. Darell!" Janette Ironfang growled in the Vox-caster. "My platoon is under attack by eldar forces and my men are dying here! I am in need of your platoon!" She added, speaking more and more flustered for each syllable that comes out of her mouth.
"I can't! I am having a similar problem too, try calling Cpt. Majocka for artillery support!" He replied back to the Commissariate.
"DAMN! This xenos species are as tenacious as they are depicted as, I would give away one ration just to get them out of my mind!" She roared and slams the desk inside her tent while shooting. Darell can even hear bolter rounds being fired loudly.
"Don't tell me it isn't that other guard you've been bumming over?" Cpt. Majocka said sarcastically.
"Be quiet and send me reinforcements!" She yelled so loud that the eldar who was about to swiftly kill a guardmans stopped and looked at the Liuetenants tent. Until it was shot by nearby catachan with its las-rifle.
"Sorry to break to you but I too have an eldar mess to deal with. New plan, abandon operation Steelgate, commence operation Hellfury. Get out of there within 2 hours pronto." Cpt. Majocka said coldly and drops down his Vox-caster.
Upon learning that operation Steelgate was now no longer in action; Janette also slams her Vox-caster in a fit of rage. Only Lt. Darell was the only that didn't hung up his Vox-caster. He puts it down and pulls out his saber and plasma pistol. Then launches out of his tent to join the fight and ordered a full scale retreat back to the Ollaneous bunker.
When he relayed his message, every guardsman was now scrambling to the chimeras while killing off whatever eldar they could find. Lt. Darell was also going towards the transport and on the way killed 2-3 eldar aspect warriors and 1 banshee; he made it to one of the chimeras and ordered the gunner for fire support. He complied and started spraying the heavy-bolter mounted on top of the chimera. Not before long, many eldar warriors are now withdrawing and are fleeing back to the forest.
"HAH! Run and find yourself a hole to live in! You are no match to the might of imperial steel!" A guardsman said, feeling jubilant that the enemy has shown cowardice.
But it would all soon change and they would all knew why the eldar withdrawn their engagement. A large bipedal silhouette started sprouting out of woods and began firing a series of lasers. Its slender figure was much more eye-catching that its armaments. Upon looking at the giant mech slowly traversing its way towards our direction; my heart sank to the bottom of where endless space can fit in it.
It was as if he had witness the imperial knights again from house Callion. Nevertheless, he ordered all of his troops to get to the chimeras and told the sentinel squad to go follow the rest of the chimeras as escorts. It didn't take long for him to get into one of the chimera vehicles and tells the driver to get them out of here once the chimera is full. The driver nods and kicks the in the gas — starting its engines and driving through the wet mud.
'How could they have attacked our encampment, even though we are so far away from their base. Did they knew we were coming? Did they anticipated that the guard would conduct a counter-attack?' He thought of so many questions that he wasn't bothered by the rumbling the chimera was doing.
"Sir! We're stuck!" The driver said and pushes the pedal to the point where he has nowhere to push. It seems that we will die here then. It has been a wonderful ordeal being a Lt. Yes, surely anyone would love to be in this situation. Darell made a grimace look and tells the rest of the 9 men (including the gunners and drivers) to go outside and make a last stand. The gunners will stay and give fire support while the rest of this small squad take cover from the transport and pray to have a painless death.
"Men, today we will die and die shall we! Lay your life to his holy majesty the emperor!" Lt. Darell screams and pushes the doors open — frantically firing his plasma gun to the point of overheating.
"///FOR THE EMPEROR!///" They all cried out in unison until they were wiped out by the other eldar.
*****
Walking in the cold, breezy rain — a sting of pain cause Aemylth to trample backwards and it wasn't a wound to back nor any injury. No, it was the feeling of remorse and guilt that she had endured. Back at her shrine when she was still learning the art of the sword; she was taught not feel any regret to the enemy that she slays and control their emotions as to not attract 'she who thirst' but she never mastered completely.
Only relying on the warmask that hides her identity from the other Mon'Keigh that she slew. Aemylth tried to disclose this distraction and thought of something else to keep her mind in check but all she could think of was that one Mon'Keigh that helped her.
"Why? Why did you save me despite being my enemy?" She muttered in her warmask and cleaved off a guardsman's head off. Just thinking about it made her mind go all riled up. Has she been thinking about this one human that her race looks down upon? Are these apes truly barbaric as what she had been told by her exarch? So many questions so little to answer. All can do now was to keep on fighting until every Mon'Keigh is slain.