~~ Astartes HQ ~~ The Ultramarine Captain returned to his post at the Holo-Desk. "The PDF always seeks the fight, but their skills are unluckily not those of a proper Imperial Regiment like I had seen in the past." He commented, the message forwarded to Antiochius, who in return had messaged Eldritch. "Eldritch, it seems the Planetary Defense Forces of Arkhona are eager for battle, I suggest you use them at your will, if Captain Andros speaks up, says you have my clearance. Just make sure if they are to fight with the Eldar that both sides know the deal."
Wurrtek grinned at the sight of his plan working, he went over to the control panel and plugged a captured dataslate into the terminal. "Now letz see 'ow powaful dis fing is!" The dataslate showed several different orky powa signatures on it, each one being another tellyporta to connect to. There were several nearby, those would be the tellyportas on planet, a large empty space beyond them, which must be space. However there were other clusters of tellyportas farther away. Cackling in glee he realised what this must mean: Intersystem Tellyportation! The range to tellyport orks without another pad to recieve was much smaller as usual, but none the less... He locked on to the siganture farthest away and pressed the button to activate it. It would be intresting to see what happened to the snottlings on the other side. Unfortunately, the field simply fizzled and the snottlings turned inside out. It would require much more power to do such an unheard of feat, back to the hunt.
The first rounds of artillery killed more than a thousand of Alpha's troops, though it didn't even make the Hive Tyrant Prime flinch. The bombs and shells that came down ripped apart the guants and the warriors, even taking down the occasional carnifexes, but proved to be too weak to kill the even larger creatures, such as the hierodules or Haruspex. Huge scores fell dead from the long and medium ranged fire, and worse yet the anti air defenses was too effective a net to bring in any of the air units against the enemy. It was no matter to Alpha though, this was currently a war of extermination, not consumption. The first of the guants crashed into the defense, and a wall of flames met them. Those that weren't incinerated right away ducked underneath the incoming fire, and threw themselves into the flamers, meltas and incinerates. Alpha was pleased as the first of the explosions rocked the chaos defense lines. From the hundreds of battles that he had fought as a Warrior Prime back during the Kraken Blitz he had come to learn that many of these humans tend to rely on fire to combat his army. What Alpha also know is that to utilize these weapons, the enemy requires a lot of fuel, flammable fuel. Therefore he had worked with the Zoanthrope council in orbit to develop a special kind of spore mind, one that would ignite when detonated. They were not big enough to cause explosion, as to prevent an accidental chain reaction from blowing through his ranks. Rather it just causes fire to erupt. Strapping all of the frontline termagaunts with one. He ordered them to throw themselves on to whatever stockpile of enemy fuel they could crawl their dying bodies to. The results were glorious, the very thing that was supposed to kill the tyranids were now consuming the chaos forces. The flames from one stockpile would quickly reach another, and another, and another, and soon an entire flank was fighting Alpha's army and the fire, both equally hungry for their deaths. With the Tyrannofex firing their rupture cannons at the enemy as well, soon the fire became an ally to Alpha, whereas the chaos forces would have it a foe. The cost to this attack would be high, Alpha knew, but the information learned as well as the orders from the Hive Mind needed to be obeyed. The Hive Tyrant Prime trusted that the Hive Mind understood what it was doing, and knew that there would be plenty of biomass back at the defense line to replenish the army and regroup, if not the ones in orbit. Speaking of the biopools, the lictor had already noted various enemies had taken especially a keen interest in them to Alpha. So the proper preparations have been ordered in case they will be compromised. The tremors felt under Alpha's feet was a sign that those orders are either finishing or completed. Alpha wondered if the enemy commander had noticed that it was not the surface forces that filled the craters created by the artillery strikes, but the massive underground forces that also move parallel. The surface force was simply a fraction of what Alpha had ordered forward. Though the artillery had taken out at least a third of the surface army at this point, they had barely scratched an eighth of the underground forces. However, they were powerful enough to out right kill some of the underground raveners and such, Alpha will admit that. But the underground forces were not disturbed by most of the oncoming fire, and had dug beneath the minefields quietly and efficiently. As the explosions from the lit fuel dumps and the remnants of the minefield (which the tyranids gaunts just threw themselves into and cleared with their deaths), the Hive Tyrant Prime looked for anyone notable that he could fight one on one, hoping to learn more of the enemy himself.
Eldritch - Undaunted Citadel The Marines had made it back to their transports and had begun boarding. Eldritch called out to Scavold over vox. "This fight is no longer worth our lives, but if you wish to die here then so be it, we will not wait for you." The transports began to take off, fleeing from the Undaunted Citadel. The Saim-hann warriors pulled in between the Space Marines armor, dodging and weaving as they provided cover to the fleeing transports. --- Layairda - Gaia Temple Layairda followed in behind Alurria, the Temple was dark and there was no sign of the artifact. The Fire Dragons were directly behind the Banshees. Little progress was being made within the winding hallways of the temple. "We must press on sisters!" Alurria shouted. "Lest someone else arrives to steal it from our grasp."
Undaunted Citadel "My pups who know better have already returned to the birds Eldritch. Make sure the Rune Priest remember my tale! I go forth to honor the Allfather." A final wolf like howl entered their communicator before going quiet. Scavold and seven Bloodclaws remained, a trail of dead behind them they had been surrounded once more. Their charge blunted by Iron Warriors at the front and the DreadKorps every else. Another young Space Wolf went down as bolter fire blew open his chest and throat, a second died locked against an Iron Warrior, the fiery young warrior having his neck snapped by the renegade. Scavold cared not as he lay about himself with his power claws, he had just hacked into the side of a tank and torn through the crew before turning to engage an Iron Warrior with a chain blade. The Blood Claws had been gunned down at this point and he was on his own, his armor was cracked in several places and heavily damaged but he had fight left in him. Ultimately he fell to massed fire power. The powerful energy field generated by his terminator armor holding off that which his armor couldn't normally withstand. His claws had pierced another iron warrior and he had just shorn his head from his shoulders with a claw swipe when a Leman Russ opened fire on him, the main battle cannon firing just after a side sponson las cannon speared him in the chest and weakened his armor enough for the tanks cannon to blow him apart. A glorious death none the less.
Iron Warrior Assault Force - 3KM from the Ruins of the Celestial Stair Magnarax watched his left flank vanish in a wave of fire. The Tyranids had taken the bait. His mortal troops would suffer heavy casualties, but their sacrifice would serve his machinations. The Dark Gods required such sacrifices, in order to bestow their boon on their champions. Though Magnarax did not worship the Dark Gods with the same fanatic devotion of the Word Bearers, he knew when their aid could be useful. Now was such a time. 'They come, order the withdraw. To the second line!' Magnarax ordered. The majority of the amour reversed their engines, rolling backwards, while maintaining a heavy rate of fire into the scrambling melee taking place in the trenches. Those soldiers that could, pulled themselves out of the trenches and hurried the two hundred yards to the next trench. The artillery adjusted their aim, raining shells down upon the trenches being flooded with the Tyranids. The Iron Warrior Marines pushed past the Dread Korpsmen, purposely putting them in between themselves and the Tyranids. The meat shields would put themselves to good use. The second line was already manned by the majority of the Dread Korps reserves and nearly two hundred marines. Those numbers were quickly swelled by the fleeing members of the first line. In their wake, those Korpsmen trapped in the trenches made the Tyranids pay for their lives dearly. Each of them unpinned their grenades and stuffed them into their pockets, before fixing their bayonets and charging into the tight packs of creatures. They died with a curse on their lips, offering themselves to the Dark Gods. As they had been instructed too. More explosions rippled over the line, as they were blasted apart, taking a dozen creatures each along with them. Every sacrifice drew greater attention from the Dark Gods. One in particular was of particularly keen interest. Grand-Father Nurgle. The Plague Lord would provide the most useful boon and make the deaths of the Dread-Korpsmen, and those few Iron Warriors too slow to escape, worthwhile. Even now, the warp churned with his pestilential presence. Magnarax could almost smell his foul breath on the wind. The deaths so far were attracting his interest, but more would be needed. Many more! As Magnarax's Land Raider rumbled rearwards, he opened a new channel to Epidemius. "Epidemius, the sooner you deploy the pathogen, the sooner I would appreciate it. I cannot hold these monsters forever. I feel the tremors of their advance beneath the earth. I am luring them closer to the Celestial Stair. The heavy rock will slow them down, at least for a time. Press the attack, damn you!" He cut the line, knowing the Plague Marine was listening. Though Magnarax appreciated his slow, methodical approach at warfare, this moment called for decisive action. His forces were not so innumerable as the Xenos', and he could not sustain these bloody losses indefinitely. 'Malkar, Uragesh! I need you to strike at the enemies rear. Take out their artillery beasts and cover Epidemius!' Magnarax commanded, as he glared at their the Xenos' icons on his holo-map. 'Be mindful of the Gargoyles, my anti-air defenses cannot protect you from them at that range' He returned his attention to the advance of the enemy. 'Thats right, you Xeno vermin. Keep coming. Eat your fill of the flesh of my Men. You will regret it soon enough" He chuckled darkly. Soon. Very soon.
The Undaunted Citadel - Iron Teeth Mountains Central Command Hub Dread-Marshall Von Drassk observed the obvious shift in battle with pride. The Dread-Korps had once again proven their mettle against the forces of not only the Imperium, but the enigmatic Eldar as well. [The enemy assault is blunted. They are retreating, for now] Judarius reported, as he withdrew his dark metal mechadendrite from the Holo-Desk. His insectoid form turned away from the massive display unit, and scuttled away towards the exit. 'Where are you off to, Judarius? The enemy is beaten back, but not broken. At least not yet!' Von Drassk inquired, as he eyed the Arch-Heretic through the lenses of his helmet. [I must return to orbit. The Tyranids fight amongst themselves in high orbit and I suspect the Imperial's will no doubt attempt to launch forces by drop pod. I will take command of the fleet, and assault the Xenos from the rear. I will introduce my pathogen directly into the hive ships. In turn, I will deny them reinforcement and crush the influence of the Hive-Mind] He replied, without turning back. 'Very well. Do what you must Judarius, but do not waste our ships needlessly' The Dread-Marshall warned, not bothering to look at Judarius, knowing he would hear him. [I shall not] He assured, coldly. [Additionally, I will repay the Eldar for destroying my communications arrays] 'See that you do . . ' Von Drassk began, but the sound of the blast doors sealing shut marked the Arch-Heretek's departure. No matter. Judarius was capable, for a Heretek, and he had proven most useful thus far. Not surprising, considering the stake that the Dark Mechanicum had in this endeavor. They had invested heavily in supporting Lord Magnarax. Failure here would be as costly to the Dark Mechanicum, as it would be to the Warmaster
Night Lords Thunderhawk High Altitude "Affirmative Warsmith, making our approach." After Magnarax cut the transmission off, Malkar orders the pilot to set the Thunderhawk down just out of range of the Tyranid army. Sneaking up on the artillery creatures, the raptors come within distancee of a short jump, while the devastators find suitable firing positions. Once they were all in position, Malkar gave the order to strike. The Thunderhawks struck first, flying in low they unleash their missiles in a quick strafing run, before turning and fleeing in an attempt to get the Tyranid air creatures to follow them. Next the devastators, picking their shots they focus their fire on synapse creatures, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the airstrike. After the precise volley from the devastators, the raptors leap up and charge into the Tyranid horde. Aiming for joints in the artillery creatures armour, the raptors strike at the sides of the large creatures. Then when the xenos turn to engage them more raptors attack the opposite side. Malkar himself focus his attention on the lesser creatures, carving through the with great swings of his scythe. He attempts to buy time for his raptors to pick the artillery apart.
Lissia received a call from her Wayseers, "Autarch: we have lost our lock on the beacons you are taking in after the artifact. The wraithgates should still be able to give the artifact a short-range jump, at least to the surface perhaps, but we cannot take the artifact directly to the Isle. We are deploying Nightwings to remove the artifact by air." "That is unfortunate, but acceptable," she responded. Roughly a millicycle later, five Nightwings warped in above the temple via wraithgate, and went to altitude, monitoring for enemy approach. Similar calls were made to the Iyandi, with Nightwings following trend. Extraction would need to be swift for these plans to work. (Nightwings are primary Eldar fighter-interceptors that have max velocity of 3600 kph, which is Mach 3 at sea-level on Earth. If an aspect warrior could feasibly carry the artifact, they should be able to load it on a Nightwing.) --will add Sel defending the armored column later--
~~ Imperial Navy - Orbital Command ~~ The Fleet Admiral just received the newest developments as their fleet were watching the Tyranid Space Hulk and the newly arrived fleet. "So the Space Wolves and Ultramarines trust the Eldar.... At least to a degree...." The Admiral whispered out loud as he looked through the Data-Slate he was handed. "Nonetheless the Tyranids are too much of a problem, the Orks cannot act in aid as they crushed their whole Space Hulk on the ground, almost creating a new continent with that monstrum of a ship. And the Eldar, I haven't seen a single ship of them! How did they even get here?!" The Admiral started to fume, then shrugs it off, most likely the Eldar were hiding their fleet in the webway or something. "I fear we have to team up with the heretics." He said after five minutes of complete silence, looking at the holo-desk which was projecting the battle between the Chaos Forces and the Tyranids. "Rally the request to the Heretical Force Commander, a Proposal to take both Tyranid Fleets out. After that, we are enemies again, no word to the Astartes!" The crew answered in unison in a loud 'AYE AYE!'. ~~ Tyranid Rogue Queen ~~ OOC: Mechaius if you do not mind.... Can you play that Zoanthrope-Hienzriech dude? He is kinda yours after all "You know the men you fought and worked with.... What do you think we should do? Aid them? Fight the Blind Fleet Kraken?" The Queen, which was truly one with the ship now, having exchanged her physical body from the queen-being into the enormous organism which was truly a Mothership of the Tyranids, asked the Zoanthrope-Sorcerer of Tzeentch. While she asked, she launched Thousands of Spores after Gaia and Brias, wanting at least one of the artifacts.... The others will be recaptured later on.... Yeeees.... They would belong to her on long-term.... The Underwater ones were approached by underwater beings of the Tyranids. Warriors with fins, Gaunts which turned into eels, Zoanthropes which hovered as always, but having their lungs exchanged with gills to use the water to stay alive. Even a few Tyrant Guards were deployed which walked on the bottom of the sea. ~~ Tyranid - Hive Fleet Kraken ~~ "Continue. Destruction." The Hive Mind told to the Alpha Hive Tyrant, letting him know of his approval while it was breeding and sucking out of the world. Having noticed the activity going to Graia and Brias it deployed several hundred spores to hold off the Rogue Mind, going to deny her the artifacts while 'harvesting' the other beings... The Humans were coming soon and the Eldar had been there already... And certainly the Orks would come as well, they never can resist a fight!
