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Waaargh! Hazug! Chapta 11 | |
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Waaargh! Hazug! Chapta 11 |
Hazug
wanted to gather orks he knew he could trust. Despite having the official
backing of Warboss Kazkal Kromag there were still those who would be
reluctant to serve under a Blood Axe, especially when word started to get
around that a human from the Imperium was advising him as well. This meant
focusing on those he had worked with before. Krorden remained reluctantly,
not wanting to risk it being rumoured that he dropped out because he was a
coward. Then there was Drukken. Like Gorgoga Drukken was a Goff clad in
dark clothing though he wore much lighter armour. This was in part due to
the fact that he commanded a unit of stormboys, elite troops who used
temperamental rocket packs to propel themselves through the air towards
the enemy and wearing heavy armour would likely result in his plunging
towards the ground prematurely. This
gave him a total force of six mobs including those of himself, Thuggrim
and Two Heads. There were also the troops that Rell had brought with him,
though Hazug knew that using them could be problematic if the fighting
took place near any ork settlements. Orks not under his direct control
would be just as likely to fire on the human stormtroopers as on the
enemy. But
despite having a sizeable force that included armoured units thanks to Two
Heads he still had little idea of where to direct this. The location of
the attack on the battlewagon would provide a starting point, but by now
the genestealers could have travelled a considerable distance. What Hazug
needed was something that could allow him to search a large area in a
short space of time and the solution to this would come from the air. Not
the short duration flights of stormboys, but from proper
aircraft. The
fastest aircraft available were the fixed wing fighter-bombers. But given
the speed obsessed nature of the typical Evil Sun flyboy pilot Hazug
doubted that they would be capable of searching for relatively small
ground targets effectively. Fortunately there were other types of aircraft
available. Warcopters, also sometimes known as ‘chinorks’ by the
greenskins were twin rotored open-topped helicopters that were not only
armed with an array of rapid firing or explosive weapons but also had the
capacity to transport a small squad of troops. That meant that Hazug could
watch for signs of genestealer activity from the air and then have the
pilot deposit his squad on the ground to investigate further. The Blood
Axe clan, mimicking those of human Imperial Guardsmen with their more
technically advanced valkyrie airborne troop carriers, favoured such
tactics. Hazug
gathered this force together in the street between the buildings where he
and Two Heads lived, the two warcopters he had procured the services of
setting down in the open ground behind his house. Batrug
was the last to arrive, driving up in Two Heads’ newly repaired
battlewagon. “Wait.”
Hazug told him, “I wants dat Rell and ‘is lads to ride in ya wagon. Salia
and Sophie an’ all. Ya just pick enough lads dat ya can keep it runnin’ to
‘ave with ya.” And both of Two Heads frowned. “Wot
for?” one asked, “Me lads won’t like dat.” The other then
added. Two
Heads continued to frown even though he saw Hazug’s point. The
inquisitorial stormtroopers were clearly not local troops and any orks who
saw them unexpectedly were likely to react violently. “Is
dat it den?” Two Heads asked as both of him now watched Batrug unrolling
the sack. “Yeah,
dis is it.” Batrug replied and he held up a sword of alien manufacture.
This was the necron blade that Two Heads had taken from one of the robotic
warriors. No though it had parts of Torris’ hell pistol wired into it,
specifically the power pack and power supply components, “Ya turns it on
right ‘ere.” Batrug explained, pointing to a switch stuck to the side of
the grip, “Dat’ll activate da force field around
it.” “Just
like dat big choppa of Hazug’s den?” Two Heads asked as he took the weapon
and flicked the switch. Then he swung it at a metal bar propped up against
a half built wall and smiled as it sliced through the bar
effortlessly. “But
ya’ll ‘ave to watch ‘ow long ya leaves it on for.” Batrug added, “Even dat
fancy git battery aint enough to keep it runnin’ for
long.” “Okay
I got it.” Two Heads said, shutting off the blade before tucking it into
his belt. “Mind
ya.” Hazug said, “If da blade is anythin’ like me warscythe den even
without usin’ da batteries it’ll still be pretty sharp.”
“I
got wot ya asked me for an’ all.” Batrug then said to Hazug. “Nasty.”
Hazug said, “But ‘ow come ya don’t know for sure?” Hazug
grinned and nodded, then he looked around and stood on a nearby crate to
start issuing orders. “Right
lads!” he yelled, “Dis is it! Two Heads’ll tell ‘is lads wot truck dey is
ridin’ in. Ratish, I wants ya to bring Cuddles and join me and me
kommandoes in one of da warkoptas. We’ll be searchin’ form da air and let
da rest of ya know where to go. Kuruk, go see Batrug. ‘E’s got somethin’
for ya.” “But
what about us?” Sophie asked, indicating herself and Salia,” There won’t
be enough room aboard the helicopter for us as well.” A
violent shaking was the only indication that the drop pod had entered the
atmosphere of Crasus Minor and Captain Claudius found himself breathing a
sigh of relief that they had not been shot down during the hours they had
spent drifting through space. Fortunately the orks had had bigger things
to concern themselves with. Unfortunately, Claudius had no idea whether
Captain Hortese had been successfully able to get his ship back into the
warp before the greenskin fleet overwhelmed it. Inside his helmet and also
of the helmets of the other marines two countdowns were displayed. One of
these was an altimeter, while the second was the estimated time until
landing. This second reading jittered as the drop pod’s machine spirit
made repeated recalculations based on updated information on the terrain.
The guidance system of the pod was fully automated and the marines could
not have altered it even if they wanted to. Hortese’s crew had set it to
land the Deathwatch squad on the continent known to hold the capital of
the orks who inhabited the planet since it was assumed that this would be
where Inquisitor Rell would head for. Of course how ten marines, even the
elite alien hunters of the Deathwatch would be able to apprehend him in a
city full of orks and then return him to the Imperium to face justice
without access to a warp capable starship was another matter. But that was
a matter for after the squad got onto the ground. The
counter in Claudius’ helmet indicated one minute until impact and he
reached out and released his weapon from its clamp. “One
minute.” He said, even though the rest of the squad would already have
this information, “Prepare to disembark.” A
thunderclap from overhead caused Legnor of the Death Skulls to look
upwards and he saw a trail of fire as the drop pod shot
overhead. “Wot’s
dat boss?” one of his troops asked. “Dunno.”
Legnor replied and then a smile spread across his face, “Though it looked
like it was comin’ from space.” “Maybe.”
Legnor said, “But wotever it is, I bet dare’s loot to be ‘ad.” Then he
turned to the other orks sat around near their tracked vehicle, “Come on
lads!” he yelled, “Finders is keepers so let’s make sure dat we is da
first ones to find wotever dat is.” The
orks leapt up and rushed to climb back aboard their vehicle. The first ork
aboard sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine with a good hard
kick. The big tracked vehicle then lumbered forwards as the Death Skulls
followed the trail in the sky. But
with their attention focused skywards they failed to notice that from a
nearby cave mouth a figure in a hooded robe was watching
them. The
two warcopters circled the forest above where Hazug had encountered the
infected orks and their genestealer masters. Unfortunately the warband had
done very little damage to the forest as it withdrew and so there was
nothing to indicate their passing that was visible from the air. Reaching
into a pouch Hazug took out a device that fit into the palm of his hand
and then lifted it to his eye. The device had been made by the alien tau
and was designed to magnify and store images. It could also greatly
magnify distant objects or magnify light levels to allow the user to see
in the dark. Thanks to Mek Batrug’s help, Hazug had been able to figure
out how to use it himself to good effect. However, on this occasion it
failed to reveal anything he could not already see. “Can
master see anythin’?” Ratish asked, but Hazug shook his head,” Den perhaps
we ought to land and see wot da squig can find.” Ratish suggested, but
Hazug ignore him. “We
needs to fly around da edge of a forest.” He shouted at the pilot over the
noise of the engines, “Dey’s gotta come out somewhere.” And the pilot
nodded. As the warcopter then banked and turned the second one also turned
to follow it. Then
there was a sudden flash from over the horizon, followed by a distant
booming sound. “Wot
is it boss?” Nugkor called out. “I
aint sure.” Hazug replied, “But since we is out ‘ere we may as well find
out.” “He’s
larger than I remember.” Jarr said to Sophie across the interior of the
battlewagon. Then he glanced at where Two Heads was manning one of the
weapon mounts, “In fact they both are.” Sophie
nodded. “That
is natural.” Rell interjected, “Orks naturally gain size and muscle mass
with each victory. Given what I know about this Blood Axe, he must have
won a great many.” “Understandable.”
Rell replied, “Orks need food to grow just like anyone else. In fact when
I stood before the warboss it appeared that Hazug was approaching his
size. Though the warboss’ armour made it difficult to tell for
certain.” “And
if they become the same size, then things are likely to get interesting.”
Mayleth commented with a smile, “More so should our master become
physically larger than his chieftain.” “”Why
mon’keigh, haven’t you noticed? To the beasts bigger is better. So what do
you think happens if the chieftain is no longer the biggest ork
around?” Then
there was a bleeping sound from the direction of one of Rell’s
stormtroopers. “What’s
the problem Lenard?” Torris asked. “What
is it?” Jarr asked him and the stormtrooper frowned. “Not
just Imperial.” Lenard said, “Inquisition. Ordos
Xenos.” Rell
frowned. “This
is worrying.” He said, “Saval’s ship was not supposed to be carrying
anything other than our shuttle with an inquisitorial
transponder.” “Perhaps
the Imperium has sent you reinforcements.” Sophie
suggested. “I
very much doubt it young lady.” Rell told her. “Because
our mission here isn’t exactly authorised.” Jarr
answered. “Not
authorised?” Sophie exclaimed. The
roar of rocket motors heralded the drop pod’s landing. These fired at the
last moment to decelerate the pod so that it was not wrecked or buried on
impact. Then as soon as the pod touched down the sides sprang open and the
ten Deathwatch marines it carried came rushing out with their weapons at
the ready and formed a rig around the drop pod. Eight of them carried the
boltguns that were typical of space marines, but equipped with extra
targeting devices while Mortium and Prosnow were armed with a flamer and a
heavier, belt fed version of the standard bolter
respectively. “Sound
off!” Claudius ordered. “Vartus
aye.” Corrim
aye.” “Tenus
aye.” “Slyder
aye.” Greystorm
aye.” “Mortium
aye.” “Prosnow
aye.” “Squad
is aye.” Claudius said, “Any contact with orks?” The
marines searched their surroundings, but there looked to be no signs of
life around them. The drop pod’s sudden and noisy arrival had even scared
off the local animal life. “Nothing
captain.” Greystorm replied. Then he looked around again and added, “We
should leave here. We are too exposed.” “Agreed.”
Claudius replied, “Squad prepare to-“ “Vehicle
approaching!” Slyder exclaimed suddenly and the squad repositioned itself
to face in the same direction as him. Sure enough they too heard the
distinctive sound of a poorly tuned engine and the maniacal laughter of
orks. “Seek
cover.” Claudius said, “Over there.” And he pointed to a patch of uneven
ground on the far side of the drop pod. “Yes
captain.” Varrin said, the only one to acknowledge the order verbally and
the squad turned and ran. Then as soon as they reached the uneven ground
they took what cover was available. Lying prone made using a flamer
difficult so Mortium slung his primary weapon and drew his bolt pistol
instead while they waited for the orks to appear. The
tracked vehicle came rushing into view suddenly, tearing up the ground as
it sped towards the drop pod. “Weapons
hold.” Claudius said, knowing what would happen
next. The
machine spirit of the drop pod detected the approaching orks and
identified them as a threat and then turned its built in storm bolter to
face them. Next came a thunderous roar as the weapon opened fire, sending
a stream of rocket-assisted projectiles towards the
vehicle. “Look
out!” Legnor shouted as the first of the bolt shells exploded against the
armour plating of his vehicle and the driver swerved
suddenly. “Wot
is it boss?” one of the other ork passengers asked as he hung on tightly
to avoid being thrown from the vehicle. “Looks
like somethin’ git built.” Legnor replied an he tapped the driver on the
shoulder, ”Let rip at it.” The
driver turned back towards the drop pod and squeezed the trigger built
into his steering column. The twin belt fed weapons roared into life,
sending heavy calibre rounds back at the drop pod. These lacked the rocket
propulsion and explosive tips of the bolter rounds used by the drop pod’s
only weapon, but their sheer mass and speed made them strike with far more
force and they punched holes right through its relatively lightweight
framework. A second burst of fire clipped the storm bolter itself and the
weapon fell silent, but the orks were not done yet. As their vehicle raced
past the defenceless drop pod Legnor tossed a grenade into it and seconds
later there was an explosion that ripped apart the padded harnesses that
had held the marine squad secure during their
descent. “’Old
it!” Legnor yelled and the driver brought the vehicle to a halt, “Right
lads. Now lets go see wot we’ve got.”
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