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)