The Assault of Corvonis II

[Liquid_awesomes]

Prologue

 

Carvonis II; located in the farthest reaches of the Eastern Fringe, a simple agri world, home to a modest 3 billion Imperial Citizens and 300’000 PDF troops. In most case, this should be plenty to hold of any force for sufficient time to allow re-enforcements to arrive. However, The Tau Empire plays a dirty game when it comes to invasions, and it is hard to defend a planet when the Command structure is half bought out by the diplomats of the Water Caste.

 

Carvonis II is the kind of planet which slips through the Administration, it is neither important, nor big, nor hiding an ancient and terrifying secret, so had it not been for Lt. Hellion of the PDF core force and the mere 300 loyalist troops who remained, who fought to a man against their own forces to allow for a final plea for help to be sent, the planet would have never been heard of again.

 

Yet that last ditch attempt for aid, that spear of hope which leapt into the night sky almost two years ago, was intercepted by a lone strike ship. Normally, a single ship would be helpless against an entire planet of xenos, but this was no ordinary ship. It was the cruiser Redemption, of the Night Guardians, refitted and re-armed, carrying Captain Rajek, of the 1st Company, and his 8 strong squad of marines, and no one liked a challenge like Captain Rajek.

 

 

 

 

I

 

They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me.

 

The bulkhead shuddered as the Thunderhawk breeched the outer atmosphere, screaming at full speed towards the Tau superstructure. Captain Rajek of the 1st Assault Company stood erect before his troops.

 

Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them.

 

The squad had fought together for the last twenty years, each man earning the respect of his peers and commanders. They formed the most deadly formation in the 1st Company, having trained for many decades in the other Companies previous to their promotion.

 

They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed.

 

On the back of each brother, the mass and power of a MkII assault pack rested. In their hands, chainswords rumbled in neutral and bolt pistols lay cocked and loaded. In his visor, Captain Rajek had green symbols across the board, his ammo and fuel count was full, and bio readings reported a slight raise in his adrenalin and heart rate.

 

They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle.

 

The altimeter pinged, two kilometres until drop level.

‘Listen up men’ Rajek’s voice cut across the sound of the engines ‘I want a clean, quick battle. I propose a pattern Delta assault for the walls, and then to close quarters inside the complex.’ ‘We get in; we kill the command, and get out. Guard forces are en-route to mop up the remaining Tau’

 

They are my bulwark against the Terror.

 

‘What of the PDF forces in the area?’ inquired Lexio, the flamer specialist.

‘Expendable’ replied Rajek

 

They are the Defenders of Humanity.

 

‘The civilians, what do we make of them?’

‘Many are still loyal Imperial Citizens, forced to work for the Xeons by their Land Lords. We keep collateral to a minimum’

 

They are my Space Marines

 

The Red Lights lit up the hold, bathing the eight warriors in a crimson glow. The Ramp dropped, and the Thunderhawk levelled out.

‘Its show time’, growled Sergeant Dominus, and leapt into the flak filled sky.

 

And they shall know no fear.

[Skirax]

Very good, great monologue. Occasional grammar mistake here and there, but otherwise, good story so far! I love the use of the Emperor's speech :)

[AssaultCommander]

Yeah, I like the way you used the Emperor's speech in the story! Well written when's the next part coming up?

[Liquid_awesomes]

Im currently juggling revision, coursework and homework, so it may be a while, but it should be up by sunday

[Liquid_awesomes]

II

 

The Marines were all wearing Mk8 power armour, customised by the Techpriests of Mars especially for the Guardians of Night. They sacrificed some of the internal systems to reduce power consumption, which in turn allowed the use of the more powerful MkII jump packs, which, rather than using fuel thrust as the MkI did, use a type of anti-gravity technology similar to that used by Elysian drop troops. The MkII allow the user to be dropped much closer to the ground due to the instant cushioning effect of the packs. However, they required a lot more skill to use, as activating it too early can mean insufficient power later in a mission.

 

Rajek plummeted towards the Tau structure, his altimeter becoming a blur of falling numbers. All around him the air exploded with flack, buffeting him and setting off several internal proximity warnings. The rest of the squad was below, falling like torpedoes, their black and bone armour blending into the night sky. He could see troops on the ground, rushing into defensive positions, powering up burst cannons and multilasers. The network of defensive positions and trenches covered a gate into the Tau Command Centre, and was manned by some of the traitor PDF units.

‘This is going to get interesting’ commented Corvus, his dry sense of humour always adding to the moment.

‘Agreed’ replied Hellios, ‘I call a tag on that emplacement’

On Rajek’s visor, a small orange triangle appeared above one of the gun emplacements, another modification from Mars.

‘Fair Play Sergeant, its all yours’

The sky lit up with incoming fire

‘Corvus is right, it is going to get interesting’ said Rajek.

 

‘LAUNCH’ shouted Samieal across the radio and, as one, the brothers activate their jump packs, a mere 200m from the surface. Rajek hit the ground running, his chainsword roaring into life in his hand. A figure crossed his line of vision, running for a small bunker. Rajek’s pistol bucked twice in his hand, and the troop was thrown backwards by the force of the shells. He spun on his heel and fired once, a commissar’s head erupting as the bolt punched through his skull. A PDF unit ran round the corner, clearly not expecting to see him standing there. Two died as mass reactive bolts exploded wetly in their rib cages and a third had his legs blown off at the knee, leaving him screaming in agony on the ground. Rajek’s chainsword blazed to life, cutting a man across the waist, and dismembering a second. The sergeant charged at him, power fist cackling around his fist, screaming obscenities. Rajek calmly lopped off his arm at the shoulder, and shot him through the chest, the bolt exploding from his spine, and striking the man behind in the gut, before exploding and tearing him apart. He heard a scream, only to see three men tumble from a burning pillbox, their flesh melting from their bones. Brother Lexio stood to one side, torching the area with fire. Samieal and Michieal, the twins, fought back to back, favouring double pistols rather than a chainsword, the dead plied around them, shells flying every were . Hellios, the Sergeant, had stayed true to his word, and assaulted a heavy stubber emplacement head on. It now lay behind him, alight and ruined, the dead strew about it. Corvus and Benjamin were reaping a hefty tally of their own, systematically clearing the trenches and bunkers in their path, mercilessly gunning down the fleeing PDF troops. Rajek shot two fleeing men in the back, and clothes lined a third with his chainsword as he tried to run past, decapitating him. He launched a grenade into an open door, and braced himself as the ammo store touched off, creating a huge explosion which flattened several nearby buildings and tossed the bodies of guard around like rag dolls.

 

And then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The corpses of renegade guardsmen lay strewn across the area, their bodies and morale shattered by the sudden and deadly assault of the Guardians. In just under 3 minutes, the eight brothers had cut a swathe into the defence.

‘Strange,’ commented Corvus, putting a howling troop out of his misery, ‘I didn’t see a single Tau in all of this, even though some of these Guard had pulse weapons and that was a burst cannon’

‘Filthy Xenos’ spat Lexio ‘I bet you that they are hiding behind their walls, letting the humans do the dirty work for them.’

‘I agree, and I hope they put up a better fight than these PDF did’ added Hellios

‘Don’t worry’ said Rajek, eyeing the walls, ‘there will be plenty in there’

‘Aye’ Samieal had joined them ‘ we just need to get past those Railguns first.’

[Skirax]

It's Sunday? How long was I out? :jaw:

 

Very good add, gory details there!

[AssaultCommander]

Good second chapter. Geddit, chapter? haha.....

 

Can't wait for the third!

[calgar101]

seems good apart from one thing. Agri worlds are very important in the Imperium and thus i find it very hard for it to slip through the cracks in the Administration. I like how you're having action quite soon ;) If you've read my story(blatant advert) then you'll know i do not like Tau; let them die!

[Liquid_awesomes]

seems good apart from one thing. Agri worlds are very important in the Imperium

 

oh, i was going for a backwater planet of self sustaining farmers, but i read some BL short stories and i see your point.

[Liquid_awesomes]

III

The Guardians of Night have a non-codex formation of their chapter. The 10th company remains a Scout company, and the 8th and 9th remain Devastators. However, the Guardians retain only two companies of Tactical Marines, the 6th and 7th and they are seen more as a ‘breaking in’ period between being a scout and a full Space Marine. The remaining five companies are solely reserved for the Assault Companies. The 1st company is equipped with the modified Mk8 Armour and MkII jump packs rather than Tactical Dreadnought armour. Each company has its own cruiser which roams the eastern fringe, creating deadly, lightning fast interception groups. Their training focuses on countering the long range and deadly accuracy of the Tau with fast, brutal and deadly close-quarter fighting. This type of fighting is known as ‘Medusa Combat’; kill the command and the rest fall like leaves.

 

The first volley tore into the ground in front of the squad, blasting them backwards with submunition rounds. The men had no time to find cover before the second volley, their range now correct, slashed into them. Brother Benjamin fell first, a solid slug of metal punching strait through his chest, ripping out his organs and a large amount of his spine from his back; he fell like a puppet, his strings cut.

One green light went red.

‘Cover’ bellowed Hellion, ‘Find some Emperor forsaken cover NOW’

The seven remaining men scrambled in the dirt as a third round of explosive rounds chewed into the ground around them.

‘Any suggestions?’ called Corvus

‘Yeah, we open your mouth and let you swallow the shots’ replied Lexio

‘Cut the chatter you two’ growled Hellios

‘We use the packs to get onto the walls, fighting in pairs we destroy those guns and get to the courtyard’ Rajek’s response was cold and clear, the loss of Benjamin filling him with righteous anger.

A fourth volley of submunition rounds exploded around them, raising a ferocrete pillbox and chewing the PDF corpses into bloody ruins.

‘Well, are we just going to sit and talk about it?’

‘On my mark, run for the walls, on my second, fire packs at 80% thrust’ Hellios’ gravelly voice cut in.

‘Check weapons’

Seven clacks marked seven magazines being slid into place and cocked.

‘Ready packs’

A whine rose into the air as fourteen anti-gravity engines came up to power.

‘MARK’

[raptor1199]

The Guardians of Night have a non-codex formation of their chapter. The 10th company remains a Scout company, and the 7th and 8th remain Devastators.

:confused: devastators are on 9th in codex and anyway why two companies of devs?

and cruiser thingy is just :D, do those guys own forge wold or something?

and mk8 is rare armor so why they have FOUR companies armed with them and new jetpacks that nobody else haves??

i know that i am fluff nazi :cuss

[DarKnight]

Liked the story a lot man, you definitely made the chapter your own (easy since you created it). Good too see some non codex, non founding chapter stories. Keep up the good work!

[Liquid_awesomes]

@ raptor (quote isnt working)

 

when i get round to finishing my fluff, there was going to be the discovery of some stc designs that they shared with the mechanicum in return for whatever was found in them. Also, they fight against the Tau, so the linked techmarines would have contact with their type of antigravity tech......

 

As for the crusier thing, im talking about a ship only 300m long max, a small warp drive and no offensive weapons. which only makes 40 in total.

 

but i see your point, i might mess with the numbers to make it slightly more realistic

[raptor1199]

nazi alarm/

tau tech is xeno=heresy so marines dont usually study those

 

mk8 is similar to terminator armor: it is rare and admech cant just throw them like candy if they get stc

 

about the cruisers: now it sounds like deathwatch. mayde make it that companies wander around the easter edge similar to those tactics that raven guard use.

btw one unarmed ship with 50-100(crew+marines) is easy prey for nids as Leviathan still stalks the stars

 

then make that those anti-grav packs are only for 1st company and limit mk8 to sergeants

then its all good :)

[AssaultCommander]

Still going good, man. Keep it up!

[Skirax]

Pardon me for being a fluff nazi, but Assualt Marines and Devestators are seen as the 'breaking in' companies regurlarly. But, it's your Chapter.

 

Update good, though like raptor1199 said, it's impossible for Marines to have that many Cruisers, sorry.

 

Update very good actually. I'm liking this, keep up the good work :P

[Liquid_awesomes]

I editied that last fluff paragraph in chapter 3, and i will admit it now sounds more realistic. working on chapter four, iv'e got the rythum going now

[raptor1199]

looks good now ^_^

I guess that i should finish my own story :sweat:

[Liquid_awesomes]

IV

While MkII Jump Packs allow for much closer and accurate troop deployment, they lack the lifting power of the MkI Jet Pack. Because of this, the power required to lift a fully armoured and loaded Space Marine more than 17m outstrips the power produced by the pack. Thus, sustained thrust can only be maintained for a maximum of 4 seconds before the pack must recharge its burst power cells. Because of this, a jump must be timed very carefully when assaulting a raised position or the Marines will fall short.

 

The Marines barrelled forwards in one fluid motion, leaping trenches and ruins as they ran towards the Xenos walls. Almost instantly, the air filled with small arms fire as Tau foot soldiers on the walls received targets from the Rail Gun Emplacements. Pulse beams struck home with terrifying accuracy, blasting at Rajek’s chest and head. He aimed as he ran, firing at the shadowy figures on the wall. A few shots struck home, pitching a Fire Warrior backwards in a spray of blood. In the corner of his eye, Rajek saw Lexio falter, pulse beams hammering into his legs and head, but he did not stop, and charged into the wall of incoming fire.

‘MARK’

Rajek’s decades of training and battle made the second mark almost instinctive, and activating his pack without conscious thought, he soared up to the walls and into the waiting battle.

‘Oh shi.. .’ Rajek heard Corvus’ curse just as the railguns spoke, tracking their flight with pinpoint precision. A flash of blue and a crack of thunder was all Rajek needed to know as Corvus was blown out of the sky, the railgun slug passing clean through him, tearing a hole through his abdomen and jump pack. Blue lightning leapt across his body as the power plant overloaded, the safeties incapable of diverting the backwash of energy. The last moment of Corvus was marked with an explosion of raw electrical power.

 

Two red lights.

 

But the last moments of flight could not be stopped, and Rajek slammed into the parapet, crushing a Tau beneath him as he rolled. Channelling his anger into strength, Rajek’s chainsword came up in one fluid motion, the momentum of his flight powering him on. The biting blade carved a Tau lengthways before he could turn, and tore a second into two bloody heaps on the ground. A third came at him, a stubby rifle in his hands. Rajek punched him in the face, caving his skull and sending brain everywhere. Two Tau tried to bring up their guns to aim, but where cut short when a hail of bolter shells from Samieal’s duel pistols stitched a bloody trail across their bodies. Rajek turned, his bolter spitting a hail of death at a trio of troops wrestling with a portable burst cannon. They fell to the ground, their corpses cratered with bolt marks. Pausing to reload his pistol, Rajek delivered an undercut punch to a tau, and knocked him clean off the wall in a spray of blood.

 

The twins, Samieal and Michieal fought with fluid motion, each covering the other flank and fighting in perfect synchronisation. This was not just a feat of training that allowed them to fight flawlessly no matter the situation, but a latent physic link that connected both of them. Not strong enough to make the viable for the Librarium, but it was noticed by a Coidicer, who trained them to use it, each becoming innately aware of the others movement and instinctively matching them with his own. When in combat back to back, they became a near invincible melee of death.

 

The Tau were scattered, falling back from the unstoppable onslaught of the Guardians. Rajek watched as Hellios decapitated a Tau with his sword, and threw a second off the wall with a punch to the chest, his pistol lying spent on the ground, amongst a knee deep layer of xenos corpses. A stray shot caught the fuel canister on Lexio’s flamer, which exploded in a wall of fire. Yet he strode onwards, burning fuel covered his armour as he killed all within his reach.

‘Captain’ called Samieal, ‘we need to disable those railguns now’

‘I agree’ added Michieal, ‘or the Thunderhawk will never get through’

Rajek checked is belt, two krak grenades and a frag remained. He tossed the frag into a tower, gutting it with a hail of shrapnel. A screaming Tau ran out, his arms torn apart; Rajek silenced him with a shot to the neck, blowing his windpipe and spine into the air. Gauging the nearest railgun, he decided that both Krak grenades would be needed to bring it down. Arming both, he placed one against the barrel of the gun, and the second on the sensor array.

‘Everyone do the same’ he ordered over the radio.

Five seconds later, the grenades detonated, one vaporised the sensor array in a flash of white fire, blinding the drone inside. The second blew the main barrel into two halves, ruining the gun. Electrical discharge coursed over the main body, millions of volts frying the semi-AI and fried its core. The fail safe systems gone, the reactor exploded, tearing a large section of the wall away as the shockwave pulsed out. The same event was repeated across the five other railguns on that stretch, the sound wave rumbling across the structure.

 

‘Looks like the only way in is through that gate’ observed Lexio, the bone trim on his armour charred from the fire.

‘Because that’s going to be an easy fight’ added Samieal sarcastically

The Tau were already setting up defensive positions across the ground between the wall and the gate.

‘Report in’ called Rajek ‘I want us reloaded and fully prepared for that courtyard’

‘Battle suits’ cried Hellios

As one, the six marines turned to see the form of eight crisis suits powering across the courtyard towards them.

‘XV8’s, armed with plasma rifles and rocket pods’ reported Samieal ‘if we get caught in the open, they’ll cut us down like grass.’

‘In that case, MOVE’

[Skirax]

Very nice! Fluid action there.

 

I suggest putting that 'Intel' part into italics, it'll look much nicer.

[calgar101]

Very good chapter, some minor spelling errors but other than that i liked it! As long as the Tau keep dying im happy :wub: Keep up the good work and i agree with Skirax, put the information tidbits in Italics.

[Liquid_awesomes]

IV

While MkII Jump Packs allow for much closer and accurate troop deployment, they lack the lifting power of the MkI Jet Pack. Because of this, the power required to lift a fully armoured and loaded Space Marine more than 17m outstrips the power produced by the pack. Thus, sustained thrust can only be maintained for a maximum of 4 seconds before the pack must recharge its burst power cells. Because of this, a jump must be timed very carefully when assaulting a raised position or the Marines will fall short.

The Marines barrelled forwards in one fluid motion, leaping trenches and ruins as they ran towards the Xenos walls. Almost instantly, the air filled with small arms fire as Tau foot soldiers on the walls received targets from the Rail Gun Emplacements. Pulse beams struck home with terrifying accuracy, blasting at Rajek’s chest and head. He aimed as he ran, firing at the shadowy figures on the wall. A few shots struck home, pitching a Fire Warrior backwards in a spray of blood. In the corner of his eye, Rajek saw Lexio falter, pulse beams hammering into his legs and head, but he did not stop, and charged into the wall of incoming fire.

‘MARK’

Rajek’s decades of training and battle made the second mark almost instinctive, and activating his pack without conscious thought, he soared up to the walls and the waiting battle.

‘Oh shi.. .’ Rajek heard Corvus’ curse just as the railguns spoke, tracking their flight with pinpoint precision. A flash of blue and a crack of thunder was all Rajek needed to know as Corvus was blown out of the sky, the railgun slug passing clean through him, tearing a hole through his abdomen and jump pack. Blue lightning leapt across his body as the power plant overloaded, the safeties incapable of diverting the backwash of energy. The last moment of Corvus was marked with an explosion of raw electrical power.

 

Two red lights.

 

But the last moments of flight could not be stopped, and Rajek slammed into the parapet, crushing a Tau beneath him as he rolled. Channelling his anger into strength, Rajek’s chainsword came up in one fluid motion, the momentum of his flight powering him on. The biting blade carved a Tau lengthways before he could turn, and tore a second into two bloody heaps on the ground. A third came at him, a stubby rifle in his hands. Rajek punched him in the face, caving his skull and sending brain everywhere. Two Tau tried to bring up their guns to aim, but where cut short when a hail of bolter shells from Samieal’s duel pistols stitched a bloody trail across their bodies. Rajek turned, his bolt pistol spitting a hail of death at a trio of troops wrestling with a portable burst cannon. They fell to the ground, their corpses cratered with bolt marks. Pausing to reload his pistol, Rajek delivered an undercut punch to a tau, and knocked him clean off the wall in a spray of blood.

 

The twins, Samieal and Michieal fought with fluid motion, each covering the other flank and fighting in perfect synchronisation. This was not just a feat of training that allowed them to fight flawlessly no matter the situation, but a latent physic link that connected both of them. Not strong enough to make the viable for the Librarium, but it was noticed by a Coidicer, who trained them to use it, each becoming innately aware of the others movement and instinctively matching them with his own. When in combat back to back, they became a near invincible melee of death.

 

The Tau were scattered, falling back from the unstoppable onslaught of the Guardians. Rajek watched as Hellios decapitated a Tau with his sword, and threw a second off the wall with a punch to the chest, his pistol lying spent on the ground, amongst a knee deep layer of xenos corpses. A stray shot caught the fuel canister on Lexio’s flamer, which exploded in a wall of fire. Yet he strode onwards, burning fuel covered his armour as he killed all within his reach. Rajek twisted to the side, just as salvo of pulse rounds sizzled past his head. The light caused his auto-senses to shut off the lenses, momentarily blinding him. Although his vision was only lost of a few seconds, it was all the firer needed to re-adjust his aim, and deliver a burst to Rajek’s exposed helmet. The first shot reeled him, the second cratered his cheek armour and the third destroyed his sensor array. Rajek tore his ruined helmet from his head, tossing it aside. Sighting the guilty Tau, he placed a round in his gut, and two in his legs. Screaming in agony, blood and entrails spilling everywhere, the Tau tried to pull himself away from the warrior. Rajek, trained to show no mercy, stamped on his head, popping it like a balloon.

 

‘Captain’ called Samieal, ‘we need to disable those railguns now’

‘I agree’ added Michieal, ‘or the Thunderhawk will never get through’

Rajek checked is belt, two krak grenades and a frag remained. He tossed the frag into a tower, gutting it with a hail of shrapnel. A screaming Tau ran out, his arms torn apart; Rajek silenced him with a shot to the neck, blowing his windpipe and spine into the air. Gauging the nearest railgun, he decided that both Krak grenades would be needed to bring it down. Arming both, he placed one against the barrel of the gun, and the second on the sensor array.

‘Everyone do the same’ he ordered over the radio.

Five seconds later, the grenades detonated, one vaporised the sensor array in a flash of white fire, blinding the drone inside. The second blew the main barrel into two halves, ruining the gun. Electrical discharge coursed over the main body, millions of volts frying the semi-AI and fried its core. The fail safe systems gone, the reactor exploded, tearing a large section of the wall away as the shockwave pulsed out. The same event was repeated across the five other railguns on that stretch, the sound wave rumbling across the structure.

‘Looks like the only way in is through that gate’ observed Lexio, the bone trim on his armour charred from the fire.

‘Because that’s going to be an easy fight’ added Samieal sarcastically

The Tau were already setting up defensive positions across the ground between the wall and the gate.

‘Report in’ called Rajek ‘I want us reloaded and full prepared for that courtyard’

‘Battle suits’ cried Hellios

As one, the six marines turned to see the form of eight crisis suits powering across the courtyard towards them.

‘XV8’s, armed with plasma rifles and rocket pods’ reported Samieal ‘if we get caught in the open, they’ll cut us down like grass.’

‘In that case, MOVE’

[Skirax]

That's better ;)

[Liquid_awesomes]

Just a short one for today, from a second perspective.

 

V

 

In the wake of the Damocles crusade, Commander Farsight was tasked with the re claiming of lost worlds. Once the Tau planets had been assimilated, Farsight expanded further before losing contact with the high council. On these new worlds, he broke with standard Tau doctrines, and created static strongholds to control a planet from in case a second Imperial crusade was launched. These buildings were constructed in two stages. First, a main spire was built, housing government and administrative roles. Second, was a wall constructed a minimum of 800m away from the central spire. This created a killing ground inside the perimeter if the attackers breached the walls. Along the outside of the building and on the walls, a mixture of railgun and ion gun emplacements supposedly made all aerial attacks impossible, and ground troops would be torn into pulp before they got close enough to breech.

 

Commander Aui’Tani sat in front of the holo-projector, watching the unfolding events with a stony face. The Imperial ship had entered orbit a mere 5 Decs ago, and yet these humans had already taken the walls. Aui’Tani hated this idea of siege; he longed to load up into the transports, to out flank and manoeuvre. Yet he knew that against these warriors, the best chance he had was to grind them down in static attrition.

 

The chime sounded, and his chief adviser, Tel’Dani, hurried in. Aui’Tani switched the holo-projector off; it was only depressing him further.

‘Commander, the humans have breeched the southern wall, I am diverting troops to slow them, but I need your permission to launch the XV8’s’

‘What of the human guard, can they not be sent instead?’

‘All the human guard within a realistic distance are dead sir’

‘How many of these ‘Guardians’ remain?’

Tel’Dani checked his holo-slate. ‘Six sir’ he replied. ‘If we do not launch the XV8’s soon, then the humans will be too close for the suits to be any more effective than our troops!’ a tone of panic was seeping into his voice.

Aui’Tani sighed, he was not used to fighting in such close quarters; it was a job more suited to the Kroot, or Vespids, but not his cadre of brave Fire Warriors.

‘Commander?’ cautioned Tel’Dani

‘Pull back to the southern gate; divert all remaining troops to set up defensive positions at every 50m. They will fight in a staggered retreat as the Imperials advance’

‘What of the suits sir?’

‘They will buy the time required. They shall fight to the death if required; I want no human to set foot in this building alive’

‘Sir’ Tel’Dani saluted and relayed the orders.

 

Aui’Tani returned to the holo-projector, a warning light was flashing. He turned it on, and as the image causing the disturbance came into focus, he could have cried; two Imperial Guard vessels (loyalists, not Tau sympathisers) had just translated into real space, and as he watched in horror, a further three followed, all making a bee-line for the planet.

[calgar101]

Haha yes! Die Tau scum, die! Very good chapter and im very much liking the story.