Operation Iron Defense Initiation

Continuing the Operation Iron Defense Battle Report from last time.
"Focus fire upon those Ork Boyz!  Don't let them reach our lines!  Bork'ev raise that pulse rifle and really push it against your shoulder!  There'll be time to be exhausted later, if those Orks get to us then its all over!"

Vyk'tos roared at her men, continuing to bellow encouragement and orders as she brought her own weapon to bear and brought down some of the xenos herself.  One after the other they came, charging through the narrow canyon to the east of the Tau base that consisted of the only viable route to their lines.  Wave after wave of Boyz, nobz, deff koptas, storm boyz… this planet had it all.  And all of them were rushing at her squad, one of many that had been deployed in that position to protect the rest of My'lok's forces.  They were the spearhead, the tip of the iceberg that encountered the first of all the enemy forces.  If they faltered then the rest of the army would have some serious problems heading their way.

But they would not fail.  They couldn't.   Too much was at stake here, too many green-skins needed to be purged on this battlefield.  And a precedence had been set.  They hadn't failed yet.  It seems like such a long time ago when they first landed on Cavalac VI's volcanic north pole.  And yet Vyk'tos and her men had only been on the ground for three weeks.  But every moment of it had been spent fighting.  From the instant they made planet fall they had been set upon by hundreds of Orks eager to rip out their throats.  Dozens of good Tau had died that day as the landing zone was secured.  And kept that way.  And reinforced.  And reinforced.  And reinforced.  No matter how much they put into its defense it felt like the Ork waves were scaled to that exact level to take them out.  They barely held on.  But they had.

Slowly their foothold was established and fortified, a solidifying territory of safe operation being created upon the soil that so many Orks had thrown themselves at the Tau guns for and died for it.  Those Tau that died had been given their rites and peace by the Ethereal, having served the Greater Good valiantly as the rest of us could only hope for.  It was times like that, when the Tau faced adversity like never before, that they really needed such ideals as the Greater Good to believe in.  That is what it means to be a Tau.  To work for the future of the Empire, to keep safe the very livelihood of those family members on planets not consumed by war.  Only the Greater Good would see them through the times ahead, as only it had allowed the Tau to come out of the Dark Times.

Of course Vyk'tos had been deployed on the front, in the most critical danger zone to ensure that nothing went wrong as more and more land was cleared of the pitiful xenos who could not recognize the Greater Good.  From that moment she and her squad had rested at most 4 hours each day, having no sleep for three in a row once.  They were due to be rotated out soon, just two more days to hold on.

In the brief lulls in combat that had occurred (were the Orks toying with them, or did other places have it worse at those moments?) Vyk'tos had been filled in on the situation of the entire planet.  Apparently things were going well for the Tau, as well as they could with such vicious fighting.  The Ork menace was slowly being pushed out and away so that there was some actual coherency to the Tau space and there wasn't a constant threat of ambush regardless of where you were.  About 50 miles out from the equator in both directions had been claimed and was no longer contested, the majority of the islands in the one ocean to the southwest of the planet were now entirely Tau controlled, and certain key points in some of the larger canyons had been taken and fortified, positions that the Orks were throwing themselves at to escape the fury of the Tau army elsewhere but to no avail.  Sort of like they were doing here.

Vyk'tos slammed another clip into her rifle, discarding the powerless one into the overflowing basket of them behind her.  The runners would be here soon to pick them up and drop off fresh ones.  Looking up she noticed the last of the Orks was dead, glimpsing a brief flash as the only one standing was hit in the chest and thrown to the ground where the brute lay motionless.  Into her field of vision strode one pathfinder, leading three others.

"Did you miss me?"

Mar'tel gave her a private message, the boasting in his voice giving away his belief in his abilities.  A belief that he had earned over several years of combat, a complete one under the command of My'lok, just like herself.

"Maybe I'd miss you more if you would stop stealing my kills from me.  Shouldn't you be somewhere a little more… you know… hidden?"

"Oh blabber blabber blabber.  You're always concerned with your safety?  Can't you ever take a little risk and live a little?"

"I prefer to stay alive than risk it"

"Well I'll have you know that my orders were for me to come out here anyways.  There is a ridge just over there that will offer perfect line of sight to anything in the area"

It was true.  Just to her left, visible through the windows of the ruins of the imperial building that she and her men had occupied as their personal bunker (they were not alone in this.  Broadsides and other fire warriors were skirting the rubble around it as well) was a raised cliff, about 7 feet off of the ground.  His story just might prove true.

"If that was the case shouldn't you be over there?"

"Well I couldn't resist the chance to come over here and say hello to you.  You know I'm a sucker for a pretty lady"

"Am I going to have to discipline you again?"

Vyk'tos was blushing underneath her helmet, glad for the privacy that it gave her and the private lines given to the squadron leaders to use as they saw fit.  As she and Mar'tel were using them now.  Pushing her flattery and girlish dreams aside she returned to reality.

"Shouldn't you be heading for your position about now?  The Orks could be back any second now"

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am.  On my way"

He trotted over to the ridge and hoisted himself up, nimbly pulling himself up and grabbing onto handholds as only Tau trained as pathfinders could, the true eyes of the military.  Turning and assisting the remainder of his squad up, he glanced over her way, gave her a nod and turned towards the choke point.  It was only a matter of time before more started coming...