This story is an unofficial story based, without permission, on the Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property owned by Games Workshop Ltd.
"I recall when I was small I thought I'd be a legend soon
But that was then and this is now, and a harder road could not be found
Don't get me wrong good times were had
Sometimes the good outweighed the bad
But all in all, now said and done
I can recall more bad than fun."
The truck roared around a corner and started up the ramp that led from the under-Hive to the main spire. There appeared to be nothing that could stop them now in their quest to return to Imperial lines and re-engage in the battle against the Orks.
That was when a gigantic ball of green energy swept down like the wrath of an angry god and blew a massive chunk out of the ramp.
Callus screeched to a halt, barely stopping in time.
"Great! What now?" asked Jackson.
"Let me think," responded the Corporal.
"There has to be another ramp. We'll find one."
"Well I hate to tell you, but that area is crawling with plague zombies and troopers who think we're hostile!"
"And it would appear that they have found us." It was Daniella now. She gestured to her rear-view mirror.
Callus checked his own. There were a good fifty plague zombies gathered at the bottom of the ramp behind them.
"Wonderful...wonderful."
"Okay, boys, get ready for a little trip."
"Whenever you say something like that, Mikey, bad things happen."
"Don't worry, Jackson, have I ever lead you wrong before?"
"Yes. Many, many times."
"Right, well, I'm not doing it this time."
Callus shifted the truck into neutral and slammed on the pedal. It stood in place, wheels screaming, engine revving, smoke gathering around it.
"You might want to say a prayer, boys, because it's about to get rough."
Callus shifted the truck into reverse and it sped backwards down the ramp at alarming speeds. When it slammed into the zombies it made a sickening crunch, blackened blood flying into the air and onto the truck. The few survivors were scratching at the steel, biting and clawing what they could not possibly hope to break through. Callus shifted back into neutral and once again slammed the acceleration.
"Okay! HERE WE GO!" Callus shifted to drive.
The truck went screaming up the ramp at alarming speeds, rushing towards the massive hole in the structure.
"CALLUS! YOUR GOING TO GET US KILLED!" Brenner was crying out in alarm.
"BETTER DEAD DOWN THERE BY FALLING THAN DEAD UP HERE BY CANNIBALIZATION!"
The truck passed over the abyss. They hung in the air for what seemed like hours. Then they hit.
***
Lord-General Montego strode into the underground bunker that had been set up as a temporary command center. It was covered in vid screens showing the battle going on above. A man in the blue uniform of a New Gurgenstein Armored Corpsman approached and saluted.
"Lord-General, we regret to inform you that General Friedman has been slain in battle against the Orks. The Armored Corps has been placed under the command of Colonel Marcus Flaviun by edict of the governor."
"Thank you, adjutant." Montego replied, with a quick salute and striding onwards.
This was hardly ideal. He did not like the idea that a commander so detached from the battle as to actually refuse to commit his troops to it was in commander of the only armored support that the Guard had on the world.
Turning to his adjutant, Lieutenant Farthing, Montego spoke.
"Get me the governor on the vox."
"Yes, sir."
***
Colonel Arthur Hawk barely dodged the massive knife, actually feeling his thick gray-black hair being sliced. Raising his bolt pistol he pumped four rounds into the big Ork's chest cavity, sending it flying backwards, explosions ripping through it's rib cage, heart, and lungs. His chainsword came down on another, tearing through it's bone, sending blood spraying into the air and evoking a dull scream from the creature. Another appeared in front of him and took a shot quickly to the face. Slowly, surely, the ork lines were being pushed back by a determined Imperial resistance. It was right about then that the flying truck showed up.
***
The truck hung in the air for what seemed like hours. Then it slammed into the ramp on the other side of the abyss and squealed forwards, soaring over the ramp and through the air. They had made it into the main Hive. The only problems were that there was a battle going on all around them, and that they were flying through the air.
The truck flew for a full thirty seconds before slamming down on its side right on the edge of Ork lines, smashing through greenskins in a bloody mess and sending sparks flying through the air. It would slide along the ground for a full 28.7 seconds, as vid-recordings of the scene would later show, before smashing into a shop-front window in a storm of glass shards.
Callus leaped from the window of the car and landed on his back, rolling quickly and rising to his feet, he let off a quick burst from his bolter, ripping through a handful of Orks. As if out of nowhere, a huge Ork appeared and smashed Callus in the chest, sending him down hard. He stared up at it as it roared, preparing its massive axe for his face.
A laser caught it through the head and it hit the ground hard, clearly dead. Rising to his feet, Callus looked back to see Daniella crawling out, hell gun in hand. She winked at him before climbing out and running over to him. Soon, Ox arrived with his shotgun, and Jackson and Brenner as well. Daniella handed Jackson his hell gun back to him, and they quickly and wordlessly made a break for Imperial lines.
Callus ran so fast that he could feel the veins in his feet pumping, holding down the trigger on his bolter and causing Ork bodies all around him to explode in mists of dull red and pink organs. He dodged and ducked, never letting his hand go over the trigger. The Orks surrounded him like a green mass of singular death, axes, knives, and other makeshift weapons coming down all around him, seeking to cleave through him even as clumsily aimed rounds chased him across the field. Dodging to and fro like some kind of hamster in an ungodly race, Callus could hear the rest of his squad directly behind him, doing much the same, shooting orks whenever they got the chance. Ox's shotgun, particularly, was a constant background noise. The staccato of heavy bolters loomed ahead, and Callus knew they must be approaching the Imperial lines.
"Not much longer now, Mikey, hold on just a bit longer..."
***
Colonel Arthur Hawk was directing heavy weapons fire to tear through the Ork lines when suddenly five Guardsmen in the uniforms of the Kazarkanian Assault loomed ahead of him, as well as one girl in civilian clothes, wearing a Kazarkanian helmet and hefting a large auto-pistol.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Hawk cried out.
***
Callus shot an Ork through the back of the neck, blowing it's head directly off it's shoulders. Shutting his eyes tightly and swallowing, he thought to himself: okay, this is it.
Callus opened his eyes. Guard sandbags loomed in front of him. Bolters were firing. It appeared as if he was part of the greenskin charge. He got to what he estimated was close enough, and then he made the leap of faith.
Callus landed hard on the other side of the sandbag, directly on his arse. He hardly had time to yell out before Brenner landed more or less on top of him, Jackson, Daniella, and Ox all following.
Callus rubbed he head, his hand running through his black hair, when a voice barked at him.
"IDENTIFY, SOLDIER!"
Slowly Callus gazed up. The man standing over him had a hard face, with gray-black hair that covered his head in a thick mane and full beard. His nose had clearly been broken multiple times, and his eyes were a steely metallic blue. He was well-muscled, and head a bolter pistol in one hand, and a flesh-covered chainsword in the other. Callus recognized him immediately.
"Oh...uh, hey, Colonel Hawk."
"Corporal Callus. Should have known. What exactly are you doing?"
"Uh...returning to Imperial lines, sir."
"Excuse me?"
"Our train went down after we left the trenches. We ended up in the under-hive. Doing our duty to return to the war."
"I see. And who, exactly, is this?" Hawk asked, nodding toward Daniella.
"This would be, uh..."
"Private Daniella Auburn, sir," Daniella spoke.
"Private? We hold a rank now, do we?" Hawk was clearly somewhat amused.
"Uh...yes, sir. I've been...brevet promoted."
The colonel smirked and looked at them, the big pile still laying or sitting at the ground.
"Carry on, soldiers. We have a war to win."
Hawk turned and walked off.
Callus laughed.
"Nice line. Not that he believed it for a second."
Gingerly, he got to his feet and picked up his bolter. He turned just in time to see the green menace burst through Imperial lines and come straight for him.
***
Big Dakka Boyzsmasha was the best nob thar eva waz, so he told da boyz. And wasn't it troo? Had 'e not earned heself a shiny suit of mega armor from da bozz, with a supa-shoota and a big powa klaw? Had da bozz not sent Dakka to be in da soopa-elite pre-liminary strike farce? Theze 'oomie boyz were like nuttin! They weren't even da crunchy onez, what das dey called again? Da marinez! Dakka saw da 'eavy dakkaz behind da sand bagz and roared. Diz was gonna be fun!
Dakka ran and leaped, flying over the sand bags and landing hard on his feetz. He saw sum ickle 'oomie there and knew that he had found 'imself his first kill!
The ickle 'oomie raised his bolter and pumped a round into Big Dakka's face. It had gotten a third of the way through his brain when it detonated, turning his head into a fine pink mist.
***
"Ewwww...." Daniella said slowly, in disgust. Callus was covered in Ork blood.
"Uhh, yeah. Not cool."
"Gentlemen? I feel it is time we stage a tactical pullback." Brenner said.
Callus looked up. The Orks were in the process of completely overrunning Imperial lines.
"Good idea. Run."
And so, they did. Along with the rest of the Guard, they were quickly in full scale retreat as the Ork numbers swelled, seemingly endlessly. It was not quite a rout, the Guard pulled back in a manner that was both orderly and efficient while fighting, but never the less, it was a retreat.
Hive World Terra