36 Chapter: 5.9

Chapter: Landfall

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Part: 8

Landing Pod: Galley-1

Elena

Elena commanded, her firm voice cutting through the groaning and moaning of the injured or those half out of their minds from all the shaking and tumbling,

"Abandon the dead, strip everything of value from the pod, we will establish a perimeter and secure this hole before the enemy decides to pay us a visit."

Elena barked the orders, her voice cutting through the chaos as the survivors of the drop pod scrambled to obey. The air thrummed with tension, punctuated by the groans of the wounded and the metallic clanging of armor and weapons being adjusted.

Rico, dangling down from her seat with the help of her cybernetic arm cracked a sardonic smile as she landed on the floor, which was previously the roof,

"looks like we traded a fancy space station for a dirt hole. At least here, I can shoot something."

Elena ignored her, she had no time for useless banters and instead focused on the immediate task.

The only operational Chimera, its armor dented and splashed with the blood and meat paste of unfortunate guardswomen, roared to life, its heavy bolter swiveling nervously as the operator inside checked whether it would shoot or blow her to holy terra. 

The remaining guardswomen scrambled towards the boarding ramp, one of them slamming codes and commands on a circuit board, desperately trying to get it to open. Their faces were pale and sweaty, grim expressions looming under their helmets, already they had to abandon their dead, they didn't want to have to do the same for their injured.

 The Sororitas, their blue, black, and white armors stained with splashes of blood and sweat, moved with practiced efficiency, checking up on the wounded and the occasional bolter shots sounded as they administered the final treatment for those that couldn't be saved.

Katerina, the engineer of the Inquisitorial Honor Guard, in her ever-pragmatic approach, knelt beside the preacher's body, salvaging his laspistol and ammo pouches,

"Waste not, want not."

She muttered, her voice laced with dark humor.

As the boarding ramp rose up into the air, Elena surveyed the alien jungle, its bioluminescent flora casting an eerie glow on the twisted vines and towering trees. The oppressive humidity clung to her skin, making every breath a struggle.

Suddenly, a guttural roar echoed through the air, sending shivers down spines. A hulking, reptilian creature emerged from the undergrowth, its razor-sharp claws glinting in the strange light. Panic threatened to erupt, but Elena held up her hand, her voice firm.

"Hold your fire! We don't know what we're dealing with."

She turned to the SPARTANs, their imposing forms were a reassuring presence.

"Can you identify it?"

One of the SPARTANs, her voice distorted by the helmet's modulator, spoke.

"Unknown species. Hostile intent confirmed. Recommend immediate engagement."

Elena nodded, her own hand itching for the familiar weight of her Hellgun.

"Take it down, but be cautious. We need to conserve ammo and avoid attracting more attention."

The three SPARTANs moved with lethal efficiency, as they were designed to do, their weapons unleashing promethium flames, superheated plasma, and a torrent of las-bolts. The creature screeched in pain, its tough hide that might have protected it from its predators failed to do so now. 

One of the SPARTANs, Athena if her build was anything to go by, sprinted towards the creature, shifting calculatingly as it snapped its jaw at her. As it lunged, she rolled aside, her chainsword out of its scabbard and roaring within moments as she plunged it through the creature's soft underbelly.

The creature let loose a guttural roar as it was eviscerated, spurting greenish-blue ichor all over the place before a well-placed shot pierced its skull and it collapsed with one final shudder.

One of the Sororitas approached, her face hidden beneath her helmet, 

"Efficient elimination,"

Her voice was deep, too deep to be a woman's but then again, it might just have been some sort of injury... Emperor knows how many things could go wrong when one is stabbed in the throat.

Elena half expected the SPARTAN to straight up ignore the Sister of Battle but instead a jagged voice answered,

"We do what we gotta do."

But the victory was short-lived. The distant roar was now joined by others, growing closer. More of the creatures were coming, and this time, there would be no time for hesitation.

"Leave the Chimera, it won't help us through the forest and... abandon the injured,"

She gritted out, her voice heavy with the weight of the decision.

"We need to move, now!"

The words tasted like ash in her mouth. Leaving their wounded comrades behind, no matter how little she knew of them, went against every fiber of her being, but they had no choice. They were surrounded, and their resources would dwindle from a prolonged battle. Every second she hesitated, the enemy gained ground on them.

With heavy hearts, the remaining troopers followed Elena, their boots crunching on the alien undergrowth. The cries of their fallen comrades were silenced by the soft purrs of lasgun or the heavy bark of a bolter, they gave the Emperor's mercy to those who couldn't walk and carried on. The final notes of those desperate cries faded into the distance, carried away by the wind and swallowed by the jungle's hungry maw.

Their mission had been clear, to secure a landing zone, but now... they knew nothing of what to do. Their future was shrouded in uncertainty, but one thing remained constant in all living beings: the fight for survival.

They ventured deeper into the jungle of trees, grape vines, and other vegetation planted on over half of the mudball they were on. It was an agri-world, one that specialized in bioluminescent wooden tools and grapes... lots of grapes. One of the reasons the planet was still inhabited despite being so far away from the sub-sector outpost.

They were now down to a mere hundred and eighty... alright, not so 'mere' but the planet's PDF had gone rogue! That was thirty thousand troopers gone rogue on a mudball they knew like the back of their hand against a small company of guardsmen. Not that it mattered, there were still roughly twenty thousand loyalist troops on board the transport 'Gauntlet' hovering just out of the planet's atmosphere.

As they ventured, the air grew thicker with humidity and the chirping of unseen creatures. They moved silently, senses on high alert, each rustle of leaves, each snap of a twig a potential threat. The oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily on them, and if anything, the constant droning of bugs made it a thousand times worse.

Suddenly, a flash of movement in the undergrowth. Elena raised her Hellgun, adrenaline surging through her veins. But it was only a small, skittering creature, its eyes wide with fear. The troopers making up the vanguard lowered their weapons, momentarily relieved.

But the respite was fleeting. Another roar split the air, closer this time. Claws raked against the bark of a nearby tree, and a monstrous form emerged from the shadows. This time, there was no hesitation. The SPARTANs unleashed a torrent of fire, the guardswomen adding their own volleys of las bolts, and the Sororitas joined in with their bolters. The creature fell, but others followed, drawn by the sound of the battle.

Elena knew they couldn't stay and fight. They needed to find higher ground, somewhere defensible and not in the hands of traitor PDF force. She spotted a faint glow through the trees, it might just as easily have been a las shot misfired in that direction, but she clung to the hope that it was a possible opening.

Pushing aside the throbbing pain in her shoulder, Elena tapped one of the SPARTNAs on the arm and pointed towards the faint glow. Words were useless in the cacophony of gunfire, so she hoped her gesture was clear enough.

The SPARTAN pushed forward, leaving behind a trail of trampled grass and bushed... along with the acrid smell of burnt promethium. Elena followed after her and behind them, the rest of the troopers did the same. 

The jungle seemed to press in on them, its every rustle and shadow a potential enemy. But they fought on, fueled by a primal urge to survive. They were battered and by now, almost every single one of them was dirtier than a Grox bathing in its own shite, but they were alive, and that was all that mattered.

The jungle canopy swallowed them whole, its thick foliage muffling the sounds of battle and replacing them with the symphony of unseen creatures. Sweat dripped from Elena's brow, mingling with the grime etched across her face. Every muscle screamed in protest, but she pushed forward, fueled by the desperate hope that the faint glow ahead offered sanctuary.

Suddenly, a guttural shriek tore through the humid air. Ahead, the undergrowth stirred, revealing a hulking reptilian nightmare, its razor-sharp claws glinting in the filtered light. It was smaller than the ones they encountered moments before or the one that attacked their crash site, but it was faster, and soon, it was too close for a comfortable firing berth.

Panic threatened to rise in the survivors' throats, but Elena's voice, raspy and urgent, cut through the tension.

"Hold fire! Melee engagement! Prioritize flanking maneuvers!"

The SPARTANs moved with lethal efficiency, their blades flashing like silver lightning in the dimness. The guardswomen, their movements less practiced but fueled by adrenaline, charged head-on, their lasguns spitting bolts of blue energy. The air filled with the clash of steel and the agonizing shrieks of the creature as it fell beneath the combined onslaught.

But the jungle seemed to teem with these reptilian predators, drawn by the sounds of battle. Each fallen beast brought another, and soon the survivors found themselves surrounded, fighting back-to-back against a tide of fangs and claws.

Yet, their numbers dwindled. One by one, the guardswomen fell, their screams swallowed by the jungle's hungry maw. Even the Sororitas, despite their formidable powers, were not immune. A monstrous creature, larger and more ferocious than any they had encountered, pinned one of them to the ground, its maw inches from her face.

Time seemed to slow, the world narrowing down to the fear in the Sister's eyes and the glint of the creature's teeth. But before the final blow could fall, a blur of silver flashed across Elena's vision. Athena, quite as a whisper but her chainsword roaring like a bloodhound, cleaved the beast in two, the creature's lifeless halves collapsing onto the damp earth.

The Sister, shaken but alive, scrambled to her feet, her eyes filled with gratitude. But the roar of the creature had attracted even more of its kind, and the survivors were surrounded, their numbers had dwindled to less than a hundred.

Elena's heart hammered against her ribs. If things continued as is, their ammunition would be the first to dwindle. But then, Athena, her voice surprisingly gentle through the modulator, spoke.

"There's a cave system nearby. We can make a stand there."

Elena's gaze lingered on the SPARTAN's visor, searching for a flicker of emotion, a hint of doubt. But the featureless surface offered no answers, only reflecting the distorted image of the approaching horde.

"Lead the way,"

She rasped, her voice hoarse from exertion.

With Athena at the forefront, they plunged deeper into the jungle, the sounds of the approaching horde echoing behind them. The air grew cooler, the ground harder beneath their feet. Finally, Athena stopped at the foot of a giant tree, an opening in its root revealed a passage through.

"This is it,"

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