Assimilation Begins

Now that the Hive Fleet Haephestus had a proper beachhead on the planet, it was now time to start harvesting the rich biomass. Already great spore chimney's were rising over vast swathes of land. The verdant jungle was being stripped of life as fast as the giant extractors could manage.

The spawn pools bubbled furiously, creating broods in a matter of hours. The Hive Mind was content but its first among it's children, the Swarmlord was still wary. It knew that the inhabitants of the planet and there allies from space would not give up without a fight.

It directed all the newly spawned organisms directly to the planet's surface. The biomass extraction needed to be increased and the area under the Hive's thrall needed to be expanded.

Broods were sent in every direction from the beachhead. If resistance was met, the Swarmlord direct any organism under it's control to converge and wipe it out.

For many days little resistance was encountered. Small settlements were found but the inhabitants had either long fled or were unable to provide the broods with little more than sport. After 5 revolutions of the planet the area controlled by the hive had doubled enabling more and more creatures to be birthed.

Then, at the dawn of the 6th day on the western most verge of the Hive's territory the Swarmlord sensed something. Sink holes of pyschic energy, the monstrous commander could not ascertain what the cause of these disturbances was but it had there was a hint of the other Hive Fleet - Mothra - about it, although it was certainly not Tyranid in origin.

The Swarmlord sent out a sizeable swarm to investigate.

The swarm approached the area the disturbance was first felt. It seemed to be the outskirts of a great settlement, not unlike the one the Hive first attempted to make landfall weeks before.

The close proximity to the source of the pyschic anomaly allowed the Swarmlord to finally detect the source. Humans! Bedded down in the city, apparently waiting for the swarm, most in more of the large machines that was a constant bane to tyranids everywhere, preventing them from reaching the succulent bodies inside.

The swarm charged forwards. Great tervigons spewing forth termagants to add to the wave of bodies. A winged Tyrant swooped down on the flank followed by Hive Guard eager for targets for their impaler cannons.

A giant metal bird swooped down from the sky shooting round after round in a tervigon skulking in the cover of a building before depositing it's load on the ground in front of the Tyrant.

The Tyrant instantly recognised the main source of the pyschic disturbance in the Inquistor and charged into his entourage.

As he did a small object flew towards him. The Tyrant snapped at it, gobbling the device. At that instant it's connection to the Hive Mind was broken. Using the eyes of a nearby Tervigon, the Swarmlord could see the Tyrant turn on a nearby termagant brood, tearing them apart before the humans managed to overcome it.

A spore crashed down behind enemy lines. As it's great maw opened 2 Zoanthrops emerged, their huge brains pulsing. No sooner had they disembarked then they sent force 2 spears of raw pyschic energy ripping apart the closest vehicle which exploded in a massive eruption. As the smoke was clearing a mighty Trygon appeared from a tunnel in the ground and sent waves of bioelectrical enegy into the human's dreadnought rendering it helpless.

The hive guard fired volley after volley into the metal bird without effect before it turned it's weapons on them and blew them apart. The Northern flank had been lost to the humans.

One the southern flank a lone human had held back wave after wave of termagant attacks singlehandedly before eventually succuming to the vast numbers that Tyranids can bring to bear. More hive guard appeared from a ruin and fire on a nearby troop carrier tearing it's armour apart just as a brood of genestealers entered the fray.

The humans that survived the destruction of the carrier turned tail and fled only to be cut down my a small termagant brood.

The losses on both sides were mounting, the momentum of the swarm was gone but the humans had lost the apetite to finish the job. Both sides retreated to live and fight another day.

(Provided by CunningStunt)

Haephestus' Hunger Satiated

Reeling from the defeat by the human habitat, the hive was growing even more desperate for biomatter. The lifeblood of all tyranid life. Even now Hive Fleet Haephestus's reserves were dwindling to nothing. The conflict so far had only served to drain what they had more quickly.
It needed to feed and soon.

At the centre of the fleet in its specially made birthing pool, the Swarmlord was pouring over all availabe data. Drawing on the senses of every brood and synapse creature it had sent to the planet. Searching for a target.

Just one easy victory was needed to refill the pools and get them creating new life to fill the ranks of the Hive. Even better if an arase rich in life could be seeded with Pylons to draw the very essence of the planet up to the Fleet.

So far the only areas of the planet below that had been seeded were either retaken by the prey on the planet or their brethren that came from the hulking vessels in orbit that arrived at the same time as the Hive Fleet. Or the area that was seeded proved lacking in life. Great pylons reared out of tundras and sandy deserts. The indigenous life barely sufficient to support the growth of these great structures let alone provide extra resource to transmit to the waiting Hive.

Days passed, the spawning pools had dried out, the Fleet near death. Brood began to feed on brood as the Hive mind struggled to keep control. The situation was desperate.

Then, almost by chance the Swarmlord spotted an opening. A large group of prey on the ground was spotted by Lictors and genestealers moving through an area dense in vegetation. They had stopped in a clearing in the middle of a vast jungle, a long distance from the closest habitat.

The group was large and had with it a great number of the metal hulks that was so common amongst the prey. The same hulks that the Hive Fleet had learned to break down and incorporate into it's own organisms but also struggle to bring down without sufficient firepower.

These 'tanks' would be a problem for the brood. But the great cunning of the swarmlord was unpeturbed. It sent gathered what Zoanthropes were let in the fleet and channeled their power through its own mind. Sent out pyschic tendrils to the group on the planet, searching for the leader.

Once found, the tendrils were sent into the mind of this leader. Nudging and suggesting but not outright controlling. Even for just a single organism this subtlety required great concentration and power. By the time the work was done half of the Zoanthropes used were dead or dying. With a brief after thought the swamlord commanded the drones to break them down to be immediately reconstituted before directing his mind back to what would soon be the battlefield.

The ploy worked, the commander ordered a portion of his group, including the greatest of his 'tanks' to scout ahead. Breaking his force up. Breaking it up to make it easier prey for the approaching swarm...

Two great tervigons smashed into the group's flanks accompanied by various smaller broods, a handful of biovores and a unit of genestealers that had been monitoring the group.

The biovore's sporemines smashed right into the middle of the group, caught by surprise the humans could barely react before they were ripped apart by the explosions.

Before they could regroup the genestealers charged amongst them to take them on at close quarters. At the front of the field a great Winged Hive Tyrant swooped down and reduced a team of humans dug in at the top of an old building to nothing but worm riddled corpses. Its accompanying Trygon followed behind, uncharacteristically bogged down by the terrain.

Hive guard on both flanks let rip with their great guided cannons, destorying a metallic hulk on oneside and imobilising another filled with prey on the other.

A large brood of hormagaunts tore accross the river to engage the foot soldiers that had accompanied the 'tank' across the river. The foot gave a valiant defence and the commander managed to weather the initial charge.

After the initial attack the prey seemed to rally. The great armoured hulk at the front fired 3 great shots of energy at the hive guard that threatened it. When the smoke cleared, a grey smudge on the scarred earth was all that remained of them.

The tervigons to either side of the force took the brunt of the attack taking severe wounds each.
The damage and the like of sufficient nutrition affected their ability to spawn more young, both only giving birth to a handful of gants before turning barren.

Showing almost superhuman courage and resilience, the prey managed to tear apart the genestealers without too many casualties only to be met by a charge from the hormagaunts who had finally dispatched the group's leader.

The Tyrant dispatched another group of humans with great volleys of carnivorous worms before finally charging the great 'tank' of the force, his Trygon, not far behind.


The combined might of these two creatures made short work of the creation, leaving a smouldering wreck behind them before moving on to more prey.

Following suit the tervigons, on the verge of death made for the closest 'tanks' and ripped them apart. One of them, caught in the fire of nearby gunfire collapsed with a great scream before falling silent.

It was enough though. The enemy was falling back. The Swarmlord dispatched lictors to follow the fleeing force. Nothing would go to waste.

Already the seeds were planted, the area rich in flora and fauna, as well as the bodies of the fallen would prove a great feast indeed.

For the first time in countless decades, Hive Fleet Haephestus fed.   

Round 1 Update

Dear all,

Here is a quick breakdown of the games played in round 1. Please bear in mind the percentages are a quick back of the envelope calculation, so nothing hugely scientific. I hope this gives some high level impression of how respective factions are doing and how this is affecting the relative standings of each faction and the influence each faction is having over Varlislia.

Matt

Miller's Crossing

+++Astropathic transmission+++

+++Sender: Captain M Petronius Aventine XIII+++
+++Recipient: Lt Gen Ivona Sonnambler+++
+++Thought for the day: Always wear sunscreen+++
+++Transmission begins+++


+++After action report – Miller's Crossing – Calhun Province – Varsila Prime+++

+++Elements of Aventine XII tasked with reconnaissance and scouting encountered heavy Tyranid presence while crossing tributary of Mosse River+++
+++Testimony from reports of 1st Sergeant Jones, Attached Storm Troopers and one of the few survivors: “We crossed the river under orders of [REDACTED] while seconded to the Aventine, despite some arguments the bozo in charge chose to use a Leman Russ to force a way across the crossing, naturally it got stuck yeah? While the rest of us kitted down a bit a couple hundred metres down the road as they got it out the mud we found ourselves surrounded by the bugs, thousands of em. 2nd Squad took one side, we took the other and we managed to repel most of the main wave with Devil Dog support, ever seen one of those big bulgy spewing out little uns ones get a Melta Cannon to the face? Its sweet. By the time we'd got a lid on the situation though the bugs had managed to overwhelm most of the men, they sold em selves well but we lost an entire damn platoon to the things along with that Russ... wasnt worth it, real mess. Then when we saw those big buggers sitting pretty and eating the dead at the other end of the field... I took command and gave the order to fall back, my squad and a couple of the Snipers were about all that was left, we clung to the sides of those Dogs and got out of there”+++
+++Cross examination of Jones and survivors indicates that Lt Goreman of 2nd Platoon led men into Ambush by poor positioning of Heavy Armour+++
+++Lt Goreman held the river crossing with his command squad for approximately 5 minutes against approximately 30+ Tyranid organisms classified: Hormagaunts+++
+++Infantry squads formed up and held against several waves of Tyranid creatures, most noticeably Genestealers. Excellent use of cover and defensive grenades repelled attackers at heavy cost. Further waves of Termagants eventually wore down the platoons defences and they were overwhelmed+++
+++Conclusion+++
+++Tyranids obtained complete surprise against the Recon column, managing to hold 4/6ths of the battlefield after 1 hours combat duration. Despite strong efforts on Guardsmens side the Xenos superiority in Melee wore down and destroyed the Imperial forces+++
+++Due to heroics of defence it is suggested the Lt is awarded posthumous Martyrs Cup medallion, unfortunately due to leading his men into such a situation all benefits to next of kin must cease+++
+++Crews of Aventine Light Armour - “Divine Wind” “Sunspear” to be awarded marksmens medals+++
+++Orbital and surface Artillery to barrage Grids AZ81-BZ79 and further search and destroy operations to be carried out+++

+++Message ends+++   

(provided by Yargalt)

A Foul Discovery

Coteaz awoke in a strange chamber; connect to an array of tubes and pipes. The walls were made from a white, ceramic material. Everything in the room was spotlessly clean.

The room was filled with surgical and life support equipment. Whatever had happened to him had been serious enough to warrant a great deal of medical care. The Inquisitor noted it strange that despite the work surfaces being covered in these tools, the glass fronted cupboards were bare.

These facilities would not be available to a normal inhabitant of Varlislia or the wider Imperium. This chamber must be reserved for the aristocracy.

With a hiss the door opened. A tall, gaunt figure appeared, covered in an array of bionic implants, the most striking of which were the greasy mechadendrites forcing their way out of his spine. Coteaz could not see the figure’s legs move – he looked as though he glided effortlessly across the marble floor.

Coteaz looked around. Everything around the chamber looked expensive. ‘Little wonder why Trantor had fallen behind with Varlislia’s tithes.’ he thought to himself.

“You were very fortunate to be alive” Trantor continued. “Chaplain Cassisus informs me that Calgar himself was beaten by a remarkably similar creature.”

“How did I get here?” The Inquisitor replied.

“The Swarmlord left you dying, but fled before she could deliver the final blow – you have your Paladins to thank. They slaughtered dozens of those bugs to create a perimeter around you. Their Stormraven extracted what few survivors remained, including your good self.”

“What news is there from the rest of the relief force?”

“Cassius and his Ultramarines have made planet fall, and encountered xenos almost immediately. Without vehicle support they were weakened, but clung on. They are still out in the field, looking to press home their advantage.”

“And the Wolves?”

“Something troubling, Inquisitor. Their planetfall revealed an unknown truth to us. It is not only the Emperor’s Servants and Tyranids present here on Varlislia. Some of the Wolves landed near an old temple, thought to have been abandoned for Millenia. They stumbled upon a ritual being performed by traitor astartes, led by a Daemon Prince. Whilst the vengeance of the Emperor delivered was enough to clear the immediate vicinity, we fear that this runs much deeper – they are likely to be back in force.”

Coteaz absorbed this new piece of information. The situation had suddenly got increasingly grim, but he was still confident that he could rescue Varlislia; his Grey Knights specialised in dealing with such abominations.

“Trantor, have my men informed that I intend to return to the field imminently; the xenos and traitor filth need to be cleansed, and there is no time to lose! At present, they have control of much of the planet. We need to force them back to regain territory and distance them from your people!”



Battle for Varlislia, Round 1 Challenge Thread (17th Feb to 2nd March)

Dear all,

Here is the challenge thread for round one of the Varlislia campaign. Each round will now run for two weeks. The first shall run from Friday 3rd to Thursday 16th Feb. The plan for this round is:

Round 2: Spearhead

After a successful landing, the Space Wolves and Ultramarines are quick to press home the advantages they have gained, having been reinforced and remaining out in the field.

After narrowly avoiding a brush with death, Coteaz returns to the field, sending out his forces to assist the Planetary Defence force and push the enemy away from Varlislia's centres of population.

Rolling, bloody battles ensue across the surface of Varlislia.

Challenges:
All 3 Imperial factions vs. All 3 Non-Imperial Factions

Suggested themes for scenarios/armies: Missions should have multiple strategic points (3 - 6 recommended) for capturing ground. There are a range of this missions available with varying deployment in battle missions. Missions from elsewhere can also be used

Players should play a minimum of 1 game each, but can play as many games as they'd like within the timeframe, to help build the storyline.

Players can play any size limit and scenario they and their opponent(s) decide upon.

When completing a battle, please PM me the following information:

1) Date battle played;
2) Players and armies involved;
3) Army sizes;
4) Army list themes (if any);
5) Scenario (and source);
6) Type of board/terrain;
7) Result;
8) Victory points scored by each army;
9) Narrative (can only be a few sentences if you want), including any cool/notable events worth reporting.

For an update on the campaign rules, please see my blog (linked).

Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  

Imperial Fists 5th Company

NB - Major Tom will now be using his Imperial Fists instead of his guard. Assume the guard are on the planet, but are a non-player army. The Fists arrived on Varlislia some months before Coteaz's relief force, building fortifications for the upcoming conflict...

The 5th Company of the Imperial Fists chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, known as the “Shield Bearers” and are currently under the command of Captain Tassius and his loyal senior officers Veteran Assault Sergeant Jorn and First Sergeant Gorfast.

Returning to rendezvous with the Imperial Fist fortress monastery and space Fortress ‘Phallanx’ after the successful pacification and destruction of Eldar Raiders via Varlislia for resupply, Captain Tassius and his company discovered a world in the grips of Chaos insurrection and Xeno invasion.

With Imperial reinforcement’s enroute to the system, Tassius decided to land his forces in support of the local Imperial Guard PDF regiments in combating the advancing Xeno hordes to buy time for the rapidly arriving inquisition forces to root out and exterminate the growing chaos threat.

.....

The bridge was still, the only noise the occasional whirl from a servitor motors or the bleeps of various consoles dotted around the command pulpit.

Stood upon the pulpit were three figures, each easily dwarfing the surrounding servitors and chapter serfs who worked diligently around them.

Each stood still as statues, encased within their yellow power amour with heads bowed in prayer.

As he finished leading his brothers in prayer, Captain Tassius was first to raise his head. Feeling refreshed in his devotion to the Emperor and glad to be leading his brother to battel once more he led Gorfast and Jorn to one of the overhead displays showing the ongoing situation below.

“Brothers, this is Varlislia. Until recently this world was a beacon of Imperial Creed yet Imperial control has broken down, Xeno menaces approach its borders with Tyranids and Orks about to fall upon them.

Within, the forces of chaos attempt to twist its people to their own ends.

We shall not be rendezvousing with the Phallanx, our chapter master has agreed that our place is here where the enemy can not be allowed to gain any foothold. Imperial forces and our Brothers from several Chapters will be here within days but until then we shall hold the line. I have informed the Governor that we shall meet the Ork advance with his PDF forces and once it is neutralised we shall help with the pacification of the Chaos threat.

See to the company, sharpen our blades and prepare our brothers for war.”

(provided by Major Tom) 

Kill 'em all!

Hive Fleet Mothra had been biding its time. It had been 9 terran years since the initial seedling spores had landed. The uncertainty, fear and suffering caused by the Genestealer cults had weakened Varlislia. The Hive Mind’s plan had gotten off to a strong start.

The Hive Fleet launched a new wave of spores into the planet’s atmosphere. The Lictors’ pheromones had made it easy for the organisms of the Hive Fleet to Rendevous. Adding to the Genestealers and Lictors were Termagaunts, Tervigons, Hive Guard. This wave however was headed by quite a special organism. A Swarmlord.

As the Swarm was moving with all haste toward the Hive the humans nick-named Hedley’s Hope, the Hive Mind felt a scream. The first wave of organisms from Hive Fleet Haephestus had been hurt by the arrival of the Ultramarines. It could feel that more Astartes were en route, and would be arriving at any moment.

Minutes later, beacons were being lit in the hills around the swarm, shortly followed by flaming silver pods hurtling through the atmosphere towards Varlislia’s surface.

The Hive Mind almost instantly anticipated what Coteaz’s mission was – “Cut off the head and the body will die.” The advance of the swarm halted. Each of the organisms surrounded its Swarmlord.

To an onlooker, it would have appeared as though each of the bugs were as aware of what was about to happen as the Hive Mind was. They were ready to die so that their Tyrant could live. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Swarmlord looked up. The army was surrounded by several small bands of humans, some with psychic powers, accompanied by a Dreadnought. Some more henchmen were mounted in a Chimera and a small band led by an Inquistor, led by a Vindicare Assassin.

The Tervigons began to spawn Termagaunts en masse. Small, chitinous bugs filled the air before the Dreadnought exploded into several fragments. Some of the Termagaunts had the Chimera surrounded whilst the nearby Tervigon tore the tracks off it. So far, so good thought the Swarmlord. Is this it?

Within seconds the air filled with a screeching sound. A Stormraven flew over the horizon, guns blazing. Several missiles hit the Tervigon that had assaulted the Chimera. A blinding cloud of energy stood where the Tervigon had been, followed by a deafening scream filled the air. The organism crumpled on the floor, its skull exploded. Grey Knight Paladins, adorned in Terminator armour landed by the psykers, this was Coteaz’s spearhead. Two spawned swarm of Termagaunts tried to pave an escape route through the assassin and henchmen, and were cut down. Perhaps Coteaz was a skilled adversary after all.

The Swarmlord’s swarm through its firepower at the humans, causing little damage. The Paladins responded by making short work of the first group of Termagaunts standing between them and the Swarmlord.

Before long, things were getting desperate. The Termagaunts could only hold the Terminators so long, and the Swarmlord was not moving as quickly as the Hive Mind would have liked.

Suddenly, there was a breakthrough. The Hive Guard shooting at the Stormraven hit their mark, sending Coteaz and his entourage crashing to the ground. A new wave of Termagaunts were envigourated by the Swarmlord and the Tervigon which had given birth to them. The assassin and henchmen did not survive the second wave.

Coteaz’s crew were dazed, but they quickly got up. The Swarmlord was slowly getting away, and the Paladins were tied up with seemingly endless waves of Termagaunts. The Inquisitor charged a band of Genestealers, killing all of them. With all haste, they ran towards the Swarmlord. The Swarmlord calculated that Coteaz had one chance. He dispatched of Coteaz’s bodyguard, and whilst the Inquisitor was struggling with Tyrant Guard, laid the final blow. Coteaz fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Paladins were closing, and the Swarmlord knew it had to get away. Three waves of Termagaunts and the last remaining Tervigon stepped into the space between them; they would die so that the swarm could feed.

The Paladins found a gap in the wall of Tyranids – striking at the Tervigon to prevent further reinforcements weighing them down.  As they removed their force weapons from the twitching carcass, they looked up to find the Swarmlord had gotten away...

A Ritual Interrupted

Strange temples in the heart of a ruined city would be instrumental to the Emperor's Children in summoning their daemonic allies.

Rune priest Irnist the Wise foresaw their potential, and Logan Grimnar dispatched him to smash the Emperor's Children before their rituals could be completed and the chaos forces could be irrevocably reinforced.

The long fangs and razorbacks succeeded in crippling the enemy rhino’s, and the chaos marines were forced to advance in the open where they came under heavy small arms fire.

The wolf scouts succeeded in destroying a possessed vindicator before being charged by a squad of traitor marines. The Wolve's champion survived alone to fight again.

The rituals partially succeeded in summoning the daemons to the centre of the ruined city. And further traitor reinforcements arrived from the EC fleet in orbit.

Daemonettes, a Keeper of Secrets, and some Slaaneshi Terminators appeared and were engaged by Grey Hunters, Irnist himself, and a squad of Wolf Guard Terminators respectively. The Wolf Guard and Grey Hunters dragged down their opponents and Irnist personally banished the Keeper of Secrets back to the warp.

Enemy obliterators caused havoc in the Space Wolf lines by engaging and destroying some long fangs and razorbacks.

Realising the back of their force had been broken, their temples captured, and the rituals disrupted, the traitors withdrew. The Wolves demolished the strange temples so they could never be used again.

(provided by Mazberry)

Hunting for Biomass

The Hive was low on biomass, too low for the standard invasion force that would normally be sent to scour life from a newly discovered planet. The already dwindling reserves was being used to create the Haephestus Swarmlord. It would be days yet before the hulking monstrosiry would read full maturity and yet already it's keen mind was working on the problem of securing the planet.

If victory could not be won with quantity the it must be won with quality. Immediately the birthing pools sprang into live. The raw biomass boiling furiously as the Hive Mind, directed by it's cunning progeny began working on it's latest broods. Each organism took longer than normal to perfect but would be at least 50% more combat effective for little to no more expenditure of biomass.

The extra time it took for each brood to gestate posed a new problem however, new threats were approaching the system. If the hive waited too long they would not be able to farm enough biomatter to provide suffcient reinforcements to deal with the enemy.

To this end the Swarmlord sent out broods to the planet surface almost as soon as they were fully grown. Sent to more remote parts of the planet to set down the seeds for Spore Chimneys relatively unopposed.

Through pure strength of will the Swamlord had managed to wrestle some of the genestealers on the surface away from the HiveFleet Mothra who had also recently moved into the area. These genestealers were sent to scout out the choicest regions.

One such brood came across a habitat that was populated by a number of the prey that lived on this rock and they smelled blood. Large amounts of it. The air rich with the reek of extinguished life. A battle had occurred here, a massacre. There were thousands of bodies littered over such a small area. This was perfect! All that biomass to be harvested with no threat to the broods.

The genestealers sent out a telepathic signal to a nearby Tyranid Prime about the feast that was to be had.

Using the Prime as a beacon the Hive Mind called in every brood in the vicinity. After so long without sustenance, it was ready for the Hive to feed!

With an alien screech the swarm moved in to secure to location. As it was approaching the outskirts of the prey's nest the genestealers who had led them sent out a telepathic scream and went silent. A new threat had arrived.

The Hive could ill afford to lose this bounty and so sent every resource it had to hand to assist in claiming its prize. Not that it had much to send.

As the brood swarmed forwards to tackle with the new enemy, 2 spores dropped from the sky and a new brood of genestealers tore across the landscape to the enemies flank, tearing apart some of the enemy who were hiding in a derelict structure.

The spores spewed forth their contents, whips lashing at the marines who had the bad luck to be close when the pods fell. 3 mighty Zoanthropes let rip with the power of there mighty minds, only for 2 of the great blasts to fizzle out before they even touched the enemy. A brood of termagants from the other spore cried out as the devourers they were carrying spat out their payloads and mowed down a squad.

Catching sight of one of the prey who seemed to crackle with the power of the warp, the Prime sent his hormangaunt entourage leaping towards it and it's kin. With little regard for their siblings who were mown down by oncoming fire the gaunts crashed into the enemy line ripping through their number. A handful made it passed the frontline and pounced on the pysker causing a grevious wound before be obiliterated.

Biovores sat at the back of the field pumping out sporemines into the enemies number with little effect as a group of tyranid warriors lumbered passed to join up with the prime.

The enemy charged into the Zoanthropes and brought them low, breaking the much needed connection to the hive mind in the front lines. The Termagants, little noticing that the voice of the hive had gone silent mowed down another group of humans and the genetealers on the other side of the battlefield, not needing a direct line with the mind to operate tore through another group cowering in their path.

By this point however, the majority of the wave had been broken, no longer swamped down in melee the humans rallied and mowed down the termagants and most of the prime's entourage. The librarian and the human leader ripped the heart out of the genestealer charge before moving to the Biovores.

The prime and a few hive guard, unconcerned for their own well being tried their best to keep the enemy back but it was not to be.

The swarm and with it the prize of biomass was lost. The swarmlord's first gambit had failed. But now the larger creatures the hive had began spawning days before were beginning to stir. And soon the Swamlord himself would be active.

The battle was lost but Hive Fleet Haephestus may yet prevail.   

(provided by CunningStunt)

The Ultramarine's Planetfall

Cassius stared at the screens in front of him. Beside him a tech-priest hovered nervously. He could sense a growing sense of frustration building inside the Astartes. The reason was on the screens. Most contained static, a few gave readings, but these were faint. Since arriving in the Varlislia system a week ago, the task force had hovered behind a dust cloud in the outer system. Their repeated scans of the system had been inconclusive and the tech-priest had no answers for Cassius as to why. All he could say was that there were potentially 2 or 3 other battlegroup sized forces currently entering the Varlislia system, but all his evidence could simply be solar flare activity. Even worse, he had no good explanation as to why the sensors were not working well. It was as if unseen forces were acting in the Varlislia system, but nothing his knowledge could explain.

The technical concerns were not what mattered to Cassius. His main concerns were twofold. First, the remainder of the strike force had not arrived on schedule. The 3^rd Company and the Legio Invicta contingent had apparently been delayed in the warp and so had missed the rendezvous. This left Cassius in a difficult position. Due to the lack of data, Rear-Admiral Ague Oleander was not keen to move his fleet towards Varlislia without the support from the 3^rd Company’s ships he had expected. However, Cassius’ second problem was that the data had indicated that there was some sort of conflict already ongoing on Varlislia. It currently seemed to be quite low intensity, and so Cassius wanted to strike as even his diminished force could still make a real difference. This was compounded by not having heard any further from the mysterious Inquisitor, or the alleged Space Wolves reinforcements. Perhaps they had been delayed by the warp storms as well?

It was time to make a decision. His men had idled in these Navy ships for too long. He had not served the Emperor for nearly a thousand years to sit by while one of His worlds was attacked, especially when the foe was allegedly the hated Tyrannids. Cassius strode towards Oleander’s command throne. He had made his decision. Even though he couldn’t command an Imperial Fleet, he would make Oleander do his duty to the Emperor and move his fleet to Varlislia, even if it meant risking his ships. Cassius was sure that  the enemies of the Emperor would either make way or they would feel his wrath.

-------

A bolt of lightning arced in front of the Thunderhawk. As it raced on through the clouds, dark shapes seemed to hover out of view, following them through the blackness. The storm seemed to be tearing Varlislia itself apart, or at least that was how the adepts back in orbit had described it. Such superstition was lost on Cassius. All he had seen was risk to his campaign here. On making orbit, they had received no clear messages from the surface. Without knowing where or when his forces could be best used, Cassius had settled on creating a secured dropsite in preparation for when his reinforcements arrived. The topographical scans had shown promising valley, on the main continent but far enough from any orbital defences or attention. Cassius was not taking any chances. There was meant to be a small settlement there, but no optical scans could penetrate the thick clouds. He would take an initial strike force down in thunderhawks to secure the area before bringing down his heavier equipment. Once it was secure he would bring the Tallarn contingent down to guard the drop site while his forces scouted further to establish contact with whatever loyal Imperial forces were left.

Cassius could tell that there had been some recent Tyrannid presence in orbit, and he was fully aware of the challenges that xenos worshiping cults could have on a weak civilian populous. A small system ship was left ruined in the upper atmosphere, bleeding into the void. The scars on its flanks were clear – it had been attacked by one or two small tyrannid ships. These were no longer in sight, perhaps having fled as the Imperials approached. But Cassius knew the threat; Tyrannid ships rarely travelled alone...

----

The thunderhawk touched down and the first tactical squad was already out, moving into the pre-dawn darkness. With them went Heranclum, their librarian, clunking along in his suit of terminator armour. Cassius heard the second thunderhawk touch down behind them and ahead saw the first outlines of a ruined townscape. Not much more than a village, it looked ruined with neglect. He ordered the devastators and 2^nd squad to move left, to take up positions overlooking an avenue to their flank. The sternguard brought up the rear as the small assault squad triggered their packs and flew off to the right to scout deeper into the settlement.

The still of the dawn was broken by a cry from Heranclum, and a wave of psychic fire bust from his hand into the nearest ruin. A second later, his combat squad opened fire in the same direction and Cassius grimaced as he saw the burning carcasses of genstealers failing over the rocks. The other combat squad was firing into the darkness and a gust of wind cleared the mist to reveal a horde of tyrannids moving to engage his force. Cassius felt an uplifting wind rising through his ancient frame. This is why he had brought them to Varlislia. In that moment he was not concerned with the wider war, he wanted only to purge the heathen xenos with puring flame wherever they stood before him. With a rousing cry, he led his bodyguard of terminators towards the foe....

-----

Heranclum was fighting for his life. Cassius could shout inspiring words all he liked. The truth was that the Ultramarines were being overrun. He stole a glance to his left to see another spore hammer into the ground disgorging yet more tyrannids, their vile weapons felling more Astartes. Another combat squad withdrew from the onslaught, dragging their wounded with them. His attention returned to the present as a hormougant jumped onto his armour. Heranclum tried to throw it aside, but it was too quick and a talon cut through a joint in his arm. The marine to his right shot it with his pistol, but was then overwhelmed himself by three more. Cassius rounded his bodyguard and they charged into the fray, scattering the remaining hormougants before them. Heranclum, breathed in relief and checked the vitals from his arm. The damage was severe, and the day was still far from won. As he watched Cassius charge off to meet the next foe, Heranclum wondered how the old Chaplain always had the strength....

-----

Cassius shot the biovore as it scarpered for cover, its baser instincts taking over now its link with the hive mind was broken. To his left, the second terminator squad were blasting the remaining tyrannids from the ruins. Cassius watched with quiet pride at their skill as a missile took the head clean off the tyrannid prime that seemed to be leading this assault. The xenos were in full retreat, and the field belonged to the Ultramarines. Once the remaining buildings were cleared it would make a good staging ground for their operations here on Varlislia. But as Cassius surveyed the battlefield he realised he would not be leading any more attacks soon without reinforcement. The battle had inflicted heavy loses on his force, with most marines requiring medical treatment. A handful had even been taken to the Emperor’s grace. He needed time to regroup and find out what in Terra was happening on this forsaken world.

The first battle for Varlislia might be over, but the war was just beginning...  

(Provided by DrWeir)