Author Notes:
New GSS chapter is up, and it's kinda a doozy, both public chapter and the newest on P-atreon... So now it's the last chance to get that discount! Seriously, Mom and I need all the help we can get right now, even if it's a one time donation. Rent is a bitch in the holiday season.
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For my fics:
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/55793/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1375924/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system/
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From my vantage point aboard Roughneck 1-1's Valkyrie, I can see Sergeant Johnson looking up after making sure the rest of the boys and girls are boots on the bloody ground safely.
"Alrighty then! Ain't nobody landed on their bums this time around!" The Sergeant then gives us a two-finger salute first, before the action turns into motion upward, signaling to us that we're good to go.
As our pilot takes us back to a higher altitude, I can hear Johnson shouting, this time it's audible only through our Vox channel.
"Ok, Froggers! It seems like we'll be in the thick of it, so get your heads straight and your aim steady! While our air support is busy spinning giant hula hoops, medics attend to those wounded! Scorpin, I need you to take your squad and secure that building over there. I need an overlapping field of fire and this entire avenue on fire! The rest of you, dig in and secure the command post. And for crying out loud, can someone toss a melta onto that Taurox!?"
As the figures of my fellow Froggers are getting smaller and smaller, I have my battle buddy, Weiss, comment on Johnson's little speech.
"The Sarge sure is energetic despite everything we've seen so far, huh?"
I giggle. "Well, he won't be Johnson if he doesn't know how to punch the grimdark in the face."
I then turn to Weiss. "Let's set up the sniping harness, don't want some sudden maneuver to throw us off the ledge."
"Oh, right." Weiss and I get to work, pulling out the harnesses and attaching them to the doorframes.
The harnesses are basically safety nets for aerial sniping. They act as semi-flexible supports for weapons, preventing them and even ourselves from falling off the side of the Valkyrie while trying to line up a shot or the aircraft makes an emergency maneuver. Once Weiss and I have finished setting up the harnesses, Blake's voice sounds from the Valkyrie's onboard Vox.
"We're taking it steady at 100 meters above ground level, going clockwise. Any higher and we'll be priority one target. Roughneck 1-2 will be flying CAS and our escort. If you see anything you or the Sergeant can't handle, direct her in."
I nod at Weiss, signaling her to take her position as a spotter for not just me but the rest of 3rd Platoon down below. I then reply to Blake after clicking on my comm link. "Affirm, do what you have to do to keep us on station and alive, Blake. Give me a heads up if you catch anything on Auspex."
"Copy that. Happy hunting, Corporal."
I nod, mostly to myself as I look at Weiss, who, by this point, has already pulled out her magnoculars and a dataslate. The latter, in particular, is required for battlefield updates and also contains a digital map of explored areas on Installation 08. A battlefield dataslate like this is quite useful indeed when the sanctity of our battlenet remains true and we don't have an accurate physical map to work with.
"Ok, Weiss, you know what to do. If we're in a pinch, grab the Heavy Bolter and let it rip."
"Understood, Ein."
Weiss then takes her position by the right side door gunner's area while I hook myself to the door harness. Given the nature of this operation, opting for the new standard of Kantrael Lasrifle is, in my opinion, a reasonable choice. Right now, endurance, versatility, and accuracy trump the need for firepower. The normal Lasrifle is already capable of those in spades. A Long-las is great, but it's unwieldy in the event I have to be boots on the ground as well, and it burns way more from the power packs. Using a Long-las means that I have much less time on station, while a Lasrifle won't give me the same issue if I aim my shots well, and in case you haven't noticed, I really take my shots well.
Currently, my Lasrifle is mounted with a suppressor and a variable zoom optic. It's a very minimalist configuration, primarily to keep the gun as stable as possible for VTOL-borne sniping duties. Although I don't need it all that much, I still go through the motion of adjusting the magnification on my scope, resting it at a 2.5x setting with a wide field of view. The reticle on my current optic mirrors that of the functional EOTech Vudu SR-5 reticle from good old Terra, albeit without windage or range markers since, well, I am firing a literal laser. Regardless, it's a robust and versatile option for any Imperial Guard that can afford the fine craftsmanship of the optic. Using it in a low-zoom setting, one can have quite a pleasant experience in locating priority targets before zooming in for the kill shot.
As I scan the war-torn horizon, where aircraft of different makes rain down flames and metal, I find myself frowning when I notice a worrying fact.
"It's odd. Blake has been flying us two circles above the Sergeant's location already, and the only things we have seen near them so far are a few stragglers..."
Weiss gives a low hum of agreement. "Yeah, it has been some time since we caused a ruckus..." The Rookie then turns and walks to the other side of the Valkyrie. "Ain't much movement on this side as well... Not that I can see well since this area is still caked in incendiary."
I hum before contacting our pilot. "Blake, you and Yang got anything on the scope?"
"Other than some scattered Auspex signatures, there aren't many things we can see currently, Corporal." The Felinid replies after checking the Auspex.
"Weird," Weiss comments. "The peace would have made one think that they'd given up on this side after we firebombed them. But this is the cultists we're speaking so..."
"They're probably pooling their resources." I finish the sentence for Weiss. "If they can't overwhelm us back then, they will try to do so again with a greater number and firepower."
I then stop for a couple of seconds to ponder before adding. "Right, if they're wearing beak-like masks or have avian accessories and their color tones are blue, then they must have something cooking in their backline."
Weiss looks back at me with a slightly puzzled expression. "How do you know that?"
"I got a good look at our enemies on the way in. Lots of blue cultists calling the shots in the back of the heretics' formations." I quip back. "Trust me, Rookie, none of the cultists of the Chaos God of change are without a dirty trick or two. The former Planetary Governor might be corrupted by some chimeric abominations, but it seems to me here that it's the Cult of Deceit who is running the show. Only they are capable of keeping Installation 08 under wraps for so long, while others, smaller cultist factions are probably their cannon fodder."
"Oh..." Weiss makes a blank expression. "I guess I should call this in then."
"It's just a hypothesis, but it's better to let High Command know of the possibility. When asked, just say that's my experience and instinct at work. Somehow, that reason works more often than not." I shrug, leaving Weiss to work her Vox-caster.
Piggybacking off her Vox-caster, I contact Johnson, who is still souping up the endangered Echelon's fortification. "Hey, Sarge! Got a feeling that we'll be dealing with them bird fetishers here. The Roughnecks and I will be expanding our hunting ground, see if we can uncover any of their hidden surprise."
"Go and shake the nest then, Ein. Pull back if the heat is too much or when we're giving you the holler."
"Roger that, Sarge." Since I have been speaking on the unit's link, the two pilots should have heard what I said. "You got that, Blake?"
"I got it, Corporal. Expanding flight radius now. Roughneck 1-2, keep an eye out for any triple-A."
Weiss pats me on the shoulder. "Hey, command acknowledges our concern. They said that reports of many cultists in blue and avian costumes have been cropping up multiple times, and certain precautions are being taken. They've diverted a group of Sentinels being redirected to support Sergeant Johnson's location right now."
Weiss then connects her comm to the pilots, saying. "You pilot ladies should be receiving new orders as well. We're to link up at a Rendezvous Point with Phoenix element, a pair of Vulture gunships, for a recon tasking. How we do the recon is up to us to decide."
"Recon? Heh, I guess both High Command and I all want to get to the bottom of this." I comment with a smirk. "Alright then, Blake, let's first link up with the Phoenixes. After that, it's the same as before, low and steady, and Johnson's location is the center, but make it so we're expanding the circle after each rotation. Can you do that for me?"
"That's easy enough, Corporal Ein." Blake replies, flying the Valkyrie slightly diagonally to the right.
As we're approaching the designated RP, Blake calls out. "9 o'clock, we got allied VTOLs inbound."
Weiss turns to look at them with her magnoculars, nodding. "The insignias check out..."
"Roughneck element, this is Phoenix 1-1, coming up on your 9 o'clock. Permission to fly escort for your Valkyries."
"Phoenix 1-1, Roughneck 1-1, granted. It's good to see a friendly face. Have you been briefed, and what is the status of your airframes?"
The pilots then trade intelligence as the four VTOLs form up on a wedge formation. Moments later, the Phoenixes are introduced to Weiss, who's basically their airborne air controller for this length of the operation. Since the Rookie is now suddenly beset by a plethora of status reports from the Vultures, I double down on my threat scanning. Although I can trust my instinct to warn me of imminent danger, it's still better to detect them way earlier in advance. Prevention is better than a cure and all that jazz...
"Hey, people, less talking, more looking." I interject into the communication train. "I got movements on a bunch of green-colored roofs bearing 99."
As Weiss and the rest's attention and Auspex are now looking in the direction I called out, I zoom in closer to the hub of activities. Battered as the set of buildings may be, they seem relatively intact to either act as a troop gathering point or a holdout position. The latter is more than likely since I started seeing some cultists prying open hatches on the roofs of those buildings and breaking open windows from the inside, thus revealing the weapons behind them. Some of those armaments are crew-served, not man-portable.
I whistle. "You know what, why don't we take a readily available appetizer first before we deal with the main course? Jokes aside, let's dub it a firebase for clarity's sake."
"If we're seeing them now, then they should see us as well. That area is gonna be quite hot on the ingress." Having been surprisingly silent thus far, Roughneck 1-2, Yang, interjects with the sound of cracking knuckles filling the comm link.
I smirk. "Well, you could have used the time for you to say that in blowing up a part of the trouble, no?"
"Touche. Anyway, suppressive fire before methodical elimination?" Yang suggests.
One by one, the pilots voice their agreement. The Vultures will be going first, followed by Yang's Valkyrie. Blake, Weiss, and I will be responsible for coordinating them and for picking off the survivors. It's straightforward, and it's a good way to shore up the teamwork of this recently formed temporary air unit.
It's still a bit surprising that I have only fired a few shots thus far, even though the rest of the Installation is very much an active warzone. A small part of me thinks that I am bringing shame to the position of an aerial sniper, not gonna lie.
But I guess it's not the kill count that matters, it's how effective you are in the grand scheme of things.
I convince myself like that before aligning my reticle on the power pack that is being connected to a tarpaulin-covered static weapon emplacement on one of the roofs. Judging from its positioning, it's probably a twin-linked Multi-Laser used for anti-air purposes. Understandably, I deny the heretics the opportunity to use such a deadly weapon by pulling the trigger. Afterward, it's nothing but a resounding and hazardous firework, localized to only one of the buildings, but highly destructive. The upper portion of the building is either melted or set aflame, with a few cultists burning alive before falling off the ledge of the roof and balconies.
One pull of the trigger, multiple casualties. If that ain't efficiency, I don't know what is.
Phoenix 1-1, who has just been targeting the same AA installation, yet now sees it gone in a blaze, asks in confusion. "What the fuck just happened?"
Weiss turns to look at me, and then the muzzle of my suppressed Lasrifle, shrugging with closed eyes.
"Yeah, Ein happens. If you fliers ain't careful, Ein here will steal all of your battle merits."
"Frogger, right? By the Emperor's name, what the heck did you feed your sniper with?" The question is asked in an even more confused tone as the distance is far enough that target identification and acquisition take time, even with the Vulture's Auspex. Yet, I seem to be able to do it nearly in an instant.
"Recaf, apparently." Weiss sighs when she sees a small grin resting on my lips.
Granted, I really have no recaf in my system... For now.