Noctis looked down to his chest, directly above the Eye of Isha underneath his power armor. He thought of their battles with the Techmarine, the Zoanthrope, the Rubric Marines... And Ahriman. "You have no idea what this Deathwatch is capable of."
Krauz halted with a hand signal the Imperial Navy Admiral and the Deathkorps General. "We are well aware of the capabilities of the Deathwatch, do not forget, you are not the first Squad that was assigned under my command, Space Wolf Noctis. But I fear you are not aware of what the Tyranids are capable of. Their never-ending hunger is even beyond our eternal faith into the God-Emperor. They are even more heartless than the Necrons and more adaptive than the Tau. They surpass every species in everything if you give them the time to do so. So do not take them as some primal beast of a random World, these monsters can be only stopped with extreme costs. AND LAST TIME THE REQUIRED COST WAS MY MENTOR!" The last sentence he yelled at the top of his lungs, concentrated directly at Noctis, his hands on the table and his face far more serious than any of them had seen before, his anger easily above the level he had when Krauz hit Stevanus after he returned from Haroldheim II Secundus. His breath was heavy and his forehead sweaty.
"Inquistor we know the tyranids, I know them ive seen them ive killed them and ive seen planets devoured by them and ive felt the shadow" as he spoke he looked at the inquisitor "I know the sacrifice your master made ive seen it many times"
"You know the sacrifices others have made but not my mentor! Do not talk like you knew him, Watchman Tempestus! You know as much of my mentor as much as I know of yours." Krauz took a deep breath and slowly relaxed. "Enough of that matter. Continue your work, we are ready, but the people of Ruvorn are not by the slightest. Noctis. Make it clear to Colonel Dietrich and Hartmann what monsters the Tyranids are, take Cassius and Tempestus with you to teach them Anti-Tyranid tactics. Stevanus. You take Nathaniel, Tsu'had and Rafikiel to do the same to the people in Jandra, also double check with Farrenheim and Shin Zhu of how the Fortress within Mount Ruvorn is to be used and make sure everyone knows the tunnels and learns anti-Ravener tactics and such alike. Valonox you are to continue your half-day duties, also double check with Logis Darius about the plans of the automatic defenses and the efficiency of the Flame turrets and such alike. Any questions, comments or other ideas?" Krauz said, sitting slowly down now and sighing.
"It is better to die for the Emperor than live for yourself". Despite previous joking, Stevanus was very serious now. "We all know what sacrifice means. Death is our dearest friend ever since we stepped out of our training shoes. Each and every man here knows that not a single person who died in the service of the Emperor died in vain. Our faith is unshakeable, our zeal unlimited and our devotion unquestionable." "I for one do not expect to return. I walked this galaxy for four hundred years and I have seen almost everything it has to offer. The Tyranids are one of the worst things I've ever encountered. But I know that life is not measured in years but by the deeds one committed. So I say, if this is to be our last act, our end, then let us make it such, that it'll be WORTHY OF A MEMORY! Let the stars tremble at our names and let the Emperor himself be our witness!" "You say Tyranids are the greatest threat Mankind ever faced. They are without fear and their hunger is legendary. But I say BROTHERS! WE WILL MAKE THEM AFRAID! Let the last dying breath of their Queen send a message across the stars - I AM AFRAID! THE LIGHTBRINGERS ARE UPON US! We will carve out the tainted heart of the swarm and crush it under our boot heels! THIS I SWEAR!" The fire in Chaplain's soul was finally unleashed. "We are the Emperor's Angels of Death. And we shall know no fear!"
"now that is a flesh tearer for you" as he spoke tempestus laughed "i wont have you die before me other wise who here would be able to rally men to our cause, definetly not an old librarian who has seen to much"
"You do me too much honor brother" Chaplain smiled. "About rallying the men, I think you will have your chance. I thought about your suggestion, and if the Inquisitor agrees, I would be honored if you stayed on planet and lead our troops in battle! Your experience and combat prowess could be that one thing we need for this battle to go in our favor!"
Phase #4 - Mission ~~ Ruvorn - 0731 local time ~~ It was now just mere hours until the Tyranids would start their attack. The shadow of the Hive Fleet has reached the whole system, no communication was coming in or out, everything travelling the warp would have no chance to penetrate the shadow and arrive in time. This was the moment of Ruvorns finest or darkest hour, it lies in nobody but the hands of all forces working together against the Great Devourer. The Tau fleet just has arrived a day ago and as expected with rather little force, but still better than nothing. Of what the Imperium knew about the Tau, they could say it had been one Lar'Shi'Vre Class Cruiser and two of the smaller versions, Lar'Shi Class Cruisers. But their support units were plenty more. At least two dozen Mantas and Barracudas each. Sirius Jules was on-board of a Barracuda, along with a Tau Fire Warrior Squad. According to the Tau, two more Barracudas were ready with Fire Warriors to aid in taking the Norn Queen down. Inquisitor Krauz though, obviously, did not believe them and expected the worst and cheap excuses once the battle started, but he did not care as he trusted his Deathwatch and his own skills. He connected his Vox with all Channels, on the planet surface they got forwarded to speaker systems so that every man and every woman could hear him. "The Tyranids are here, you have trained weeks and prepared your home for this moment. As we told you, the Tyranids are monsters which do not know mercy, they do not know fear, they do not know retreat. Kill or get killed, the nature's law of that the Strongest may survive is the only thing the monsters of your worst nightmares know. And we will let them know, that we are the strongest there are! We are the children of the God-Emperor! We are the Hammer of the Imperium! We are the Exterminators of Xenos and Heretics! We are the Defenders of Ruvorn! We will not let this world be devoured! We will not falter! FOR WE ARE THE IMPERIUM OF MANKIND AND THIS SHALL BE OUR FINEST HOUR!" The Inquisitor deactivated his vox after his speech, the General smirking as the PDF and his members of the Deathkorps are hailing along. Krauz, in the Black Thunderhawk among his Deathwatch squad except for Shin Zhu, took a look around them. "It was good to learn that you are not all incapable fools." He started to ease the conversation with a joke. "But some of us, perhaps even none of us, will return from this mission. You joined the Deathwatch for such operations, to become either heroes or die trying to become some. I only demand one thing from you, take that beast out. No matter what, do you hear me? NO. MATTER. WHAT." He sighed and leaned back, his hammer in his lap, Stevanus right on the opposite side of him. ~~ Planet Surface - Mount Ruvorn - 0740 local time ~~ "MEN! You heard the Inquisitor! The enemy doesn't fear us, the enemy has no mercy. But what the enemy will learn today is that it made a horrible mistake by attempting to take Ruvorn! We are the first and last line of defense and we will be Last Man Standing! The Tau failed taking this world, so will the Tyranids! I swear by my father, myself and everyone who has died to defend this world that we will win today! The Inquisition aided us, but ultimately it is in our hands to weave the fate of OUR world!" Colonel Felix Steiner announced. His Las Rifle ready he stands among his men, just a bit deeper in the Mountain-Fortress than most of the stationed troops, he built the third line of defense, the first being the main body of the PDF supported by a Deathkorps of Krieg Regiment and behind them Major Farrenheim. The newly built fortress was completely manned to it's capacities and they were determined to let none live. Jandra infront was filled with Flame Turrets and mine fields and against Raveners they were also prepared, having the ground reinforced and even then the men have trained against such maneuvers and will kill everyone that tries to dig a hole into their defense. ~~ Planet Surface - Fields of Heraldis - 0740 local time~~ The Baneblade of General Bern Triades stood in the center of the entire force. The Tanks, including the baneblade having been entrenched to be covered but with the possibility to reverse. Lines and lines of armored tanks were infront of the mighty walls of Heraldis. four lines of Tanks, the first being Leman Russ Tanks, covered by Hellhounds which would provide fire support against close enemies while the Leman Russ Tanks can focus on bigger creatures and masses in the distance. The Second line was the Baneblade in the front, it's massive cannon and slightly raised position able to shoot over the first line of tanks, the Deathkorps Armored Regiment forming this and the whole 3rd line. While the 4th line was built of Hellhounds, Basilisks and Chimeras, being the most flexible line as they would be used as required. If the Tyranids would breach easily through and extraction would be required the Chimeras would move forwards, if Hellhounds are destroyed the replacements would go forward and come to support where the destroyed ones had been. The Basilisks would stand tall though and fire until their position had been reached. Only twelve stood out in the field anyway as they did not fit behind the walls, where the true force of Basilisks stood with auxiliary artillery support around the Governor's Palace. Colonel Hartmann, so it was decided finally, would remain at the Command Bunker next to the Governor's Palace, while Colonel Dietrich would direct the defense from the top of the walls of Heraldis. The Minefields infront and around the whole capital were ready and set with remote detonators so the Deathkorps and PDF would have chance of retreat. The gates would be only opened on the direct order of either Colonel Dietrich, Hartmann or general Triades, if all three should have fallen, the gates are to be stay closed, no matter what. And every soldier knew so. Yet the men in their tanks were not afraid, they were determined to kill the invader, determined to defend their homes, determined to fight in the name of the God-Emperor as he will protect them as long as they will carry faith in their hearts. ~~ Planet Orbit - Admiral Nimius Flagship - 0740 local time ~~ "The Tau are ready sir and proceed as planned, they will focus on enemy space vessels while we try to intercept as many ground forces we can and then join them into the fight against the Tyranid Void Vessels." A crewman reported to the Captain of the entire fleet that was stationed here to save the world beneath from the Tyranid invasion. "Aye and we are ready as well, with Krauz' speech I assume he also is ready with his Deathwatch to attack. The Emperor protects." Cyrax was known for having little taste of speeches, but get results. And this is what made his crew even more efficient. Each man knew they had their part to do, that not just the Emperor but also their Admiral was watching. Everyone who would provide good service would not need a speech to heat their spirits, but they would need a calm and concentrated mind to fulfill their duty, no matter the odds, to become nervous was a danger in a machinery like a ship where each gear had a designated duty. ~~ Ruvorn - 0833 local time~~ The Tyranids engaged full-spead ahead, not mattering the Tau, not mattering the Imperial Navy. Their goal was the world for now and the ships shall suffer later. What had been similar to Rippers swarmed around the fleet, the hive ship in the very core, protected well by hundreds of vessels. The swarms that were on the outer ships seemed to take the Ion Cannon fire and absorb most of it's supposed damage. The Spores that shot wave after wave of Tyranids down upon Ruvorn were less succesfull with all Imperial ships aiming for them and the long-range anti air cannons also aiming for them. They certainly killed a thousand spores, but it was just a fraction of what kept raining down. All headed for some reason right between Jandra and Heraldis, the Hive Mind starting to coordinate the Spores further north, until the anti-air cannons had only little to none effect anymore. But the Hive Fleet did not stop, it moved on while it was deploying its horde of warriors and gaunts, and as the fleet was close enough Gargoyles started to fly out but instead of heading for the planet they started to attack the Tau and Imperial Navy. Barracudas, Mantas and Imperial Fighters working together to defend themselves. "ADMIRAL! THEY ARE TOO MANY AND TOO SMALL FOR THE SHIPS MAIN WEAPONS!" Crewman #2 reported, as Nimius kept him in memory. "FIRE ON THE BIG SHIPS, THEY KEEP COMING CLOSER FOR BIO-PLASMA FIRE! SHOOT 'EM DOWN!" But just as the Admiral announced the vanguard of the Tyranids split, revealing a bigger ship which seemed to be the size of his Overlord Class Cruiser, shooting a huge Plasma Projectile, the Overlord's crew just barely managed to evade the shit, still it's heat damaging the void shields dramatically. "FIRE ALREADY! CONCENTRATE FIRE ON THAT SHIP!" Nimius yelling only to make sure his command is heard seemed to have even reached the Tau as both fleets united their fire, Lance Fire, Torpedos, Ion Cannons and Gravitic Launchers heading for that one ship in particular. It got at least damaged before the Protectors pushed themselves infront of the battleship. "TELL THE TAU TO SURROUND THEM!" He ordered Crewman #3 who went right away to his task. The Tau fleet, sent Barracudas and Mantas around the Tau fleet, attacking their rear, distracting the Devourer Fleet enough to lead their protectors away to the side as the other main battleships were in danger, opening a small gap for the Imperial Navy. "LANCE FIRE NOW!" And a concentrated beam emerged, slicing the battleship in half, revealing all it's organs and contents over the orbit.
