Shovels & Shotgun: Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3

Cici was never really that much of a devout believer to the faith. Oh sure, she prayed to the emperor as much as any other guardsman but she may have only done so light heartedly. Don't get her wrong, he definitely believed in the Emperor and his wisdom, but she didn't see him as someone that would have better things to do that get involved in the plight of those like her. She shouldn't be bothering him with her wishes.

However, as she sat there in the ground, staring right at the whirring teeth of a chainsword ever so slowly descending down on her, she reconsidered everything she ever believed in. With her hands raised in a futile attempt to shield herself and her eyes clenched shut to stop herself from seeing her impending doom, she prayed like she never prayed before.

With a plea straight from her heart, she called out to the Golden Man in the sky, "Hey Emperor, it's me your loyal servant. I just want to ask you something, nothing too big for your golden majesty," She had been a loyal guardsman since she turned fourteen. Even if she lied to the enlistment officer, surely her years of service meant something, right?"

"Please, PLEASE, save me! I don't want to have my inside turned into pulp, at least not literally! I'm too young and beautiful to die! At Least give me enough time till I get a farm!" She begged her as she felt her lunch trying to push itself out of her throat with her heart following soon after.

How could have things gone bad so fast? She only wanted to get this over yet here she, staring death right at its face. She didn't want to die, she didn't want any of this! She wanted to live! Yet no matter now she tried, she couldn't move fast enough.

She felt as if she was moving through molasses, her limbs weighed down by weight of the world. Even she wanted too, she couldn't pull away in time. The monster in front of her was simply too fast, far beyond any mortal was capable off. She was only human.

She could feel the teeth of the blade whirring near her face and hear the false angels taunting laughter echoing in the hall as she reached out for her friend. Their screams and looks of horror stuck to their face as they stood there, all but frozen in place while time seemed to stretch on without end. There, she realized, she was going to die.

It was almost comical how her story was going to end, a fool who didn't heed her squads warning. She always thought it was her friends that would go out this way yet she allowed her judgment to be clouded by anger and fear. Maybe she should have just listened, maybe she should have actually think but its far too late for now.

Her only regret was not being able to get those two idiots and her squad out of this horrid place and scream at them for hours. Oh Emperor, She would have loved to drink with them for just one last time. At the very least, she did everything she could for the Emperor. She just hoped she'd find comfort in his warm embrace.

"Not today!" A deep booming voice echoed out, making her turn as she felt the floor beneath her shake. With wide eye surprise, she gasped as Bosco came barreling through with shield in hand, smashing right against the False Angel's side. She watched in awe as all five hundred pounds of ogryn muscle bodied the armor giant, launching them across the room

With a heavy thud, the monster crashed into one of the support pillars holding the vaulted ceiling above, throwing rock and dust flying in the air. "Charles!" The Ogryn then shouted as the Krieger marched forward.

The loud bark of their trench gun filled the room as shot after shot slammed into tho the monstrous being slumped against the wall, exploding into a cloud of acrid smoke and fire. She had to cover her ears as each resounding boom rattled her very being, her core shaken before it stopped and the room was once more filled with silence.

Letting out a satisfied grunt, Charles cocked his gun before casually reloading it with what ever the hell it was the put that giant down. "That should put him down for a minute," The ogryn nodded with a smile before he turned towards her, bowing in apology, "Should have warned you about him, sorry about that Cici,"

She could only nod numbly, not really understanding what the man said at the moment. Reaching for her face, she felt her hair just where it was roughly hewn. "Oh Emperor, I nearly died," She whispered as she trembled.

"Cici!" Hassim cried as he grabbed her, checking her for injuries, "God damn it, haven't you learn anything from boot camp?" he scolded her as he shook her shoulders

"Oh Emperor, I nearly died!" She whispered before she laughed out hysterically in Hasim arms. With the adrenalin pumping in her veins and the euphoria of escaping deaths clutch, she never felt more alive. It took her a minute to get herself under control but finally, she calmed down enough to ask, "It's dead right? Jobs done?"

"I think…" Bud replied before the Beastman trailed off as their ears flattened against their head, "Ohhh fuck," the man cursing as they kept their gaze on the cloud of dust while they slowly backed away.

Turning, she gazed into the cloud, freezing in place at what she saw. There, she saw the hellish glow of the monsters gaze as it stood back up and walked toward them even.

There it stood, a towering creature of steel and brass, whose armor was decorated by the flayed skin and bleached skulls of the fallen. With their crimson ax, it's teeth stained red from the blood of the slain in one hand and the other, a twisted bolter whose barrel had warped to becomes maws of some demonic creature, she saw the twisted reflection of the Angels of the Emperor himself; A Chaos Space Marine.

She thought they were mere legends, camp fire tales by the older guardsmen to scare the younger recruits but now she saw it as a warning. Death has come for them and it wanted their heads "Look out!" She screamed in warning as she pulled out her longlass, leveling it at the false angel before it suddenly moved.

"Here we go again," Bosco huffed as he raised his shield once more as if expecting the attack only for their eyes to widen when the Marine passed him and headed straight for her. The Ogyrn tried to reach for the Marine but the monster was too fast, their gauntleted hands reaching for them. This time however, they won't get close enough to touch her as a shovel came swinging from below, ratling the marine as it slammed against their chin.

She barely had time to turn around before she saw him, a streak of dusty leather and steel making a mad dash for the giant. With a guttural cry of anger, the Kreiger launched himself into combat armed with a shovel in one hand and his trench gun in the other. He was the image of a perfect guardsman; brave, handsome, and most importantly of all-!

"Wait, He's going to get himself killed!" She then screamed as she scrambled to her feet, watching the man in muted horror as they faced off against the monster, "Charles!" They should have run, they should have fled the moment Bosco saved her but Charles decided stand before them, fighting them on equal grounds. Why, why wasn't he running?!

The man instead choose to laugh as met an overhead strike head on, parrying it with his shovel with almost casual ease before unloading a barrel full of lead straight at the mans face. Again and again, the man kept dancing with death even as he was pushed back and even as the shots only seemed to bother the giant.

She aimed her sight, hands shaking as she tried to take a shot only for someone to pull on her collar, throwing off her aim. Whipping around, she found the giant holding her back, the confidence he once had shaken as he shook his head "No, don't! You'll pull him back right at you!!" He scolded her before he called out for the others, "Don't shoot!"

Hassim and her squad paused while she fought against the ogryns hold, "Let me go! We need to help him!" she cried out. Charles fought toe to toe with the Marine, matching blow per blow but this can't go on forever; he's only a man, "Do you want him to die!"

"You'll die if you get between them!" The ogyrn roared in frustration, making her cower as the man lost his cool. Shaking his head, he then said, "We won't die but all of you will if you shoot. We can't protect you and fight him at the same time! Go, no!" "

"No, Oh Emperors no!" She screamed as she struggled against him. Charles wasn't the only one, both of them were! She can't let them die, not when they saved her. She had to save them from themselves. "Let me go damn it!'

Bosco however, would hold firm, lifting her up over his head. "I'm sorry Cici, this is for your own good" Turning around, the Ogryn then called out, "Hasim! Catch!"

"Wah-?!" Was all she could speak out before she screamed as the man throw him across the room. Like some sack of rations, she sailed through the air, landing hard on Bud's arms.

"Get back, we can handle this!" Bosco shouted, waving them off before he fired his ripper gun, blasting chunks off the false angel which Charles chose to fight, "Go!" He commanded them, urging them off the room.

There was a moment of hesitation from her friend before their eyes harden as they dragged her off, "Emperor damn it all! Are you two mad?!" She screamed as she struggled against Bud's hold friends hold, kicking and screaming all the way even as they passed the huge doorway.

With a cock sure grin across their face, Bosco replied, "Maybe we are," Raising his shield once more as sparks rained around him, he then added, "I know you won't remember this but we always admired how you always treat us as one of your own. It reminded us that we're not alone and we'll always have friends just waiting in the road ahead," Lowering his shield, he then raised his ripper gun at them before he called out, "See you all next time."

She flinched back as the massive gun barked sending a stream of gunfire not at them, but to a nearby terminal. As the ancient electronics sparked, long dormant mechanisms moved, creaking to life. Thousands of tons of ancient adamantine came crashing down before silence descended in the room.
"They, they sealed themselves off…" Usky whispered in disbelief as Bud's hold finally loosened, letting her free. She rushed ahead, slamming her fist against the wall but to no avail. Not even her blows could make a sound. The Ogyrn had locked them off, leaving him and Charles trapped with the monster.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" She cursed as she whirled around, trying to find another terminal, perhaps a lever to get the door open but she will find none. The hall was bare aside from them, the piles of body and the now burnt grox meat roasting over the open fire, "No… not like this," Why did they have to get themselves killed right when she was starting to like them?

"Fuck," Bud cursed as he ran his hands over his shaggy fur, "What are we going to do now Hasim?" the beastman then asked as he turned to their leader.

The Tallarian grimaced as he looked away, pacing restlessly while he stared down on the ground. Whirling towards the windows, he then shouted, "Check the Gate!"

Wiping the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, she forced herself up as she joined her squad. Peering out of the tall vaulted windows, they stared down to find a fortresses in disarray. They watched enemy forces raining fire upon the gates mechanism to no avail as the gates slowly swung open, just in time for sunrise.

"It's open!" Bud whooped with joy as a wide smile stretched across their face, "We actually got the thing opened!" They got the door open yet they were down two, she bitterly thought. Looking back at the thick gate, she wracked her mind, trying to find a way to get in. There has to be open it up. That was when her eyes locked on the mountain of corpse that Charles left behind.

Hassim would take in a deep breath before they sighed, shaking their head in dismay, "Then our jobs here's done," The man declared as he adjusted his lasgun before walking away, "We can't do anything than what we already have. Let's find a transport so we can get out of here," Glancing towards the ridge they went down from, he then grimaced before adding, "I doubt we can go back the way we got here."

As her squad left, she stayed behind, checking for the corpse and pulling out any and all battery packs she could find. "Not enough," She whispered as she pulled body after body, her clothes turning red in her grizzly task.

"Cici?" Bud called out to her, waving at her to join them, "What the hell are you still there for? They only have ammo, nothing worth stripping them for! Come on, lets go!" He told her but she chose to ignore him, pilling her loot behind her.

"We need to get back in," She muttered as she dragged another corpse, grinning as she found a gun still stuck to their hands. It was a bit damaged but it was all she needed, "I have a plan."

"God damn it Cici, now's not the time!" Hasim shouted as he marched back to her, grabbing her hands and pulling her away. He then said, "You heard Bosco, they…" pausing briefly as a look of pain passed over his eyes, "They can handle it. It's our job to continue on fighting,"

"And have that false angel undo all our progress after we leave them to die?!" She shouted back at him, pushing his hands away. She can't, she can't keep doing this, she can't keep losing people, good men and women, to this stupid campaign., "No, we need to get back."

"How!" Hassim exploded as he throw his hands up in the air. Gesturing to the gigantic door, he pointed out, "That's what, one or two meters of adamantine? There's not a single gun here that can blast through that door. I'm not even sure our Melta Charges can punch through!" Walking away, he looked up briefly before turning back to her, "So tell me how."

Meeting his gaze, she replied "Who said we need a single one?" Turning back to the pile, she pulled out another damaged lasrifle before tossing it back it to the pile, "Hasim, I need you to gather every last power cell you can get get! Now!" She shouted, urging him to join him,"Just do it! Please, trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Hassim paused before shaking his head, "I swear you're going to be the death of us," turning to the rest of the squad, he called "You heard the girl, get you back to it! We're field stripping these corpse for batteries!"

They had looks of confusions in their face but the two did not question the orders. There was not a hint of hesitation between all of them as they pulled gun after bloody gun from Charles victim. It took them a couple of minutes but they soon have a dozen badly damaged lasgun and a pile of battery big enough to comfortably keep a company busy.

Grabbing a the most damaged of the lassgun, she then gazed up to the desecrated image of the Emperor, "Omnissiah forgive me," She whispered before she lifted the gun up before slamming it back to the ground, smashing it till the case cracked open, revealing its inner components.

"And somebody give me a knife!" She then shouted as she pulled out her tools, a set of makeshift screwdrivers, pliers and tweezer that she usually reserved for her gun.

As Bud lend his and Cici got to pry the hole she made wider so she could extract the sensitive components, Hassim would kneel beside her, "Cici, you know this is suicide right?" The man pointed out, glancing back to the imposing door keeping them from the two they left behind, "Even if we can open the doors, what then?"

"I know! I know… but we can't just leave them there!" Cici hissed back before she sighed out, her shoulders sagging as she stared at the gun on her lap. "Not after everything," She whispered as she felt the shame and guilt welling within.

All of this, all of this was her fault. She was the one that got to angry to even listen. She was the one that marched ahead. She was the one that pulled that lever and almost got her head split. If it wasn't for them, she thought, hands shaking as she continued with her work, prying the lens out of its casing before carefully slipping it in one of her pockets.

"We might not only known them for a day and they might have brought more trouble than they're worth, but damn it all, they're still one of us" She continued, extracting the less sensitive but equally important parts. She'll need every last one for what she had in mind.

"They saved our hide from that false Angel" She reminded them, "And as much as I hate to admit it, Charles single handily cleared the way for us saving us a lot of grief," The Krieger was a one man army and they only had been playing catching up.

Moving on to the next gun to field strip, she grunted as she broke it open like the first, "It's quite frankly a miracle we got here without casualties. Like it or not, we owe them at least this," Maybe it was her guilt talking but damn it all, it wasn't right for them to leave a good soldier behind.

With a hard knock, she finally loosened the bolt enough to see the innards, "If not for them, at least do this for me," She asked them, gritting her teeth as she felt wet streaks fall down her cheeks, "What kind of Guardsmen would we be if we leave one of ours behind?" It was selfish, it was stupid but she couldn't live with herself if she let them die in vain.

Walking up to them, Bud would then kneel beside then as he started disassembling the guns the best he could, "Damn it, she's right," Bud cursed as he handed her the gun stripped of its barrel and other accessories, "What kind of guardsman are we if we're going to fall back just because we're scared?"

"We already achieved our objectives yes," Usky replied as he too joined them, "But we have yet to complete our task, not when we are coming home with two of our own still behind those doors," The Vostroyan added.

Cici felt her spirit sour as the two joined her but they still weren't complete. Turning to Hassim, she reached out to him, holding out her hands as he told them, "You know, we can't do this without out you? We do this together ok? Like guardsmen."

Hassim looked at her hands before sighing as he grabbed them, "No man left behind eh?" The Tallarnian asked, flashing her a wry smile.

"No man left behind" She replied as she nodded back in understanding. It was a possible one way trip for all of them but she believed in all of them. It was either they got out of this together or die trying.

-x-x-x-

Lifting up the lens against the light, she squinted as she inspect it for any imperfections. Any damage could prove catastrophic. Despite the abuse they sustained from wear and tear as well as her rough handling however, these lenses remained pristine. The Cog Boys might be a bunch of assholes but they knew what they were doing.

No matter where the gun was forged or whatever condition it was, this lens stayed standard for the most part. This was after all, what made the gun even capable of producing such force. What use was all the batteries and power of a gun if it couldn't focus the light down to a pin prick?

Nodding, she then placed the lens at the end of a long series of focus as he finished the gun. Standing up, she stepped back to admire her work. It was a hodgepodge of severals guns strapped together with about a dozen firing mechanism slave to each other to fire at a series of lenses which converged and focused on a single point all powered by the pack she scavenge. It was ugly, brutish, yet she loved it.

"The Cog Boys would roast you alive if they ever find this thing," Hasim replied as he kicked at the pile of corpses they used as its base, making sure it wasn't going to move while Bud moved it, acclimating himself to the guns.

"Eh, it's not like they'll find it" She replied as she pat the gun, "Especially not after the juice of this bad boy burnt through the lens and everything attached to it," she then said as her squad mate turned to her.

"Wait, you don't even know if this things safe!?" Bud shouted as he let go of the gun and back away. She really couldn't fault him with how much power was contained within those battery much less a hundred of them all strapped together.

"Hey, you can't be a Ratling without knowing how to modify your longlass," She replied with a shrug. Staring at the monstrosity, she the said, "I'm sixty percent sure that thing would fire at least once," and it's not like she need another shot. With the way she rigged the gun, the capacitors would draw in a platoons worth of power and throw it in one single shot. It was fool proof!

Still, she had to admit that this was far beyond what she normally do with her gun. Yes, Ratlings knew how to fix their guns, it was a right of age kind of thing for them but to modify it to this extent? She was heading into unknown territory, possibly even heresy to the Mechanicus.

'Nope, scratch that, this is Heresy to the Mechanicus" She then thought as she cocked her head to the side. She could have made it better if she was honest with herself but she was strapped for time. It's been an hour since they got kicked out of the room and the gates had yet to close but she wasn't sure if anyone aside from the angels of the emperor himself could last that long with that demon.

"The remaining 40 percent?" Hassim then asked, slowly inching away from her creation.

"I just made ourselves a giant bomb," She admitted, "It could possibly cause a shockwave strong enough to liquify one of the Angels of the Emperor," She knew well enough that one power pack was enough to crack open tanks. A hundred of them? SHe might as well have called in a Basilisk strike down their heads if she failed.

"Eh, good enough odds," Hassim then shrugged.

"Oh come on!" Bud screamed at them, throwing his hands in frustration, "And you want me to be the one firing this gun?"

Waving off his concern, she replied, "You'll do fine! Just trust me on this one."

"Why does that only makes me more concerned," Bud muttered as she chuckled. She always loved the pre battle banter

Slapping her cheeks and sighing out, she then turned to them."Ok ladies, listen up!" She called their attention as she walked towards the door, "Right now, Bosco and Charles are facing of against one of the False Angels of Chaos. Through sheers guts and determination, they've kept the fight going, stopping the man from reaching the controls," They were good yes but they weren't superhuman.

"The two might forced us out of the fight and those two might be enough for that Chaos born son of a bitch but that doesn't me we're just going to leave them there," She then shouted as she raised her Longlass up high.

"We are guardsmen, we live together and we die together," She reminded them of their creed. In the field of war, they were forged into fine men and women and their bond would know weakness, "We will get back into the fray and help our comrades. They might be faster, they might be stronger, but together we can beat them!" The enemy might win the fight but the guardsmen always win the war.

Grinning, she then added, "Besides, I've yet to see someone outrun a las shot and I don't see that changing anytime soon!"

The group shared some laughs before she continued, laying out the battleplan ahead, "Once we break through that door, retreat would no longer be an option. Fight like you've never fought before and whatever you do, do not stop firing," Clutching her refile close, she added, "As far as things go, we can only distract the giant but that will be enough," reaching down, she felt the Melta charges she got from Usky.

"We'll take potshots when we can and provide covering fire," She ordered, "No one plays the hero, do you understand!" She already fucked up once, she can't let it happen again.

"Yes ma'am!" All of them replied, with Hassim giving her an approving nod.

Letting a grim smile settle across her lips, as she shouted, "Now lets show that son of a bitch what a wall of laser truly mean!" Running up beside Bud, she ordered, "Cover!" Before Usky and Hassim scrambled over to the pile of corpse they lined up just for this. It wouldn't do much but it helped with the nerves.

"So just squeeze right?" Bud asked as his hands clenched on the handle till his knuckles turned white, his finger hovering just above the trigger.

"Yeah, just nice and easy," She told him as she gave him a pat on the back, "And brace for impact. Oh yeah, close your eyes. It'll get bright real fast," Reaching for her pockets, she pulled out some earplugs before slipping one for him as well.

Her fellow abhuman grinned back as he looked ahead, aiming their monstrous contraption. "Here goes nothing!" She saw his mouth moved, "Fire in the hole!" Shutting her eyes close and shielding them, she braced herself before everything went white.

She let out a scream as the wind whipped around, her feet nearly slipping beneath her before she managed to grab hold of Bud. She held on for dear life as the dull roar of the laser echoed across the hall, reverberating down to her very bones. The heat, the sound, the lights, all mixing into one incoherent roar until finally, it died down.

Slowly, she opened her eyes before she laughed at the sight before her. Pulling out her ear plugs, she stood up as admired the destruction that she had caused.

Her weapon might have melted into nothing more than a pile of slag but it took the door and everything in front of its line of fire with it. The massive doors melted, metal dripping down in great rivulets. The floor was bisected as a rapidly cooling pool of molten rockrete ate through the door, separating the False Angel from Bosco and Charles. The wall just ahead of them, molten, exposing the long hall on the other tower.

"What in the name of the four gods…" The False Angel whispered, their form battered and their helm all but broken. Charles and Bosco took their toll on him but so did the warrior on the two as they stood there, covered in scars and scratches. Speaking of the two.

"Cici?!" Bosco shouted as a gobsmacked expression was plastered across their face. "Oh Emperor, we forgot about her engineering perk…" the Ogryn whispered, whatever the hell that was. Probably some Krieger term she just haven't heard about; a mysterious bunch, those guys were.

Waving at them from behind the base of her destroyed masterpiece, she called out, "Heya Charle! Heya Bosco! Did you miss me?" It seemed like she just arrived in time for the action. Pulling out her Long Lass, she then shouted, "Well I sure did miss you two!"

Shots rang out as her longlass struck true, finding their marks on the man's temple. However, it merely left scorch marks, "You think your paltry weapons can pierce my armor-!" The marine growled as they turned towards her, their eyes blazing with fury. Before this, she would have fled there and then, this time around however, she wasn't going anywhere. Beside, why should she run when she had him doing what she wanted?

Distracted, the man was all but wide opened as Charles came rushing in, smacking him across the face with the shovel and taking a chunk out of their helm, "Gah!" the sound of their cries align with the sound of their helm ringing struck them once more, staggering them, "Can you stop hitting me with your shovel!" The man roared before a shot struck them, pushing them off balance. It might not be enough to punch through but her shots still had recoil.

"Well what are you waiting for?" She shouted, calling out to her squad as well as the stunned Bosco, "It's open season, fire at will!"

A/N:

A request by one of the high tier patrons. Expect another chapter around the end of the month. For now though, I'll be moving back to Seoul Kitchen. I hope to get 2-3 chapters before I get to making commission work. See you guys tommorow!