Hecatoncheires
un jour je serai de retour près de toi
Original poster
DONATING MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
The hammer of the Emperor has launched it's surprise attack on the Severan Dominate's position.
Below, the advance will have begun. The forces of Lord General Ghanzorik rolling forwards, Leman Russ cannons blazing, Basilisks raining death upon unprepared enemy lines, Chimeras streaming forward loaded with guardsmen; each of them ready to bring the wrath of the Emperor to bear on the traitors of the Dominate. The city of Aquila will burn, the streets will erupt into violence as a new front opens on this shattered planet.
But that is not to be our fight.
Our Valkyrie drops out of cloud-cover like a night time predator, the screech of its engines muffled by the din of Imperial guns on the ground. We fly in formation, other dropships carrying the squads of Blackjack Company to their drop sites. Almost immediately after leaving the protection of the cloud layer, I feel our ship begin to rattle as the air defences on the ground open up on us. Dominate flak cannons locking in, trying to ensure that we never reach our objective. Already several of our comrades and their transports will have been torn apart by the flak, their bodies plummeting towards the ground.
The first lesson of war. First lesson of every Guardsman.
You can't delude yourself that you're somehow coming out of this alive. That's not what you signed up for.
Duty must be its own reward.
My squad is arrayed along the seats of the Valkyrie's interior, strapped in to weather the twists and turns of the flight. Their first combat drop as a unit. This is the moment we've been training for, drilling for, anticipating for months now. Preparation is one thing, but combat shows what a Guardsman is truly made of.
Ten soldiers ready to drop into the hellhole below.
I wonder how many will climb back out?
"ETA three minutes to the drop-site," the pilot informs me through the intercom. I rise to my feet, snapping my harness onto the railings that run the length of the Valkyrie's ceiling to ensure the shaking doesn't wrench me off my feet.
"This is it!" I yell over the screaming engines, "You all know what's expected of you, but let me go over our mission one final time! We're dropping into Nevarine Forest, where secessionist forces have a number of artillery and anti-air positions! Same positions doing their level best to blow us to pieces, so we're gonna return the favour! Nevarine is also the main route that they'll be trying to send reinforcements to the city through, so once we've silenced those guns we'll be making sure those reinforcements never make it!
"Try to stay together on the drop! When you hit the ground, you look for me or you look for Corporal Carthex! Remember your training, keep your head on a swivel, and may the Emperor protect you!" I look upon each of their faces, hidden under helmets and masks, knowing that this could well be the last time I see most, if not all, of them alive.
Duty must be its own reward.
"Alright! Sound off, and get ready to jump!"