*Transmitted: Cily
*Destination: Holy Terra
*Date: 8 237.M44
*Telepathic Duct: CLASSIFIED
*Author: Chris Stork
*Title: Plans
*Clearance: Vermilion
*Path: 08274902136593165091.20398498-5
*Thought For The Day: The Emperor Knows

Seras fired a last salvo at the fleeing xenos. A few more gaunts the Hive Mind wouldn't be able to use. When they were too far away she turned back to the people that marched with her. Less than ten survived. Limbs and blood scattered on the ground. Most were not soldiers. Most didn't even have weapons. None really had a chance.

The slow drip of their lives echoed in her head. The sirens had come too late to send them back. One of the many things she would discuss with the Guard.

The preacher, his arm mangled, pale and breathing shallowly, might make it. Dervata was a bloody mess, but she stood as tall as little girl could. Painfully she managed a salute, Seras returned it, fist on heart.

Triage was quick, most were too far gone for aid. A dispatched Rhino collected them, it's guns still warm from the battle. The survivors limped in, quiet after near death. Seras opened the vox up, curious as to how Michael was doing. She listened into the comm chatter that bounced around. Hunter-killer teams being formed, ordered raced from officer to warrior. No mention of the Guard. She flipped the channel to standard Imperial line. Disorder reigned. Commanders fought for time over the airwaves. Orders repeated and misheard. Directives being taken by the wrong units and squads getting lost in the maelstrom of noise.

Michael had far too much to fix in too little time. She'd make sure his problems were easier. The engine thrummed along The quiet moans and cries of the dying filled the rest of the air. All because they believed in her. In something that wasn't true. And they would keep doing this. Because they had nothing else.

Kill-team orders descended rapidly. Hellsing broke into thirteen-man units with practiced efficiency. The Guard scrambled to form up. They were used to working with large formations. A hunt of this size and speed hadn't been war-gamed by the officers. Without waiting for the humans the warriors of Hellsing snapped out into the broken city. Dirt and masonry crunched under boot. Auspexs scanned for any movement, subtle betrayals that a hidden xeno was there. The hunt would be long. It would be successful.

The Rhino trundled to the medical waypoint. Screams, blood and death. Orderlies took the injured and raced to save them. Dervata looked around, not sure what to do now.

"This way", Seras said. She turned and walked to the Chaplain giving last rites. Her basic training would begin with the cults until a place could be found for her. If she survived.

Seras took off her death mask and addressed the black-armoured battle priest.

"Dervata is to be inducted into the Order. The Emperor wills it." She snapped her helmet back on. The Hellsing warriors quickly made room for her. "Where is commissar Runco?"

Lieutenant Farren glanced around to the ruins aside him. His orders were silly. 'Find infiltrators and eliminate.' No idea what they looked like, any possible numbers or location. Just give the lower ranks a vague order and hope they succeed. No the first time, and definitely not the last. He indulgence in self-pity was interrupted.

"Sir, something coming this way."

Adrenaline flooded his system. Well he'd found them.

"Ambush positions, guns at the ready!" A heavy thumping was getting louder. His small platoon raced into the broken houses for cover. Visions of the massive Tyranid creatures filling their minds. Too many times on the front lines not to be afraid. Closer and closer. His throat went dry. Nerves sharpened on the tension. Heavy bolters finished setting up. It was the only heavy weapons they had. No matter what he had to kept them firing.

Even if it meant his life.

It was behind the hab from them. Something sounded wrong. The screamer-killers growled, this began to feel like it was mechanical. The earth shook and rubble and dust fell from wrecked houses. Then it smashed into sight.

The massive walker was nearly five meters tall, its dark red finish glimmered as the sun began it's long descent. The dreadnought was densely armoured in the vague shape of a human. Two enormous assault cannons were carefully welded into its frame. He recognized it from the parade march when the Beati landed. It turned to face them.

"LIEUTENANT."

He stood up, the draining excitement made him shake.

"Y-Yes?"

"YOU APPEAR TO REQUIRE MY ASSISTANCE."

"I-I don't quite-"

"YOUR UNIFORMS ARE SILVER AND GREEN. YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO HIDE IN BROWN RUINS. THIS IS ILL-ADVISED."

Ferran briefly thought about turning it away for the insult, but it's very large weapons made a better counter-argument.

'Um-Thank you. Happy to have you along."

Her Chines trailing behind the black armoured woman, Seras strode towards the Guard command center. Orderlies ran stacks of paperwork. The officers she'd been introduced to earlier were huddled around a make-shift table. They snapped to attention once she crashed in. They started to speak when she interrupted them.

"Commissar, do you have an earlier warning system in place?"

"Yes Beati it-"

"How early?"

"Forty-five minutes Be-"

"Was that forty-five minutes Commissar?"

"No Beati-"

"Find out why," and she turned on her heel and left.

"THIS TASK IS SIMPLE, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS FIND THE INVISIBLE ONES."

"I don't understand-"

"THAT WAS A JOKE."

"Ah, uh I see."

"Watch the corners! Watch the corners!"

Tiles broken, a hissing. "Flamer up! Flamer up!" A scream, blood. Gunfire. Bones crunched. Worms, teeth, death. A small click. Pain, light.

Silence.

"Hard contract!"

Dust crunched underfoot. Men screamed orders. Guns fired. Something shrieked. "Watch the roofs watch the roofs!" A guardsman slammed into a wrecked wall. Pieces of the ruins grabbed him and tore him in half. Blood splattered. Fire! Fire! Fire! Las-bolts smashed the walls. Dust rose. A scream. Part of the building ran away. Thump. A flash. Shriek. The broken lictor, half-melted, pooled in the street. The cruel servants of the Emperor gunned it down.

Seras hunted the hab-blocks. Something needed to die. How many people dead because no-one in the Guard was actually organized? She felt a xeno ahead. It noticed her. Death marched inexorably. She didn't bother unhooked the Eternus Odium. Part of the factory lunged at her. Without thought she slammed it into the dirt. It clawed at her her. Seras grabbed and pulled. A scream. Chunks of bleeding flesh arced into the twilight. A scythe clanked off her armour. It was ripped from the xeno. The lictor died by inched as Death consumed the last of it's life.

Ichor soaking her vambraces Seras marched off to find another. She was interrupted.

"Beati. The Imperial forces here wish to have your audience." Seras narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly do they want?"

"They desire to make amends for there short comings." She leaned back and looked at the sky, as if it would give her an answer.

"Very well."

The holo-table lit up. Blue line cut across the field. Imperial Guard formations were tagged with offenders and commanders. Hellsing groups hadn't been added yet. Micheal took in every detail, committing it to memory. Seras kept her death-mask on. It made people work faster.

"We have set up forward lstening posts four kilometres out at here, here and here," Runco said pointing to newly marked poisitions far out side the city. "And completed repairs on our older damaged ones." He moved to the Imperial side of the table. "We have partitioned sections of the front off for commanders along with particular radio frequencies only those battle groups may use." His brief presentation finished he waited.

Seras remained motionless.

"It will do," she said after a long pause. The Guard's appeasement of the Living Saint over Michael took over questioning.

"How much supplies do you have?" The commissar relaxed.

"Supplies are, adequate for the moment. We have about two months left for food and water. Ammo supplies will likely last us four more major assaults." He paused thinking of anything he could bring to Hellsing's attention. The tech-priests have estimated that the coming phage clouds are three to six weeks. It depends solely on the winds."

Michael clicked the vox.

"Brother Jeva we will need air scrubbers for the city. Due in two weeks." He returned his attention to the thin political officer.

"-a number of vents and tunnels run under the hive city. Most have been cut and barricaded.-"

"Requesting two companies of storm troopers. Underground and close ranged equipment needed."

"-Outer buildings are in ruins. A number of utility lines are still active. The substations to cut them off are just beyond our effective control."

"Forward teams, look for utility stations and deactivate."

"And that is the situation."

"The guard forces you have listed are too small to defend the hive city. Where are the remaining forces?"

"Ah, yes. The local PDF have been adamant that they serve under the local nobles. The issues has been brought up."

"Is that why they were not present at the landing?"

"No, I didn't bother telling them."Seras looked at him, but didn't move her head.

Michael clicked his box to Miguel's channel.

"Master of Sanctity, ensure the PDF know whom to be loyal to."

"Without fail Brother-Captain."

"The current pressing matter is the brood nests." He gestured to the outer areas. Techno-Priests have determined the most likely locations for them. We do not have capability to get to them. They will continue low-level assaults on our forces ans steadily drain our resources."

"I will find them." Seras declared. A moment of silence from the guard officers. "My Chines and I will hunt down the brood nests and the Tyrants. We leave in the next few hours."

Commodore Theoudus pored over the data maps. Every engagement the fleet had against the xenos was contained in them. If he failed Michael and the ground forces would fall. Whether he could break what xenos had already landed wouldn't matter if billions more landed on their heads. He was interrupted by a corpsman.

"Princeps Jerta reports readiness sir." Theoudus sighed.

"Sister Jerta reports for ghast hunt." He muttered under his breathe. He addressed the man. "Inform the crew of the Herald to wait for orders. They may be dropped in the coming weeks." The corpsman saluted and left. Hellsing had many weapons that were better off not being used. The power of humanity was something best unleashed when there were no other options.

The Herald of Genocide was chief among them.

Servitors loaded the last of the supplies into the Land Raider. Plasma cases, bolter magazines, power packs, medical blood packs and surgical equipment. With dull eyes the former humans shambled away, to await new commands. Seras climbed into the massive tank. Her thoughts not on the present, but the distant past.

A past beyond the horizon.

A/N: New chapters will be posted on Sufficient Velocity forums several days in advance of here in the future.