Sidewinder Squad's Story

Sunbeam gratefully accepted the medical assistance. He had no clue what was in the needle, but if it made his body stop screaming in pain, and kept Python around, he didn't care. Hell, if it worked he'd buy a literal truck load of the shit, and take it back to VL if the road was ever rebuilt. He quickly took his gloves off, and rolled up his sleeve, then did the same for the unconscious Python.

"Hit us, Doc," he chuckled, a surprisingly painful action for him. "Make it quick. Something tells me the fight just ain't over ye-"

"Sunbeam, you copy?", it was Boa, and he sounded pretty damn concerned.

"Yeah?" Sunbeam's creeping feeling about the fight prolonging got a little bit stronger.

"Got a visual, two enemy attack choppers, on your three.", Boa sighed heavily, you could almost hear his head shaking. "Comin' in cold, but it looks like they're packing some heavy fucking artillery."

"So fucking shoot them down, you dumb prick, why you wasting time tell me this shit?"

"That's the thing!", Boa was barking into his comm now, wishing that for once Sunbeam would think ahead. "I'm low on fucking ammo you limp pecker-wood, and I am not sitting in a nearly inert tank to reload. They're also coming in along the bridge. Over the civvies, over the IG detachment, ove-" He paused as as a large heat signature flashed on his HUD, about 1000m away. He couldn't confirm it, but he had a pretty damn good guess as to what it was.

"The blew the next suspension bridge. They've trapped everybody on that side in a kill-box."

"Fucking hell!" Sunbeam swatted the medic away once he got his shot, standing up while his body numbed itself. "How long till our choppers, Boa?"

"No clue, ETA was thirty, so if these things got here first we can't be too far behind."

"How long till another rocket volley?"

"I don't fucking know, what the fuck do you think it is I'm doing with my time?", Boa was just flat out pissed now. "Timing the enemy reload, and positioning? No, I'm shelling."

"The get fucking eyes on them, Boa!", temper had gotten the better of Sunbeam as well. "Figure it the fuck out, and if you have enough time get your sorry ass, and Spitjaw out of the tank. Join me at the IG line. It'll be stupid to sit in that banged up thing, with barely any loaded ammo, if two attack helis hit the scene."

There was a brief radio pause, followed by an annoyed Boa's "Roger.", he really hated it when Sunbeam actually was thinking ahead, because it just made him look stupid.

Sunbeam quickly turned back to the Doc, and now mending Python. The two GW men were still in shit shape, but it was a start. "Alright, you...Imperial..Guard..Thing..Guy." He motioned to the medic, just in case his description left any question on who he meant. "Help me carry my buddy back to your op-base, get me in touch with a commander. Everyone on the other side of the bridge is trapped, and enemy air is coming in. We gotta move, fast."

---

"DUNH DUNH DUNH DUH, DUHN DUHN DUH DA DA DUHN!"

The poorly tuned "humming" of Flight of Valkyries bombarded the Sidewinder Squad's Comm channel. Even over the powerful, chopping blades of the Apache AH-64, it couldn't be blocked out.

The rest of the squad inside the black death machine collectively groaned as it cut through the midday skyline over the flats between VL, and Wing City. They all knew Timber was going to start "singing" that ever so cliched song eventually. They had a betting pool going even, almost all of them had opted for, "On takeoff", though. He bucked the odds, and made it all the way until they were just outside the engagement zone.

"Fucking hell, Timber!" The pilot was the first to round on him for it. "You just cost me two hundred fucking bucks. Why couldn't you have done that shit on take off?"

"Pffff," the reprimanded man was full on laughing at this stage. "Because, Diamondback. You're a goddamn retard. Rock'n'me agreed to split the pool if I rigged it."

His accomplice shot him a glare, hissing malice at him. "The fuck you tell them for, dipshit?"

"So we could beat your fucking ass," the forth man, Blacktail had spoken up.

Diamondback just laughed for a minute, before calling for a cease to the chatter. He had just gotten visual on two other choppers they hadn't been briefed on. He was unsure of what to do, and patched a call into HQ.

"Commander Gorgon? Sitrep, requesting advice. Two Helios heading to engagement zone. Cannot ID. Orders, sir?"

The other end was silent for a moment, before a cold, gruff voice boomed. "Given the situation it's safe to assume enemy craft. Intel doesn't have any civ flights charted for that area today, either. You are free to engage at will." Gorgon did not like this situation, not one bit. He was even more unhappy being stuck at HQ, waiting for a no-doubt pissed off mayor to show up. With the FUBAR this shit was turning into, he couldn't afford to offend the man.

He just really hoped he was making the right call.

"Roger that, Commander." Diamondback sounded thrilled however. He just really wanted to shoot something. It had been a long, boring ride thus far. "Will brief again after engagement. Sidewinder Squad signing off."

With that he pushed the copter forward at full speed, while shouting orders to the squad. "Okay ladies, get ready for a hot entry. New targets, new engagement. I'm taking down those choppers, but Constrictor still needs back up. Parachutes are located on your left." He chuckled for a moment, "And as always please remember to return your seats to the up-right, vertical position you found them in. Thank you for flying Air Hoorah today. There are no refunds."

The Squad rolled their eyes, giving a collective, unenthusiastic "hoorah" before Timber pipped up. "And you guys complained about my singing? Fuck, this guy's 'stand up' is more than enough to route the enemy."

Blacktail shoved a parachute pack into his arms in response, just glaring. "Time to go, you cheating bastard. I half hope your cord is busted."

"You, and me both brother!" Timber threw the thing on in a hustle and jerked the right side door of the chopper open. "Alright, which one of you is fir-"

Rock, who was still angry about being ratted out, straight up pushed him out of the chopper with a smirk. "You."

"If your done, gentlemen." Diamondback was laughing again, but worried about how long they were taking. Rock and Blacktail offered "rogers", and jumped.

Now that they were deployed, and en route, he was free to engage some helis.

The massive machine guns of the Apache AH-64 roared to life, spraying a wall of lead to the closer of the two helicopters. Diamondback could feel his blood rushing as a wave of adrenaline hit. "FUCK YEAH, SON!", he shouted, watching with glee as some of the bullets hit the back rotor. This was going to be too damn easy.

At least that was his impression, right until the lit chopper unloaded a barrage of missiles towards the ground, taking out the bridge. Both helicopters then immediately jerked around to face him. They were both full on attack choppers. Both loaded with serious firepower, and both carrying eight men inside.

"Well. Fuck."

The Imperial medic simply nodded as he assisted the two injured soldiers to the gunline. However with the state of the bridge and the threat of it falling, they were in deep trouble. They did not have equipment meant for escaping this situation, they would need to rely on luck and the Emperors mercy to see them through. "Emperor protect us all...Once we head to the line I will have the vox operator contact command. As for the enemy air support...you'll see." The medic sighed as he helped the man over to the line where the remaining Imperial forces were held up. Once they arrived the medic signaled the man with the large communication device on his back to contact command. "Command, come in command. this is the 124th along with the 412th, patrol teams near the highway. Commisar sir, the bridge has sustained major damage. However someone would like to speak to you..." The Vox operator spoke as he held out his radio to the man when he was ready to retrieve it.

With the arrival of the attack helicopters, they knew they could not waste their time on the choppers. They had to keep the hill pinned down, or else they would get hit by further volleys of rocket fire. Of course with the arrival of a friendly chopper, they were thankful to say the least.

Of course now seen over the horizon. The squad of five thunderbolts were now in plain view for all to see. "Hostile aircraft spotted! Arm all weapons and take them down!" The lead pilot called out at the fighters would proceed with aerial assistance. 5 sets of twin- linked autocannons, massive shells comparable to bolt rounds although at a much larger scale. These heavy fighters also came equipped with twin-linked, a massive energy weapon capable of burning right through the armor of armored vehicles especially choppers. Two fighters focused on the choppers with a sudden strafing maneuvers, peppering the assault helicopters with high grade ordnance only the Imperium could muster. The remaining three began to strafe targets of opportunity on the hillside. The enemy would know fear this day, as what a space marine would say but today was the Imperial Guards glory. And they were going to prove that even the Guard can win battles without the assistance of the space marines. and with that in mind, the squads of Imperial soldiers on the ground cheered and began to fight with renewed vigor.

A one-sided argument on open commlinks breached the noise floor gaining volume as the source approached, "Quit your whining about Xenos I could still drop you! You're lucky I work for your false queen's contract! Operational merc, currently call sign Charlie Sierra Victor Six. Because I take contracts remotely. Yes, Fine. I'll add the ammo to your bill. Up you go. So I can see if they're checking fire or not so I don't get shot! Have fun! Call me on commlink if you don't die!"

Upside down and clung to the bridge one of Jaunt's sharp front legs extended and flexed around an imperial guard blown off the bridge elsewhere by a round of explosions. The repeater sown into the side of his cephalothorax was repeating for Jaunt as it rather lacked vocal cords. He doubled back shortly after the RPG fire started tearing stone out of the bridge. The hairy brown hook legs tethered with ceramite plates slapped up to hook a crumbling bridge edge to brace with as the several eyed spider chucked the guard back over the ledge. The uniformed man arced high over the wall then landed falling on his ass.

Jaunt scurried away to avoid potential fire. It wasn't hard to figure out where the giant tank was on the bridge. He had a feeling it was the same ones that shot up the group it was looking over. At least he had some intel to give the contractor. Jaunt patiently waited on the underside crammed between struts below the bridge. A partly red bump covered in haphazard flak and ceramite with guns strapped onto quick release mounts. The sawtooth front legs removed a heavy reciprocating bolter with a long shock-stabilizing arm mount on the sides he could clamp his sawteeth into. If that heli he heard tried flying under the bridge it'd get a nasty surprise. Jaunt idly watched bridge pieces and dead people fall into the oblivion below.