|
Chapta 6 | |
|
Chapta 6 |
Standing beside his truck, Hazug and his servants waited while Two Heads led several of his troops into the bar. The bar was located near where the flyboys, ork pilots, lived and it had a rule of not admitting anyone that was not a pilot. A rule that had thwarted Hazug before. However, on that occasion he ad correctly guessed that another Evil Sun could gain access if they brought along enough orks with guns to make the guard on the door thin twice about attempting to stop them. Or alternatively if the Evil Sun in question threw the guard through the door his was blocking as Two Heads had done the last time. This time however the guard decided to let him past. There were shouts from inside the bar as Two Heads located the pilot that Hazug wanted to question. Plus a handful of gunshots as someone, most likely Two Heads himself, reinforced their argument with a volley fired into the ceiling and shortly after that the Evil Sun nob appeared in the doorway once more, pushing a smaller ork in front of him. “Dis is ‘im. Ses ‘is name is Knagglod.” Two Heads said abruptly as he pushed the pilot towards Hazug, “Now ask ‘im wot ya needs to know.” “Look at dis.” Hazug said to Knagglod and he unrolled a map, “Now dis is where da eldar portal is.” “Was.” Knagglod said with a grin, “Me lads turned it into a big ‘ole in da ground. Boom!” and he threw his arms out wide to emphasise his point, “Ya should ‘ave seen it.” “Yeah, I’m sure it was well good,” one of Two Heads said, “but me mat ‘ere wants to know about da pansies.” “Da pansies?” Knagglod asked, looking around at Two Heads. “Ya lads all said dat a pair of eldar fightas tried to stop ya.” Hazug said. “Dey tried all right,” Knagglod answered, “but it didn’t do ‘em much good. As well as blowin’ up da portal me lads shot down one of dare fightas and da other one flew off.” “Dat’s da one I’m interested in.” Hazug said, “I wants to know where ‘e went. Show me.” And he pointed at the map again. Knagglod furrowed his brow as he looked at the map. He could follow terrain when it was barely visible below his aircraft, but looking at the crude lines on a roll of paper was something entirely different. He picked up the map for a better look. “You’ve got it upside down.” Sophie said. Knagglod swung
his hand out towards Sophie. “Master wot’s ‘appenin’?” Ratish said from beneath the bucket. Two Heads orks had failed to remove the bucket from the gretchin’s head and had instead settled for drawing eyes, a mouth and a large nose on it. Hazug ignored him and instead continued to look at Knagglod. “Well?” he asked, “Where’d ‘e go?” “Dis way.” Knagglod answered at last and he dragged his finger across the map, “So if ‘e kept on goin’ dat way ‘ed wind up, wind up…” “Right ‘ere.” one of Two Heads said and for a few brief moments the assembled orks all looked around as if expecting to see an eldar fighter aircraft. “See?” Sophie said, “I said he had the map upside down!” “Well I was flyin’ upside down on da way back!” Knagglod shouted and he lashed out towards Sophie again. Hazug grabbed the flyboy’s arm. “Leave da human alone.” He said seriously, “Just tell us where da eldar went.” And he let go of Knagglod. Knagglod turned the map around and mumbled something about, “Git loving Blood Axes.” “Dis way.” He said, now moving his finger in a new direction on the map. Hazug snatched the map back and looked at the path traced out by Knagglod for himself. “Right, dat’s all I needed to know.” He said to Knagglod, “Ya can let ‘im go back inside now.” He added looking at Two Heads and the Evil Sun waved his troops aside so that Knagglod could pass unobstructed. After the flyboy had gone the Evil Suns gathered close around Hazug. “Well?” one of Two Heads asked, expectantly. “Well wot?” Hazug asked. “Well what are we doing now?” Sophie asked and the orks nodded in agreement, forgetting for a moment that they were agreeing with a human. “Well da boss aint don’ anythin’ about da eldar,” Hazug began, still looking at the map, “so I reckon dat its up to us to go out ‘ere and take a look at wot’s goin’ on for ourselves.” “I thought so.” Two Heads commented, “Its always goin’ off into da middle of nowhere with ya.” “Yeah boss,” Gorrid interrupted, “but we gets to shoot at stuff when we gets dare.” “Oh I wasn’t complainin’.” The other of Two Heads replied, “I was just makin’ sure dat we was all on da same page.” “Wotcha need all dis stuff for den?” Mek Batrug asked Hazug when the Blood Axe handed over a list of spare parts, “’Alf of ‘em aint even da right size for ya trukk. Ya’d ‘ave to give ‘em a good ‘ard belt to get ‘em to fit.” “I is goin’ ‘untin’ with Two Heads and ‘is mob.” Hazug answered as Mek Batrug began looking at the stacks of assorted scrap metal and parts that lay strewn around his workshop, “But ‘is wagon is bust so we needs some parts to get it goin’ again. “Squigs?” the mekboy asked, “Ya don’t need a battlewagon for ‘untin’ squigs. Just take dat git vehicle wot ‘e looted from da beakies.” “We aint ‘untin’ squigs. We is ‘untin’ eldar. We needs all da wagons wot we can get.” Batrug lowered the list of parts and looked up into Hazug’s face.” “Pansies? ‘Ere?” Hazug nodded. “I reckon so.” He said, “Da flyboys definitely saw one ‘em fly off in a fighta, so dat’s still got to be out dare somewhere. But I reckon dat dare’s a bunch more of ‘em ‘angin’ around. Dey sank a ship dat was well out to sea, so dey didn’t stick near to dat portal thingy wot dey came through.” “A ship?”
Batrug asked, “Dare’s been a new mek ‘angin’ about lookin’ for meks to
give ‘im work wot is supposed to ‘ave come off a ship wot got sank.
Cognailer ‘is name is. I reckon ‘e’s got a few nails loose up ‘ere.” And
Batrug tapped his skull. Batrug frowned more than was normal for an ork. “Wot ay askin’ about ‘im for? I thought dat we ‘ad an exclusive deal for technical support. Dats why ya gets such a good deal on wot I sells ya.” “Ya charges me da same as everyone else.” Hazug replied. “Yeah,” Batrug said, “but da stuff wot I sells to ya works.” “So ya wants to come with us instead den?” Hazug asked. “Yeah, course I does and for a very reasonable price an’ all. I reckon dat I could make somethin’ really good from da bits of a pansie fighta.” Hazug dreaded to think about what a mekboy would do with the scavenged components of an eldar aircraft, but the promise of loot was always a good incentive when hiring the services of a mekboy. “Given da number of wagons we is goin’ in,” Hazug said to Batrug, “it might be a good idea to see if dat Cognailer can come an’ all. Ya would be da big mek of course, but ‘e could come in ‘andy.” “Suppose so.” Batrug replied. “Oh and dare’ll be someone else an’ all.” Hazug added. “Who?” “Well since we is dealin’ with pansies, dey might well ‘ave some weirdoes with ‘em.” “Oh bleedin’ ‘eck.” Batrug said, “Not ‘im.” Sophie had carried the pot of soup from home all the way to the weird huts where the psychically gifted ork shamans resided. She often found it nerve-wracking walking the streets of the ork city alone. To travel armed would only provoke an attack, so she travelled without weapons. The jacket she wore and tattoo on her arm that proclaimed her as the property of the Blood Axe clan were her only defence. But many orks would see attacking a human that belonged to the Blood Axes as something to be proud of, despite the risk of retaliation. Fortunately today she did not have far to go, the weird huts were close to the building that Hazug owned and she was soon within sight of the cluster of tiny huts mounted on top of their energy dissipating copper poles. Sophie knew exactly which hut she wanted, she had visited it many times before now and she smiled to herself when she saw it. Not because of any sense of relief in seeing the hut itself, but because of what was at the base of its pole. The tiny lean-to shack looked like it had been built by gretchin. The smaller cousins of orks were known for their shoddy construction methods and the shack looked ready to fall over at any time. But Sophie knew that this was not occupied by gretchin. “Thuggrim!” she called out and a moment alter a large head appeared from behind the flap of material that was the only door the lean-to had. “Wot?” Thuggrim replied, looking at Sophie, his hand rubbing the patch that covered one of his eye sockets. “Is Drazzok in?” she asked, “I’ve brought him some soup.” And she lifted the pot up slightly. Thuggrim scrabbled out of his home and stood up to his full height. Being a nob, he towered over Sophie. “Da great Drazzok is at ‘ome.” He announced loudly, “Ya may present ya gift. Would ya likes me to announce ya?” “Yes please.” Sophie said, “He’ll hear you easier than me.” Thuggrim turned and looked up at the hut at the top of the pole. “Oi! Great one!” he bellowed, “Dare’s a git ‘ere with some grub!” Sophie joined Thuggrim in looking up at the hut above her head and saw the face of Drazzok the weirdboy appear over the edge of its balcony. As usual he was scowling. “Oh its ‘er.” He said, “Send ‘er up. With da grub.” Thuggrim looked down at Sophie. “Da great Drazzok will see ya now.” He told her, “Wipe ya feet.” Passing an arm through the handle of her pot, Sophie began to scale the ladder leading up to the hut. Thuggrim’s last comment puzzled her. Anyone who wiped their feet in Drazzok’s home was likely to come away with feet dirtier than when they arrived. Unsurprisingly, Drazzok was already sat at his table with a bowl in front of him when Sophie made it to the top of the ladder and with a spoon in his hand he awaited the food she had brought for him. “’Urry up.” Drazzok said as Sophie approached him, “I aint getting’’ any younger.” Obligingly Sophie went straight to where the weirdboy sat. His gaze followed the pot she held as she approached and he licked his lips as Sophie tipped some of the soup into his bowl. Before she was even finished pouring Drazzok dipped his spoon in and began to eat. “So wot d’ya want den?” Drazzok asked, spitting soup at Sophie as she sat opposite him. “Its Hazug.” She began. “I reckoned so.” Drazzok interrupted, “Good job an’ all cause I don’t work for gits.” “Well he thinks that there’s eldar on the planet and-“ “’E wants to go ‘untin’ for ‘em don’t ‘e?” Drazzok asked, pausing briefly from devouring the soup, “And ‘e expects me to go with ‘im don’t ‘e?” “He thinks you’d be very useful.” Sophie said, “Everyone knows that the eldar have their own versions of weirdboys. So Hazug thought –“ “’E thought dat ‘e ought to get a better weirdboy to beat ‘em?” Drazzok asked. “That’s right. There’s a saying amongst humans, fight fire with fire.” Drazzok smiled. “I gets to set fire to some pansies?” “I suppose so.” Sophie replied. “Den wot is we waitin’ for?” Drazzok said loudly as he stood up, “Lets go!” and he grabbed his copper staff, stuffed his spoon into his belt and walked towards the door. “Oi Thuggrim!” he shouted down to the ork below. “Wot is it oh great one?” came the reply. “Get ya stuff. We is going ‘untin’.” By the time Sophie arrived at Two Heads’ garage with Drazzok and Thuggrim she found that Hazug had got there ahead of her with not one but two mekboys. She immediately recognised Batrug, who had accompanied Hazug on several of his adventures but the other one was a stranger to her. He sat by himself in the back of the rhino personnel carrier while other orks rushed about and gathered what they needed for an expedition beyond the city limits. It looked to Sophie that this mekboy was mumbling something. Not normal behaviour for orks, who were generally very loud creatures. Plus it seemed that he was directing his mumbling at the bag he was clutching. Seeing Hazug standing beside his own truck with mek Batrug, Sophie headed straight towards them with Drazzok following close behind. “If ya git ‘ad said dat ‘e was comin’ an all I’d ‘ave asked for more money.” Drazzok said to Hazug when he saw mek Batrug for himself. As a Snake Bite, the weirdboy had little time for technology and even less for those who maintained it. “Well dare is some things only a mek can do.” Batrug replied. “And wot is it ya is doin’ now den?” Drazzok asked and he looked at the floor in front of Batrug. There he saw what he assumed to be Ratish, however with his head lodged inside a bucket it was difficult to be certain. “Hazug needs ‘is grot fixin’.” Batrug replied as he pushed a metal bar beneath the bucket and attempted to use it to leaver the gretchin out. Ratish screamed as his head was squeezed between the bar and bucket, but he remained stuck fast. Drazzok sighed. “Thuggrim,” he
said, “get da bucket off da grot.” “Yes oh great one.” He said. Batrug stepped
back to avoid being shoved out of the way by the larger Thuggrim and the
orks all watched as the madnob looked down at the gretchin with the bucket
on his head. ”Don’t panic.” Thuggrim said with confidence, “I knows exactly wot I is doin’.” “’E don’t ‘ave a clue does?” Hazug said to Drazzok, but the weirdboy remained silent. Thuggrim suddenly burst into action. He placed a hand either side of the bucket and lifted it upwards, dragging Ratish up off the floor with it. The gretchin screamed again as he hung below the bucket, his arms and legs flailing around. Then, in a single swift motion Thuggrim brought the bucket up higher at the same time he brought his head down and slammed his forehead into the base of the bucket. There was a ‘Clang!’ as he butted the bucket and a ‘Pop!’ as Ratish came free and dropped to the floor. “So,” Thuggrim began, “whose bucket is dis?” “’Ow da bleedin’ ‘ell did ‘e know to do dat?” Batrug asked in amazement. “Da trouble with most orks,” Drazzok replied, “is dat dey is too busy thinkin’ of stuff to see wot’s right in front ‘em. A madboy always sees wot’s really dare cause ‘e aint got nought else to think about.” Then he clambered aboard Hazug’s truck and sat in the passenger seat. “So when does we leave?” he added. Lyanil was careful how she approached Lord Shraycht. Though his alien bodyguards were no match for her one on one she knew that they would slow her down long enough for the archon to be able to dispatch her easily if her questioning was taken the wrong way. “Why do we not leave now?” she asked. Lord Shraycht snorted. “We have only a handful of captives.” He replied, “To leave now would be to admit defeat. To admit… weakness.” He snarled as he hissed the last word of his reply. If other kabals or even subordinates within his own kabal saw him as weak then any number of them may decide that it was an opportune moment to remove him from power. “Ten million captives is not enough if we are stranded here with them.” Lyanil snapped back at him. “Take care wych.” Lord Shraycht replied as his bodyguards visibly tensed, “I command here. You are paid help.” Lyanil scowled at the suggestion that she was nothing more than a servant. “In any case I do not have the portable portal with me.” Lord Shraycht went on. “You don’t? Then where-” “One of your people has it Lyanil. I gave it to Rhulal of the reavers when he took his squad out to assess the area for targets. I though it would be useful if he could summon a force from the webway quickly if he found a suitable target.” Lyanil stared at the archon. Reavers were a specialised form of wych; they rode into battle on jetbikes and made excellent scouts. That was why she had committed some to this raid. “Have you send word to him?” Lyanil asked eventually. “I have. One of the scourges is on its way to him now to bring back the device for safekeeping. Of course if your warrior has lost it… Well let’s just say that it was you that brought him here.” |
|
Copyright Notice The Warhammer 40,000 universe is the intellectual property of Games Workshop Ltd. The fiction presented here is a derived work. It is completely unofficial and Games Workshop Ltd has not endorsed any of it. |
Background image miniature design copyright Games Workshop Ltd
This Web Page Created with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor