Fight of Valkar
To The Tanks
The two nodded. "Remember, the back of the Baneblades." Belarian said, pulling out his glaive and striding out the door with the Mistress and Lord.
"We best get a move on.2 Brian said leading the way out the door. The others agreed. The group were quickly stopped as they saw to multiple tanks that had rolled in, none of them Baneblades though all Imperial. A whistle was heard above and they were forced to run, an earth shaker round fired from one of the Basilisks.
"Follow me." Called Carnath. He led them down a small shaft underground, moving as fast as he could through the tunnels. The sounds of battle, Guardsmen being slaughtered, Sisters and marines being ripped to shreds, tanks firing and exploding, began to draw faint. They slowed down as they neared the end of the tunnel. Carnath pulled himself up a ladder and out of a manhole, quickly followed by the others.
"So where is this hanger again?" Lilly asked, not recalling any location being given.
"I know where it is." Jessica said. She had a delicate voice. "I’ll lead if you want."
To both Brian and Lilly she sounded extremely timid. Carnath, who’d met her before, already know her and didn’t notice the tone.
"Go ahead." Carnath said. He followed her down the high street, weapons drawn.
"You know, maybe we should see if can Jess remove the symbiotic daemon. She is Tzeentch after all." Brain pointed out to Lilly. It was a good idea after all, and they didn’t really want repeat of the other night. Brian suddenly had a flash back of it, the toothy grin, the seemingly mutilated face, the fact he almost killed her. He shook it off. No point in dwelling on it if they could get it over with soon.
"Maybe, but not now. We have more important things to do first though. Did you forget about the Baneblades?" She said holding up the sack of bombs.
"Fine." The rumble of engines – large ones – could be heard not far in front of them. They were stationary. "Are we there already?"
"Yes." Jessica said, once more in her delicate tone of voice. "But it’s swarming with guardsmen, we’ll have to be careful."
"We kinda know that already." Carnath chuckled. "There is a war going on around us so if we weren’t careful already, we’d be dead!" Jess just ignored him and led them round to the back of the tank base. She stopped them, a group of ten to fifteen guardsmen guarding the rear door, smoking and taking. She put her pet on the ground and the pink daemon immediately jumped into them, growing into the shape of a huge dog. The group charged into the guardsmen, making short work of them with their pistols, lasguns and swords.
"That was surprisingly easy." Carnath said licking the blood from his power rapier. The electricity crackled against tongue singing it slightly. His eyes rolled into his head for a moment before he took it away and opened the door for the group to pass through. He did a deep mocking bow. "After you me Lord and Ladies."
Lilly pulled Carnath in by his ear as she passed through last. The four gasped as they walked into the hanger, the size of the Baneblades tremendous. Each tank stretching a good forty to fifty metres, the barrel almost the same length. The turrets were the sizes of an ordinary man each one of the turret platforms looking as if they could carry a good 5 people each. That’d be one on the turret and 4-support fire! Brian came out of it first and spotted the engine pipes.
"Guys, I know where to set the charges. You two take two charges each, Lilly and I’ll take three. Head off down the far and set the charges on the most exposed part of the engine on the rear of the tank." Jess and Carnath did as they were told, and ran for the far end of the hanger. "I’ll start here, you move up three."
"Sure thing." Lilly moved up the three she’d been told.
Brian pulled out his first charge and stepped onto the back of the tank. He looked at the piping and started to check through them. He slipped one down between the exhausts and the cooling system and the engine compartment. That’d make a fair sized back when it went off. He moved onto the second. It was built differently and he had to actually climb onto the Baneblade and hide the charge under some wires. His final charge was in his hand and ready. He jumped between the gaps in the tanks and landed on the third. Once more, he dug it deeply into the cables, engine and exhausts.
Lilly, a little further up placed her first charge in the actual engine compartment. "Foolish Imperials." She giggled to herself. "Can’t even remember to lock the engine hatch." She quickly moved to the second, placing it under the exhausts, noticing a bit of engine jutting out. The third one she placed in an exhaust pipe, the explosion would surely carry all the way to the engine.
Carnath was next in the line. He took the job a little less seriously. As he passed the tanks he plainly threw them down the back of the exhausts, showing no care for it. Jessica on the other hand had teleported her charges through the thick armour, directly into the main engine.
There was suddenly a flurry of movement. Carnath had been spotted casually walking between the tanks and word had soon got round of a Slaaneshi wandering the hanger. Some guardsmen ran for their life, thinking it may be Lucius the Eternal, come to look for a fight. Lucius was infact fighting with the Emperor’s Children on another planet, in another system, but the guardsmen who hadn’t realised found themselves shot by commanders for their cowardice. Other guardsmen had infact picked up their weapons and gone in search of him.
Brian, Lilly, Carnath and Jess stood atop a small crest, the detonator in Brian’s hand. Suddenly the hanger’s speakers sounded. "Chaos in the vicinity, all men to arms."
"Were any of you seen?" Brian growled.
Carnath raised one hand, checking the nails on the other. "Who cares, they’re about to explode anyway!"
"I do! I actually care if the tanks come rolling out, fully loaded and ready to fire at us." At these words they saw one of the bane blades drive out the hanger and aim at them.
"Speak of the devil." Commented Jess. She teleported them to another location as the shell was fired, the crest they were formerly stood on a smouldering pile of earth. "Now, hit the detonator before they spot us again."
Brian did as she said, the tank that had fired at them blowing to pieces. Screams were then drowned out as the tanks inside exploded, the entire hanger going up with them. Shrapnel from the building was thrown to and fro in the explosion. A huge shard of jagged metal was thrown at the group, the four being forced to the ground.
"That, was close." Lilly said, pulling her and Brian up.
"Don’t do that again Carnath." Jess said. "You’re so wreck lace." She turned away to look at the flaming pile of rubbed and crap metal below them. She secretly liked Carnath’s dangerous and stupid attitude. She always had. But that was another matter for another time.
"We best get a move on.2 Brian said leading the way out the door. The others agreed. The group were quickly stopped as they saw to multiple tanks that had rolled in, none of them Baneblades though all Imperial. A whistle was heard above and they were forced to run, an earth shaker round fired from one of the Basilisks.
"Follow me." Called Carnath. He led them down a small shaft underground, moving as fast as he could through the tunnels. The sounds of battle, Guardsmen being slaughtered, Sisters and marines being ripped to shreds, tanks firing and exploding, began to draw faint. They slowed down as they neared the end of the tunnel. Carnath pulled himself up a ladder and out of a manhole, quickly followed by the others.
"So where is this hanger again?" Lilly asked, not recalling any location being given.
"I know where it is." Jessica said. She had a delicate voice. "I’ll lead if you want."
To both Brian and Lilly she sounded extremely timid. Carnath, who’d met her before, already know her and didn’t notice the tone.
"Go ahead." Carnath said. He followed her down the high street, weapons drawn.
"You know, maybe we should see if can Jess remove the symbiotic daemon. She is Tzeentch after all." Brain pointed out to Lilly. It was a good idea after all, and they didn’t really want repeat of the other night. Brian suddenly had a flash back of it, the toothy grin, the seemingly mutilated face, the fact he almost killed her. He shook it off. No point in dwelling on it if they could get it over with soon.
"Maybe, but not now. We have more important things to do first though. Did you forget about the Baneblades?" She said holding up the sack of bombs.
"Fine." The rumble of engines – large ones – could be heard not far in front of them. They were stationary. "Are we there already?"
"Yes." Jessica said, once more in her delicate tone of voice. "But it’s swarming with guardsmen, we’ll have to be careful."
"We kinda know that already." Carnath chuckled. "There is a war going on around us so if we weren’t careful already, we’d be dead!" Jess just ignored him and led them round to the back of the tank base. She stopped them, a group of ten to fifteen guardsmen guarding the rear door, smoking and taking. She put her pet on the ground and the pink daemon immediately jumped into them, growing into the shape of a huge dog. The group charged into the guardsmen, making short work of them with their pistols, lasguns and swords.
"That was surprisingly easy." Carnath said licking the blood from his power rapier. The electricity crackled against tongue singing it slightly. His eyes rolled into his head for a moment before he took it away and opened the door for the group to pass through. He did a deep mocking bow. "After you me Lord and Ladies."
Lilly pulled Carnath in by his ear as she passed through last. The four gasped as they walked into the hanger, the size of the Baneblades tremendous. Each tank stretching a good forty to fifty metres, the barrel almost the same length. The turrets were the sizes of an ordinary man each one of the turret platforms looking as if they could carry a good 5 people each. That’d be one on the turret and 4-support fire! Brian came out of it first and spotted the engine pipes.
"Guys, I know where to set the charges. You two take two charges each, Lilly and I’ll take three. Head off down the far and set the charges on the most exposed part of the engine on the rear of the tank." Jess and Carnath did as they were told, and ran for the far end of the hanger. "I’ll start here, you move up three."
"Sure thing." Lilly moved up the three she’d been told.
Brian pulled out his first charge and stepped onto the back of the tank. He looked at the piping and started to check through them. He slipped one down between the exhausts and the cooling system and the engine compartment. That’d make a fair sized back when it went off. He moved onto the second. It was built differently and he had to actually climb onto the Baneblade and hide the charge under some wires. His final charge was in his hand and ready. He jumped between the gaps in the tanks and landed on the third. Once more, he dug it deeply into the cables, engine and exhausts.
Lilly, a little further up placed her first charge in the actual engine compartment. "Foolish Imperials." She giggled to herself. "Can’t even remember to lock the engine hatch." She quickly moved to the second, placing it under the exhausts, noticing a bit of engine jutting out. The third one she placed in an exhaust pipe, the explosion would surely carry all the way to the engine.
Carnath was next in the line. He took the job a little less seriously. As he passed the tanks he plainly threw them down the back of the exhausts, showing no care for it. Jessica on the other hand had teleported her charges through the thick armour, directly into the main engine.
There was suddenly a flurry of movement. Carnath had been spotted casually walking between the tanks and word had soon got round of a Slaaneshi wandering the hanger. Some guardsmen ran for their life, thinking it may be Lucius the Eternal, come to look for a fight. Lucius was infact fighting with the Emperor’s Children on another planet, in another system, but the guardsmen who hadn’t realised found themselves shot by commanders for their cowardice. Other guardsmen had infact picked up their weapons and gone in search of him.
Brian, Lilly, Carnath and Jess stood atop a small crest, the detonator in Brian’s hand. Suddenly the hanger’s speakers sounded. "Chaos in the vicinity, all men to arms."
"Were any of you seen?" Brian growled.
Carnath raised one hand, checking the nails on the other. "Who cares, they’re about to explode anyway!"
"I do! I actually care if the tanks come rolling out, fully loaded and ready to fire at us." At these words they saw one of the bane blades drive out the hanger and aim at them.
"Speak of the devil." Commented Jess. She teleported them to another location as the shell was fired, the crest they were formerly stood on a smouldering pile of earth. "Now, hit the detonator before they spot us again."
Brian did as she said, the tank that had fired at them blowing to pieces. Screams were then drowned out as the tanks inside exploded, the entire hanger going up with them. Shrapnel from the building was thrown to and fro in the explosion. A huge shard of jagged metal was thrown at the group, the four being forced to the ground.
"That, was close." Lilly said, pulling her and Brian up.
"Don’t do that again Carnath." Jess said. "You’re so wreck lace." She turned away to look at the flaming pile of rubbed and crap metal below them. She secretly liked Carnath’s dangerous and stupid attitude. She always had. But that was another matter for another time.