03 - Savage Scars (32 page)

After taking the bridge over River 992, the Space Marine column pushed
rapidly through the ruins of the settlement designated Erinia Beta and was soon
fighting its way into Gel’bryn proper. Prior to their entry into the city, the
Space Marines had fought amongst the low agri-domes and service habs of the
small settlements surrounding Gel’bryn. Now, the true character of tau
construction revealed itself as the smoke clouds of burning Erinia Beta parted.

The city was built on a grand scale, yet it was wholly different from the
sprawling hives of the Imperium. Gel’bryn had obviously been planned with
meticulous precision, its wide thoroughfares and graceful, almost organic
structures arrayed according to some grand, unifying scheme. Where humanity’s
cities continued to grow for centuries, even millennia, buildings often
constructed in layer upon layer of rockcrete sediment, the tau built their
cities according to need, and built another when that need was exceeded. It was
a process of continuous dynamic expansion, but one that could only lead to
confrontation with other races as space and resources dwindled.

As the Space Marines pressed on, it became evident that their assault had
achieved some measure of surprise. Either the tau had not expected the Space
Marines to defeat what forces had defended Erinia Beta, or they had fatally
misunderstood the crusade’s capabilities and intentions. Much later, Tacticae
savants would postulate that it was the presence of the mighty war machines of
the Legio Thanataris that caused the initial disintegration of the tau defence,
the sight of the huge god-machines striding along the wide streets striking awe
and terror into the defenders’ alien hearts. The Titans, however, did not move
as fast or penetrate as far as the Space Marines, for speed was of the essence.
Besides this, the central areas of the city were ill-suited to Titan combat, and
the Legio was relegated to a support role, for the time being.

And all the while, Sarik was keeping an eye on the column’s rear, hoping he
would see evidence of the Imperial Guard’s armoured units following on in the
Space Marines’ wake. So far, there had been none.

The column passed through the wide-open spaces between rearing structures
that resembled gargantuan fungus made of the ubiquitous white resin. The
buildings were interconnected by walkways hundreds of metres in the air, along
which the Space Marines could make out defenders moving hastily to
pre-designated strongpoints.

The Space Marines smashed aside all opposition, the column becoming the very
tip of the spear blade that plunged into the heart of the tau city. The manner
of the defence made it clear that the tau had not expected any enemy to ever
penetrate so deep. The lead Predators gunned down lone squads of the enemy’s
fire warriors. Many were attempting to re-deploy when they were forced to make a
desperate last stand, their bodies crushed to pulp beneath the tracks of the
Space Marines’ armoured vehicles.

Individual tau snipers took position on the high walkways, their pinpoint
fire striking a number of the Assault Marines from the sky. One Space Marine,
the sergeant of the single tactical squad contributed by the Subjugators
Chapter, was shot clean through his helmet’s eyepiece while riding in his
Rhino’s hatch by a sniper at least two kilometres distant. Even as they had
raged against the loss of such a valuable warrior, Sarik and his battle-brothers
had saluted the enemy’s obvious skill at arms.

As the column penetrated the city, pressing ever onwards towards the star
port, the enemy’s defence became more organised. Where before there was little
coordination between defending units, soon the defence took on an altogether
different character. Isolated groups of defenders were quickly and efficiently
brought into a coherent command and control structure. Some defenders fell back
towards more defensible positions, while others provided them with deadly
accurate fire support.

But still the Space Marines had the upper hand, for they were able to bypass
enemy strongpoints and render them entirely ineffectual. The column was within
ten kilometres of its objective when General Gauge’s chief of staff came on the
vox-net to issue Sarik a warning.

“Be advised, sergeant,” the officer said, the channel interlaced by pops and
crackles. “Fleet augurs have detected a pattern of destroyers moving to and from
the star port. Tacticae believes the enemy is ferrying rapid deployment units to
defend the objective.”

“My thanks,” Sarik replied. “What type of units?”

“Unknown at this time, sergeant. But tactical analysis would suggest battle
suits.”

“Understood,” Sarik said. “Interceptors?”

“All but expended neutralising enemy airfields,” the officer replied, sadness
evident in his voice. “The tau air force is now so hard pressed they are forced
to use their remaining destroyers to ferry reinforcements to the star port.”

“Well, at least that keeps them off the Titans,” Sarik said. He looked to the
column’s rear, before asking, “What word of the Guard?”

There was a pause while the officer consulted his tactical readout, then he
came back on the channel. “Brimlock 2nd Armoured is now across River 992,” the
officer said. “As are the Rakarshan Light Infantry.”

Sarik’s brow furrowed at that—how had a tank and a light-role infantry unit
crossed at the same time? “Explain last?” he said.

“The Rakarshans are riding the tanks, sergeant.”

“Lucian?” Sarik said, smiling.

“Indeed, sergeant,” the officer replied. “By all accounts, Lucian had a few
choice words for the rank and file, and he got them moving again. The Dragoon
regiments are close behind the 2nd Armoured, and the rest not far behind them.”

Sarik performed a quick calculation, then saw movement amongst the buildings
up ahead. “So we can expect to link up by what, plus eight hours?”

“Give or take thirty minutes, yes, sergeant,” the officer replied. “Your
intention?”

“Enemy inbound,” he said. “We’ll attempt a breakout, and I want it
coordinated with the Guard. We’ll hold the enemy off until the 2nd and the
Rakarshans reach us, then we break out for the star port, regardless.”

“Understood, sergeant,” the officer said. “Good luck. Out.”

Sarik closed the channel and turned his attentions back to the road up ahead.
Two huge structures towered overhead, interconnected by a dozen precarious
walkways up and down their length. He tracked along the walkways, left and
right, to the points where they joined the towers. There, lurking in the shadows
of portals at the end of each walkway, were the now familiar shape of tau battle
suits.

“All commands,” he said into the vox. “Enemy heavy infantry concentration,
twelve high. Assume static defensive posture and hold them here.”

Acknowledgements flooded back as the armoured vehicles ground to a halt on
the roadway, forming up into a ring with Predators covering every angle and
Whirlwinds in the centre. The last voice on the channel was that of Brother
Qaja, who was in the troop bay of Sarik’s own transport. “We’re holding,
brother-sergeant?”

“Aye, brother,” Sarik said as he lowered himself through the hatch, grabbed
his bolter and located the heavy weapons specialist in the cramped bay. “The
Guard are delayed, but inbound, and we have a large tau concentration closing
from the front. We link up here, and then break out together.” Sarik braced
himself against a bulkhead as the Rhino came to a halt, the entire vehicle
swinging forwards on its suspension before settling. Qaja nodded his
understanding, then bellowed, “Hatch open! As the hunter in the dawn mist!”

Sarik smiled at Qaja’s use of the White Scars battle-cant, for he had barely
heard it amongst the mixed Space Marine force. The battle-brother was a highly
capable second in command, and the members of Sarik’s squad were out and
deployed around their transport in double quick time.

Sarik was the last to exit the Rhino, his armoured boots clanging on the ramp
as he strode down and stepped on to the white road surface.

The buildings of the tau city reared all around and stretched upwards to
dizzying heights far above. The squads were deploying exactly according to his
orders. Sarik strode to the centre of the circle as the spearhead’s missile
tanks raised their boxy launchers ready to engage the enemy. It was relatively
unusual, though not unheard of, for such a mixed force to operate together.
Sarik had served alongside other Chapters before, most recently the Harbingers
Chapter at the Battle of Sour Ridge. But in that action, the white of Sarik’s
battle-brothers had remained distinct from the deep purple of the Harbingers
livery, and their chain of command uninterrupted. Yet here, the White Scars
livery co-mingled with the blue of the Ultramarines, the black of the Iron Hands
and the Black Templars, the black and yellow of the Scythes of the Emperor, the
jade green of the Subjugators, and a handful of other colours. Sarik realised
that he found the sight quite inspiring.

Silhouettes appeared on the walkways above and to the fore. Sarik judged he
had less than a minute before combat was joined.

“Battle-brothers!” he bellowed.

The warriors, who had taken up defensive positions on and around the laagered
vehicles, kept their weapons trained to their front, but turned their heads to
heed his words.

“We stand this day, together, united!” Two-dozen bulky silhouettes dropped
from the nearest walkway, bright white jets flaring as they descended.

“Our primarchs watch our every deed!” The air was split by a searing blue
fusillade of energy bolts as the silhouettes found their range and opened fire
on the nearest of the Space Marines. Shots whined in to slam against the
armoured glacis plates of Rhinos and Predators. The battle-brothers simply
waited, listening for Sarik’s order.

“For the primarchs!” Sarik bellowed, raising his boltgun one-handed and
tracking the nearest of the dropping battle suits as it neared the ground, its
jets flaring to slow its final descent.

“Honoured be their names!” Brother Qaja bellowed.

“Honoured be their names!” three hundred voices repeated as Sarik opened
fire. A moment later, the entire force followed suit as more battle suits
appeared at the walkways all around and began their descent. A Dreadnought
bearing the blue and white of the Novamarines Chapter, mere metres from Sarik,
engaged its rotary assault cannon, the multiple barrels spinning faster and
faster as it prepared to fire. The cannon raised as the venerated pilot of the
ancient suit expertly selected his first target. The weapon locked onto a
rapidly-dropping battle suit, and opened fire.

The burst of fire lasted only three seconds, but in that brief period,
several hundred rounds were cycled through the six barrels from the huge hopper
at its rear. The sound of those rounds leaving the barrel was a continuous,
deafening scream. The battle suit was caught in the torso at a range of eighty
metres and a height of thirty, and it simply disintegrated before the Space
Marines’ eyes. One moment the armoured opponent had been descending of jets of
white flame, its weapons spitting seething blue balls of energy, and the next it
was a rapidly expanding ball of flame and vapour. Tiny chunks of debris rained
down on the Space Marines, not one of them larger than a man’s thumb so
thoroughly was the target destroyed.

From every walkway, scores of battle suits now dropped down on the Space
Marines’ position. The jade sky was filled with the yellow-tan forms, each
spitting round after round of livid blue energy down upon Sarik’s warriors. The
tau were dropping down all around the laager, unleashing devastating bursts of
fire and then taking to the air once more with bursts of their jets. The tactic
was designed so that the Space Marines could not concentrate fire on one target
before the battle suit was gone, leaping through the air to repeat the process
elsewhere. There was no point moving squads around, for to do so would be to
fall for the enemy’s ploy. Sarik ordered the sergeants to direct the fire of
their squads as best they could, concentrating their fire on the targets in
their fire arcs with ruthless efficiency.

Meanwhile, Sarik concentrated on the larger picture, reading the ebb and flow
of battle and predicting every probing attack the tau made. When a large horde
of the olive-green-skinned alien carnivores appeared in one quarter, he ordered
the Whirlwinds to open fire. Two-dozen missiles streaked from the launchers atop
the tanks on boiling black contrails, sweeping high into the air before
plummeting down on the aliens. The resulting explosion engulfed the entire
horde, slaying a hundred or more as missile after missile detonated in their
midst. When the smoke cleared, the surface of the road the enemy had advanced
along was a mass of black craters, several hundred aliens blown to charred meat
scattered across the whole area.