Chapter 2 Part 8
Part 8
=ATBS=
Command Center
Imperial Guard base "Final Liberation"
Victory Bay
Kronus
The dimly lit room buzzed with chatter coming from all over the jagged front-lines surrounding the capital. Most of the light came from a pair of small hololiths courtesy to the Magos in charge of all things Mechanicus attached to General Alexander's command and multiple screens attached to portable consoles.
"Orks massing all across the line. Large armour formations screened by mobs of infantry..."
"Eldar units skirmishing with the Astartes in sectors…"
"Tau armoured elements signed..."
"All contact with the Thur'Ablis Plateau has been lost along with the surrounded areas. Scout units report fog and green lighting in the distance. Those regions reported people vanishing too we lost communications..."
The General remained outwardly impassive – he had to project the proper image of calm and control to all his subordinates after all. Inside, however, he was deeply concerned. The clashes with the Adeptus Astartes caused a lot of damage, though admittedly it was more morale than material. Even now, all his people found it very had to trust the Emperor's Angels of Death – when by all means it should have been the opposite, the Space Marines should have been their salvation. Instead, it was only because that suicidal mission to retrieve the Inquisitor that the Imperial forces planet-side finally ceased shooting at each other to concentrate on the real enemy, and there was no lack of bastards ready to despoil this world.
"General," A new figure silently entered the command post. "We're done – both the Librarians and I agree – there is no trace of corruption. They won't taste the Emperor's Mercy today." The Chief Psyker attached to his army, reported.
"You have my thanks, Geordin."
"I merely did my duty, General." The Consecrated Psyker shrugged lightly and moved to lean on a nearby wall. "You should expect company soon."
"The Inquisitor?"
"And the Librarian. He seems determined to shadow our new Inquisitor for the foreseeable future." A hint of approval sneaked in the Psyker's voice.
"Did you see something?" Alexander's piercing eyes focused on Geordin.
"The Tarrot hints at possibilities, General. He might be important, or perhaps he already did what he was meant to when he stopped the… regrettable misunderstanding."
"Not too soon." If the Imperial Forces were still busy shooting at each other, Alexander wouldn't bet on them being able to withstand the coming storm. There were over three hundred thousand Orks expected to hit the defensive lines in force shortly after dawn. The Eldar were wreaking havoc behind the lines with Astartes kill teams hunting them down, who knew what the other Xenos intended to do right now and if all that wasn't bad enough, there was confirmed Chaos incursion and that unknown phenomena at the plateau…
"Colonel Amundsen, concentrate our artillery units against the Orks. I want them covered – both from the air and against Xeno deep strikes. We will deploy a third of our special forces on overwatch there. Colonel Nicholas – half the armour reserve is to prepare to plug any holes the Orks manage to punch in the front – we can't afford to deploy more infantry on that front, not when I need the rest of the army to keep the capital secure and watch for Chaos incursions. It will fall to the Blood Ravens to act as a hammer with us being the anvil. The plan is simple – create as big a cauldron as possible for the Orks – they will flock where the fighting is fiercest. Once they commit their armour formations, I want them hammered – artillery, airstrikes, even orbital support if available without killing us as well. The primary objective is to use the battle as a bait for the Warboss – we need to kill the bastard. At the very least that will shatter the Orks as a coherent force and buy us time to deal with the larger threats before eradicating as many of the green menace as practical."
A commotion came from the entrance, one that very soon revealed itself to be the Lord Inquisitor and his Librarian companion. It was clear that the elite soldiers guarding the CP weren't too keen on letting the Astartes in, however, thankfully they didn't irritate the Inquisitor too much.
"General Alexander." The young Inquisitor looked like a death warmed over but otherwise intact.
"Lord Inquisitor." The General bowed – it never paid to antagonize their kind, even if this one appeared to be unusually amiable.
"I trust that there will be no more misunderstandings? For what is worth, Brother-Captain Thule promised there will be no more friendly fire accidents. It will be up to higher authority to determine who will take custody of Kronus once we've secured it."
The Inquisitor was an optimist then – something they all would need in the days and weeks to come.
"I heard the same thing. From your mouth to the Emperor's ears." Alexander made the sign of the Aquila.
"So say we all. Can someone bring me up to speed on the strategic situation?"
The General left one of his aides to summarize it briefly while he continued deploying his reserve units in the face of the confirmed Chaos presence.
"That's less than ideal." The Inquisitor scowled. While and understatement of their current predicament, the statement was to the point.
"You're right, General. We need to shatter the Orks as soon as possible – with them swarming, we can't afford to focus properly on the nastier threats. Their Warboss needs to die."
"My thoughts exactly, my Lord." The General nodded.
"Atheas, can your battle barge be on station above the capital tomorrow at noon? By then we should be fully engaged with the Orks." The Lord Inquisitor asked.
"It should be possible." The Blood Raven tilted his head, obviously thinking.
"Once we've confirmed the Warboss presence on the front, we should request orbital support – burn as many of the Orks rear lines as practical without taking us out as well. That should cut off the Warboss from immediate reinforcements and allow us to counter-attack, encircle and eliminate him. Ideally, we'll take it from orbit, however if we aren't that lucky, a series or precise orbital strikes should give us a window of opportunity that won't require to break a large part of the General's army in the process. It would be appreciated if your Brothers can deep strike a kill team from orbit to assist us as well. We'll lead the operation – to reassure everyone that we're all one big happy family fighting in the Emperor's name."
That was actually prudent – while his people were professional and there were Commissars around to ensure they stayed that way, General Alexander knew that even the red menaces were shaken over the Blood Ravens' actions over the past weeks. If this was to work, they would need to work together, properly, instead of being busy watching each other backs for an expected back-stab. Alexander had intended to personally lead the fight against the Ork Warboss, however an Inquisitor should be able to do so as well and he would have better leverage against the Astartes.
"If it is all right, I will join you for this morning's excitement, my Lord." Better safe than sorry after all.
"I'll appreciate it, General. Now lets make this outline into a proper plan."