Mortal Courage

"Come on... come on... come on..."

General Bernardo's lips moved, his muttering nearly drowned out by the Ork Warboss's roars and the scattered gunfire around him.

His calloused finger rested steady on the Laser Lasgun's trigger. With each small breath, he fired another brief, precise burst.

Ruby-red beams struck like hornet stings, aimed at the Ork Warboss's most sensitive, least protected spots.

One beam grazed the Ork Warboss's temple, singeing a tuft of coarse hair.

Another struck the bridge of its massive nose, leaving a blackened mark that made it shake its head in fury.

The harassment drove the Ork Warboss into a rage. Roaring, it swept furniture wreckage and corpses aside with its Power Klaw and strode forward.

Its enormous body was a moving mountain of green flesh. The ornate floor groaned beneath every step.

Now!

A sharp light flashed in Bernardo's eyes. The instant the Ork Warboss opened its cavernous mouth to roar again, he anticipated the slight movement of its head, seized his fleeting chance, and squeezed the trigger!

Pfft!

This time, the ruby beam flew true, piercing the Ork Warboss's wide, bloodshot right eye!

"Aaargh!"

A different scream erupted from the Ork Warboss's throat, filled with agony and shock.

Its head snapped back. The stricken eye burst in a spray of murky fluid and black smoke.

Thrown off balance by the sudden pain, its massive body stumbled backward several steps. Its heavy Power Klaw rose instinctively to cover the mangled socket.

The sight of that grievous wound hit the survivors' fraying nerves like a shot of adrenaline.

"You useless fools! What are you standing around for?" Bernardo seized the moment to roar, his voice lashing the stunned crowd like a whip.

"It's still alive! If you don't want to die, pick up your weapons! Pin it down! Pin that monster down!"

His shout jolted several nobles slumped on the floor and the surviving private soldiers who had been paralyzed by fear.

The will to live overcame their terror. A young noble who had been trembling moments ago saw his relative's butchered body, and madness flashed in his eyes. Screaming, he snatched up a dead private soldier's Laser Lasgun and sprayed shots wildly at the struggling Ork Warboss.

His example spurred the others on. The nobles who still had some fight in them drew their weapons.

"Shoot! Shoot it!"

"Aim for its head!"

"Quick! Bring the Grenades! Who still has Grenades?" Bernardo shouted to the private soldiers fighting back, firing controlled bursts to keep the Ork Warboss's remaining left eye occupied.

Bernardo's mind raced. He had to finish it while it was hurt!

A private squad leader hiding behind a broken pillar came to his senses. He pulled two Frag Grenades from his belt and hurled them toward Bernardo.

"General! Catch!"

The Grenades arced through the air. Bernardo made no move to catch them. "Throw them at its feet! Force it to move! Don't let it get its footing!"

He kept shouting. "Don't stop firing! Take turns! Cover anyone changing magazines! Drive it into the corner!"

He tried to organize what little crossfire he could, though most of the fighters were an undisciplined rabble.

"Heavy weapons! Are there any heavy weapons in the palace? An Autocannon? Even a Heavy Bolter will do!"

How Bernardo wished he had a heavy weapon now. Only the monotonous crack of Laser Lasgun fire answered him.

The Ork Warboss recovered somewhat from the initial agony. Its single eye burned with towering rage and bitter hatred.

That little shrimp had driven it completely mad.

Its remaining eye locked on Bernardo, the shrimp who had taken its other eye!

It ignored everyone else's harassing fire. The Laser beams striking its iron armor were little more than an itch.

With a deafening roar, it swung its Power Klaw and smashed the marble statue between itself and Bernardo to pieces. Then, like a war beast run wild, it charged headlong toward the overturned table sheltering him!

"Stop it!"

Bernardo fired as he retreated.

The private soldiers and nobles concentrated their fire on the Ork Warboss, but they could not stop its frenzied advance.

Its iron armor rang under the impacts, sparks flying, yet its charge did not slow.

The distance between them shrank fast!

At that critical moment, the two Grenades that had landed near the Ork Warboss's path reached the end of their fuses.

Boom! Boom!

Two violent explosions, almost one on top of the other, erupted beneath the Ork Warboss's feet and at its side!

Shrapnel and shock waves slammed into its legs and abdomen, where it had no heavy armor to protect it!

"Raaagh!"

The Ork Warboss howled in pain, its charge brought to an abrupt halt.

One leg was mangled, white bone jutting through the flesh. Its huge body swayed, then dropped to one knee as the smoke of the blasts swallowed it.

But it was clearly not dead!

The Orks' tenacious vitality was on full display.

Bracing its Power Klaw against the floor, it tried to rise again.

The madness in its single eye had not dimmed. Its wounds had only made it more savage.

It watched Bernardo emerge from the smoke and let out a low, guttural growl like a wounded beast.

Bernardo saw it and knew this was his only chance.

The Grenades had failed to kill it, but they had wounded it badly and limited its movement. He could get close now.

Without hesitating, he dropped his Laser Lasgun, its energy magazine spent. Then he snatched up another Laser Lasgun fitted with a Bayonet from beside a dead private soldier, all in one swift motion.

"For the Emperor!"

He shot forward like an arrow loosed from the string, moving with startling speed for his age. He charged straight at the kneeling Ork Warboss before it could regain its footing!

He crossed the few steps between them in an instant. The Ork Warboss clearly had not expected the little shrimp to charge instead of fleeing!

Its remaining eye widened slightly in shock. It raised its Power Klaw to sweep him aside, but its wounds slowed it!

Bernardo ducked low, narrowly evading the rush of air from the edge of the sweeping Power Klaw.

He reached the Ork Warboss, almost pressed against the shadow of its massive body!

The stench of Ork, blood, and smoke struck him!

He did not pause. Gripping the rifle with both hands, he drove its gleaming Bayonet with all his strength into the Ork Warboss's remaining left eye, wide with shock!

Squelch!

A sickening, muffled sound came as the blade pierced soft tissue!

Almost the entire Bayonet sank into the enormous eyeball and drove straight into the brain!

The Ork Warboss's massive body went rigid. Its raised Power Klaw froze in midair.

A strange, strangled rattle came from its throat.

Bernardo did not let go. He knew it was not enough! He gripped the rifle stock tight with both hands and, mustering the last of his strength, twisted the Bayonet clockwise inside the eye socket two full turns!

The blade churned through its brain, snuffing out its last spark of life.

The Ork Warboss's massive body convulsed several times. Then, like a felled giant tree, it toppled backward and crashed onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.