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Sergeant Zaal, crouched low behind the window of one of the multitude of burnt out, or destroyed buildings along Cardan St. Cautiously peering over the window sill ledge in front of him he marked the progression of the traitor’s armored column. Under Supreme Commander Menelaus’ orders he and the other four members of 3rd Squad; Recon had deployed slightly north and opposite of the commander’s position at the end of the street. Cardan St. came to a T intersection another two hundred feet south of the commander’s position. This was where the ambush had been set.
Fighting on Pothan IV had been brutal for nearly a terran year. The rebellion had started at the head of Lord-Governor Machius. The Lord-Governor had butchered imperial tithe collectors that had been sent to collect the decennial taxes for the system. Pothan IV being a forge world produced a massive number of war machines and hundreds of thousands of soldiers every ten years for the empire. No warning was given of the Lord-Governor’s treachery until the tithe collectors had made planet fall and upon exiting their craft were massacred to the man on the spaceport landing pad. Machius had planned this for some time as the minute the first shots were fired into the unsuspecting collectors; massive blast doors slid open on his palace and orbital guns lanced out at the imperial ships hovering in low orbit over the planet. Six of the eleven vessels that had been brought in system to ferry the taxes of Pothan IV were almost instantly brought down. The remaining five managed to break orbit and flee the onslaught before sustaining any further damage. Word traveled instantly through Imperial command and a massive force of the Imperial Guard had been mobilized to quash the rebellion and remove Machius from power.
This initial attack had failed miserably. Machius had planned for such an action and when the first drop ships began making planet fall he had forces prepared and waiting for them. Military command had surmised that Machius had turned the entire planets resources to building up the defenses of the capitol city Ergor for over a decade. His plans for the defense had been almost flawless. The sheer amount of orbital guns and anti-aircraft defenses placed throughout the city made any type of flight over it a suicide run. Over thirty orbital defense batteries bristled around the city’s central point, the Governor’s Palace. Hundreds of anti-aircraft batteries made flight over or near the city a death sentence. The sheer amount of resources the Governor had placed into defending the palace had forced the loyal imperial troops into a street to street, building by building conflict. Hundreds of thousands of refugees had fled the city the moment fighting had begun. As the conflict for Ergor entered its seventh month Fleet Commander Victus sent out a request for aid in smashing the rebellion. The Myrmidons had answered the call. Dispatching a full company of Astartes warriors to aid the loyalists; Supreme Commander Menelaus pledged to remove Machius from power within three months. That had been two months ago.
“Mark six track and forty-six foot. Standard combat convoy spread.” Sergeant Zaal whispered in his vox mic as he lowered himself below the window ledge.
“Confirm, six track, forty-six foot.” Came the reply of Menelaus over the vox channel.
“Executor Hezekiah, do we have confirmation on convoy’s cargo?” Menelaus asked as he switched to a private vox channel.
“Confirmed, cargo is priority alpha, secure at all costs.” Came the gravely reply of the Executor.
“All units; prepare to engage on Sergeant Boreas’ signal. Secure central chimera, annihilate everything else. Pacify all hostiles, leave prisoners if possible.” Menelaus stated over the secure vox channel to his men. His only reply was a chorus of double clicks that registered each unit sergeant’s confirmation on his internal HUD. Thumbing the power stud on his jetbike Menelaus was gently lifted off the third story floor he was hiding in.
Sergeant Boreas mentally switched the optic range of his helmet display until it turned to thermal imaging mode. Scanning the nearby buildings that lined the street ahead of him Boreas took note of the space marines taking up positions in the buildings to his front. Looking up and to his sides he noted the position of the four combat squads on the floors above and beside him in. The heavy weapons specialists carrying the Lascannons were each placed to give maximum visibility of the street ahead. Satisfied with their positions he scanned the road ahead once more.
“Sergeant Actulus, move that heavy bolter up six yards and one floor.” Boreas ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Came the reply over the vox channel and Boreas watched with satisfaction as the marine moved to his requested position ensuring a maximum crossfire pattern with minimal friendly fire potential. Switching back to normal vision Boreas watched as the first chimera came into view down the street. Checking the distance on his HUD, Boreas noted that in less than two hundred yards the might of the Myrmidon Chapter would fall upon that armored column and every soul within it would know what it was like to truly fear.
Watching intently as the convoy moved further into view Boreas watched as his range finder slowly ticked down the distance between himself and the first armored vehicle. Infantry plodded along beside the vehicles, occasionally glancing nervously into windows of buildings and down alleys as they passed them. It was obvious that the troopers were nervous, but they could not possibly have any clue of the sheer amount of death that was about to rain down on their position. As the convoy continued its methodical march to its destruction Boreas took note as the range finder’s numbers flashed bright green in his HUD and before they had ticked another foot four incandescent beams of light lanced out from the windows of the building around him. Three of the beams struck the lead chimera and punched through the vehicle’s armor. A nanosecond later the vehicle detonated as one of the lascannon beams cooked off the turrets ammunition stores. The fourth beam sailed wide right of the lead chimera and caught a single rebel in the chest. The man did not even have a chance to scream as a canon sized hole was burned through his chest and he slumped to the ground where he stood. Boreas made note to reprimand Cortez for his wasteful use of such a powerful weapon.
“Menelaus to Salvation, deploy Primus, I repeat deploy primus to designated location.” Menelaus order to the orbiting battlebarge as he gunned the engines of his jetbike and exploded out the windows of the building he was in. As he sailed through the air he took aim and thumbed the firing switch on his handlebars. The bike’s under slung plasma cannon belched out a mini star. The white hot plasma rocketed ahead and exploded in a shower of light as it vaporized three soldiers running for cover along the side of the road.
Menelaus watched as the trap unfolded and smiled with pride at the lightning fast reaction of his soldiers. Before the first explosion’s boom had finished echoing off the surrounding buildings his forces had launched into action. The heavy support bike of 2nd Detachment had erupted from its hiding place at the rear of the convoy and roared behind the last chimera. Passing within feet of the vehicle’s backside the gunner in the side car took aim and fired, the multi-melta’s super heated beam scythed through the rear armor and tracks of the chimera immobilizing it. Before the soldiers could return fire the marines poised in the buildings surrounding the street rained death upon them. Bolter rounds, thudded into the pavement and bodies; blowing chunks out of each with equal efficiency. Tiny stars lanced out of windows to melt flesh and armor where they hit as the marines carrying plasma guns brought righteous death to the rebels.
Menelaus kicked his jetbike sideways and watched as Penance and Absolution, two predator tanks, roared out of two ruined buildings at the front and rear of the convoy, toppling the walls in front of them with their mounted dozer blades. The collapse of tons of plastcrete and steel killed as many of the enemy soldiers as the heavy weapons of the tanks did as they added their firepower to the fight.
The chimera APCs had begun returning fire in all directions blasting chunks of masonry and asphalt from all around them. The deployment of their troopers and the vehicle’s return fire was a demonstration in futility as the bikes of second detachment screamed around a building and roared out of an alley into the fray. The ambush turned into a bloodbath as the bikes accelerated past the chimeras and rode through the enemy soldiers diving for cover. Bolters blazed from the front of the bikes and cut men down by the droves. Those that did not fall to the guns were dispatched by chain swords as the marines careened down the right flank of the convoy led by Executor Hezekiah as he brought down his Crozius Arcanum in righteous fury time and time again, felling an enemy soldier with each blow.
A flash of light to Menelaus’ left heralded the arrival of Terminator Squad Primus to the battle. The massive armor clad behemoths materialized and immediately began advancing on the left flank of the armored column. The squad’s assault cannon and storm bolters vomited death as the hulking marines plodded relentlessly forward.
Menelaus watched as four more incandescent beams of light lanced out and struck the chimeras now pinned by the smoldering ruins of their fore and aft vehicles. Two more chimera erupted in flames as their vitals were penetrated and destroyed by the heavy weapons fire. There was no organization or command to the rebel force at this time, it was simply every man for himself as they dove for cover and tried to make themselves invisible within the rubble along the sides of the street.
Sergeant Zaal leapt from his cover and with a war cry charged the chimera directly ahead of him. The rest of his squad followed in rapid succession and began to cut a bloody swath through the remaining defenders. Firing as he ran Zaal dropped two rebels and leapt to the top of the chimera. Standing atop the main turret’s entrance hatch he reached back and sent a punch with all his might against the armored hatch. The powerfist on his left arm crackled with lethal energy as his fist slammed into the hatch. The resultant discharge of energy and force buckled the hatch and Zaal wrenched it loose. Tossing the hatch aside Zaal stared into the terrified eyes of the tank’s commander.
“I forgive you.” Zaal stated as he lowered his bolt pistol and blew the man’s head from his shoulders with a single shot. Surveying the battlefield Zaal watched as the few remaining rebels that lived threw down their weapons and surrendered to the superior might of the Myrmidons.
“Zaal to Menelaus, central chimera secured. Awaiting your orders.”
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