Talaross IV

Scout Sergeant Talon looked across what would be in a very short amount of time a battlefield. Talaross IV was an Imperial world, with a small human population farming the Furca trees, odd foliage-less things that strained insects and microbes out of the air for sustenance and incidentally produced resin with strong antiseptic qualities. A small stand of them stood on the battle field, slowly turning brown and dying as they attempted to contend with microbes against which they had no defence.

Above the Tyranid vessels, which had drawn the White Swords to the world, continued spewing their spores and creatures into the atmosphere. Soon however those vessels would be engaged in their own life or death struggle as the Strike Cruisers of the White Swords attacked.

Talaross IV was more than just an imperial world however, and Talon looked across to where Captain Jorus was speaking with the representatives of the other force with a vested interest in the planet not falling to the Tyranids. Two squads of the Eldar warriors stood at an easy parade rest while the Captain conversed with another Eldar wearing ornate armour and almost as tall as the Captain. The Eldar always made Talon nervous, the Legion had in the past worked with them in deference to the debt they owed, but almost as regularly they had ended up fighting the fickle Xeno's. This time however the White Swords aim and the Eldar aim seemed to coincide, if Talaross IV was found to be a world rich in biomass the Tyranid Scout force in orbit would no doubt call in larger devourer forces. Eventually they would threaten a craftworld which was somewhere in the vicinity. As such this Eldar commander which Talon had heard called Asurmen had brought two of his units of Blue armour clad warriors. Talon doubted that the actual reason for the cooperation was what the Eldar had claimed it was, but this battle had been chosen to try and defend one of the settlements from an oncoming Clade of Tyranid beasts. If Xeno's wished to sacrifice themselves for Human lives Talon for one was not going to stop them.

Suddenly the relative quiet was broken by the roar of the bikes Jorus had dispatched to check on the progress of the Clade returning. Seeing the captain in conference with the Eldar the Scout in charge of the squad went straight to Talon instead.

               

 "They are right behind us Sir", the sergeants voice was muffled by the breathing mask he wore, "We sowed some mines in their route of march but I don't think it will slow them."

"How many did you see?" Talon asked

"In truth Sir we saw very little, there is some kind of spore cloud advancing with them. However there are some very large creatures in the Clade."

"Very well sergeant fall in behind the Eldar line, we may need you to flank the enemy." Talon turned and began giving orders to the Scout squads under his command.

The Captain and the Eldar had obviously also seen the return of the Bikes, and realised what it meant. As the first Squad of scouts flew over them in one of their Storm speeders, the Eldar deployed into a perfect line of blue armoured figures, together they readied their strange Xeno weapons. The one known as Asurmen spoke to the Xenos and they responded by clashing their gauntlets against their chest plates and then dropping into firing stance. In the distance the sounds of the oncoming horde could now be heard as Talon doubled over to join his squad of snipers, as Jorus also joined them. The Captain unlimbered his Power Sword and turned to the Scouts.

               

"I expect you all to make me proud today; do not allow the Legions honour to falter in the view of the Xenos." Jorus voice echoed through the Vox channels as well, and Talon was pleased to hear the steady voices of the Scouts he had trained replying.

Suddenly the area began to darken as the amount of spores in the air increased until a light mist covered most of the battlefield. The Scout Skimmer gunned its engines and the Scouts within deftly dropped from it into cover in front of the Eldar line as the skimmer turned and moved out of the line of fire. They deployed into the cover of a wall, and had just completed the manoeuvre when the mist ahead erupted in the hunting shrieks of Tyranid attack forms. The enemy had arrived, and the marines prepared their weapons.

Talon stared into the strange greenish mist seeing the forms of the smaller Tyranid creatures known as Gaunts rampaging towards their defence line, the creatures seemed to have been whipped into frenzy by the scent of defenders. Although numerous the Gaunts did not pose much of a threat to the force, so Talon instead switched to searching for the larger beasts that would be controlling their smaller brethren. These beasts would make perfect targets for his snipers, but it seemed that they had hidden themselves in the depths of the murky cloud.

Then with a horrific ear piercing scream, a huge splash of green glowing bio-plasma erupted from the clouds far above them to the right and landed square in the forward most Scout squad, it was joined less than a second later by another blast from the left of the line. The Scouts cover and armour counted for nothing against the voracious flames of the Tyranid bio weapons. The screams of the dying scouts echoed across the battlefield. Talon scanned the mists trying to see what had fired the plasma, looking at the region where the bio-plasma had erupted from. Staring deep into the mists, he spotted first a large sinuous body, and then the huge armoured carapace of a Trygon. The creature was larger even than a rhino tank, and reared up to let loose a titanic roar.

Talon signalled the rest of his squad and Aspirant Yultas hefted his Missile launcher to his shoulder, but with a burst of speed the massive creature surged forward towards the centre of the defensive line, moving behind the cover of a low hill and spoiling the aim of Talon's Scouts. On the other side of the battlefield the Bikers were also reporting the presence of another Trygon on that flank of the enemy force, as Talon led his troops towards a better firing position, pausing only to pick off several blade armed Gaunts that were trailing in the wake the larger creature.

In the centre of the defensive line the Avengers raised their weapons as the horde of creatures swarmed towards them. With a gesture of his sword the Eldar known as Asurmen instructed them to open fire. The air was filled with a high pitched keening whine, as thousands of razor sharp shuriken erupted from the weapons of the Aspect warriors. The front ranks of the oncoming horde were ripped asunder by the blades. As the Trygon rounded the edge of the hill it moved into the line of fire of the Avengers, and shrieked in pain as the shuriken ripped deep into its flesh. The Land speeder also added its fire to the storm, but the Trygon rolled its shoulders interposing its heavily armoured carapace and saving itself from the high calibre shells of the weapon.

The Storm of fire was joined by the rising roar of another Heavy bolter, as one of the scouts from the squad that had been struck by the bio-plasma managed to man handle the weapon into position however the shots went wide. In front of him however a group of the smaller creatures raised their strange weapons and opened fire on the Scout bikers. Two of the Scouts were dragged down by the stream of flesh-boring grubs, before the other two found themselves engaged in a swirling melee as scythe armed Gaunts exploded from the mist ahead of them. The sergeant managed to catch one as it leapt and smashed it's skull against the handlebars of his bike before driving his combat blade into the eyes of another before they dragged him and the other biker from the saddle.

In the centre of the defender line the mist thickened and then disgorged a horde of blade armed creatures led by a larger creature wielding two huge swords made of bone, and a strange tentacle bearing creature that seemed to be the source of the microbe smog. The incoming creatures smashed into the Avengers with an audible crash, which was soon echoed by the sound of the wounded Trygon charging against the right of the line. The ravening creature tore three of the Aspect warriors in two as Asurmen attempted to land a telling blow with his sword. The Exarch of the other group of warriors, dived acrobatically through the combat and impaled the sword armed creature with his spear, with a twist he wrenched a huge hole in its chest. The Exarch turned to aid another of his troops who was beleaguered by several Gaunts, but then gave forth a choking sound as the dying Warrior creature managed to force one of its weapons through his chest with one last spasmodic thrust. The other avengers fell under a wave of clawed Gaunts, but not before taking a heavy toll. The strange smog spewing creature managed to grasp two of the Eldar warriors in it's lashing tentacles, throttling the life from them before dropping them and heading towards the combat between Asurmen's Avengers and the Trygon facing them, however it made only a few slithering meters before exploding, one of the Avengers having planted a plasma grenade in one of it's spore vents. Immediately the smoggy cloud began to part.

Captain Jorus roared a challenge and charge forward to aid Asurmen and the rapidly thinning ranks of the Avengers against the huge creature they contended with. His power sword rose and fell slicing the end of the creatures tail clean off, but not seemingly harming it in any way as it shredded another Avenger and shoved a second stoic warrior still living into it's maw.

Talon could see the battle was slowly falling into chaos, but in the thinning smog he spotted a group of Gaunts attempting to flank the combat around the Trygon. He unlimbered his bolt pistol and with a shout led the scouts in a charge. The Gaunts wheeled to face the oncoming space marines and the first rank were scythed down by the Explosive shells, and the second rank was caught unawares by the scouts charge, but they were quick to recover. Two leapt for Aspirant Yultas and dragged him down, one tearing through his armour while the other struggled to latch it's fangs in his throat. Before they could finish him however he clubbed one to death with the barrel of his missile launcher, and then fired it into the other ones face. The Krak missile loaded to take on the Trygon earlier detonated scattering the brains of the creature and body all over the combat, Yultas forced himself up and back into the Fray his armour badly burned from the rockets exhaust. Aspirant Gelck was dragged down and eviscerated by one of the creatures by Talon avenged him with a careful shot with his pistol. Suddenly the enemy where gone cut down by the Scout squad. Talon moved to head off another brood of the creatures heading towards the fight with the Trygon.

Elsewhere on the battlefield the Land speeder and the one remaining Scout from the first squad combined their fire on the massive form of the other Trygon. Caught in a crossfire it could not defend against both and the Scouts heavy bolter found it's soft underbelly causing it to let loose an ear piercing shriek of pain. The Gaunts around it raised their weapons, and let loose at the Space marines skimmer, finding the pilots with the flesh boring grubs and causing it to crash to the ground as it turned for another strafing run. Sighting up once more the Scout with the heavy bolter heard a skittering sound behind him and saw tens of the Claw armed Gaunts passing by his firing position seemingly ignoring him, he fired into the mass but they trampled the wounded and continued on.

Another titanic roar split the air as Asurmen's final Avenger was able to cleave into the face of the Trygon as it devoured him, robbing it of one of it's eyes and causing it to write in pain. The Ground around it was covered in the scattered bodies of the Aspect warriors, and of the Gaunts that Talon's squad had killed. The enraged creature turned to face the last remaining Eldar and rushed down upon Asurmen, who at the last moment dodged to the side and sliced into the thick carapace of the things shoulder. Before he could withdraw his sword however it turned dragging the Sword from his hand before striking him with two of it's mighty claws. The Phoenix lord sailed through the air before crashing to the Ground. The Trygon slithered forward, it's chest working as it produced the bio-plasma it required to wipe it's unconscious enemy from the world. It opened it's foul maw, and then... screamed, as Captain Jorus ran the length of it's body and drove his power-sword through the top of it's head. The Trygon began to thrash as he used the blade to swing himself out and away from it's death throes, landing with a Clash of power armour next to Talon and his squad.

Far across the battlefield the Lone scouts heavy bolter was still firing into the horde which now approached Talons squad and the badly bloodied Captain. Talon spotted several points on his commanders armour that had either been crushed in, or pierced by the claws of the Titanic beast, However Jorus did not hesitate to hurl himself into the oncoming horde. As Talon led his men forward, well aware that he was almost certainly going to die, the captain decapitated the first three Gaunts and then kicked a fourth so hard it spun end over end before landing it's neck at an unnatural angle amongst it's brood brothers. Any normal foe would have felt fear at this display of martial prowess but the Gaunts merely rushed forward and through weight of numbers dragged the captain down.

Talons squad fared little better, Yultas was bowled from his feet by a charging Gaunt and a second tore his head off as it passed. Aspirants Ellith and Tran had dropped their finely made sniper rifles to engage with combat knives and pistols, but as they fought back to back a gaunt manage to sheer off Ellith's arm at the elbow opening a fatal hole in their defences.

Eventually only Talon remained although far off the Heavy bolter still fired. He backed against an out cropping of rock, shooting into the horde with his pistol and carving deeply into any that came too close with his combat knife. The horde pulled back slightly, and Talon saw the bulk of the second Trygon approaching.

Then the sky went dark. From above a roaring shrieking sound made itself heard, and Talon smiled to himself knowing exactly what that sound meant. The Tyranid creatures all turned their heads to peer upwards as one, an eerie sight that made them seem like automatons. Then amid a blaze of fire and a roar of engines, a drop pod crashed to the ground far to the left, followed by six more, one of which landed squarely on the Trygon crushing and burning the creature. The giant beast made an attempt to drag its badly wounded body clear of the pod but before it could the walls of the drop pod opened like a flower and a dreadnought strode from it. Pausing only to tear the Trygon's head off it marched forward and began to slaughter the Gaunts before it. All over the battlefield Assault cannons began to roar as each pod opened to allow its deadly cargo to stride free. Talon could see each and every pod had carried one of the Legions ancient Dreadnoughts into battle and with the death of the Trygon the smaller beasts were bereft of leadership. Some hurled themselves at the dreadnoughts while others fled the field entirely.

Above them the Strike Cruiser Vidar's Wrath pummelled the smaller Tyranid ships. Although it had been costly the Imperium would win here today. Talon moved to where the Captain had fallen, and bowed his head as he saw the warrior would not rise again, lying amid the broken bodies of the Eldar, and the Gaunts. Finally he turned to see if the Eldar leader had survived but of the Phoenix lord nothing could be seen.

Mission Successful.

Survivors

Scout Sergeant Talon

Aspirant Malick

Eldar known as Asurmen

Thought for the day: Sacrifice in the Emperors name is no Sacrifice.