Over.+
+Message received and understood. The Emperor watch over you. Over.+
Ragnar considered his options. He could hear the tank's approach, smell the acrid
chemical fumes of its exhaust. Concrete was crushed under its treads as it moved. He
could request Brother Hrolf with the squad's heavy support weapon to blast the tank but
that would mean cancelling the attack on the bunker while Hrolf moved into a new
position, and Ragnar doubted that there was any need for that, certainly not when he
could deal with the tank himself.
He checked his belt compartments. Everything was in place. Healing drug syrettes,
grenade dispensers, repair patches. He tapped the grenade dispenser and a krak grenade
dropped into his hand. That would do. He glanced out of his cover and saw the long
snout of the Predator's gun barrel coming around the comer. Moments later the whole
tank hove into view. It was a standard design for an Imperial tank but instead of the neat
patterns of the Imperially aligned planetary armies it had been hastily sprayed blood
red, and a crude eight-armed Chaos symbol had been painted on the side in yellow.
Ragnar bared his teeth in a snarl at the sight of that hated emblem. It was the sign of
daemon worshippers sworn to overthrow everything Ragnar had fought to uphold his
whole long life, and just the sight of it brought the animal ferocity that was so much a
part of his Space Wolf nature bubbling to the fore.
He raised himself to his feet, measuring the distance between himself and the tank with
a practiced eye. No more than a hundred strides, he guessed. The distance was closing
fast as the tank rumbled forward. He could see that the turret-mounted bolters were
already swivelling to bear on him. His position had been flanked. It was just as well that
he had decided to abandon it anyway.
The servo-motors of his armour whined as he raced across the open ground towards the
tank. Once again lasgun fire dogged his heels, but as he had counted on, the gunners
were too surprised by his sudden break from cover in the direction of the tank to target
him swiftly. The tank's gunners obviously couldn't believe their eyes either. Tracer fire
ripped the air over his head targeted on a spot behind him. The gunners' efforts were
half-hearted. They seemed to have reckoned that he was going to be ground to pieces
beneath their onrushing vehicle. Ragnar intended to swiftly prove them wrong. They
would pay for underestimating one of the sons of Leman Russ.
He rushed directly at the tank. It swelled swiftly in his view.
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