Force Majeure Session Six: Capturing the Manufactorum

By mathey, in Only War Fan Fiction and War Stories

Alpha Squad races toward an entrance into the Ordnance Manufactorum in its Chimera APC as the enemy defenders open fire from behind their improvised bunkers. The APC is unharmed, but Yekaterina is hit more than once while she rides on the exterior of the vehicle. The Chimera's armor proves too much for the lasguns of the rebels and they attempt to call up a heavy weapons team to take out the vehicle. The gunnery of Darrien and the Lady Commissar cuts the anti-tank crew out before it can target them, however, and the Chimera breaks through the bunker defenses.


As the unit gets dismounted, Yekaterina's overuse of her psyker powers causes a temporary rift in the Warp, resulting in the squad getting a glimpse of the horrors that lie beyond. Private Symonne claws out her own eyes, screaming insanely as a result of the corrupting influence of the beyond. Private Adel is forced to mercy-kill his lover and comrade as a result, and he and the other shaken members of Alpha must soon press on to assault the factory.


The squad fights with the defenders inside of the Manufactorum, trying to be careful to not hit the piles of highly explosive ammunition everywhere around them. Beta Squad helps in the battle from a position high above the work floor, but three of its members are slain, including its Sergeant, who had once planned to file a report on Cedercreuz. The Lady Commissar is wounded, and Yekaterina is knocked out and nearly killed by a searing blast to her torso. Despite these casualties, the enemy forces ultimately retreat and leave the facility in the hands of the Imperial Guard.


Alpha and Beta hold the Manufactorum and radio Company A to let Kravos know that their objective has been secured. They maintain security as reinforcements arrive and are granted several days of rest to heal up from their injuries.