by Andy Clark
Thus, even as the combined force of the Exiles and House Pegasson swept low over the Ironfields to come to their aid, House Minotos faced a battle for their very survival.
Extracted from the writing of Sendraghorst,
Sage Strategic of Adrastapol,
vol XXI ‘The 2nd Ork War’
Luk fed power to his motive impellers, striding Sword of Heroes down the ramp of the Pegasson dropship. Several dozen such craft had rumbled in over the Ironfields and put down atop Heroes’ Ridge. As his steed thumped out onto the rocky hilltop, squadrons of sleek Pegasson fighters screamed overhead. Their guns chattered as the fighters plunged into the ork aircraft and sent them spiralling down in flames.
‘Thank the Throne for air cover,’ said Ekhaterina as she walked Duty Unending out behind him. Crimson Death and Wrath Inescapable followed. Ranulf remained at the Pegassus’ Eyrie, judged too badly injured to be moved.
‘You can thank the Marchioness,’ said Luk.
‘Even with the air cover, and the strength of House Pegasson beside us,’ said Sire Hw’ss, ‘I believe this will be a challenging fight.’
They drew their Knights up in a line near the ruins of a Minotos listening post, Gesmund’s Tauroxes joining them. The ironlegs of the Sacristans came close behind. Meanwhile, the Knights of House Pegasson massed in their own lances, gathering their strength atop the rocky slope. At their heart stood Lauret Tan Pegasson’s steed, Oracle, armed with its masterwork battlecannon and gold-taloned fist.
Luk looked down upon the battle raging below, and couldn’t help but agree with Hw’ss.
The Iron Maze, fortress and seat of House Minotos, was a remarkable fastness. Built into the roots of the Kulrikh Peaks, it was defended to its rear by sheer cliffs of stone. It spread out along that towering natural wall for over thirty miles, an interconnected mass of bastions, castles and redoubts arrayed in complex, concentric rings.
As its name suggested, the Iron Maze was intended to confound and disorient attackers, who might break through a gate or wall only to find themselves flanked by two other bastions, or drive into an apparent weak spot only to find themselves wading through a murderous crossfire. The stronghold epitomised the stubbornness and resilience of those that had built it.
For all its defensive batteries, the solidity of its armoured walls and the ingenuity of its layout, the Iron Maze had failed.
‘There are thousands of greenskins down there,’ said Ekhaterina.
‘I could provide you with an approximation of their numbers,’ said J’madus. ‘You would not thank me.’
The main approach to the Iron Maze was across a rocky plain, bordered by hills and ridges, cut through by three ferrocrete highways that radiated away like the spokes of a wheel. When Luk had last visited this place, many years ago, the plain had once boasted Minosaal, a substantial city defended by towering walls and gun turrets.
Now, Minosaal was a ruined wasteland that seethed with orks. Its buildings burned. Its gates were thrown down, and its walls collapsed. Greenskins surged along its highways in vast mobs, bellowing warcries as they pressed towards the walls. Hundreds of ramshackle war machines had drawn up amidst the ruins and were hammering the Iron Maze relentlessly.
Worse, the Maze itself was burning. Huge breaches in its walls bespoke the terrible violence of the battles fought here. The rubble was strewn with drifts of ork corpses, and the stricken remains of fallen Knights.
Black smoke rose from burning towers and redoubts, forming a dark pall that hung over the seat of House Minotos like a death omen.
‘They still fight, at least,’ said Ekhaterina. ‘We’ve not come here for nothing.’
Though the innermost fortifications were in ruins, both wings of the Iron Maze still showed signs of fierce resistance. On his retinal display, Luk saw magnified snapshots of gun turrets blazing, Knightly weapons spitting fury from cannon slits and militia raining shots down on the orks.
He was forced to dismiss the strategic warning runes flashing on his overlay. There were too many crises occurring at once, too many fights that required their attention.
‘This isn’t a siege,’ he said. ‘It’s a last stand.’
‘Knights,’ Lauret’s voice came over the open channel, stern and proud. ‘Before us, we see a terrible foe. We see the destruction they have wrought upon our allies. We see the death of our world, if we let it be so.’
‘This is not the death of a world,’ said Maia. ‘Yet.’
‘But we will not allow it!’ said the Marchioness. ‘Looking upon this spectacle of devastation we will know not horror, not fear, but wrath! Witness this affront to the Emperor and let it fill you with a righteous anger. By their coming, these alien filth have profaned His world. By their deeds they have done Him grievous insult. With every Imperial life they take, the xenos worsen their crimes, but no more! We are their punishment. We are the Emperor’s judgement wrought in flesh and steel. We shall sweep down upon these ignorant beasts and crush them, and as they burn, and scream, and die, the Emperor shall look down upon our work and know only pride! For the Emperor,’ cried Lauret, raising her Knight’s fist and clashing its talons together. ‘Fall upon them and leave none alive!’
‘Follow your rune markers and try to keep up,’ voxed Lady Eleanat to Luk.
‘We’ll do our best,’ said Luk with a wry grin. ‘But lady, this looks to be a desperate fight. We can’t afford to lose too many Knights here or–’
‘You’ve been out on your own for too long, Knight of Ashes,’ said Eleanat as the Pegasson Knights began their advance. ‘Let Lauret worry about the grand strategy. You Exiles just do your part.’
Luk sent her a rune of assent, accelerating his steed as he absorbed the strategic information flooding through his manifold. He felt fierce excitement rise in his chest as he took in Lauret’s plan.
‘Audacious,’ he said.
‘Swift and direct,’ said Ekhaterina. ‘Better than anything you could conceive, O Knight of Ashes.’
‘Duty Unending,’ said Luk, ‘just unshroud your damn guns and follow my lead.’
‘Follow,’ snorted Ekhaterina. ‘Oh, Luk, you precious soul.’
The Knights accelerated down the rocky slope towards the devastated city below. Lauret and her Exalted Court marched at the centre of the line, lances of Pegasson Knights spread out to either side along a frontage of several miles. Luk’s Exiles were out near the left end of the line, following runic designators that flashed up on their strategic overlays.
‘Gesmund,’ voxed Luk. ‘Hang back. Protect the Sacristans, and watch our rear. This is a Knightly war – you’re best staying clear.’
‘Understood, sire,’ said Gesmund. ‘I get paid regardless of where I fight. Not a scratch on the ironlegs, you have my word.’
The advance accelerated into a loping run that shook the ground. Luk and the Exiles adjusted their heading, the line flowing into a single lance-point charge with Lauret’s Exalted Court at its tip.
The Knights drove in towards the sundered walls of Minosaal, aiming for the ruined gateway where the centremost highway broke through the walls.
‘A maximal percentage of the orks are fully engaged with the combatants to their fore,’ said Hw’ss. ‘They haven’t noticed us yet.’
‘They are about to,’ said Lady Maia.
The fighters screamed in first. Lightnings and Thunderbolts in the white and blue of House Pegasson streaked low over the burning streets. Their guns chattered, and rockets streaked away from their wings. The few aircraft that the orks possessed were swept away like leaves in a gale, and Luk watched runic designators vanish on his overlay as strafing runs ploughed furrows through the tight-packed orks on the highway.
Bombers roared in the fighters’ wake, explosives spilling from their bays. Detonations rippled through the greenskin hordes, shockwaves levelling the ruins to either side of the highway.
Orks died in droves, blazing away with little luck at the machines that were killing them. Luk called up vid-feeds from the bombers’ gun boxes in his peripheral, and grinned as he watched scrap-metal tanks and howling aliens vanish in tides of fire.
‘Through the flames!’ cried Lauret. ‘Crush anything left standing. Follow your designators!’
Led by the Marchioness, the Knights stormed up the blazing highway. Fire danced around them, and Luk stilled his cockpit’s thermal warnings. Ahead, Pegasson Knights trampled over the scorched survivors of the air raid, kicking aside blazing tanks and gunning down those few enemies still standing.
‘At this rate, we won’t have to fire a shot,’ said Ekhaterina. ‘It’ll be easy, providing we don’t broil in our thrones.’
‘Beware complacency,’ said Maia. ‘The beast awakens.’
Sure enough, the swarms of green runes on Luk’s strategic manifold were moving, the mobs crowding the other highways turning and spilling through the ruins towards them.
‘Here they come,’ he said. ‘Exiles, ready to turn on your mark and fire at will.’
Affirmation runes flashed in his peripheral, followed by a silver command rune sent from Lauret’s own manifold.
‘Now,’ said Luk. With a twist of his controls, he turned Sword of Heroes aside and ploughed into the burning ruins. Rubble rained down as the Knight smashed through the devastated ruins and into a smaller street beyond. The Exiles followed, flanking him.
On Luk’s strategic overlay, Lauret and a third of her force charged on up the burning highway. Meanwhile, the trailing edges of her Lancepoint split off, flanking left and right.
‘Enemy incoming,’ voxed J’madus. ‘Numbers considerable.’
‘Let them come,’ said Ekhaterina with relish.
One moment, the street before them was a barren wasteland, empty but for wreckage and rubble. The next, it swarmed with orks. Their warriors spilled through every alleyway and door. They appeared at windows with heavy cannons and opened fire with clattering roars. Their light vehicles sped down the street, guns blazing, while heavier armour smashed recklessly through the ruins.
‘Fire!’ said Luk, and the Exiles opened up as one. His thermal cannon obliterated a squadron of greenskin tanks, even as his stubbers strafed the upper windows of a hab-block across the way. Maia joined him, directing a thermal blast that brought a tower crashing down on the greenskins. Ekhaterina’s battle cannon spat shells that blew out ruins and hurled orks through the air.
Their ion shields flared as firepower washed against them, and Luk saw damage runes light across his instruments as the inevitable shots broke through.
Shouldering between a pair of blazing shop-fronts came an ork walker, Gorkanaut class, its rotary cannon spitting shells. Maia cursed as it raked her shield and struck sparks from her steed’s shins.
‘Crimson Death,’ said Luk. ‘Destroy it.’
‘Gladly,’ said Hw’ss. His energy cannons pulsed. Beams of power converged on the walker, boring through its chest and blasting it apart from within.
Even as its blazing wreck crashed sideways into a building, more orks poured over it with their guns hammering.
‘Numbers increasing,’ warned J’madus.
‘Flanking forces,’ said Lady Eleanat over the vox. ‘Air cover coming in, brace brace brace.’
A bellow filled the air, and Luk shrouded his auspicators in the instant before fighters and bombers hurtled overhead. Explosives fell like hail. The buildings before them disintegrated in a racing firestorm that hurled shrapnel against their shields and rained burning xenos remains down upon their steeds.
‘Magnificent!’ laughed Lady Hespar. ‘Bloody magnificent! Burn, you alien scum!’
‘Stay focused,’ ordered Luk.
He punched his clenched fist forward, his haptic gauntlet translating the gesture into a roaring blast of heat that leapt from his thermal cannon to annihilate an ork Battlewagon. The ruin next to Sword of Heroes collapsed as another Gorkanaut crashed through it. The machine swung its claw at the Knight’s torso, and Luk parried with his chainsword. The reaper hacked through hydraulics and metal blades, severing the claw and carrying on to saw the machine’s head off.
The Gorkanaut’s wreckage slammed into Luk’s steed, and he fought his controls to brace against its weight. Topple alarms shrilled. Hydraulics whined. With his ghosts clamouring in his mind, Luk managed to take a step back, then another. His steed’s footfalls crushed blazing orks, and the wreck of the Gorkanaut fell away, slamming into the roadsurface.
Luk saw another Gorkanaut coming at him, too fast for him to redress. Wrath Inescapable surged past him, meeting the ork walker’s charge with one shoulder lowered. Sparks flew and metal crumpled, the impact so ferocious that the Gorkanaut’s feet went out from under it. The ork war machine smashed down on its back, and Wrath Inescapable killed it with a point-blank shot to the head.
With mental impulses and deft twitches of his haptic controls, Luk brought Sword back into a fighting stance.
‘My thanks, Wrath Inescapable,’ he said. She flashed a rune in response, already storming on into the foe.
Luk cycled his autoloaders and checked his strategic overlay. Lauret’s spearhead had made it almost to the walls of the Iron Maze, their path cleared and flanks defended by a beautifully orchestrated ballet of airstrikes and strafing runs. Meanwhile, the ork counter-attack on both flanks had been met by walls of Knights, also bolstered by close-range bombing runs. It was shock tactics, fast and risky.
‘But it’s working,’ he grinned.
Then a thunderous note rang out. It took Luk a moment to realise it was the blare of a vox-horn, and that it came from the walls of the Iron Maze. Another blast rang out, then another.
‘Lady Eleanat,’ voxed Luk, still striding up the street and blasting one target after another. ‘Does that signal what I think it does?’
‘The Marchioness has made vox contact with Grandmarshal Kurt,’ said Eleanat. ‘He has–’ She broke off for a moment, and Luk heard a string of fierce explosions over the vox. ‘He has Knightly forces still fighting within both wings of the Iron Maze,’ she continued. ‘They’re about to sally forth and link up with us.’
‘Now we’ve got them,’ said Luk.
‘Hold to the Code Chivalric, Knight of Ashes,’ said Eleanat. ‘They could unseat us yet.’
‘Understood, my lady,’ said Luk. ‘Wise as ever.’
He broke vox, stomping Sword of Heroes to the end of the street and around the corner of a burning cathedrum into the square beyond. Ekhaterina’s steed emerged from a street to his left, while Maia and Hw’ss followed behind him.
Luk saw a huge statue of a Minot at the centre of the square, cast in bronze and leaning, headless, from its podium. Then his cockpit alarms howled and he swung his ion shield to bear with the speed of reflex.
Something struck the shield with titanic force, staggering Sword and causing sparks to shower from Luk’s systems. He gasped at a flare of sympathetic pain as his shield generator burned out, and his chainsword arm went dead and dark.
‘Baneblade!’ shouted Ekhaterina.
‘Once,’ said Sire Hw’ss. ‘Now, it is an abomination!’
The tank sat on the far edge of the square, monstrous main gun smoking. Its formerly noble lines had been corrupted by spikes and panels of scrap-metal, crudely painted blue and covered in ork glyphs. Xenos surged around it, some riding in jouncing trukks, others on foot.
‘Prioritise the super-heavy,’ ordered Luk. ‘Keep moving, don’t let the infantry close.’
‘Knight of Ashes, get clear,’ said Ekhaterina. ‘Your shield’s down. You can’t risk a direct hit.’
‘Then we’d best kill it before it scores one, lady,’ said Luk. ‘Crimson Death, you have the best ranged weapons for dealing with that abomination. Blast it.’
A rune flashed bac
k from Hw’ss, and the ancient Knight stalked out into the square with its positron drivers howling. Shot after shot raked the Baneblade, punching through its armour and causing explosions to billow within.
Luk pushed his steed into a swift series of sidesteps, putting the crippled statue between him and the Baneblade’s main gun. As he went he blasted an ork transport tank, reducing it to ashes, and raked stubber rounds through the ork hordes. Maia and Ekhaterina followed his lead, circling out around the square with their guns blazing. Dozens of orks were dead in seconds, yet still the greenskins came on.
The Baneblade advanced with a bellow of engines, trailing flames and debris as it surged towards Crimson Death. The demolisher cannon in its hull fired, and a shell slammed into Hw’ss’ shields. Energy flared as the shell detonated several feet from his hull, and Crimson Death strode through the flames.
‘Crimson Death, evade. He’s zeroing on you,’ shouted Maia.
The Baneblade’s lascannons spat searing light, one shot flying wide. The other slammed into Hw’ss shields and overloaded them in a blast of light.
‘Omnissiah’s blood,’ cursed J’madus, a second before the Baneblade’s main gun fired again.
The shot caught Crimson Death in the shoulder. The explosion tore a gaping rent in the war engine’s armour, and Luk heard Hw’ss cry out in pain. Flames billowed, and the rangy Knight ground to a halt as its emergency protocols dumped power.
Crimson Death stood defenceless before the Baneblade.
‘No, you don’t,’ snarled Luk. He stormed across the square towards the Baneblade, charging his thermal cannon as he went.
‘Luk!’ shouted Ekhaterina, pushing Duty Unending into a loping run. The Baneblade’s lascannons fired again, but Lady Hespar’s shield caught the shots in a blaze of blue light.
