The Ghost of War's page

Everyone's com bead:
The voice is the tiniest whisper and just barely intelligible.
"Tactical Opportunity. Catch up to Cogboy at brisk pace. Please confirm. Over."

You think it is Sgt. Tivnan.

While munching on one of the remarkable flavorless ration bars, Pvt. Olzen throws a gaze at the next turn of the tunnel.
"So, how do we play this, Sir ... and Mam.", the last part is followed with a glance at Sgt. Tivnan.
"Any idea what to expect?"

Pvt. Olzen chuckles and then quickly busies himself with rubbing clean the targeting lens of his M36 lasgun.

Gunner Durik meanwhile is trying very hard to keep a straight face and makes a show of scanning the corridor to then quickly report "All Clear!" with a cracky voice of a trooper who really ought to drink some more of her canteen.

It has been a long day already. And a pretty miserable one at that, seeing as you have been walking, stumbling and occasionally sliding for hours through an ill-maintained and in places damaged sewage system, fending off mutated vermin and trying your best to follow the route uploaded to Vect's cogitator systems. And continuously convincing your Ogryn that you surely will be out of this dark, small space soon and into a somewhat larger space filled with heretics for him to smash.
At last, you have left the sewers by cutting through a metal mesh and climbing up into a proper corridor - still very much underground, but at least dimly lit with a low-intensity, slightly flickering red emergency light and broad enough for walking three abreast - or one Ogryn to move unhindered again. The middle of the corridor is made of mesh metal, allowing glimpses of a narrow, dark crawlspace underneath the main corridor where cables and tubes run beneath your feet.

The high resolution, hololith image pauses abruptly once again and one of the hooded figures in the upper ranks raises his voice within the sudden silence.
"I believe I speak for a silent majority of my esteemed colleagues when I say this: Quercus, your attention to detail is well recorded and tentatively appreciated but can you please get on with it? I at least, really am not interested in the minutiae of some Guard operations, captivating as this particular cast of troopers and as heroic their actions may have been ..."
Several other hooded figures in the ranks raise their castwands, prompting translucent signifiers of consent to appear at the edges of the still image.
The presenting figure presents a curt nod, accompanied by some unintelligible muttering and a wave towards a gaggle of red-and-white robed tech priests beside the vast hololith.
"Timestamp fourty-eight-seven dot twenty-five please."
Binaric muttering can be heard, as well as some metallic impacts, presumably acts of percussive activation, then the still image shatters and reforms into a different view.
The presenter addresses the shrouded figures once more.
"Alright... This next reconstruction happened several days later. Elements of the Serenus First had split from the main thrust aiming for Trackworks and went towards the suspected ritual site. They were accompanied by elements of veteran Skitarii rangers and vanguards under Alpha Rho-Zeta-Four. They found a massive pylon of Blackstone around which -", an excited muttering becomes audible at this, "yes, a Blackstone pylon. Not nearly the scale of one found on say Cadia but nevertheless: big. And one sending spiralling, eldrich energies into the sky. Surrounded by the unmistakable bubble of a high yield void shield. This discovery let to a large scale infiltration mission. A total of thirty squads were formed and sent towards the construct from different angles including several subterranean approach vectors, through an easily discovered, extensive tunnel network surrounding the pylon. We will follow one such infiltration squad now, as they get close to a particular encounter, deep within the sprawling underground complex manipulating the pylon, that I think you will find most informative..."

Having punched clean through the main enemy formation, 2nd platoon (or rather their COs) finds themselves in a state of indecisiveness.

Many objectives are available all around them and the overall tactical situation in a highly confusing state.

But then, the urging analysis of their Adeptus Mechanics liaison combined with the squad's Ogryn asking for permission to engage the sniper providing covering fire for the enemy assault group proves as a tie breaker. A quick, non-verbial exchange between Lieutenant and Sergeant later and the orders echo through the squadrons com-beads:

<< Converge on the small enemy formation, dead ahead from the lead vehicle. Tank traps in place, no vehicle charge - Repeat: tank traps ahead. Thud'dr: engage directly. Infantry elements dismount and engage the enemy from Chimera cover. Keep within immediate reboarding distance of your transports. >>

<< They wear red robes, have shiny legs and shot at us with those fancy blue zappy guns.
I guess they're them Skitters or whatever they're called.
And it was only one burst.
As we stopped, they stopped shooting. >>

We quickly snap-cut to Thud'dr sending another half-box downrange towards the enemy advance party around the tank traps.
For a brief moment, the group hunkers down, then there is shouting to be heard and they all rise again as a man and weather the storm.
Over the distance it is difficult to tell but there are half-visible figures going down in the hail of fire.
We bullet-travel along with a stubber round, richochet off one of the steel-bars of the tank trap and imapct against the swolen flesh of one of the mutant dragging a spike-covered metal sphere the size of an Ogryn's chest. It draws blood and a yell but a crackling whip from an unseen source is harassing its back and it continues to heave and push the massively heavy object forward with its kindred.
A masked and armored warrior hustles past the brute, leans against the tank trap and rests a long-barrelled lasgun with a complex scope against the solid surface, aiming at the distant blocky shape of a chimera with a bulky shape sticking out the top hatch.
For a brief moment, we clearly see the front of the scope. It looks like an eight pointed star with a leering skull and cog symbol in the middle of it. One of its eye socket is glowing in a mechanical red light, the other with a horrid green-yellow-brown shimmer.
We see misting breaths coming in quick intervals from behind the grotesque, leering face mask of the soldier, then it suddenly halts for a brief moments
Then the longlas cracks, emitting a super-charged beam of light is sent against Thud'dr's head.
That's a longlas-headshot-5. You may want to roll Face Danger to reduce/shrug off.

Inside the crew compartment of the medevac, a recently rebooted magos is recoiling heavily after trying to reach out via the noosphere. He looks like someone who just put some appendage into boiling oil or icy waters.

Thud'dr find himself struggling with deciding in targets. Should he target the clumb of enemies around his kindred Ogryns, which might risk hitting them in the process. Or he could mow down some of the fleeing enemy. Or target the group dead ahead, which make good use of a long row of tank traps for cover.

Meanwhile, the commanders need to consider what's next.

With a deafening roar, all three chimera engines are kicked into ramming speed, their drivers deliberately straining their machines while whispering short prayers for the machine spirits underneath their breaths.
The view slides back through the command vehicle.
We see Cormaeg and Leni grabbing for handholds to steady themselves for impact - one hand each unintentionally finding purchase on the very same grip.
We see Dreamer thumping out a quick series of grenades from the hull-mounted launcher.
Sliding back into the passenger compartment, we hear the long bursts of stubber fire from above, as well as a steady plinck-plonk of many ejected metal shell casings falling down the "turret" and roll about.
We see Grox and Dippsy at the fixed rearward lasguns as fast as they would go.
We see the two heavy weapon teams going through another round of gear checks.
Then we fade out of the Chimera and the view quickly rises up and pans down, giving us a suddenly perfectly silent bird-eye view over the battlefield, just as the lead chimera with the stenciled on pearl is bowling over the first, tiny figure.
The three blocky shapes of the APCs are surrounded by flashing gunfire and dying infantry.
In the most critical of moments, right in the thicket of the enemy wave, Piglet's assault ramp clank down and three figures, two very bulky and one which is only looking "little" in comparison, are jumping out and stat their bloody work on the enemy. Their squad mates make the best of the brief moment, sending out a missile and a stark-bright ball of plasma in addition to the tiny flashes of several lasguns.
This sends a ripple through the enemy formation allowing Piglet to pick up speed again, shrugging of two enemy troopers who jumped on board.
Only moments later, the leading vehicle is out of the thick already and angles off towards the Titan, picking up speed as it goes.

We quickly slide back into the driver's compartment of the medevac as Leni, Cormaeg, "Speaker" and "Lost" try to get their bearings and assess the new situation. From the looks of it, your charge managed to comprehensively disrupt and scatter the big infantry blob. The gunner of Piglet reports a great number of fleeing troopers. On the other hand, Sgt. Rem'Shir reports that the Ogryns are still heavily engaged with what appears to be the hardened core of the enemy.
Then, right into the middle of it all, first reports from Pearl comes in:
"<< Seems like the Titan is dispersing their own infantry. We see a bunch of their foot soldiers and Screamer thinks he also saw some higher ranking Magi on the move and waoh!
...
Sir, they just fired at us. I think a warning shot, but a damn close one at that!>>"

Via squadron link, Sgt. Stone is reporting:
<< "Contacts getting closer. There are tank traps to our one and eleven and looks like another trench dead ahead.
We had unconfirmed movement around the titan's leg a moment ago, too. Repeat: possible, unconfirmed movement around the titan.
Unless we change course, we will directly push into that big infantry charge coming from our 10.
If that is the intention, I'd recommend changing to a collision course to bring hull-mounted weapons to bear.">>

The voice of "Lil'Un" (the Ogryn handler from second squad) is chiming in:
<<"If we're that close, can we let the biggies outta the box? It's getting harder to keep them by the minute!>>"

Seeing as this can go in many different routes, depending on the next command decision, I'd say have a think and talk about it.
I was thinking of railroading you into contact, but figured I'd rather not take this choise away.

The words of the Ogryn are met by a few confused moments of silence, then Lovely, Doe and Dippsy all slide out of their harnesses and scramble around, looking for the missing ammo.
"Got it!", shouts Dipsy, at the same time as:
"Here!", Lovely remarks.
The two look at each other, then Doe is grabbing for his combead, with a concerned look on his face:
"How many boxes are you missing, Thuddy?"

In the turmoil, no one notices as Vect momentarily goes silent, even his bionic eyes dimming and then fading for a split second.
Did you try to turn your Magos off and on again?

Clearly not realizing that she had her combead flipped on, the entire squad hears the whispered words of Libia "Lovely" as she leans over to her heavy weapon companion John "Doe" saying:

"Man those two... Still don't know whether to be jealous, anxious or happy about them being... Wait why do you wave like that...? Oh."
Then the combead is flicked off and some cheeks are blushing.

Into the awkward silence, we hear "Patchy" ask in a voice dripping with annoyance:
"Ey, Lovely, if you have time to comment on the latest daily soap episode, you certainly have the time to better secure your ammo boxes. One just bumped against my kitbag!"

"What? Nah, those aren't mine. I always mark fresh ones with white tape and I haven't used any yet."

<< Copy that, we're slowing a tad. >>

Piglet and the command-medevac chimera rapidly close ranks with the leading pearl as it is slowing down notably.

The enemies obviously do not intend to slow down and, in the brief moment the Imperials took to form back up, coalesced into another charge towards the Titan. Their formation does look a bit suspicious, with a large number of infantry facing directly towards you, and a smaller, somewhat detached, closely packed group behind and going for a direct path towards the Titan. an investigate roll might yield more info here

As for the current positioning, it's roughly like this:
- The Titan is some 50 meters to your 2 o'clock
- A big enemy wave is coming your way from your 10 o'clock, only 25 meters out
- The smaller, tight enemy group is some 40 meters to your 11 o'clock
- more enemies are still emerging from a ground hole nearly 100 meters to your 10]

Churning through the muddy no-man's-land, three chimeras rapidly approach the struck Titan. Gunfire is coming from all forward facing weapons, striking the wave of infantry which is swarming towards the fallen god, like an army of ants would smarm towards a fallen human.

But with a decisive intercept course and a unrelenting onslaught of a highly motivated Ogryn-Turret decimating the foremost - three determines pieces of battlefield float some interpose themselves between the hurting Godmachine and another, even larger wave of enemy infantry.

While we observe the desperate rush of both the horde of chaos and the chimeras, both seeking to get into position first, we hear the typical crackle of vox as the lead fighting vehicle with a stylized pearl stenciled to its rear ramp is starting to gain a noticeable lead.

<< Eltee for Pearl: what's the plan when we get there? Close formation or dispersed line? Dismount or rem-ZRRRRRRTR >>

The moment the leading chimera passed through the iridescent, flickering void shield of the Titan, the vox connection momentarily fizzles.

The heavy static continues to frizz and buzz until the command chimera too crosses the protective boundary, with heavy shelling starting to hit the upper shield.

<< ZZZZZRT-ts the rules of engagement, Sir?!Sgt. Stone on repeat: what are the rules of engagement, Sir?! Sgt. Stone on repeat ...>>

A very long rattling burst of stubber fire from the living turret is mowing down the frontmost ranks of the infantry assault on the struggling Titan. As we see the front of the wave falter and fall, we see Leni's scribbling data slate entries and the entry reading TTTT (with a translucent, incorporeal footnote reading: "tango time to target") actually go up by several seconds... and above the second number labeled TTI (with another handy incorporeal note reading "time to intersect").

But we also see the ammo belt rattling through Thud'dr's heavy stubber suddenly fly off and away into no-man's-land, as the last of its bullets is being fired and the gun clicking dry a couple times before falling silent. We see Thud'dr instinctively grasping for the next box only to discover that it is not where he expected it to be!

Thud'dr gains the status: where-stubber-ammo-go?

Unless anyone else wants to have a go, I'll next deal with Leni's second move, which will move the scene ahead, through the voids and into very close range with the enemy.

A montage starts.
The trio of dirt spattered Chimeras in the center as they rumble and grind their way through the muddy, blasted, pockmarked area.

We see Leni, frantically working with "Lost" over the nav slate and calling course corrections, trying to keep the Chimeras as close as possible to the methodically advancing Titan - not an easy task given the stupendous amount of trenchworks, deep craters, tank traps and long furrows.

We see Thud'dr getting back topside, popping the hatch again to take a proper look-around. And several series of long bursts with the heavy stubber into enemy trenches as they rumble by.

We see Dreamer pop a grenade from the fixed-forward weapon of the Chimera into the rear of a bunker they pass by, already stomped upon by the Titan. This stops the occasional small arms fire coming from within it at last.

We see Vect, sitting motionless and seemingly completely inactive, with only his augmentic eyes blinking rapidly. Then suddenly, he yells a warning: "Incoming barrage - Prepare!". A snap-cut later, we hear him speak up again: "Titan main weapon discharge imminent - lock all hatches now!"

We see Grox, working the hard-mounted lasgun methodically like only a Stormtrooper can, sending short burst of lasfire out over and into the trenches, suppressing and punishing any attempts to retaliate.

We see Cormaeg, finally coming around and getting back into the game, readjusting his bearings and taking in the current tactical situation. He makes sure to switch the internal vox of the passenger compartment to the platoon vox, thus ensuring that Vect's warnings are heard by everyone in real time.

We see, from the massively armored head of the Titan, the zig-zacking tiny, toy-like forms of the three imperial APCs, keeping at a rough 8 o'clock position, about a hundred meters from the powerful, striding godmachine. Its voids constantly aflame with impacts, ranging from puny slug rounds from inconsequential small arms, to man-portable missiles and tank shells all the way up to heavy battlecannon and artillery shells. But nothing stops its ponderous, measured advance. Bunkers fold under its massive feet. Trenches and tunnels collapse under its colossal weight.

We see, a dark tunnel with tightly packed, dark figures. All are armed.
We see them grouped around a large spiked metal ball object with a handhold on each side - each held in the huge hands of a bloated, mutated figure, who needs to bend low to fit its bulk in the tight tunnel.
We see dirt and grit fall from the tunnel ceiling in regular intervals to the shaking of the ground. To rhythmic, titanic footfalls.
We see a cybernetic construct resembling a long segmented centipede skitter along the ceiling.
We see it fiddle with the spied metal object using tiny, multi-segmented mechadendrites.
We see a sickly green glow flashing up on one of its surfaces.

We follow the skittering centipede-construct as it rushes along the tunnel ceiling.
We see it perform the same ministrations to half a dozen more spiked metal objects.
We see it fall from the ceiling as the earth shaking footfall of something massive is making the underground tremble and collapse.
We see half a dozen places where the ground is collapsing and dirt covered figures emerging from the collapse.
We see them gather, first in two's and three's then in squad strength, then more and more, with large mutants joining them, dragging massive spiked objects between them.
We see those groups charge towards the very close, towering form of a godmachine - all groups already within its void shields.
We see the close proximity small arms fire from the Titan's turrets starting to rain down on the burrowers.
We see them being too many, too close to stop all of them from reaching its feet.

We follow one pair of lumbering brutes as they carry their spiked load with grunts and animistic bellows.
We see one of the brutes getting hit by a long burst of heavy bolter fire.
We see it collapse, barely a dozen steps from where the Titan's feet just crashed down.
We see the second brute drag on, despite missing an arm and half its chest.
We see it struggle for five more meters.
We see the spiky metal ball flash in sickly green light. Once. Twice. Thrice.
We see the spiky metal ball disintegrate into nothing but blinding sick-yellow-green light.
We see the void shields of the Titan to flicker and stutter.
We see the titans armament to stop firing.
We see the light from the view slids from its god-like face, turn from gold, to a dull red with a tinge of the same sickly yellow-green.
We see one raised, Titanic feet slam down much heavier, less controlled than before, bringing the Titan down into a half kneeling position.

We follow a large group of dirt-covered infantry as they slidder and crawl out of half collapsed tunnels and advance towards the struggling godmachine.
We hear them chanting in tongues not meant for human tongues nor ears.
We hear whiplashes.
We see the form of a towering, armor-clad monstrosity herding the dirt-covered infantry before him with a whip made of bone and spiked intestines.

As Leni is speaking over the platoon vox, "Speaker" is pulling the steering wheel around, squinting through the narrow viewing slid.
We follow his gaze, getting a very narrow view of the battlefield, as the Chimera is picking up speed alongside the enemy trench line.
Through thick smoke and dust, a huge shape is irregularly backlit in the distance.
Solid tracer and laser fire is seemingly everywhere around them, constantly impacting against practically all armor facings, producing a bell like effect in the inside.
Frequently, the passengers are rattled by the detonation shock-wave of a close-ish mortar or artillery shell.
There is one very close call, as the grey exhaust trail backlit by the rocket motor creating it suddenly bisects the view, marking a close miss from something scary.

Everyone in the passenger compartment is noticing that Vect is shuddering visibly and flinching like someone being unexpectedly shouted at from behind.

We follow a single piece of glowing hot fragmented iron, curiously formed into a ragged rectangular, vaguely reminiscent of a single wing of the Imperial Aquila, all the way down.
It passes through the exposed neck of a limb, hunched-over soldier and then again through his boot and feet before it finally buries itself into the ground.
The view remains with the fragment, now half a feet underground.
We see dark-red and green and purple liquids slowly sicker down into the ground.
Then the earth starts to vibrate and shake.
The deformed, bloody fragment is suddenly dug out by the fast moving track of a tank, lifted into the air and flung back, where it collides with the front of another Chimera and ricochets off to the side.
The Chimera looks a bit battered, with a few deep gouges carved into its top armor, some fragments still lodged within and sticking out.

The artillery barrage was a very close call.
However, what would have been very costly for a pure infantry formation, is not nearly enough to stop an imperial mechanized formation.
With sickening crunching and squelching noises, the three Chimeras make their way through this dangerous choke-point.
Dust and smoke from the very recent artillery strike shrouding their movements from sight.

Then they emerge on the other side of the deep, scorched furrow created by the titan's weapon discharge and inside the enemy trench network.
Combining rapid augur and visual scanning of the area, they officers of 2nd Platoon need to make a quick command decision between three possible routes:

1. Risking a zig-zack drive straight ahead, keeping outside any trenches, crossing infantry trenches where they are thinnest. This will make navigation the easiest but also means staying very exposed to all sides.
2. Entering the supply trenches, that connect the forward fighting trenches (which you just breached) with the rear. They are (barely) wide enough for a truck (or a chimera for that matter) to drive through. Navigation will be difficult and you may, potentially run into a dead end, requiring backtracking or abandoning of the tank.
3. Get behind the Titan and follow its path of destruction, relying on it to flatten any blockades or trenches. Due to its long strides, it may simply stride over some blockades, making keeping up with it actually harder than it sounds.

<< Danger close confirm<KABOOM>. LOAD AIRBURST CAPS NEXT! >>

You can imagine the shout being for the artillery mans crew rather than your ears.

<< Then hit dirt, Tivnan. Shots out in 3, 2, 1<KABOOM> Flight time is 1-0. Out. >>

Cormaeg just reaches for the headset, as our view freezes and we rapidly move out of the Chimera and towards the trenchline - following the barely visible targeting laser.

The ray of ultra focused light passes through clouds of dirt, past flailing bodies in various states of brutal disassembly and into the red glowing eyelens of a heavily augmented grotesque with a bird-like beak mask.

The view rises up, over the carnage. In the smoke clouded background, we see a barely humanoid something. Only its demonically glowing yellow eyes are distinctly visible - at least ten meters above ground level.

The frozen view slowly gets going again as we see a massive muzzle flash where the left arm would be, assuming the shrouded thing's anatomy is at least roughly following typical proportions. A few, greatly slowed down moments pass, until a tiny black dot is quickly growing into a torso sized cannon shell which then fills out the entirety of the view, allowing us to see the snarling, shifting, malign face at its tip...

Snap-cut back to the command Chimera of 2nd Platoon. Cormaegs finger fiddle with the activation stud of the headset as a massive detonation make the entire 80 ton Chimera loose ground contact for a second. Everyone inside is thrown about wildly. Leni has some luck as she is flung against Cormaeg - who in turn bangs his head against the navigational cogitator, the long-range vox speaker flying out of his momentarily stunned hand.

Everyone inside the chimera (except Leni) takes the "Concussed-2" status (you can try a "Take the Hit" to reduce this). For Cormeag, it's "Unconscious-5".
For people sticking their heads OUTSIDE the armored vehicle in midst of a full on battle, this is a "Shredded-Face-5" (can also be resisted, but at most down to a "Flashburn-2")

<< Come again, Corm? Your time slot is in ten<KABOOM>. >>

In one fast slide, the view moves out of the armored interior of the Chimera as the encrypted and static-riddled orders of the Lieutenant crackle through.
Dirt is flying and smoke is billowing all around.
Metal fragments, bullets and lasbolts are zipping and criss-crossing.
We see Thud'dr taking several glancing hits, none of which seem to bother the Ogryn.
With a crunching, sliding noise, the three Chimeras of second company halt next to each other in not-quite-a-line, less than a hundred meters from the possible breakthrough.
A moment of (less) noise.
The view rises and pans further.
We now looks "over the shoulder" of the armored vehicles, the way they are facing: towards the trenches and the mass formation of infantry.
Then the stroboscopic flashing and overlapping staccato gun reports, as all three APCs opening up with all guns at their disposal.

<< Coord's received. I have a slot open in twen<KABOOM>. Danger close? >>
Danger Close is a concept with artillery, regarding the closeness of allied units to a target. The distance which is considered danger close depends on the artillery piece (and ammunition) in question. Unguided rockets typically have a much larger spread than guns, airburst have a wider spread than ground-HE, etc. Also tactical doctrines differ (how much does the respective army value lives?)
I'd say we have an optional **Investigate**, questions asked allow for a better answer.
Regardless of it, at the end Cormaeg then roll me a "Hit 'em with all you got", with an extra Power of 2 on a hit.

<< Authorized. Patching through to designated unit... >>

A very mechanic voice answers.

It is replaced by a very human voice that sounds like its owner is speaking with the mother of all cigars in his mouth. Every ten second is interrupted by a massive gun report, drowning out a few of the spoken words each time.

<< Deaf Joe fer Cormaeg: yer still kickin', old dog? Good fer yah, son. What <KABOOM> today? >>

A series of lights flicker in the shadows eye sockets of the floating skull as multi-spectral pict capture devices take stock of the nightmare awaiting the imperial forces beelining for the breach created by the main weapon discharge of the Titan.

here is a return question for Cormaeg: Do you slow down or change course even slightly after witnessing what lies ahead?

At Cormeags word, "Lost" is steering through his co-pilot's view slid, eyes narrowed.
A few moments pass as the Chimera is bouncing and rumbling ever closer, occasionally shuddering under small-arms impact.
"I see some spiked helmets... definitely some small arms ... and they are facing us directly but don't head for cover or anything.
I say that's a bunch of basic chaos loonies, Sir.
And a whole damn lot of them.
If we were to ride right into that mass, they may bog us down and even try to board us."

Following the words of their sergeant, a tense focus settles over first squad.
The camera pans out of the driver compartment, where Speaker is flooring the accelerator after one last course correction, and it moved towards the rear hold.
Passing by every member of the squad as they go through a final round of gear checks.
Dippsy is fiddling with the straps of her body armor, slightly tightening the shoulder straps and double-checking that her rebreather is within easy reach.
Doe and Lovely have their very own routine of loader and gunner, where they go down a shared mental checklist of all the bits and pieces of their gun, rattling them off in a mumbled chorus.
Patchy is manning the second hull mounted lasgun on the other side of Grox.
Last in line, right at the rear ramp, we see Vect, connected to the Chimera proper via a snake like connector cable slithering out of deep-red left sleeve.
Then we move out and see the fountain of mud that is spraying up behind the APC as it is hurtling forward.
Can-sized shell cases are tumbling and flying in its wake, as Thudd'dr keeps a steady stream of fire up.
Stabbing rays of las-fire emit from both its flanks and towards the enemy trenches, the right side in particular lays a tight net of precision fire over the area close to the breach.

We speed alongside one of those flying bolts of highly energized particles, briefly connecting the hull of the (formally MedEvac) with the spiked helmet of a rocket launcher wielding man at the firing step of the trenchline. We see him collapsing and falling down into the mud and gore covered planks of the trench walkway. While falling, the launcher fires and careens off into the morning sky.
Soldiers in dark fatigues are running up and down the trenches, their black body armor decorated with the eight pointed star of Chaos and their lasguns fitted with serrated bayonets.
Between them stride heavily augmented nightmares with long elongated, bird-like helmets, grunting orders from implanted vox casters in a language not intended to be heard by humans.
Impacts make the earth shudder and buckle. Steaming mud and rocks rain down in a nearly constant rain, thrown up into the air by the heavy artillery shelling falling all around the trenches.
The dead trooper we followed, lying discarded and trampled upon in the mud of the trench, twitches and groans, as a faint unholy yellow-tinged glimmer appears in his unseeing eyes as forces beyond the understanding of mortals seep into him from the thrice-cursed grounds.
An all-metal pincer-hand is grabbing him by the shoulder and lifts him up with uncaring force.
A red scanner beams wanders over him.
Then he is injected with some foul arcane fluid from a tentacle-like mechadendrite of the masked Phagueseer and a jerk of movement is shuddering the corpse with half a head missing.
He is set down, stands and joins a steady trickle of shuffling, feet-dragging walking dead that heads towards the closest breach.

The view is rushing down the long string of animated corpses towards a scorched and furrowed breach in the line, thick enough for a two-lane motorway.
Rows upon rows of the dead have already assembled, wavering and shuffling aimlessly around.
The view slightly pans and a columns of vehicles come into view.
A quartet of stalking, crab-like walker-tanks from one side and a trio of tracked, blocky vehicles from the other.
One of which has a sword waving massive upper body sticking out a top hatch...

Snap back into the driver compartment to hear the finishing line of Leni's words.
"Lost" is peeking out of the co-pilot's view slid with narrowed eyes.
"Breach dead ahead. There are people in the breach! Lots of them. What are they doing?! That looks more like a human wall rather than a proper firing line. No incoming fire too!"

Story Tags in this scene - so far
- Drive me Closer, I want to hit them with my sword! [1] (Thud'dr)
- Righteous Wrath [1] (Thud'dr)

Loose gravel and dirt is flying high and far behind the fast going tracks of the Chimera as "Speaker" is flooring it with an excited shout of "Uh-Rah! Here we go, Thuddy!"

Spirits and morale is rapidly climbing aboard the three APCs as they finally have a real and proper target in front of them.

For a moment, the view pauses and pans, focusing on the close-by, looming shape of a Titan, illuminated by a deep violet aurora of its void shields soaking a stream of incoming ordnance. In front of it, five smaller yet large shapes stride, ion shields aflame from impacting shells, missiles and direct energy weapons. In a wedge formation trailing in their wake are many multi-legged stalk-tanks of local manufacture. The three Chimera's with the white stenciled numbers 2-2 underneath a bigger 1 close in towards the warengine in a 30 degree angle.
The foremost enemy positions, from which the onslaught originated, is only half a kilometer away from the foremost Knights, which in turn have roughly a hundred meter lead on 2nd Platoon. It consists of a trench line, with heavily armored prefab bunkers at every turn of the trench system, roughly every 100 meters.
The view turns and shifts towards the towering giant of war and rests for a moment on its right main armament: a massive dual-barrell energy weapon of some kind. Then the still frame unpauses and a double flash of blinding white-blue light erupts from the weapon, briefly linking the titan-grade laser weapon and the dead-ahead blocky shape of a bunker. As the blinding light flickers off, the bunker is a slagged ruin and a five meter wide path of charred earthworks bisects the trenchline.

Seeing as Thud'dr is sticking out on top, I feel he may be affected by a blinded-2 status from the danger-close titan weapon. You may attempt to Face Danger to reduce/resist this of course.

The hololith simulation stops with an Ogryn atop a turret-less Chimera APC shouting something at someone outside the field of the projection.

A hooded figure steps forward and addresses the shrouded figure atop a hovering throne.

"Up to this point, the reports of the various suspects match up to the degree that we were able to recreate with this simulation, my Lord."

The speaker makes a brief pause, as if waiting for questions or remarks from his superior.

"But the following engagement against the entity we suspect to be a demon of the Changer, most likely a Great Screamer, seems to have confounded the minds of the suspects. To a degree that we were unable to derive a probable replay. The Ogryn reports of having led his kin in a battle of pure strength, utilizing the Abhuman endurance of the skewered on to hold down and pin the screamer in place long enough to swarm and overwhelm it. The Enginseer reports performing a field repair of the chimera's engine, removing a shard of warp glass from a cooling vent, resolving the technical issues of their transport. Two troopers report not recalling anything. The driver reports following complex and partially contradicting course orders by his Sergeant and co-pilot to traverse a maze of glass shards. Multiple troopers report of engaging the entity with ranged weaponry to contradictory results. The Lieutenant reports of having re-establish contact with an element of the Adeptus Mechanicus forces and coordinating a long-range attack from a secondary titan weapon against the flying warp creature to devastating effect."

A rasping voice crackles from several rows of invisible speakers along the hall's ceiling interrupting the speaker.

"Mind probes?"

The hooded speaker bows before answering.

"Passive probing during interrogation level two and three. Active probing of Suspects Alpha-Five and Beta-Two during Level Three. No false testaments, mind-locked memories or traces of possession were detected."

A booming voice, clearly thundering down from the hoovering throne demands:

"Then proceed with factual data, Interrogator."

The hooded figure nods and once again bows quickly before, somewhat hastily like someone finally steering an uncomfortable conversation back onto safer grounds.

"Of course, My Lord.

Whatever actually happened during the engagement with the screamer, the second battalion, second Platoon reemerged at the edge of Changescape, in immediate vicinity to Lance Clypus and the storming of the primary trenchline of the enemy..."

A second of silence, followed by a hushed, commanding whisper of the hooded man to a trio of serfs close to the controls of the hololith. Then the still frizzles and restores into a new image of a very different, man-made hellscape of burning vehicles, cross-crossing stroboscoping lasfire, missile trails and random death.

The venerable medevac chimera shudders under the combined weight of firepower erupting from it - an order of magnitude more than the enginseers of the regiment would have thought possible.

All the while accelerating at high speed along the narrow pathway towards the weaving and dodging beast.

While Leni ponders the "where", the "when" now seems to get weird too. One moment you just arrived "here", wherever that actually is, the next you have already crossed the halfway point of the path. Both, ammunition and fuel supplies suddenly considerably lower than before and the engines are screaming (both with an audible alarm and in the noosphere with a flood of white hot high alert datagrams) due to overheating as if having run on overdrive for hours.

Dreamer finds the drum mag of the hull mounted launcher to be nearly dry despite only remembering firing a single double-tab. A single grenade remains chambered.

Grox and Vect find their hull mounted lasguns emitting serious heat through the grips - making one wonder how hot the lasguns barrels must be.

Thud'drs massive gun clicks dry at a rapid pace as his mind struggles to comprehend the fact.

As everyone is razing to react and solve problems (please note what you do) there is a painful howling from up ahead. Someone is in a lot of pain and mortal terror!

Firing at an unseen target, even with an improvised spotting light, is not easy.
Using area of effect weapons in such a circumstance however, is a good idea.
While Thud'dr's shells pass through an apparently not-so-solid Chimera-with-Thud'dr-on-top, Dreamer's grenades detonate around the area highlighted by Vect and a siren's wail erupts from that direction.
A sound like fingernails scratching over cardboard.
A sound like a stranded maritime leviathan slowly suffocating under its own immense weight.
A sound of pain and outrage.
A sound of a large beast thrashing and whipping around in fury.
A sound of breaking glass...
A sound of snapping illusions and of tearing cloth.

Once again, the reality around you changes.
You find yourself on top of a reverse canyon - a narrow slip of cracked, rocky terrain, falling into unseen depths on either side.
The slip of ground, barely twice the width of your chimera, is zig-zacking some fifty meters in front of you.
At the end of which, some kind of plateau is waiting - and a raging battle between beasts.
There are the familiar shapes of two Ogryns, swinging shields and firing their ripper guns wildly.
But there is also a hovering, repulsive creature that looks like a multi-colored oceanic creature with a long stinger tail, a gaping maw and too many spikes for anyones ease of mind. It moves through the air as if swinging in invisible water. Graceful, swift and casual - despite its considerable size and bulk, putting it around half the mass of your tank. Its preternatural agility mocks every attempt of the Ogryns at targeting it with swift turns and fluid rolls, flip and even loops.

The passenger compartment suddenly is filled with the chirping and clicking sounds of the marsian chant. Your new, still unfamiliar Magos is done NH something to the fixed lasguns with an utility mechadendrite at speeds too fast to follow, while clearly tracking something with the gun.

A few heartbeats later and a finger-thick, blue beam of constant light erupts from the fiddled lasgun and dances around a certain area close to where the exploded Thud'dr was moments before.

Thud'dr is looking around in bewilderment at the hundreds if not thousands of Thud'drs riding in very similar vehicles.

He starts to notice minor differences in each of them however. One has a crude looking, red-lensed cybernetic eye. Another seems to be lacking the Bon'ead augmentation. Several lack the ministorum robes. Many don't have a mauler cannon but instead pack a ripper or heavy Stubber instead. One even a rocket launcher.

This last one Thud'dr is winking at Thud'dr as he swings the tube towards Thud'dr and fires. Then explodes into a quintillion shards of unreality together with several of the close-by Thud'drs and their vehicles.

A three heartbeat silence makes you fear for the worst but then the vox starts whispering and after a quick dial up of the gain dial, you are just able to understand the report coming in from your sergeants.

"Pearl is doing fine. We have a few cases of nosebleed and one unconscious gunner. Where... Where did you go, Sir?"
"Piglet here. We ... We are... free. Fighting up close just now ... but then all were gone. From within the closed cabin. By the throne, Sir, what is going on? "

"Ouch-Sir, Yes-Sir. Engaging now! Good to have vox back, Sir, but please tone it down a notch my ear is ringing badly."

Comes the first proper reply through the platoon channel, nearly deafening everyone tuned into it - presumably Eltee and Sarge.

"Still No contact with Piglet, Sir.", Lost reports dutifully and somewhat unnecessarily. "They probably are a bit busy now. Repelling boarders and all." He adds with a slight dubious undertone.

The deamonic entities now come between a proverbial hammer and anvil.

Pearl is swinging about and opens up with its hull-mounted heavy bolter, shredding the entire front rank of blue things.

Multiple hull-mounted lasguns open upon targets of opportunity.

And then there is the mauler autocannon wielded by Thud'dr to terrifying effect, each shell punching through multiple enemies and leaving trailing mist in their wake.

*SHATTER*

Right as the last bullet from the mauler mauls a pink horror, reality shatters and scatters again. A thousand thousand pieces of air, ground and demon fall apart, into one another and bounce about like pebble thrown over a still lake.

Mind defying moments later and a new reality has established itself.

Looking around, you find yourself surrounded by other Chimera APCs. A Chimera no less, with a familiar looking Ogryn sticking out of a gunless turret, a massive two barrelled gun strapped over the bulging shoulders.

Grox puts out a short burst into the packed mass of enemies, eliciting two puffs of smoke from blue monsters vanishing.

Before the other imperials have time to lay in the works as well, the seething mass of pink and blue nightmares make their move.

A septet of blue things rush towards you, tongues lolling and tentacles flapping about, their maws screaming murder and vengeance in what sounds like at least twelve different tongues, none of which an upstanding, honest imperial citizen has any business hearing.

The remaining dozen or more blue ones charge the dumbstruck, idling chimera of 2nd Squad. Despite the distance and weird behavior of sound waves - or maybe because? - you hear the sound of otherworldly claws and serrated daggers scratching and tearing armor plating. Two or three even manage to squeeze through the closing assault ramp and into the passenger compartment proper. Oh-oh.

The pink ones both make an anatomically improbable move with their claws hands and throw balls of incandescent purple-pink, black-edged flame. One such fireball is narrowly missing Thud'dr's 'turret', drawing a two meter long, few inches deep furrow along the upper armor plating, while the other one is hitting the slowly traversing flank of Pearl.

It is impossible to discern the effects over this distance but judging by the curling black smoke it did more than just scratching the paintwork but not enough to incapacitate the APC.

Thud'dr opens up with his huge contraption, which makes a sound that seems to echo its new wielder's name.

[b]Thud-Thud/b]

The first bottle-sized round is kinda high and to far left to hit anything, except causing a mass scattering of reality up ahead, which sounds like a fatal accident in a glassworks manufactorum.

But the second. Oh, the second is right on target. The round, designated to give power armor and medium vehicles seriously trouble, hits the squishy-looking thing right in its ugly head. And makes the thing go *poof*. Pink mist billows up and then splits in half as if a knife edged wind has gushed through.

But what is that?

The two separated clouds of smoke suddenly starts to coalesce ...

... Each into one of those blue fiends!

Then a full auto burst of lasgun fire erupts from your chimera's flank, unleashed by Dreamer against the tightly packed enemy formation. The spread is basically perfect and every bright beam hits a target.

It is however difficult to estimate the kill-count.

The spread, which would certainly have made mortal troops scurry for cover or at the very least kiss dirt, seems to leave the bobbing and cackling and moaning mass of pure chaos completely unfazed.

One obvious result of the attack is the appearance of blazing-yellowish, even smaller critter among the enemy ranks.

Meanwhile, Cormaeg is shouting orders into his vox set, which is operational again. Well, kinda operational. It is filled with a cacaphony of overlapping, babbling, cackling and morose mourning that makes it dubious as to how much anyone on the platoon will understand. But hey, a dubious chance is a lot better than no chance at all, according to some celebrated commissar you learned about during Basic.

waiting one more day for grox

There is a sudden flurry of activity and developments:

1. The Ogryns stop in their mindless panic and then start Double-Timing towards your Chimera. Whether they misunderstood or just want to be with their spiritual guide or seek strength in numbers is everyone's guess.

2. The ramp of Pearl is raised and a thick plume of exhaust billows from its exhaust stack - to immediately turn into shards of smokey glass...

3. ...from which nightmarish shapes erupt, shattering the smoke glass tiles in doing so. The things are violet and purple colored creatures seemingly composed of little beside way too many eyes, tentacles and mouths than anyone should have to look at in one lifetime.

Due to Thud'drs warning, everyone aboard your transport gets to roll normally for initiative, the other crews are surprised.
If you beat 10, you may act immediately. Pearl currently is some 35m forward-right of you, with Piglet 50m direct in front.
Enemies are in a semi-circle behind Pearl.

It is probably a good thing that most of the common soldiers do not have a clear idea what actually just happened.
Beside Dreamer, there are no immediate casualties from ... whatever just happened to the battlefield.
As by Leni's command, "Speaker" pushes the accelerator forward, making pieces of shattered reality spray into the still air behind the chimera and rapidly heading towards the direct-forward path.

A quick shout from Thud'dr however informs you that squad 2 seems to be having some serious trouble.
Pearl has started veering off hard and then shudders to a halt. Then the rear ramp drops and the two Ogryns rush out, apparently howling in terror, although the weird environment is dampening and distorting it into a distant wailing.
Squad three seems to be having some problems as well, their driving is pretty erratic but at least they keep going.

Several minutes pass as second platoon's chimeras are waltzing through the no-mans-land closely following the boxy, multi-legged shapes of the Mechanicus tanks and the towering shape of the titan and its knight escorts.
Enemy return fire is mostly absorbed by the energy shields of the walkers, meaning only indirect fire is raining down on you.
While quite unnerving to hear near continuous mortar fire falling all around you and shrapnel pinging against the armor plates, you intellectually and from experience know that it takes more than that to threaten a Chimera.

You have crossed nearly two-thirds of no-mans-land, when suddenly the enemy fire simply stops (at least that which is concentrated onto your quadrant).

A few moments of near silence follows. Well, as close to near silence as an armoured assault with imperial artillery in the background and the footfall of a titan gets anyway.

And then reality cracks.

With a sound like a tower of glass shattering in an instance, the very fabric of everything ruptures everywhere at once.
Pieces of reality falling from the sky to crash into the ground and remain sticking out of it - glittering and reflecting like pieces of glass sticking out of a wound.
Pieces of cracked earth and rock shift and rise from the ground creating uneven, intersected funnels and canyons.
Pylons of blackened, smokey glass rise up from the rupturing ground towards the scattering sky - crackling energies surrounding their tops.
Sound waves fall from thin air as dying birds leaving nothing but silence behind.

The vox is dead silent and there is not even the looming shape of the Titan in sight.

Where one moment you were in the middle of open ground, with imperial armoured vehicles to all sides, your three chimera platoon is now seemingly alone in the middle of a canyon formed by glass and broken pieces of earth, rock and reality.
The canyon is about a dozen meters wide and the cracked, uneven sides seem to go all the way to the fractured sky. Four paths are formed in this way, one going back, one directly forward and one each side.

Since this is very defiantly sorcery most foul and also absurdly powerful one at that I feel a fear test is in order for everyone actual seeing this.

After the previous work at understanding the quite overloaded map, Cormaeg and Leni now manage to get the platoon out of the trenches and through the hazardous blockaded ground right in front of the trenchworks admirably.

There is one tight spot, where "Piglet" nearly topples into a crater after a sharp turn to circumnavigate a burned out wreck but Thud'dr keen eyes and timely shout out at the top of his massive voice.

The driver of 2nd squad, with the fitting call-sign of "Narrow", jerks the vehicle around at the last moment, scraping the wreck on the left and going airborne with half of his right track. Whether from realizing the danger or just flinching away from the roaring Ogryn voice in his coms is anyone's guess though.

In fact, the plotted course, the concise relay of course corrections and the alacrity with which they are followed by the platoon's drivers, causes you to actually catch up noticeably to both the mechanicus, multi-legged armor in front of you, as well as the towering form of the titan with his retinue of knights.

The vox is dead silent for a second then one can just make out the hushed voice of someone else, probably the Co-Pilot going at the driver of "Piglet":

"Retaking position, Boss. Sorry for that. Piglet on standby."

T-12 seconds.
The looming and loping walkers have reached your waiting position...

T-10 seconds
...and then passed you with a massive leap that causes everyone to rock around in their restraints as the single godmachine and its fellow knights land heavily in no-man's-land, thus making the imperial offensive official.

T-6 seconds.
Overhead screeching and Sonic booms mark the passage of a heavy missile barrage.

T-2 seconds.
An entire squadron of four-legged, boxy Walker-Tanks with the Adeptus Mechanicus sigil embossed on front and rear armor scuddle over your trenchline just as your lead chimera is jerking into motion to begin its shirt but steep climb up the earthwork ramp.

T-0.
7:00 local time.
D-Day.
At last.

With a mighty jerk your chimera hurtles forward and up the 45 degree angled ramp and accelerates all the way up into a day, barely lit by the faint sun struggling to get through the billowing smoke and dust clouds rising from both sides of the Battleline, getting worse by the second as a forty kilometer section of the imperial line seems to spit out armoured vehicles or bring any and all available weaponry to bear on the distant, nearly invisible silhouettes of the enemy line.

Tracer fire already starts coming back, followed by the first lazy-looking trails of missiles and the sudden flashes of laser weaponry.

The heavy footfalls grow louder every second now and they are picking up speed too until it reaches a thunderous crescendo which makes the ground shudder.

Suddenly, twenty-three seconds before the mark, "Piglet" suddenly lunges forward and a panicked shout over the platoon vox confirms their driver (among others?) having lost his cool.

"Oh Emperor, it will step right on us! We have to move right bloody now!"

"Understood, Eltee. That's a whole lot to keep in mind while maneuvering.
Sarge, could you get up front and lend "Lost" a hand with the map work? And you big lad up there, give us a good shout if something big or deep is dead ahead, will you?"

"Speaker" manages to sound both worried and confident in the same instance.

+++

Once in position, there is another twenty minute interval of nerve wrecking waiting during which more and more units report readiness and at the end of which you finally get the five minute to charge signal, almost immediately echoed by a not-so-distant warhorn making the Chimera's hull vibrate from infrasonic waves and which make your teeth rattle.

At the one minute mark, you feel the earth start to vibrate under slow but accelerating monumental footfalls and the nervous revving of the engine by your driver.

At last, you hear the Chimera's engine revving and "Speaker" is announcing:

"The first Battalion has departed, just waiting for first platoon to get in swing then it's us. Strap in and keep tight - I guess this will be a bumpy ride."

Moments later, the chimera jerks into motion and you are on the move. Soon, you feel the sudden shift into a steep incline and then back into the horizontal. Then, quite unexpectedly there is a strong vertical upward acceleration, similar to a high-speed elevator aboard a void ship.

"Whew!", the whistling voice of Pvt. "Lost" Bundles your Co-Pilot comes over the intercom.

"Now THAT'S an elevator. Thirty Chimeras in one go and with room to spare."

It takes only a minute then it slows and stops with equal force. Your transports get into motion moments later and the ride gets more shaky, as if you were traversing over somewhat uneven ground.

"In case you wonder, we're going through trenches now. Never saw ones so broad.", your driver continues.

This section of the travel takes nearly an hour. After fifty minutes of it, the ground and with it the vehicle starts to shake and shudder from what can only be the onset of heavy artillery barrages.

Tension grows and builds only higher in the remaining ten minutes it takes your "Speaker" to get you to your designated staging ground.

"There we are, ladies and gentlemen ... and Ogryn. A nice little ramp up the trench for our platoon all to ourselves. Man, those Kriegers really know how to dig trenches. Hey Eltee, hows our approach looking once we get over that crest. My orders are to floor it and head straight through the enemy lines but ... that seems to be a rather more abstract and high-level view than I like to operate on. Any obstacles I should be aware of?"

Nearly thirty voices of varying volume, modulation accent give response in what appears to be honest enthusiasm and martial zeal.
The Ogryns response, naturally, being the loudest and least modulated, barely more than a wordless roar.
Then it is time to board and get ready to move out.
Drivers and their Co-Pilots get into their respective seats and perform last pre-battle checks (for the third or so time) while everyone else is getting to their seats and strap into the crash webbing after stowing their gear.

And then...
Then there is waiting.

Distant grumbling of vehicles can be felt through the thick armor as a vibration more than proper sound but second company has to wait its turn, while the vehicles of first company are rumbling up a steep ramp at the end of the hangar bay in single file.

+++ Now +++
Having several squads line up ready to board their chimeras is quite a sight to behold. And this is repeated throughout the vast hold, as the entire 2nd Battalion is getting ready to depart.

Thick engine smoke is rising from nearly one hundred IFVs kick-starting and warming up - to be sucked away by large venting shafts set into the ceiling.

Hymnals to the Omnissiah, the motive force and the machine spirits are blasting from wall-mounted vox speakers and through the vox grills of uncounted maintenance servitors ploughing the rows and ranks of vehicles.

Regimental priests with incense burners chanting benedictions and blessings walk the ranks of guardsman.

Running troopers fetch and stow away the last odds and ends while being bawled at by their Sergeants.

Commissars stalk through the rank and file, stern gazes searching for infractions or lapses in pre-mission protocols, occasionally giving "advice" or a short speech, mostly regarding duty to the Emperor and humanity or glorious deeds and deaths that show Mr. Traitor what's what.

Then, all vox speakers suddenly stop playing Mechanicus hymnals and the somewhat distorted voice of Colonel Daan echoes through the chamber.

"Troopers of second Battalion!
Guardsman of his divine Majesty.
On this day, we have the honor of participating in a battle to end a war older than everyone in your squad put together.
With our arrival, the precarious stalemate that has kept this noble forge from fulfilling its destiny for far too long, could finally be tipping in the Emperor's favor.
Today, the high Tacticae Council has mobilized all reserves to muster an offensive of a scale unseen since the earliest years of this century old war.
Our goal is to punch through the static defenses of the trencheworks and push into the occupied town of Rockworks a mere twenty kilometers behind the nominal Frontline. By the God Emperor's grace, we shall establish a beachhead there to allow the following infantry to advance deep into enemy territory.
Keep formation, keep up the momentum and keep the Emperor at your hearts and we shall win this day in his name."

During the quite successful supply run - the local Mechanicus supply depot servitors being surprisingly helpful for mindwiped creations - Cormaeg and Thud'dr return to a fully assembled platoon.

While they were gone Smith eventually comes to see Leni. He appears to be suffering from a quite serious case of ringing ears and falls heavily onto a seat of the MedEvac after a casual salute.
"You wanted a word, Sarge? Speak loud though, I've been to less noisy artillery strikes than those two singing..."