Rainbow Dash
Rainbow stood with the rest of her team on the sands of the arena, their original jetbikes purring behind them, ready for war. Beside them stood scores of Wyches, this being the first time Rainbow had seen all of them arrayed in one place. It was impressive seeing so many warriors in one place, as well as scores of raiders, venoms and beasts of all manner, their handlers occasionally cracking their electro-whips overhead, keeping their charges in tow.
“Members of the Lightning Fang!” Ilithia cried out from before the assembled warriors. “Once more we march forth to claim new slaves for our arena, fodder for our Covern, and works for our Kabal. Once more the humans shall look to the sky, and despair as the Half-formed Hope descends upon them, in fire and death. Our new Reavers shall provide us ample support to take the choicest pickings for ourselves, flooding the sands with the blood of the weak once more, and allowing the strong to thrive and rise to the top. Everybody, to your transports.”
As one, the Wyches clambered, leapt, or otherwise boarded the Raiders and Venoms as Rainbow and the others straddled their jetbikes, their engines flaring into life as the rest of the vehicles began to rise from the arena floor, filling the air with the sleek and deadly craft. Further off, yet more raiders loaded with members of the Barbed Heart Kabal and the Covern of Mutilation floated into the air, joining together in a deadly flotilla as they began to head towards the webway portal the Triumvent owned.
The small number of Venom’s circled around the flotilla, keeping an eye out for opportunist Hellions, while Rainbow and the other Shadowbolts stuck with the few Scourges that had allied themselves with the Triumvent for the raid, acting as fast support when the Hellion gangs inevitably got too close. It didn’t take them long to get to the webway portal, the transports already screaming through the air at breakneck speed, followed swiftly by the Shadowbolts, the portal closing instantly behind them, sealing them in the short, one way tunnel towards the unnamed Agri World.
“How long are we travelling for?” Gilda asked over the secure channel.
“Not long, a few minutes hard flight and it will be our drop point,” Rainbow replied. “We drop out with the Scourges at high altitude, draw the Imperial Regiments away and break them apart before the Barbed Heart comes in to mop up what’s left.”
True to Rainbow's word, it didn’t take them long to approach the first arterial joint of the webway tunnel. Banking sharply, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts shot away from the main assault force, the Scourges quickly following behind them as they approached the shimmering end of the tunnel, barely slowing as they shot through, the new gravity of the world taking hold of them, briefly pulling Rainbow off course before she forced herself back into line with the others, diving towards the planet’s surface.
For almost ten seconds they sped towards the cloud cover, drawing ever closer to it, punching through it like a fist, Rainbow getting her first view of the Imperial presence on the world. Infantry were scurrying around like insects, Rainbow not being sure if they had seen them or not yet, but the men were the least of their worries, what was more pressing were the four Hydra Anti-Air guns on the corners of the base, laid out exactly in accordance to Cadian regulations.
If memory served Rainbow correctly, they would be coming into radar range any second now, and even the tiny size of their craft couldn’t keep them hidden forever. Rainbow was not about to wait to react to the humans, she was going to act, and keep them dancing to her tune.
“Scatter, begin evasive manoeuvres,” Rainbow called over the communicator, before pushing her bike into a spin, corkscrewing towards the ground as the Hydras finally realised they were under attack, beginning to fire into the air, but it was far too late.
Rainbow was already closing on the tank, Ravenous clutched in one of her hooves as she swooped passed, slicing into the sensor on the front, effectively blinding the tank, making sure that its firepower, while no less deadly, was now nowhere near as accurate. This made it even easier for the Scourges to get into range, their heat rays causing a slight shimmer in the air for a second, before five blinding rays of light shot out from the squad’s weapons, striking the Hydra’s vulnerable rear armour.
The vehicle exploded, but the Scourges had already taken to the sky once more, seeking out more armoured targets, while their splinter and shredder weapon armed brothers concentrated on the infantry, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts doing the same, occasionally moving to slicing through the dangerous pintle mounted weapons on the remaining tanks, before leaving them to the Scourges once more.
There was no question they were outnumbered by the Guardsmen, but they had struck at the perfect time in the few moments of dusk before night truly set in. The humans had been caught completely off guard and it showed. Their screams echoed through the camp, burning tanks and buildings filling the sky with thick, black, acrid smoke.
More than once Rainbow saw a human being dragged to the ground by a clutch of Scourges, hooked chains appearing in an instant and being cruelly wrapped around legs, arms and bodies, before they were dragged kicking and screaming to a pile of similarly bound soon-to-be slaves.
The battle had lasted for less than five minutes, the Dark Eldar striking with the precision and speed that made them feared across the galaxy, dismantling the human defences with ease. Rainbow took a sharp breath behind her helmet as the other Shadowbolts came to a halt beside her.
“This isn’t war,” Spitfire hissed, looking around.
“No, it’s not,” Rainbow agreed. “But we are committed now, we cannot back out.”
“I know, it’s just…not easy,” Spitfire mumbled softly.
“Champion Dash,” one of the Scourges landed before Rainbow. “The Mon-keigh are helpless before us, those who may prove useful have already been bound for retrieval after the rest of the worlds guns are silenced.”
“Move on then,” Rainbow ordered. “Reports show two more regiments like this one stationed on the planet. We can’t let the rest of the Triumvent have all the thrill of battle.”
“Black Cage! Take to the skies brothers and sisters!” the Scourge screamed gleefully, flapping his wings and shooting upwards, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts hot on his heels.
They soared across the world together, the jetbikes almost idling as they slowed themselves enough so that they would not outrun the slower Scourges. Below them Rainbow could see screaming farmers, fleeing in terror as they flew overhead, seeking out what little shelter they could. More than once Rainbow saw humans seek shelter in a barn, only for one of the Scourges to break off and enter the building, carrying off one of the screaming humans from within, bearing them aloft for a few seconds, before allowing them to fall once more, their screams hitting Rainbow like a dagger in the heart.
By the time they reached the next Imperial Regiment, the smoke was already rising from it, countless bodies littering the floor, and Rainbow allowed herself a brief smile beneath her helmet as she caught sight of a few dead Dark Eldar as well.
The smile soon faded however as she began to fight once more, the Shadowbolts sticking together and hurtling between the tents at breakneck speeds, Rainbow using her bikes blades as he primary weapon, while Gilda had engaged the frontal armour on her bike, smashing through tents, walls, people, and anything else that stood in her way.
“Dash! Incoming!” Scootaloo roared, banking away as a dark shape flew overhead, a massive cannon spitting out death from beneath it.
Rainbow grunted as she narrowly avoided the attack, banking and looking up to see what had attacked her and letting out a gasp of disbelief. Dozens of fighter planes were already beginning strafing runs on the Dark Eldar position, catching a few off guard and shredding them apart, while forcing others to dive for cover or withdraw in their transports.
A few of the Scourges had already begun to engage the new enemies, and Rainbow was quick to join them, twisting and turning as she tried to find any weakness in their armour, trying to remember everything she knew about these vehicles. The majority of them were Thunderbolt class fighters, heavily armoured and armed, but also slow and clumsy enough that with some concertation they could be avoided.
The Lightning fighters with them however couldn’t be avoided quite so easily, and while they weren’t quite so heavily armed, their cannon still packed more than enough punch to reduce Rainbow and the others to little more than a fine mist of pulped flesh and super-heated blood.
“Split-up!” Rainbow roared as one of the Lightnings streaked past her. “Don’t fly straight, Gilda keep the Thunderbolts off our tails, the rest of you stick to the Lightnings.”
Her orders were quickly complied with, the team smoothly breaking apart, offering a much less inviting target for the few Lightnings, which were forced to split up as well to follow them all. Solid shots, lance fire, splinters and haywire blasts filled the air as a vicious dogfight broke out between the two sides, Ravenger tank destroyers streaking through the air to duel with Thunderbolts, and Rainbow cursed the fact that they didn’t have any true air power themselves.
The fight stretched on, closing on ten minutes before the Dark Eldar began to gain an upper hand, the destruction of the human fighters outweighing the number of destroyed Eldar vehicles, but it was still brutal. The fighting had now spilled over one of the larger settlements of the planet, the burning wrecks falling on the city, carving out great holes in the buildings as fireballs erupted within.
Rainbow let out a snarl as she sped past yet another Lightning, one of the few left in the air, abandoning her bike and leaping on top of the fighter, her sword digging into the armour and allowing her to stay anchored on. She could see the pilots shock and confusion as he suddenly gained a new passenger, before she pushed her blade forward, hitting the canopy and shattering the surface, exposing the pilot to the wind.
The man screamed in pain as broken glass peppered him, before Rainbow struck again, her knife whipping out and slicing into the man’s eyeball, killing him instantly. It was quick, it was clean, and most importantly it was relatively painless.
Leaping backwards, Rainbow began to fall towards the earth, her wings tucked close to her body as her jetbike sped back towards her, getting close enough for her to grab hold of it once more as she neared the ground. As she pulled up however, wreckage began to rain down atop her, and while there were no large parts that would do serious damage, she did feel the impacts heavily on her wings.
Shaking it off, and taking the sign that there was no blinding pain accompanying the blows, she pressed on, climbing back into the sky as a small rune began to flash on her helmets display, the call for a withdrawal. Either the Triumvent had got what they wanted, which was the more likely of the two options, or they were being forced to retreat, but to Rainbow all that mattered was this distasteful raid was nearing its end.
“Shadowbolts, fall back to me,” Rainbow cartwheeled through the air as the Dark Eldar headed back towards the webway portals, most of the Imperial forces being too damaged to follow them.
“Sound off,” Rainbow ordered.
“Gilda, present.”
“Scootaloo reporting in.”
“Spitfire, here.”
“Lightning, checking in. Has anyone seen Wavechill?”
“Wavechill? Wavechill check in,” Rainbow ordered, looking at her helmet for any flashing runes or anything else out of the ordinary. “Wavechill, report.”
Rainbow slowed the bike to a crawl as she wheeled back around scanning the air for any sign of Wavechill.
“Wavechill? Answer me,” Rainbow demanded.
“Dash, where is he?” Lightning asked, stopping beside Rainbow.
“I don’t know,” Rainbow snapped. “Wavechill…”
“tzch…bike down…wing…ken…tzch”
“Wavechill, was that you?” Rainbow asked, forcing her bike to dive to avoid a string of fire, Lightning and the others following after her.
“Yes…reporting…multiple enemies…target practice.”
“Hold on, we’re coming to get you,” Rainbow began to scan the area. “Where are you?”
“In…city.”
“Alright, we’re…” Rainbow began, before another Lightning Fighter shot past them, more following after it.
“Shit, fall back to the portal, now,” Rainbow ordered.
“We are not leaving Wavechill,” Lightning snapped.
“I said fall back!” Rainbow ordered. “I’ll get Wavechill back here.”
“I’m coming with you then,” Lightning insisted.
“Your bike isn’t fast enough,” Rainbow shook her head. “Get your ass back to the portal, I will bring back your coltfriend, Lightning.”
“You better,” Lightning growled, before breaking off and following after Spitfire and the others.
Rainbow gunned the engine on her bike, shooting past the few remaining fighters like a bullet from a gun, heading towards the city. The signal between Wavechill and her was getting stronger now, less interference plaguing the link.
“Rainbow, turned around now,” Wavechill grunted.
“Not without you,” Rainbow shook her head. “We stick together, what are your coordinates?”
“Get to the portal,” Wavechill replied. “There are too many here, I’ll hold them off as long as I can. Ammo’s running low.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Rainbow roared, entering the streets of the city, twisting through them at breakneck speed, the signal growing stronger.
The streets began to get narrower as she went, her bike scraping on the walls as she sped past, at first only a few times, but getting more frequent until the bike was all but wedged in between the buildings. Letting out a growl, Rainbow leapt from the bike, making sure to activate security mode on it before breaking into a gallop, flaring her wings.
Or at least she would have done if her right wing had responded to her desires. Instead she felt it extend part way, before locking up. Twisting her head around, Rainbow cursed as she saw a piece of metal stick out of the wing, just along the joint. If it had still been organic, she would have been in agonising pain, but at least she would have known that it was injured before trying to use it, instead of after.
Folding her wings back to her sides, Rainbow began to gallop through the streets as fast as she could, roaring into her helmet as she went.
“Wavechill, talk to me goddess damn it! Tell me where you are!”
“You’re getting closer, I can hear you without the radio link,” Wavechill panted, clearly running, before shots began to ring out. “Get the fuck away from me!”
“Wavechill, how many are there?!”
“I said get away from me! No! No you fucks! Arrghhh!”
The radio link was now alive with the sound of Wavechill’s fearful cries, changing as whatever the soldiers were doing to him forced him to make choking sounds instead. Rainbow snarled as she turned a corner, finally seeing Wavechill and his aggressors, taking in the situation with a practiced eye.
Wavechill was kicking weakly as he hung in mid-air, a rope wrapped around his neck, while his wings hung at odd, unnatural angles, occasionally trying to flap but to no avail. The people around him, far from being soldiers, looked like regular civilians, their faces filled with a mixture of hatred and fear.
Acting in an instant, Rainbow leapt up, spreading her wings as best she could. It was not flight, or anything that close to flight, but it got her close to the rope suspending Wavechill, allowing her to cut the now unmoving body down, catching him as he fell and laying him gently on the floor, drawing her rifle with one hoof and using the other one to check for a pulse.
She waited for ten agonising seconds, the humans screaming and cursing, but not yet trying anything. She expected to feel a pulse, something, even just one heartbeat, but she felt nothing.
Something inside Rainbow that she had long buried began to boil to the surface as she turned away from Wavechill, towards the humans. Her lasblaster was still in her hoof, but she dropped it to the floor as she slowly drew her power sword, the monstrous weapon crackling as she activated it. The thoughts of mercy and not falling to the level of the Dark Eldar had gone from her mind as she looked at those who had killed Wavechill.
With an avian screech that would put Gilda to shame, Rainbow leapt forward, hacking through the necks and bodies of humans as she went. Their baiting taunts and angry cries soon turned into screams of terror as Rainbow span and kicked, duck and weaved, killing anyone who got close, blood splattering across her helmet.
A roaring in her head started to get louder and louder, blotting out all sound as a haze of red began to descend over Rainbow’s vision, and not because of the blood. Just as it approached the bottom, Rainbow forced herself to stop, panting as the red receded and the roar died away. That had been too close, the war mask had almost slipped back on, and the evidence of that was all around her. Dead bodies littered the floor, limbs sometimes completely separate from bodies, as a shivering human, barely more than a child, quivered at her feet.
The war mask was no longer helping to guide her hoof, and Rainbow looked at the boy, debating showing mercy. Then she remembered Wavechill, and her sword sunk into his chest.
The boy gave a rattling gasp, before Rainbow pulled it out and turned to Wavechill, sheathing her blood drenched sword, before stooping down to pick up her fallen comrade. Shifting him onto her back, Rainbow began to head back towards her Jetbike, not bothering to look back at the hellish scene she had just created.