There was a settlement up ahead. On the view screen, the grey slabs that represented low-grade Imperial manufactora were clearly distinguishable amongst the small groups of trees. Cassius looked at the adjacent screen on the wall of the Land Raider to a reconstruction of the best map they had for the area. Alarc Minorius was the name of this settlement. On the outskirts of a larger population centre, this and its larger twin had been responsible for producing many of the basic products consumed in the hives and by the tourists who visited the more beautiful parts of Varlislia. If the other settlements they had driven through were a guide, however, it would now be deserted. With the Tyrannid invasion in full swing, and rumours of insurrection, traitor astartes or worse, the population of Varlialia seemed to either be fleeing to the defences of the larger cities and hives, or dispersing up into the deserted mountains.
Cassius didn’t really care about the locals, once on campaign, the intense fire that had drawn him to the chaplincary in his youth returned to his aged frame. But he was no son of Fenris, driven berserk by this rage against the enemies of the Emperor, he was still an Ultramarine, and was surrounded by Ultramarines. He could lean on them to remind him that for an Ultramarine, simple destruction of their enemies was unworthy of the Astartes. They were much more than that, and should seek to always follow in their Primarch’s footsteps. That meant building up the Imperium to be as strong once again as it was in the Great Crusade. That meant having to care about protecting the civilians and infrastructure of Imperial worlds so they could more quickly return to being valuable components of the Emperor’s Design.
Still, Cassius rankled for the intensity of combat. Since arriving on Varlislia, his force had only fought in one serious encounter. The fight to secure a decent landing ground had been hard won. The Ultramarines had worked hard to restore their injured brothers to health, and to fortify their position. Their reinforcements were still delayed. The 3rd company and its Titan support could still be weeks from Varlislia. Therefore, Cassius had acted. Leaving the Tallarns to guard the dropsite in preparation for landing the Titans and supplies they would need to complete this campaign, his force had driven out in strength as an armoured strike force to push back the growing waves of Tyrannids infesting the planet.
Scout reports from the Navy frigates patrolling the sector indicated that two separate hive fleets were attacking Varlislia. The one Cassius had already encountered seemed to be the weaker, its main fleet were probably lurking near some of the asteroid fields, avoiding combat and seeding the planet with scouting vessels. However, the second hive appeared in no way weakened. It had already deployed several sizable hordes to the planet, and was likely responsible for putting that Inquisitor in a med bay. The thought brought a rare smile to Cassius’ wizened face.
It was these xenos that Cassius was hunting. Orbital scans indicated that the Tyrannids were fanning out and were likely to be in this area, seeking to extend their dominance on Varlislia. Before any of the major attacks on the hives began in earnest, control of the outlying areas would be important in deciding the balance of the campaign. The Tyrannids would need all the biomass they could get in order to produce the endless stream of attack organisms that would be required to overwhelm the major defences.
Watching his forces encroach on the outskirts of the settlement, Cassius ordered the Land Speeder forwards to scout the way. A predator and vindicator rolled up on the left, followed by some tactical squads who were protecting the flanks of the column. Ahead of his Land Raider, attack bikes moved forwards while a dreadnought walked alongside. To the right, another tactical squad advanced, with a combat squad getting out ready to scout a nearby building as the rhino moved up.
As the ‘Speeder neared a copse on the edge of Alarc Minorius, Cassius began to get dishearted. Would this be another day without contacting the enemy?
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Lorium peered over the trees from his cockpit. A tumbleweed moved through the centre of the settlement, next to a large logic core. He banked to the right towards a large garage for excavation vehicles. He was sure he could see shapes moving in the woods beyond, but there was nothing confirmed on the scanner. Dogurim, his gunner, sensed his frustration, “Probably just the wind, we’ve been out for too long, i’m sure the tech-priest needs to check my helmet again”. But, Lorium wasn’t listening. He was looking across the settlement to the left side where he saw trees being thrown into the air. The ‘Speeder jerked back towards the approaching column, just as Dogurim could see what had caught the pilot’s eye. A giant Tyrannid creature, surrounded by a horde of smaller organisms came crashing through the woods toward the settlement.
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The inside of the Land Raider was full of movement. The Terminators were lumbering their weapons while Cassius looked at the pict feed from the ‘Speeder. Three waves of Tyrannids were approaching Alarc Minorius. Their markings probably meant they were from the hive he had been looking for. He ordered his tanks forward, and into battle.
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Lorium jinked the ‘Speeder to dodge the Tyrannid fire, using its speed to avoid their unnervingly accurate shots. It was unclear how the battle was going. Around the Land Raider, the Ultramarines were pouring disciplined fire into the giant worm-like creatures slithering towards them. It didn’t seem to matter how much they fired, those beasts just came on and on towards them. To their left, the Ultramarine tanks were shooting into the swarm of termegants coming out of the woods. His concentration was broken by a deafening roar and a wave of flame lashed against the ‘Speeder. Below, where the Vindicator had been was just a scared crater, the enemy having finally found their mark and detonated the ammo. In the same instant, the ‘Speeder was hit by a rain of asidic larve from the right. As Dogurim used his knife to clear them from his flamer and the cockpit, they burrowed into the engines and grav plates. There was nothing they could do. The ‘Speeder glided to the ground, its propulsion gone. Lorium grabbed his pistol. The xenos coming towards them looked alot larger from the ground....
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Cassius too had seen the explosion on his screens. It was time to strike. He had watched the swarms move forwards and link up near the centre of the settlement. If they waited any longer the whole place would be overrun. The squad monitors showed injury lights on another combat squad as the supporting troops struggled to bring down the tyrgons assaulting the front of the column. But the other tactical squads had moved up from the flanks, and the tactical terminators had lumbered into position on the left. With a single thought, Cassius executed his command signal to the whole force and put his plan in motion. Like an unstoppable wall, the Land Raider began its advance.
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With tremendous waves of energy from their hammers, the terminators despatched the still writhing remains of the Trygon. Cassius used his boot to clear the corpse of a termagant from his crozius and then checked his internal comms feed to assess the battle. It seemed like his plan was working. The Tyrannid swarm had been cut in two by his strike to capture the central logic core of Alarc Minorius. On the right flank by the garage, survivors of a combat squad were firing from the hatch of their rhino into the swarm of Tryannids that surrounded them, when giant spiked barbs glanced off the slides, forcing them to dive inside to take cover. To the left, the swarm around the hab block was weakening and the Ultramarine tanks were advancing well. Just one threat remained. One of the leader organisms was leading his bodyguard in pursuit of a combat squad. Cassius hefted his crozius and called to his bodyguard to give chase.
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With their backs to the wall of the hab, and covered in the slime of the tyrannid guns, Cassius and his surviving squad were trying to hold back the warriors from the combat squad who were busy despatching the remaining termegants. Cassius had to leap backwards to avoid another thrust from the Prime. This creature was just too quick. As Cassius parried another swipe from another limb, he saw, in sickening slowness, one of the creature’s swords carve into Ephestus’ breastplate. The junior librarian sank to his knees and collapsed into the mud, as his life indicator blinked out on Cassius display. But before Cassius could avenge Ephestus, the Prime swung around, the force of the blow knocked the crozius out of his hand and the return slice of the blade forced through the rosarius, overloading it and cut deep into Cassius’ hip. He sank to the floor as the Prime reared up over him, preparing to finish its kill. Cassius always knew his end would come in the service of the Emperor and he was glad that it would be against the Tyrannids, the Ultramarines’ most hated foe. The Prime swung his blade down, and Cassius whispered a prayer to the Emperor.
The blade sliced down, but as it neared Cassius it seemed to slow, as if something was impeding its progress. A look of confusion crossed the creatures face as its blade struggled against the force field. With a mighty roar, the last terminator of Cassius’ bodyguard still standing, threw his sizable mass in between the Prime and Cassius, the energy from its storm shield protecting both from the frenzied attacks from the Prime, enraged that it had been denied its final prize. The terminator swung his hammer, reducing one of the Prime’s limbs to a fine mist of ichor. The blow forced the Prime backwards, and seemed to give it time to evaluate its situation. It prepared to charge again when a shriek pierced the air. With his vision fading, Cassius saw the dreadnought rip the head clean off the other Tyrannid Prime. The remaining Prime seemed to recalculate its charge, and without a sound, the remaining Tyrannids headed out of Alarc Minorius to the cover of the trees. Content that the battle had been won, Cassius put his body into a restorative coma. You could never be too careful with injuries at his age....
(provided by Dr Weir)
(provided by Dr Weir)
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