V2 Chapter 77: First Meeting
When Duvette's landing craft reached the Ashbell Position, the sky outside had already been dyed grey-red by artillery fire.
The moment the hatch opened, cold and wet air came in with the smell of churned earth. Heavy guns at distant positions were firing in scattered intervals, each shot sending a minor tremor through the ground, and the Krieg soldiers in their heavy greatcoats and gas masks continued their work in silence.
They were digging trenches, hauling heavy artillery pieces, moving ammunition crates, stringing wire, and some were laying out rows of body bags.
No one spoke.
No one looked up.
When Duvette walked down from the landing craft, the Krieg soldiers nearby simply stopped what they were doing, rendered a salute to him and the personnel behind him, and returned to work. The entire position was quiet in a way that no forward assembly point had any business being.
Duvette walked forward along the temporary steel-plate road that had been laid down across the mud.
On either side: newly dug approach trenches and blast shelters half-buried in the ground. Several heavy siege guns were being hauled to their prepared positions, the barrels still carrying transport grease. An engineer team was reinforcing a section of trench wall that had partially collapsed, working with shovels and demolition tools at an efficiency that left no wasted motion.
This was the Death Korps of Krieg.
Across countless Imperial fronts, their name had become synonymous with siege warfare, poison gas, mud, shellfire, and casualty figures that would have broken other regiments.
Duvette looked at them, and a familiar sensation rose in him.
He had originally been uncertain whether these temporarily attached forces could be brought within his System's reach.
They were not the 112th. They were not the Ash Watchers who had followed him through years of grinding campaigns. They were a Krieg siege combat group that Bleddin had carved out of the northwest front and handed over with obvious reluctance.
But as he read what he was seeing now, it was apparent that the Soul of the Legion's effects were reaching them. Only partially, only for this temporary attachment. But sufficient.
Duvette allowed himself a quiet exhale.
Honestly, Krieg might be the most suitable troops in existence to receive inexplicable orders without incident. Another regiment's soldiers, suddenly perceiving the unexplained enhancements and the battlefield changes those enhancements produced, might have been startled, might have asked questions, might have said something over the vox.
Krieg would not.
They might register something unusual. They might have questions. But they would complete the order first. They would advance in silence, charge in silence, kill everything in front of them in silence, and save the questions for the after-action report.
Beyond that, they would not allow themselves to be distracted while standing on a line.
With those thoughts moving through him, Duvette arrived at the forward command post.
It was not a standard canvas temporary structure. It was a semi-permanent command installation built from armour plating, sandbags, and a reinforced underground level. Two Krieg guards at the entrance checked his identification codes, then stepped aside without a word.
Duvette walked in, Entropy's Song in hand.
Several colonels and commissars were already assembled inside.
They rose and saluted as he entered, almost simultaneously. No pleasantries. No curiosity. No questions about the staff.
Duvette lifted his chin to indicate they should stand easy.
"Duvette Erdmann, Colonel-Commissar." He said. "Effective immediately, the Krieg 1173rd Provisional Siege Combat Group is under my tactical command."
The Krieg colonel standing at the front spoke through his gas mask in a voice that was steady and low.
"Krieg 1173rd Provisional Siege Combat Group, reporting as ordered. Commander, Colonel Jurgen Holst."
A man in a black commissar's greatcoat beside him followed.
"Oscar Rein, regimental commissar."
The remaining commanders and commissars each rendered their salutes and identified themselves in turn.
Duvette acknowledged each one with a nod.
"Good."
He did not waste time on anything further. He turned to Evan.
"Open the holo-table."
"Yes, Commissar."
Evan placed the portable projection unit at the table's centre. A moment later the hololithic map of the Sveren northwest theatre opened in front of the assembled officers.
The Ashbell Position. The Colchis outer districts. The old Lamerly air transit road. The encirclement ring around Nev City's outer edge. Several Imperial supply lines already severed by the enemy. All of it present in the display.
Duvette raised a hand and pointed toward Nev City.
"Our first combat objective is to break a relief corridor through to Nev City."
The Krieg officers said nothing. They looked at the map.
Duvette continued. "General Petrov cannot hold much longer. Based on the most recent report three days ago, ammunition and food supplies inside Nev City are both falling, and the enemy's encirclement lines are still tightening. If we cannot reach the outer perimeter within forty-eight hours, it becomes an island of the dead."
Colonel Holst spoke. "Are we to break through the enemy front line directly?"
"Yes." Duvette said. "That is the declared plan of action."
He pointed to a stretch of open ground ahead of the Ashbell Position.
"The 112th's armoured battalion as the spearhead. The Krieg siege forces as the main body. The heavy artillery groups provide a rolling barrage. The combat engineers clear the minefields and anti-tank ditches and establish temporary trench passages along the advance route. The Death Riders conduct night reconnaissance and mark enemy flank fire positions."
Commissar Rein looked up. "Acceptable casualty threshold?"
Duvette looked at him.
"Casualties are not a target."
The tent went quiet for a moment.
Duvette continued. "I know you do not fear death, and I know the Krieg can absorb losses that would destroy other regiments. But I am not here to spend you down to nothing."
He indicated the enemy's frontal position.
"Your task is to make the enemy believe we are going to grind them into the ground from the front."
Colonel Holst was quiet for a moment. "A diversion?"
"More than a diversion." Duvette said. "When the enemy has committed their reserves, their artillery, and their anti-aircraft assets to the frontal approach, you will be the force that actually crushes them."
He did not mention the Black Shields. He did not mention the 112th assault company's infiltration drop.
Those elements did not need to be known by everyone in this room.
But he added one thing.
"After the pre-dawn assault begins, a special identification beacon will appear within the operational zone. Any unit that receives a black identification beacon is not to shell or intercept it. Beyond that, you do not need to know more."
None of the Krieg officers asked further questions.
Duvette noted this with satisfaction.
He began assigning tasks.
"771st Siege Regiment, first advance line. You will follow the Ash Watchers 112th's armoured battalion in behind the rolling barrage and take the first enemy trench line."
"904th Siege Regiment third echelon, second wave. You relieve casualties and expand the breach."
"1288th Siege Regiment combat engineer detachment and 312th Siege Engineer Battalion Group, your assignment is minefield clearance, anti-tank ditch demolition, and establishing temporary trench passage along the advance route."
"566th Heavy Siege Artillery Regiment and 742nd Heavy Artillery Regiment partial strength, begin adjustment fire and harassing fire at nightfall. One hour before the main assault, shift to rolling barrage."
"49th Death Rider Squadron, advance after dusk for reconnaissance. Mark enemy fire positions and likely counter-attack routes."
Colonel Holst recorded each instruction in turn.
Duvette looked at all of them for the last time.
"First assault wave launches at 0100 standard Terra time."
Commissar Rein said: "That is eight hours from now."
"Yes." Duvette said. "Other commands would need three days for a handover and a fire schedule. Krieg will complete it tonight."
Colonel Holst showed no hesitation whatsoever.
"Krieg will complete it."
Duvette gave a single nod.
"Dismissed. All units return to positions immediately."
The Krieg colonels and commissars saluted together and turned to leave. Their footsteps were even and heavy, and they disappeared into the faint sounds of artillery and wind outside the tent in short order.
Duvette looked at the silent backs moving away from him, and drew a slow breath.
Standard Terra time: 1700 hours.
Eight hours remained until the first assault.
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