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Da Cybork Menace Chapta 12 | |
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Chapta 12 |
Further snowfall had made
the snow was deeper than it had been when Hazug had driven his truck out
of the city to the ruins so recently, and he was glad that the force
rapidly put together by Warboss Kromag was mounted entirely in
battlewagons and other heavy half and fully tracked vehicles that could
plough through the thick drifts with little difficulty. Where vehicles did
become stuck, groups of gretchin that clung to their hulls leapt down from
them and either dug the snow away, or attached chains to other vehicles
that could pull them free. Both Warboss Kromag and
Hazug would have preferred to bring along air support also, but the poor
weather was keeping all of the aircraft normally at the warboss’s disposal
grounded. Kazkal had had two of the meks responsible for maintaining his
air group decapitated as an incentive to the others to get the runways
cleared and aircraft warmed up. He would have killed more, but Hazug had
reminded him that the more time they wasted in finding Dok Gutstitch, the
more likely he could discover that they were coming for him and slip
away. Hazug’s standing
association with Two Heads Smasha Butt Face had gained the mutant ork’s
vehicle the lead position in the convoy, and Hazug rode with him, standing
with his head sticking out of a cupola that let him better determine the
direction in which they had to travel. Ratish rode in the battlewagon
also, the gretchin hoped that this would be a opportunity to make use of
the pistol he had taken from the late Mek Badcog, even if he didn’t Ratish
still took comfort from the fact that Warboss Kromag had forbidden Hazug
from bringing either Rhia or Sophie on this expedition on the grounds that
they were humans, and would just take up space better used for another
ork. That Two Heads’ battlewagon still had ample room for more passengers
in it hadn’t entered into it and the Hazug’s two human servants had
therefore been left behind. “Oi!
Hazug!” Hazug heard the warboss’s
yell from the vehicle immediately behind his and turned to face
it. “Wot d’ya want boss?” he
yelled back over the noise of almost a dozen powerful but highly
inefficient engines. “Are we nearly dare yet?”
Warboss Kromag shouted. “Its right ‘ere boss,”
Hazug answered, pointing to the tree line ahead and the remains of the
farm that lay just outside of the wooded area. Then he ducked back down
into the battlewagon and shouted at Gorrid in the driver’s seat, “Ya can
stop ‘ere lad.” The battlewagon shuddered
as Gorrid applied the brakes sharply. From outside the battlewagon there
came the sound of collisions as each vehicle in the convoy braked at a
different rate to the one in front and behind
it. “Right lads,” Two Heads
both shouted, “everybody out.” The doors to the
battlewagon were thrown open and its occupants made their way out of the
vehicle. Normally orks would rush to get outside and closer to battle, but
today the cold weather made them more reluctant, and there was not the
slightest hint of shoving to be first. Outside Hazug saw that
the other vehicles were also disgorging the troops that they carried. He
recognised Maggort among them, and noticed his mob of heavily armoured
orks following close behind. “So dis is it den?”
Warboss Kromag said to Hazug as he strode through the snow with Dok
Fangpulla following close behind him, scattering the white powder about
them as they did so. “Dat’s right boss,” Hazug
answered, “Dis place used to be Rhia’s farm, and da place where she saw
Dok Gutstitch’s grots diggin’ is in da woods over dare, just over dat
‘ill,” and he pointed to a rise in the ground just beyond the tree
line. For a moment something
occurred to him. Rhia’s farm was here, while the other ruins
were… “’Ere Hazug,” Kromag
said,” is ya alright? Ya looks like ya brain just popped for a bit
dare.” “Nah boss, I’m alright, I
was just thinkin’,” Hazug answered, forgetting what he had just thought
of. “Well be careful lad, ya
thinks far too much than is good for ya. Now let’s tell da lads wot dey is
to do.” Hazug and Kazkal both
stood facing the crowd of orks that had now fully disembarked from their
transports. As would be expected of orks the mobs stood in irregular
clumps talking amongst themselves. Meanwhile the handful of runtherds that
had been brought along were gathering up those gretchin that had not been
accidentally crushed during the journey and forming them into vaguely
organised mobs of their own. “Shut up!” Warboss Kromag
yelled, and every greenskin present fell silent and looked at their
leader,” Dat’s better,” he said,” now Hazug ‘ere is goin’ to tell ya all
wot we is doin’ out ‘ere so ya better listen to
‘im.” Warboss Kromag turned to
face Hazug and waved him forwards. “Somewhere in dese
woods,” Hazug began, “are some buildin’s dat da humans made before we came
to dis world. Dese buildin’s is bein’ used by a bad Dok wot is buildin’ an
army by puttin’ da brains of squigs into da ‘eads of lads so ‘e can
control ‘em.” Many orks began to mutter
amongst themselves as Hazug described Dok Gutstitch’s
scheme. “I said shut up!” Kromag
yelled, then he looked at Hazug, “Go on lad,” he
said. “As I was sayin’, da bad
dok is usin’ some underground buildin’s as ‘is base, so we needs to find
where dey is. So everyone needs to get walkin’ through da woods and yell
out ya see where dey is.” The ork force remained
where it was, Hazug wasn’t larger than the nobs that lead the individual
mobs of orks, and they didn’t like the idea of taking orders from a Blood
Axe no bigger than themselves. “Wot is waitin’ for?”
Warboss Kromag bellowed, “Get movin’!” An order from Warboss
Kromag was different, he was the biggest and meanest ork in the system and
all of the nobs knew it. When he said do something, it was done, even if
he had to kill someone as an example first, so when he gave the order to
move out the orks began to move. With a liberal use of their whips, the
runtherds drove their gretchin to the front of the force where they could
assume their traditional role of defensive screen against attack. A
handful of gretchin were not included in this screen, like Ratish they
were individuals who served as personal assistants to ork nobs, and here
and there they followed their larger masters carrying essentials such as
extra ammunition and grenades. Behind the screen of gretchin the orks
advanced in their mobs, with Warboss Kazkal Kromag at their
fore. It did not take long for
the complaints to start. Despite the sheltering trees, the ground had a
thick covering of snow that had to be kicked or swept aside in order to
reveal whatever lay beneath it. To the orks, this was work for gretchin
alone, but there were too few of the smaller greenskins available for the
horde to make good time in searching the forest without the orks also
clearing the ground. This problem was exacerbated when some of the
gretchin decided that the cover of the woods gave them the chance to slip
away from the runtherds and their whips. In addition, a large part of the
horde was made up of orks from the Evil Suns clan, their love of speed
meant that they had possessed the vehicles necessary to bring them here
rapidly, and they resented having to leave their vehicles behind and walk.
So increasingly the runtherds and nobs were being obliged to control their
subordinates violently. Suddenly there was a yell
from one of the ork troops. “Boss! Look at dat!” he
shouted, and he pointed not at the snow covered ground, but at a hill just
visible through the bare trees. Set into the hill was a
massive metal door with a thick concrete frame. The neat, regular lines of
its construction proved that it was of human rather than ork construction,
while its size suggested that it was intended to allow access to a large
underground structure. Of the doors had a smaller human sized doorway set
into it, obviously to allow individuals access without needing to open the
massive main doors themselves. The orks began to run
towards the door, eager to get stuck into a fight even before they knew
exactly what lay beyond. “Stop!” Hazug shouted,
and some of the orks halted. Hazug fired a shot into the air from his
rifle and the remaining orks also halted their
charge. “Wot’re ya doin’ lad?”
Warboss Kromag asked Hazug, “Aint dis wot we is lookin’
for?” “Yeah probably, but I
reckon dat I should get a closer look before we all go chargin’
in.” Warboss Kromag was
sceptical about halting the horde while Hazug went sneaking around, but he
had done right by the warboss so far, so he allowed the Blood Axe some
latitude. “Go on den,” he said to
Hazug, “but I don’t reckon dat dis lot is goin’ to wait
long.” Hazug grinned and began
to make his way towards the massive doorway, with Ratish following close
behind him. “Shout out if ya see
anythin’ grot,” Hazug said, and Ratish
nodded. “Ratish tell master wot
‘e sees,” he replied. The doorway lay within a
clearing in the forest, and as Hazug approached the edge of the trees he
spotted something just above the ground between two
trees. “Look at dat,” he said to
Ratish, pointing towards what he saw, “wot does dat look like to
ya?” Ratish stared at where
Hazug was pointing, and he saw it too. It appeared to be a row of tiny
clumps of snow suspended in mid-air. Following the row to its end he saw a
bulge in the snow at the base of a tree, about the size and shape of an
ork grenade. “A booby trap
master?” “I reckon so grot,” Hazug
said, “and no-one ever just sets up one booby trap out side, so we ‘ad
best be careful.” Hazug and Ratish
continued to make their way towards the doorway, carefully stepping over
the tripwire. The snow in the clearing had been disturbed by many sets of
tracks leading to and from the doorway. Not only footprints but also the
unmistakeable trail left by a tracked vehicle that had either arrived
from, or left by a human built road that lead from the clearing through
the forest. Carefully, Hazug made his way towards the nearest set of
imprints in the snow. “We’ll follow dese
footprints,” he told Ratish, “dat way we aint goin’ to tread on anythin’
nasty dat aint been trod on before,” Ratish just nodded and followed his
master through the snow. In the forest behind
Hazug, the rest of the ork force watched impatiently as he advanced on
their target. “Dis is crap boss,” an
ork said to his mob’s leader, “dat git lover is goin’ to be dare
first.” The nob remained silent
for a moment, then after looking around at where the other orks were he
answered. “No ‘e aint lad,” he said
quietly, “we is goin’ in now, I don’t care wot Kromag says,” then he leapt
to his feet and ran forwards. Seeing this, the orks in his mob followed
him, and in a heartbeat there were twenty orks dashing through the forest
and yelling. “Waaargh!” “Stay where ya is ya
berks!” Kromag yelled at the orks who had refused his first order to stay
put, but it was too late. The ork mob charged through the tree line into
the clearing. As the first ork past between the trees at the edge of the
forest there was an explosion, followed a moment later by another as a
second ork ran between two other trees. The blasts sent fragments
of metal and wood through the entire charging mob. The rest of the ork
horde reacted in the only way they knew how. They opened fire. Unsure of
the source of the attack on them, different mobs fired randomly in
different directions, and bullets and rockets tore through the forest,
splintering wood and blasting clouds of snow into the
air. Warboss Kromag joined in
the shooting, firing bursts from his custom rifle in all directions until
he saw Hazug standing in the clearing and waving his arms in the air with
Ratish jumping up and down beside him. “Quit shootin and shut
up!” the warboss shouted at the top of his voice. At first only the orks
closest to him heard his order and ceased firing, but as other noticed
that the force was beginning to stop shooting they followed suit. Once
more the ork force just stood in the forest,
waiting. “Wot’s ‘appenin’?”
Warboss Kromag shouted at Hazug. “Dare’s bomms strung up
between da trees!” Hazug shouted back, “Means someone doesn’t want us
comin’ ‘ere!” “Get ready lads!” Warboss
Kromag shouted, “Aint no way dat no-one ‘eard da blasts and da shootin’.
Dey’ll be comin’ any mo.” The entire horde turned
to face the doorway with their weapons raised. Meanwhile Hazug crouched
down and brought his rifle to his shoulder. Beside him Ratish also pointed
his gun towards the door. But the doors remained
shut, and the expected charge from whoever lay within the underground
building did not take place. The horde remained silent
for a short while, but the natural impatience of all greenskins soon got
the better of them. “’Ow long ‘ave we to sit
in da snow boss? My arse is freezin’ off!” an ork yelled. He was crouched
in the snow next to his mob’s leader, and the larger ork responded simply
by hitting him around the head. But the sentiment had been expressed, and
Warboss Kromag heard mutterings from other orks
too. “Oi Hazug!” he
shouted. “Wot?” “Where are
dey?” Hazug looked back at the
doors in front of him. There was still no sign of anyone coming out to
meet the approaching horde, even merely to take a look at what had
triggered their carefully set booby traps. “’Ang on a mo!” Hazug
shouted and, followed closely by Ratish and ignoring whether or not he was
treading in the tracks already in the snow, he darted towards the smaller
door. He stopped running only
when he reached the massive doors, his body slamming into the metal as he
pressed himself against them next to the smaller
door. “Ow!” Ratish called out
as he too slammed up against the doors, but did so far too quickly and
struck it with his head. Hazug ignored both his assistant’s cry and his
rubbing of his head; instead he reached out his hand towards the smaller
door and gave it a gentle shove. The door creaked as it moved inwards
slightly, but it stopped opening while it was still merely
ajar. “Okay grot,” Hazug said
turning to Ratish, “I is goin’ to give dis door a big kick, and when I
does I wants ya to dive through and take a look at wot’s inside. Got
it?” “Ratish understand
master,” Ratish responded, nodding. “Good, now
go!” Hazug took a step away
from the massive door he was still pressed up against before quickly
turning around and delivering a strong kick to the centre of the smaller
one. As the smaller door swung open Hazug dived away, aware that he would
present an easy target to anyone inside as it opened, while Ratish
followed his master’s order and leapt through the doorway. There was a
splash as Ratish disappeared into the
darkness. Hazug waited for a few
moments. “Grot?” he whispered,
“Wot can ya see?” “Ratish not see much
master,” Ratish called back through the doorway, “its too dark in
‘ere.” “Well wot can ya
see?” “Just dis puddle by da
door master, Ratish landed in it.” “’Ang on,” Hazug said, no
longer whispering, “I is comin’ in,” then he called back towards the horde
of greenskins waiting in the forest. “I reckon dey’ve gone,”
he shouted, “so come on over ‘ere, but watch for da bomms in da trees,”
and then he stepped through the small door. All adult orks are
bulkier than humans, and nobs like Hazug are even more massive, towering
head and shoulders over most full grown men, so Hazug could pass through
the doorway only slowly by crouching down. This had been his reasoning for
sending Ratish in first, the much smaller gretchin did not need to be
worried about being framed in the doorway for anywhere near as long while
any occupants of the building shot at him. But now that it appeared there
was no one inside to attack him while he was vulnerable, Hazug could take
his time. The only light in the
underground room was coming from outside through the open doorway, so
Hazug stepped away from it to allow more in and let him get a better
view. In the partial darkness
Hazug could see that the room he and Ratish were standing in was massive,
but he could discern few details other than those in close proximity to
where he stood. His main sensory input now came through his nose; there
was the smell of something rotten in the still air of the room, though he
could not make out its source in the gloom. He did, however, make out the
shape of a lever set into a box mounted on the wall next to the massive
doors behind him. “Let’s see wot dis does
den,” he said and walked over to the lever, grabbed it and pulled it
down. There was a clunk as the
lever was pulled followed by a rumble as the massive doors began to slide
apart. Light flooded into the room as the doors disappeared into recesses
in the walls either side of the doorway. For a moment Hazug thought that
the mechanism would jams when the small open door reached one of these
recesses, but because of the way it swung open it was just pushed closed
by the movement of the larger door in which it was
mounted. Now that the massive room
was illuminated, Hazug could see that areas of it had been partitioned off
with wooden fences, creating pens much like those used to hold squigs. On
the floor of these pens Hazug could now see what looked like chunks of
flesh and mushrooms that had been left to decay. Clearly, these were the
source of the odour that he had smelt when he first entered the
room. Hazug then heard the
sound of many footfalls in the snow behind him, and he turned to see the
ork horde approaching across the clearing, having apparently successfully
got passed the tree line without triggering off any more grenades that
were wired up there. “Right den,” Warboss
Kromag said as he reached the now wide open doorway, “wot ‘ave we got
den?” “I reckon dat dey’ve
sodded off somewhere,” Hazug answered, extending his arm out as if to
point at the emptiness of the room, “though dare may still be some ‘idin’
in other rooms.” “Wot other
rooms?” Hazug pointed again, this
time more specifically at the man sized doors spaced irregularly along
each side of the room. “Dare,” he said, “it
looks to me like dare’s an ‘ole load of rooms under dis ‘ill, and we ‘ad
better search ‘em all just in case dare’s ought been left in any of
‘em.” “Right lads,” Warboss
Kromag shouted over his shoulder to the mass of greenskins behind him, “go
take a look, and call out if ya find anythin’
interestin’.” The horde surged forwards
through the entrance to the underground complex and made their way to the
doors that led deeper into it. “Don’t touch anythin’
though!” Hazug shouted, “Let Dok Fangpulla take a look at wot ya find
before ya do any lootin’.” “Wot about finders
keepers?” an ork yelled from the back of the
horde. “Ya can still keep
wotever ya finds,” Hazug reassured the orks, “we just need to see
everythin’ first.” “I still get my cut
though,” Warboss Kromag said in a serious tone, “and don’t any of ya
forget it.” The horde mumbled its
acceptance of the terms. “Well?” Warboss Kromag said “Get movin’!” and the horde began to spread out and search the complex. “Of course,” Hazug said as he stood with Warboss Kromag and Dok Fangpulla watching the horde disappear through the various doorways, “if Dok Gutstitch aint ‘ere, den ‘e must be somewhere else.” |
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