Heroes of the Imperium-Game thread

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

[HEADING=1]Heroes of the Imperium[/HEADING]​

In the future, there is only war...

The brown and beaten planet of Vrexas IV lay before the Tyranid Hive fleet. Spores eject from the massive Hive ships at every moment to send reinforcements to the Tyranid forces below. These massive bio-ships are living beings that hosted the worst that the Xeno could offer but something was holding it back.

Then they sensed it. The fleet turned starboard just in time to receive a volley from the liberation fleet. These were husks of metal and teeming with life as well. The smaller cruisers and frigates of either side went forward to face each other in a deadly duel while the larger ships attacked at the opposing fleet from afar.

Devourer Cruisers rushed the smaller frigates and began to latch on to them, shredding their hull with huge claws. Torpedoes went out into space and met the rushing cruisers head-on resulting in devastating explosions. Fighter craft swarmed out of the fleets and met in dog fights all over the battlefield.

The volleys of the Imperial ships began to tear into the Tyranid battle lines and one after another, the Hive ships were destroyed. Their numbers did some damage to the Imperial fleet but the fleet surged forward with as victors in the close fight. Now the real battle was about to begin.

General Aero grinned when he heard the news.

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Spoiler: Gharex and approach

Dark grey is the taller inner walls, inner walls are armed with the heavier/artillery guns along with anti-aircraft cannons
Light grey is the thicker outer walls, outer walls armed with bolters, auto-cannons, rockets, etc.
White is the rest of the city
Towers are the command/overlook towers
Imperial reinforcements will come from the eastern and western approach. Moderate to heavy resistance to be expected
Defenders will start defending a Tyranid large attack from southeast and southwest approaches

Despite the different number of regiments in the fleet, the orders were clear. The first wave of soldiers would be deployed to landing sites closest to the city. Then they are to push towards the city to save it from the Tyranids. The plan of attack was simple:

LZ Alpha is assigned to the mechanized and armored companies due to its larger landing zone and ample space for tanks. They would approach the city from its western pass. The pass is relatively wide and open allowing for a number of vehicles to roll over any resistance.

LZ Bravo is assigned to the infantry and light regiments. LZ Bravo has a tighter landing zone but it hosts plenty of rocky cover for the infantry to use. The infantry would press towards the eastern approach to the city with Sentinel support. The Sentinel's long legs would help in traversing the narrow passes.

The orders were sent out and plans were confirmed as the Imperial ships circled Vrexas IV and began to hammer the planet surface. The Imperial fleet's biggest guns were centered on the planet's Xeno. Aircraft began to fly out of the ships once more but this time there were landing craft and bombers that flew into the fray. Despite the shelling, the skies were choked with flying Tyranids ranging from Hive Crones to gargoyles. Squadrons of Thunderbolts engaged the airborne threats but not without taking casualties themselves. Hive Crones wrestled entire fighters out of the sky while smaller Tyranids flew directly into the engines of some aircraft, clogging them entirely. Bomber wings broke off and carpet-bombed swarms of Tyrannids at the landing sites. They had to act fast to save Gharex from another swarm attack and time was of the essence.

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Colonel Elia, Gharex

He watched the space battle from above. The Imperium triumphed once more but it was a close battle. Several frigates had been lost in the fight and that was just what he could see from below. Everywhere he went, he heard the cheers and jubilation of the defenders as they watched the Hive fleet being scattered in space but the battle wasn't done yet.

"The bombardments have begun..." Elia muttered to himself. The wind whipped at him as he stood on the ramparts of the inner wall. It was taller than the outer wall and it provide a good vantage point on everything around him. A swarm was gathering in the distance and heading straight for them. This was a large swarm this time but they had reinforcements coming in from the eastern and western approaches.

"Jarn!" Elia called. A guardsman approached Elia with a vox-caster on him. Jarn gave him the speaker.

"This is Colonel Elia." He said loudly into the vox-caster. All squad and platoon leaders are to distribute the remaining ammunition to the men. Everyone will fight today. This world belongs to the Imperium and yourselves. We've fought long and hard for this planet. We shed our blood for this planet and the Xeno can't take that away from you. Today is a different day, though. The Emperor has blessed us with reinforcements to help rid the Xeno from this planet. We must do them proud and we must do the Emperor proud! If not for the Emperor then at least your families. Elia, out."

He finished but as soon as he stepped down, Harpies swooped in from the north. The anti-aircraft guns riddled the flying Tyranids. Then he spotted the familiar shape of Imperial aircraft strafe the oncoming swarm and he was never so relieved to see Imperial aircraft in his life.

"Fire at will!" Elia called out as the swarm came barreling towards them.

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LZ Alpha

The landing ships came down hard. The roar of the engines spilled out of the landing craft as Lemon Russ Tanks and Chimeras rushed out into battle. The smaller Tyranids were no match for the hulking pieces of the Imperium's machinery. The wide open plain was littered with charred Tyranids and was full of craters from the orbital bombardment. The pass to the city was up ahead but between the armor and the city were a sea of Tyranids. The bombardment had scattered them but they were forming up, realizing this new threat had emerged.

"All vehicles advance!" Their vox-casters commanded. The tanks advanced, firing and mowing down anything that came in its way but not far from the landing site did a monstrosity emerge from the ground. Several Trygons emerged from the earth with more Tyranids clawing out of the holes it made. They began to attack the tanks and a few were even turned over from their underground attack.

Fryersworth's tank was caught in the middle of the Trygon ambush. The ones in the rear were being dispatched by the rear guard but in front of her Lemon Russ conqueror was an injured Trygon coming straight at her tank. Even though it had lost two claws, it was still 10 tonnes of hardened flesh charging straight for her.

Gaunts swarmed out of the holes trying to overwhelm the reinforcements but several rallying calls were heard, boosting the troops' morale. Any infantry advanced behind the vehicles, keeping them clear of Tyranids trying to board them. The Commissars helped the troops stay together through and through.

"Stay together!" The vox yelled once more. "Steady advance!"

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LZ Bravo

The 501st was the first to touch the ground. The landing site was still hot from the fire that was rained down from above but as they secured it, Tyranid Lictors were quick to meet them. Their claws struck as lightning fast but they were no match for the Sentinels that came with them but behind the Lictors the foot troop of the swarm. Tyranid warriors flooded the narrow passes that the infantry was supposed to go through.

A few Elysians used their jump-pack to circumvent the passes altogether but they were torn apart by Shrikes who held the high ground. Their bloody remains were scattered on the ground as Imperial troops fought in close quarter conditions to get to the city.

Steiner's Sentinel walked alongside Imperial troops. The passes were narrow but not enough for a Sentinel to walk through. She had done a good job mowing down warriors but in front of her and her troopers was a Pyrovore. The Pyrovore feasted on a guardsman but it turned and fired its canon. The blast didn't take her out but the guardsmen in front of her weren't so lucky. Their screams echoed in the pass as the Pyrovore charged for another shot.

The other Sentinels fared differently in the other passes. Some were taken down while some paved the way for the guardsmen. The fighting was close, viscous and in some cases hand-to-claw. Still, any guardsmen that made it through the passes saw the city loom in the distance. A city that needed to be saved.

Spoiler: OOC

All of you will get hero moments soon enough. There's plenty of Tyranids to kill and many ways to kill them so don't be afraid to get creative. Please keep any OOC chat to a minimum and if you have a problem please PM as soon as possible.
Here [ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/540.849216-Heroes-of-the-Imperium-A-Warhammer-40K-RP-Interest-Recruitment-thread] is the link to the original thread as requested.

 

[mcpop9]

Olivia saw the Trygon and quicklly formulated a plan in her head to deal with this beast. "JEFFRY! I NEED AP, INFERNUS, HIGH EXPLOSIVE PACKAGES!" she shouted over internal vox, getting a "YES MAM!" in responce as the ap round slid into the chamber. "JESS, AIM FOR ITS CHEST!" the commander shouted and the battle cannon took a second to aim before the shot rang out and tore open the armor in the thing's chest.

"AGAIN, CHEST!" she shouted as the infernus shell was loaded into breech and the tank's turret rang out with a a glorious boom. The round traveled down the barrel and impacted the already open wound, setting it and the beast's insides ablaze with fire.

"LOAD ROUND AND HOLD FIRE!" Olivia ordered once more before turning her attention to the driver. "WHEN THIS SON OF A ***** GETS CLOSE! GUN IT AND RAM HIM! I WANT HIM TO BE SUCKING ON OUR BARREL!" she shouted. "RODGER DODGER!" she got her response and smiled from inside the cupola of the tank.

The beast closed in on them and as ordered, the thing got close enough and the tank sped up, gun aiming high, slamming into the creature as it delivered a fury of blows against the tank. The speed up had caught the trygon off guard and the barrel of the tank rested nicely in the things mouth as it screeched. "FIRE!" she shouted and the tank fired, depositing a high explosive directly down the throat of the creature, exploding inside it and making the head pop and th creature fall over.

Backing up slightly, the tank used its dozer blade and pushed the creature to the side while using the sponson flamers and coaxial bolter to great effect. Then the russ resumed its march of death.

 

[Sigma Castell]

With a whirr of servos and a wet crunch, Pavel wrenched his axe free from the skull of a warrior. In one fluid motion, he turned and swung it in a brutal uppercut that sheared another cleaved a deep gash through the chest of another, shredded organs falling to the ground and broken arteries spattering him with black ichor. Across his vision, targeting matrices flashed and spun, tracking the silhouettes of Crones and Harpies far above and feeding long lists of coordinates back to flack tanks and fighter squadrons. Telemetry systems highlighted something lumbering out from behind a rocky outcropping, and behind him there was a high-pitched whine, then a crack rent the air. Red-orange beams lanced out from his servitors, the barrel of their lascannon glowing almost white. The creature shrieked in pain and staggered sideways, shaking its tusked head as if warding off flies. The Tyrannofex heaved its bulk around to face this new foe, roaring and screeching as it attempted to bring its symbiote weapon to bear. Another crack, and its head exploded, steaming brain matter and skull fragments scything into the swarms of hormugants that surrounded it.
Murmering prayers to the Omnissiah in Binary Cant, Pavel fired his rad-projector into the face of chittering xeno that attempted to impale him with its talons, the radioactive beams rapidly stripping skin and flesh away in a flurry of blue-green light. The parts that escaped the scouring rays rapidly turned a sickly, infected shade as the free radicals loose in the creatures system did their deadly work. The beast collapsed to the ground, twitching and leaking blood from its eyes as it died. The carapace on its chest began to dissolve and give way as its stomach-lining succumbed to radiation poisoning and the acids began to eat their way through the tyranids lower body. Turning away from the rapidly-liquifying corpse, Pavel began to run in long, bounding strides, rad-beams lancing out from his projector array. An ancient weapon had been wounded, his noosphere informed him, and he must not let it die.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Spoiler: OOC request

Can you include a link to the other thread in the OP? It'd be nice to be able to reference the other sheets, the info you posted and the map without keeping two threads in my bookmarks.

LZ Bravo

Andrea had shuddered as her Sentinel landed on the surface, taking a few seconds to scout the terrain and assess the situation. She stayed behind the other Sentinels, near the rear of the infantry. Once there was a brief moment of respite, she let a rocket fly from her pod, scattering the Tyranids in front of the group. "Come on, guys! We need to get to the city!" She couldn't let her rockets fly wily-nily, or she might cause rocks to fall and bury her companions or make the terrain impassible. She took a moment to aim again and fired a rocket at another cluster, spreading them further.

She decided against firing again, and would try to conserve her ammo until they got to the city. The city was visible, but it seemed like it was millions of miles away when all those damn bugs were in front of them."Why couldn't it have been orks?" she growled to herself.

________________

Just a little bit closer. Atticus had finally managed to make his way to the outer walls. He had the chance he was looking for, getting right at the heart of the action, and not just firing up at straggling Gargoyles. Tyranids would die by the dozen soon. It was time to make his family proud. The Emperor would guide him to glory. Just a little bit closer.

Today is a different day, though. The Emperor has blessed us with reinforcements to help rid the Xeno from this planet. We must do them proud and we must do the Emperor proud! If not for the Emperor then at least your families. Elia, out."

"You're DAMN RIGHT!" He shouted, picking up his heavy stubber, looking for a good location. As he did so, he noticed something appearing behind one of the turrets. "HEY, LOOK OUT!" Unfortunately, his warning didn't come soon enough, and the guardsman on the turret was impaled, with the splatter of blood revealing the claw of a Lictor. Atticus screamed out and fired upon the Tyranid, missing it a few times before he finally hit it and got its attention. It turned towards Atticus, getting ready to leap towards him before the other guardsman at the autocannon shot it in the shoulder with his lasgun. The Lictor turned and dug its feeder tentacles into the guardsman's skull, killing him instantly before dashing towards Atticus. He hadn't stopped firing, landing a dozen more shots in the Xeno's chest, taking steps back as it got closer. It leapt in the air to pounce on him, lifting up its scythe-like claws, but was dead by the time it started descending. It's corpse landed with a 'thud' at his feet. The event was still processing, but all he could see at this point was an empty turret. He cried out as he started shooting. "COME GET SOME! FOR THE EMPORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Kara reeled back, her Sentinel stumbling with her movement as she watched her comrades burn.

"Warpspawned bastard!" She swung her Sentinel around and triggered a apray of bolter fiee that chewed a hole in the Pyrovore's chest. The beast reeled, but stayed on its feet. She twisted around as the Pyrovore spat again, the fiery spray grazing the side of her Sentinel. "Emperor's balls!" She squeezed the trigger again, the spray punching through the weakened part on the Pyrovore, the beast exploding as volatile chemicals inside it mixed more than they were intended to. The blast widened the gap, enough that she could squeeze through.

She sagged in her chair, wiping sweat off her face. "Nid down. Moving up."

 

[Bravo 21]

LZ Alpha

Matthew Locke looked up and down the line of Cadian Whiteshields. Younger than him, they were little more than children, and this was to be their first taste of battle. Still, he reminded himself, they were Cadians, born and raised for the Emperor's wars. "Steady advance." Within moments, the mass of Tyranids directed itself towards the Guard's advance. Locke took up position alongside one of the Whiteshield team leaders. "Let's show 'em the might of the Imperium, shall we?" Locke inquired with a what he hoped was a casual and confident grin. The roar of the the tanks heavy guns drowned out the lad's words, but the sentiment was clear enough.

Within moments the first of the tyranids had reached the tanks. Skittering hormagaunts, too small to be a target of most of the heavy weapons, it was the responsibility of Locke and the men and women on foot to keep them off the tanks. Locke hacked at each gaunt that reached the him, but it seemed that there was an endless tide of the chittering monstrosities. Somewhere he heard what sounded like a tank exploding, but the advance continued.

"Onwards, for Cadia and the Emperor!" Locke extolled the troopers to keep up the advance, and motivated either by his words or the sight of the bolt pistol in his hand, they surged up alongside him, and they fell upon the gaunts like a wave, shooting, stabbing, and hacking. Somewhere he could here someone shouting "Cadia! Cadia!" and soon enough they all took up the call as they desperately fought with the tyranids.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Gharex, Outer Wall

"AMMO! GIVE ME SOME DAMNED AMMO!" Samuel shouted as he knew the Heavy Bolter he had mounted had begun to run low on ammo. While they had rarely touched the ammo from before on the bolters as there had never been this many Nids charging the walls, it was now no longer any concern about where the rounds were coming from. Only that they were flying away from the wall and into the xeno scums. Samuel tried to look over the amount of creatures that were now charging towards them, leaping over one another and screaming whatever unholy noises that came from their throats.

Samuel did not relent from the rounds as they continued to fly from the gun into the mass of tyranids, not concerned about what he hit as long as it hit something out there. Which at this point he could do blindfolded with an arm tied behind his back. However, it was when a few of the more clever creatures tried to burrow up that he realized that once the ammo ran out in this gun, it was time to go with his rifle and be ready for the smaller bastards leaping up from underground...or trying to get past the thick walls. Unlikely, but he'd seen the things jump further than he could with his pack, which was impressive enough.

Would there be this many if there were not reinforcements? Or would we just have died here? I'm not even sure we are packing enough ammo to gun down all the things at this point! We're going to need to knife the things and our knives will dull before we kill them all.

"DIE XENO!" Samuel continued shouting, finally hearing the last couple of rounds go through and then just a few empty chunks began going off when the gun stopped firing. With that done for now, and not willing to wait for another box of ammunition to get delivered, he jumped out of gun and took out his lasrifle. If anything else tried to pop up in here, it was going to get a face full of lasgun. Best not to waste the ammo at this point.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Thelius Canton, Gharex Outer Wall

"Reinforcements inbound, distribute remaining ammunition." That was the message passed down the lines to Thelius by runner. After the platoon vox was hit by what looked like a beetle, the operator panicked and shot it. The loss of the vox necessitated a runner until a replacement unit could be found.

They of course caught him during the few instances his unit was allowed to rest, so after a few minutes of walking he started ripping the piece of flakboard he used to reinforce the door to the room he was stashing ammo in from the wall it was nailed to. After a moment it tore loose and he kicked the door in. He yelled at the men gathered nearby to grab what they needed and pass the message along that the rationing was over.

After grabbing what he needed he ran to his post and opened fire upon the oncoming swarm with his rifle, opting to simply hit them instead of taking the time to find something vital. His unit taking their positions around him he started barking orders.

"FLAMERS! DON'T FIRE UNTIL THEY'RE NEARLY ON US! GRENADIERS! FOCUS ON THE BIG ONES! RIFLEMEN! HOLD THE LINE!"

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

LZ Alpha

The brave Cadians fought through the storm of guants while the tanks proceeded to barrel right through to the city. What the tankmen saw was a battered city with large walls surrounding the last human inhabitants of the planet. Its walls were stained with blast marks and the blood of the Tyranids that tried to scale its walls. The western pass was taken and now they had to face the swarm head-on.

"All tanks, lay down support fire!" The tanks halted and faced the southwestern approach. Then they let loose with all their cannons and bolters at the swarm. The sea of Tyranids was starting to falter as the endless barrage of fire came down from the tanks. The infantry advanced and protected the flanks of the vehicles as they laid down a base of fire.

Some Tyranids from the swarm broke off and engaged the tanks. Huge Carnifexes charged at the line of tanks. A hailstorm of cannon fire and bolter rounds brought down the beasts but not before a few tossed some tanks aside like leaves in the wind.

A Lemon Russ Tank was tossed and landed near Commissar Locke. None of his men were crushed but the men inside the tank weren't so lucky. Then a call was heard from the rear. Even with all the gunfire and chaos around them, the words made the more seasoned men worry visibly.

"Ripper swarm!"

The small creatures rushed out of the Tyrgon holes before the flamers could clear them out. They were small, viscous creatures. They jumped on the men nearest the holes, tearing the guardsmen apart as they pulled them down.


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LZ Bravo

The fighting in the passes turned to their favor as more reinforcements began to land. The Tyranid warriors were all but shot down as they were surrounded by a new surge of Imperial guardsmen. When they cleared the passes, the Elysians were holding on and shooting any Tyranid that tried to come close.

"Hold!" The commanding officers yelled out. "Wait until the airstrike!"

Then in a matter of moments, a squadron of Marauder bombers unleashed their payload on the sea of Tyranids. Flames erupted from the incendiary bombs dropped on the Xeno and the blast. A cleansing fire spread throughout the Tyranid ranks, incinerating scores of them in a mere seconds. The smell of burning Xenos filled the guardsmen's nostrils and to some who checked the time, it was only morning. A brief respite was given to the guardsmen but as quick as the flames came, the faster they were put out by the wind.

"Advance!" The officers called out and like that, the attack resumed. The only matter that concerned them now were aerial threats as Shrikes and gargoyles began to attack them once more as they stepped on the burned remains of Xenos on the way to the city.

When they finally reached the city, the guardsmen formed a line of fire and aimed towards the mass of Tyranids attacking from the south. It was a literal sea of Xeno flesh, clambering over one another to get to the city. Cascades of las-fire pierced through them and brought them down.

Andrea and her sentinel laid down support fire from afar. Her missiles blew apart Tyranids left and right as the guardsmen laid down deadly fire but out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Raveners closing in fast from the flanks. The unsuspecting guardsmen were already cut down before they noticed. One of them jumped right at her Sentinel with its sharp claws aimed at her.

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Colonel Elia, Inner wall, Gharex

The reinforcements started to dig into the swarm's sides but so far, they've only been shooting at the swarm's vanguard. The Tyranid forces stretched far longer and into the a valleys themselves but luckily, they were winning in the air. They already ventured an airstrike on the eastern pass which meant that more bombs would be dropped sooner rather than later. The men were holding but he didn't know for how long. This was the largest push he had seen so far and hopefully it would be the last.

As he observed the battle, Jarn approached him with a relived look on his face.

"Word from the Liberation fleet. They're telling us to seek over. They're going to bomb the southern passes." Jarn told him.

"Thank the Emperor..." Elia muttered as he watched the battle unfold. "When?"

"As soon as-" Jarn wasn't able to finish as both of them turned to the sound of Vendetta gunships flying over their position. More appeared on the side of the valleys as the Imperial aircraft began to clear the skies.

Then in an instant, they all fired their Hellfury missiles at the swarm. The missiles exploded and covered the southern valleys in fire, killing Tyranids by the hundreds every second. The narrow valleys held them in as they all burned in a hellish scene. More bombers made passes with incendiary bombs to further add to the flames. The swarm was entirely engulfed in flame.

"The day is ours!" Jarn yelled aloud, ecstatic at the sight.

"But there is still a war to be won here, boy." Elia said grimly as he watched the Tyranids burn. Jarn received a signal and talked into his vox communicator. When he was done, he went to Elia once more.

"Sir, the General is on his way." Jarn said.

"In that case, I should prepare." Elia said, leaving for his quarters.

 

[Bravo 21]

"Take position about the tanks. Vox, tell them to get the Hellhounds over here." The Cadians began setting up around the tanks, spraying fire into the onrushing swarm. Vehicle weapons and grenades tore holes in the advancing tide, and flamers vaporised rippers by the score, but still the swarm rushed forward. Within seconds the first of them were among the Cadian lines, tearing at legs.

Soon enough, the first of the troopers began turned to run, only to find Locke's bolt pistol aimed at him. "NOT ONE STEP BACKWARDS CADIANS!" The junior Commissar roared, hoping the threat would be enough to keep them in line. Just a few more moments. He could here the spray of fire, and knew the Hellhounds, and more importantly the heavy flamers they carried, couldn't be far off. Just had to hold the line a little bit longer he thought while slapping away yet another ripper.

 

[Sigma Castell]

Pavel ducked underneath a hissing ball of bio-plasma and continued his work on the Vanquishers engines. The tank rumbled and shuddered as the cannon fired again, cutting down a monstrous artillery-beast.
His mechandrites whirred and buzzed, replacing parts, welding, cutting, screwing, all the while Pavel muttered parayer sin binary to the machine-spirit to aid its healing.
Behind him, his servitors kept watch, their lascannons and heavy bolters annihilating anything that dared attempt to interrupt the Magos' holy work.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Gharex, Outer Wall

Atticus lost count of the number of dead gaunts a long time ago, and it was only now that the turret had run out of ammunition. "Ok, that's fine, that's fine. Time for a more personal touch, anyway..." he growled, fixing up his own weapon. However, just as he stepped away, the firebombs had dropped and all before him was lost in a sea of flames. "That'll show the xeno bastards!" he said aloud, his sense of pride as a guardsman briefly overcoming his bloodlust. He started tapping his left foot, waiting for more orders. Ah, screw it. I'll see if there's any stragglers. he thought as he started heading west.
[hr]

The Ravener caught most of the guardsmen unaware, but Andrea had managed to step back enough to stop its initial attack from knocking her over. "ACK!" it had managed to cling to her Sentinel, and she could hear its scythe-like claws ripping apart the front of her machine. "Get off!" she shouted, jerking and shaking to try and knock it off, but had only managed to slow it down. She didn't have any weapons to get rid of it without killing herself as well, and friendly fire was the last thing she wanted to worry about. It was then inspiration struck. Oh, this is a bad idea...

She continued to shake and rattle around to keep it busy trying to hold on, slowly rotating until she was facing the wall, and the she moved forward as fast as she could, ramming the Ravener into the outer wall of Gharex. "Die!" Unfortunately, the Tyranid did not die, but the force of impact knocked it loose, and it fell to the ground once Andrea had backed up. Ok. Get to a better position. Find back-up. She turned around and started heading towards the direction opposite of where the Raveners came from as her attacker recovered from its dazed state and was quickly in pursuit.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Outside Gharex

As the Tyranids burned in the south, the rest were being cut down in swaths of las-fire. The day was won but the cost was large as was expected. The valleys hosted a sea of dead or dying Tyranids and now the long process of reclamation was in order. LZ Alpha and Bravo had been secured and turrets along with hastily made fortifications were set up for the Imperial forces. More soldiers were arriving by the droves to replenish the numbers lost in the landfall. The Hive fleet had been routed but the Tyranids still remained on the planet. Now that it was apparent, the lands outside Gharex and its valleys were in the process of being assimilated by the Xeno. What was once lush plains were replaced by spores and growing tentacles but at least the city was secure.

In the sky, a lone Aquila lander was spotted in the clear skies. General Aero's lander was colored a bright red and was escorted by two Valkyries on either side. Despite the temporarily clear skies, the General seemed to like to travel with protection.

He landed on LZ Alpha and was surrounded by a cadre of officers and soldiers, all shouting orders to make way.

General Aero was a venerable man with wide features. His bald head hosted a plethora of old scars and implants. He wore the officer's attire with a jacket around his shoulders and two las-pistols on his hip. He held his head high as he surveyed the area and attended to the wounded, giving them words of advice and patted them on the back. It was all a big game to him and the Tyranids were a prize.

"Gron!" Aero called out and another officer came up to him. "Gron, I want to give a speech to the brave men and women. They deserve nothing more. Have the troops assemble here as soon as possible. Of course keep the new troops as perimeter security. We wouldn't want any surprises, would we? On and give the Admiral my regards. His performance today was... average. Now go on!"

"Yes, General. What about the garrison in the city? Shall we call them as well?" Gron asked, eager to please.

"Of course! They are heroes for holding out so long against such a foe. Fetch them and their brave Colonel before I feed you to the Ogryns." Aero commanded.

With that, Gron was off and he gave commands to the guardsmen who were in the first wave. They were to assemble in LZ Alpha for a speech before a new assignment.

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Inside Gharex

"Colonel, Elia!" Jarn knocked on his door. "The General wants the garrison to be present for a speech."

"A speech, eh? Quite odd..." Elia said, readjusting his gas-mask. He rarely lets anyone see what he looks like beyond his gas mask. It became his face, his identity. Without his gas-mask he would just be a regular guardsmen without the sins to redeem. Elia pondered many times whether he should abandon his mask, but every time the thought crosses his mind, he thinks of his brother. His brother died for something, so why shouldn't he? "Alright, I'm coming out."

Elia fixed his gas mask once more and left his quarters. There stood Jarn with the vox and ready to give out orders as he always had.

"All units within the city, report to LZ Alpha ASAP. It is located in the Western pass. Auxiliaries, begin to clear the southern passes. Gun crews, scan the horizon and report any threats." Elia ordered through the vox. He squared his chest and looked to Jarn. "Let's attend a speech, shall we?"

The two set off along the city and for the first time in quite a while, he left the city. Overhead, gunships patrolled the passes and the sounds of bombardments thundered in the distance. A heavy stench of burned flesh lingered in the air. The dead Xenos stretched as far as the eye could see but despite the glorious sight, Elia worried about what lingered out in the valleys.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Samuel had been firing haphazardly into the charging crowd of tyranids, killing what few he figured the lasgun would be able to possibly kill. It was a hopeless situation though...until the planes and bombers flew overhead, dropping their payloads and neatly roasting the oceans of foes that had been just moments ago been threatening to overrun them. Along with many of the other soldiers that were still with the turret and had been firing down below. It was good to see a new group of soldiers and armor that they had not had fresh of in...months? It had been too long since they had good working equipment, and it was good to see it ripping through the nids.

"All units within the city, report to LZ Alpha ASAP. It is located in the Western pass. Auxiliaries, begin to clear... The Vox crackled, sending the message clear enough. Samuel didn't bother suppressing a sigh. Fight nonstop forever, and they want them to now go out and march?

"Well...lets go lads. I'm sure they have something they wanna say, and seems the vox just doesn't send the message clear enough. Or maybe they'll ship off this forsaken rock." Samuel muttered, and began his walk down to leaving the city. They had not dared venture out of the city ever since they had to enter it. Ever since they lost the passes into the city. Moving out, he looked over the handiwork of the ships. At least they were reasonably thorough in the job...

 

[Rogue Trooper]

Sturt looked with interest at the now burning valley that lay out before him; the Nids were now dead which made Sturt happy. He had fought well for the Emperor and Sturt hoped he had noticed how he had blasted several waves of them with his auto cannon. Sturt liked using the auto cannon. It made loud noises and targets always exploded afterwards. Which was good as Sturt did not like the Nids and he was always happy when they exploded into gunk piles. But Sturt still had to watch out not to step in the gunk piles. Once he and his squad had done so and trailed the smelly gunk all the way into the mess hall. The colonel was mad which made Sturt sad. Especially since Sturt and his men had to clean the mess which forced them to be the last to get grup. Sturt did not like getting grup last, as it was always bad and there were never enough taters to fill up Sturt and his men. All Ogryns liked taters.

?Hey Sarge? a large voice boomed. Sturt turned around and saw Steve one of his men gazing at him with a questing look, his large ripper gun being held between his large hands.

?Yes Steve?? Sturt spoke trying to have a level authority in his voice. Which was hard, as Steve as well as Bob where his bestest friends and squad mates.

?If the Nids are all?s dead, what do we do now Sarge?? Sturt surged in response. Even with his shiny metal bits, Sturt was always puzzled what to do after a fight had been won. Do we sit here? Do we keep shooting at the dead bodies? Do we have a picnic? The question was always a struggle for Sturt but giving a quick look around at the guardsmen that were still manning the defences. Sturt knew what to say.

?We?ll stay here Steve? Sturt responded with a smile on his face ?To make sure that the Nids don?t come and bite us in da bum?. Steve and Bob who had just joined the conversation nodded in unison.

"All units within the city, report to LZ Alpha ASAP. It is located in the Western pass. Auxiliaries, begin to clear the southern passes?

?What?s an Auxy Sarge?? Bod asked

?That?s us bob? Sturt responded “The emperor must want us to make sure all them?d Nids are dead?

?What abouts lunch?? Steve asked

?We?ll get it when we gets backs, now let?s goes? with that said Sturt hefted up his large auto cannon and replaced its used magazine with a fresh one. Sturt's men done the same and checked to make sure that their ripper guns were fully loaded. With that done Sturt and his men made off descending from the defensive walls and onto the now burnt battlefield were the countless bodies of the Nids lay.

?Alright boys, watch out for anything and makes sure yours weapons are raised and ready for anything. Let?s make sure no Nid gets the drop on us?.

His squad nodded and with that done, Sturt began leading his men into the southern approach.

 

[Mr. Omega]

"All units within the city, report to LZ Alpha ASAP. It is located in the Western pass. Auxiliaries, begin to clear...

"Aw yeah. Party time." Atticus grinned, picking up the pace and running as fast as he could to LZ Alpha. It didn't take him long, and the site of dead bugs greeted him. "Now this is something I can get used to." All that time in the city was driving him nuts. Just taking them out day after day, watching supplies run out and men die. For a few days, Atticus thought that was how things were going to end. He was more than happy to be wrong. And now the true battle was on the horizon...

_______________________________

Andrea was near the southern pass now. She was faster than her pursuer, but without proper weapons, she couldn't turn around and face it without getting torn to shreds. Damn piece of shit. Everything was going smoothly until you showed up. Thankfully a squad of guardsman were nearby. They were picking off a few straggling 'nids and fired upon the Ravener once it was in site. She let off a long sigh of relief, turned around and started heading back to the previous position, getting her grenade launcher ready. "The others could handle a few bugs... but it never hurts to check."

She tried to get in contact with some of her team. "Kara. You there? Got ambushed and had to get to a better position, but it's taken care of. ...Come on... answer." She knew the others could handle themselves, but things could always go wrong.