Blessings of uncertainty

Chapter 6: Might of the Crusade

The Thunderhawk touches down and the ramp lowers, as we exit I notice that we are in the outer city already, the base seems to be made into the terrain of the outer city, with guards posted up in the high buildings near the base, the walls seem to be made with random bits of reinforcement, parts of buildings, and the usual prefabricated barrier pieces, the camp itself looks like it was made in a hub of some sort with signs of a demolished structure in the middle with tents lining the various walls, tanks and other vehicles are parked at one side which appears to be closer to the city at large due to the towering spires in the distance. A woman approaches us and greets Father "Welcome, lord astartes" she takes a knee before quickly standing back up "You are the reinforcements Lord Volt sent for right? This is the FOB X07OB, we're the 65th Vilvex Tank Regiment, Colonel Asera at your service, m'lord" Father bowed slightly at the Colonel "An honor to meet you, Colonel" he said "Now then, where is Brother Volt and how can we assist" the Colonel nods and gestures for us to follow her, as we pass through the camp I notice various guardsmen milling about and some are moving crates from the back of a transport into what I can assume is their makeshift storage depot, there are also Adepta Sororitas here as well, conversing with one another along with guardsmen in some cases. We arrive at a tent and are greeted by the sentries just outside, the Colonel waves them aside and gestures for us to enter, upon entering there is a massive holotable just in the center with several figures looking over it, among them are guardsmen, sisters, and- "Brother Volt" Father says "Good to see you again", in his terminator plate, his helmet to his side he nods and says "Good to see you to, Adelhard" he faces me and says "and my congratulations to you, little initiate" I bow in response. The Colonel walks in front of us then gestures to the table, the displays flicker until we see a layout of the terrain in front of us, our location lit by a yellow symbol while what I would assume enemy sightings would be marked in red, the Colonel takes the lead "Here are the various sightings and position reports on the cult's movement" she gestures to a large number of dots in one area "We can likely confer from this that it is either a staging ground, armory, or perhaps a command point, the short of it, this is an important building that we need to assault" a person at the table chimes in "The rest of the guard are already pushing the cult back so if we encounter reinforcements it's likely just going to be us, thank the Emperor then that he sent his angels to aid us"

Colonel Asera gestures to the man "This is Captain Reeves head of the 2nd Battalion, he will be joining you in this attack" the Captain nods at us before returning his attention to the table, Brother Volt speaks "That is why I require your help, Adelhard. We will be the walking fire and help the tanks, all the while you and your squad can charge in fast and hard to defeat the enemies at the target location" he points to the building on the holotable "once done we hold the position until guard reinforcements arrive, after which we return here for a debriefing and on to our next missions, very standard things" Father nods and says "What kind of force are we dealing with here?" the Colonel cycles through the different holograms before arriving at three figures "We will mostly be dealing with cultists and basic abhumans mostly, however scouts have reported the presence of larger abhumans armed with hammers and what appear to be saboteurs of some kind. Beyond that there are sightings of potentially purestrain genestealers, but that's unconfirmed reports" Aberrants, saboteurs, and genestealers I think to myself. Father looks over at the table for a moment, I can't exactly tell his expression as he is wearing his helmet, however before anything can come to mind he says "Are there any vehicles present that we need to keep an eye out for?" the Colonel shakes her head "Based on intel, no. However reports from positions just a bit farther from the building suggest there is a motor pool in at least a ten kilometer radius" the image on the holotable flicks again but this time it's back to the map but panned out to cover the area, with various other red dots and runes in certain areas "We're not completely sure which of these are the motor pool, but we're sure its close enough" says the Colonel, Father nods and says "Good enough, I presume the attack will be happening soon?" Volt chimes in and says "We move in about five hours, we will be on foot while the rest will be mounted in Chimeras and Rhinos" Volt then turns to me and says "That includes you, Luci. You will be riding with the sisters in their Rhino" I nod in agreement, however Father retorts "What do you mean she'll be in the Rhino? She should be out with us" Volt then sighs and says "I understand your reservations, Adelhard, but it is for her and the rest of the sisters' safety that she be in the Rhino" Father retorts again "And what if the Rhino gets hit? What if-" "Brother," booms Volt "she will be fine, have some faith and nothing will happen" an audible exhale is heard as Father shakes his head and says "You're right, I should" the Colonel, after waiting for the room to quiet down says "If that is all, I think we can call this meeting over and prepare, dismissed" she says as she walks towards a vox operator ordering various things.