Heroism Is Relative

A large part of the upper floor of the old inn collapsed inward, spewing masonry and timber over the Chimera that skid to a halt in the middle of the street. The hatch on the back of the vehicle slowly swung downward, exposing the inside of the vehicle to the other oncoming Chimeras.

Before the metal of the hatch touched the crater-filled asphalt that covered the ground a large man jumped out. Hugging the profile of the vehicle to protect himself from incoming anti-personnel fire he signalled to the men inside whilst pointing one hand in the direction of the ruined inn.

'Ok! This is it! Get out and run for that building over there!'

Two by two the men ran out of the Chimera. As soon as the first two broke the cover of the Chimera all hell broke loose. A heavy stubber nest down the street opened fire and stitched the closest trooper with holes. The trooper besides him escaped mayor injury thanks to the relative cover that the other trooper had given him.

As he kept on running he was hit in the ankle by a ricochet and stumbled forward. Screaming he rolled over and grabbed his ankle. This was all the time needed for a sniper in a building nearby to pick him out and the screaming stopped abruptly as a streak of light pierced the smog filled air.

'Leave them! They're dead! We can't help them! Just get to that building!'

The sergeant took one last breath and pushed against the armoured hull of the Chimera to gain some speed. As he followed the last two troopers that exited the vehicle into the building across the street a krak missile hit home and blew the Chimera apart.

Not wanting to think about what might had happened if he had ordered his men to disembark even a second later he went on to counting his men.

'Seven, eight, wait! Where is Low-brow?'

The men looked around to see if they could locate trooper Nespar. Trooper Mikon yelled out in dismay. He had been Nespar's friend since they joined the Imperial Guard and what he saw was more than he could take.

'Sergeant Herpav, he's outside! They shot Nespar!'

Nespar had disobeyed orders and had gone back out to check the two troopers that had gone down. He had accidentally run into the sight of the same sniper that had taken out trooper Vonder and he lay like a rag doll on the ground just outside the door. His open eyes looked up in disbelieve from under his thick eyebrows as his body was dragged inside by Herpav to check if he was still alive.

'Well, seems there are nine of us! We have to complete our mission! If we don't blow that large building at the end of the street up the entire advance will come to a halt and we'll be sitting ducks!'

Herpav took point with Mikon, the rest following them close in groups of two with trooper Asern carrying their explosives being escorted by the last group.

As the group made their way to the back door of the building Herpav stopped them just before they went outside. He looked over at Mikon as he unhooked a frag grenade from the straps of his backpack. He pulled out the pin and threw it out the door in the direction they had to go. As the explosion vibrated the walls around the group Herpav yelled at them with a vindictive look on his face.

'This one is for Vonder, Nespar and Lormus!'

The men ran out of the building through the muddy crater that the frag grenade had made in the once perfect stone floor of the alley. Their charge was met by a volley of small arms that erupted from windows of a building at the far end of the alley. Shards of cement and stone pelted the group as they ran for cover inside the next building.

Herpav noted the number of buildings they had to go through in order to reach the one they had to destroy. Looking at the structure in the masonry he guessed they had two left to go.

'Ok men! As soon as I kick that door open, start firing!'

Herpav positioned himself on the opposite side of the door, taking shelter behind a pillar in order to avoid being hit by the fire that came their way. Counting to three he ran across the width of the alley with his lasgun in his arms. The door gave way and he started firing.

It seemed that the enemy had taken up position in this end of the building to do the same as his men had just done.

As more of Herpav's men poured in through the door the enemy started to return fire. The room was relatively large and seemed to be some sort of a storage facility. Everywhere troopers jumped behind upturned tables and cupboards that had been knocked over.

'Everybody grab a grenade! We don't have the time to have a shootout!'

Several frag grenades were unhooked from their holders and pins were pulled out. The men waited for Herpav's order impatiently as more and more fire slammed into their cover.

Herpav threw his grenade over the edge of the table he sat behind and yelled at his men to do the same. Suddenly all the enemy troopers stopped firing and cries were heard. Even though they were in a strange language Herpav thought to himself that they must have meant "grenade."

An explosion shook the very foundations of the building and the following explosions almost took the entire structure down. Not knowing for certain if it was safe to come out Herpav signalled everyone to keep their heads down for a little longer.

'Ok! Everybody up! We've got them! Is everybody here?'

Names were called out. Everyone made it into the building alive, but trooper Komm had been hit in the chest by autogun fire as he had tried to run for cover inside the building. Herpav divided Komm's grenades and ammo between the other men and went about securing the room.

After he'd made sure everything was safe Herpav addressed the men on their status. They had eight men left and it looked like there would be no way for them to make it to the last building through the alley. The only possible option was to fight their way through the buildings, room for room.

'Mikon, you take point with Greffan! The rest follow in a single file!'

As the men positioned themselves around the next door Mikon unhooked a grenade and pulled the pin out. Seeing everyone was ready Greffan took hold of the doorframe and kicked the door in with a tremendous force. As soon as the door hit the ground Mikon threw the grenade into the dark room.

A volley of autogun fire answered and Greffan was hit in the neck. As the trooper went down the frag grenade went off and a dismembered corpse came flying through the door.

Within seconds of the blast everyone ran in to the room lasguns blazing. A single enemy trooper was still alive, as he had sheltered behind a bookcase in a corner of the room. The man came out of hiding as soon as Herpav's men stopped firing. He had his hands in the air and kept shouting the same line in some strange language.

A single lasgun shot to the chest silenced the raving man. Herpav looked at the corpse and lifted his shoulders.

'Couldn't understand a word he said, probably something about my mother.'

Greffan was dead before they had time to check up on him. Thinking of the fact that he still had another entire house to clear before they could even reach the target made Herpav sigh. He instructed the men to form a single file and head for the door to the alley between their current location and the next building.

As they reached it everything seemed to have become a habit to the seven remaining men. Herpav had put Mikon in the back so the next in line had the privilege to throw a frag grenade to clear the way.

Trooper Hopler ducked as he threw the grenade out the door. A large explosion followed by screams indicated that the frag grenade had hit home. Hopler took a quick look outside to see where the entrance to the next building lay. He cursed as he pulled his head back inside.

'The entrance is almost next to the street, we'll be sitting ducks for snipers.'

Herpav thought hard to find a solution. Suddenly he unhooked a smoke grenade from his belt, pulled the pin out and hurled it down the side alley covered by the enemy troopers in the building at the far end. He instructed the others to do the same.

The alley was now covered in a thick blanket of smoke that protruded from the canisters that lay strayed across the ground. Feeling this was a good time to break through into the target building Herpav told his men to run straight past the next building and to take up position along the wall next to their target.

One by one the troopers ran out of the safety of the doorway towards their target. Herpav was at the front, with Mikon once again making up the rear. As they ran through the smoke Herpav realised something that made his blood run cold. They ran up-wind.

The smoke had cleared way too soon and the men appeared in clear view of the enemy. A heavy stubber that had been set up in front of the enemy position behind a number of sandbags opened fire on the unprotected troopers. Herpav was decapitated by a shell that hit him right in the centre of his neck.

Immediately the remaining men tried to duck behind cover. Cover was scarce in the alley; only one pillar bid any shelter from the heavy stubber's rain of destruction. It was ironic that Mikon, the last in line, was the first to reach the pillar. He hid his face in his hands as he waited for the firing to die down.

As sudden as it began, the heavy stubber stopped. The enemy was repositioning it to a place where it was needed more. Mikon looked up to see who made it into cover. Behind him sat a shaking Asern covered in the blood of his fellow troopers.

All around them lay the bodies of their fellow troopers, their friends. The only corpse that shocked Mikon was the headless body of his sergeant. The man that had seemed nigh invincible.

Whimpering from Asern snapped Mikon back to attention. He tried to calm the man down but all it did was make things worse. Feeling like he could take it no longer Asern ran out into view. Another sniper that hid in a nearby tower dispatched him quickly.

'Damn those snipers! Curse them! Curse them all!'

Mikon contemplated his next move. He stood up, still in cover and sighed. The only good alternative to being killed by that infernal sniper was to grab the explosives from the body of Asern and make a suicide run into the building.

He pushed of from the wall and ran for the door, grabbing the explosives as he went. He burst through the door as the bullet that should have hit him in the head instead hit the doorframe next to him.

Inside it was almost peacefully quiet. It seemed that the enemy had withdrawn at the last minute. Mikon dropped to his knees.

'Everything has been for nothing! All those lives! Will the madness never end?'

Outside the Imperial Guard advanced through the rubble filled streets. Suddenly everyone ducked as the building at the end of the street rumbled. Large flames spat out of the windows of the lower floor and slowly the entire structure collapsed, covering everything in a five meter radius in a thick layer of masonry and timber.

The troopers completed their mission after all.