With the morning sun rising, the night shift of guardsmen dragged their feet out to bed while the new crew came in to take their place. It was clear that the 603rd didn’t spend the night around a fire singing camp fire songs. Their tools had toiled throughout the night as their buildings were upgraded, built or raised from the carpeted ground.

The barracks the night shift guardsmen were shuffling towards was no longer just a tent city. The grey regimental numbers marked tents and campfires had been changed with a towering purple suitcase, the ones that had wheels on all four corners that had been secured into the ground with wood and tape. The suitcase’s top flap was open and on the ground, inside was several “layers” of flooring made out of light but sturdy plastic panels, stripped and cut down from the side of a stand up fan. The inside wasn’t completely done and plenty of tents were still strewn about around the purple barracks, but the lucky few who managed to scamper up the twisting stairs and ladders found themselves sleeping on mats of carpet fluff.

As the unlucky grumbled towards the tents, the Techpriests continued their work in the master bedroom, their motor pool more fitting for the servants of the Omnissiah than their old shoe box was. Provided, they still used that shoe box as a garage, they were still in no position to complain. A wide platform was still being installed as more proper “roads” for the vehicles to mount onto, the soft carpet had some surprisingly negative effects on the treads of the tanks as they torn into it. The proudest thing that they had managed to build was a resting bay for the Warhounds. A simple tope ladder made of the loose thread of some giant pillows that lead up to one of the night stand’s opened shelves which now had a platform covering most of it and an extension made up of bits of an old ring box. Currently, it was the [i]Saint Bravladis[/i] who was occupying the rig, the [i]Dauntless[/i] was stationed in the corner between the Bathroom and the Closet that was still under the most construction at the moment.

As to where all this new material was coming from? Most of it hailed from the Closet, moved by the use of Ogryns or vehicles and chains. There had been several boxes of old junk that the Guard had emptied the contents and used the boxes and its cardboard. Most of the junk they uncovered was old picture frames that provided the 603rd with some much needed wood. Beyond that, there were some cozy looking slippers now being used as all sorts of small buildings like communications, caches, and private sleeping quarters for higher ranking. There was even work on getting a bunker version with some pieces of tile from the bathroom as armor.

The border defenses had grown as well, the guard extending their reach beyond that of High Wall Pass towards the Stairs of Ascension. As of right now, it was a light defense, a 10-man strong guard squad was stationed there, granted an accompaniment of heavy bolter as well as a Hellhound. Nothing impressive, but the Guard figured the Whores of the Thirst wouldn’t make any sudden moves so quickly. The General and his staff were preoccupied with other matters as well causing the matter to slip form their minds.

Of course that was all changed once a warp-infused tank shell flew over the heads of the guardsmen at the top of the stairs. With a purple streak in the sky, the soldiers ducked for cover as it took out a chunk of the wall and scattered them.

“We’re under attack! Vox caster! Tell the General we need reinforcements here on the double!” the commanding sergeant hid behind the Hellhound as he drew his sword and pistol, “Everyone! Fall into line and return fire! You two get in this thing and burn them!”

Two guardsmen clambered into the Hellhound and drove it up as the guardsmen went into prone and fired down the stairs at the rough shapes of cultists and the tank. A arching line of flames sailed over their heads the the Hellhound sent a jet of holy promethium at the enemies at the bottom of the steps, failing to do any damage besides burning some of their ramps. Realizing that they weren’t doing anything at this range, the sergeant ordered the Hellhound to move back. Red lasers ran down the flight of stairs as the heavy [i]chunk-chunk-chunk[/i] of the heavy bolter rained down explosive rounds.

Within a few seconds of the Hellhound pulling back and the soldiers in it jumping out to join the line, reinforcements came. A pair of Chimeras rolled up flanked by a pair of Sentinels returning from a scouting run. The walkers provided covering lascannon fire as more guardsmen poured out of a Chimera and a trio of mortars came out the other. Within a mere minute the guard managed to double their fire power and could also now rain down hell on to the renegades with mortars. The stair case was soon alit with lasers and bullets, the firepower of the ordinance of the 603rd Cadian making short work of the ramps the Whores made.