Chains Of Command Read Free Page B

that had dropped them in position.
    ‘Thunderhawk Six, this is Uriel Ventris. We are under attack and request immediate extraction. Mission order Omega-Seven-Four. Acknowledge please.’
    For long seconds, all Uriel could hear was the hiss of static and he feared something terrible had happened to the gunship. Then a voice, heavily distorted said, ‘Acknowledged, Sergeant Ventris. Mission order Omega-Seven-Four received. We’ll be overhead in ten minutes. Signal your position with green smoke.’
    ‘Affirmative,’ replied Uriel. ‘Be advised the landing zone will in all likelihood be extremely hot when you arrive.’
    ‘Don’t worry,’ chuckled the pilot of the gunship. ‘We’re fully loaded. We’ll keep their heads down while we extract you. Thunderhawk Six out.’
    Uriel snapped the vox-unit to his belt and hammered on the bunker’s door. He and Idaeus ducked inside as it slid open. The five Space Marines within were positioned at the bunker’s firing step, bolters and a lascannon pointed at the hills above, ready to cover their brothers’ retreat. Uriel stared through the anti-grenade netting, watching the scouts falling back in good order towards the bridge.
    ‘As soon as the scouts are past you, fall back to the first gun nest and take up firing positions,’ ordered Idaeus. ‘The other squads are already in position and they’ll cover you. Understood?’
    The Space Marines nodded, but did not take their eyes from the ridge above the approaching scouts. Idaeus turned to Uriel and said, ‘Get across and see how close Tomasin is to blowing this damned bridge. We’ll join you as soon as we can.’
    Uriel opened his mouth to protest, but Idaeus cut him off, ‘Stow it, sergeant. Go! I’ll join you as soon as Alpha Team are safe.’
    Without another word, Uriel slipped from the bunker. Another series of thunderous detonations cascaded across the bridge and impacted on the sides of the gorge. Uriel waited until he detected a lull in the firing then began sprinting across the bridge, weaving around piles of rubble, debris and water filled craters left by the explosions. He could still see Sevano Tomasin behind the sandbagged gun nests, working on the detonators.
    He heard gunfire behind him, the distinctive, dull crack of bolter fire and the snapping hiss of lasguns. He glanced over his shoulder as a terrible sense of premonition struck him.
    Twin streaks of shrieking projectiles flashed overhead, one landing behind him and another before him with earth shaking detonations. The first shell exploded less than four metres above the men of Alpha team, shredding their bodies through the lighter scout armour leaving only a bloody mist and scraps of ripped flesh. The shockwave of the blast threw Uriel to the ground. He coughed mud and spat rainwater, rising in time to see Sevano Tomasin engulfed in blinding white phosporent fire.
    The Techmarine collapsed, his metal limbs liquefying and the flesh searing from his bones. A second melta charge ignited in his equipment pack, also cooked off by the mortar shell’s detonation. Tomasin vanished in a white-hot explosion, the rain forming a steam cloud around his molten remains.
    Uriel pushed himself upright and charged towards the fallen Space Marine. Tomasin was dead, there could be no doubt about that. But Uriel needed to see if the detonator mechanism had gone up with him. If it had, they were in deep, deep trouble.
    Idaeus watched the first squadron of enemy vehicles crest the ridge above, hatred burning in his heart. Even in the fading light, he could clearly make out the silhouette of three Salamander scout vehicles and Idaeus vowed he would see them dead.
    He could smell the acrid stench of scorched human flesh from the blasted remains of the scouts. They had died only ten metres from the safety of the bunker. Idaeus knew he should fall back to the prepared gun positions further along the bridge; if they stayed here much longer, they’d be trapped. But his