This story is an unofficial story based, without permission, on the Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property owned by Games Workshop Ltd.
"Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I won't sing
Let's not look the other way
Taking a chance
Because if the bugler starts to play
We too must dance."
Callus grimaced as his feet dropped into the cold, clammy, smelly water. He raised his lasgun, the flashlight on the end providing some illumination in the sewer.
"All clear."
Brenner and Jackson hopped down, hell guns drawn. Ox came down after them with his heavy flamer, and Daniella was last, lasgun in hand. A flashlight was also attached to hers, providing some weak illumination in the blackness of the sewer. It had been about four days since they had returned to Imperial lines, and it had been four days of near constant battle. The Orks never seemed to relent in their assault. The Guard would cut them down in mass numbers, but always, slowly, ever so slowly, the Imperial lines would be pushed farther back into the city. Whoever was sitting on the command ship in orbit had marshaled a seemingly endless number of greenskins to his banner.
Finally, the Orks had been stopped at a chokepoint known as Liberation Square. It was a huge monument dedicated to the celebration of the day that the Emperor had arrived on Hargon, bringing with him the light of mankind's royal ascendance. The Guard had turned it into an impregnable fortress, lined with artillery, tanks, trenches, and heavy weapons. The Orks were throwing themselves on it in wave after wave, to no avail.
Intel suspected that they might try to get past the square by crossing through the sewage system under it. That's why Callus and his team was here. Combat patrol.
Silently, professionally, with the careful grace of a trained soldier, Callus took point, his flashlight sending a thick beam of illumination over the seemingly endless darkness of the sewer. Daniella took up a position behind him and covering. She was quickly taking to the art of war. Brenner and Jackson wordlessly assembled themselves on read guard, and Ox marched up the center, his heavy flamer prepared to provide support in the case of attack.
Callus raised his index and pinky finger in the air and indicated that the squad was to move forward at regular patrol speed, and be prepared to take fire without notice. The team did exactly that, their heavy, leather boots causing hardly a sound against the cement and water of the sewer system. They were the consummate Imperial troopers. Quiet, efficient, deadly. And most of all, expendable.
The squad's patrol was interrupted by a long, low pitched. The grating sound of steel dragging against rock. There was a low, whining buzz as weapons were turned to full power and switched to automatic fire.
Callus turned around to his squad, made a series of quick hand signals, and nodded curtly.
Ox moved up to the front of the team. Moving up to a sharp turn in the tunnel, he sent a short burst of flame against the far wall. The squad waited for a reaction. Nothing. Not a sound. Callus nodded again. Another short burst. Again, nothing.
For a moment, Callus and Daniella stared at each other, almost as if they were communicating telepathically. Callus couldn't suppress a grin. She looked ridiculous, in baggy jeans, a dirty black t-shirt that was too big for her, and Callus' helmet, oversized on her head, always drooping down over her eyes. The lasgun in her hands was far too big for a girl her age. And she was smiling. She was beautiful.
Callus ran his hand through his short cropped black hair.
"Don't do this, Mikey. This is how you get killed."
Callus shook his head quickly and returned to the real world. Looking to Ox quickly, he nodded. The team dove around the corner, weapons at the ready, fire positions taken up immediately.
Callus nearly choked.
The myriad stenches of the sewer had covered the stench. But there was no mistaking the sight. A squadron of Penal Legionnaires, one of the other combat patrols. What was left of them had been hung from the low ceiling by barbed wire. Long blade tears had reduce their flesh to crimson and pink ribbons. Their heads had unceremoniously been torn off of their bodies. Their leader, or what had been their leader, anyways, had his chainsword still drawn. His body was swinging silently, the chainsword dragging along the concrete wall every few seconds.
Michael grimaced, then looked to Ox.
"Burn it."
The Emperor's holy flames were never holier.
***
"Intel have anything on the enemy? We know who their leader is?"
"Yes, sir. We believe this to be the xenos in command."
The intelligence officer, clad in a starched black dress uniform, pressed a button on the holo-table and an image emerged of a massive Ork, at least eight feet tall. Of a light green skin color, he was covered in what appeared to be random scraps of astartes-issue power armor, and had a huge chainsword in each hand. His neck was strangely elongated, and his head was quite low on his shoulders. His eyes were beady and crimson red, and he had the largest, sharpest teeth that Montego had ever seen.
Lord-General Julian Montego took a puff of his cigarillo and removed it from his mouth.
"We got a name?"
"We believe he is called Drazgar. We have no secondary name."
Montego spat.
"Xenos filth. Is this a full scale Waaagh we have on our hands, or what?"
"That would seem to be the case, Lord-General."
"I see."
Montego put his hand on the shoulder of a passing adjutant.
"Raise Holy Terra on the vox. I need to relay an urgent message to Guard central command."
The adjutant saluted and walked off in another direction.
Montego returned his attention to the intelligence officer.
"What else?"
The image changed to a map of the southwestern branch of the galaxy, where Hargon was located.
"Well sir, we believe that Drazgar began to consolidate his power here, in the Gulf of Kappa systems. The Orks took this area during the Gothic Sector conflict, when the Imperium was far too distracted to notice or care. It is not strategically important, and the Imperium never returned to re-conquer that area. The Orks have carved out for themselves a tiny little empire in the region. Drazgar appears to be the first warlord that was capable of uniting all the greenskins of the area, and it would appear that he now intends to lead a Waaagh straight into the heart of the Imperium."
"Hmm."
"Sir! We have Terra!"
"Thank you, adjutant."
Montego nodded to the intelligence officer and turned to leave. Raising a psychic signal directly to Guard central HQ was a rare opportunity, and he would not waste it by dallying.
***
Ox was turning his flames on the last of the rotting corpses when the gunfire started. The Orks burst out from the water in the tunnel behind them, raising their large guns and opening up in a huge barrage of gunfire. Callus hit the ground hard, rolling over and raising his lasgun. The flashlight that was harnessed under the barrel illuminated at least ten Orks. Callus squeezed off a burst, sending three las-rounds into the face of the first one. It hit the ground hard, it's skull exploding in an expanding halo of blood-covered bone. Callus saw the large, mean-looking knives clutched in their green fists and knew immediately who they were; what the Orks referred to as "Kommandos".
What was left of Brenner went splattering against a wall, skin torn open, blood pouring out. Callus cursed, slamming his finger down on the trigger and sending crimson bolts of superheated light towards the enemy. Ox roared a battle cry, clouds of flame opening up and covering the tunnels in cleansing light. Callus whirled as he heard something drop behind him. He barely caught sight of the huge creature before a blast blew his flashlight into a cloud of razor dust. Soon, Daniella's light had gone as well.
The sewers were enveloped in pitch darkness, interrupted only by the crimson light of las-discharge and the illumination that came from a burst of Ox's flamer.
Callus hit the ground hard, something roughly shoving him over. His face splattered directly into the stream of sewage waste. Gagging as he rolled onto his back Callus felt, much more than he saw, a huge Ork lunging at him. Raising his lasgun and using it as a sort of splint, Callus met the massive weight of the beast and managed to hold it over him. Gagging as he spat filth out of his mouth, Callus was forced to crane his neck back as far as possible, to avoid the snapping teeth of the xenos monster. He grimaced as its thick, disgusting saliva splattered onto his face.
"OX!" Callus cried out, "I have a situation here!"
Callus shut his eyes and pushed his head further back into the sewage as a cloud of super-heated promethium spread out over him, lifting the Ork off of him and sending it running around screaming like a living torch. Rising to his feet, Callus pumped two las-rounds into its head and put it out of its misery.
***
Governor Alphonse Gonsalves smiled as he sniffed his fine Scotch. The xenos known as Drazgar had been most reasonable. Ensure that the Imperial defenses faltered at the right moment, and Drazgar would in turn do nothing to stop Gonsalves' personal ship from escaping the world at the correct time. Flaviun's troops were carrying out the mission even now. The Governor's guard would place explosive charges at key points across the city. When the time came, they would be set off by remote, and Colonel Flaviun would "report" to the governor that an insurrection was underway, courtesy of Lord-General Montego. The Governor would order his personal guard to mobilize and attack the off-worlder, while he escaped with the Colonel and his most trusted troops aboard his personal yacht. Gonsalves expected that the Orks would be overrunning the main spine even as he was making the jump to warp space.
***
"Move! Move!" Callus cried, the squad falling back rapidly.
The tunnels were filling rapidly with the Orks. Thankfully Ox's flamer was keeping them from advancing into melee range, supported by Jackson's hell gun and Daniella and Callus' lasguns. The squad was falling back through the pitch dark tunnels towards the small hole of light that indicated where the manhole could be found, thankfully still open. The sounds of Ork roars and weapons fire filled the tunnels, bouncing off the tight walls.
The light reflecting on the water beneath them created a strange mirror effect, causing crimson and yellow light to fill the tunnels in a kaleidoscope of war.
***
+++BEGIN TRANSMISSION+++
+++HARGON+++
+++RECEIVING...HOLY TERRA: IMPERIAL GUARD CENTRAL COMMAND HEADQUARTERS+++
STATUS: EXTREMELY URGENT.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH THE DEFENSE OF THE WORLD HARGON FROM AN ORK INCURSION AGAINST THE EMPEROR'S HOLY REALM. TOO LATE HAVE WE REALIZED THAT WE ARE IN THE PATH OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FULL SCALE WAAAGH. WITHOUT IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENTS, HARGON WILL FALL TO THE GREEN MENACE IN THE IMMINENT FUTURE. REPEAT, HARGON WILL FALL IMMINENTLY. REINFORCEMENTS NEEDED. WAAAGH UNDER WAY. LORD-GENERAL JULIAN MONTEGO, 207th KAZARKANINA ASSAULT INFANTRY, SIGNING OFF.
+++END TRANSMISSION+++
Hive World Terra