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. 

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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...