//------------------------------// // Armoured Column // Story: The Descent into Madness // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Applejack “Is that your wing mate?” Applejack asked softly as she looked at yet another twisted wreck of a Tiger Shark buried half in the dirt at the foot of the mountain range they had only just exited. From the looks of things it had hit somewhere up the slope of the mountain, but thanks to its speed and weight of what remained it had rolled for almost half a mile until it finally came to a rest where it was now. Halra sighed, nodding as he pushed a piece of debris out of the way and found what had to be the pilot and the gunner of the ship. “Yeah it’s my wing mate,” he nodded, scrutinising their bodies closely. The pilot was still reflexively clutching a Pulse Pistol, while the gunner was splayed out over one of the support struts of the plane, his chest ruined by some sort of explosion and a Pulse Carbine lying near him. It didn’t take much to figure out what had happened to the Tau after they had crawled out of the wreckage of their craft. “You don’t think whatever did that is still around do ya?” Koghad asked, bending down and picking up the Pulse Carbine, offering the pistol to Lofeg. “I’d rather not find out if it’s all the same to you,” Lofeg shot back, checking over the pistol and glaring at Applejack. “What does our fearless leader think?” “That y’all has made yer point,” Applejack sighed, limping past the Demiurg and looking at the black box, before setting off once more. *** Applejack grunted as her leg snagged on yet another rock, knocking the tube against her wound. Had been almost two weeks since they had left the crash site of the Titan, and things were looking even bleaker than before as the planets summer was approaching, and an already hot desert was becoming even more unbearable. On top of that the black box tracker had updated itself a few hours after they had left the crash site. A hard fifty kilometre march had turned into a five hundred kilometre nightmare. It hadn’t been all bad though, and so far they’d not been found by any Imperial forces, they’d even run across yet more refugees in their travels across the desert. Like Applejack and the others, they were almost all civilians, and were a mixture of Kroot, Vespid and even a few Tau. Their little group numbered about twenty three now, two Tau, two Demiurg, twelve kroot, six Vespid and Applejack. The newcomers had brought new supplies with them, which had at least allowed the group to survive the scorching days and the freezing nights, but even they were beginning to dwindle now. To make them last longer, the food and water rations each of them were assigned each day had been steadily shrinking as they ate less and less each day. Tensions had been rising steadily since the first announcement of reducing the rations, particularly when it came to dealing with the group’s prisoner. "I'm tellin' ya lass, we need to get rid of ‘im!” Koghad fumed in the usual debate that has been going on since the Capture of the Titan Pilot. “He's takin' up valuable food an' water we need t' take care o' ourselves!" "Ah’m, not deaf, I heard ya’ll the first time, two weeks ago, and every bucking day since!" Applejack yelled back. "I'm sorry if ya’ll consider me to be a soft hoof, but ah am not gonna leave him behind to die, and that is final!" "I can tell ya lass, he wouldn't have given you the same mercy if he’d found us. Unless you're a magical orang-utan that can make things for the Inquisition or a midget workin' for' the Dark Angels, yer wormfood t' them lass." "So, we should sink to their level then?" Applejack countered. "Be no better than them? And ah’m sure that’s what they say about us all the time, so if we keep acting on assumptions, nothing will ever change. An eye fer an eye make the whole world blind." Koghad sighed, placing his arm round her neck. "Applejack, this is a survival situation. Believe me, we do try t' be good people in this Galaxy, but it just won't let us. When you’ve lived here as long as I have and made some of the choices I have, then you’ll understand.” "Ah've offered t' give ya leadership several times and ya’ll have turned it down every time Koghad," Applejack shot back while pointing an accusing hoof at Koghad. “So don’t give me this horsefeathers about ‘your experience’, because ya’ll want me ta stay in command, so you can follow my commands. Understand?” "Aye, I know Applejack," he replied as he stroked his beard and looked away. "Nonetheless, I think this is a big mistake." The debate was broken up the approach of the two Tau in the group. The first, and highest technical rank, out of the group was Vre’Halra, while the second one was Fio’Saal Kra, an Earth Caste worker who had been on the farm during the attack as well. “Koghad, Applejack. The camp is almost packed up and ready to go. We should be ready to move out when night rolls around,” Halra announced. “Rations have been distributed for the day, here’s your share.” “This debate isn’t over,” Koghad took hold of his rations before walking off towards the few beasts of burden the group had. “Yeah, I know it isn’t,” Applejack took her own box and peered inside, sighing as they saw the meagre contents within. The food they were on was barely even half of what they had started their rations with, and it was nowhere near what they had enjoyed back on the farm. Applejack hated to admit it but if they didn’t find friendly Tau soon, simple hunger may turn to starvation. Once again the validity of what Koghad and Lofeg had been trying to convince her of hit home, and she momentarily toyed with the idea of getting rid of the princeps. She had the thought at least once every day, and each time it became slightly more convincing to her, but as always she managed to fight the urge and turn to Kra. “Has our prisoner been fed yet?” “No, you can do it if you want to,” Kra shot back, handing her a second box and glaring at her. “A lot of people are going hungry because of this.” Applejack rolled her eyes before pushing past Kra, walking towards the back of the group and approaching a kroot, the large bird-like alien staring out into the desert, his large rifle held tightly in his grip. He was one of the few warriors of the group, alongside some of the Vespid, and other than the few side arms and the pulse carbine, had one of the few weapons, as well as knowing how to use it. More than that though, he was the only one of the group who cared as much for the human as Applejack did, or she assumed he did. So far he’d only ever responded in nods or shakes of his head, staying silent at all times. “Any trouble Harok?” she asked as she approached. The kroot looked down at her, cocking his head to the side, before looking to the Princeps and shaking his head slowly. Applejack nodded at this and moved closer, sitting down beside where the drones were deactivated beneath him, saving what little power they had left. Opening the box she had been given for the princeps, she pulled out the small bit of stale bread he got and set about opening his mouth, placing the bread inside and helping the unresponsive man to chew. “Ya know, ya not making it easy to keep ya’ll around,” she told him as she moved his mouth to make him chew. “Ah hope ya appreciate what we’re doin’ for ya, plus ya’ll can help me prove mah friends wrong. Goddess for once ah want them to be wrong.” As always she received no reply, and she sighed as she got back to her hooves, passing the small bottle of water to Harok. “Make sure he drinks this alright?” As always the kroot nodded his agreement, and Applejack began to eat her own meagre rations, watching as the others went about their various tasks. A few of the Vespid were packing up the last of the supplies onto the animals, while the majority of the others were gathering what little personal belongings they still had as well as eating their rations. Halra and Kra were busy dividing up the food once more, packing yet smaller amounts into boxes for tomorrow. “Alright everybody, grab your gear, we’re moving out,” Applejack called in a hushed tone, her voice carrying to everyone in the group but hopefully not being loud enough for anyone else who might be nearby, specifically the Imperium. Even as she spoke, her eyes picked out a shooting star streaking across the sky, and she instantly felt her fur stand on end as she remembered the pods that the Space Marines had rode in when they had first struck the planet. She knew it hadn’t been that long ago, but it felt like it was in a whole other life to her. “We need to get a move on,” she muttered, checking some of the ropes on the supplies as the first of the group set off, following after Halra and his Black Box. “You know for once, I actually agree with you there,” Lofeg replied, hoisting his backpack onto his back and setting off with the group. Applejack cast one more glance at the shooting star, before hurrying after the others. Several kilometres away from the group the shooting star slammed into the ground, the dust settling around it to reveal its true nature. The metal of the drop pod was still sizzling even as the explosive bolts blew out, propelling the door away from the main body of the pod and allowing its occupants to dismount. Unlike the drop pods of the Space Marines, this one wasn’t adorned with any bright colours or livery to identify it. The pod, like its usual occupant, was designed for stealth. The Vindicare assassin scanned his surroundings through the scope of his tank-killing rifle, before quickly checking his ammunition and supplies. Behind him came the rest of his team, five snarling dogs enhanced with holy cybernetics from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Normally he wouldn’t need or want the help, his own expert tracking skills being more than sufficient for the task ahead of him, but the Adeptus Mechanicus had insisted, and considering the gravity of this mission, the Officio Assassinorum had caved to their desires. He could feel the cyber-dogs whispering in his mind, their cybernetics and his interfacing perfectly to allow him to command them as if they were his own body, and with a mental command he ceased their snarling, sending them bounding off in different directions as they searched for the scent as he reflected on his mission. A titan crew member, a princeps no less, had been captured and was moving with what could only be assumed to be a hostile force considering the fact that no unit was supposed to be in that area. His task was simple, track down the princeps and bring him back to the Mechanicum. If those with were Imperial, he was to escort them back as well, and if they weren’t, he was to eliminate them all. Maximum prejudice. “This is Operative R-C-one niner niner,” he spoke calmly into his helmets vox-caster. “Pod hull down in sector epsilon Utah seven. Proceeding with the mission.” *** “How much further?” Applejack whispered to Halra trotting along beside the Tau. “Four and a half kilometres, unless this thing is playing up again,” Halra replied, checking the black box again. “At the very least we seem to be reaching the edge of the desert. Applejack nodded, looking around the environment they were currently traipsing through, a small smile gracing her lips for a second before it was replaced by the frown she’d worn since fleeing the farm. After almost two weeks, Applejack and the rest of the group seemed to be finally reaching the edge of the desert. The change hadn’t been instantaneous, and Applejack had initially missed the signs of the life as the odd cactus appeared on the horizon. Now though they all knew that they were heading out, more cacti, shrubs, grass and even the odd tree were appearing as they walked. They had even left the vast majority of the sand behind them, now walking on coarse grass, even if it was various shades of tan and brown rather than the vibrant green that they all knew and longed for. Still, it could have been far worse, and if things worked out as they were supposed to, they may finally find some friendlies and get out of this nightmare. While she outwardly told the others that she was sure of it, inwardly she doubted her own words. It was hard for her to tell what may have been a lie, but what choice did she have? If they lost faith, they might as well give up all hope of getting out of here. Staring at the horizon, Applejack could already see the sun starting to rise, before tilting her head to the side, making sure her hat didn’t fall off her head. She was sure that it wasn’t the end of the night already, and there was something else bugging her as well that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. “Halra? What direction does the sun rise from?” she asked, turning back to the Tau. “The west. Why?” “Because that ain’t west,” Applejack pointed at the sunrise, Halra following her hoof before cursing. “And that isn’t a sunrise Applejack, that’s a battle between tanks.” “Aren’t we headin’ towards a tank group for rescue?” “Yep,” Halra deadpanned, staring into the distance. “We need eyes on the battle before we approach. Val’Nor’Kad!” As he called a vespid buzzed over, his mandibles clicking in the incomprehensible language they all spoke, clicking softly as it stared at Halra. “Scout out what’s happening over the horizon,” he pointed at the light as the Vespid instantly moved off. “We’ll need the communication helmet,” Applejack pointed out. “Power supply is almost dead,” Halra reminded her. “Yes, but it should have enough charge left to allow him ta tell us what’s there before completely dying,” Applejack replied. “Go and get it, otherwise we won’t know what he saw and this will be a pointless exercise.” Halra nodded, before walking back towards the rear of the group, going into one of the bags being carried by the animals and pulling out the strange helmet, before walking back past the other members of the group, most of whom had taken a seat when Applejack and Halra had stopped. Halra returned to Applejack with the helmet just as Val’Nor’Kad landed again, clicking and pointing, before taking the proffered helmet and slipping it over his head, the clicks slowly turning into something more legible. “Two tank forces, Tau and Imperial, are engaging each other,” Val’Nor’Kad began again. “They’re fighting just outside a destroyed town, looks like it’s been shelled heavily recently but I think it was destroyed long before this war.” “Good work,” Applejack nodded. “Take the helmet back and make sure it’s switched off, we can’t waste the power.” Val’Nor’Kad turned and heading away from Applejack as Koghad approached. Between him, Halra and Applejack, they seemed to command the most respect of the group, and they had been acting as advisors to Applejack, but they both refused to be anything more. The only one who would be in charge or got the votes from the others was Applejack, which meant she had final say. “What’s going on?” Koghad asked. “The tank force we’re tryin’ ta link up with is fightin’ Imperials,” Applejack sighed. “Well shit,” Koghad muttered. “Ah’d rather not get involved in a tank battle on foot if it’s all the same to you lass.” “Fer once we’re agreeing on somethin’,” Applejack smirked. “Now ah say we hold here until we know more about what’s goin’ on over there.” “We can’t stay here,” Halra pointed out. “If the tanks move we’ll be sitting ducks for both sides.” “If we move away, and the Tau win, we’ll have to move back, and we aren’t all strong enough ta do that,” Applejack replied. “We’ll lose members of the group, and ah won’t have that if ah can avoid it.” “And if the Tau don’t win?” Halra asked. “Then we’re all dead anyway,” Applejack sighed. “Can’t move forward, can’t move back, so we stay here. Ya’ll have a better idea, speak your piece, else start spreading the bad news to the rest of the group. Might as well distribute rations too, one way or another we…” Halra fell to the side, a massive hole appearing in his face and in the back of his head as blood splattered across Applejack. A second later a loud crack rolled around the surroundings, before the group erupted into screams as everyone started to scramble to move. “Sniper!” Koghad roared, diving at Applejack and pulling her to the ground as another shot rang out, Kra dropping the same as Halra. “Fuck, they’re picking us off!” “We need to move!” Applejack roared, another bullet digging into the chest of a Kroot. “Everyone! Get to the ruins!” “Are you mad?! There’s a tank battle over there!” Koghad roared. “And there’s a sniper here!” Applejack roared back. “Move!” Applejack didn’t wait to see who was following her lead and who was staying still, getting to her hooves and sprinting towards the battle. For the second time in a month, Applejack found herself running for her life, her hooves eating up the ground before her, expecting a bullet to slam into her at any minute, but with every step she found her confidence growing. The ruined buildings soon came into sight, and Applejack pushed herself even harder, her leg screaming at her as she smashed it into the ground again and again. She was probably going to never get it set properly again, but it was either walking with a limp for the rest of her time or getting a bullet in her back. Shots continued to ring out as she ran, but eventually she reached the town and dived into a nearby building, skidding on the rubble as she scrambled deeper into the town, finally falling down into a large trench, landing in what must have been the old sewer system from the smell. Panting hard, Applejack pressed herself against the wall of the sewage trench, praying that the sniper couldn’t still see her. She could hear the sounds of the tank battle now, massive booms and sharp buzzes of plasma weapons rolling around the town and threatening to deafen her, but the only sound she cared about was the crack of the sniper. A scrambling sound drew her attention, and she whipped her head to the side, breathing a small sigh of relief as Koghad, Harok, one of the drones bearing the princeps and a few other members of the group slid down into the sewage trench with her. “How many other were behind you?” Applejack demanded, panting hard. “This is it,” Koghad shook his head, looking at the seven survivors. “I’m sorry lass, I…” A low growl cut off Koghad as a dark shape dived into the trench, landing on top of one of the few remaining Vespid and biting down hard. The insectoid-alien screamed for a second, before the metal dog cut the scream short, blood covering its teeth. Letting out a high pitched screech, Harok dived forward, spinning the kroot rifle he was still holding round, the blade on the end slicing into the dogs head. The cyber-dog dropped like a lead balloon, but there was no time for celebration as yet more howls cut through the sound of tank shells fireing. “Run!” Applejack screamed, getting back up and thundering down the sewage trench, footsteps and screams emanating from behind her, as well as snarls and howls of the dogs. She heard a shot from Harok’s rifle, followed by another, before the kroot let out a roar of pain. She didn’t hear another shot after that. As she rounded a corner in the sewage trench another one of the cyber-dogs jumped in front of her, snarling. Without thinking she span on her forelegs and lashed out, delivering a double hoofed kick straight to the beasts face. Cybernetics shattered and flesh split beneath her hooves, even as she let out a scream of her own, the tube that was helping her leg shattering and spraying the injured limb with broken plexi-glass. The pain was indescribable as she put weight on it again, but she pushed on, only caring about getting as far away from the dogs as… An explosion blossomed behind her as a tank roared in the distance. The pressure wave slammed into her, lifting her clean out of the sewer trench and slamming her into the rubble strewn ground at the base of a building. She shakily raised her head as she tried to stand up again, only to see a red dot shining on her chest. Following it along its path, she saw a dark figure down the far end of the street and growled softly. She knew she couldn’t move as time slowed around her, and instead she waited for the inevitable. The red dot suddenly disappeared, and Applejack managed to make out why. Harok had appeared on the roof of the building, his body bloody and his movements ragged, and yet he was still fighting. Somehow he had managed to get hold of the pulse carbine they had found earlier, and sprayed wildly at the assassin before diving forward to meet him hand to hand. Applejack had seen Harok fight before, the ferocity that he possessed that could be brought to bear to rip men limb from limb, and she let out a soft cheer as the two clashed. The smile was wiped from her face a second later though, when the man seemed to simply glide around Harok’s attacks avoiding them like they were nothing, before drawing a pistol. “No!” Applejack yelled, extending a hoof towards the pair, but it was too late. A single shot rang out as the assassin’s pistol fired a massive round into Harok’s head, popping it like a melon as the Kroot toppled backwards, his body hitting the ground hard as the assassin readied his sniper again, Applejack trying to crawl to the cover in front of her. A loud crack echoed around the buildings, and Applejack braced herself for the pain that would come from the snipers bullet, clenching her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the inevitable. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting Applejack slowly opened her eyes, glancing around as she tried to find where the sniper had hit if it wasn’t her, before she looked up at the building where the man had been, and saw only a freshly smoking ruin. Another loud crack rang out, followed by a blue explosion, pounding the roof top once more, before one of the walls of the building exploded, a host of figures making their way through the smoke. “Hey!” Applejack yelled, waving a hoof weakly as she recognised the blue and red armour of the Pa’Laa sept. “Over…here.” She closed her eyes and let her head fall to the floor again, her breathing becoming more and more ragged even as she heard footsteps rushing towards her. “We’ve got a live one here, a member of the auxiliary too!” one of them roared, but the sound was becoming muffled to Applejack’s ears. “She’s hurt bad.” “Find…others,” Applejack managed. “Others?” the first voice asked. “Spread out and look for survivors. Keep low and get them out of here.” “Got…a…Princeps…too,” she muttered, but she didn’t hear the reply, her mind slipping away into unconsciousness. *** Applejack gasped in pain as she came round, her head shooting up, only to find a soft hand pushing it back down. Looking up the arm, she saw a Tau looking over her, a smile on his face “Welcome back to the land of the living Ms… Applejack I believe?” he nodded. “Where…where am I?” Applejack managed. “You’re going home,” the Tau assured her. “You and your friends.” “All… safe?” “We found six survivors, plus two drones carrying a Titan Princeps of all things,” the Tau sounded impressed by this. “They’re all being taken back with us to central command. I’m sure there will be a lot of people who want to have a word with all of you.” “Six?” Applejack asked weakly, sorrow welling up inside her. “But…twenty three. I… they…” Applejack let out a long sigh as she slipped back out of consciousness as the group of Devilfish bore her and the survivors safely across the planet.