RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
by Andreas Fransson
Second Lieutenant Darren Sachi watched from the top hatch of his Chimera, as his men collected the monthly taxes from a group of settlers. They were paying a visit at Camp Jacson, a small settlement a couple of miles south of LeBnon City, the capital of the Imperial planet of LeBnon. It was Lieutenant Sachi's duty to collect the taxes from the several settlements scattered across the countryside, a duty he did not like very much. All in all there were twenty-three of them, and it took his party of twenty men a day and a half to complete the trip - every thirty days. During spring and fall it was tolerable, but the remaining ten months the desert was either hot as an oven, or cold enough to make their freshwater supply freeze. And with the planet being in the outskirts of the galaxy, the equipment available was not the best; Lieutenant Sachi's party used two of the base's Chimeras, and the Chimera is not a very comfortable vehicle.

By the time they were done, it was already late into the evening and it was getting dark. Knowing that there was at least one Ork tribe in the area, Lieutenant Sachi wanted to reach his next stop before the last light of the day was gone. The Orks were known for ambushing unwary travellers under the cover of night, a lesson taught to the locals not more than a week ago. Actually, he thought, he had been getting reports of Ork activities a lot more frequently the last couple of months. The local Ork tribes usually did not pose that much of a problem, so maybe they were up to something. A call from his second in command, Sergeant Madson, snapped him out of his thoughts, "We're ready to leave now, Sir!". He answered, "That's good, Sergeant. All right men, let's go!". With the Chimeras' engines roaring to life, they again headed out into the desert, guided only by their satellite positioning system - the geography changed with every storm, so maps were not useable.

They had not been on the road for more than half an hour when the first shells hit the armoured hull of Lieutenant Sachi's vehicle. Though the Chimera was rocked by the warheads' explosives, fortunately they failed to penetrate. On the intercom, Lieutenant Sachi heared the voice of the front vehicle's driver. "We have Orks all over the place, let's get the hell out of here!". The Chimera again rocked as another shell hit the hull, this time sending dozens of shrapnel ricocheting through the passenger compartment. Lieutenant Sachi could hear the screams of the Tallarn troopers in the back, and knew that this was going to get bloody, even if they did manage to outrun the Orks. He grabbed the intercom headset, which had fallen to the floor when the second blast hit, and yelled "Threatcon Red! Get us in full speed ahead, and man the multilasers now! Give those greenskins some return fire!".