Force Majeure Session Eleven: Falling Star

By mathey, in Only War Fan Fiction and War Stories

The 1st Aerial Assault Chrysopelea spends some weeks helping with the destruction of the last resistance to the Imperium on the Star Fort Lycurgos. The remnants of the Chaos cultists and Severan Dominate forces quickly fall and leave the facility in the hands of the Imperial Army and Navy. After their valorous service in the assault and capture of this vital objective, the airborne regiment is sent to the hive world of Solace where they will help train the newly raised 19th Solace Castus Guard.


Due to a bureaucratic mixup, the 19th Solace is being folded into the nearly decimated Cadian 99th Mechanised Infantry regiment, and while the recruits are eager to fight the threats to humanity they are inexperienced in the arts of war. The elite Schola Progenia airborne regiment from Chrysopelea aids the Cadian unit in shaping up the rookies. As part of this training regimen, they are engaged in a live-fire exercise in the Solave Hive where they are to hold a sandbag bunker against the Solace troopers' assault. There's a betting pool on the number of "kills" the soldiers can get on the recruits, and Alpha Squad quickly racks up a number of hits as the new troopers try to reach their position while fighting through mud and obstacles.


Suddenly, a massive explosion rocks the Hive and causes destruction and power loss throughout the huge tiered city. Lady Commissar Cedercreuz, Sergeant Arion, Corporal Darrien Adel, and Sanction Psyker Yekaterina quickly move to help the wounded and imperiled Solace troopers. The Lady Commissar is compelled to give a mortally wounded young soldier the Emperor's Mercy with her bolter and a prayer. She provides first aid to others among the survivors of the Solace unit and Sergeant Arion coordinates the troopers to respond in an orderly fashion.


Colonel Veerv, commander of the 1st Aerial Assault, contacts Alpha on vox, telling them to make a secure perimeter in their current location within the hive. He says that the cause of the hive-shattering explosion is at yet unknown, but there have been reports of locals engaged in rioting. Freeing the squad's Chimera APC from under some rubble, Alpha moves out and checks on the immediate vicinity around the level they are on. They help calm down some civilians and watch out for signs of trouble.


A massive debris field and the wreckage of an Imperial cruiser stuck in part of the hive are visible from their position. This is evidently the cause of the explosion, and the soldiers can see that it has the words "Ardent Crown" emblazoned on its hull. The squad recalls some history related to this ancient vessel, noting that it was last known to have vanished into the Warp centuries ago.


Sergeant Arion reports on this finding on vox to their company commander, Colonel Kravos. Yekaterina can sense some sort of shadow or void in the Warp nearby, but it is only a passing sensation as she regards the ruined cruiser. As they consider the cause of the crash, a group of corrupted and hideous mutants make their appearance from a back hallway. Twisted by Chaos and bearing a wide range of grotesque mutations, the mob assaults the squad and their escort of Solace recruits.


Several large and bulbous mutants attempt to get onto the Chimera, but Darrien is able to run two of them over, causing a gory explosion of oversized intestines and splattering blood. Sergeant Arion bravely stays outside of the APC and shouts commands to the green recruits as they fight the mob in brutal close quarters combat. Many of the Solace soldiers are cut down by the mutants, but ultimately Alpha Squad prevails against the ugly madmen. Red pools of crimson and gobbets of gore litter the battlefield all around the Chimera.


Before they can contemplate this fight's aftermath, Colonel Veerv's voice comes over the vox once more and tells Alpha that there is a critical situation developing; while the Ardent Crown is a wreck, its engines are believed to be in an unplanned rite of self-immolation. This meltdown would cause even more devastation to Solace, leveling the hive and likely killing every civilian and soldier in several hundred kilometers. Alpha is one of the squads closest to the shipwreck and Veerv commands them to enter the cruiser, find the engine room, and stop the vessel from self-destructing.