Chapter XVII: Street Engagement
Bill walked along, in the middle of a heavily diminished Charlie Company. The
rest of the Median IV was much the same, and they were walking up the streets
parallel to the one Charlie Company was moving through.
They were patrolling an are of town that had already been hit hard by the Eldar,
and was likely to be hit again. As Bill looked around, he could see signs of the
battle that had occurred earlier.
The street was very noticeable. It was broken, cratered, had twin lines
criss-crossing it from strafing runs. One particularly large piece of asphalt
was propped against a pile of rubble. It was big enough to hide a tank behind,
and had left a remarkable hole in the ground.
Street signs were flattened or charred, all traffic signs had been demolished,
and many of the electricity poles were down, knocked over by weapons fire or
nearby explosions.
A pair of buildings sagged, looking as if they were very much tired with their
own weight, and wished to just let it all slide away. Other buildings were
pockmarked with pitted walls, smashed windows, and some bore great rents in
their sides, having been opened by the weapons of Eldar and Imperial tanks.
Broken weapons and other equipment littered the streets, and blood stained on
the asphalt did little to make the scene any more appealing and less grizzly.
Bill suddenly got an urge to look up at the tops of the buildings. He saw
nothing there.
Just the same, he decided it was best to pull out his sniper rifle and have it
ready.
He wasn't the only nervous person in the company. Others had pulled out their
weapons, glancing around in search of an enemy they knew was coming.
* * *
Bob trudged over some broken rubble, having to climb a small mound of it and
then walk over piles that looked suitable for speed bumps. He wondered for a
moment if they had been set up to act as that, something to slow down the
advancing Eldar. A moot point, with the grav-tanks.
He looked over at Janet for a brief second, and was relieved to see her walking
along still, not a sign of any harm having fallen upon her.
Lisa, the squad's new commlink operator after Mary got her arm ripped off during
a similar patrol, walked up to Bob and handed him the comm. "It's a
multi-band transmission, for all squads, platoons, and companies."
"Thanks," Bob said, taking the comm. He held it up to the side of his
face and listened.
A few seconds later, a delay surely intended to allow everyone to get their
comm, a voice came over the line.
"We've detected a large force of Eldar moving toward the Median IV's
position. We have dispatched reinforcements to your position, but for the moment
you are without aid. It is recommended that all companies move to a position
where they are less vulnerable, such as the buildings. Out."
Bob handed the comm back to Lisa and shook his head. This wasn't really a
surprise to anyone.
A call went down the lines to get into buildings. Bob motioned for his squad to
follow him into a squat, three story building. They came behind as he led the
way in, then up the stairs to the building's third floor. He heard some other
soldiers walking up into the second floor.
Once up there, Bob took position near the windows, then leaned against a wall
near one, figuring to give himself some semblance of rest for his weary body,
before the Eldar arrived.
Paul paced the room, nervous. Mel glared at him, then said, "Oh, for the
Emperor's sake, will you stop pacing, Paul?"
"Sorry," Paul said, settling down into one spot to stand in. "I
guess I'm a little bit nervous."
"Aren't we all?" asked Jennifer.
"If we want to stay alive, we are," Bill said, wiping the dust off his
rifle's targeter.
Lisa, standing beside Bill, shrugged. "It does seem to be a good idea to
act in the best interests of your own preservation, and to do that you have to
be suitably scared."
"Greatest motivation of them all, being afraid to die," Bill said.
"Shame it's us that have to be motivated."
"No jokes about other motivations," Paul warned, wagging a finger at
Bill.
"Just 'cause you're the only man in this room without a girl?"
Paul sighed. "No. I've got one, back home. She's just very far away right
now."
Bill nodded at Jennifer. "I'm sure Jen here will be more than happy to
stand in."
Jennifer walked up to Paul, then placed her hands on his chest and said in her
sexiest voice, "That's right, Paul, I can be your stand in girl. No one has
to know. How about we get started right here?"
Paul back away. "You're not taking me seriously!"
"Wrong," Bob said. "I'm sure they're taking you seriously. But
not themselves. Too much serious stuff to worry about out here. You need to
lighten up a little."
"Ah, the master of blocking out everyone else is handing out advice on how
to lighten up."
Bob glared at Paul for a moment, and Bill swore he felt the room's temperature
drop almost twenty degrees. But Bob shook it off and turned away, to watch out
the window.
"Good move, Paul," Bill mumbled.
* * *
Sara squatted beside Jim, next to a window with a good vantage point. The rest
of the company seemed scattered amongst the different buildings. The only squads
Sara was aware of in this building were three and four from One Platoon.
Joe and Jessy were setting up squad three's heavy bolter, while Kyp and Derrick
set up squad four's. They were given commanding views of the battlefield.
Jessy crawled over to Sara, not wanting to be seen out the window, just in case
any Eldar were already outside.
"How you doing over here?" she asked.
Sara half-shrugged. "Fine. Why do you ask?"
"Just trying to make small talk."
"You're worried about Mel?"
Jessy looked uncomfortable. "Yes. I just hope it doesn't distract me too
much."
"Don't worry about him too much. He can take care of himself."
Jim reached over and rubbed at Jessy's head with his hand, sending her hair
whipping up, then down. "He'll be okay, squirt."
Jessy shoved Jim's hand off, then sighed at her now ragged looking hair.
"Squirt?"
"I have a year on you."
"I'll have more than that on you!"
Sara held a hand up. "Whoa, Jessy. He was just playing around. I'd get real
upset if you did anything to my man."
Jessy sat down. "Fine. But keep his hands off my hair."
"Not like I can do much more to mess it up than it is," Jim said.
Jessy growled at him.
Jim smiled at her, then turned to Sara. "And speaking of hair..."
"Not now," Sara whispered, hoping no one would notice.
It was too late. Jessy leaned in, then asked, "What about hair? Something I
should know about?"
"No!" Sara said.
"That's okay, I'm good at guessing. Keep your little 'secret'."
Sara scowled at Jim. "See what you've done? You'll start rumours about me
yet!"
"Not from Jessy. Having a big mouth when it comes to, ahem, secrets, isn't
a trait she has."
"Still, I wish you wouldn't bring up things like that while we're not in
private."
"Uncomfortable?"
"Of course!"
"And you don't want anyone else knowing how wild you can be either,
huh?"
"Shhh!!! Don't say a word more!"
Jim shrugged. "If you say so."
They sat in silence for a moment, while Jessy crawled back over to the heavy
bolter. Then Kelly and Luke, the two squads' commlink operators, suddenly called
out "They're coming!" and "Eldar moving this way!"
Unfortunately, with both shouting simultaneously, it came out quite jumbled, but
everybody got the gist of what was being said.
The sounds of lasers firing came quickly, and explosions followed. The hissing
of missiles made it clear someone was returning fire already. Sara looked up
over the windowsill, and saw missiles streaking in on a half dozen Eldar
vehicles. Four were blasted from the sky as krak missiles impacted on their
engines or wings. Two were saved by fields.
Eldar troops began jumping out of the vehicles and forming up into a cohesive
force. As they did, the Guardsmen opened up. Over a dozen heavy bolters began
firing, as did hundreds of rifles.
Eldar began dropping, but instead of panicking they simply made moves to direct
firing at the buildings. Weapons began firing back at the squads that were now
raining fire on the Eldar.
* * *
Bill aimed at an Eldar in ornate armour, fired, then picked another and fired at
him. Each shot was a kill, the rifle's penetrating round punching through the
Eldar's armour easily.
Fire from below included a missile launcher crew that was wonderfully adept.
Another krak missile sped from their weapon into an Eldar tank, this time
slipping past the field and smashing into the cockpit. The explosion tore into
the tank's passenger compartment, and a squad of Eldar were blown out the rear
hatch, many of them on fire.
Squad two's sniping was becoming very effective, as Bob had insisted they all
fire at the same squad until it was wiped out, then change fire to another
squad, with the exception of Bill, who was given free reign to fire at any juicy
targets he saw.
Their concentrated fire and the squad below's deadly accurate missiles attracted
the Eldar's attention. Three Falcons, probably a squadron, rotated their turrets
to aim at the building. Three large multi-fire laser cannons opened fire,
followed by smaller multi-fire lasers.
The building shook as the lower levels were hit multiple times. Everyone stopped
firing, standing frozen with fear at what the Eldar were doing.
A large groan sounded through the building, then an even louder snap.
Bob turned and shouted to the squad, "Everybody to the windows! I want us
all lined up as far forward as we can get! This building's going down. When it
does, ride the fall, let it carry you down, then run as soon as this wall begins
to touch down."
The squad rushed to do what Bob told them to do. It was just in time. The
building gave one last shudder and groan, then a loud crashing sound signaled
the beginning of its collapse.
The wall in front of them slid downwards, leaving nothing between them and the
outside battle. Then the floor began collapsing, starting with the area they
were standing and then moving backward.
The floor rushed to the ground, its supports pulverized by the Eldar's fire. As
it did, the squad troopers all did their best to ride out the collapse. It
neared the ground, and as it did a large cloud of dust rose to greet them.
Bill didn't wait to feel the floor hit the rubble pile beneath it. He leapt from
it as soon as he was sure he was close enough to the ground. His jump carried
him to the top of some rubble, then he scrambled and began running over it. It
was difficult, with much of the rubble being very loose and shaking with the
collapse of the building.
He reached the bottom of the pile, then kept running, finding a nearby alley to
duck into. He ran as fast as he could, then pressed himself flat against a
building and began trying to catch his breath.
Bob, Paul, Mel, and the others followed him quickly. Amazingly, no one from
squad two was lost.
Bill looked around, then turned to Bob. "Any sign of the squad below
us?"
Bob shook his head. "They didn't really get a chance."
"Damn."
Paul cleaned his gun out, then asked, "Bob, how'd you know to do
that?"
"Ride the building? I didn't really know to do it, it was a sudden thought.
I've seen building collapses a lot lately, and most of the time they fall over
after they've lost their supports on one side. The floors tend to collapse on
each other as they fall, then slide downward to the ground. I've seen some guys
survive by being on the edge of the top floor, I figured we had as good a chance
as any of many it."
Bill whistled. "It worked."
"Yeah," Bob said. "But now we're in the open."
* * *
Mel slammed his fist against a wall.
"Looks like we're in it deep," he declared, to no one in particular.
"Not really," Janet said. "We could find somewhere to hide,
another building, or some rubble for cover."
Mel gave her a hard stare. "Another building? I don't think so."
Bob held up a hand. "Listen."
All talking ceased, and they began listening. Mel heard nothing out of the
ordinary for several long seconds. Then, faintly, he heard a high pitched whine
coming from the east.
He turned and looked that way, then felt his heart drop at the sight of a flight
of Eldar bombers, swooping low and blasting a row of buildings.
Then another whine, definitely different, began to pierce the air. It grew and
became a boom as twelve Imperial fighters swept in over their heads. The
fighters quickly went for the bombers, scattering them.
From the bombers' midst, several fighters appeared. They began amazing aerial
duels with the Lightnings.
The Imperial fighters looked to be outnumbered, but as the thought crossed Mel's
mind, another two squadrons flew overhead, adding another twenty four fighters
to the Imperial side. Eight Marauder Destroyers followed, moving to intercept
the Eldar bombers.
The duel of the strike craft could be heard clearly, as missiles hissed through
the air, fighters and bombers shot overhead, and explosions tore into strike
craft and also marked where they had spiraled to the ground.
When the Eldar fighters began to thin out, the Lightnings took over attacking
the Eldar bombers, leaving the Destroyers to rain fire on the Eldar in the
streets, who had just leveled another building.
Mel silently cheered at the sight of forty-eight autocannons strafing the Eldar,
followed by low-dropped bombs and then tail fire from sixteen assault cannons.
Easily over a hundred Eldar lay dead after the strike, and the Destroyers were
coming in for another run.
* * *
Bob kept staring at the pile of rubble that had once been a building, having had
his fill of the battle in the skies.
He could swear someone was moving around in it.
Without a word of warning, he dashed out of the cover, running for the crumbled
building. He heard his squad members shout behind him.
He ran up on the pile and frantically began digging. A hand was uncovered,
weakly moving. He began trying to pull the rest of the pile off of the person
underneath.
He heard noise behind him, turned, and was relieved to see his squad there.
"We came to cover your crazy ass," Bill said.
Bob nodded. "Thanks." Then he turned back to working on the rubble,
Mel joining him.
The chatter of rifle fire told them they had to work quickly to save whoever
could be saved. The two grabbed a large slab of concrete and slid it to the
side, lifting it off the person. Then they began moving smaller chunks of
concrete.
After a few frantic minutes of sifting through rubble, they were finally able to
drag out the person. Bob pulled his canteen off his belt, opened it, and poured
it over the man's face, washing the dust off. Then Mel offered the man his
canteen to drink from. He gladly accepted.
Bob helped the man sit, then said, "Sergeant Robert Oliver, squad two, One
Platoon."
The man before them looked up. "Private Richard Cornel, squad four, Two
Platoon."
Bob moved to try to help uncover someone else, but was stopped by Cornel's
voice.
"Might as well not bother till the fight's over. I was the only one that
didn't get stitched with laser fire. Bastards opened up on us as soon as the
side of the building fell out of their way."
Bob didn't want to believe him, but he couldn't deny what the man was saying.
Cornel had been down there, not him.
He turned and climbed down the pile to his squad, then added his own fire to
theirs. If he couldn't save anyone else from Cornel's squad, he could at least
help keep his own alive.
* * *
Jim fired down at some Eldar, then ducked to escape their return fire. He moved
to change his position, keeping the Eldar off balance, just as the rest of the
two squads in the room did.
Now relocated, he looked out the window he now stood at.
Below, he could see a ruined pile of rubble, what looked like it had once been a
building. A man sat on the pile, his face being the only part of his body not
covered in dust. A squad of soldiers were at the bottom of the pile, firing at
the Eldar in front of them, and backing their way to the pile, where they could
get some cover.
Jim scanned the area, then was shocked to see Eldar in long grey cloaks sneaking
up on the other side of the pile. They were going to attack the squad that was
backing up.
Jim called out to the other soldiers in the room. "We got infiltrators over
here, about to nail some good guys. Looks like our boys could use some
help."
Most of them rushed to the windows on that side of the building, the others
staying behind to keep firing at the main body of Eldar, who by now had
scattered into several groups.
At once, a dozen autorifles opened up on the Eldar infiltrators. They began
falling, and the others decided to retreat to a covered position rather than try
to return fire.
The soldiers at the front of the pile looked back, saw what was happening, then
indicated their appreciation with various gestures to the squads above.
Jim watched the Eldar as they kept running, firing into them until they
disappeared.
Then he looked around, making sure no other Eldar were around. Once he was sure,
and the others were, they began to relax some.
"That was certainly interesting," Perry commented.
Sergeant George turned and called to Joe and Jessy, "Bring the heavy bolter
over here. I want to be able to respond with more than rifles next time."
"Sure thing," Jessy called.
Jim was amazed at Jessy's ability to carry half the heavy bolter's weight. It
was a large gun, weighing easily around three to four hundred pounds.
The heavy bolter was set up again, then primed for firing down into the streets.
Jessy walked over to Jim and said low, "Did something catch your sight,
Jim?"
He was given no chance to answer. whistling was the only indication of incoming
fire. Joe was hit in the eye with a needle from an Eldar sniper rifle, and he
fell to the ground, dead.
The rest of the soldiers dropped to ground. Before they could do so, Terry was
also hit. She cried out as she fell, but it was cut off as her system failed
under the toxin shock.
* * *
Mack heard the cry, and before he looked he felt in his heart that he knew who
it was.
He was right, it was Terry. She'd been hit by one of the Eldar.
Mack jumped to his feet, running to her side. He dimly heard someone telling him
to get down. But he ignored them.
He reached Terry, and cradled her in his arms. She was already gone. He felt
tears running down his cheeks, and saw them fall on Terry's face. He leaned over
and kissed her, and was shocked at how cold she had already become.
He slowly laid her body back down, then grabbed his rifle with both hands, stood
up, and began spraying the area around the building.
A needle from a sniper was the answer he got.
He felt it impact heavily on his neck, the neck piercing his flesh. His body
began to feel as if it'd been stuck inside a freezer, then intense pain
followed.
Then, nothing.
* * *
Becker watched the Eldar begin forming up in their tanks and leaving once again.
They obviously were not going to lose any more lives over whatever it was they'd
come for.
He looked around, and felt his heart sink. Most of the area's buildings had been
flattened, or blown into mere skeletons of their former selves. This part of the
city was lo longer habitable, at least until some major construction work was
done.
He sat down, feeling too weary to stand any longer. The rest of his command
squad and squad one did so as well.
"That was a heck of a fight," Walter said.
Becker nodded in agreement. "I can't help but think they're coming back,
though. With more, next time."
Rodney held the commlink to his ear for a moment, listening to an incoming
message, then looked over at Becker. "Looks like someone else thinks you're
right, sir."
"How so?"
"They're sending in the Cadelan II and the Ghevin VIII. Also sending in
some tank companies, about nine of them, and a lot of artillery moving up. They
expect a big push to be coming this way soon."
"What is so damn important to the Eldar that they'd put this many resources
into it?"
"I dunno, sir, but it must be something pretty special."
"What are our orders?" Becker asked.
"To stay here and wait for the reinforcements, then wait for the Eldar to
come back."
"Ah, the waiting game. How I love it." Becker laid his gun down, then
looked back over at Rodney. "Any given timetable for arrival of either
force?"
"Well, that's the clincher, sir. They think the Eldar will take time to
assemble a more massive force, and they'll need time, so they thing it'll be
about a day or two."
Becker was immediately on his feet. "A day or two? How the hell do they
expect us to hold out that long?"
Duncan held up one of his combat rations. "We're equipped with enough
cardboard nutrition to supposedly last a week."
Becker sighed. "Right, right. Well, I guess we better make ourselves a
meal, boys, because it's going to a long night... or two."
END OF CHAPTER XVII
Continued in Chapter XVIII: Big Push
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