The Second Siege of Agratha - Tales from the Front (Part 3)

On the Front

The Artillery Fire was becoming sporadic. Even with the powerful comms arrays of the Leviathan, there was no response from the Artillery positions.

Gravis cursed, something was very wrong.

Still no word from Winterbourne either, though his troops were at last appearing on the right flank, though a single Leman Russ and a few support weapons joined his own depleted lines. A pair of Cadian Hellhounds had even managed to out flank the Orks some way in the distance purging the xenos with cleansing fire.

Small firefights kept flaring up along his section of the front now as isolated groups of Orks occasionally pushed forwards, nothing his forces couldn't handle, especially now the Krieg had secured his flank.

Despite it all, the battle was tilting in the imperials favour.

Then there was a bright explosion in the distance, followed by a second.

Gravis fancied it came from where the Hellhounds had been, but the wind had changed and smoke clouded his view. What was going on out there?

Behind the Lines

Caine died messily, crippled by a Slugga round to the shoulder before he was bisected by a massive axe. His squad fell around him.

The Praetorians sections fell back, losing ground rapidly, leaving the Dauntless spitting fire in all directions, and a handful of Penal Troops desperately fighting in combat behind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the compound squad after squad of Death Korps fed themselves into the grinder, selflessly trying to buy time for the Artillery.

The Dauntless was soon beset on all sides by a group of hulking Ork Nobz, their Warlord meanwhile tried to swat the pesky Penal Legionnaire who kept dodging just out of the reach of his powerklaw.

Had he been looking elsewhere he might have seen his bodyguard ripping their way into the tank.

He might banged some heads and stopped them from trying to do so through the Demolisher Cannons ammunition store.

He might have avoided the titanic explosion that followed and the large piece of armour plate which took his own head clean off, leaving the stunned Penal Trooper to slink away...

Despite this minor setback to the Orks within just a few minutes more the Imperial Artillery was silenced for good.

In the Air

Pearson cursed as he brought his gunship out of its turn, the Fighta was right on the tale of his squadron mates Valkryie.

"Ace of Spades, Break, Break, Break!"

There was a hail of tracer fire, a dull krump and the Imperial aircrafts engines stalled, leaking thick black smoke. 

It fell like a stone.