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Two Hours Later
Inside the camoflauged dome, Shas'la Hue'lam sat against the curved wall, munching a ration bar. He looked over at Shas'la Le'i, almost sure his friend was dozing. Hue'lam elbowed Shas'la Ve'dra and pointed at Le'i. Ve'dra shrugged before turning back to examine his pulse rifle.
"Anything, Mi'ch?"
"Trees. A lot of trees."
"Command, this is Shas'la Ju'n at OP 9, all quiet."
"....OP 9, this is Command, report received."
"Confirmation acknowledged, over and out."
Shas'la An'e drew her rifle in from the firing slit. Hue'lam and all the others could hear her sigh in her helmet.
"Two years of training to look at trees."
Hue'lam snorted. He repacked his ration bar and reached for his helmet.
"Shas'la An'e, switch up."
"All yours Shas'la Hue'lam."
Hue'lam positioned his rifle through the firing slit and stared through the scope. In front of the observation dome was a clearing that abruptly stopped at woods. The trees here were dark green, much darker than the ones Hue'lam had known from his home planet. They were tall and sturdy, reaching as high as the canyon walls that rose beside the dome. It seemed as though smaller trees were growing from the trunks of these arboreal giants, and in the smaller trees, dark purple shapes were....Hue'lam froze.
"Shas'la Mi'ch....movement in the tree line?" Hue'lam whispered.
An'e stood up. Ve'dra reached over and knocked Le'i on the helmet before they both rose.
"I see it." Mi'ch withdrew his rifle and placed the scanner in the firing slit. "Image coming up."
Swallowing, Hue'lam switched the safety off of his pulse rifle. His hands were shaking slightly.
"Ten figures in the tree line....zooming...." Mi'ch swore and brought the scanner down. "They're Dark Eldar."
"I thought there were only orks here." Ve'dra hissed from behind them.
"Shas'la Ju'n, call it in?"
"Command, this is OP 9, we have sighted movement in the tree line. Scanner confirms forces as Dark Eldar. Standing by to receive orders."
"....OP 9, this is Command, Dark Eldar to be treated as hostile.... You are clear to engage."
"Orders received." Shas'la Ju'n turned to look at Shas'la Mi'ch. Shas'la Mi'ch turned to look at Shas'la Hue'lam.
"Squad, firing positions!" Through his scope Hue'lam could see the purple figures advancing out from the woods. Focus, remember your training, firing positions.... "Squad, select targets."
"Targets selected." Came five voices.
Firing position, check range, target selection.....
"Squad...." Hue'lam swallowed again. "Squad, open fire!"
Crack.
Through his scope, Hue'lam saw his shot miss. His target was moving slightly to the left and he had forgot to lead it. Two of the Dark Eldar were thrown back, Hue'lam could see the blood spurts from their torsos.
"Got one!" Shas'la Le'i yelled into his helmet.
The Dark Eldar began to advance faster. Now, Hue'lam could make out the silver glint of their bladed rifles...
"Squad, fire at will!"
Crack. Crack. Crackcrack.
"Target down."
"Target eliminated."
Crack. Crack. Crack.
"Target down."
Through his scope, Hue'lam saw the lead Eldar. Just faster than the others, he was carrying a pistol and a smooth, long blade. Hanging from its neck was a skull.
"Come on. Come on."
"Targets closing!" Shas'la Ve'dra shouted.
Crack.
"Yes!" The skull on the lead Eldar exploded as it toppled over. Hue'lam yelled into his helmet "Squad, full fire! For the Greater Good!"
In unison, the six firewarriors emptied their rifle clips onto the remaining Dark Eldar. Hue'lam could hear their screams as the aliens fell, holes in their lithe bodies.
"Squad, cease fire!" Hue'lam dropped the clip to the floor of the observation post and reloaded another, never taking his eyes off his scope. The sound of heavy breathing filled his helmet. No movement. Exhaling, Hue'lam sank to the ground, leaning against the wall again.
"Shas'la Ju'n call it in."
"Command, this is OP 9, targets...."
Suddenly the entire observation dome shook, shaking dirt in through the slits. It shook again, this time Hue'lam could see a crack forming on the roof.
"Dark lances on the tree line!" Mi'ch shouted, looking through the scanner again. "More Dark Eldar! Count....twenty figures and...armour! Enemy armour moving in the tree line!"
"Shas'la Ju'n! Call for reinforcements!" Hue'lam repositioned himself at the firing slit. "Squad! Sight the lance flashes, target saturation ..."
"Aaaahhh!"
A dark lance beam penetrated the dome wall. Hue'lam turned and saw Shas'la Ve'dra lying on the floor, his right arm vaporized. At that moment, Hue'lam's helmet became a cacophony of voices.
"Command, this is OP 9, heavy weapons and enemy armour sighted on tree line, request immediate reinforcements. I repeat..."
"Aaaahhh!"
"Shas'la Mi'ch, get down and help Shas'la Ve'dra!"
"OP 9, Estimated ..."
"Target the lances!"
Another hole was blown through the roof, showering the firewarriors with dirt.
"Target the lances!" Hue'lam shouted.
"They're out of range!" Shas'la An'e shouted back firing blindly into the tree line.
"Not if they're firing that close!"
"Aaahhh!"
"I can't stop the bleeding! I can't stop the bleeding!"
"Give him a shot from your med kit!"
"Enemy armour breaking tree line!"
Shas'la Hue'lam would always remember that moment as the first time he knew he was going to die. The sight of the black prow of a Dark Eldar Ravager breaking through the trees, guns blazing, and the swarm of Dark Eldar figures following from the trees would forever haunt his dreams. Time seemed to slow around him.
"Command! Do you copy?! Do you copy?!"
"I don't want to die...I don't want to..."
"We're dead. We're dead."
We're dead. We're dead.
A dark lance beam took out the entire right side of the dome wall. Shas'la An'e was knocked down as debris slammed into her.
"Aaaahhh! Make it stop! Make it stop!"
We're dead. We're...
"Aaaahhhh!"
No. Not yet.
"Open fire on enemy armour! Shas'la Le'i target the enemy gunners! Shas'la An'e, get up, get up! Shas'la Mi'ch, leave him and get up here or else we'll all be dead! Fire! Fire! Fire for the Greater Good damn you all!"
The Ravager zoomed over the first of the dead Eldar, so close to the ground its prow was blowing dust behind it. Hue'lam saw the front gunner collapse, his left arm exploding in a red mist and heard Shas'la Le'i's shout of triumph. The side gunners ducked lower, still firing.
"Gaahhh!"
"Shas'la Mi'ch is hit!"
"Fire! Don't stop firing!" Shas'la Hue'lam had just emptied his entire clip at the vehicle with no effect. The Ravager passed over the closest dead Eldar. Hue'lam knew that he would be dead before he could...
Sheew.
A missile slammed into the side of the Ravager. It flipped in the air before crashing into the ground. Behind the Ravager, the three closest Eldar were cut into ribbons, before a sheet of flame seared through the rest. Through the missing part of the wall, Hue'lam saw a tall Crisis suit land, its missile pods firing into the Dark Eldar, before a devilfish passed by, burst cannon blazing. It stopped to unload a full squad of firewarriors, who leapt from the doors, rifles blasting away. The crisis suit that had attacked the Dark Eldar squad jumped into the sky and landed behind the devilfish for cover.
"Squad. Cease fire." Hue'lam stepped back from the firing slit, dropping his rifle onto the ground.
"Squad!"
The firewarriors turned to the rear entrance of the observation post. The open doors revealed Shas'ui Co'ch with five other firewarriors and the silhouette of a second devilfish. Shas'la Ju'n and An'e stood to attention. Shas'la Le'i rose from Shas'la Mi'ch, who was breathing hard, his hand covering his chest.
"Shas'la A'ar, go help Shas'la Mi'ch." Co'ch waved a firewarrior forward.
"Yes, Shas'ui."
"Status report." Co'ch turned to face Hue'lam.
"Shas'la Ve'dra's dead, Shas'ui. Shas'la Mi'ch took a hit to the chest, and Shas'la An'e was hit by debris."
"I'm fine, Shas'ui Co'ch."
Shas'ui Co'ch looked down at the body of Shas'la Ve'dra. The guns outside the observation post had stopped firing.
"Shas'la Hue'lam, grab your rifle. Dark Eldar have broken through everywhere in sector three, you're going to need it. Shas'la A'ar, how is Shas'la Mi'ch?"
"Stable, Shas'ui Co'ch."
"Good. Leave him. That means you too Shas'la Le'i. Second squad will pick him up after they've secured the area."
Shas'ui Co'ch looked around at his firewarriors.
"Squad. Mount up."
"Yes, Shas'ui!"
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