Warhammer 40k Fanfiction - Hero Imperator (English)

Chap. 16 - Day 74 (Part 7) - Morality Game

The roar of gunshots was present almost immediately. Those of us who advanced on the front line zigzagged between luck and the protection of the Emperor to reach positions with the rest, before a nameless projectile found an end to our path. My body threw him to the ground as soon as I found a hole deep enough, where four other soldiers slightly poked their heads and weapons to return fire.

Soldiers from Malfi's 9th company who had not seen me before, but whose expressions turned to astonishment and fear, when they identified the subject who rushed to their side, wearing a commissioner's uniform.

My words, almost in a scream, shook their minds, as I desperately asked for Captain Fordo's location. The unit sergeant gave me some vague instructions amidst the hail of gunfire, and although I didn't like having to move forward, I had no other reference.

My fearful legs gathered courage a second time, and ignoring how those soldiers called me crazy, I continued my desperate race towards the front, where the danger was increasingly imminent. And finally I found it.

-Captain! —An exasperated scream escaped my mouth, as I threw myself onto a mound of dirt right next to him.

-Commissar!? —He asked almost in shock. —What are you doing here!?

That was a very good question. A question for which he had no answer. Unable to control my nervousness, I looked up slightly over my cover, only to be met with the reality of our situation.

At least five hundred meters separated us from the greenskin horde, while more enthusiastic orks abandoned their positions to attack us. Orks who were quickly felled by the millions of shots, both laser and ballistic, traveling in both directions.

I raised my gun above my head, and emptied an entire magazine before returning to cover. Aiming was not necessary, because with so many enemies, my shots would eventually find a target. What he didn't know was if he had really contributed something to this battle with such a pathetic attempt at resistance. So, I confronted the captain a second time.

—We must resist, captain! We are all that remains!

—And the reinforcements!? —My expression said it all.

—Only the Light of the Emperor.

I see Fordo grit his teeth, clearly not satisfied with my answer, but as aware as I am that we had no alternatives. However, the sudden ringing of my wristwatch told me that our only hope would not take long to arrive.

—What's happening!? —The captain asked when he heard the sound of my watch.

—In two minutes. Our artillery will destroy all sectors from 12 to 15.

-That is...

—Yes captain. The ground is going to shake a little. But after that... There will be no more support.

A small, satisfied smile appeared on Fordo's face. A sign of his own hope, although my last words also fell on his shoulders like buckets of ice water.

In less than two minutes, a four kilometer strip four hundred meters from our position would be razed to the foundations of the subsoil, testing the fury of the ballistic power of imperial engineering. And judging by the speed of the horde's advance, and if everything remained as it is now, their main forces of meganobles would be located right in that position. With enough luck, we would only have to exterminate the straggling orks. And... just maybe, we would be able to hold this position for another ten minutes. Maybe more. But none of us were prepared for what was going to happen.

-Behold! Over there!

The voice of a nearby soldier caught our attention, while with his hand he pointed in a direction ahead. It's a miracle that a projectile hadn't blown his head off at that moment, before his unit sergeant pushed him back to safe ground. However, fear and curiosity took over me, fearing that it was some sudden ork force that would jeopardize our already pathetic attempt at resistance. But it wasn't.