ALL NOVEL Chapter 10: Vortiguant Prime
M41 963, HIVE CITY VORTIGAUNT, VORTIGAUNT PRIME, ULTIMA SEGMENTUM.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of industry as Colonel Marcus Voss surveyed the bustling streets of Hive Vortigaunt from his vantage point atop the fortress walls. Below, the hive city teemed with life, a chaotic blend of workers, merchants, and soldiers moving through the smog-choked streets. It wasn't a pretty city by any means, but it was home. Heavily fortified and almost perfectly designed to hold against siege for literal decades, Hive City Vortigaunt was the last bastion of the hive world.
Colonel Marcus Voss, a staunch member of the PDF forces upon Vortiguant Prime had seen assaults come and go. He was a grizzled war veteran that had seen centuries of combat, yet no foe had been as a persistent threat to the security of Vortigaunt Prime as the Orks had. Yet, time and time again Marcus Voss had been apart of the forces that held the greentide at bay. However, this was his first time as acting commander of the forces of Hive City Vortigaunt. This was a privilege only a few held, and was usually first in line to take command over the entire PDF forces in case of catastrophe.
Across his desk were several reports and graphs all monitoring Ork movements planetwide, fighting the Orks was a lifelong profession, once they appeared on a planet you knew that the planet was doomed. It was never a matter of if it will fall, only when... Whether it be decades, centuries or millennia. Sure there were stalwart defenders out there, but it was an inevitability. It rested on Colonel Marcus Voss' shoulders to protect the Imperium to the oncoming threat One More Time.
As he watched over the bustling Hive City a precise knock echoed out through his chambers, and so he spoke up. "Enter." As he did a young looking lieutenant marched through the door with purpose. He entered about halfway into the room before snapping a crisp salute, turning to meet the young lad Marcus gave a quick nod. "At ease soldier." with the quick command the young man lowered his hand to his side. In his opposite hand he carried a data-slate.
"There's been an increase in activity in the badlands, auspex scans have shown a mass of greenskin converging. Further scans have shown presence of possible leadership." The young Lieutenant voice almost cracked as they spoke, he was nervous. Marcus furrowed his brow at the news. "Already? It's only been a few years since the last battle for Vortigaunt prime." holding his hand out he motioned for the young lieutenant to pass him the pad. The Lieutenant quickly marched forwards before handing him the pad.
+-------------------+ | | | VORTIGAUNT PRIME AUSPEX SCAN | | | +-----------------------+ | | | Date: M41.963 | | Time: 14:32 Standard Imperial Time | | Operator: Lt. Adrian Kellar | | | -
----------------------------------- SCAN SUMMARY------------------------------------------
Ork Presence Detected: | | | - Sector 7-12: High Activity | - Estimated Numbers: 50k+ | | - Leader: Unkown | | | | - Sector 52: Moderate Activity | | - Raiding Tribes Detected | | - | | - Sector 3: Low Activity | | - Scouting Parties Detected | | - Estimated Numbers: 50-100 | | |
| ------------------------------| | RECOMMENDATIONS | | ----------------------------- |
| | Reinforce defences in Sector 7-12 | - Increase patrols in Sectors | - Monitor Sector 3 for potential build-up. Strike hard and fast before they have time to truly build up their force. | |
+-------------------------------+| | | | END OF REPORT | | | +-------------------------------+
Marcus' eyes flittered quickly over the report, taking in the information. It was short and to the point, just how he liked it. Making a mental note of the Lieutenants name he gave a succinct nod. Sucking in a cool breath of air Marcus looked back up to Adrian, "Good work Lieutenant. You may be dismissed." There was a look of uncertainty on the young officer's face. Marcus picked up on this and took initiative "Anything on your mind Lieutenant?"
Lt. Adrian Kellar swallowed down his anxiety as he spoke up, "There has been rumours of an increased amount of citizenry disappearing surrounding the underhive. The PDF are starting to get antsy, some are saying that the mutant gangs are getting out of hand." Wincing Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose. Everything seemed to be piling on at just the wrong time, the majority of the Imperial Guard forces usually stationed on Vortigaunt Prime were off planet, the Administratum had called for reinforcements a few systems over to deal with some Xenos threat that was starting to snowball out of control.
The amount of threats were mounting, the only reason the governor and the PDF Commander allowed for them to take so many soldiers was due to optimistic projections of Ork activity. There had been a recent huge battle across the Badlands of Vortigaunt Prime, the battle had gotten so intense that even Astartes had gotten involved. It was believed that they had managed to cleanse a large amount of the residual Ork spores. It seems as though they had missed a few. Marcus couldn't fault them, it was impossible to burn every last Ork spore. It seemed even the Emperor's Angels weren't infallible.
Unfortunately this time, the forces of Vortiguant Prime were on their own. With a few mental calculations and a few thoughts the Colonel spoke up. "Alright, get in contact with the Adeptus Arbites and provide them some equipment, if the mutants are starting to get bold they'll need it. Also schedule an appointment with the Ministorum for me. I'll see if they're keen on taking action." With a nod Lt. Kellar gave one last crisp salute before exiting the office.
Marcus' once straight shoulders slumped, the previous commanding energy leaving his body. He seemingly aged another decade as he looked over the reports. It was looking grim. Vortigaunt Prime had suffered heavy losses in the last Ork Waaaagh!, they were barely able to build back up several battle groups. This was further exacerbated by their best trained forces being deployed off-world. Would they be able to return in time? Would the Administratum even allow for them to do so? With a sigh the Colonel sat at his desk and pulled over his cogitator. Plugging in a few commands he set up several meetings and even sent a message off to the Astra Telepathika for an Astropath for a recall request for several regiments of the Vortigaunt Dragoons to return.
He turned his gaze to the manufactorum district, where the forges burned day and night, churning out weapons and vehicles for the war effort. The workers toiled tirelessly, their faces grimy with soot and sweat. It was a harsh life, but one they bore with stoic determination.
This world was stalwart and it would not fall under his purview, with a few more commands he fired over several messages to the Governor. He too had to be made aware, and would likely have to delve into his political influence if they were to make it out of this situation alive. Thankfully, Governor Lucius Vortigaunt was a competent leader, rare within the Imperium and the Colonel held no doubt that he would do everything in his power to keep the gears of industry churning.
Marcus was aware that he held the numbers advantage, but with Orks this was not to last long. The Lieutenant was right, they needed to strike first and put an end to it. The planet could not weather another war on the scale of the last. The next few weeks would decide whether or not this would be a quick decisive strike or a long blown war of attrition. "The Emperor Protects." he muttered to himself.