Matrix Dragon Presents.... Soldiers of the Imperium Part three Disclaimer: Everyone, you know who you belong to. *** Fesal Hive mostly looked like an imposing spike, a rod of steel that reached up through the thick cloud layer that covered the resource depleted planet. The centre of the Imperial war machine on Redermade, the hive was the first stop for any of the thousands of soldiers transported here to fight the former planetary governor and his armies. Just under a hundred troopers, wearing the dark green uniforms of the Tokyo Regiments, stepped off the transport shuttle. They were replacements for the troopers killed in combat over the past few weeks. The majority of them were raw rookies, only given basic training. A few were veterans of Tokyo's civil war over a year ago, with enough experience to attempt to whip the rookies into shape. One of them was far more experienced then the rest of them. She was a woman in her mid twenties, with short, spiky, purple hair. She wore the dark black long-coat and peaked cap of the Commissars. A chain sword was slung over her shoulder, and a laspistol was holstered on her belt. She gave off a very imposing figure, but what truly unnerved people were her eyes. They seemed rock hard, consisting of solid determination and dedication. The soldiers stood slightly apart from her. She led the group of soldiers across the landing strip, over to a man that was waiting near several light trucks. Like the soldiers, he wore the uniform of the Tokyo First. He had several bandages, and his neck had several burn marks. He saluted to the woman. "Trooper Saeba, Tokyo First." The woman saluted in return. "Commissar Konoko, acting commander of your reinforcements." Saeba looked at the soldiers, mostly boys and girls in their late teens/early twenties. "They don't look like much. They any good?" "They will be if they want to survive," Commissar Konoko replied. "That's true," Saeba said. "Climb on board," he added, pointing at the trucks. "The sooner we get to the front the better. This place makes me sick." Konoko nodded and yelled out orders to the troops, who quickly got on board. As they climbed in, she noticed Saeba scratching at the burn marks. "How'd you get them?" she asked. "Back in the last major rebel strike on our position," Saeba said with a scowl. "The rebels were more of the armoured shock troops, and they actually made it into the trenches. We forced them out, then followed close behind, intent on taking them out of the war, not to mention deal with the tanks. The next thing we knew, the fraggers in the tanks started firing on us, while we were duking it out with their comrades. Killed as many of their own as they did us." The Commissar noticed the soldiers listening in. She pretended to ignore them. This seemed to be telling of how the enemy was so cold- hearted that they would sacrifice their own men. That was something that could be used to motivate the men, if she worked it right. "Some loser rebel was killed during the shelling. He died with his finger on his flamers trigger. I got tagged. Spent a few days in the infirmary. A few more days and I'll be healed up and back in the action, and none too soon! I'm eager to pay those bastards back." The rookies cheered at this. Konoko considered this. These new soldiers still believed all the stories about the military. Stories like this appealed to their minds. It could easily be used to inspire hatred against the rebels. She placed the idea in the back of her head for later consideration, closed her eyes and tried to catch some sleep. She had a feeling she was going to be very busy over the coming months. *** Far to the east of Fesal Hive, a column of rebel troops were making their way towards the Imperial lines. It had been four days since the Imperial forces began to advance on Kell Hive, and the rebels had been launching a number of attacks of the forces. None of these attacks had consisted of any real power. In fact, the Tokyo Regiments hadn't needed to do anything other then blast them with long range artillery shelling. The same thing was going to happen to these particular rebels. Unknown to them, seven hoverbikes were parked behind a small sand dune. On top of the dune, several soldiers were crouched down, watching the rebels. "Nice collection," Sergeant Ranma Saotome muttered. "It won't stand a chance, but it's still a decent size." "What's with them?" Lina Inverse said. "The number of troops and armour down there adds up to one, maybe two companies... That wouldn't make a dent in the Imperial forces." "Who cares why?" Ranma replied. "Leave that to the intelligence boys. All we have to do is transmit this lots location to Seventh Company, then deal with any survivors once they're finished." He took the comm-link from one of his men, and switched to the channel used by the Tokyo First. Informing the Artillery Batteries of the rebel position, Ranma sat back to watch. He knew that ten miles away, the crews of the Basilisk tanks in the Tokyo Regiments armoured companies were loading the explosive 40cm shells into their vehicles Earthshaker cannons. He'd seen the results of a Basilisk attack before, but he had to make sure the shells reached their destination. The indirect firing used at such long ranges wasn't completely accurate. Soon, the morning was shattered as two rebel tanks exploded in flames. Soldiers scattered in confusion, only to find themselves falling pray to more explosions. The Earthshaker shells were more then capable of reducing a town to rubble in a matter of minutes. This group of rebels was no different, and the crews of the Basilisk tanks in seventh company were more then up to the task. After a few minutes, Ranma turned away, and walked down to the bottom of the sand dune. "Tenchi, are the bikes ready?" "All set," the trooper replied, kick starting his own bike. Ranma got comfortable on his own, and yelled to his men to get ready to move. About a minute and a half later the Basilisk tanks stopped their shelling. Ranma twisted the throttle on his bike and led his men over the sand dune and into what was left of the rebels. It was nothing more then a slaughter. There were about twenty rebels left alive, most of them injured, some deafened and blinded by the shelling. One strafing run later, and the rebels were all dead. Following Ranma's orders, the squad moved on to the next nav point. They rode in silence for several minutes, the only sounds that of their bikes low hum, and the sounds of the Imperial forces to the west. "You alright?" Lina asked, noticing the sickened look on her commanders face. "Just a little crook," Ranma replied. "I can't help but wonder what those rebel generals are thinking. Do they want to kill off all their men?" "Mankind is a strange thing," Lina said. "No one ever said they had to make sense." Ranma nodded, then turned his attention elsewhere as his head set buzzed all of a sudden. "Saotome, this is Schofield," the platoon Lieutenant said over the link. "What's your current position?" Ranma pulled a data-slate out of his jacket pocket and checked the map. "Quadrant 6, Sector 9-12." "Head for Quadrant 7, Sector 8-02. I'll be waiting there. Out." Ranma turned to his men. "The Lieutenant wants to meet up with him. Let's not keep the man waiting." He banked hard left, his squad following close behind. *** From an observers point of view, the Imperial Guard certainly looked like it could live up to its claim of being the largest army in history. In a constantly tightening circle around Kell Hive, tens of thousands of soldiers marched forward. Some were on foot, others in various vehicles. Slightly behind the first line of troops from the Tokyo regiments, a modified Chimera APC moved up alongside several cargo haulers. The markings along its side identified it as the personal transport of General Soun Tendo, commander-in-chief of the Tokyo Imperial Guard Regiments. "It doesn't make sense," Soun Tendo muttered. The holotank in front of him showed the Imperial advance, and the known positions of all rebel forces. For almost all of the several hundred kilometres to Kell Hive, the rebels were only a tiny number of dots. "The attacks they performed against Guard regiments before we began to advance were far more powerful then what we've seen over the past few days. There has to be a reason for it." "The hive is cut off," Misato Katsuragi pointed out. "They may be low on men. Either that, or they're keeping their men in the city to prepare for a siege." "Then why these small attacks?" asked Colonel Rezo, commander of the Tokyo Second. "Platoon and company sized forces attacking us right now is suicide, a waste of men and resources. It doesn't add up." "Penal Legions," said Captain Ulath, Tokyo Second. "Hmm?" "The soldiers we've been fighting are Imperial loyalists, people the rebels had to get rid of. What better way then sending them out to be killed by the people they support?" "Brutal, but unlikely," Soun said. "The soldiers we've been encountering were well equipped. It wouldn't make sense to give a suicide squad expensive equipment unless they had to deal out a large amount of damage." "And sending out a few dozen men will never do much damage to an entire army," Rezo muttered. "Well, there's not much we can do on that subject now except for guess. If it's possible, try and take some of the rebels alive for questioning. Next matter of interest." The image in the holotank changed to show a number of small towns between the Imperial Guard and Kell Hive. "These towns are all over the place. Some are built around mining operations, some acted as supply stations for interhive transports, and numerous over reasons. Over the past year, they've ended up having to choose sides. Those that have sided with the Imperium have been safely evacuated. As for those that didn't, most of the people in those villages had fled to the hives by the time Guard forces arrived. Those that remained usually tried attacking and ended up killed." "Over the past few days, Lieutenant Schofields recon platoon has come across a number of towns which are empty, yet nothing is missing," he continued. At the blank look from several officers he explained. "The power supplies to the houses are still on, vehicles are still parked in garages, everything that gives off the image of a small town on the surface of a Hive world, except that there isn't a person there. No bodies, no indication of where they left to." "If the townsfolk were leaving, they'd turn off the power no matter what," Misato said. "Resources are in such short supply on planets like these that they'd never be so wasteful." "True," Tendo replied. "Which makes this all the more mysterious." *** "Ack!" Washuu exclaimed as the exhaust pipe belched a cloud of black smoke into her face. Stumbling back, she glared at the offending machine. "You think you're funny, don't you?" Being a machine, the Blazer hovercycle made no reply. Nearby, Ash Ketchum suppressed a grin. Washuu glared at him as well. "Hey, it's not my fault if you're having trouble with a grumpy machine," he said. Washuu nodded. "I know, I know. I've just been having a lousy day. Maybe I should - huh?" "What?" Ash asked, before he saw it too. A Commissar was walking towards them. While this common (and hated) sight was nothing unique, the fact that said Commissar was a woman was quite different. "You are Tech-priestess Hibuki?" the Commissar asked. Washuu nodded. "What can I do for you?" "I have been assigned to the bike recon squad which you designed the vehicles for. I'll be needing one myself." "Of course," Washuu said, turning her attention back to the partly finished Blazer. "You're in luck my friend. I was already building a new one, as a potential upgrade. The built in lasguns have been replaced with bolters. I assume you won't mind that change?" "No, I won't," the woman replied. She noticed Ash sitting nearby. "Is he your assistant?" "No, and thank the Machine God that he isn't," Washuu replied. "He's one of the men from the bike squad you'll be joining. Lost part of his leg the other day, and he's adjusting to the bionics. What's your name?" "Commissar Konoko. Where is Sergeant Saotome right now?" "Out on recon," Ash replied, handing Washuu a screwdriver. "They should be back in about two hours, although I heard over the comm-net that the Lieutenant found another ghost town." "Another one?" Washuu said, loosening a panel to get at some wires. "What's that, eight now?" "Nine, I think. Word is the General's ordered proper searches of each one." *** "I thought it was closer to seven ghost towns," Lina said as the group of hoverbikes approached the town. "Yeah, well this makes it nine all up," Ranma replied, looking over the small collection of houses. None of them were in good condition, built from assorted scrap. From several of them, he could see the smoke let off by burning coal. On a world as resource starved as this one, wasting fuel was one of the ultimate sins. Yet the people of a number of small towns had simply vanished, leaving the power generators on. He spotted two Chimera APC's near the road leading into town, a number of soldiers standing around it. One bore the markings of First Company, the other of Seventh Company. The first one had to be the Lieutenants transport, built in Fesal Hive less then a week before. The other would most likely be one of the Armoured Fist Patrol squads, serving a similar role to the recon platoon. Lieutenant Schofield was standing next to his squads tank. He looked a lot like an officer from the Tokyo Defence Force, with his body armour hidden under an officers issue leather trenchcoat, with the Imperial Eagle on the left sleeve and the kite symbol of the Tokyo Regiments on the right. The eight man squad came to a halt near the tanks, Ranma saluting Lieutenant Schofield. "Sergeant Saotome, reporting as ordered." Both Schofield and the Armoured Fist squad leader - a Corporal, judging from his rank pins - saluted in reply. "You made good time," Schofield said. "Sergeant, this is Corporal Hicks, commander of the Second Armoured Fist Patrol Unit, Seventh Company." "Pleasure to meet you Corporal," Ranma said. "Same here," Hicks replied. "Okay, park your bikes somewhere safe," Ranma ordered. "Daisuke, Tai, you've got guard detail. Everyone else with me. Let's go." *** Ranma pushed the door open with his foot, then entered the home, lasgun ready. Lina followed close behind him, her flamer slung over her shoulder and a laspistol and knife in her hands. Tenchi was next, the rest of the squad close behind. Ranma and Lina entered the kitchen, other memebers of the squad moving through the rest of the house. "Yuk!" Lina commented, holding her nostrils shut, "they could have at least closed the cooler." Sure enough, the cooler door was wide open, the stench of spoiled food drifting out across the room. Ranma pushed it shut, then checked around the room. Everything was in it's place, simply adding to the mystery here. Tenchi entered one of the bedrooms. It looked like a teenagers room, due to the fact it looked like a bomb had hit it. There was even a data-slate lying on the bed. Tenchi picked it up. he thought as he keyed through a few images before tossing it back on the bed. He checked under the bed and other large objects, finding nothing on any real value. Leaving the bedroom, he saw Shinji Ikari leaving another room. The sniper shook his head at his squad-mates unasked question. Then he froze. Quietly, he moved to a plasteel window, sniper rifle in hand. Tenchi moved up towards him. "Saotome, this is Ikari. Are any of our men around the side of the house?" "No," Ranma replied over the comm-net. "Everyone's inside this building." "Then we've got company." *** Ranma and Lina slipped out of the front door, moving towards the side of the building. Quietly, Ranma slid a long knife from the sheath on his belt. Three men were moving down towards the backyard. Ranma stepped forward, raising his lasgun. "That's far enough," he said. "Turn around slowly." The three men turned, and Ranma got a good look at their armour. They wore heavy combat boots, gauntlets and fatigues, with an armoured breastplate over that, as well as two large shoulderpads. On the breastplate, there was the Imperium Eagle, and the left shoulderpad bore the symbol of a powerful dragon, the right had squad markings. "Space Marine Scouts," Ranma said. "I'm willing to bet that you had more of your team behind you." He spun on the spot, throwing his knife. It struck the wall of the house, next to another Scout, this one with Sergeants pins. "Those wooden boards on the veranda creaked. Pure bad luck on your part. I'm Sergeant Ranma Saotome, Tokyo First Regiment Recon Platoon." The scout nodded. "Sergeant Trunks, Eternal Dragons Space Marine Chapter Scout Company." Two more men stepped up behind Trunks. "The engine sounds we heard while passing this town were yours, I presume?" "Our bikes perhaps, or the two Chimeras that the other squads here came in." Ranma opened a channel on his headset. "Lieutenant, you're never going to believe what we've got here." *** "What'd you find?" Schofield asked as his squad checked through a shop. "Space Marine Scouts. They heard the tanks and came to check." "Now that is a surprise. Are they staying or moving on?" "I'll check." There was a moments silence, during which time Schofield opened a cooler and checked the food. Most of it was still fresh. "They'll hang around. Their commander says he'll follow your orders." Schofield blinked at that. Space Marines usually had decades, even centuries of experience. The thought that they'd be following his orders - someone who spent five years as a grunt in the Tokyo Defence Force, one year as a sergeant and only just got promoted - was very hard to wrap his head around. He managed it though. "Give them our secondary comm-channel." "Sergeant Trunks reporting in," a new voice said a moment later. "How many men in your squad?" Schofield asked. "Seven. Two snipers, one rocket launcher and the rest carry boltguns or pistols." "Deploy your snipers and launcher in overwatch positions around the edge of town. The rest of your squad goes with Saotome. Corporal Hicks, status report." *** "No sign of any life," Hicks answered. His squad was moving down the middle of a narrow street. "So far it's been residential. Looks like they just up and left." "Matches up with the other ghost towns I've seen," Trunks said. "This is just one big mystery." "Hey Corporal!" Hicks glanced to his left to see Trooper Hudson pointing at a large pile of scrap metal pretending to be a building. Over the front door was the symbol of the Imperial Eagle, hanging loosely from a number of rivets. "All squads, this is Hicks, I've found what appears to be the local law enforcement headquarters." "Check it out," Schofield ordered. Hicks sent two soldiers around each side of the building, to come in from the back, while he and the other three would come in the front. Nudging the doors open with his lasgun, Hicks led his men into the building. Inside it looked just as bad as outside, with everything built from scrap. Hicks just shook his head in disgust at the sloppy repairs to a broken water pipe. It seemed that on this planet, the only people to have anything decent were the noble families, with their near-limitless supply on money. Everyone else got whatever appeared to be lying around. Leading his men through the entry hall, he found himself in the workroom, containing the desks and machines used by the local lawmen (called Enforcers around here). Walking over to one codifier, he found it still turned on. Curious, he punched a few runes on the key-slate, calling up the personal log of the devices user. After that, he skimmed through the entries. -Can't believe I got posted to a worthless shanty like this. My career's over before it began!. -The locals here seem pleasant enough, although they seem a little wary of me. Could just be that I'm a stranger. Country folk around here ain't used to that. -There is something going on here. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I doubt it. I've been here almost two months and people are still nervous around me. -Came across a meeting between a townsman and a mutant today. I didn't get a good look at the townsman, and both of them escaped. The sarge seemed very interested. -The mutant case was closed, even though there were other sightings of the Chaos-tainted freaks. When I confronted the sarge about it, he laughed it off, saying how there are always mutants lurking near places like this, and every now and then, a few would be hunted down and killed, but now wasn't the time. I guess he's right. -Some of the people are acting very strange. I've noticed some of them missing for days at times. When anyone asks about it, they always make an excuse, like they were checking the water-collectors out of town. All I care about is that there's a traitor to humanity in this town. When I find him, he can make his explanations to the Emperor himself. -Old man Sader was murdered, seemingly by a mutant. He was torn apart by some sort of claws. The strange thing is, none of the locals seem to care. The sarge made requests for a Mutant kill-team from Kell to deal with the problem. It was denied. Now I know I'm not paranoid. Hicks came to the last entry on file. On a hunch, he decided to read the whole thing. He wasn't disappointed. - The sarge is dead. One of those... things took his head clean off. Gener's not in good shape, and Hadel's vanished somewhere. These mutants are unlike anything I could imagine. They came in and started killing. The scary thing is that some of the locals helped, even some of the Enforcers that have been here for a long time. Lockly, Emperor damn him, pulled a gun on the rest of us. That's what messed up Gener so much. The autopistol shredded his stomach. I've sent a message to Kell Hive, calling for backup, but I don't think it made it there. All I can do now is take as many of the bastards with me when I go to stand before the Emperor. May he forgive me for my failures here. ------EOF------ "Dammmmnnn," Hicks muttered, before tabbing his helmet mike. "All squad leaders this is Hicks. I've found something very interesting here." *** "Are you sure about that?" Trunks asked as Hicks finished giving them the short version of what he found. "About as sure as I can be sir," Hicks replied over the comm-net. "We got lucky, and one of the Enforcers, as the local police are called, left his codifier on. Hold on a second." There was the sound of scraping metal over the link, causing all the squad leaders to flinch. "Looks like our friends did a little redecorating. There's some dried blood here. Not much, just the really tough stuff they couldn't wash off. They tried to hide the evidence." "You can't hide everything," Ranma said. "Bullet holes, spent rounds, everything that indicates a fight. There'd have to be at least some tiny amounts left and there was nothing at the other towns at all." "Ranma's right," Trunks said. "If mutants had taken the ghost towns by force, we'd have known it by now." "Cover up by the people upstairs?" Lina quipped, triple checking her flamer. She had a familiar sense of dread building. "I doubt it," Trunks replied. "A lot of those in the higher ranks are pretty paranoid, but I don't think they'd cover up mutant attacks. After all, every single soldier knows they're out there." "They always are," Schofield replied over the comm-net. He was right about that. Every planet across the Imperium had the problem of mutants. These subhuman creatures were almost always exiled or killed. But on planets like this, with a population in the tens of billions, there could be thousands of the beasts gathered together at times, more then enough to take over a village, or cause Imperial Guard Regiments some trouble. "Hey, look at that." Lina pointed at a building visible as the two squads turned a corner. At the end of the short dead-end street was a small fortress, a strange meshing of armour and stone acting as the outer walls. "Must be the town hall," Trunks decided. "It'd also serve as a last line of defence." He keyed his headset. "Lieutenant, we've found what appears to be the town hall. We're moving to search it." "Inform me the moment you find anything interesting," Schofield replied. *** As Ranma expected, the Town Hall seemed to be empty. Both squads found nothing on the first or second floor, and the basement seemed to be coming up empty as well. Well, it was until Tenchi found a large armoured door. A few minutes later, men from both squads were gathered around it. It was locked, some sort of keypad the only way to open it. Ranma could see the locking bolts in the door. "A storeroom of some sort," Trunks said. "The locking system is familiar. Very resistant to conventional unlocking techniques, and explosive entry would set off more aggressive defensive measures, not to mention destroying everything in the room anyway." "You're the one with the experience," Ranma replied. "So how do we get in?" "Easy," Trunks said, drawing his sword from the scabbard on his back. He clicked a button on the hilt, and a light blue glow formed around the blade. "Use UNconventional unlocking techniques!" And with that, he slashed downward with the power sword, cutting through the lock easily. "Nice trick," Ranma commented, as Lina and Hiroshi pulled the door open. As the contents of the room became visible, several people gasped in surprise. It was a body, only just starting to decay. A rather large rifle was tightly gripped in the corpses hands, aimed in the general direction of the door. Carefully, Tenchi removed the gun from the body, safing it and placing it to the side. Ranma glanced at the rest of the storeroom, and understood just why they'd have this one locked. There were several dozen weapons racks, carrying firearms ranging from pistols to anti-tank weapons. "They really take their defence seriously here," he commented. "That's a lot of weaponry for such a small town." Trunks looked up from the body. "On a planet like this you can't be too careful. But take a look at this. This man didn't die of injuries or illness. He starved to death." "He sure tried not to," one of the scouts said, kicking a box with his foot. Several empty cans of food fell out a hole in the side. Ranma picked one up and looked at it. It had been picked clean, not a spot of food left. "He must have been here for months," Hiroshi said quietly. Several other soldiers nodded in agreement. "Hey, what was the name of that Enforcer that vanished, the one Corporal Hicks mentioned?" "I think it was Hadel," Trunks said. Ranma knelt down, and checked the name tag on the mans shirt. Sure enough it said Hadel. "I'll be damned. Nice guess Hiroshi." He keyed his headset, and informed the other squads of his find. He was ordered to have some men secure the site, while the rest of his squad continued the search. "Hey, take a look at this," Lina said, holding up a rifle she pulled off a rack. Ranma took a look and blinked in surprise. It was one of the old Mark 2 Boltguns. Bigger and uglier then the more common Mark 3, it was still no less effective. "Talk about a classic," Ranma commented, spotting about five more M-2 Bolters and ten M-3's. Lina placed the M-2 back and grabbed an M- 3, along with several clips of ammunition. "What're you doing Lina?" "Simple," the red-head replied as she made her way along a wall until she found a nice looking bolt pistol, "I'm shopping." "You're what?" Tenchi said. "Shopping. Look, the villagers are gone, so they're not going to be used by anyone around here, except for the enemy. I say we use 'em to surprise anyone that thinks they can outgun the Guard!" Ranma glanced at Trunks, who shrugged, as if saying 'they're your men,' before turning his attention to the door locks. "Ah, why not?" he decided, grabbing a Mark 3 Bolter, some ammo, and a bolt pistol. Several other soldiers also grabbed bolters and grenades, the other weapons racks largely ignored as the rifles were weaker then the bolters, and they were a recon squadron, meaning heavy weapons would only get in the way, although Hiroshi grabbed a rocket launcher and a few rockets (He missed his old one that he'd had to give up for the bikes). "This door was locked from the inside," Trunks said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "Say what?" Lina replied. "I'm serious Guardsman. This Enforcer must have known a bit about security machines. He made sure it would open to a pass-phrase only he knew. He was hiding," he decided, his eyes narrowing as he considered the options. "Yeah," Ranma said, "but from what? The mutants? Or something else?" *** Schofield stood in the middle of the Church, looking up at the stain-glass roof. This building was unique in the entire shanty village, not because of its religious significance, but because it was the only building that some had put some effort into making it look like it wasn't a pile of scrap. "Your opinion Commissar?" Schofield asked Commissar Barnes. Barnes was the Commissar that had been assigned to the platoon's last Lieutenant, and was hated by all the soldiers due to his harsh enforcement of Imperial edict. Still, he was a good warrior, with more experience then most of the Tokyo Guardsmen (A few officers from the TDF _might_ have had more) "Corporal Hicks theory seems to be the most likely. It appears that these 'ghost towns' are nothing more then the result of mutant attacks and the stories of nervous guardsmen." Schofield scowled at that. Barnes had a habit of putting down anyone not as devoted to the Emperor as he was. Being a Commissar, he looked down on everyone. But still, the opinion had merit. If there was one thing true for all soldiers everywhere, it was that they loved making up stories, and gossiped like old women. him up. Glancing down, he saw that one of the tiles on the floor had been chipped and come loose. Not recognising the type of stone it was made of, he picked it up for a better look. Then he froze. Underneath where the tile had been was a large hole. Kneeling down, he pulled more tiles away, revealing a metal frame that had been holding the tiles in place. Calling some of his men over, they pulled the frame away. The hole was about five metres deep, and a metal ladder was built into the wall for easy access. "How'd you find this?" Comms-officer Crowley asked. "Dumb luck," Schofield replied, slinging his bolter over his shoulder and climbing down. Two of his men followed him, the other three setting up a defensive position on the surface. As his feet touched the ground, Schofield turned to examine the hole. He saw the tunnel instantly, leading north and down, away from the village. "Crowley, Barnes, you're with me. The rest of you stay here." He tapped his headset. "Squad Leaders, this is Schofield. Status report." "Hicks here. We've almost completed a sweep of the southern side of the town. Nothing new to report." "Saotome here. Trunks and I have finished searching the Town Hall. Nothing but that body. I've left three men to guard it." "Right. I've found a hidden tunnel in the Imperial Church, and we're taking a look now. When you've finished your sweeps, return to the vehicles." "Understood." "Roger." "Yes sir." Schofield stepped forward into the tunnel, strapping the handlight to the side of his bolter. *** "Man oh man, I do not like this," Trooper Hudson muttered. "Ghost towns, a single dead body, now hidden tunnels. Something ain't right here!" "Knock it off Hudson," Hicks growled. "Bartley, anything?" Trooper Rook Bartley shook her head. "No movement whatsoever." The young woman growled as she considered the Auspex motion sensor in her hand. "What the hell's going on here?" "No idea," Hicks replied, pushing a door open with his lasgun. Another empty room. The Corporal was really starting to hate this town. Rook swore as her Auspex started beeping. "I've got movement. Two hundred metres to the south." "All squads, this is Hicks. Anyone to the south of town?" "Saotome here. All my men are in the northern half, except for our guards near the vehicles." "Sergeant Trunks. All of my squad are in the northern half." "Trooper Otaru. Lieutenant Schofield is investigating the tunnel, heading east towards Kell Hive. The rest of the squad is here." "Then we've got unknown beings south of the village." "Move to investigate it," Trunks ordered. "I'll send some men to assist you." "Understood. Hicks out." The Corporal turned to his squad. "Let's go. Keep it quiet." *** "Two each?" Ranma said. Trunks nodded, and the guardsman turned to his squad. "Shinji, Hiroshi, head over to the tread-heads and assist them. They'll probably forget that they're not immune to death." "Don't all tread-heads?" Hiroshi joked, patting the rocket launcher he'd swiped from the town armoury. "It's not their fault. Being cooped up in all that armour would do that to anyone," Shinji replied as they walked off, two Space Marine Scouts with them. Lina blinked. "Did he just make a joke?" she asked. "I think he did," Tenchi replied. "Good to see he's loosening up a little." *** Schofield ran his hand along the side of the tunnel, his face showing an expression of confusion. "This tunnel isn't natural," he said. "Almost seems like it was dug by some sort of... animal." He didn't mention the number of twists and turns it had, which meant that they had no idea where they were in relation to the town. At least it hadn't split into several tunnels. "Perhaps the mutants," Barnes replied. "It is possible that this was their method of entry into the village was through the Imperial Church." "Heretics using the Church to attack innocent people," Schofield muttered. "Is it just me, or does life seem a constant joke sometimes?" Barnes glared at Comms-officer Crowley, who was doing his best to suppress a smirk. Schofield noticed that the Commissar was getting annoyed at the Guardsmen. Annoyed Political Officers usually meant trouble. "There." The Lieutenant pointed at a small light in the distance. "Looks like the end." he thought, as Barnes and Crowley turned their attention from each other to the light. Quickly but quietly, the trio moved to the tunnel exit. Carefully, Schofield glanced around the corner... and his jaw dropped in horror. "Emperor's Light," he whispered. *** "Nothing," Hicks muttered, lowering his lasgun in disgust. "Not a damn thing." Both he and his squad were standing on the outskirts of the town. In front of them was nothing but miles of flat, dead plains. Completely flat, with not a single rock or sand dune for anyone to hide behind. Of course, if they were hiding, the Auspex wouldn't have detected their movement. "Are you sure that thing's working right?" he asked Bartley. "Yes I'm sure!" she growled back. She looked at the screen again. "But I am getting some sort of interference. Almost like it was.... underground." "Couldn't you have told us that before?" Hudson muttered. "Look asshole, this thing doesn't have a good range, all right?" the young woman growled. "You don't like it, you use the blasted thing." "Calm down, both of you," Hicks ordered. Taking Rook's Auspex, he stepped forward, until he was right over the movement. "What the hell is this?" he said. The image on the Auspex indicated that there must be dozens, possibly hundreds of creatures underneath him. Either that or it was _really_ big, neither of which he wanted to consider. *** Schofield crawled forward, then looked out over the ledge. Barnes and Crowley were right alongside him. They were in some sort of giant underground cavern, lit up by some unknown light source. The ledge the trio was on was almost fifty metres above the cavern floor. And that floor was currently overflowing with some strange creatures. They appeared to be some sort of deformed humans. Their bodies seemed insectoid, with six limbs, two ending in clawed feet, the others usually ending in a long sharp claw. Tails of various sizes were usually attached. And with blood-red skin, they were a sight that would frighten even the most experienced soldier. "What the frack are those things?" Crowley whispered. "Beats the hell out of me," Schofield replied, using his gun-scope for a closer look. "Some kind of mutant. They must be the ones that attacked this town." He noticed that some of the mutants looked more human then others. In fact, some of them still had tatters of clothing, as if they were slowly losing their humanity. Behind him, Barnes remained silent. "There," Crowley whispered. "I think I see their leader." "How do you know it's the leader?" Schofield muttered, still looking over the mutants. "Because it's standing upright, is twice as large as the rest, and actually has a few usable looking hands." Schofield turned his attention to where the man was pointing, and admitted to himself that Crowley was almost certainly right. The beast stood high on it's hind legs, its tail thumping the ground behind him. One of the middle limbs was a long and curved claw, the other ended in what looked like some sort of organic gun. The upper limbs had hands that, despite the insectoid carapace, still looked too human for comfort. And the face.... Schofield pulled his eyes away. The creature had been injured during the battle above, and the entire left side of it's head was badly damaged from a plasma weapon of some sort. The right side had skin the same carapace as the others, but the facial features were slowly being twisted from human to... whatever it was. "Commissar, analysis?" Schofield said quietly. "These creatures undoubtedly attacked the town," Barnes said. "It appears that they are all one type of mutant, which would indicate that they have been breeding for several generations." Schofield looked at the Commissar. The entire analysis had been delivered in the tone Ranma Saotome once described as 'politics-grade bullshit,' something that Commissars were experts at. Barnes knew something, and he wasn't telling. The Lieutenant didn't feel like starting an argument now, considering the number of violent monsters below. So he turned his attention back to the creature. The mutant was saying something in what seemed to be the planets native language. Schofield only knew a few words of this language, as did the other two. Which meant that they had no idea what was being said, except for a few words. The only words Schofield recognised were something involving food, and Lord/Master/Emperor (The last word varied in meaning depending on context and the rest of the sentence.) Considering that this world had broken away from the Imperium, he doubted it was the Emperor. So who was this master? After a few minutes of this, Schofield scratched at his lip, trying to deal with an itch. When he looked at his hand, it had a thin smear of red on it. Instantly, he rubbed at his nostrils. A blood nose. A quick glace at the other two soldiers increased his fears. Both of them also had blood noses. A simple annoyance like this that also served as a beacon for when one was in the presence of a psyker. Psyker. Sorcerer. Witch. Telepath. Call them what you want, they were still the same - beings gifted and cursed with the ability to manipulate the arcane energies of the Warp, that other reality that was home to the Chaos Gods. The Warp, and the Psykers, were the only thing capable of faster-then-light travel, and thus they were what held the Imperium together. But at the same time, the Warp posed a greater threat to mankind then any alien race or rebels. For with this connection between the Warp and Mankind, the Chaos Gods could corrupt from within, twisting and changing a person's minds. And now, there was a psyker directly below him. Tapping his blood nose, he watched as the other two realised the problem just as he had. He turned his attention to the area below. The mutant leader had all four of his 'arms' raised up now, and blue crackles of lightning ran along it's bizarre skin. Schofield forced back the urge to vomit. Like any loyal servant of the Emperor, hated and distrusted the power of the Warp. Although there were those who used that power for the Imperium, that did not dull the hatred in any way. *** "Company," Rook said as two guardsmen and two Space Marines came up behind them. The Corporal ignored this, his attention on the movement below. "What the hell?" Hicks growled. The Auspex in his hand was going crazy, as some sort of new interference scrambled the sensors. "What's going on down there?" *** Lightning began to reach away from the creature, earthing itself in the cave floor and walls. One bolt struck another creature, but it didn't seem to feel the pain. Instead, it closed it's eyes and seemed to enjoy the feeling. Schofield shuddered at the thought of something, even this depraved beast, enjoying the touch of the Warp. Suddenly, the leader roared, swinging a claw towards the platform and tunnel entrance where the soldiers were hiding. Many of the other creatures also turned to face it. Schofield felt his heart jump into his throat. The mutants charged towards the platform, their claws rending the stone in an attempt to secure a handhold. All three of them leaned over the edge and opened fire, Schofield with his bolter, Barnes with his bolt pistol, and Crowley with the squads grenade launcher. The first wave of creatures were forced back, leaving a few dead. However, more of them were climbing other walls, coming on from the sides and above. "Back into the tunnel!" Schofield yelled. Barnes glared at him, and was about to shoot the Lieutenant (Standard practise of Commissars killing what they believe to be deserters. They were often wrong) when Schofield pushed him into the tunnel. "We'll do the Emperor no good if we die here!" He glanced over the edge of the platform again, and saw the mutant leader aiming the organic gun arm. Muttering a Imperial prayer under his breath, he fired off a burst at the creature, the weapon sounding surprisingly quiet against the backdrop of mutant roars that echoed around the cave. The burst hit the creature around the head and chest area, the explosive-tipped bullets detonating with surprising force. They failed to penetrate the mutants skin, but it knocked it off balance, swinging the gun arm away from the tunnel. Without warning, a wave of blue-black energy launched itself out of the gun arm and towards the roof. "I hate psykers," Schofield muttered just before the energy exploded, sending a shockwave out in all directions. He was knocked back by the blast, slamming into the cave wall hard. Most of the creatures were scattered across the cave, their attack on the three guardsmen stopped for the moment. Climbing to his feet, Schofield saw light shining through a massive hole in the roof created by the explosion. As the creature below began to climb to their feet, he saw a volley of las-blasts reach down from the hole, tearing a gash in the crowd. "Who's that firing?" Schofield demanded into his headset. "Hicks here Sir. Lieutenant, where are you?" The Corporal followed the question by dropping a few frag grenades down into the cave. "See the tunnel and little platform dug into one of the walls?" Schofield asked. "Yeah, I see you sir," Hick said. "You've got a group of those things climbing up towards you. We've got rockets, head into the tunnel and we'll bring it down behind you." Schofield said, already backing towards the tunnel. "There are some heading along the roof towards you. Good luck Corporal." He fired off one more burst, the explosive tipped rounds reducing two mutants to piles of flesh, before turning and running into the tunnel. Hicks glanced at the trooper with the rocket launcher. "You, see that tunnel there?" He pointed at the tunnel. Hiroshi nodded. "Take it down!" Hiroshi lifted up the launcher, resting it against his shoulder. Hicks grabbed Hudson, who was standing behind the rocket launcher, just before Hiroshi fired. Hudson's helmet was sent flying, and the rocket raced down into the cave, impacting against the rocks above the tunnel. The resulting explosion shredded three mutants that were too close to the tunnel, as the falling rubble blocked off the entrance. "And people wonder why I enjoy this job," he muttered. "Move back!" Hicks yelled, following his own orders and stepping away from the hole in the ground. They were just in time as the creatures clambered over the edge and attacked. *** "Damn it!" Ranma yelled as he ran towards the southern end of town. "Tai, Daisuke, start your cycles up and head for the battle," he growled into his headset. "What about the other bikes?" Tai asked. "They'll be fine. Tell those tank drivers to move as well," Ranma ordered, jumping over a fence. Ahead, he saw the Space Marine Scouts run around a corner and out of sight. Just a foot behind Saotome, Lina slammed a clip into place on her bolter. "Guess we were lucky enough to find the only ghost town not dead yet," she muttered. "Yeah, lucky. Tenchi, I want a full plasma spread. Lina, keep your flamer ready for my order." *** Hiroshi stumbled back as a massive claw sliced his rocket launcher in two. Fumbling at the laspistol on his belt, the guardsman watched with detached horror as the mutant crouched down, then leapt forward, claws aimed at his chest. A bolt of red energy took the monster in the side, knocking it off course. Hiroshi yelped in pain as the claw carved a gash along his right arm. Finally gaining a good grip on his pistol, he turned and put several shots through the mutants head at point-blank range. "Thanks Shinji," he muttered, even though he knew the sniper wouldn't hear him over all the mayhem. In fact Shinji Ikari did hear him through his headset, but he was too focused on his task at hand. Quickly and cleanly, he fired a single shot at a creature before moving onto the next one. Most hit by him died due to the location or severity of the wound, and those that survived the shot from his powerful sniper rifle were easy pickings for the weaker las-guns carried by the other troops. The flow of creatures from the hole was increasing as more of them turned their attention away from the collapsed tunnel Schofield left down, to the guardsmen attacking them from above. "Hudson, frags!" Hicks yelled, throwing the last of his grenades into the hole. Hudson followed suit, and soon they heard the familiar detonation and screams of pain. The Corporal dropped back to reload his las-gun, giving him a chance to assess the situation. Most of the creatures were being killed as they climbed out of the hole, but several had managed to get close, although no one was dead yet. That was sure to come soon enough. The only time the beasts stood still long enough for a clean shot, but the dead ones made reasonably good cover, giving the creatures time to prepare themselves. "Move back!" he ordered, firing off a volley of las- blasts. The soldiers fell back, creating more room between them and the creatures. Suddenly, one of them leapt forward, it's claw bursting through Hudson's leg. The trooper screamed in agony, falling to the ground. Ripping it's claw out of the humans leg, the creature prepared to deliver the final blow, only to receive an armoured boot to the face. One of the Space Marine Scouts had attacked the beast, first knocking it away from the fallen soldier, then following up with a punch that cracked open the insect-like skin around its jaw. The creature growled in some form of rage, swinging two claws at the Marine. The genetically-enhanced warrior caught one claw, while the other bit into his shoulderplate. Before any watching could blink, the Marine raised his bolt pistol and blew the creatures head away. Hudson was dragged away from the action while the others laid down covering fire. From the west, two Chimera APC's and two Blazer hovercycles made their way towards the battle. At the same time, three more Space Marines emerged from the town, with several Guardsmen close behind. Trunks roared in anger as he saw the creatures, and his power sword seemed to come alive, energy running along the blade. He charged past the guardsmen, taking off the head of the first beast he saw. The next fell to a quick blast from his Plasma pistol, before the next managed to slash at his leg, leaving a long gash. Trunks grabbed him, crushed his neck and tossed him aside. Ranma blasted the still-choking creature with his bolter. Ranma assesed the situation. Trunks seemed to have gone into a blood-lust of some sort, judging from the way he was tearing through the creatures. He recognised Trunks' fighting style as a modified form of kempo, although it incorporated all sorts of other fighting styles as well. The various Guardsmen were still moving away from the hole slowly, their weapons spraying out death to anything that approached. Several of them were down, some with serious injuries. After several more minutes of constant firing, the number of mutants attacking them died down, and then stopped. Trunks walked towards the hole, his armour badly damaged, and blood from both the creatures and himself coating his body. He glanced over the edge and started swearing and a number of obscure dialects. "What's wrong?" Ranma asked. "There was another tunnel," Trunks growled. "This was just a diversion while the majority of them escaped." Ranma looked at the pile of bodies. "Some diversion." Schofield's squad emerged from the town, weapons ready. They lowered them when they saw the results. "Looks like you got all these mutants already," the Lieutenant said. "They were sub-human," Barnes said. "They lacked the fighting spirit and intelligence of a true soldier of the Emperor." Schofield ignored him. "I'm certain that High Command will want to know about this. Crowley, get me a channel to General Tendo." Meanwhile, Ranma helped Hiroshi to his feet. "You alright?" "Been better sir," the trooper replied. "My own fault for getting too close." He gritted his teeth while Lina saw to his injuries. "Could you be a little less painful?" he muttered. "Look, I'm no medic. Ketchum always dealt with that. You'll just have to wait until he gets back." With one last adjusted, the bandage was in place. "There. That'll do for now." She looked over at the bodies. "What are those things?" "I don't know," Ranma replied, "but Trunks knows. He really went crazy." "Yeah, I saw." Lina looked to where the Space Marine had taken care of his own wounds, although they already appeared to be healing, thanks to the wonders of gene-engineering. "People, listen up," Schofield called out. "I've just spoken with the General. Our orders are to hold this town until the main advance reaches us here tomorrow morning. We have reinforcements on the way from Seventh Company, they'll be here in four hours at the most. In the meantime, we set up a defensive position to take on anything that comes if possible." The Lieutenant turned to Trunks. "Sergeant, while I thank you for the respect you have given me by commanding you, but I have no doubt that your experience exceeds mine by no small margin. I humbly request that you take command." Trunks rose to his feet. "It takes a brave man to admit his shortcomings Lieutenant. I accept your offer." He looked around. "Corporal Hicks, can the injured be moved?" "We can move them a short distance. Some of them aren't in a good condition." "We'll head for the town hall. Trooper Ikari, when we get there, I want you to go to the spire on the roof for sniper and sentry duty." Shinji nodded and saluted. "Squad leaders will gather in the mayor's office." *** The mayor's office was, like the rest of the town, in rather poor condition. However, it did have a very good map on the wall, which Trunks pulled down and spread out over the table, marking in the current military situation. "The tanks and cycles are hidden here," Ranma said, pointing to a garage. "We should be able to deploy quickly from there. I've also sent several of my squad to take the heavy weapons from the storeroom below and bring them up here. From there we can determine where to deploy them." "I've got two men rigging explosive charges in that tunnel," Hicks reported, "and the other three still on their feet searching for more. They've been equipped with our Auspex, along with one from Lieutenant Schofields squad. The injured are safely set up in this buildings infirmary. One of them isn't expected to make it," he added, his face dark with anger. That man was one of his. "Our reinforcements are making good time," Schofield said, changing the subject and pulling Hicks away from problems he couldn't solve. "Last communication indicates they'll arrive in just over three hours from now." Trunks nodded. "We'll decide where they go when they arrive." Crowley knocked on the door. "Come in." The comms-officer entered, saluted and handed the Space Marine several printout from the comm- set. Trunks read over the information and nodded. "That will be all." As Crowley left, Trunks turned back to the squad leaders. "We've got a problem." Grabbing a pen, he drew a line on the map. "The Kell smog line. I'm sure you all know what that is." "Imperial forces in orbit can't see behind that line because of pollution levels from Kell Hive," Ranma said. Trunks nodded. "What you may not know is that the rebels have set up an extensive anti-air defence behind that line. It was believed that it was to stop bomber attacks on the Hive, but it's also prevented air recon missions as well, which made us blind in that region." He dropped one of the printouts on the table. "Orbital forces recorded these images just beyond the smog line less then an hour ago." It was a chilling image. Tens of thousands of dots that had to be infantry, along with hundreds of tanks, Wasp helicopters and K-Suits. "What we thought was a retreat was actually the rebels regrouping out of sight," Schofield muttered. "And those rebel forces we've been taking out were recon elements," Ranma finished. The room fell silent as they considered how everyone had been fooled. "How long until they get here?" Hicks asked. "Twelve hours, maybe less. It depends on if they're going to counterattack or dig trenches and wait for us to go to them," Trunks said. "Judging how far ahead the recon elements have been moving, I doubt they're going to dig in," Schofield said. "How long until the main Imperial force reaches us?" Ranma asked. "At least fourteen hours," Trunks answered. "Current estimate is somewhere around sunrise." Ranma cursed. "So, what do we do now?" "We have to try and hold this town," Trunks said. "High Command has to know what happened here. I'll call up my commanding officer. Maybe we can get some reinforcements here. Space Marines. I'd like to see these rebels take on the Eternal Dragons." Ranma nodded, but his mind was working overtime. Back on Tokyo, he'd never used his mind much, thanks to his old mans influence, but the responsibilities of command seemed to be a good thing for him. And then there was Barnes. Schofield had mentioned to him earlier that the Commissar was hiding something, but what was it? Did it have something to do with Trunks? Or was it something else? Ranma decided that the only way to learn the answer was to wait and see. But would he learn the truth in time, before they all died for something that didn't appear to be of any importance in this damned war? *** End Part 3 And ohhh boy, is Part 4 gonna be a blast! *** Authors Notes: Well, that's another part done. Don't even begin to think I'm close to finishing with this one, because I'm only just warming up! Heh heh heh... There are some important things I have to note. Firstly, Trunks. There will NOT be any Super Sayians here. While the blond warriors are good for a laugh, the sheer power they have would be out of place in the universe I'm working with. Secondly, I've got a list of the various characters here, for those who can't place where they come from. Ranma Saotome, Soun Tendo, Hiroshi, Daisuke: Ranma 1/2 Tenchi Masaki, Washuu Habuki: Tenchi Muyo! Lina Inverse, Rezo, Zolf, Dilgear: Slayers Ash Ketchum: Pokemon Schofield: Ice Station (Good novel) Misato Katsuragi, Kaji Ryouji: NGE Trunks: Dragonball Z Rook: Robotech Hicks, Hudson: Aliens Konoko: Oni (The video game. No anime yet) Tai: Digimon Ryo Saeba: City Hunter I've missed a few that only got mentioned, but they'll be included in a list I plan to put up on my website. Please note that some of these characters are new. In the next part of Soldiers of the Imperium, the Tokyo First and the Eternal Dragons prepare to defend the ghost town. But what secrets does the Commissar hold, not to mention the Space Marine Trunks? And what of the mutants? Why are they suddenly attacking so many towns in such a short time. All this in part 4, plus the biggest action scene yet! Matrix Dragon "Push the button Frank."