[X] Plan: We bit, now we hold
The Martyrs plan seems suitable for this.
Sargent Micadell pressed a hand to his helmet, pushing the earbud further into his ear. He couldn't hear the driver's words over the thudding of the stubber turret overhead, not to mention the crack of dozens of lasguns pelting the APC.
"... ready. Resistance redoubt ahead. Doors in 15. Star Child guide you."
He nodded sharply and spoke into comm. "Duty to the five." Then he turned to the rest of the troopers inside the personnel bay and spoke over the cacophony. "You wanna die rich?"
"No ser!" yelled the dozen troopers who shared the space, pulling goggle-like masks over faces streaked with grime from the heavy fighting over the last days.
"Then live for duty!" He responded formulaically, and the hatches on the sides of the APC clanged down. The troopers dashed out, seeking cover among the ramshackle buildings of the farming village. One side of the APC was exposed to enemy fire, and grunts were heard as expertly aimed lasguns found their mark.
"Medic!" came the cry over the coms as half of the squad hit their bellies, shuffling for what cover their was.
Micadell surveyed the situation in a flash. "Covering fire, don't conserve ammo. Ridgers, get over there. Team two, flank and breach!" He put actions to words, charging into a nearby alley with the half-dozen soldiers of team two while the APC and team one held the insurgent attention.
They rounded a corner and saw the side of their target building ahead, the rockcrete walls of the bombed-out general store still providing enough cover and elevation to allow the Imperials inside cover. A single white-haired man was watching this approach, and Micadell saw the veteran's eyes narrow as the Numidian soldiers rounded the corner. The old man opened his mouth to yell and dropped his hand to grab the single grenade at his belt, but a trio of hellgun shots bracketed him, one burning through his throat while another bore through the armor over his shoulder.
Smarter than orcs, to be watching the flanks. But they die easier.
The next few minutes were a mess, as the Neumidian team tore into the Imperial flank and relieved the rest of the squad.
When it was done, Micadell lifted off his mask and daubed at the blood on his chin.
He looked down at the last guardsman, who'd been trying to finish building a homemade bomb in the basement from fertilizer and promethium.
In contrast to the rest of the resistance, he was young, just over twenty, though his body was wiry and gaunt from hard work with too few rations.
"What a waste. You're fighting for nothing. You are nothing, to your own masters. If you thought you were worth anything, you'd join us."
Another figure came into the room, and Micadell sighed and faced his second, Lahza. "How are we?"
Thr heavyset woman took off her own mask, grimacing. "Stidug is dead. Bayonet through the mouth. Lask needs new gear, the imps were using him as target practice, but the armor held, thank the five. Kariah's blind, a lasgun glanced across her face. Everything else is flashburns that Ridgers has patched up."
"We got medevac?"
The woman shrugged. "This is happening all over the planet. Tanks need support east. Kids with detpacks in the trees."
Micadell nodded, walking out of the room and speaking into the comm. "Get everybody in the APC. Leave a charge on the lasguns and grenades."
A response cam back in from Ridgers. "Boss, we can't keep this up. We need rest. I'm almost out of burnseal."
Micadell and Lahza emerged from the basement together, surveying the pockmarked road.
Micadell clapped his second on the shoulder and spoke to gis squad. "Have faith in our superiors, and in the Star Child. Trust that they won't throw us away. We live for duty, and if we must die for it, than believe that our sacrifice will tip the battle and will be remembered."
Lahza's lips curled. "Unlike these noble-owned fools. They die for nothing."
Micadell nodded. "Mount up! We were blessed by the Star Child long ago! Now it is our duty to spread that blessing to the enslaved! Do you want to die rich?"
"Live for duty!" His squad responded as they piled back into the APC, ready to head off to the next fight.