Topic: Degus Hex First

[Rusk]

WARNING: VERY LONG!!!

This is the first piece i have ever done, so its probably naf, but hopefully i will improve and by the end of it it will be a decent story, so... yeah. Enjoy!;D

1 - Off You Go
13:30 STANDARD HOURS, 299.764 M41, PDF BARRACKS 1A, DUGG CITY, DEGUS HEX

 The room was long, low and oblong, and could hold just about 200 men, the first four platoons of the newly founded Degus Hex Light First. The Degusks were tall, broad-shouldered men, clad in washed-out blue flak armour, khaki undercloth and wore big blue boots, the bigger and more elaborate the higher ranke the owner was.
 Lieutenant-colonel Hay, soon to become Colonel Hay, CO of the regiment, was in a meeting with Lord Militant Aswerthy, Planetary Governor Muren, the colonels of the Degus Hex Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth (which were being founded at the same time) and Marshal Nosp, commander of the planets PDF forces.
 The Regiments were being formed for the Cokorinth Crusade, which Aswerthy was leading. In early 760 M41, a collection of chaos cultists, heretics and mutants had captured the Cokorinth cluster, a closely packed group of systems which had around 30 inhabited planets. The five Degus Hex regiments were to be part of the eighty regiment force that would recapture the cluster.
 Aswerthy wanted the regiments shipped out as quickly as possible, and was just sorting it out.
 Hay was a giant, even by the Degusks standards - fair and blue-eyed, with blonde hair graying at the sides and a somewhat dull manner which never seemed to go away. He was part of Nosps PDF command staff, not particularly important, but important enough to be a reasonable choice to command a guard regiment.
 Hays two majors, Wilson and DeMerit - both big and blonde, Wilson with his spectacles perched on the end of his long nose and DeMerit with a bushy yellow beard that covered almost all his face - walked up to Hay and saluted. Commissar Rusk was with them.
 Rusk was a strange man. Hay had decided that long ago, when they met while Rusk was still part of Aswerthys command staff. He was massive (what, seven feet six''? huge!) - much bigger than the Degusk average of six foot six''. He had an immense strength, and he was... a bit odd. He carried a little doll teddy with him, and cooed over it endlessly. His bulky plasma pistol was embellished by teddy bear marks, and he had disturbing green eyes, almost lime colour. He seemed to have a nice nature, but if you pushed him... oh boy. Hay had seen a junior officer taunting Rusk when they arrived, and the boy had turned up later bounnd and gagged in the latrines, stuffed down one of the toilets.
 The majors said that their designated frigate, the ''inbound scythe'' was ready for them. Hay turned back to Nosp and Aswerthy, and asked for permission to start boarding his troops, which was given.
 Hay told the senior officer ineach barracks - 1A through to 1Q - to brief and get the men ready for boarding.
 The four platoons in 1A - Hays One, Wilsons Two, Captain Bespars Three and Captain DeHaiges Four - were already moving out. Has commans squad was waiting for him - his adjutant, Corporal Malcox, with his mater vox -caster, Corporal Angus with the grand-blue regimental standard, Corporal Sandas with one of the regiments meltaguns, the medic-Corporal Blackscar, and Commissar Rusk.
 ''Take a last look,'' Hay said to them, ''I'm no good at speeches, but... ah, whats the point, we're all gonna die anyway...''

 Two weeks later, the First were en route to the Werald system, where they were going to be deployed along with the Degus Hex Second, Thid and the Gurkan First on the swamp world Winklid. Some of the Firsts platoons were on dress parade for Brigadier Cliar, who was attached to the First and in overall command of the Winklid theater.
 Hay, Wilson, DeMerit and Rusk were with him. A few days ago, when Hay had learnt of the parade, he had asked Rusk for about six or seven platoons which were the best drilled and disciplined, so he could impress Cliar with them. Rusk had said Hays platoon(one), DeMerits (thirty-one), Captain Flyns (thirty-two), Sergeant-major Crusps (six) and Sergeants Callathans (seven), Coughlins (fifteen), Troxils (fifty-one), and Dravids (twenty-four).
 ''And out of interest...'' Hay had said, ''which platoons should, like, be avoided for things like this?''
 ''Um...'' Rusk had replied, ''Most are very reliable. I would say Tillerns (eight), Oskrills (thirty-six) and Guels (fourty-three). Oh, and DeLores. Thiirty-nine. DeLores a good leader, but he commands by charisma alone. The troops love him, but he doesnt enforce discipline at all.''

 Three weeks after that, the First had its first incident. Five enlisted men had badly beaten a trooper from Sergeant Horalces sixtieth platoon, a one trooper Corac, in a fight over alcohol allowances. The five troopers had been from Guels platoon, and had then turned on a trio of security troopers, knockin one unconscious.
 The other two had fired their combat shotgus, shredding three enlisted men, and they had cuffed, bound, gagged and beat the two survivors.
 Hay, accompanied by Rusk, Horalce and Guel headed down into the holding bays, where the two survivors - troopers Ovoc and Cruskin - were held, in bare little cells.
 ''Now then...'' Hay said softly, ''what was that about?''
 ''They mumbled a reply.
 ''ANSWER YOUR COMMANDER PROPELY WHWN SPOKEN TO!'' Rusk thundered, making them both jump, ''IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE AN EASY TIMEWHOEVER SAID THAT WOULD BE HAVING ONE HELL OF A GIGGLE IF THEY COULD SEE THIS!''
 ''Why...'' Hay said after Rusks explosion, ''did you beat up a fellow trooper and then turn on a group of armed security guards? Was that really the smartest thing to do?''
 ''No sir!'' tey both replied, eyeing Rusk nervously out of the corners of their eyes. He had pulled his coat back so everyone could see his plasma pistol.
 ''Do you realise what would happen if i left you to Rusk here?''
 ''...No? Sir!''
 ''You'd be shot. No question. I, however, think you should have a chance. Your only chance. You're to be transferred to my platoon, and i expect you both to become model soldiers. Or...'' Hay said with an evil smile, ''I'll feed you to the commissar.''
 Hay turned and left, followed by his officers.  ''Give them lashes'' he said to Rusk, ''not many, but enough to scare 'em.''
 ''Yessir.''

 Eight days later, the ''Inbound Scythe'', along with the two frigates transporting the Second and Third, arrived in the Werald system. The eight other regiments which were being deplyed on either Werald, Werfwack or Winklid eachhad their own frigate - and the Vostroyan 27th had two - and seven cruisers and the two ships of the line ( the ''Black hole'' and the ''Quacker'') were making the system rather crowded.
 The ''Inbound Scythe'' moved over to Winklid and on 346.764 M41, at 04:00 standard time, the first Degus Hex First drop pods were launched.

More next time

[Colonel Penguin]

Well the story's okay but I have some issues, firstly is the height thing. Normal humans don't grow to anywhere near 7 feet tall. Space marines do but guadsmen don't get that big, and at eight to nine feet tall their approaching the height of Leman russ who was a giant of a primarch.

Second you jump around too much makes it hard to keep track of who is doing what.

Otherwise I have no problems with it

[Rusk]

I suppose now i think about it the men are possibly a little tall, but i waslooking through some Gaunts Ghosts books and Bragg and the Bluebloods are pretty big, so i will edit it so they are smaller (six foot average, Rusk seven, like tha serbian footballer with the silly haicut)
From now on the action will be all on Winklid itself, i just remembered my English lessons in year 6 when the teacher said have something interesting at the start so i sped it up.
Thank you for the comments, much appreciated. Chapter two (winklid) coming soon! 

Oh, and i've done the editing. And penguin guy, you have an awesome name. Worship Emperor Pingu!

[Werwolf Traitor]

Nice little story, but i agree with Colonel Penguins points

[Rusk]

Okay, i've got chapter 2 written up, its still long but i dont think you care

2 - Winklid
04:07 standard time 346.764 M41 Alpha Landing Winklid

 Winklid was hot, humid and very unpleasant. The First were dropped onto a long, kilometre-wide stretch of rockcrete imaginatively called Alpha Landing. The Gurkan First, the only non-Degusk regiment on planet, had captured the landing between 01:50 and 03:30 hours. The Gurkans had then begun pushing towards Vennemarr town to the east, one of the largest population centers on the planet (though only 80 or 90 000 occupied it).
 The chaos dead had been let on the landing to rot in the heat. They called themselves Rock Monsters, and were hort, compact beings with augmetic implants sewn into theireyes, mouths and ears. They wore an old version of flak armour, painted rockcrete grey (hence the name), with blood red undercloth visible.
 Brigadier Cliar was giving the orders. He wanted the Alpha Landing clear so drop pods from the Second and the Third could land, and figured the First would be more use assisting the Gurkans than sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
 Hay sent out three prongs - the main one, fifty of the sixty platoons, would advance straight towards Vennemarr town, as Major Wilson and five platoons would cover the left flank and DeMerit and five more platoons would cover the right flank. Major Alsecs armoured companies would follow behind.
 At 04:55, the First set off towards Vennemarr town. At 05:15, Wilson reported light resistance by the enemy, and voxed he coud cover it.

 Trooper Tuvore dropped into cover behind a thick ree trunk, which came under fire. He could tell because bits of bark and sap were spitting out either side. Cambride and Bell scuttled over to him, using the samp holes and trees for cover. On the other side of Tuvore, he spotted his platoon commander, Sergeant Major Wolff, pulling a spitting and retching Degusk out of the hole beside him, who was covered in green gloop.
 Tuvore resembeld all Degusks, big, blonde and muscly. The things that set him apart were the regiments badge - a green dragon with a scythe bent all the way around it so the tip was touching the hilt - tattooed into his right cheek, and the .30 cal autocannon cradled in his meaty hands. His feeder, Sale, had his spare ammo, but Sale was the trooper Wolff had pulled from the hole fifty feet away.
 Cambride and Bell dropped in beside him. Bell started firing round the side of the tree at unseen targets as Cambride picked up the one ammo box Tuvore carried with him and fed it into his .30 cal.
 ''Let 'em 'ave it!'' Cambride yelled. Tuvore grinned, leaned round the tree and fired. He could see the cover being ripped away, exposing the chaos cultists and shredding them. Tuvore sprayed round the area for a few more seconds then dragged his hefty bulk ack into cover.
 The fire had given Sale time to gather his wits and scamper over to Tuvores posistion. Cambride turned, leaned over Bells crouching form and began firing as Sale fed a fresh ammo drum into Tuvores cannon.

 A few hundred feet up the line, Wilsons platoon had already fought off their opposition. Wilsons five-platoon force consisted of his own (two) at the front of the column, then Captain Bespars (three), Sergeant Major Wolffs (five), Sergeant Callathans (seven) and finally Sergeant Tillerns (eight). From reports, Wilson had heard that Tillerns platoon was taking the worst of it, so turned to Collar, Vinyl and Frise.
 Collar, Vinyl and Frise were Wilsons sections marksmen. Collar was reckoned to be the best sniper in the regiment, second to no-one. He was not as big as the other Degusks, though still a good 6'4''. He had a black lightning streak through his hair, and several scars on his face, where he'd takn a broken bottle through the cheek in a bar fight.
 ''Snipees,'' Wilson said to them. Everyone called them that, though no-one knew why. ''Tillerns taking the worst of it. Get down there and do your thing.''
 Wordlessly, the trio turned and slipped off towards Tillerns posistion, un-bagging their long-las' and slamming hot-shots in.
  ''Agavin! Phillip! Borog! Haul your fat backsides back, now!'' Tillern bellowed. He could see clearly that the fallen old tree trunk they were cowering behind was not standing up to he withering las-fire the Rock Monsters were sending into its other side. In a few seconds, they might as well be standing naked in the swamp with bright red targets painted on their large buttocks'.
 Three overpowered las-bolts cracked through the air. Two blew the brains out of a pair of Rock Monsters, and the third clipped the tree next to a Rock Monster officer, causing him to duck rapidly.
 The fire gave Agavin, Phillip and Borog the time to scamper back. However, the only Rock Monster not cowering managed to plant three las-bolts in Phillips back, cutting through so cleanTillern could see daylight on the other side. Borog grabbed him and pulled him the last few steps into cover, though he knew Phillip was dead.
 ''Who had along-las in their pocket all along?'' Borog asked as he got back.
 ''The snipees over there,'' Tillern replied, jbbing a finger in Collars general direction, ''thank them, Og, not me.''
 Tillern smiled as Borogs face lit up at the sound of his nickname. An og was a bull-like creature on Degus Hex,which was also a favoured delicacy. Someone - probably DeLore - had pointed out that Borog looked like one, 'coz he was so ugly. The name stuck.
 ''I will, sarge.''
 ''DeJord!'' Tillern bellowed.
 ''Sir?'' DeJord popped up, hoveringnervously by Tillerns shoulder.
 ''Vingems squad at the rear is taking the pressure now. Take your squad and go help 'em finish up.''
 ''Yessir.''
 ''Ah,balls. Thats me, then,'' Borog whispered to Agavin as DeJord rounded up his squad.
 ''Oh, Oggy. My heart weeps,'' Agavin smiled back.
 ''Sod you.''

Five minutes later, the Rock Monsters fell back. Wilson estimated sixty Rock Monsters were dead, where as three Degusks had died - all from Tillerns platoon - and eleven had been injured, two seriously.
 Blackscar had a look at the seriously injured - Stylek with a gut-shot and DeMill with las-holes in his right leg, left arm an left shoulder. Blackscar sent them back to the Imperial Infirmary on Alpha Landing. Stylek was probably dead, but DeMill could be saved with proper treatment. Then again, infection might kill them.
 Hay had three more platoons - Curtis' nine, Ordens ten and Weldens eleven - moved out to support Wilsons platoons,in case there was another charge.

 ''Thats it, then,'' Rusk whispered to Hay, ''Vennemarr town.''
 ''Indeed.''
 ''Sir! Sir!'' Malcox called to Hay, ''Message from Brigadier Cliar! We've got to support the Gurkan push and capture Vennemarr resevior, which is just to the south of the town.''
 ''Very well,'' Hay replied, then triggered his comm-bead and spoke into it, ''one to two, five, fifteen, twenty-four and twenty-nine. Report to the commissar immediately.''

 Those platoons were major Wilsons, sergeant major Wolffs, sergeant Coughlins, sergeant Dravids and sergeant Burales.
 ''Right, men,'' Ruskspoke aloud to all of them, ''The first critical action of the Degus Hex Light First. Winklids reevoirs are the only cleanwater spots on the planet. The arch-enemy knows it, so even they wouldnt dare polute the water. Unless there was the real possibility they would lose it. We will help them lose it. Get in quick and fast, get to the control room, and try not to die. The injured at Alpha Landing need this. Dont let them down.''
 Rusk stared expectantly at them all. When he realised they werent goin to move, he roared ''What are you waiting for? MOVE!''

End of Part 2...

[Rusk]

Chapter 3. These are coming quickly because i had them written up before i joined the website. When i get to Chapter 8 the rate of ''production'' will slow down.

 3 - Bloodied Water
06:00 Standard time  346.764 M41 Vennemarr resevoir  Winklid

 ''C'mon, Collar...''
 ''Wait one second! You dont rush these things... Ok, go! Damn you, Wilson, move!''
 ''I am your superior, trooper! If i-''
 ''Shut up and move! Do you want your men to die? No! So go!''
 Collar had just taken out the commnder of a looted Rock Monster Leman Russ, and then proceeded to have an argument with Wilson, who seemed very reluctant to charge across the open ground into the cover afforded by the resevoirs stone-wall western boundary. The control room was at the south-eastern corner of the resevoir in a large 3-storey building, and thy had to gt there quickly.
 Further down the line, Tuvore thundered forward, followed by Sale, Bell, Cambride and the sniper Vinyl. Each platoon had a marksman attached to it, to take out any Rock Monsters heading for the control room. Wilson had Collar, Wolff had Vinyl, Coughlin had Frise, Dravid had DeHog and Burale had Klint.
 The Rock Monsters resistance opened up. They had the south and east sides securely covered, so the Degusks would have to head round the north side and come upon the flank of the eastern Rock Monsters.
 Thats what Tuvore thought anyway.
 An officer Tuvor didnt recognise - He had a bandana tied round his mouth, so it could be Coughlin or Dravid - ran down the line, ''Fix bayonets,'' he hissed, ''wait for the order to charge!''
 ''What the hell?'' Tuvore announced, ''no bloody way!''
 Rusk was walking down the line, so Tuvore shut up fast. ''You have been given this duty,'' he yelled, ''to fight in the name of the God-Emperor of mankind, and do whatever he so wishes! I will have allmen who refuse this given order flogged and shot, for they shall have been found wanting! On he whistle!''
 Rusk produced a little black whistle and blew three short, sharp blasts on it.
 ''Screw this!'' Bell announed, and charged forward. He hadnt taken three steps when a bolt ound blew his head off in matted chunks.
 The 250-man force charged forward, screaming. Vinyl made a sound like a scalded og as he was decapitated at the waist. One las-bolt hit his spare hot-shots and vaporised his boy and the man next to him. Fifteen members of Burales platoon were killed, and Burale himself had his left arm blown off at the elbow.
 Fourty Degusks were killed as as they made it into the cover of the resevoirs stone side walls.
 Rusk crawled over to Wilson, keeping his head in cover. ''Major!'' he announed, ''We need to but a couple of squads through the resevoir bridge-tunnel! Come round the Rock Monsters flank, or at least distract them!''
 ''Good idea!'' Wilson replied, ''Higgins! Gillson! Take your squads through the tunnel! I think- Rusk, what are you doing?''
 ''Getting ready to lead the men in. Dont leave the dirty jobs to the troops, you cant trust 'em.''

 ''Mines, sir,'' Higgins whispered to Rusk. They were almost at the far end, and Higgins' point man, Striar, had spotted them.
 ''Have you got a sweeper set?'' Rusk asked. A sweeper set was a man-portable mine detector, and they were very useful at times like this.
 ''I have, sir,'' Gillson piped in.
 ''Then get forward!'' Rusk told him.
 ''Yessir. Zenem? Front and center.'' Zenem was a bullish man with a shaven head and the Imperial Aquila tattooed across his temple.
 Five minutes later, Zenem had picked a safe route through the mine-field.
 ''The three quietest men, with me,'' Rusk hissed. Striar, Gillson and Barge scrambled after the big commissar.
 ''A little light knife work,'' Rusk told them
 ''You know,'' Striar said to Barge, ''we really arent suited to this.''
 ''Eh,'' Barge replied, ''Its better than slogging at the waterfront.''
 ''Will you two can it?'' Gillson glared at them, ''Please? Thank you.''
 The group came upon the Rock Monsters from the side. Half of the first group of cultists were dead by the time they realised what was happening. Higgins had brought the men in behind. Barge fell, a las-shot through his brow, but the kill:loss ratio was much better than at the waterfront.

 Back at the waterfront, the Degusks were preparing to push forward again. This time, however, the much more reasonable Wilson was leading the charge, do he had the autocannon gunners and the snipers lay down a fusillade as the others advanced.
 This time, only ten Degusks were killed, but the battle entered its most manic phase - mass close combat. In this frenzied period, only thirty seconds long, thirty-seven Degusks were butchered and another fourty-five were injured, eight severely.
 The Rock Monsters broke and many fled the resevoir site completely, but thirty odd set up in the control building, trying to buy some time to poison the water supplies. Rusks strike force, re-inforced by Dravids platoon, broke the eastern cultists, and none who fled escaped.
 Sergeant Burales platoon - about half the size it originally was - reached the control bulding first and forced their way in. Burale had two of his squad leaders left - DeLine and Nolop - and sent DeLines squad round the back of the building as Nolops squad and Burale himself charged in the front. Burales adjutant, Pessmin, had his left leg blown off at the knee as he rounded a corner, and Nolops head was vaporised as he tried to drag Pessmin into cover.
 Burale himself, who only had one hand, was cracking away with his laspistol whilst calling for a flamer. Boyd, Nolops flamer-man, soon ran up and roasted the Rock Monsters at the end of the corridor.
 ''Move forward!'' Burale yelled. Boyd went first, followed by DePay, Vinegar and Brill. Burale dropped down beside his platoons corpsman, Lelian, as he tried tobind Pessmins leg wound.
 ''You know,'' Lelian said to Burale, not looking up, ''you should go find Wilsons medic. That arm looks pretty bad, and i'm surprised you're not in a sorry state like Pessmin here.''
 ''Burales 'ard,'' Pessmin breathed, ''three times southern Dugg boxing champion. Now, knock both his arms off, then he'd be in pain.''
 ''Be quiet.'' Burale told him, then turned and called Brill back.
 ''You're in charge now,'' Burale told him, ''Follow orders, and dont mess it up too badly.''
 ''Yes, chief.''

 Rusk moved Dravids platoon into the control building, but Burales - under Brill - had done most the work. Five or six rock monsters had made a last stand around the control room, but it was broken by Brill, Boyd, DePay, Vinegar and Lelian. Vinegar died in the attempt, shot seven times.
 Rusk voxed colonel Hay, and reported the Vennemarr resevoir had been captured. He made recommendations, too - notably Burale, Brill, Zenem and Boyd.
 Hay ordered the five platoon force - now numbering about 150 able-bodied men - to move into the rear of Vennemarr town, behind the main assault, to mop up and cultists the main assault had missed. Four fresh platoons under captain Booth - thirty-three (Booth), thirty-six (Oskrill), fourty-three (Guel) and fifty-three (Burdoge) moved in to hold the resevoir.
 The injured - including Pessmin, Burale and Gillson (who had been gut-shot in the flank attack) were moved to the field hospital in Vennemarr town. On the way, they passed major Alsecs tank companies, under him, Captain Vine and Captain Smithson. Let the Rock Monsters tremble in the face of real monsters!

to be continued...

[Jared]

Just to correct the colonel humans can grow to heights of near and even over 7 feet tall. (See American NBA teams for example) and this is likely to be even more the case if the general society has a large average height. Also there is at least one person who has grown to over 9 feet tall, admitedly due to a disease but still existent in a relatively short society.
Nice story by the way Rusk

[Rusk]

thank you.

Oh, and here is chapter 4, my smallest yet

4 - Vennemarr
11:44 standard time 346.764 M41 Vennemarr town Winklid

 In the main assault, the Degus Hex First and the Gurkan First were about halfway through the town. All the units were engaged, but the biggest firefights were around the Town Square and its surrounding buildings, and the Hymnal sector at the northern tip of the town.
 In the Hymnal sector were platoons nine (Curtis), eleven (Welden), thirty-nine (DeLore), fifty (Qanur) and sixty (Horalce) of the Degus Hex First, and a five platoon force of Gurkans under a Lieutenant Malshi.
 Two of Horalces squads - DeNirriams and Turvics - were engaged in the Chapel of White Light and its surrounding cemetary. About fifty Rock Monsters were holed up there, supported by three Pirahna L50s. An L50 was a low-set tank which had 4 bouncy tracked wheels on each side. A missile launcher was mounted on the front, and there were slits on the sides for occupants to fire out of. They were produced o the Chaos-held forge world Rawhill, and were much weaker and cheaper than a leman russ.
 DeNirriam got a message that Malshi was moving towards his posistion with two platoons of Gurkans, but were held up by spirited resistance three streets away.
 DeNirriam was in cover with his vox-man, Henden, and troopers Tourr, Kennilla and Yedium behid a four-foot high raised coffin. Forward on DeNirriams left was Turvic and three of his men, and on the right was trooper DeMorr with his missile tube and his feeder, Uclipse. A damaged L50 had an autocannon pintle mounted on it, and was being controlled from wthin to slowly eat away DeMorrs cover.
 ''Turvic!'' DeNirriam said into hid comm-link, ''Get your rocket man to target that Pirahna attacking DeMorr!''
 Further back, behind DeNirriam, a rocket tube bucked and banged, and the missile smashed through the side of the L50s flimsy armour, out the other side, and exploded against the corner of the chapel wall.
 Under the cover of the smoke gusting out of the dead tank, the two squads darted forward. Yedium was hit in the shin by blind-fire, and one of Turvics men had his head exploded, but everyone else made it into the cover of the chapel wall.
 Turvic called up his flamer-man, Woodbine, to wash the chapel door. Woodbine had been brought up in Cleedur city back home, which was next to the planets solitary forest, and he loved nothing more than watching stuff burn.
 Kennilla and Henden pushed the heavy door open, and Woodbine marched forward, spouting gouts of flame at everything that moved and everything that didnt.. DeNirriam, Tourr, Kennilla, Henden, and Gurun dashed forward, followed by Turvic and Corac.
 Corac had recovered from the beating he had takenalmost two weeks ago, although he still looked pale and had an ugly scar across his temple. He found himself behnd a low bench with Turvic and Gurun, though Gurun was flung backwards a second later as a heavy stubber opened up on the far side of the chapel.
 Corac crawled forwars, towards a solid-looking pillar Henden was cowering behind. Turvic was blind-firing over the top of the bench, trying to grab the bandolier of grenades Gurun had been carrying.
 Back at the door, the last Degusks were scrambling in The last in was DeMorr with his rocket tube.
 ''DeMorr!'' DeNirriam bellowed, ''target that stubber!'' DeNirriam was the furthest forwrd, with Tourr, behind a pillar.
 The southern wall of the chapel burst inwards. Corac thought DeMorr had buggered up big time at first, but it was not that.
 Two leman russ battle tanks in the wahed-out blue livery of the Degus First burst into the chapel. The battle cannon of one traversed round and obliterated the heavy stubber.
 The other rolled up beside DeNirriam. The hatch opened and Captain Vines head and shoulders popped out. His tank, the Pink Panther, was idling, as the heavy bolter side sponsons hunted Rock Monsters.
 ''Looks like you needed some help, corporal,'' Vine said to DeNirriam in the deep, spiky accent of the Degusks, ''those Gurkans are bloody useless.''
 DeNirriam opened his mouth in awe. Vine smiled, and turned to the lieutenant who had appeared out of the other tank, the Drumroll.
 ''Skurlem! Follow me. The rest of th detachment is finishing off. We're done here''

 The Hymnal sector fell competely under Imperial control as the Pink Panther and the Drumroll departed the Chapel of White Light. The five Degusk platoons, Malshis five platoon force and Vines tank company swept round the right flank of the Rock Monsters, who were barely holding off the push through the Town Square. It was the start of a slow and inexorable defeat for the Rock Monsters, and when colonel Meersons Degus Hex Second arrived it was all over.
 The time was 13:54 imperial. One hundred and sixty Degusks and two hundred and seventy Gurkans were dead, and two Degusk leman russ' were destroyed.
 Rusk had said to Hay that these sort of losses were to be expected. In fact, they had got away lightly - it could have been a hell of a lot worse.
 Hay didnt know how that many had died. Yes a lot had been killed at the resevoir, but it was still an unreasonably large number. Men he had grown to know and like, splatted, pulverised, vaporised, shot, hacked etc.
 Oh well. It could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Rusk]

5 - Redeployment
16:44 standard hours 346.764 M41 Vennemarr town Winklid

 The First were ordered to set up defensive positions around Vennemarr town, as colonel Meersons Second, colonel Paeds Third and colonel Harshills Gurkan First pushed off towards Barsupial city to the south, one of only two cities on-planet to have a spaceport.
 Brigadier Cliar believed a Rock Monster counter-attack was going to come from the inhospitable northern regions of Winklid, a wide magma-plain dotted with volcanoes.
 Hay had his most reliable platoons - six (sergeant major Crusp), seven (sergeant Callathan), thirty-one (major DeMerit), thirty-two (captain Flyn), and fifty-one (sergeant Troxil) moved up to the northern defence posistions. If anyone was oing to take the brunt of the counter-attack, Hay wanted it to be them. Major Alsecs armoured company (A1) was also with them.
 Cliar had specialideas for some of the First. Cliar had come to Hay and said that the assault on Barsupial was a temporary diversion - what Cliar really wanted was the Harpoon mines.
 Mining was Winklids sole source of income, and the only reason it had been at least sparsely populated. Cliar reasoned that with the Barsupial assault going on only a skeleton defence force would be left at the mines. A small foce - five or six platoons strong - would be able to sneak in and secure the mines, and a much larger force would arrive later and make it a viable defence position.
 Hay hadnt argued - it seemed like a good plan to him - and set about organising the forces. DeMerit was left in charge of the Vennemarr garrison, Wilson was in charge of the second force, fifteen platoons strong, accompanied by the majority of Cliars life company. Hay (with Rusk in tow) picked a six platoon force to lead in. Platoons one - Hay -, eight - Tillern -, nine- Curtis -, fifty - Qanur -, fifty-five - Drurvo -,and sixty - Horalce - were rounded up and led off, at speed, southwards, towads Harpoon mines.

 Back in Vennemarr town, the non-com units were just arriving from alpha landing. Freight trucks, munitorium officials, cooks, mechanics... the wounded.
 There were a lot of injured. Most of them were Gurkan - almost three hundred - but another eighty were Degusks (And the injured in the Barsupial assault hadnt arrived yet). These met up with the injured from Vennemarr resevoir in the field hospital, injured which included Burale, Pessmin and Gillson.
 The Gurkan medic Bulurae, along with the Degusk First chief-medic Gord, Second chief-medic Hive and Third chief-medic Zevia ran the field hospital.
 Gord was a spectacularly short man (for a Degusk, at around 6' 2''), with grey hair and eyes that were always hidden behind a battered pair of sunshades his father had given him. He was fifty-three Imperial years old, and took crap from no-one. He was one of the few who would even contemplate standing up to Rusk, and the only one of tha select group who wasnt insane.
 Gord, along with one of his orderlies, Leviar (normally attached to DeMerits platoon), was just finishing off inplanting Burales new fore-arm. As he looked up a freight truck pulled in, the first of many to be loaded with the Barsupial assault wounded.
 ''Finish off here,'' he told Leviar, and strutted off towads the truck.

 It took Hays assault force the rest of the day to arrive at Hapoon mines, and it was approaching dusk when the first Rock Monsters came into view. They were stripped down to the waist, glistenig with sweat, and they carried whips and the biggest, nastiest -looking guns each one could find.
 There were just a few guards loitering around the edge of the compound. Hay called up his sections marksmen - Perfill, Argobay and Urem. Argobay was reckoned to be a good sniper, second only to Collar. Perfill was average, and Urem was a bit iffy, though still better than Klint and the shortly-deceased Vinyl.
 The sentries were eliminated and Hay called up corporal Corromorr, one of the regiments recon-specialists. Hay told him to lad in the quietest Degusks so they could analyse the key tactical posistions, capture them if at all possible, and sabotage any armoured units the Rock Monsters may have loitering around.
 The quietest were Cruskin (one), Agavin and DeJord (eight), Haptall (nine), Melluk and Neav (fift), Whoy and Horge (fifty-five), Henden and Kennilla (sixty), and the sniper, Argobay. Argobay was a bit clumsy, but  Corromorr, or ''Curry Man, as he was also known, wanted a sniper with him. Just in case.
 Corromorr split them into three teams, codenamed og-one, og-two and og-three. Og-one consisted of corporal Corromorr, Argobay, Cruskin and vox-trooper Henden, og-two corporal DeJord, Kennilla, Agavin and vox-trooper Haptall, and og-three corporal Whoy, Melluk, Neav and vox-trooper Horge.
 They went. Og-one towards the mines' office hab, og-two the barracks', and og-three the main mine shaft.
 Corromorr kept an eye on Cruskin. He was pretty sure the filthy bugger wouldnt try anything in the middle of a stealth incursion, but if he did...
 Corromorr shook his head, spat on the ground and head off.

to be continued...

[Rusk]

6 - Og
21:33 Standard Hours  346.764 M41  Harpoon Mines  Winklid

 The Barracks were a filthy set of ramshackle builings and tents, raised in a small clearing, designed to hold fifty and containing over two hundred.
 Well, DeJord thought it held two hundred, judging by the amount of bodies lying around them. Most of the dead were civilians, most probably brought from Vennemarr. A few, however, were dressed in old, scuffed and patched PDF uniforms.
 Well, they knew where the local population went.
 There were three Rock Monsters around the biggest barracks' door, smoking and chatting.
 ''Agavin, Haptall, forward left,'' DeJord whispered,''Kennilla, follow me. A little light knife work.''
 Og-one came upon the office hab wihout encountering a single Rock Monster. There was a .30 cal up on the top floor, but there was nobody manning it.
 'Henden and Corromorr reached the main door and peeked inside.
 Deserted. The Rock Monsters really had pulled everything into repelling the Barsupial assault.
 Corromorr pitied them.

 Og-two finished off the sentries, dumped their bodies in a nearby tar pit - not before Agavin scavenged their smokes and ammo - and gathered around DeJord.
 Kennilla said he'd seen a secondary entrance round the back of the main barracks. DeJord sent him and Agavin round to cover it, and when they were in position DeJord nudged the door open with his lasguns muzzle.
 There were even more dead inside than out. Aout twenty prisoners were cowering in one corner, guarded by two Rock Monsters with bloody whips. Three more cultists sat round a table eating, and the last four were working on a modified jeep with a .30 cal strapped to the back.
 One turned, saw DeJord, and gurgled something inarticable as DeJord shot him through the throat. As the twitching body dropped, DeJord turned and killed two of the eating Rock Monsters as they rose. The rest scrambled away and grabbed their weapons.
 At this point, Kennilla and Agavin rushed through the other entrance.
 Firing from the hip, Kennilla killed one cultist guarding the prisoners, and Agavin toppled one who was climbing onto the .30 cal.
 In the brutal crossfire, the Rock Monsters were annihalated, though one managed to wing Kennilla, who wore the scar across his hip to his dying day.
 Haptall went to the door to check for any advancing enemies, as the other three tried to help the prisoners. As he tried to open it a single, fully charged lasbolt whipped through the air, hit Haptall in the face and exploded his head. His spasming fingers pulled his lasguns trigger, firing half a dozen shots through the barracks roof.
 ''Damn!'' Kennilla yelled, and slammed the door shut, fiddling with Haptalls vox-set, ''We need to call for re-inforcements!''
 He looked up at DeJord expectantly.
 ''Do it!'' DeJord bawled.

 ''Sir!'' Corporal Malcox called to Hay, ''Messages from og-one and og-two! One has control of main office, and two has the barracks', but two are under attack!''
 ''Rusk?'' Hay asked, turning to the Commissar, ''Your opinion?''
 ''Send Tillerns men to the barracks,'' Rusk told him, ''and move Curtis to the office. Try to establish contact with og-three, and then send Drurvos men to their posistion.''
 ''You heard the man,'' Hay said to Malcox, ''Give the orders.''

 ''Do fricking something!'' DeJord yelled at the prisoners, ''For Thrones sake, please!''
 The Rock Monsters were pushing through the main door. Though they were being met by Kennilla on the .30 cal, it wouldnt be long before they got the idea and went round the other door, which the autocannon couldnt cover.
 More lasfire erupted outside. DeJord thought more Rock Monsters had arrived, but the cultists fire trickled to a stop.
 ''Whose in there?'' a muffled voice asked from outside, ''That you, DeJord?''
 ''Tillern?''
 ''Oh, hell yeah, boy!''
 Swaggering with the air of someone utterly in control of the situation, Tillern walked in and casually called to Kennilla ''Vox Hay, Kenny. The arracks are secure.''

 In a neat little row, just on the far side of the main mine shaft, ten Raven Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (rspap's) stood ready, guns raised and loaded by the Rock Monster crews.
 The Ravens were big, ugly things, Corporal Whoy reflected. Painted dull grey, smoke-blackened, the fat cannons lolling and swaying like something produced unsurely. And it was produced unsurely, on the planet Vevoskio, which the Chaos forces had control of.
 What worried the Corporal and the rest of og-three more than the cannons were the two hundred or so Rock Monsters guarding them.
 ''Horge!'' Whoy hissed, ''Thats your name, isnt it?''
 ''Yeah.''
 ''Get on the link to  Hay and ask him to bring all his men down.Theres gonna be one helluva fight tonight!''

 Hays platoon, Qanurs platoon, Drurvos platoon and Horalces platoon came to the mine shaft. Hay had each platoons rocket man - Hays Canilles, Qanurs DuFlare, Drurvos Soroc and Horalces DeMorr - brought up to target the Ravens as everone else prepared for simultaeneous weapons fire.
 ''On the whistle!'' Rusk hissed through the link, produced hid - already nefarious - whistle and blew a short,sharp blast. Fourty Rockies were killed in the first salvo. Another thirty went down as they scrambled into cover. The four rockets took out three Ravens.
 As the Rock Monsters began to return fire, the .30 cals were in position. Hairtrum and Crog, Veebs and Manarish, Kellusk and DeMidge, Strumtar and Newall... They chipped away at the cultists, forcing their heads down.
 Then Rusk took Qanurs platoon round the side and flank charged the Rock Monsters. Vulnerable, more went down, educing the number to about fourty. Then the rest of the Degusks charged in and finished them off.
 It was the most successful move the Degus Hex Light First had yet performed. Two hundred dead cultists, versus two dead Imperials and five lightly wounded.
 Ruskmarched forward as the Degusks congratulated themselves. ''Cool it! Now!'' He bellowed, ''Drurvo! Get your platoon down the mine shaft and secure it! Qanur, follow them!''
 The Degusks quickly calmed down and obeyed.
 ''Signal Wilson,'' Hay told Malcox, ''and tell him to bring the reserve force in. Come dawn, this place will be a lot tougher nut to crack.''

To be continued...

[Rusk]

As an aside, i dont actually collect Degusks. I have Catachan that i use as the Budgium 1st. I write a stor about this regiment because i can do lots more interesting and painful things to them.

7 - The First Counter
05:50 Standard time  347.764 M41  Harpoon Mines  Winklid

 Wilson brought platoons one [Wlison], four [DeHaige], five [Wolff], ten [Orden], eleven [Welden], twenty-four [Dravid], twenty-nine [Burale], thirty-five [Cattales], thirty-nine [DeLore], fourty [Hampeis], fourty-one [Beneris], fourty-four [Pritchard], fourty-seven [DeFillip], fifty-eight [Redcamp] and fifty-nine [Skirlik] with him to the mines. The majority of Cliars life company had come as well - five hundred troops in jet-black armour, twenty Leman Russ' and ten Chimeras [all in black] - , also bringing along a steady supply of freight trucks carrying ammo, rations, sandbags and shovels.
 The 1500-odd man force worked through the night preparing suitable defences, and at dawn they were finished. Wolffs platoon, Skirliks platoon and a hundred life company troops under Captain Beff were the picket guard, stationed at the trenches dug all the way round the mines. Captain Smithsons armoured company (A3) had arrived at two in the morning, and five of the ten tanks were also stationed by the trenches.
 Wilsons two surviving snipers, Collar and Frise, were on the top floor of the main office, with Perfill, Argobay and Urem. There were windows facing out all sides, so the snipees could watch out every direction.
 Argobay was in the north-east corner, facing Barsupial city. He was supposed to be the most vigilant, watching that corner, as an attack would probably come from there.
 It was a joke. The planet-wide swamps rose a thick canopy of trees into the air, and they had only cut down the trees for a couple of hundred metres before the trench line (which was held in that posistion by Wolffs platoon and two tanks) so you would never know when they were coming.
 Unless they deployed armour. But Argobay doubted that. The armour would be needed defending Barsupial city.

Wolffs platoon was basically asleep. Wolff had shook Cambride awake twice already, but he kept nodding off. Wolff was about to slap him when Tuvore called the Sergeant-Major over.
 ''Movement,'' Tuvore told him, ''Straight ahead.''
 Wolff called Bundrick up, the closest the unit had to a sniper. As Bundrick took a look round, Wolff told the vox-man Nardei to signal Lieutenant Tennutt in the Sweety-Bag and tell him to scan for Rock Monsters with his tanks auspex.
 ''Contact!'' came the reply, moments later, ''Three hundred - no, four hundred infantrymen. No armour as of yet.''
 Wolff told Nardei to thank Tennutt, then triggered his micro-bead, ''One? This is five. Two full companies of Rock Monsters heading towards our posistion. Requesting backup.''
 ''Roger that,'' came Hays crackly reply, ''Ten! Eleven! Twenty-nine! Fourty! Fourty-one! Get down to fives position, immediately. Five, you still there? Give 'em twenty minutes. One out.''
 The fury of the assault made them all drop in shock terror. All four hundred guns firing at once. Wolff could hear DuCoster calling for a medic, and another screaming in pain.
 ''Step up!'' Wolff bellowed, ''Pick your targets and fire at frigging Will!''
 ''And anyone else you see,'' Tuvore joked to Sale.
 ''Hey!'' Trooper Will called, ''I heard that!''
 The Sweety-Bag, and the other tank, Bog the Og, commanded by Lieutenant Edrich, were firing at unseen targets. Bog the Og was the most successful tank in the First, with seven kills under its belt.
 Tuvore was blasting away at shadows with his autocannon. At his side, Sale was feeding rounds in, keeping his head under the lip of the trench. Cambride was also awake and firing.
 A voice crackled through Wolffs micro-bead : Skirlik. He was panicking.
 ''Fifty-nine! This is fifty-nine! They're all over my position! At least a thousand, with walker support! Requesting back-up! Thet are gonna - OH MY  GOD! GET CL-'' The link filled with static. Wolff winced as he heard screams, bones snapping, and an explosion.
 ''One to all units!'' Hay barked, ''Life Captain, move half your force to fifty-nines position! Units nine, thirty-five, fourty-seven and fifty-eight accompany them! And half of A3s reserve, move as well! Everyone else, stay in reserve!''
 Wolff winced again - Skirliks position was almost on the other side of the mines to him. If the Rock Monsters had got round there, they could have the whole mines surrounded.

 Sergeant Curtis' ninth platoon reached Skirlik position first. Well, they almost reached Skirliks position first, as the Rock Monsters had overrun fifty-nine platoon. So, along with fifty life company troopers under Lieutenant Josp, and Sergeant-Major Cattales' platoon, Curtis' platoon began a strategic counter-attack.
 Although Curtis was the most junior officer of the group - out-ranked by Josp and Cattales - , he was on-point, and directing the troops.
 It would have been bloody, but fortunately for the Imperials Josps force included a ten-man squad of revered Stormtroopers.
 The Stormtrooper leader, Sergeant McRobb (who also outranked Curtis), was anonymous behind his full-face helmet, and quickly set to work. He took half the squad head-on with the enemy, as the other half, under Corporal Streeter, flanked round the right.
 McRobbs plasma-gunner, Trooper [first class] Brightling, was terrifying. He knew exactly who/what to shoot at, what to ignore, and how not to get hit in return. He had already taken down three of the weird walker things (like sentinels, but with a fat autocannon fastened to the top).
 Three of Curtis' squads, under Corporals Poala, Nukov and DeSkipper, were moving around the Stormtroopers left flank, and had spotted something McRobb had missed.
 Some of Skirliks platoon were still alive. They were in a fortified bunker - well, a section of a rear trench covered in flakboard and sandbags. The Rock Monsters were massing around it.
 ''Vladimir! Repenna! Worl! Torch those sons of guns!'' Poala yelled, calling up each squads flamer. They obliged, setting six alight and walking the rest into DeSkippers squads crossfire.
 Backed up by Vladimir, Keenan, Iohor and Lugan, Poala called to the men in the bunker ''I'm coming in, so dont hose me with lasfire!''
 There werent many left. Corporal Wiltur was the only ranked survivor, with three more active and five injured. Of the injured, Syril had a shattered right forearm, Kloden was missing a leg, Avere had serious burning all over, Trisp was gut-shot and Vormell had a dislocated shoulder and broken elbow. Suggick, Fuyer and Begeen were mostly unharmed.
 Wiltur said Skirlik was dead - his squad had been decimated by mortar fire and Skirlik had been bayonetted when the Rock Monsters searched the bodies.
 Poala sent Wilturs squad back to the field hospital Cliars life company had set up, and moved forward to hunt for more survivors.

 Wolffs fifth platoon was forced to fall back from their trench line. They were holding the Rock Monsters, but Lieutenant Tennutt had informed them another force was moving around their flank and they would soon be surrounded.
 Along with Bog the Og and Sweety-Bag, the platoon fell back to the main barracks, which was held by Burales twenty-ninth platoon and Hampeis' fourtieth platoon. No sign of Ordens tenth, Weldens eleventh or Beneris' fourty-first yet.
 Tuvore set up their .30 cal in one of the boarded-up windows of Barracks C, smashing away enough planks so they could see easily. Also in Barracks C were the rest of DuCosters squad (including Cambride, Bundrick and Will), Corporal DeLines squad from twenty-ninth platoon,and Corporal Milliers squad from fourtieth platoon.
 DuCoster stood by one of the holes in the wall the Rock Monsters had made, monoculars in hand. Whilst scanning for Rock Monsters, he heard several faint pops, followed by a growing whine. He looked up to see what it was, then remembered his basic training with Marshal Nosp back in Dugg city.
 ''INCOMING!'' he yelled, then threw himself away from the window. as mortar rounds landed around the Barracks.
 One round landed by Tuvores window, and whizzing shrapnel caught Sale in the face, pushing his head inwards and flinging his body across the room. A second round came through the roof and vaporised three men of Milliers squad who had been standing too close. A third round landed by the Sweety-Bag, which was just outside the barracks, destroying one of the heavy bolter side sponsons.
 The occupants of Barracks C trembled in fear. When the mortars stopped, they got up and got ready, for they knew a ground assault was coming.

 ''Cover that doorway!'' DuCoster hollered, ''Will, your safeties on! And for Thrones sake, somebody feed Tuvore!''
 One of DeLines men moved over to the doorway, Will flipped his safety off, and Cambride pulled the ammo cans off Sale and fed one into Tuvores cannon.
 ''Better,'' DuCoster approved. Suddenly a line of lasfire hit the barracks wall and Wolffs voice came through the link.
 ''Do it right, boys,'' he began, ''we have to stay here long enough so that the reinforcement platoons can secure our flanks, or this could turn into a rout. Oh, and, um, Millier? Dont you die, i need to see you later. Wolff out.''
 ''Great words of encouragement,'' Will muttered to nobody in particular.
 ''You want inspiration, Trooper?'' DuCoster asked, ''Read a poem.''

 Curtis' push was forced to pull back just after 06:15. They had recovered five more fifty-niners, under a young corporal named Wader. Half of McRobbs squad, including Streeter, were dead, incinerated by a mortar round.
 They fell back to the second established line, a long row of sandbags with several of Beffs autocannons and snipers dug in.
 Up in the main office building, Argobay reported the rate of enemies was slowing. If the Imperials could hold on for another hour, the Rock Monsters would break.

To Be Continued...

[Ukos Sa'cea Rienn]

I have to say, that's quite the story.

Just so you know, though, don't worry about your story being "too long". If you want a long story, try reading Locarno's "Songs of Earth", Sheepz "Seeds of Hate", or more or less anything by Talon Raven or Hulls Raven. All those stories are excellent, but very very long to read from scratch. Even my own story is pretty long now.

You also don't need to write "to be continued" at the bottom of every chapter. People will probably assume there's more to come, especially if you have numbered chapters, and as long as you don't write "the end" after one of them. 

There are, though a couple of things that bothered me while I was reading you story, so here they are.

First off, the story could use a spell check, or if you have already spell checked it, read it through again to make sure everything makes sense. There were several times where words were misspelled or just missing letters, like "The arracks are secure.", in chapter 6.

Secondly, and this can't REALLY be helped, it was kind of confusing having so many characters. You were introducing them and killing them in the same paragraph at least once.

Third, I wouldn't touch ANYTHING that a cultist smokes. It might explode. 
(Chapter 6)

But yeah, overall, I liked it. Some of it could have been reworded a bit, some of it could have been spelt a bit better, and it was a teeny bit confusing at times, but the plot was intriguing and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

Keep up the good work.

-Ukos

P.S. You're missing a "[" from your italics in chapter 7s' foreword. 

[Rusk]

Oh yes. What do you know
Agavin - the one who takes the smokes - isn't exactly a genius, though now you mention it i have thought of an inventive way for him to get killed...
I'll put some more up when i've written it down - i write it in this big book i have, and i have to transfer it to the site after.
Thanks for the words
Praise Pingu
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