Editing Trip Into Hell (Warhammer High) (section)

===War is Hell===
The whizz of a bullet sang past Julius’s ear as he carried a fresh belt of Heavy Bolter ammo to a Perdix Heavy Weapons Section. He no longer ducked anymore every time a bullet came near him as he had done when the battle first begun, he just kept on pushing forwards, the only thing on his mind doing the job he was required to do. If he stopped to think about what was happening around him, what could happen to him, he knew he would curl into a foetal ball and never get up, and what use would he be to anyone them? 

He still thought Scvott’s decision was foolish, but at least now it was justified, and they were actually doing something to help. They had only made one supply run, the roads were choked with troopers and tanks making their way to the safety of the inner walls, and Flynn steamed as they got caught in traffic jam after traffic jam. It had taken them nearly an hour to get a single supply load from the inner city ammo bunkers to the breach, and there wouldn’t be the time for another run. Now all they could do was try to make that one load count. Flynn and Dyllion carried Battle Cannon ammo to the pair of Malcadors and Mortar bombs to the Mortars, who all used the ammo up faster than they could resupply it, while Scvott, Summer and himself kept the troops fuelled with small arms, dashing from the C-80 to the troops as fast as possible, dodging bullets to get the goods to the troops.

Julius had expected many things when the army arrived at the breach, but there’d been one big surprise waiting for him. The rumours he’d discounted out of hand were true, it was indeed professor Ahriman who was leading the defence, but not as he’d ever seen him before. When professor Ahriman had saved them in the Petitioner’s City, he’d found it amazing how he’d taken out all those thugs so quickly without killing a single one, but that was nothing next to what he was doing right now.

When they had left for their first supply run, Ahriman had summoned a massive wall of warpfire covering the entire breach, keeping the Orks at bay in a spectacular display which forced Flynn to drag him onto the C-80 as he was to engrossed in what was happening before him, and now an hour later he was in the thick of it. Between the blows from his staff and bursts of warp-fire from his gauntlets he was laying waste to the Orks, moving extremely gracefully for his size and armour, a painter painting in crimson. When this was over, Julius would have to seek out Ahriman, find out when relief would arrive, try and message Isis or Venus. He wondered what Ahriman would think of him being there, of them both being here at the exact time a Hulk arrived. Ahriman once said in class that there was no such thing as coincidence, and now Julius almost believed him.

Dashing the final few yards, Julius reached a Perdix Heavy Bolter team, and handed over the ammo belt. No sooner did they have it then the Heavy Bolter ran out of bullets. Swiftly they loaded the new belt in, and resumed firing. Julius dashed back for the truck, and the next load, bullets following him as he ran.

Summer was at the C-80 when he got there, her face smudged with soot and several tears in her uniform. And yet despite all that, Julius had never seen her more alive. She’d gone right into the thick of the firing, defying the heaviest fire in order to deliver her load. She’d even tossed a grenade into a Trukk as she ran past it, killing some of the Orks riding within. That fire which Julius had seen as she prayed in that Hab now filled her, and despite all the blood and sweat which stained her, she had never looked more beautiful.

Julius cursed himself. This was a warzone; he could die any minute, stop thinking about her that way.

“Oll, glad to see you’re still with us. The Tanith need some more Tread Fether rounds, which I assume means more missiles. I’ve got to get these Bolt Pistol rounds to that astartes warrior, what was his name again?”

“Ahriman. Ahzek Ahriman, chief librarian of the XVth Legion.”

“Wow Oll, you are full of useless knowledge. Might have to ask you a few questions about all this when the battle is done. Well, time waits on man or woman.” She turned to go, and then stopped and turned her head back to Julius.
“And Oll? Stay alive out there. For me.” and with that, she dashed away once again.

He resolved that if he survived this, he would apologise to her for comparing her with Keiter. Keiter would never have selflessly risked his life the way she did, or spoken to him that way. Emperor Worshiper or no, she was insanely brave and dedicated to her job, and seemed to care enough to reassure him in the midst of the heat of the battle. If only the Imperium had more people like her…

Julius snapped out of it when a bullet flew close by. This wasn’t the time to daydream! He took up a crate of frag missiles and set off once again.
A pair of black clad Tanith troopers crouched behind a section of ruined wall close to the Malcadors and Baneblade. One of them looked over Julius as he handed over the missiles.
“I’ve got to hand it to you boy, you may be a civilian but you move and act like a soldier. Your CDA section should get medals when this is all over for doing such a fine…” he trailed off as the loud sound of something heavy stomping towards the breach pushed its way over the roar of guns and the chanting of the Orks. 
The massive hulking form of an Ork Stompa pushed its way into the breach, shoving aside the growing wall of corpses. The metal giant spat death from the many Big Shootas mounted all over it, while return fire sparked off its armour. The Stompa has what looked like a cannon mounted in the centre of the hull, and the Tanith troopers noticed it the same time he did.

“Belly Gun! Get the fuck down!”

Julius had no idea what they were talking about, but he followed suit. As he did so, he heard a flat hollow ‘boom’ as the belly gun fired.
The massive belly gun shell serenely flew towards them, seemingly in slow motion. How the big, fat shell could even fly seemed a mystery to Julius. A hand grabbed him and pulled him further down.

“You idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” one of the troopers hissed at him.
Before Julius could apologise or answer, there was an ear-splitting bang and the air was filled with the shriek of shrapnel hissing through the air. The section of wall kept Julius safe, though he felt the wall reverberate with the impact of debris, and the whistle of more shrapnel keened over his head. When he was convinced the damage was done, he poked his head back up again.

The Imperial positions were devastated, much of the cover blasted apart by the massive explosion and the bodies of many Imperial troops scattered everywhere. Though he was by now inured to the sight of death, the sight of such carnage caused so swiftly left him with a sick feeling inside. The Stompa continued to move forwards like a victorious god, and Julius could almost imagine that the bestial face mounted on the head was smiling. There was a whoosh close to his ear, and the face vanished seconds later. The Tanith missile team reloaded with grim urgency, as scattered fire from the imperial remnants hit the metal colossus. The two Malcadors fired their battle cannons, the shells gouging holes in the stompas armour. The stompas arm mounted cannon fired, the shell missing the Malcador and smashing a nearby building to dust, along with the Perdix heavy weapons troopers sheltering within.

There was an answering ‘boom’ as the baneblade fired its huge cannon at the stompa. At that range it was nearly point blank, and the shell tore into the stompa before exploding, blowing the monster open. The imperial troops gave out ragged cheers, but they knew that the breach could no longer be held, and more and more Orks were pouring through. The soldier’s vox crackled, and he muttered something to his fellow before addressing Julius.

“A general retreat has been ordered, we’ve held the breach for over two hours and the army and PDF are now safe behind the inner walls. Find your squadmates and get to safety.” 

“What about you two?”

“We’re staying. No Orks will pass us as long as we draw breath, and maybe we can buy you all some more time to escape. Now go. GO!”

Julius took one last look back before he started to run. As he did, other troops all over broke cover and began to run for safety. Strangely, very few of them were wearing Tanith black. Were all Tanith troopers this balls out insane? He’d have to ask Professor Ahriman about that one once they got to safety. But he’d have to get to safety first, and ensure those brave troopers didn’t throw their lives away in vain.



Summer and Flynn were already at the C-80 when Julius got there, sorting through what was left in the cargo bay. 

“You came through offworlder, and hardly the worse for wear. Here, take this.” Flynn tossed an object to Julius, who grabbed it out of the air and automatically checked it. It was an Autogun, Agripinaa Pattern, 8.25 with a twenty round box magazine. Julius was reminded of the immensely more deadly weapon concealed under his coat, and shuddered.

“Have we finally reached this point, when we need weapons ourselves? I thought as CDA we signed up because we wanted to help without bearing arms?”

“Look all around you. The army’s pulling back, and the fething Orks are pushing forward. We may run into a few roadblocks on the way to the inner wall gate, and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Even Summer has a weapon.” Summer responded with a gesture from her PDF issue Lasgun. “Now where the hell are Scvott and Dyllion?”

“They were delivering those shells to the baneblade last I met them.” Flynn said. 

“We can’t wait too long for them, another few minutes and we leave, with them or without them.” Summer said with an air of finality which startled both of them.
Every second dragged out as they waited for Scvott and Dyllion to arrive. The sounds of Imperial weapons fire slackened and faded, and the sound of the Orks grew and grew. Julius sat in his usual position in the back, Autogun resting on his lap. If any Orks tried to pursue them, it would be his job to keep them at bay. He wasn’t happy with being assigned that role, but he would do it anyway, and hoped the Autogun would be enough if it came to that.
“Fire up that engine! Get us the hell out of here!” it was Scvott and Dyllion, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Dyllion had a cut in his forehead, and Scvott was clutching one arm in obvious pain.

“What happened to you two?” Summer asked as they bundled into the C-80.

“Fucking Orks. They blew one of the Malcadors just after we’d restocked the baneblade, and because of that idiot,” he growled, gesturing at Scvott, “We were too close.”

“They’re well and truly into the outer city now, we’d best make tracks before they cut us off.” Scvott ignoring Dyllion and trying to re-establish his authority.

The C-80 sped away, and swiftly they were enveloped by the buildings of the lower city as Flynn navigated them towards the inner wall gate.
In the distance there was a massive explosion, loud enough to be heard above the din of battle.

“That must have been the Baneblade. Brave bastards, they drove straight into the heart of the horde, crushing Orks beneath their treads as they poured it on with their cannons. Those Caorst boys have balls.”
So do the Tanith, Julius thought, and the Belladon, and the Perdix. Every soldier who willingly stayed behind there to die had balls.
There was a roaring sound and several objects dropped out of the sky before them, forcing Flynn to hit the brakes. It took a split second for Julius to recognise what they were, and a shiver went down his spine.

“Stormboyz!” Julius yelled. Insane Orks who strapped rockets onto their backs in a parody of the Assault Marines of the Astartes, Stormboyz had a habit of exploding in flight, but were deadly assault troops all the same. And now they were in the way. Flynn spun the C-80 around as the Orks started running towards them, firing their pistols enthusiastically. Up close, the Orks were ugly muscle bound monstrosities, death in green skin, their close combat weapons seemingly to large and heavy for anyone to carry, yet they held them high.
“Waaagh!” they screamed as Flynn hit the gas. As the C-80 began to pick up speed, they fired their rocket packs and began to speed after them. So much for leaving them in the dust.
They sped down the street, the Stormboyz in hot pursuit. Julius had seen so many chase scenes in holo-films, but he had never expected to actually BE in one.

“Oll! Don’t just sit there, shoot at them!” Scvott yelled back.

Julius had almost forgotten the reason he was in the back, the reason he had that Autogun. He lifted said Autogun into position, aimed it as best he could at the pursuing Orks and thumbed the trigger.
‘Ratatatatat’ the gun sang as it kicked against Julius’s shoulder and spat out a burst of bullets at the stormboys. None of them seemed to hit, which was hardly surprising given how fast they were travelling, but it felt good to be firing back. He fired burst after burst at the Orks, and once saw one of the stormboyz falling back. Killed, injured or out of fuel? Julius didn’t know, but at least that was one less Ork out to kill them.

“Dammit, are we even heading for the inner wall gate?” Julius growled as they turned another corner.

“Ah’m trying to keep these fething green skinned bastards off our backs! Stop distracting me!” Flynn grunted as he sent the C-80 on yet another hairpin turn. One of the stormboyz missed the turn and crashed into the side of a building, but the rest kept on coming. Flynn was pushing the C-80 to the limit, treating it like a sports hovercar as he pushed it around corners and acted like he was in an episode of High Gear.

“Are we going to be doing this all bloody day?” Dyllion asked Flynn as they turned into yet another street.

“Given the fuel gauge, ah’d say we’ve got another hour in us.”

“But by then the Orks would hold the outer city, and we’d have no way of getting to the inner city.” Summer said. “We have to head for the gate, and hope that there are troops there who can help us.”

“She’s right; I’m damn near out of ammo for the Autogun and the Orks are coming closer. We have to make our way there, and trust the gates are still open.” Julius loaded in his penultimate clip for the Autogun, and loosened off another burst at the stormboyz. Bullets from the stormboyz pistols continued to whip past, but none of them ever connected. As the seconds wore on and they began to draw ahead of the pursuers, Julius began to feel a small sense of optimism. They would escape from this one, and live to fight another day.
Julius had no idea what happened next. One second they were speeding along as normal, the next the floor fell away from Julius, throwing him out of the C-80. He fell hard, knocking the wind out of him. As he rolled over, he saw the C-80 was lying nearby, smoke billowing from its crumpled engine. Flynn, Scvott and Summer were running from it towards him. Then the C-80 went up in a blast of flame, throwing the others to the floor. Their method of escape was no more.

As they got up, the Stormboyz roared up and landed before them. There were only three now, but those three were more than a match for five confused CDA troopers.
Summer, as brave and reckless as ever began firing at them with her Lasgun. The angry Orks ran towards her, weapons raised.

Julius could not, would not see her killed. His Autogun might be empty, but he had another weapon literally up his sleeve. He fumbled for a second, before drawing Vulkan’s Hellpistol and locking it on the leading Stormboy just as it was about to strike her a blow. 
Julius had been training with firearms since he was seven, when his father had brought him an air rifle. No-one could match him for accuracy; he had won every shooting competition since he was fourteen.

The Hellpistol beam made a shrieking noise as it lanced straight through the Stormboy, before its rocket pack exploded and destroyed what was left of it. The other two Orks turned to face him, but he had the upper hand now. Another shot dealt with the second Ork, and Dyllion put down the third one with a burst from his own Autogun. As they came over to Julius, he found the hand holding the Hellpistol was shaking like a leaf. He’d killed a sentient being like himself, actually killed it, even if it was only an Ork. He expected to feel something, joy or relief, but all he felt was empty inside, hollow.

“Where did you get that fancy weapon offworlder?” Scvott asked, or rather demanded.

“An heirloom from my Grandfather. He fought alongside the XVIII Legion during the last years of the crusade, and was granted this before the Angelus Triumph. It still works perfectly.” A half-lie, hopefully one they would swallow.

“It seems you have many secrets offworlder.” Summer smiled knowingly. Julius tried to smile back, but all he could do was grimace. That fall had hurt. He knew he would be black and blue with bruises come the next day.

“We can’t stick around; the commotion will likely attract more greenskins, and we’re in no fit condition to fight them.” Scvott said.

“But where will we go? We can’t walk to the gate now; the Orks will have cut us off long before we reach there. I don’t even know where we are.” Julius said.

“The lower city, close to the southern climbs. I know this place well, and I know exactly where we can go to hide.” Flynn started off, followed by the rest of them. As they went, Julius took one last look back at the burning C-80. There would be no worn section in the back anymore, just another hunk of burnt out wreckage. The analogy seemed apt for his entire experience on this once peaceful world.