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Da Boss Of Da Dead Chapta 22 | |
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Da Boss Of Da Dead Chapta 22 |
Two Heads drove the truck through the ruined gates of the settlement. The last time he had been here the place had been a hive of activity but now it was in ruins, most of the buildings had been burnt to the ground and those few that were left were devoid of life. “Da mine
shaft’s dat way.” Gorgoga said, but as Two Heads drove in the direction
indicated they discovered that the original mine entrance had gone,
replaced by a massive crater that had a floor of ornately carved alien
metal at the bottom. The bomb was not as compact as the last one Hazug had taken into a necron tomb and it took two orks to carry it even without the protective case. “’Ow does it work?” Drazzok asked asked. “Well its full of liftin’ gas-“ Mek Batrug began, stopping when the weirdboy hit him with his staff. “I knows dat bit.” Drazzok exclaimed, “I means wot does we do to get it to go off?” “Dead easy.” Batrug said and he tapped his finger against a small window set into the said of the bomb. Beside the glass were several orks glyphs. IN CASE OF NECRONS, BREAK GLASS. “Da button underneath starts da timer.” Batrug said and the rest of the warband leant closer to look at the prominent red button under the glass. “’Ow long is it?” Two Heads asked. Batrug fumbled in his pocket for a moment and produced a piece of string that he held along side the bomb. “’E means da timer ya stupid mek!” Drazzok snapped, hitting him again. “Oh dat.” Batrug replied, “I’ve no idea.” “Oh dat’s just bloomin’ great dat is.” Drazzok said, “So we could end up blowin’ ourselves up because we don’t know ‘ow long we ‘as to run away?” “Never mind dat now.” Hazug said, “Cause we’s got company.” And turning towards the crater the warband saw Mazakatek striding up the side towards them armed with a pair of bladed weapons that he gripped in the middle. Behind him a score of large necrons each equipped with a vicious looking bladed weapon and a bulky shield followed. “So ‘ow d’ya wanna do dis?” Two Heads said to Hazug. “Da easy way.” He replied. “Okay den. Da easy way.” One of Two Heads said as he raised his rifle. Then the other let out a yell, “Let rip!” The air was filled with the roar of gunfire as the warband followed Two Heads’ order and sprayed the oncoming necrons with bullets and lasers. But the fusillade did not slow the marching necrons at all. The lychguard simply raised their shields in front of themselves and allowed them to absorb the attacks while the shots directed at Mazakatek himself were blocked by an invisible barrier, similar to that which surrounded the necron troop transports. “Ratish!” Hazug called out, “Any stikkbomms left?” Ratish ran back to the truck and jumped in, he rapidly checked the boxes of ammunition stored there before lifting his head back up. “Ratish can’t find any master.” He yelled, “We is out.” “Pity we didn’t bring dat git rokkit launcher.” One of Two Heads commented and then the other one added, “Dare wasn’t room was dare? Unless ya think we shoulda left someone behind.” “I’d like to
‘ave left ya behind.” The first head replied and Two Heads suddenly
stopped firing as the two heads glared at one another. The truck-mounted gun suddenly ceased firing as the belt was expended and rather than look for a replacement Thuggrim jumped down from the gun mount and picked up his own rifle. Lifting it to his shoulder he took careful aim above the rest of the warband, using his bionic eye to target one of the lychguard. He fired off a single round that bypassed the necron’s shield and struck its head, causing it to jerk back suddenly. Thuggrim fired a second round quickly that struck the lychguard in the head once more and sent it tumbling down the slope, forcing two others to leap over it or be swept down also. But before the orks could celebrate the destruction of one of their enemies the damage lychguard stood back up, its self-repair mechanism regenerating the damage it had suffered. Horvuk suddenly cried out in pain and fell, clutching at his shoulder. “Dey aint got no shootas!” Mek Batrug exclaimed, “Where’d dat shot come from?” “It was ‘is own ya wazzok.” Drazzok snapped, “Can’t ya see ‘em bouncing off dem shields?” Sure enough the shots being fired at the lychguard were not just being blocked by their shields, they were being deflected away and as the necrons advanced they could be seen to be angling their shields to deflect the shots back at the warband. “’Old ya fire!” Hazug shouted, “Switch to choppas!” “What about us?” Salia called out. “No need for da gits now master.” Ratish said, “Send ‘em away.” “Just shoot dat boss.” Hazug said, “’E aint got no shield to bounce anythin’ off.” “So wot now den?” Two Heads asked, “Is we just supposed to stand ‘ere and wait for dem to come get us?” “Yeah,” Morfang said, “Dares more of dem dan us an’ all.” Hazug looked down the slope. Morfang was right about the numbers, with the necrons outnumbering the warband by almost two to one and that included Ratish, Salia and Sophie, none of whom would be a match for the necrons in close combat. But then he spotted something else. Beyond the advancing necrons, set into the metal floor of the crater was an opening and Hazug guessed that this was the way into the tomb. But the necrons were between the warband and this opening and getting closer all the time. “Back in da truck!” Hazug bellowed and he turned and ran, “And bring da bomm!” “Wot?” Drazzok exclaimed, “We aint runnin’ away is we?” “Nah.” Hazug said as he climbed into the drive’s seat, “But we may as well drive to dat doorway down dare.” And he grinned as he started the engine. From Mazakatek’s point of view the ork warband had simply withdrawn from the rim of the crater and at first he considered the possibility that they were withdrawing for reinforcements. But when he heard the roar of the truck’s engine starting he realised what they were really going to do. “Scatter!” he ordered. The urgency in his voice was not needed; the lychguard would have reacted just as well to a whisper. But the habits learned during his brief life as an organic being had stayed with him for the millions of years he had spent as a machine and so he reacted accordingly. Sure enough just a moment later the truck came hurtling over the rim of the carter, kicking up dirt as it sped down the slope. Although the necrons no longer presented a tightly packed group to be mown down in one go Hazug was still able to steer his truck through them so that two of the alien warrior were caught beneath his wheels and smashed to pieces. Additionally Drazzok swung his staff over the side of the truck and knocked the head from a third, sparks erupting from the alien’s neck as the headless body slumped to the ground. Hazug brought the truck to a halt when it reached the crater floor and looked back up the sloping crater wall. Most of the remaining necrons were now struggling to get back down the slope, the loose dirt and steepness of it limiting how fats they could travel without falling over. However, the single necron damaged by Thuggrim was much closer and it was now racing towards the truck. Horvuk jumped down and attempted to aim his rifle at the alien. But, impeded by his injury he was unable to lift the weapon before the necron brought his curved sword down and split him open from the top of his head to his stomach. Salia screamed at the sight of his organs spilling out. There was a second shriek, but not of fear or disgust. Instead it was excitement as Mayleth leapt from the truck into the air, somersaulted and came down behind the lone lychguard. Spinning around she slashed at the necron with both her blades, one cutting through wires at his neck while the other stroke was aimed at the wrist of the arm holding the shields. The lychguard shuddered as his motor functions ceased responding and his self-repair system again sprang into action while his hand was severed and it along with his shield fell tot eh ground. “Ratish! Let ‘im go!” Hazug yelled and the gretchin let Cuddles of his leash. The squig jumped from the back of the truck directly at the lychguard, opening his mouth wide and wrapping his jaws around the alien’s head. The lychguard flailed wildly, still lacking full control over his body but desperate to get free. Mayleth lashed out again and cut the lychguard’s other hand from his arm before he could use the blade it held to kill Cuddles. There was a ‘crunch’ as Cuddles bit down hard, separating the components that mimicked vertebrae in the lychguard’s body. With nothing to hold him up, Cuddles rolled backwards and dropped to the ground, spitting out the saliva covered head of the lychguard. “I’ll take dat
I reckon.” Two Heads said as he disembarked from the truck and scooped up
the lychguard’s sword. “Well if we is already lootin’…” Batrug said following the two nobs from the truck, but before he could retrieve any parts from a green haze surrounded the lychguard it body and it faded away. “So wot next?” Two Heads asked as Hazug ran to join him and Gorgoga. Hazug looked around. The warband was still out numbered, but the three nobs were all well armed now that Two Heads also possessed one of the necrons weapons. But more importantly they were closer to the tomb entrance than the approaching necrons. “Batrug! Morfang! Fangnat!” Hazug snapped, “Get dat bomm down dat ‘ole. Set it and get back ‘ere as quick as ya can.” “Come on den lads!” Batrug exclaimed, “Ya ‘eard ‘im, we’s got a bomm to set.” And the three orks began to drag the nuclear device from the back of the truck. “Da rest us just ‘as to keep dem necrons away.” Hazug then added as he held up his warscythe. “Ya knows we can’t just leave dat bomm if dare’s any of ‘em still alive dontcha?” Drazzok said as he climbed down from the truck. “Aye.” Hazug answered, “We aint leavin’ till we knows dey can’t do ought about it.” “But what if it goes off?” Sophie asked nervously. “Den we takes ‘em all with us.” Two Heads said and both of him smiled as Salia and Sophie looked at one another nervously. Thuggrim’s rifle barked twice and another lychguard came tumbling down the slope. Even as it fell its self-repair mechanism could be seen working, regenerating the damage. “Mine!” Gorgoga called out and he rushed forwards to meet the falling necron and before it could manage to repair itself he brought his powerclaw down on the alien’s head and smashed it open. There was a flash of light followed by the usual green glow of a necron teleporter. “Nice one Thuggrim!” Drazzok called out as Gorgoga rejoined the rest of the group, “Now do it again.” “Of course oh great one.” Thuggrim replied and he continued to fire on the necrons. The alien warriors responded by closing ranks and holding their shields up against each other to limit their exposure to Thuggrim’s rifle fire. Mazakatek walked in front of them still, his energy shield shrugging off the laser blasts fired by Salia and Sophie. “We need to break them up my master.” Mayleth said, “They will reach us soon.” “I reckon ya is right.” Hazug and he looked at Drazzok, “’Ow much ya got?” he asked. “’Ow much wot?” Drazzok replied. Before the weirdboy could back away Hazug and Two Heads both set down their weapons and lifted him off the ground, snatching his staff away from him. “Aim ‘im at da
necrons.” Hazug said. “Right den.” Hazug said, “One… Two… Three! Waaagh!” “Waaagh!” the other orks joined in. Drazzok shook as the psychic energy built up within him and, unable to escape through his staff instead burst out of his mouth in one massive blast. The energy blast shot towards the tightly packed necrons and enveloped several of them. The aliens’ shield did nothing to stop the blast that just flowed around to melt the warriors hiding behind them and four of them were vaporised in an instant. But the blast continued to travel after passing through the necron formation and it ploughed into the ground just behind them. There was a massive ‘boom’ as the loose ground was thrown upwards, taking with it the rest of the necrons. The necrons were hurled in all directions, one of them flying straight towards the orks only for Gorgoga to deal it a blow to its chest from his powerclaw that tore it wide open beyond its ability to repair itself. “Are they dead now?” Salia asked meekly from the truck. Looking up the slope Hazug saw parts of the necrons sticking up from the ground where they had landed and been buried by the falling dirt that landed on top of them, an arm here, a leg or head there. They had landed far apart, in ones and twos scattered all around. But the visible limbs were not motionless and it was clear to him that they were digging themselves back out of the ground. “Not yet.” Hazug replied, “Now let’s get at ‘em! Waaagh!” The orks charged up the slope and began to hack at the exposed parts of the lychguard. Thuggrim delivered a kick to the face of the first one he reached, knocking it back to the ground even as it struggled to get back to its feet. Then he aimed his rifle at it and from point blank range he put two rapid shots into its forehead that prompted the lychguard to fade away. Another lychguard took a swipe at Gorgoga as the Goff ran towards him, but he reacted in time to place his stolen shield between him and the lychguard’s blade. There was a brief flash and a crackling sound as the energy fields wrapped around both the weapon and the shield fought against one another, clearly the necron weapon was no better at cutting through the lychguards’ own shields that any normal blade. Having lost his own shield in the blast, the lychguard tried gripping his sword in both hands in his attempt to drive it through the shield. But by focusing entirely on Gorgoga the lychguard left himself vulnerable to attack from elsewhere. An attack that came in the shape of Cuddles. Caught up in the excitement of the charge the squig hurled itself at the necron and knocked him sideways, sending him sprawling on the ground once more and causing him to drop his sword. The lychguard pulled himself forwards and reached out for the weapon, but just as it was within reach a large boot came down on the hilt. “Wotcha need dat for den?” one of Two Heads asked as the lychguard looked up at him and then with a single swing of his own necron sword he decapitated him. “’Ang on a mo.” Mek Batrug said to Fangnat and Morfang as the carried the bomb to the tomb entrance, “I’ll just take a quick look inside.” And he stuck his head through the opening ahead of them. Inside the tomb was gloomy, with occasional green lights set into the ornately decorated walls. The carvings meant nothing to Batrug, but he shook his head with disapproval at the thought of having to blow up so much valuable metal with the knowledge that there would be nothing left to loot. “Is it clear?”
Morfang asked. The orks carried the bomb down the ramp that lay just within the entrance and set it down where the floor levelled out. Batrug knelt down beside the weapon and lifted his pistol over his head. Then he brought the butt of the gun down on the glass panel, shattering it and pressing the button beneath. Immediately a row of tiny red lights came on along the top of the bomb, one of which was blinking rapidly. “So wot now?” Fangnat asked as all three looked down at the bomb. The blinking light went out and the next one in the row began blinking instead. “Ah,” Batrug said, “I reckon dem lights tells us ‘ow long we’s got.” “So ‘ow long ‘ave we got?” Fangnat asked. Batrug muttered as he did a quick calculation and then his eyes opened wide. “Not long.” He said, “Leg it!” Rushing back up the ramp the three ork emerged from the tomb to see the surviving lychguard now closing in around the rest of the warband. More than half of the aliens were dead now, but there were still more than enough to cause them trouble. “Boss!” Morfang shouted as they continued to run away from the tomb entrance, “Da bomm’s set! We gotta get outta ‘ere!” But before he could take another step a curved blade erupted from his chest and a second one slicing his head from his shoulders. “Actually krork,” Mazakatek said in fluent orkish calmly as he withdrew the blade from Morfang’s chest, “I don’t think any of you will be leaving at all.” Batrug spun around and fired his pistol from point blank range, emptying the magazine into Mazakatek’s face. But although the bullets tore away lumps of preserved ancient flesh, they did nothing to the mechanical structure concealed beneath it. In response Mazakatek leant forwards rapidly and butted the mekboy in the face, knocking him to the ground. As Batrug scrabbled backwards across the surface of the tomb Fangnat raised his rifle and fired at the necron overlord. But the invisible shield of energy surrounding the alien blocked the entire burst, first blunting the bullets and then melting them as they tried to pierce the barrier. Mazakatek stepped towards Fangnat as the ork dropped his rifle and drew his axe instead. But as the ork took a swing at him Mazakatek blocked the strike with one of his own swords, breaking the axe head in two. Then he effortlessly swung his other weapon at Fangnat and sliced off one of his arms. Fangnat screamed and dropped what was left of his axe, clutching at the stump of his arm as blood pumped out. Mazakatek then took advantage of the ork’s vulnerability to thrust both his swords into Fangnat’s chest. Mazakatek then turned towards Batrug and stepped closer, raising a sword up high. But as he brought the weapon down he found its path blocked by a warscythe. “Go give da others an ‘and.” Hazug said as he stared into Mazakatek’s eyes, “I’ll deal with dis.” Batrug got his feet and ran to join the others as they fought the remaining lychguard. Meanwhile Hazug put his weight behind his warscythe and pressed hard. The blade of the weapon was in direct contact with that of Mazakatek’s sword and for a moment Hazug wondered why it had not cut through the overlord’s weapon as he had seen it do to other metal blades so many times. But then it struck him that the necron’s sword blade must be made oft eh same material as the warscythe’s was. He also remembered the overlord’s second sword. Hazug jumped backwards just in time to avoid being sliced open as Mazakatek swung his other sword and then swung it back the other way. He held out the warscythe as he were about try and decapitated Mazakatek, but when the overlord stepped clear Hazug was ready and lashed out with his foot to knock the overlord on his back. Then he brought the warscythe down in a wide arc and cut off one of Mazakatek’s hands. “I can replace that.” Mazakatek said as he too lashed out with his foot and kicked one of Hazug’s legs out from beneath him. Hazug gasped as he landed hard, but he recovered quickly and lifted his warscythe into the path of Mazakatek’s remaining sword once more. Then as the overlord stepped back to avoid the warscythe’s blade Hazug leapt back to his feet and lat out a roar. “Waaagh!” he yelled, spitting into Mazakatek’s face as he did so and he thrust the warscythe straight ahead, catching Mazakatek’s knee and slicing straight through it. The overlord collapsed at the top of the ramp and looked up at Hazug. “You will never defeat me krork.” He hissed, “My legions will overwhelm all your kind.” And he swung his sword out in front of him. Hazug parried the blow and as the two blades were briefly locked together he stamped down on Mazakatek’s arm, snapping it at the elbow and sending both the weapon and his forearm clattering down the ramp into the tomb. “Ya’s done ‘ere.” Hazug said, snarling at Mazakatek and he thrust the warscythe straight down, impaling Mazakatek through his chest. The overlord shuddered, gazing up into Hazug’s face. Then as the Blood Axe stared back the glow in Mazakatek’s eyes went out. Hazug plucked his weapon from Mazakatek’s chest and kicked his remains hard enough to send them sliding down the ramp after his arm and sword. A high-pitched scream attracted Hazug’s attention back to his truck and he saw one of the surviving lychguard raising its sword as both Salia and Sophie cowered beneath him, the power cells of their lasguns clearly depleted. But even as Hazug began to rush to help Drazzok pulled himself back to his feet, steadying himself on the truck. The weirdboy reached out with his staff, ramming the weapon into the lychguard’s spine. Drazzok cackled as the necron convulsed as the psychic energy flowed him into the alien. Batrug then turned towards the necron and fired his pistol. Disrupted by Drazzok’s psychic energy, the lychguard self-repair mechanisms failed and each bullet that hit the alien left a hole that did not seal. The lychguard slumped forward against the side of the truck and then toppled over. “Let’s get outta ‘ere!” Hazug bellowed as he ran towards the truck, watching as Two Heads and Gorgoga cut down two more of the necrons, leaving only two left standing. “Cuddles! Heel!” Sophie called out and the squig immediately abandoned his charge towards one of the remaining lychguard and dashed towards her instead. The orks piled back on to the truck, those already aboard helped them to board. “I’ll drive!” Two Heads called out as he leapt into the driver’s seat narrow ahead of Hazug and the other one then added, “We needs to be quick.” “We sure do.” Batrug said as Hazug was the last of them to get aboard, “So let’s roll!” Two Heads slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and turned the truck around, driving headlong towards the remaining lychguards. Both necrons tried to get out of the way as the truck came speeding towards them, spraying dirt in all directions. But Two Heads knew what he was doing and first one and then the other lychguard was mown down beneath the wheels of the truck, the ork vehicle lurching slightly as it pressed them into the ground beneath it. “Keep goin’!” Batrug yelled, “Dat bomm could blow at any time!” “There is an
anomaly.” Shazarak said. “An alien energy signature from inside this facility.” Shazarak told him, “Located near the upper entrance.” Astrast waved a hand over the display in front of him and the image changed to show the entrance ramp. At the base of the ramp lay the broken remains of Mazakatek and beside him the ork fusion bomb. “Outcome now doubtful.” Astrast said and he felt something he had not felt in millions of years. He was afraid. Inside the body of Mazakatek millions of tiny machines slaved to his systems worked to restore him. The overlord felt the severed arm beside him being reattached and he flexed his fingers. Then his vision returned to him, it was grainy with poor resolution but it was enough and he looked around. Lying immediately beside him was the ork fusion device, a single red light blinking on it. Swiftly Mazakatek reached out for his sword and grasped the weapon. He swung it over him, aiming to slice the ork weapon in two. But just as the sword reached the high point of its arc the final light went out. The gargant’s final shield flared briefly as it failed. Four of the necron pylons were still firing their deadly beams at the orks, plus there was the damaged weapon platform that now only threatened anyone that came close enough to be in range of the lightning field. The necron infantry and their light vehicles were being overrun by the orks, though they were putting up stiff resistance and Kazkal’s forces were paying a high price as they advanced. What really mattered was the near unstoppable levels of firepower that his gargant could provide, but now that its shields were down the necron weapons could concentrate their fire on the war machine just as effectively as they had done to the other one. Then there was another flash, even brighter than before and Kazkal thought for a moment that the gargant had been hit. But then he realised that the light had come from further away, from somewhere deeper within the hills and as he looked outside he saw a massive mushroom shaped cloud rising up into the sky. “Gotcha.” He said and he smiled. The display in front of Ibon finally told him that Khab’s storage cells were at maximum capacity and the cryptek reached out for the switch that would bring the facility back to life. But suddenly there was an alarm and Ibon realised that the energy flow for the palace had been cut off while leaving Khab connected to the distribution network. Now every piece of necron technology was crying out for energy and Khab was the only source. “No!” he yelled as he instead tried to isolate Khab and preserve the precious energy. But even as he worked the energy levels plummeted, dropping rapidly towards zero. The lights around him went out as the storage cells were drained and as it became more difficult to move Ibon found that even he was draining the storage cells further. The last thought he had before darkness overcame him was that he had been so close. Perfectly poised and leaning on a control panel for support, Ibon stood with his hand mere centimetres from the final override switch he had been reaching for.
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